Monday's news contained a few interesting stories:
Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a "terrorist act," an Atlanta police official said.
... and then later:
Tech officials played down any terrorism connection. "Although the Atlanta Police Department has said they will investigate the bombing as if it were a terrorist act, that does not mean that it was in fact a terrorist act," said Tech Assistant Vice President Amelia Gambino.
Then there was this item, also from Georgia:
A stolen airplane mysteriously showed up at Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville this past weekend, but no one knows where it came from or how it got there.
Investigators know someone piloted the plane, owned by St. Augustine, Fla.-based Pinnacle Aviation from there to Gwinnett County, but they say they have no idea as to who.
... which turned out to be a prank by a young man who apparently has no intentions of ever being able to fly again:
Police said circumstances of the theft are unclear, but nothing threatening was found on the plane. Police spokesman Darren Moloney said the incident "appears to be a joyride."
Daniel Andrew Wolcott, of Buford, Ga., was charged with felony theft by receiving and misdemeanor reckless conduct. Police said additional federal charges were expected.
Investigators said they made the arrest after interviewing five people who said they were on the 10-passenger, $7 million Cessna Citation VII when Wolcott flew it from St. Augustine, Fla., to Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field near Atlanta Saturday night.
The Georgia Tech incident also turned out to be a student prank. It's something I've done on more than one occasion -- fill a plastic two liter soda bottle with liquid nitrogen, or dry ice and water, or vinegar and baking soda, or dilute hydrochloric acid and aluminum foil and then screw the cap on tightly. The gas released from any of these chemical reactions will swell the bottle and then burst it with the force of a small explosion. It's definitely not safe, and unfortunately we live in the post 9/11 world, and making any kind of "bomb" is just a bad idea. Period.
There was also a lot of noise made over last weekend's terror alerts in New York City, which have now been revealed to be a hoax. But I have no animus toward NYC officials for treating reports of possible terrorist activity seriously. Reading the news from last Friday, it seems like it was a busy day for bomb threats. After a bomb explodes, it's too late to wonder what you could have done to stop it.
And we are in the midst of Ramadan. We shouldn't forget that.
Bottom line -- if this happens to your city ...
... then you can never over-react.
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