patrick.net

I guess they've forgotten about people training to be Piolots, and pressure cooker purchases will be the new "Anti Terrorist" tool flavor of the month. Until the next attack that has nothing to do with any of the combinations they are currently investigating.

If the recent whistle blowers have taught us anything, that is that our intelligence is really just throwing enough shit on the wall and hoping any at all sticks.

Because God forbid, they actually go door to door, of every Muslim in this country and do routine spot inspections.

But hey Google something and routine spot inspections are fine regardless of religion or lack there of.

Beware falling feces from the wall.

Not only is this a stupid way to look for terrorist as the next attack won't use pressure cookers, it's also a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Had this happened to me, I would have broken out the camera and started a live streaming session and recording of the interview. And I'd insist on getting an answer for every question I answered. Other than that, I'd be happy to answer their questions.

Note to self: Google "pressure cookers and backpacks" tonight.

What the heck?!

When did this nation go off the deepend?

"I know what you read last summer"

epitaph says

What happened was this: At about 9:00 am, my husband, who happened to be home yesterday, was sitting in the living room with our two dogs when he heard a couple of cars pull up outside. He looked out the window and saw three black SUVs in front of our house...

Six gentleman in casual clothes emerged from the vehicles ...

A million things went through my husband’s head. None of which were right. He walked outside and the men greeted him by flashing badges. He could see they all had guns holstered in their waistbands.

“Are you [name redacted]?” one asked while glancing at a clipboard. He affirmed that was indeed him, and was asked if they could come in. Sure, he said.

They asked if they could search the house, though it turned out to be just a cursory search. They walked around the living room, studied the books on the shelf (nope, no bomb making books, no Anarchist Cookbook), looked at all our pictures, glanced into our bedroom, pet our dogs. They asked if they could go in my son’s bedroom but when my husband said my son was sleeping in there, they let it be.

Meanwhile, they were peppering my husband with questions.
...
They searched the backyard. They walked around the garage... They went back in the house and asked more questions.

So the fucking guy basically gave up all his rights right then and there only because some "men in black" showed up at his front door.

My husband, ever the oppositional kind, asked them if they themselves weren’t curious as to how a pressure cooker bomb works, if they ever looked it up. Two of them admitted they did.

But he's "ever the oppositional kind". Suuure.

Before Boston a pressure cooker was a mainstay staple of your average poor family's diet. They buy cheap lean cuts of meat and the braise it using a pressure cooker.

Everything from

Beef Stew
Beef bourguignon
Stew Hen
Ropa Veija
Secco
Sudado

Pressure cooker feeds 5,000,000 people every night.
Pressure cooker used as a bomb one time.

Pressure cooker wins, why don't you go catch the criminals rather than harassing people with cooking utensils?

robertoaribas says

I use it for beans, since I don't eat meat. Beans are one of my staple protein sources, and they cook fast in a pressure cooker.

Save your excuses for waterboarding session in Gitmo.

My wife has been doing beans for so long in the pressure cooker, the other day she didn't feel like dealing with the heavy pressure cooker. She forgot to adjust for time, and needless to say, the beans weren't ready when everything else was.

robertoaribas says

pressure cookers are also vastly more energy efficient; everything cooks so much faster that you waste much less cooking energy.

Considering Boyle's Law, I wonder if someday it might be possible to cook using pressure alone, or maybe with solar heat or marinade. For example, if you want to go camping or live "off the grid", you might heat something with solar hot water, then increase the pressure with something like a bicycle pump. Heating and cooling use a lot of energy with current technology, but more efficient alternatives may become available. Humans can produce only modest heat (40C) directly, but we can exert considerable mechanical force.

We make beefstew with pressure cookers, it's a huge time saver, enough food for entire week usually.

epitaph says

Google 'Pressure Cookers' and 'Backpacks,' Get a Visit from the Cops

This report should refute the myth that "being boring" is a defense.

In this particular report, the official visitors behaved politely and reasonably, and had a legitimate purpose for their visit. I worry more about what happens when other agencies, e.g. the DEA, begin "sharing information" to "connect the dots." That agency has horrifying tactics.