Fearmongering For Rio - Gizmodo Amps Up "ZOMG Olympics R Gonna Die!"

So, a Gizmodo writer (Sophie Kleeman) posts a bunch of "very recently" taken pics (all photos by AP) as representative of the entire city of Rio...
Her story HERE.

Now, I spent 6 hours in various locations around Rio yesterday- in Maracanã Norte, Centro, Copacabana, Ipanema, and down in Barra de Tijuca and lots of small roads and highways in between. I saw shitloads of bad drivers, but the only guns I saw were (probably) full-auto carbines being held at ready by the policia, the federal policia, and other uniformed security personnel. And man, I saw a lot of them.





Now, the pics from the article- My first impression is that the people in the pics have some awesome trigger discipline. Better than most of the folks at my home range, and probably most of the cops in the US. But that's just a first impression.

The other takeaway is that the author seems to think this activity/culture is endemic of Rio.
As I have said before many times- if you show me a horrific picture taken in (name of Olympic Host City), I'll bet you dollars to donuts that I can find similar vignettes in any large US city.

Don't believe the hype, y'all...
Remember 'If it bleeds, it leads' and the Media will do everything they can to get your clicks.
Take it all with a grain of salt.

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Following The Logic

Quite a few of the talking heads on the Left are rightly pointing out that the perpetrators of the Paris attacks were not actually Syrian refugees.
They only POSED as refugees with forged docs to make border crossings easier in order to make their attacks.

According to them, it should be OK to accept REAL Syrian refugees to the US.
(Because they'd never try to get here by using that tactic. The DHS is way too smart to fall for that!)

I Don't Blend In

If you look carefully at 1:14:20, 1:27:21 and 1:36:45 you will see why I am considered to be a "hulking menace in the background" as opposed to the "unobtrusive but watchful presence"...

See the video here.
(No, at the 1:36:45 mark I was NOT texting... I was making notes on our exit strategy, thankewverymuch.)

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Signs of the Apocalypse - Mexico Edition

(From the concession stand at the Arena de la Cuidad in Mexico City.)

Let me run this by the safety / security folks:

Who thinks it's a good idea to offer:
BOTTLES of tequila to fans at a basketball game...? (click pic to embiggify)

Granted- it IS $110 USD a bottle for the Herrandura, but if someone is dumb enough to buy it, they're probably too dumb to exercise restraint and good sense after drinking it.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Stupid Request of the Night - 6/8

I was standing in the sub-concourse of the AT&T Center last night about 10 minutes before the start of the game...
I was in kind of a central location so I could get to courtside easily or get to the other support offices with as much ease...

So I was just standing back, out of the way because the Heat players had just left to court to go back to the locker room between the pre-game shoot-around and the actual spotlights & music re-entry. Everyone from the cheerleaders to maintenance guys, tech support and various league personnel all milling around to get a look at King James and DWade.
As I stood back minding my own business, a security guy approached me from my right...

SG: "Sir... Who do you work for?"

I looked at him like he was speaking Kyrgyzstani... (Keeping in mind I'm wearing a 5"x7" credential around my neck with my picture, company name & "all access/all games" notation. I'm allowed to be here.. I'm even trying to keep the hell out of the way. Why is this idjit fucking with me?)

Yours Truly: "I work for the league. Scoring and IT Tech Support. What's the problem?"

SG: "Sir, are you carrying a weapon?"

He's speaking to me, but watching the hallway and the 'sterile' hallway area.

Ok... Now I'm puzzled.

YT: "No..."  Thinking: Not that I couldn't kill you right here, right now, since you are waaaay too close to me and not really paying attention to what I'm doing.

Security note: If you think I'm enough of a threat that we need to chat- you better fucking pay attention to me when we're talking...

SG: "Sir, it looks to me like you have a knife in your pocket."

Jeebus Pete- you must be fucking joking.
In the realm of 'dangerous shit' a Leatherman donesn't even show up on my radar of Offensive Weapons. (Improvised Weapons, sure- along with most of the other crap in my pockets including the handful of change.)

YT: "My Leatherman? It's not a weapon, it's a tool."

SG: "Sir- I need you to unclip it and put it down inside your pocket."

I gave him my patented "You're shitting me, right?" look.
It's not going to be worth the time to explain to him what a stupid request he was making.

YT: "Fine. No problem."

I unclipped it and slipped it in my pocket. Like 2.5 inches down my pocket is going to make a difference if I had malice aforethought.

There you have it...
The world is safer since my Leatherman is not clipped to the top of my pocket.

I wish the TSA would have a similar policy about multi-tools.
Just keep it out of sight so the sheep don't get nervous.
As opposed to outright confiscation.

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Remiss In My Obligations to the Constant Readers

I know- I've been slacking.

I've been dealing with hardware and staff issues-
Getting hardware installed and getting our hard-working staff to their venues and getting them oriented- pointing out the various flora (look- bare trees) and fauna (look- snipers in that blind up on the hill) as we make our way to the sites.

We did get out one evening and I was able to enjoy my favorite local specialty-
Khachapuri-

Great googly moogly it was good!
The other kids at the table had the lamb shislek and I had a little bowl of lobio...
Tasty.

A few more pics from around the venues...


Olympic Dogs-
A few of the strays around the Olympic Park.


SpongeMark sends a little reminder in Engrish about not flushing bog paper in the hotel bathrooms.


And they've started gluing down the manhole covers.
(At least the ones that are still intact.)

Let's see- Some of the security forces that are on-station here in Sochi.
The Freddy Kruger Ninja Squad is here...


