It comes down to this: I know too many people who would be traumatized by the kind of treatment the TSA has made mandatory. I can think of too many cases where either the backscatter machines or the invasive patdowns would cause lasting damage, the kind no flight is worth:

• My prosthetic breasts are none of your concern. Even if I’m a man.
• No, my child will not remove her cancer wig so you can check it for weapons.
• No, I will not tell my child that sexual assault by a government official is “a game.”

You get the idea. Privacy is important. For some people, it’s vitally important. And it’s relevant, because I have not committed a crime. Getting on an airplane is not probable cause to believe I will.

Yes, I realize that not all these cases apply to me. I also know that my family won’t necessarily be subjected to the backscatter or the patdown. The point—and to me it’s the only important point—is that no one deserves to be treated this way, and I refuse to support a system that does so.

Each time I choose not to fly, I’ll send a letter to the airline I would have used, the airports I would have gone through, and the TSA to let them know why. I hope that eventually they’ll see reason and do away with these crazy searches. Until then, I won’t fly.

For reasons to stay angry, follow the ongoing news on Reddit’s Flying With Dignity group or get a stream of images from The Daily Patdown.

— Karen, trying to get around Southern California by train

Radcliffs, get your rockets ready!

A Tucson-based inventor and businessman Richard Chapin and his wife Monica are behind the giant device, which gathers up and focuses the light of the moon.

The Chapins built the large, one-of-a-kind contraption that stands in the desert some 15 miles west of Tucson, Arizona, in the belief that moonlight might have applications for medicine, industry and agriculture.

“So much work has focused on the sun. We have just forgotten about this great object that has been here for billions of years, has affected us in all forms of our evolution,” said Chapin, who paid for the project with his own money.

I certainly don’t think there’s anything woo-woo about moonlight, even when concentrated, but I really do like the idea of being bathed in concentrated moonlight. Just thinking about the phenomenal distances involved in the light’s journey to you is awe-inspiring.

Yup. I’m torn between “err, it’s kind of resort-y” and “Oh my Gosh,
it’s keen! We each get personal submarines! We can feed fish at our
room window by pushing a button on our control console! Each suite is
independently able to be lifted to the surface in case of emergency!”
Everything is exclamationy.

Because you know you want to.

SilverJet recently announced they have crossed from the dark side into the neutral side… CO₂ neutral, that is. And being the first airline to do so gets the official wooden nickel from me. I never thought the airline industry would come close to getting CO₂ neutral.

Heck, if they can do it, why can’t anyone else?