Thank God It's Friday!

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Another great Friday… well I guess I wouldn’t jump right to “good” but I’m still alive so I guess it’s pretty good.

So, it’s been 8 days since I stopped smoking, I am so ornery and snapping at everybody, if you are one of the casualties from today, I’m really sorry but, I guess that’s one of the side effects, so I’m good.  Who knew that to quit smoking would be so hard?  I really liked smoking but thought it was time to get in shape, I’m not getting any younger.

Took me 45 minutes to get home tonight and didn’t have anybody flick me off or rear-end me, score another point.  And lastly, I didn’t pick up any hitchhikers with hatchets, actually I didn’t pick up any hitchhikers at all, do people even hitchhike anymore?

Now I’m going through my emails and my finger is getting sore from deleting the numerous Best Buy and LifeLock Theft Protection emails, I must have clicked on the wrong site because now I’m getting tons of this shit.  I click the opt-out link and it seems like, I get even more, it’s like somebody at these companies are really trying to mess with me.  Again, both good companies and I do business with both, so not slamming them.

I had my fun today, I plugged into @woodbridgeitalians with Zio Flippo’s live feed on Instagram, just a great way to break up the day and read all the great comments in real time.  Zio attracts a fun audience… it felt like a bonding session with a bunch of complete strangers, but they’re part of the family now, lol.  if you get a chance, visit them on Instagram.

OMG!  A whole group of weirdo cult worshiper type people just invaded Starbucks… they’re all hugging on each other like they just won the showcase on the "Price is Right" or something… I’m out of here… Have a great night everybody, I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’s my wife’s birthday.

Frankie

Mother films Pat-down at DFW

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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Bob Burns
TSA Social Media 

TSA Mythbuster: The Rest of the DFW Pat-down Story

 

***Update*** When a pat-down is required, TSA can offer reasonable accommodations for individuals with sensory processing disorders or other conditions that sometimes result in pain when touched. However, those individuals still need to undergo a pat-down to maintain security. ***Update***

As you may have heard, on Sunday at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), a 13-year-old passenger underwent enhanced security screening, which included a pat-down, after his laptop alarmed an explosives trace detection machine. In total, the pat-down took approximately two minutes, and was observed by the mother and two police officers who were called to ease concerns of the mother. The passengers were at the checkpoint for approximately 45 minutes, which included the time it took to discuss screening procedures with the mother and to screen three carry-on items that required further inspection.

The mother filmed the pat-down and posted it to Facebook. It has since gone viral.

So is this standard procedure? TSA screening procedures allow for the pat-down of children under certain circumstances. In this instance, a laptop alarmed the explosives trace detection machine, which requires additional screening to resolve the alarm. 

We get it. Nobody likes to be patted down. And nobody likes to see their loved ones patted down, especially children. TSA screens thousands of families every day, and our officers are trained to communicate with parents, explain screening procedures before they begin, and find the best way to get everyone to their plane safely and efficiently. Many of our officers are parents too.  

All of our procedures are based on current intelligence and our adversaries are always looking for ways to inflict harm, including recruiting young children to carry out attacks. Bottom-line is that passengers, including children, and their property are screened prior to boarding a plane and any security alarms must be resolved.

So why does TSA conduct pat-downs? Pat-down procedures are used to determine whether prohibited and dangerous items are concealed. You may be required to undergo a pat-down procedure if the screening technology alarms, as part of random or unpredictable security measures, for enhanced screening, or as an alternative to other types of screening, such as advanced imaging technology screening. Even passengers who normally receive expedited screening, such as TSA Pre✓® passengers, may at times receive pat-down screening.

What should you know about pat-down screening?

• Our officers will explain the procedures to you as they conduct the pat-down.
• We use modified screening procedures for children 12 and under that reduce the likelihood of pat-down screening.
• A pat-down may include inspection of the head, neck, arms, hand, back, torso, legs, and feet. This includes head coverings and sensitive areas such as breasts, groin, and the buttocks. You may be required to adjust clothing during the pat-down.
• Pat-downs require sufficient pressure to ensure detection.
• Our officers use the back of the hands for pat-downs over sensitive areas of the body. In limited cases, additional screening involving a sensitive area pat-down with the front of the hand may be needed to determine that a threat does not exist.  
• You should advise the officer if you have difficulty raising your arms or remaining in the position required; an external medical device; or areas of the body that are painful when touched.
• You may request a chair to sit if needed.
• You will receive a pat-down by an officer of the same gender.
• At any time during the process, you may request private screening accompanied by a companion of your choice.  

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Frankie's take - We live in a world of uncertainty, and hate.  We cannot afford to have another 9-11 if you don't like the security process, DON'T FLY!  Plain and simple.  To fly is not a right, it's a privilege. 

Italian millennials 'won't reach financial independence until age 50'

From https://www.thelocal.it/

I found this to be a very interesting piece... while there are more opportunities to gain wealth at an early age in America, they are few and far between.  This is the new reality. ~ Frankie

 

The time it takes for young Italians to reach financial independence is steadily increasing, with today's children unlikely to be economically secure before their 50's, a study has warned. 

 

By 2020, the average 20-year-old Italian will have 18 years to wait before living independently, researchers estimated. The milestone of 'independent living' was measured by a number of factors, including having a home, steady income, and the ability to support a family.

The figures come from a report by the Bruno Visentini Foundation, 'Generation gap, from conflicts to solidarity', presented at Luiss University on Wednesday morning.

