6 Aug
2004
6 Aug
'04
3:58 p.m.
At 12:40 PM 8/6/04 -0700, you wrote:
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, Vassilis Prevelakis wrote:
I beg to differ. I sat in Kansas City airport two years ago and spent
abut 3 or 4 hours with the security people and watched as they opened
numerous bags and I didn't see them put a sticker on ANY of them. Even when
flying and reclaiming baggage I've never seen one of those stickers.
OK I may as well tell this story too. I was in KC and went scrounging
with Gary Hildebrand and found a black Bell and Howell Apple II. I had
called the airline and changed my departure two days ahead of time. But
they failed to schedule the new departure so when I got to the airport
UNSCHEDULED the red flags went up and I was tagged to be inspected
everywhere that I went. Luckily I arrived at the airport about 6 hours
early. I had to take EVERYTHING and go down to security and let them
inspect it (hence the LONG wait). I/they didn't have a problem with
anything but the Apple II and were going to send me to the maintenance area
and have them disassemble and inspect the Apple. Sheeshh! I said "Hey wait
a minute it opens right up" and showed them how to open the top so they
could look inside it. After that they were happy (until I got to the next
checkpoint!) I asked why they didn't just X=ray the Apple II and he said
that they were afraid that it might conceal plastic knives or something
that wouldn't show up on X-ray. I don't know why it would have mattered
since I was putting the computer in checked baggage but no one ever said
that logic or brains were required at TSA.
Important Lesson: NEVER show up at an airport with a confirmed
reservation! If you do, you're guaranteed to get the full treatment!
Joe
My bags are always checked by the TSA. They always seem
Well last year I travelled (from the US) to
Europe with a suitcase full
of de-commissioned computers (incl. a Sun Ultra 1 which filled most of
the suitcase) and spare parts (about 5-8 year old stuff). Since I
couldn't care less about eproms or other media, I just let it go
through the normal checked luggage check. The suitcase was not locked
(as per guidelines) and I know they opened it (not in my presence, so I
don't really know how much time they spent looking though it), but
nobody said anything to me about it, and the suitcase went through
without any problems.
Sending a computer through checked baggage doesn't even elicit an errant
brainwave.
If you are packing clothing with the equipment
(as padding or to save
carrying a second suitcase) I would advise you to pack them in
transparent plastic bags, so that the checkers can go through them
without spilling them all over the floor. Also avoid small unpacked
items that can fall off the suitcase during the visual inspection
process.
You know when your bag was checked because the TSA puts a form in your bag
saying they did. to put things back in place as I packed them (well,
except for my radio).
Festival
Finally remember that the people carrying out the
inspection will not
use the same care as you in putting everything back in the suitcase, so
leave some extra space to accommodate the (less efficient) re-packing.
If your suitcase is a jigsaw with everything required to be packed just
right for the suitcase to close, then expect to see a mess at your
destination.
I haven't had this problem at all.
I remember that while I was waiting to check in
at the Philadelphia
International Airport I could see TSA staff trying to close an opened
suitcase. Now that was a royal mess, with clothing sticking out from
all sides and the suitcase refusing to come anywhere near to closing.
Eventually the just closed the two halves as much as they could and
used plastic wrap to keep the insides from spilling over. I bet the
owners would freak out, especially if they had clean and ironed
clothing
Sounds like a case of incompetent morons.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer
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