KC/Topeka prowling with Mr. Rigdon

On Sat, 1 Jun 2002, Joe wrote: That's the Miami Heat upgrade for the Apple ][ that makes it run much "cooler". People who bought that for their Apple also usually bought a pair of sunglasses to wear while programming and sported five o'clock shadows to go with the whole image. I've done so twice since September 11: once on November 6 (to Austria) and last on April 25 (to Munich), both times schlepping scheisse for Hans. I always expect a good cavity check every time I fly now since I'm Arabic. The first time on the way to Austria it was relatively hassle free. They ran my bags through the X-ray machines but all the electronics and metal didn't seem to phase whoever was at the helm. Coming back I had a nice big old East German (as in DDR era) computer I bought at VCF Europa 2.0 and got stopped in London. Security took me down to a stairwell near the tarmack and had me open the boxes to show them what was inside. I also explained who I was and what I did for good measure. They were satisfied and let me on my way (and held the plane up for me). The last time I got checked on my way to Germany. In San Francisco, they ran my bags through the X-ray machine and saw lots of alarming wires, metal, etc. They checked through each bag thoroughly, which sucked because then I had to make sure everything was packed firmly again since I didn't want Hans to yell at me when I got to Munich with his stuff all broken up. On the way back I was hauling just a disk drive and some Atari carthridges not expecting any hassle, but the customs guys were complete dicks in Atlanta and held me up while they checked through my luggage. That's the first time I've ever had the full customs check. Atlanta sucks. Whoever tells you the checks are "random" and not based on ethnicity or appearance is just trying to be PC. I'm sure there is a bit of randomness involved, but that's for the non-Arab, non-Muslim flying contingent. There's only been one time out of perhaps ten where I didn't have to go through the extra pre-boarding check before a flight. I'm convinced that me and my peeps get red flagged and added to the "check thoroughly" pool as soon as we step in the airport, and other "regular" folk are just thrown into the pool at random to make it look like "we" aren't being targeted. Welcome to the New America. Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org * Old computing resources for business and academia at www.VintageTech.com *