National Opt Out Day

Wow, how'd they get my picture on http://www.optoutday.com/? Actually the phot is of a person with more hair ... on the head that is.

Travelling by air on Wednesday 24 Nov 2010? In the United States?

Good luck. Better be prepare to wait. Get to the airport 4 hours before domestic flights and the day before if you are visiting family and friends overseas.

The details from the website:

"National Opt-Out Day. You have the right to opt-out of the naked body scanner machines (AIT, or Advance Imaging Technology, as the government calls it). All you have to do is say "I opt out" when they tell you to go through one of the machines. You will then be given an "enhanced" pat down. This is a right given to you by the TSA. There is no intent or desire to delay passengers en route to friends and family over Thanksgiving. People also need to remember to stay within the confines of the law and the regulations of TSA when exercising their right to a pat down. Passengers, please note there has been at least one report of long delay for people who take the TSA up on their offer to opt out of the naked body scanners, so please keep that in mind when planning your airport arrival time."

Protesting this Holiday Season

Protesters across the country have a united concern. No it is not the Tea Baggers complaining about taxes. Nope, not the Pot advocates hoping for legalization of the green stuff.

It is the tourists travelling this week who don't want the TSA to mess with their "junk".

Has our craze with safety in the air gone too far?

See the story at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqM56e-kRA

Tourism Geographies

Have you checked out the latest edition of Tourism Geographies? The abstracts are found at this link : http://www.geog.nau.edu/tg/contents/index.html

Although, it would be nice to see the authors with the titles, I understand the amount of effort it takes to edit a Journal.

It is always nice to review the articles online since it saves me a trip to the building with lots of books .... called a library.

Saving a Tree: DHS I-92 is Now 'Paperless'

There are 950,000 flights coming to the States every year and this I-92 form has to be filled out for each one. Not too exciting, just the courier type. number of passengers and so on. Now, if they could create an online form for the I-94!

Old and New(er) Vienna

I am fascinated by old stuff. I haven't been to the Pyramids of Egypt but have seen the Mayan Ruins in Belize, the Nuraghe Monuments in Sardinia and these Roman ruins in Vienna.

I think our town, Westfield, Massachusetts is old since it was incorporated in 1669, but that pales in comparison to these really old sites.

Take the time to learn the history of the places you visit. It will make the experience that much more interesting.

Meghann Ormond's work on Medical Tourism

Got an email today from Meghann Ormond who shared a bibliography on the subject. Seems her research is on Medical Tourism:

Abstract:

This thesis examines the shifting relationship between the state and its subjects with regard to responsibility for and entitlement to care. Using Malaysia as a case study the research engages with international medical travel (IMT) as an outcome of the neoliberal retrenchment of the welfare state. I offer a critical reading of postcolonial development strategies that negotiate the benefits and challenges of extending care to non-national subjects. Read More

Professor Ormond is also presenting at the AAG in Seattle next Spring.

Climographs and Recreation Geography

We're doing climatology in physical geography this week. I thought I'd share this great resource from the National Geographic Society on climographs, the method of graphically displaying climate data.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/15/g912/pgafrica4.html

I will always remember my climatology class at Towson State University where we were given the data (temperature and precipitation) and we had to tell where in the world the data represented.

Boy, it was a tough class.