Sturgis- is it time?

When people I meet learn that I ride a Harley, their first question is usually "have you been to Sturgis?" (actually that's usually the second question, the first is always "YOU ride a Harley?")


Me and my mom

 I've never been to Sturgis.  Mostly because I've heard so many stories about the number of bikers that show up (500,000+), long waits to get through a stop sign, inexperienced riders and "entertainment" geared more toward guys, not gals.

But, several weeks ago, when I got a reminder email that I was close to maxing out on vacation, I decided maybe it was time to make the big trip.

Two big decisions - where to stay and ride vs. trailer. More to come....

Got bag worms?

Sunday I noticed some brown spots on one of my evergreen shrubs (an Arborvitae). 

Upon closer inspection, here's what I found - bag worms.

Two years ago I almost lost a big evergreen in my front yard from these, so after seeing this I immediately grabbed a plastic bag and started pulling them off my 4 infested shrubs.  I'm guessing I pulled off more than a thousand.

A few of the bag worms I picked off a tree


Here's what they look like close up.  Notice they take on the appearance of a pine cone so, at first glance, you think they are part of the tree.


3 bag worms just plucked from an Arborvitae

 Its actually pretty gross pulling them off the shrub because inside each bag is a worm-like critter, and if its still in there alive, these little bags start wriggling around in your hand.  The photo below shows one of them creeping out of a bag after I had pulled it off the shrub.

Larva coming out of the bag (looks like a worm to me)

There's a reproduction cycle:  the female, while inside the bag, puts out a scent that attracts a male.  The male - from outside the bag - contributes to the fertilization process (how's that for G rated?).  The female can lay hundreds of eggs (one source says 800) in ONE BAG!!  The eggs survive winter in the bags and then become larvae in the spring

Here's the deal - you've got to pull them all of the shrub/tree and destroy them.  One article suggests burning them.  If you don't destroy them, they will crawl back to another shrub and begin feeding again.  I was careless and let some fall to the ground....and in no time at all, they had crawled right back to the same shrub.



Don't pick them off and throw them on the ground!  They'll crawl back to the shrub!

 Several sources recommend a systemic treatment of the tree to kill the bag worms.  If you don't destroy them, they turn into moths and start the whole process all over.  So check your trees!  Wear gloves if its a prickly evergreen because you've got to separate the branches and look on the inside, too!

New Navy Recruits - thank you for serving our country!

Yesterday I flew home from Baltimore.  I arrived at the airport early enough to boot up my laptop and download email so I hunted for an empty seat in the gate area.  Once I found a seat I noticed this group of young men and women seated together, all talking to each other in a way that made me think they were on a trip together.

The group includes:  Matt Kendall, Cecil Jonas, Macy Rakes, Courtney Roberts, Justin Vaugh and Travis Rice

I observed them for a while, enjoying their energy and upbeat spirit.  I noticed one had on a Navy ballcap and another had on a Navy sweatshirt.  Then it clicked - the flight was bound for Chicago.  These were Navy recruits headed to the Great Lakes Naval base.  I asked if that was the case and they all confirmed that was indeed their destination.

There was such cameraderie among them, I thought perhaps they were all friends and had enlisted together.  But that is not the case.  They had all met the previous day.

I asked them what their goals were in terms of serving in the Navy.  There were a variety of answers including:  Master at Arms, aviation airman, rescue swimmer, aviation ordinance, CTR cryptography.  One plans to become a Navy SEAL.  Two plan to become Navy Corpsmen.   (Side note: my dad was in the Navy for 20 years which makes me a "Navy Brat". He was stationed at Great Lakes when I was in kindergarten and first grade. I don't remember a lot - just the name of my teacher, lots and lots of snow and really tall snowmen. And I remember having a corpsman put stitches in my finger and my foot during separate trips to the hospital!)


Once in Chicago, they'll be transported to the Great Lakes Naval station, where they will complete 8 weeks of  "boot camp".  We talked about the fact that for the duration of boot camp they will not have access to phones or computers.  No communication with family.  One of my friends and co-worker has a son who completed his 8 weeks last year - its a tough time for moms! (and probably dads, too).

I hope to hear from them after they complete boot camp! 

A few facts about the Great Lakes Naval Training Center
-54,000 recruits complete basic training each year
-the base is 100 years old and underwent a $770 million renovation program (a 10 year project)
-almost all of the training is conducted indoors, including a 2 story facility for emergency sea rescue training

Airport Scanners - only useful during "busy times"?

USA Today is reporting that a new study is being conducted on the "backscatter" scanners.  (there are 2 types of scanners at airports - this is the one that emits small amts of ionizing radiation.  The other is a millimeter wave scanner and doesn't involve radiation)

Here's a confidence builder - apparently some maintenance records indicated radiation was 10 times higher than expected on several machines (19 out of 40 tested).  Rapiscan, the company that makes the backscatter machines, says their employees who tested the machines were "confused" about the forms they had to fill out, so there weren't really any radiation issues - it was simply "math mistakes".  (note:  there are 247 of these scanners at 38 different airports)

I remain perplexed about airport scanners.  At a cost of $170,000 each, and claims they detect more than the traditional metal detectors, one would think they would be used after they are installed.  Yet this week, I once again encountered a scanner sitting idle at an airport (Houston).  It wasn't a busy time at security - no long lines.  One scanner was in use, the second was not - instead, they were having people go through a metal detector that was sitting next to the scanner.  Ironically, there was a large sign as you entered the security area stating they were using "state of the art" scanning devices.  I forget the exact statement but something to do with safer air travel.


