If you're a parent with a small child and toting a car seat, there's a wheeled accessory called a GoGoBaby that attaches to the back of the car seat and turns it into a luggage cart for your baby. It's awesome...you can have your kid in the seat and either push it in front of you like a very low-riding stroller or pull it like a suitcase. Both of my sons have ridden like this and they loved it, and it usually leaves a trail of smiles as you pass by. It's not cheap but it's money very well spent.
After gathering 6 bags after JFK security (myself and kids) I thought the next one was my friend's bag. 20 minutes later, at a gate not far away, I discovered that I had missed my own computer bag. There were almost no passengers at this security stop on that day. The security people just shrugged their shoulders. A simple camera would have caught the thief, who in my mind was probably a TSA official or their friend because of their lack of concern.
4 years in prison is a stern penalty but it's not fair, because so many other TSA employees get away with the same thing.
The system is flawed. They force us to reorganize ), so they should take the responsibility to insure that we leave with what we brought. Reasonable humans will frequently get separated from valuable items under these conditions.
I almost never fly these days if the journey is 12 hours or less by car. I love my cars. I hate airports (usually).
Private air transportation is great but I rarely do it.
I'd bet good money that, if you ran the numbers, you would find that you are more likely to die in a car wreck on your way to replace your stolen shit than in a terrorist attack on an airplane before the TSA was around (including 9-11)
However, unlike driving your own family across the country in the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, taking a plane or train requires you to put your faith and safety completely in the hands of strangers.
Even though you weren't more likely to die in a horrible plane crash/terrorist incident post 9/11 the travel industry as a whole was severely affected.
Me? I went on vacation the week after Sept 11th. Best damn vacation I've ever had. Airports were vacant, parking was never an issue, hell I had Disney World with no lines for a week.
TSA seriously needs to do this much more often and randomly. I was just a victim of a camera stolen out of my luggage and there was no notice of inspection. Go figure.
Honestly, can we just do away with the TSA agents at airports, please? Enough is enough. It's not doing what it is supposed to do. It causes the costs, both implicit and explicit of flying to go up with no return on the investment. Keep the Air Marshals, ditch TSA.
I was having a conversation about the TSA the other day and I was amazed how many people said they actually thought the TSA was doing something useful.
If ever there was a system in need of overhaul its the entire airline industry, including the TSA.
@tande04: The TSA isn't there to do something useful. The TSA is there to make people feel "safe" about flying and "maybe" catch a bomber.
They act as an up-front deterrent for those of less conviction that the absolutely hardcore looking to cause chaos.
Basically they're they version of the cop getting his free donut at the donut shop. You're less likely to cause a problem there with the fuzz so close.
Really, the TSA needs to be an actual REAL police force. Not contracted goons and thieves on a power trip.
@DeusExMach has jumped the snark: I fly 6+ times per year. I have never had anything stolen. Then again, I'm not stupid enough to put valuable electronics in my checked luggage either.
Even better is that I never set foot on any plane un-armed. I always have weapons on my person. Just because the TSA doesn't view pens and various other instruments as weapons, doesn't mean they cannot be used as such.
@Lite: is on a boat.: Do you walk down the streets in a bad neighborhood at night with cash hanging from your pockets then whine about getting robbed? Sorry but I have NO sympathy for those who knowingly put their valuables at risk of being stolen. Yeah it sucks that people as a whole cannot be trusted but hey thats the reality of the situation kids. We ain't in Kansas anymore Toto.
@paintedangel: No, I'm the guy who plans ahead enough to not have to walk down the streets in a bad neighborhood at night (Well, most of the time.) looking like a victim waiting to happen.
I thought the whole idea of people being given special privileges because they paid $200 was pretty absurd in the first place. It would inevitably lead to more crowding for those who didn't have the pass and less security for everyone. I can't say that I'm sad to see it go, though obviously it sucks for the employees when any company goes under in this economy.
Wow, did everone on here go to the money police school?
Read the front of a bill, any denomination $1 thru $100, and not the front of your utility bill. On it you will find," This Note is Legal Tender for all Debts Public and Private".
