Oh, do you remember how last year I did a tongue-in-cheek blog post about how the TSA wants to search you and your car before you go to work in the morning?

You don’t?

Okay, here is the link for you:
“Government Announces New TSA-on-Call Service”

Well, that day may not be as far off as you might think (or hope).

Seriously.

Check out this article:
“Surprise! TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane”

The way things are going, one day public nudity may be a legal requirement rather than a misdemeanor. It’ll prevent your body from being bombarded by x-rays everywhere while making sure you’re unarmed.

Starting December 1, 2010 in large metropolitan areas and expanding nationwide as early as January 1, 2011, the federal government has announced a new TSA-on-Call service to improve the safety and security of the nation’s roads.

Expect new delays in your morning rush to work as the government expands TSA screenings to virtually all Americans.

If you drive yourself to work in the morning, or take the kids to school, or if you operate any type of motor vehicle, you will be subject to new TSA screenings.

The government wants to make sure that no one is driving bombs on the nation’s roads. So, all drivers will be screened prior to heading out anywhere.

The TSA recommends calling their new service at least two hours prior to your departure time in the morning. In busy metropolitan areas, calling three to four hours before you expect to leave your house or apartment is recommended.

A TSA agent will drive to your house in a mobile screening van. You will be expected to step into a full body scanner or to undress and be patted down. The pat down will include checking all bodily orifices to ensure no bombs or bomb materials have been hidden.

Drivers should also be prepared to remove wigs, toupees, false teeth, prosthetics, jewelry, glasses, hearing aids, glass eyes, band-aids and related items so that agents can perform a complete check.

Drivers will also be prohibited from carrying any type of liquids in their cars. Drive-thrus will no longer be able to offer coffee, juices or soft drinks due to these new regulations. You will have to eat inside if you want a beverage.

Automobiles will also be checked for prohibited items, such as nail files, knives, and other sharp-pointed items. Any utensils carried in your lunch must be disposable, recyclable plastic.

Select drivers will also be selected for more intense screenings. Drivers will be questioned about their routes and GPS units may be placed in their cars to confirm that they follow those routes. They may also be subject to a dental screening and a colonoscopy to check for deeply concealed dangerous substances. They will also be required to detail any tattoos or birthmarks they have, and provide a detailed explanation for each. In the case of birthmarks, they will need to provide a notarized statement from their doctor and two witnesses that those birthmarks have been present on their body for at least 48 months. Failure to have said documentation on hand at the time of the screening can result in a $1,500 fine for non-compliance. Drivers will also be required to hand over their Amazon.com password so that agents can review the types of books they have purchased.

There will be no opt-out procedure. Additionally, passengers in cars may be subject to screenings as well if, in the opinion of the TSA agent at the scene, they are deceptive, suspicious or “hot.”

Government representatives say that these changes are necessary to ensure the safety of the traveling public and that people just need to get used to these new changes. Complaints must be registered, in person, at a special office set up in Guantanamo Bay. Complainants are encouraged to only purchase one-way tickets in order to save money… and to be prepared for screenings at the airport or dock.

/satire(?)

You know what I thought would be cool? It’s been almost 3 years since I did the “Drunken Virals” post.

So, what if I updated it but removed the lines containing blogs that were no longer around?

Let’s see what we get…

What shall we do with a drunken viral?
What shall we do with the drunken viral?
What shall we do with this drunken viral, earlye in the morning?

What shall we do with a drunken viral?
What shall we do with the drunken viral?
What shall we do with this drunken viral, earlye in the morning?

Not a whole lot of deletions, considering it’s been almost three years. Of course, I only removed the ones that are gone gone and not the ones that haven’t been updated in months or years.

What is Stone Saturday?

Well, it’s a day when you roll with the stones and rock on!

Rules are simple. Just post a picture of stones, rocks, whatever. Has to be on a Saturday, thus “Stone Saturday.” Then, tag some of your blogging friends!

I tag:

Deborah
Michelle (let’s see some vintage stones)
Pete
Speedcat
Zelda a.k.a. JD (she’ll take pictures of stones so you won’t have to, unless you’ve been tagged too)

I’m pulling double-duty in this post, because, not only is this retro material, but also this is Weird Thing About Me #4. (Which, oddly, relates to Weird Things About Me #3, an old tag from Nina a.k.a. SF Girl).

Many moons ago, back in the tenth grade, for one semester, I wore something orange every day. Seriously. I had an orange jacket, orange shirts and orange socks. I had an orange Coca-Cola shirt I liked too. So, my mom bought me this orange material so I could sew myself something out of it.

I never did come up with an idea for what to make out of it. I still have it.

I still have my jean jacket (with leather collar) too, which is like the coolest thing evah, but I digress…

Deborah of Debo Hobo dot Com has lost her muse.

