General

Just made it to the hotel. No wi-fi here either. But high speed internet is in the house!

Now why, of all places, does Baltimore-Washington Airport not have wi-fi access in the terminal?

I glanced quickly at my Southwest Airlines ticket stub as I was heading through security at Providence’s TF Green Airport today only to realize that I had the dreaded checkerboard on my ticket. I had been selected for what the TSA calls additional screening.

So at Gate 17, when they call for the “selectees”, I mosy up to the TSA folks, hand over my bag, and get checked with the wand…

About this time, one of the TSA screeners, with my keyring in hand, shouts out, “What’s this?” and looks at me.

I realize that she’s holding up the handcuff key that I keep on my keyring – and have kept ever since attending college in Illinois for criminal justice. It’s been on there through my time in law enforcement and has remained there thoroughout the past decade of my life in corporate security. No one has ever brought attention to it before.

I say, “It’s a handcuff key”.

She replies, “Are you a police officer?”

Now, about this time I’m getting angry. I am fairly confident that no where in the TSA’s screening regulations that a handcuff key is listed as a prohibited item. I’ll know for sure when I get back. And, I can hardly hear her over the rest of the crowd.

“Could you come over here?”, I say. “I don’t hear well.”

She moves closer and I explain the reason for the keys.

While I get a weird look from her, the reason seems to suffice, and she puts my keys back into my backpack, and I later board the plane. I did write down her name and badge number as her attitude – towards other passengers and myself – was just downright nasty.

The more disturbing thing about this was watching who had been selected for screening. Three young women, all around 20 – 25 years of age, and then a group of 7 or 8 women clearly in their 50’s and 60’s, with one well over 70… and me. None of us had to fit any funky profile, and certainly none of us was toting anything.

Besides, if we had been carrying something, wouldn’t it have been picked up when we went through initial screening.

Additional screening as a security practice still leaves much to be desired – and so does the customer service of the TSA.

I’ll be writing a letter to the TSA about this particular screener.

Off on Southwest Flight 1393 headed from Providence to Baltimore until tomorrow, when I climb onto Northwest Airlines for the flight to Minneapolis. Two days there and then back home – or to New Hampshire – depends on some visit plans at the real job.

The bad thing about being gone is that.. I’m gone.. but the good thing is that I get to see people that are smart, fun, and generally a blast to be around.. and I am definately looking forward to that.

Some new Dido releases available via Apple’s iTunes service. Rock on

Why did I use a PC again?

Is it just me or does 3 Doors Down just kick ass on their latest album?

Leonardo da Vinci. “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.” [Motivational Quotes of the Day]