It is not illegal to carry large sums of cash. Only suspiscious and stupid.
But if a person wished, they could go to closing on that new house with a suitcase full of cash and let everyone count it for a day.
Just imagine where we will be when we reach the iPhone 6G when, with the installation of a 99 cent app, will automatically rid rogue nations of their weapons of mass destruction. Of course, given this lovely story, it probably would start with America first.
My experience with U.S. Government security agencies has never been a pleasant experience. Far be it from me to have any idea what I am typing, but they seem focused on irrelevant crap while ignoring the most important factors. Just a year before our lovely event in 2001 I had a friend from England detained for hours because they were concerned about someone coming in under false pretenses that might get married and stay around. However, the real issues were being ignored entirely. Obviously, this story could be considered a bad red herring, but my point merely is that if it takes an iPhone to start bringing crap like this to light, so much the better.
11/10/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
07/15/09
4 years in prison is a stern penalty but it's not fair, because so many other TSA employees get away with the same thing.
The system is flawed. They force us to reorganize ), so they should take the responsibility to insure that we leave with what we brought. Reasonable humans will frequently get separated from valuable items under these conditions.
I almost never fly these days if the journey is 12 hours or less by car. I love my cars. I hate airports (usually).
Private air transportation is great but I rarely do it.
07/15/09
07/15/09
However, unlike driving your own family across the country in the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, taking a plane or train requires you to put your faith and safety completely in the hands of strangers.
Even though you weren't more likely to die in a horrible plane crash/terrorist incident post 9/11 the travel industry as a whole was severely affected.
Me? I went on vacation the week after Sept 11th. Best damn vacation I've ever had. Airports were vacant, parking was never an issue, hell I had Disney World with no lines for a week.
07/15/09
07/15/09
07/15/09
07/15/09
What they need to do is give the Air Marshalls the authority to taser those little snotbags that keep kicking the back of my fucking seat.
07/15/09
I was having a conversation about the TSA the other day and I was amazed how many people said they actually thought the TSA was doing something useful.
If ever there was a system in need of overhaul its the entire airline industry, including the TSA.
07/15/09
07/15/09
They act as an up-front deterrent for those of less conviction that the absolutely hardcore looking to cause chaos.
Basically they're they version of the cop getting his free donut at the donut shop. You're less likely to cause a problem there with the fuzz so close.
Really, the TSA needs to be an actual REAL police force. Not contracted goons and thieves on a power trip.
07/15/09
Even better is that I never set foot on any plane un-armed. I always have weapons on my person. Just because the TSA doesn't view pens and various other instruments as weapons, doesn't mean they cannot be used as such.
07/15/09
They even made me remove the inner portion (even though there was no kerosene at the time) so ultimately it was just the outer housing.
That was a gift from Nextel for getting Emerald Dealer Status 5 times in a row.
/bastards
07/16/09
Was the gas station out of 56-cent bics?
07/16/09
07/15/09
The airline and TSA claimed that it couldn't possibly be one of their employees.
Funny that. Though I never figured out why they checked credit cards...
07/15/09
07/15/09
06/23/09
06/21/09
Read the front of a bill, any denomination $1 thru $100, and not the front of your utility bill. On it you will find," This Note is Legal Tender for all Debts Public and Private".
It is not illegal to carry large sums of cash. Only suspiscious and stupid.
But if a person wished, they could go to closing on that new house with a suitcase full of cash and let everyone count it for a day.
06/21/09
06/21/09
06/21/09
06/21/09
My experience with U.S. Government security agencies has never been a pleasant experience. Far be it from me to have any idea what I am typing, but they seem focused on irrelevant crap while ignoring the most important factors. Just a year before our lovely event in 2001 I had a friend from England detained for hours because they were concerned about someone coming in under false pretenses that might get married and stay around. However, the real issues were being ignored entirely. Obviously, this story could be considered a bad red herring, but my point merely is that if it takes an iPhone to start bringing crap like this to light, so much the better.