Yesterday's post was written with my dinky little Eee balanced on the dinky little tray table of a dinky little US Airways Embraer 170, winging through the air at 31,000 feet on the first leg of my journey from Indianapolis to New Hamster.
I hadn't flown commercially since... oh... I guess the mid '90s. Let's put it this way: The last time I flew commercially, I sat in the smoking section of the plane and my friends met me at the gate.
As a result, yesterday's airport experience was like a cross between 1984 and Brazil.
The folks at Indy's Weir Cook Airport were all totally nonchalant about checked heaters. As a matter of fact, I stood around in the TSA holding area while they checked my bag, and chatted with a guy who was on his way to Front Sight.
The flight itself was fine. I declined the $5 tin of almonds.
Things are stirring here at Castle Frostbite. More later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
Have fun!
I am told that Weir Cook TSA received enhanced training. The times I have flown out of the new terminal at Indy have been hassle free (so far).
Shootin' Buddy
Sounds like you flew into Manchvegas - if so, a much more pleasant experience than Logan.
Give a holler if'n you need a local guide - I know a few people in the area...
I took one of the very last smoking flights out of Chicago, in 89. I kept the ashtray, figuring they wouldnt be needing it.
The kabuke is amusing when you do it often enough.
I've watched people get stopped and searched for swiss army keychain knives while I boarded with a razor-sharp 6" steel rule and a gigli saw.
Have fun in New Hampster. Dress warm!
Yep.
Get yer long johns out- it should be around 65° here today...
CowHampshiya? Damn, that's just up the road! Gimme a call.
I either fly too little or too much; the kabuki (good term for it og!) is hardly "amusing". The best preparation I've found for flying these days is to hark back to SERE school lessons.
I fly when I am "ordered" - literally - to do so, otherwise, nah.
Someone else coined that long ago, I cannot take credit.
Did either end of the trip have the porno scanners?
One good thing about flying with checked guns:
The TSA will never, ever break the lock on the container and try to steal the contents. That gets them in all sorts of trouble and causes things like security lockdowns of the airport and (other) three-letter agencies becoming involved.
An Airport Authority cop told me this when I had my laptop stolen (and replaced with a cookbook) out of checked luggage by a TSA screener.
"That gets them in all sorts of trouble and causes things like security lockdowns of the airport and (other) three-letter agencies becoming involved."
Ummm, no, they still steal from you.
Indianapolis, November 2006, they stole boxed ammo packaged in compliance with their regs from me.
Shootin' Buddy
Any good recipes?
Robin did a shepherd's pie last night that tasted so good the lamb must've given up its life with glee...
Waitaminute, isn't Tamara Flying, like, the Third Sign Of The Apocalypse?
No, "Tamara Flying On Her Own Dime" is the Third Sign Of The Apocalypse. ;)
SB,
Sorry about your ammo. Evidently the Airport cop I talked to was wrong.
(However, incidents like that would prompt me to go to the TSA counter and loudly ask "Hey! What happened to the second pistol I had in my luggage?")
I too am interested how you reacted to any nekkid scanner opportunities.
What's the drive time from indy to frostbite? I assume that answer is "a bit more than I was prepared to do"
There are nekkid scanners at Weir Cook, but I wasn't singled out for the dubious privilege.
The drive from Indy to New Hamster is more than a one-day jaunt, unless one is doing it Cannonball style.
I traveled for business this year round tripping between EWR and ATL; 2 of the busiest airports in the nation. Leaving EWR, there were no lines at all - other than getting a hairy eyeball for having 2 laptops in my carryon (one mine, one the company's) I had no issues, and spent more time wonering where I was going to hook up to a wall jack than I did in security. (Answer - no open power jacks. I ran the battery down).
Leaving ATL, it was a mob scene at the security barrier, but all lanes were manned and efficiently run through. I suspect there's too much traffic through these places for the TSA weasels to get their AUTHORITAY! on.
The trick? Wearing slip-on shoes and a shoot-me-first jacket(Scott eVest) with everything in the pockets. Drop the jacket in one bin, the carryon and shoes in another, shove them into the xray and walk through the magentometer.
That jacket comes in mighty handy any time I have to go through a "secure" perimeter: jury duty, airports, the fricking C&I inspection *outbound* on a cruise recently (seriously - it was only marginally less "secure" than EWR's perimeter to leave frigging Bayonne, and slower than the C&I inspection inbound).
I haven't yet left my micro Victronix on my keychain yet, but your WiFi detector probably would have passed the security at your voting place in a jacket pocket, rather than being out and visible, Tam.
One of these days I'm going to write up a post at my place on what I can stow in that thing discreetly.
I had the dubious pleasure of enduring the johnson-check scanners when leaving San Diego earlier this month. At 6'4", the machine missed everything from the shoulders up and I got to be groped by some sweaty, nitrile-wearing flunky. Nice way to start the morning....
Post a Comment