TSA Officers Fired After Stealing From Passengers

by McLean Robbins on




Have you ever arrived at your destination to find items missing from your suitcase and thought, “I wonder how that happened?” It turns out, you may have been a victim of TSA theft.

ABC News, as seen in the clip above, conducted an investigation into the security of airport screening stations. New figures show that 381 TSA officers have been fired after stealing from passengers and their luggage. The investigation tracked checked bags with iPads and cash, and also went through security checkpoints with these items in carry-on luggage.

In nine of ten cases, the items made it to their destination safely. But in Orlando, an iPad left behind ended up in the hands of a security officer. Using a device-tracking app on the iPad, investigators traced the iPad to the home of the security officer last seen with the device. After denying that he stole the item, the officer was caught red-handed when the alert for the device was heard from inside his home.

Thankfully, the officer has been terminated. We’re sure this will lead to further TSA investigations, but for now, we’d suggest putting valuable items in the safety of your well-guarded carry-on bag.

Video Of The Day: Times Square In The 1980s

by Sean McLachlan on


Here’s a bit of nostalgia for all you old-time New Yorkers out there.

This mini-documentary on Times Square really captures my memories of it from the 1980s. Walking around there with my friends at night was a gritty, sleazy, surreal experience. Touts tried to sell you stolen watches or draw you into shell games or strip shows. Street preachers screamed at the crowd and were totally ignored. Lights flashed. Cars honked. People swore at one another or offered you drugs labeled under a bewildering variety of street names (anybody know what “rust” was?).

Despite this footage being a quarter of a century old, I recognize some of these places. The theater marquees are unforgettable, of course. There was one place where you could see a Kung Fu double feature for a dollar. That video arcade in the film was a favorite hangout of ours. We knew about the pickpockets and always watched out for one another. Still, it’s amazing we survived all those trips without ever having any serious trouble.

I haven’t been back to New York for 15 years. From what I’ve heard, it’s changed too much. Times Square has been turned into a touristy shopping mall, and throughout Manhattan many of the small shops, like those wonderful indie bookstores, have disappeared. I have lots of friends and fellow bloggers in New York who are always inviting me to come over. I’m not sure I ever will. I think I’ll just keep my memories of the trashy yet vibrant New York of my teens.

The Bacon Barter Team Visits Gadling In Chicago

by Grant Martin on

Midway through their journey across the country, the Bacon Barter team pulled into Chicago last week for a visit to Gadling Labs. Led by funny man Josh Sankey, the travelers aim to voyage across the entire United States using only bacon as currency. That’s for food, gas, lodging and any other necessity on the road.

We met up with Josh and his chase car on the streets of Lakeview and bartered away for the rights to a rooftop barbecue overlooking the city. The deal? Twenty-five packages of thick, delicious bacon for a steak barbecue and a floor to sleep on that evening. A real bargain as far as we’re concerned.

Keep tabs on Josh and his cured-meat-loving compadres as they travel across the country here.

Paraglider And Hang Glider Collide Midair In Italy

by Kent Wien on

It’s probably every paragliding pilot’s biggest nightmare – flying within a gaggle of other pilots in search of lift and, even though you’ve kept your head on a swivel carefully watching for traffic, you notice something out of the corner of your eye behind your risers. A hang glider is coming at you.

One pilot, flying in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy, had exactly this experience a few days ago and caught it on his camera.

Fortunately, even though the hang glider pilot’s parachute failed to open, the flat spin was enough to let him down slow enough that he was able to survive the impact with the trees.

With the advent of GoPro cameras, many hang glider and paraglider pilots record their moments in the air. That has led to an abundance of scary, ‘there I was – I nearly died’ YouTube videos involving the sports.

While paragliding in Utah last week, building up my experience for a future “Cockpit Chronicles” article on the sport, I was initially surprised at how stressful it was to fly in a confined area scratching for lift with 20 other pilots. Occasionally, I had to give up the search and try for another flight later in the day when the traffic died down.

Paragliding enjoys a remarkably good safety record (a point that’s subject to debate as you’ll see in the comments below), so hopefully these videos won’t discourage you from trying this purest form of flying.

Snowkiting Harmful To Reindeer, Scientists Say

by Sean McLachlan on


Snowkiting is becoming big in Norway. At first glance it looks like some extreme fun in harmony with nature. After all, you’re just zipping across the snow while being dragged by a kite. It looks environmentally friendly.

Not true, says a new scientific study. The BBC reports that Norwegian scientists have discovered the kites spook reindeer and may have a negative impact on their population.

The scientists studied the response of reindeer to skiers and snowkiters and found that the reindeer showed a much greater fright response to snowkiting. They theorize that it’s the swooping kite that scares the animals. Because the kite is visible from farther away than someone on skis, reindeer are running far away. This may limit their feeding and breeding grounds.

The study concludes that controls need to be put in place to ensure reindeer aren’t harmed by this new craze.