I'm Baaaaack!
After 8 days at Comdex in Las Vegas and Thanksgiving week, I am finally back to the blog. Thanks to those of you who pestered me to update while I was gone.
I have lots to blog about but lets start with security at the airports. Hopkins was smooth sailing. I checked a bag and carried on a small bag (with digital camera and a book) and my laptop. I had to put the laptop in the tray to have it run through the machine - we used to have to boot up for the guards.
Once at the gate, they pulled 4 people at random (?) from the line (2 men, 2 women) and gave them a thorough search. They had to open their carry-on and a wand was used to check their bodies more thoroughly than the machine we all walked through. This was the first time I saw where they had to remove their shoes to be checked.
Coming home the security seemed more lax. Nobody was pulled out of line and all of our shoes stayed on. When I checked my bag, the ticket agent did swab my hands with a paper-like cloth and ran the residue through a machine looking for traces of explosive material. That was a first too.
The length of lines has gone down in the last year as they streamline the process. Last Comdex was just a couple months after September 11th and the lines were longer and the people edgier. Adding new procedures (checking feet, swabbing hands) is a good idea to keep the bad guys on their toes.
11:30:49 AM 
|