Missing since December 12th. Possibly earlier.

If you can help, please pay her a visit and let her know where you found her muse.

No reward offered, apparently. Sorry.

Last week, I began my “Drawing on Thankfulness” drawing which ended Sunday night. The final prize ended up being $29.99.

This post is the drawing post.

First, let’s again give some link-luv to the players:

• Awake in Rochester (6 entries)
• Deborah (8 entries)
• Jesse Luna (3 entries)
• Miragi (25 entries)
• Renée aka Mekhismom (17 entries)
• Teeni (30 entries)

That’s 89 entries all together. So, I am going to do this by a reverse drawing. The last name drawn will be the winner. I have written all the entries on little pieces of paper and put them in my hat and shaken it up. Let’s go…

89. Renée; 88. Miragi; 87. Awake in Rochester; 86. Renée; 85. Renée; 84. Teeni; 83. Miragi; 82. Teeni; 81. Teeni; 80. Awake in Rochester

79. Teeni; 78. Renée; 77. Renée; 76. Miragi; 75. Miragi; 74. Miragi; 73. Renée; 72. Teeni; 71. Renée; 70. Miragi

69. Miragi; 68. Deborah; 67. Miragi; 66. Jesse Luna; 65. Teeni; 64. Miragi; 63. Miragi; 62. Teeni; 61. Miragi; 60. Deborah

59. Miragi; 58. Teeni; 57. Deborah; 56. Miragi; 55. Renée; 54. Teeni; 53. Teeni; 52. Jesse Luna; 51. Renée; 50. Renée

49. Teeni; 48. Awake in Rochester; 47. Miragi; 46. Renée; 45. Jesse Luna; 44. Miragi; 43. Awake in Rochester; 42. Teeni; 41. Teeni; 40. Teeni

39. Teeni; 38. Teeni; 37. Miragi; 36. Teeni; 35. Renée; 34. Teeni; 33. Teeni; 32. Renée; 31. Deborah; 30. Teeni

29. Teeni; 28. Deborah; 27. Awake in Rochester; 26. Deborah; 25. Teeni; 24. Miragi; 23. Miragi; 22. Miragi; 21. Miragi; 20. Renée

19. Miragi; 18. Teeni; 17. Teeni; 16. Deborah; 15. Miragi; 14. Teeni; 13. Miragi; 12. Deborah; 11. Teeni; 10. Renée

9. Teeni; 8. Teeni; 7. Awake in Rochester; 6. Miragi; 5. Teeni; 4. Renée; 3. Teeni; 2. Renée

And the winner is…

…drumroll please…

The winner is…

Miragi!

Congratulations, Miragi. Please let me know your PayPal address (or confirm if it is the address you use when posting comments here) so I can get your prize sent to you.

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Last week, I began my “Drawing on Thankfulness” drawing which ended Sunday night. The final prize ended up being $29.99.

The drawing sent players on a scavenger hunt throughout the blogosphere. The idea was inspired by blog scavenger hunt that Erina used to do many moons ago.

First, let’s give some link-luv to the players:

• Awake in Rochester
• Deborah
• Jesse Luna
• Miragi
• Renée aka Mekhismom
• Teeni

First Round of Questions

1. What did Pete crop out of his wild blue yonder image?
   Pete cropped out the parking lot. I also accepted “everything but the sky and moon.” Teeni, Miragi, Jesse Luna and Renée answered this one correctly.
2. What does Robert Hruzek hate that he first got in 2001?
   Robert hated his cell phone. Teeni, Miragi and Renée answered this one correctly.
3. What are Michael Kwan’s two newspapers of choice? (You correctly identify both.)
   Michael reads Metro and 24 Hours. Teeni and Miragi answered this one correctly. (Remember, you had to identify both, not just one. Sorry!)
4. What 11th century Indian yogi did Sasha Kane write about?
   Sasha wrote about Naropa. Teeni, Miragi, Jesse Luna and Renée answered this one correctly.
5. What type of societies did Miragi begin reading about earlier this month?
   Miragi started reading about secret societies. Teeni, Miragi, Jesse Luna and Renée answered this one correctly.

At the end of the first batch, Teeni has 10 entries (5 correct + bonus 5), Miragi has 10 entries (5 correct + 5 bonus), Jesse Luna has 3 entries and Renée has 4 entries.

