I violated airport security taking (or trying to take) pictures this weekend. Sunday afternoon a friend of mine brought me out to a spot where he sits and watches planes break the “ceiling” (he’s a pilot so he’s allowed to use pilot-speak) and coast in. I had just enough time to snap a few test frames before FAA security personnel showed up and asked us to leave.

To my surprise what I was doing was a national security risk. If I’m intent on getting the pictures I want, I’ll need to get a little more James Bond.

I’m thinking of starting an operation to get the pictures I want. Operation DumbButt. The crux of this operation involves me driving around Hobby airport in a suspicious manner waiting for an opportunity to jump out and take a couple of pictures. It took a good ten minutes for a response from FAA security so I figure I have a window of ten minutes to get the picture and get out. That’s Operation DumbButt objective 1, get the picture. Objective 2 involves me staying out of jail.

Objective 2 is the most important part of the operation. The FAA sec guy pointed out several cameras in the vicinity of our watch area. There’s a good chance that after a successful completion of Objective 1 I run the risk of having Objective 2 fall apart while FBI, CIA, and NSA park black helicopters over my apartment and drag me to seedy warehouses filled with all manner of equipment that probes you in all the wrong ways (unless you happen to be into that kind of thing).

Once I’ve determined how to complete Objective 2, once I’m certain I haven’t been spotted, tagged, or contained for committing an act that violates National Security, I’ll move onto Objective 3, posting the pictures on the internet =)…