Researchers said that Italians who had turned 20 in 2004 could expect to be living independently within ten years. However, that figure has increased steadily and is set to reach 28 years by 2030.

In other words, today's children can only expect to have 'grown up' once they're nearing their 50's. According to the foundation's research, the generation gap in Italy is the second-worst in Europe, beaten only by Greece.

Get the full story at https://www.thelocal.it/20170322/italian-millennials-will-only-reach-financial-independence-at-age-50-study-warns

Mean Monday Morning Drivers

 

We'll just call her Bertha...

Here we go again… the start of another week.  Today, Monday, March 27, 2017, I’ve decided that I wasn’t going to pay attention to all the jerks driving on the road.  It seems like it all starts on a Monday with being the worst day for the crappiest drivers on the road at 6 am.

From my house, I headed eastbound on I-94 towards my office which is approximately 40 minutes away.  I entered the freeway and my first encounter was the right lane of vehicles who felt they didn’t need to let traffic entering the freeway onto the freeway.  What!  Am I missing something?  Do they have a choice? do they own the freeway? I’m not allowed to use it?  What the heck gives?  So many questions going through my head at this time.

So, once I finally got on the freeway, only after getting flicked off by some stupid bitch (I’ll call her Bertha) who looks like she’s working on the set of The Walking Dead, I mean butt ugly and I think she knows it. I mouthed the words “I Love You” – that seemed to tame things down a bit… I’m not certain she can read lips, but I have to say that this really worked… score!

Once I passed ugly, I veered over to the left lane, you know the fast lane, that’s the one I’m talking about.  Good… guess what?  What looked like Bertha’s mother was in front of me going like 40 mph.  I moved closer but told myself that I wasn’t going to pull any of that road rage stuff, don’t need that headache on a Monday, it’s just not a great way to start out the week.  I tried to move to the middle lane so that I could go around her but had no success. Traffic was 100% clear in front of her car… “God can you just help me out, just this once” – meaning that I was wasting a prayer on this person.  So, get this, it’s a miracle! I was able to move into the middle lane and now my car is parallel with Miss Left Lane Hog… she looks over to me and speeds up!  Unreal, she wouldn’t let me in, she just emitted a mean ugly look, a look so bad that I imagined how bad her breath must have smelled.  Really, I promise you, I don’t like to be a hateful person, but I really hate this lady and was hoping she would be late for work and get fired or something like that… wouldn’t that teach her a lesson?

OK now all and good, traffic is moving just fine, I got off the freeway at my exit and hit every single red light possible, but no worries all is good.  The rest of the week has to be better, what are the chances that I will run across these two idiots again?

Hope each of you had a great start to your week… life is short, take deep breaths and just tell yourself that it just doesn’t matter.  Don’t sweat the things you can’t control, and it will only get that much better if Left Lane Hog got fired, traffic will move much better that’s for sure.

Have a great week!

Frankie

OMG! That's Huge!

Just had to post... Just Because! 

Lets Have Fun!!!

Have something you'd like to share?  If you answered yes, then this blog is for you.

We are looking for stories on Italian/Sicilian heritage, stereotype Italian family stories, news, holiday stories, recipes and information about your local Italian festivals... use your imagination and submit your information today by emailing: fpipia@pipia.com

I will contact you if or when I plan to publish your story/information.  This is what you need to do...

1. Email information about your topic and we will write your story;
2. or Submit a draft of your article and we may need to make edits;
3. Include your email address and up to 3 photos;
4. Press send and you're done!

Please allow 24-48 hours for me to get back to you from the time I receive your information.

Lets have fun!

Frankie

I'm Just Getting Started!!!

So here I am, sitting at a Starbucks in suburban Milwaukee, writing my first piece for “The Loud Mouth Italian” blog.  I always told myself that I never ever was going to slide to the blog side, I simply am too busy… why would I want to dedicate, or should I say commit to taking on more work?  But when I thought about it, I thought it would be great therapy for me, lol.  At the same time, I am afforded an opportunity to share great stories, information, and interact with a great audience.  If you’re reading this right now, you are my audience… I’m hoping that this grows over time and everybody weighs in with topics and contribute content from time-to-time.

A little bit about me, not too much because I don’t want to bore you and I was told when blogging you should leave a little suspense so readers come back… really?  My whole life is an open book it could be a sitcom!  I would describe it as a stereotypical Italian comedy.

I’m an Italian-Sicilian-American husband and father of a 22-year-old and a 14 year, both girls.  My wife’s a girl, both dogs are girls and my daughters are girls… tough to figure that one out but my point is, I live with all girls, high-strung Italian-Sicilian-Irish-American GIRLS!!!  Tell me I don’t need to write a blog; you can’t make up half of the stuff I’m going to be covering in my future postings.  I’m not going to use my family as the grunt of my jokes, or use them as a crutch when I need fill-in material for my blog, but I do need to share some of the drama, after all, this is what makes our heritage so unique and fun to talk about.

In my professional life, I am a graphic designer and marketing guy, I also worked in law enforcement… yikes!  I'm not a snitch or a guy who rats out the family… well, again this is a stereotype we live with because of our heritage, but it comes in handy every now and then, lol.

I’m also told when posting articles to keep them short, or I’ll lose my readers and audience participation… I guess that I will take this advice and end my first blurb for my new blog.

Welcome everybody, lets, make this fun and have a good time with this!  Please like my Facebook page "Italian Rose" a page that has just what you need to make you smile. https://www.facebook.com/Italian-Rose-125356274199569/

Talk soon!

Frankie