Second Round of Questions

1. You can get a shoutout from Ed Lau if you send a donation where?
   Ed wanted you to donate to the Union Gospel Mission (UGM). Teeni, Miragi and Renée answered this one correctly.
2. What is Deborah’s brother’s name?
   Deborah’s brother’s name is Dan (or Daniel). Deborah, Teeni, Miragi, AiR and Renée answered this one correctly.
3. What kind of vegetable did Jaffer immortalize in verse?
   Jaffer immortalized sugar snap peas. Deborah, Teeni, Miragi, AiR and Renée answered this one correctly.
4. What is the item on StampAndInk.com that comes from the “North Pole”?
   The North Pole Wooden Nickel. Deborah, Teeni, Miragi, AiR and Renée answered this one correctly.
5. According to Beyond the Rhetoric, your exercise routine at the gym can be called this but not this. (Identify both words, in order.)
   Your exercise routine is a regimen, not a regime. Teeni and Miragi answered this one correctly.

From the second batch, Teeni has 10 entries (5 correct + bonus 5), Miragi has 10 entries (5 correct + 5 bonus), Renee has 4 entries, Deborah has 3 entries and AiR has 3 entries.

Third Round of Questions

1. Where did Teeni guest post last week?
   Teeni posted at Writer Chick Annie’s Place. AiR, Teeni and Renée answered this one correctly.
2. Nina talked about what fictional scientist and inventor using equipment held together with duct tape?
   Nina talked about Kirill. Teeni and Renée answered this one correctly.
3. Who was the blonde in Speedcat’s mystery photo?
   The blonde was Marilyn Monroe. (This was the hardest question–the answer is buried deep in the comments!) Teeni and AiR answered this one correctly.
4. What is the name of Erina’s new blog?
   Erina’s new blog is Discarded Matches. I also accepted Gas Oven Photography. Teeni and Renée answered this one correctly.
5. In what city did Mr. Baconpants recently try three different beers?
   Mr. Baconpants tried three different beers in Seattle. Teeni, AiR and Renée answered this one correctly.

From the third batch, Teeni has 10 entries (5 correct + bonus 5), Renée has 4 entries and AiR has 3 entries.

Miragi, Deborah and Renée stumbled the post for an additional 5 entries each. No one blogged about it, so no entries there. So, we have for total entries, the following:

• Teeni: 30 entries
• Miragi: 25 entries
• Renée: 17 entries
• Deborah: 8 entries
• AiR: 6 entries
• Jesse Luna: 3 entries

I’m not going to have the drawing just yet. I will leave this open for 24 hours to give everyone the opportunity to check my math or contest any answers.

The other day, I announced my “Drawing on Thankfulness” drawing. As of right now, the potential prize is $29.16.

Onward to today’s questions. Remember, as detailed in the original post, each correct answer in today’s batch gets you one (1) entry in the drawing. If you get all the answers correct, you get an extra five (5) entries.

1. Where did Teeni guest post last week?
2. Nina talked about what fictional scientist and inventor using equipment held together with duct tape?
3. Who was the blonde in Speedcat’s mystery photo?
4. What is the name of Erina’s new blog?
5. In what city did Mr. Baconpants recently try three different beers?

Don’t forget to eMail me your answers! Please send your answers to askdcr@dcrblogs.com.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION: You can answer questions from any or all of the days. So, if you miss a day, you can still answer the questions and get your entries. Sorry if that wasn’t clear!

Yesterday, I announced my little “Drawing on Thankfulness” drawing. Right now, based on my current number of Twitter followers, that potential prize is now up to $28.38.

I’ve only had a smattering of entries so far from yesterday, so I’m assuming most of my readers are out shopping and not blog scavenging. But, the contest continues on… Before I get to today’s questions, here are two more opportunities for you to score some additional entries.

1. Blog about this drawing in your own blog. Please link to yesterday’s post, “Drawing on Thankfulness,” and leave a comment on this post (the one you are currently reading) with your link so I can be sure to give you proper credit for your link. This will get you 5 (five) entries in the drawing.
2. Stumble yesterday’s post, “Drawing on Thankfulness.” Then leave a comment on this post (the one you are currently reading) to let me know so that I don’t miss you. This will get you 5 (five) entries in the drawing.

And, yes, you can do both of those and get yourself 10 (ten) entries.

And to answer a question that has come up, yes, you are allowed to enter even if your blog is one of those that get used for a question. Just be sure to answer the question correctly. So, onward to today’s questions. Remember, as detailed in yesterday’s post, each correct answer in today’s batch gets you one (1) entry in the drawing. If you get all the answers correct, you get an extra five (5) entries.

1. You can get a shoutout from Ed Lau if you send a donation where?
2. What is Deborah’s brother’s name?
3. What kind of vegetable did Jaffer immortalize in verse?
4. What is the item on StampAndInk.com that comes from the “North Pole”?
5. According to Beyond the Rhetoric, your exercise routine at the gym can be called this but not this. (Identify both words, in order.)

Don’t forget to eMail me your answers! Please send your answers to askdcr@dcrblogs.com.