What It Is (posts below left; rate sheet, client list, other stuff below right)

My name is Bob Land. I am a full-time freelance editor and proofreader, and occasional indexer. This blog is my website.

You'll find my rate sheet and client list here, as well as musings on the life of a freelancer; editing, proofreading, and indexing concerns and issues; my ongoing battles with books and production; and the occasional personal revelation.

Feel free to contact me directly with additional questions: landondemand@gmail.com.

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Saturday, December 8, 2007

RANT, not publishing related

A few days ago, some jagoff opened fire in a mall in Omaha. Killed eight people, then himself. Don't you wish these idiots would just reverse the order? Would save a lot of headache.

Anyway, the inevitable headline today is: Omaha Mall Reopens With Extra Security.

My favorite phrase of recent times is "Closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out."

Now extra security is needed? We're gonna have a rash of copycat psychokillers at that particular mall? Wasn't the time for extra security beforehand? And would it have helped? (No, no, undoubtedly, unlikely)

A few years ago, some dolt had some stuff in his shoes that could maybe have made a bomb, if he knew what he was doing. Now every traveler in America should wear bedroom slippers to the airport to make security go quicker. And someone had some bad liquids on a plane, so let's make it so you can only carry three ounces of something on a plane. (There's no doubt that even 3 ounces of the proper substance could create a whole lot of hell. I remember what a friend of mine said could be done with a small amount of magnesium.) A radio talk show host pointed out that you can file down a credit card edge to be as sharp as any box cutter. You going to ban credit cards in airports? Oh, hell no. Can't do that. Hmm. Wonder why.

"Reopens with extra security." Give me a break.

2 comments:

moi said...

This kind of thing really pisses Moi RTFO.

Fer frig's sake: the world was five bazillion times more dangerous, oh, say, 'bout 150 years ago (coal dust much? how about lack of central heating and vaccines?). Yet today, every one in a billion freak accident or stolen gun toting nut job becomes justified cause for martial law.

What was it Ben Franklin said?

Wicked Thistle said...

I believe what Ben Franklin said was, "Quit being such pansy asses." Crazy people are, by rather obvious definition, crazy, although they look mostly like regular folk. I could meet one today and not know it. Someone could meet *me* and not know they'd just met a crazy person. So see how easy it is to confuse the crazy with the sane? And no amount of security can keep them from doing the bad if that's what the voices are telling them to do.

I'm with you, Bob--extra security after the fact is laughable. Anybody could walk right in and do it again today. Maybe we should focus our efforts on inventing a radar to identify the crazies, patenting it as "Bob's Genuine Foolproof Cradar." I think a lot of people would buy them, and you could use the profits to buy yourself some extra security.