Comments on: Security, My Great-Aunt Martha.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:32:43 +0000

That must be so agravating! I wonder what those rules were for…

By: pcwrede

pcwrede — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:10:23 +0000

KBell – No, he didn’t blow it up, he just tried. And most of the security requirements strike me as “security theater” – stuff that doesn’t actually help, but just makes it look as if someone is trying to do something. What they succeed in doing is just annoying people, I think.

LRK – Yeah, it included books, laptops, even blankets. Then, a few days later, they backed off on the “nothing in your lap” and “no movement around the plane in the last hour” requirements and are now looking at beefing up pre-boarding searches. Bruce Schneier, the security guru, calls it “security theater,” and boy, do I agree.

By: KBell

KBell — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:34:41 +0000

(Someone blew up a plane?!
Wow, I’m surprised I didn’t know about that, but then again I never watch the news)
Honestly, I don’t like flying. I try not to think about all the things that could go wrong, but it’s hard not to.
Airport security bugs me, and the thing about not having something in your lap doesn’t make any sense to me.
But hey, what do I know?

P.S. Happy New Years to everyone

By: LRK

LRK — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:27:54 +0000

I saw a (Swedish) documentary/ivestigative piece awhile ago (the way time flies it could well be a few years ago by now) and seemíngly most airlines allow people to carry bottles of alcohol bought in the tax free shops onto the plane – when it’s a matter of profit, safety can be compromised, apparently. (Not much has changed since the Titanic, has it?) Now, one can do a lot more damage with a bottle of alcohol – the flammable alcohol, and the bottle itself – than one can do with – say – a tube of toothpaste…

Nothing in one’s lap? Does this inlude books?

By: cgbookcat1

cgbookcat1 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:30:35 +0000

Security guards don’t stop you from taking an empty water bottle through. If you are ok with the airport water, you can simply fill it up on the other side.

I agree that the new restrictions are ridiculous!

By: aryllian

aryllian — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:26:46 +0000

re: water on airplanes, just passing on a tip my dad gave me: if you don’t mind drinking tap water, you can bring empty bottles through security, and then fill them inside at drinking fountains.

By: Elentarien

Elentarien — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:50:42 +0000

I fully agree here. It is annoying. Its hit Canada as well, and people are being delayed all over the place because of the ‘new security’.

Frankly, I’ve always dreamed of travelling, seeing the world, and far off places. But in recent years, I’ve come to decide to let that dream go for now. Like you say, not from fear. . .but because its so darned inconvenient to travel, why should I bother?? If I really have to go somewhere, I’ll stick with somewhere I can drive. (Thankfully, Canada is a big country – a driving exploratory excursion could keep one occupied for a couple months if one had the money to do it at all. . .)

But planes? Yeah, they’re almost a write-off now.

By: Dana Sherwood

Dana Sherwood — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:55:04 +0000

I’m seriously considering renting one of those Cruise America RVs the next time we travel to visit family. That way, we could take at least some of our animals with us. Maybe we’ll do a local dress rehearsal around town beforehand to see how well they do in the RV before planning a long trip.

I can’t figure out that lap prohibition, either. What is that supposed to accomplish?

By: Carmen

Carmen — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:35:46 +0000

Agreed! I never flew before 9/11, but I think it’s been pretty ridiculous since. It’s too bad I don’t have a car and live across the country from home (I’m a college student), or I’d probably drive just to save on stress!

By: Odette

Odette — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:40:33 +0000

Amen. (And an extra Amen! to the bit about bringing back more heavy books than one started with!) If you haven’t already seen it, there’s a cogent argument at Gizmondo on this subject that you may find interesting: http://gizmodo.com/5435675/president-obama-its-time-to-fire-the-tsa