How a forgotten iPod in an aeroplane toilet prompted a full-scale terror alert

[pne]

(Via Bruce Schneier's blog)

This is a surreal story about a guy who accidentally drops his iPod into an airplane toilet, prompting a full-scale terror alert.

(The URL may simply dump you unceremoniously on the front page of the forums rather than on the story in question. If so, click on "World of Warcraft", select an arbitrary forum and then an arbitrary thread. Once you've done so, visit the URL for the story again and you should be able to see it.)

Comments

visit to Germany / Europe

[pne.livejournal.com]

I'm confused about the dome thing, I saw it on a travel show in Australia. It was apparently this huge dome which had a beach, places for surfing, and rainforst in it. It looked amazing.

That doesn't ring any bell, though I don't doubt such a thing may exist. Do you remember whether it was in Hamburg or elsewhere in Germany?

These are a few of the places I really want to see, but just ones I've remembered off the top of my head

Wow, that's a fair list... how long were you planning on spending in Germany? Because while it's not the size of Australia, it's not tiny, either.... (TBH, your list reminds me a bit of the stereotypical American tourist who wants to "do Europe in a week" and flits from place to place without really being able to stay anywhere for more than a couple of hours.)

Have you ever been to any of these places?

No, I haven't. (I've been on a small part of the Oktoberfest site, but about three weeks "too early". That was about the closest I got to any of the places.)

Anything else you particularly recommend?

Berlin, perhaps? See government buildings and stroll down the "Ku'damm"?

And just outside the border, I enjoyed seeing the Rhine waterfall at Schaffhausen in Switzerland when we went there with Stella's dad.

You travel quite a bit, right? How many countries have you been to? What particularly stood out for you that you recommend?

Ah... that's a difficult question to answer. I've been to a fair number of countries, but most of them were for a school trip, visiting a penpal, or attending a conference, so I had a fairly narrow reason for being in that country and typically didn't see much of the place outside my primary purpose.

With that caveat, I've been to England, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, and Cyprus (and been through Belgium en route to other places).

But the only places I've been to in anything like a touristy sense are England, Switzerland, and Paris.

In England, I liked Stonehenge (back when I visited it as a child, I think one could even walk between the standing stones; I'm told there's a big fence around the entire monument so you can only look at the stones from afar, except for a few days each year), and visiting various castles, monasteries, and churches with my father (though I can't think of anything specific).

In Paris, about the only thing I saw was the Jardin des Tuileries, a big garden stretch leading up to the Louvre; but then, I only had half a day for myself (I was attending a conference starting that evening but had taken a sleeper train which had arrived in the morning).

In Switzerland, I liked taking funiculars to the tops of mountains and enjoying the view; particularly in the Appenzell area with the Alpstein, the beginnings of the "real" Alps, which is not far from where Stella's father lives and has several peaks accessible by funicular.

I also liked the Appenzell Heritage Museum with its showcasing of life in Appenzell a couple of hundred years ago -- and where you had to stoop to enter some rooms because Appenzellers tended to be fairly short and so some of the rooms in the restored house had pretty low ceilings and doorways!

And for geek value, I liked going to Liechtenstein, since it's such a small country -- I went there mostly to have been there (and to get a stamp in my passport, which they do for a small fee at the tourism bureau, since there aren't any border controls between Liechtenstein and Switzerland), rather than to see anything specific. And I would have liked to go on the "joke trail" in Appenzell, but didn't have the opportunity either time I've been to Switzerland (though the second time, I did visit both endpoints when I took a train trip around Eastern Switzerland (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pne/sets/72057594111255615/)).

In the end, though, I suppose it depends on what you like to see when you go abroad (museums, shopping, monuments, mountains, beaches, ....).

Re: visit to Germany / Europe

[sovereigna.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'm completely offended at the *American Tourist* comment! :P

I really don't expect to see everything in one trip. And I don't expect to go to Germany only once. I think I would be disappointed if I DID do everything in one trip, then there would be nothing to look forward to the next time, or the time after that. ;) That was just a list of things I want to see, and depending on what is around the area I visit at that time would be the starting points for that visit.

I really don't remember whether the dome was in Hamberg or not. For some reason I had it in my mind that it was, but I might be (and by your reaction- probably) wrong. But that's okay, Germany isn't going anywhere ;).

You do have quite a list yourself there, and some good ideas. I know I need to break my *country* lists down better into *trips* and probably working from there would be an idea- sooner rather than later. The only problem is, the more you look into a country, the more things you want to see, then the longer the trip becomes/ the more trips become required to see everything! lol

I'd probably come out of the Ammenzell Museum with a huge migraine though! I'm always banging my head on low ceilings and doorways in those sorts of places!

I still haven't quite decided what my *thing* is while travelling.
Beaches don't quite do it for me, but they really should be seen to compare.
Shopping: depends- I'm not a huge shopper.
Monuments: again it depends. Some I'll be unimpressed with, but some completely blow me away. (Probably depends on the style- The Cologne Cathedral will definitely blow me away!)
Museums: it depends what type and whether or not some of my favourite artists have work showing and mountains- STUNNING! :D

I love old-fashioned architecture, ancient history, castles and well old stuff! I'm not so much into the modern history and I'll skip anything war related unless in the war people fought with swords instead of guns.

And something like that train trip around switzerland would be a must-do at some stage. Li'l Sis & BIL did one when they went over there and loved it! :D

How long were you planning on spending in Germany? Because while it's not the size of Australia, it's not tiny, either..

You kidding? It's like half the size of New South Wales! That to me is TINY! LOL! :P

Wadden Sea

[pne.livejournal.com]

Another thing that came to mind -- perhaps you could visit the Wadden Sea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadden_Sea) and walk across the sea on dry land: be a latter-day Moses!

One of the characteristics of the Wadden Sea is its extensive mud flats, which are exposed at low tide; in some cases, these let you walk from one island to another or from the mainland to an island. The two routes I'm aware of are from Amrum to Föhr and from the mainland (near Cuxhaven) to Neuwerk (an island which, strangely enough, belongs to Hamburg, even though it lies quite a distance away from it). The second route also has horse-drawn carts and ships so you can go there on foot and return in a cart, or go there by cart and take the ferry back, etc. (Depending on the timing.)

I've only taken the Amrum-Föhr route (well, at least two routes, since the routes occasionally change due to the fact that the Priele -- water-bearing "rivers" which exist even at low tide and can be unpredictably deep and swift -- occasionally shift their position and so the safe route has to change). So far, I've only gone in groups, with a guide, though I believe that you can also do it on your own since there are sticks at regular intervals marking the route, as long as you pick your departure time appropriately.

[musicus.livejournal.com]

Well, I would suggest the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal : )