Young Man, Now Give Me That Knife

I've been dreaming about opening up an e-commerce store. Problem is, I don't feel like putting up all that money to buy stuff. What if I sucked at retail and was stuck with a bunch of crap I'd have to mark down eventually? Not that I wouldn't want to make money, but isn't there a legal way I can sell good stuff without having to buy anything? After all, the government is doing it.

Case in point: If you were stupid enough to go through airport security since 9/11 with contraband in your coat pocket, you remember forfitting that knife your late Dad once gave you. The airport dudes took it away when you absent-mindedly entered the checkpoint without reviewing your carry-ons beforehand. No, the officials didn't care a rats bum about your sob story, dumbass. You blew it and you haven't seen the knife since.

Are you totally out of luck? Maybe. Maybe not. If you're quick and you search long and hard, you might spot it on eBay.

Everybody loves an auction, especially the NTSA. The nice thing about seeing the government tap into the benefits of e-commerce? It didn't spend taxpayers' collective monies to launch its impromptu hardware store. Nice, lucrative e-retail business, eh, guys? Damn! Wish I'd thought of it first. (eBay/NTSA link via Boing Boing, via Aaron Engelhart)

The good news? Now there's more money for the war on terrorism, courtesy of airline travellers who apparently live with their heads in the sand.
By the way, it could have been worse. You could have lost some prohibited personal hygiene items on your trip, like nail clippers. In that case, if you were planning to be nice and fresh for that job interview in the morning, good luck with that.


[ technorati: airport security, auctions, government ]