The high-stepping Radio City Snow Commandos


I'm not sure who these guys are, but I just suggest staying in your hotel room after dark. You don't want to run across these guys near an open manhole cover...

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Sochi Musings

Just a few notes about my first few days...

- - - - - 

IBC security:

They aren't fucking around, but they are far, far from effective.

4 days of traversing the secure perimeter, 4 different experiences.

Day 1, standard mag & bag; Turn on phone, laptop, iPad. What are all these cables? Who do you work for.

Fortunately I didn't bring my Leatherman or pocket knife... 

Day 2, now equipped with special "tools of the trade" hologram sticker and my tool bag w/ Leatherman, etc.

Turn on all electronics, examine hologram with a magnifier, examine all tools.

Ask why I need to have tools.

Leave all tools on-site when I go home.

Day 3, On arrival and clearing Mag & Bag, I am 'invited' to an interview room, where the check out my entire bag, every pocket, every pouch. Mobile phones are inspected, covers removed, batteries removed and inspected. iPad cover removed, inspected.

'Questionable' items lined up for inspection... Hemostats, Anker aux battery, laserpointer, cigarette lighter USB adapter, butane lighter, toenail clippers.

Big Boss comes in and examines items. I have to demonstrate the Anker charger...

He gives a grunt and a dismissive wave and walks out.

Time elapsed: 12mins (approx).

Day 4, Mag & Bag, eletronic show & tell. Frisking. A vigorous frisking. (Hm. This is new.) 

And they find the tube of Vegemite in my bag.

This will be fun- trying to explain the paste-like substance that smells vaguely like a skidmark is a breakfast condiment...

- - - 

Sunup is at 8:45am 

Sunset 6:15

Killing me.

- - - - 

NBC Commissary food is, as always, plentiful but bland.

I'd kill, or at least break some legs, for a bottle of Sriracha right now.

- - - -

The breakfast at the hotel suffers from Euro-bacon syndrome.

Super greasy semi-cooked bacon served in a large pan without pouring excess oil off.

I can stomach only one slice... But I have to blot it before eating.

And that is saying something- I can usually drink a quart of bacon grease just to get my innards mooving smoothly on a cold morning.

- - - - -

Hotel is a bit spartan. No dresser, rudimentary closet. But we do have hot water, and the WiFi usually works. I was spoiled in Sydney with the fridge, microwave and stove... This place has an electric kettle.

It does, however, have a balcony, or as I call it, a walk-out cooler.

I have a dozen different beverage bottles lined up outside my door.

Sadly, its not really that cold- only dips to 40f at night here so far.

- - - - - 

The travel between the IBC and the hotel is interesting.

I catch the early bus- 7:00 am... Its a 45 minute trip to the IBC at that time.

I got the 8:20 bus the first morning- that was 70 minutes...

Screw that.

Home is a bit different- 15 minutes from gate to gate... Add 10 minutes at each end to get to/from the bus stop. Not too bad. Word around the campfire is that its a 40 minute walk, IF the get security checkpoint near the hotel squared away.

- - - - 

Wearing a Blackwater t-shirt inside the NBC commissary is an excellent way to get a table all to yourself.

-  -  -  -

More later...

TBG - going walkabout

Trouble Brewing

Sitting in my office is a device* that is just begging to be abused.


Click for a closer look

In this era of  'If you see something, say something', do you think this device, left in the front seat of a car parked, say, at an airport, might get noticed?

(The tennis ball cannon in the corner is another device needing some attention, but that can wait a bit... I actually have a legitimate use for that beast.)

*What is it?  Go ahead and take a guess.
 RobertaX might know what it is, but since she only reads this foolscap on a passing basis, she probably won't tell you...)

TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

Attention Low-Information Voters:

Re: Prism

You're just now figuring this out?

Never heard of Echelon and Carnivore?

If you had been paying attention for the last 20 or so years
the phrase "We're from the Government and were here to help you."
should scare the shiving lit out of you.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

What The Hell Is Going On?

I get the atmospheric Acts of God like hurricanes and tornadoes... Nothing can be done, except to be prepared and to be smart about what you do in the aftermath.

(But not the mindset of idiots that say catastrophic weather events are a product of mankind's existence on the planet. If you are an elected official that is responsible for anything more politically intricate than catching stray dogs, and you feel anthropomorphic climate change is a matter of world-wide importance, then you need to resign your position and go do something about it, rather than just spend other people's money on it.)

But I don't get the OKC Bomber, Aurora shooter, Tucson shooter, Newtown shooter, Boston Marathon bombers, or the most recent heinous crime in Santa Monica California. And who knows WTF is wrong with the people behind the last couple ricin letter-mailers...
I mean, I get pissed on the highway, or when I'm standing in line behind idiots at the hardware store, or when I watch the news or read the newspaper...
And I have more than enough hardware to make the national news, but I never even think about using it, no matter how bad the talking heads piss me off, or how often I nearly get squashed like a bug on the road, or read about how bad the abuse of power is getting out of hand in Washington DC.

The people that commit crimes like OKC, Aurora, Columbine, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, are subhuman at best... The fact that people like this are walking among us scares and frustrated the shit out of me.

The only thing that lets me keep my sanity about this crap is when I read the accounts about these things and come across gems in the reporting or from witnesses.

“There were hundreds of rounds of clips laying on the floor,” he said. “It looked like the guy just dropped his stuff right there.”

Morons.
Just like legislators that enact laws about things that have no understanding of...
If you don't know what you're talking about, shut up.

And I think I'll do that now.



TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE