I am kind of stuck in the middle with the new clear pass @ flyfree.com. Before all that here is the deal on this thing. Basically if your a frequent air traveler you can sign up for this card which bypasses the security line at some airports in some terminals. To apply you have to fill out all this personal info and get your fingerprints and iris scanned. I know, total multi-pass shit right? So heres my dilemma. While on the one hand I would absolutely love to never wait on another security line again I also don't want to blow up. My friend Steve is in the music industry and on tour half the year so he is a Clear Card carrier. He loves it and says it saves him tons of time but more importantly aggravation. He has tons of bags and crates to clear so I can see him getting a bit more out of carrying one than say, a normal person lugging a Newsweek or a Gameboy but I imagine it holds true for anyone. It also bothers me anytime one organization gathers that much personal information on you. Not to mention anything electronic can be faked, something people seem to forget from time to time. Last thing that urks me about this card is not something I am surprised by but it urks me all the same. This card is yet another way to separate the haves from the have nots. Granted that is kind of the general theme of our country the last 25 years, but again it urks me. First class, priority seating, frequent flier upgrades, business lounges called "clubs" with free frumpy food and cable, I mean when is it going to end? You can sign up for $100 a year but only if you shell out the first 2 or 3 years at once. We will see, I figure if it goes down like EZ-Pass, that is to say not everyone gets one and you often fly through wondering why, then it could be cool I guess. If you don't mind mystery people knowing all your what nots.
If I were a small, USB powered voice activated..... thing I would certainly not be unlike Tengu from Mr. Jones. Once you wake it up (by blowing on it's face... no I am not kidding, check out the instructions below) it displays a variety of faces which are really eyes with different mouth styles. The eyes do occasionally move though, blinking and shifting directions. The led lights inside are muted and blurred slightly by the white plastic that Tengu is made of. It's an effect I like because it also blurs the line of what we find "cute". More of a muted light allows me to look it interacting with the music and not automatically think "LED light" but rather "cute little singing dude". I really like this little dude. Here is the designers website, if you ask me this is his coolest design yet.