This is a view of the security area after you have gone through the process.  The larger, cylindrical scanner on the right is apparently one of the millimeter wave scanners (grayish white).  This one wasn't in service.  Instead, they were having people go through a metal detector which you can see behind and  just to the left of the scanner. 

In case you're wondering why this issue bugs me, I have a piece of titanium in my leg and if I go through a scanner I avoid the waiting around for a female TSA agent to pat me down and the debate that invariably ensues when they try to stack the bin with my coat, shoes and zip lock bag of liquids on top of the bin that contains my laptop!  When I have plenty of time to get through security, I'll sometimes avoid the backscatter scanners (I admit I don't trust the government's radiation exposure studies). 

A couple of scanner facts I've read in other postings:
-the backscatter, radiation emitting scanners are blue and have 2 walls
-the non-radiation scanners are greyish white (see photo above)
-reports I've read indicate the cost for operating scanners in the U.S. over a 10 year period is $6,000,000,000

If scanners are better at detecting potential explosive devices, guns etc, why aren't they being used?

BNA - Nashville airport - haven for scanning equipment

Last week I shared information about finding scanners at airports and commented that not all airports have them.  Yesterday, I went through security at the Nashville, TN airport and was surprised to see several scanners  - and guess what?   NOT ONE OF THEM WAS OPERATIONAL!!

There had to be 20+ TSA agents attending the security area, so I figure it wasn't an issue of staffing.  When I asked one of the TSA agents why none of the scanners were working he said "I'm not sure - maybe they shut them down because this isn't our busy time".

I have no idea if it costs more money to operate a scanner vs. a metal detector but if each scanner costs $170,000, that's almost $700,000 of equipment sitting idle.  I'd also assume it requires more manpower to conduct all the "patdowns" that were being done since the scanners weren't working.

Our tax dollars at work (or not at work). 

Side note:  I'm curious why Nashville has so many scanners and why they search cars before you are allowed to park in the parking garage (found that out when returning a rental car). 

Here's the government's website if you want to check out scanner availability before you fly.  There's a list of airports    http://www.tsa.gov/

Mike Sampayo and Majalisa Diaz - Thank you for Serving our Country!

O'Hare airport
March 4, 2011

Majalisa Diez - Army
Serving our country for 9 years.
Specialty - logistics
hometown - Hutchinson, MN

Mike Sampayo
Serving our country for 5 years
Specialty - motorpool
hometown - Eugene, OR

Thank you for serving our country and keeping us safe!

Airport Scanners - where are they?

I noted in a recent blog that I preferred the airport screening "pat down" process over the body scanner because its unclear if your skin is getting enough radiation to cause a problem for a frequent traveler like me.  After answering numerous questions from friends and family members, I thought it might be helpful if I elaborated a little on the process.

First, not every airport has a body scanner.  As of 11/20/2010 there were 385 scanners in 68 airports.  Note:  new ones are being added all the time, so if you're flying and you want to know if there is one at the airports you're visiting, Google "airports with full body scanners".  Each one costs between $150,000 and $170,000 so perhaps that's a factor in their slow implementation across the country.  I'm also guessing that this cost will make it prohibitive to put one in smaller airports like the one in my hometown.

Knowing the airport has a scanner may be useful information, but knowing which security checkpoint has them is also important.  Sometimes airports don't  have scanners at every checkpoint.  I was really surprised, for example, that there wasn't one at Reagan airport in Washington, DC - at least not at the security line for American Airlines.

Seeing a scanner at a specific checkpoint doesn't mean that its an option.  Are they in working order?  I'm not sure why, but I've been through a couple of airports lately (Chicago, Ohare and Charlotte, NC) that had scanners but had them roped off.  I'm not sure if they were broken or if the TSA agents assigned to them were out to lunch.  So I asked - and was told "I'm not sure, I think they're changing something".  As I watched, it appeared what they were changing was the shift of workers.  It just seemed odd that the expensive and supposedly more thorough machine was just roped off while they did this.


There always seems to be a lot of TSA agents.  Here there were 8 (2 not in the shot) and this was for one line.  I wonder how they determine how many individual TSA agents are necessary? 

In mid-December at the Orlando airport, I didn't notice the scanner until I had already selected a specific screening line.  At this airport, you enter a path of roped off corridors - kind of  like when you're at a large amusement park and you have to wait in a long line for the best rides (my thought was "how appropriate since this is Orlando, home of Disney World, where you quickly become accustomed to long feeder lines").

With the numbers of passengers going through the Orlando airport, they no doubt need this process.  However, the process is set up in a way that requires you to select a specific aisle - and there are several aisles, each one leading to a different security station/conveyor belt.  Had I wanted to go through the body scanner, I wouldn't have known which line to pick because there weren't any signs specifying metal detector vs. scanner.

So, when you get to the starting point of the security process, you may want to scope this out before selecting a line.  My suggestion would be to ask the first TSA agent who is doing general checks (ie checking to see if you have more than two bags with you, etc) at the entrance to security- "do you have a scanner?" and if they do, ask them if there's a specific line you should get in to either use the scanner or to avoid using the scanner. 

Note:  if you have a metal implant (artificial knee or hip) you might want to consider the scanner.  The implant will trigger most metal detectors which will result in a "pat down".  I don't think the "pat down" is really an issue other than it takes time....just waiting for the same gender TSA agent to come pat you down can sometimes take several minutes.    Gone are the days when you could carry a card from your physician stating that you have an artificial/metal implant.  I remember my dad had one and all he had to do was show the security person.  Now, I suppose anyone could create a "fake" card very easily.