I don't think ceres will ban you for posting in here.
Hahahaha
What kills me about this is now he works as TSA in Seattle!
Security in the US is nothing compared to the security I went through flying in/out of Kuwait/UAE. Had my passport and bags checked at least 6 times. The size of the planes was worth it though.
US security is a bitch, full stop. And they can't even be polite about it half the time.
I've actually had few problems, but a few friends of mine have been treated pretty poorly.
Last time we flew, Mori and I were grilled more *returning* to the US than Mori had been entering the UK! They demanded to know so much. (Btw; me entering the UK? Took three seconds - I didn't even have to say a word to anyone!) Also, the US is still the only country to demand all ten of my fingerprints and to know how I've funded my trip.
I think they take fingerprints of all foreign nationals.... although come to think of it, I am not sure about this. I will ask my girlfriend. She didn't have that much to say about the process, other than it took fucking forever (LAX, hurrrrrrrgh).
Oh no, I know they do. I'm saying other countries don't.
But those other countries aren't AMERICA.
=D Sorry. Most of the TSA stuff doesn't really faze me because I don't feel like it really adds all that much additional time to the whole process if you just go through the motions, but generally speaking arriving in another Country has been a more pleasant, even joyful experience than coming back through Homeland Security.
I don't think there's a BIG difference, but there's definitely *a* difference.
The convenience or lack thereof bothers me less than the fact that they literally have no right to do some of this stuff.
In the sense of there are no laws that allow it or in the sense of it's a violation of your basic civil rights?
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
One lady's fiancé was detained, thrown in jail overnight and sent back home the next morning without being permitted to contact her
His crime? They felt he'd made one too many trips (it was his fourth in a year, although he'd only visited for a couple of weeks each time, and he certainly hadn't broken the terms of the visa waiver program) and he LOOKED tough (tattoos, beard). That was all
Same thing happened to a brother of one of my dad's employees... He had applied for a tourist visa once, but been denied, and he didn't realise that when they ask on the form if you've ever been denied a visa that they're talking about resident visas. He checked 'yes', and was sent straight back home without even being allowed to explain why
Also the US is the only country that permits itself to take your laptop and legally demand to know the passwords for everything on it
And of course you have all the news horror stories... Of course it may not happen to YOU, but I'm sure it was pretty traumatic for the 90 year old grandmother/disabled boy/young mother
That's pretty outrageous.
Being in jail is no fun.
I don't think it needs to happen to a 90 year old to be outraged by that kind of stuff.
sarukun on
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ButtlordFornicusLord of Bondage and PainRegistered Userregular
security theater is horseshit and stupid and literally does nothing
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PharezonStruggle is an illusion.Victory is in the Qun.Registered Userregular
US security is a bitch, full stop. And they can't even be polite about it half the time.
I've actually had few problems, but a few friends of mine have been treated pretty poorly.
Last time we flew, Mori and I were grilled more *returning* to the US than Mori had been entering the UK! They demanded to know so much. (Btw; me entering the UK? Took three seconds - I didn't even have to say a word to anyone!) Also, the US is still the only country to demand all ten of my fingerprints and to know how I've funded my trip.
I think they take fingerprints of all foreign nationals.... although come to think of it, I am not sure about this. I will ask my girlfriend. She didn't have that much to say about the process, other than it took fucking forever (LAX, hurrrrrrrgh).
Oh no, I know they do. I'm saying other countries don't.
But those other countries aren't AMERICA.
=D Sorry. Most of the TSA stuff doesn't really faze me because I don't feel like it really adds all that much additional time to the whole process if you just go through the motions, but generally speaking arriving in another Country has been a more pleasant, even joyful experience than coming back through Homeland Security.
I don't think there's a BIG difference, but there's definitely *a* difference.
The convenience or lack thereof bothers me less than the fact that they literally have no right to do some of this stuff.
In the sense of there are no laws that allow it or in the sense of it's a violation of your basic civil rights?
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
It's also security overkill trending towards ineffective.
US security is a bitch, full stop. And they can't even be polite about it half the time.
I've actually had few problems, but a few friends of mine have been treated pretty poorly.
Last time we flew, Mori and I were grilled more *returning* to the US than Mori had been entering the UK! They demanded to know so much. (Btw; me entering the UK? Took three seconds - I didn't even have to say a word to anyone!) Also, the US is still the only country to demand all ten of my fingerprints and to know how I've funded my trip.
I think they take fingerprints of all foreign nationals.... although come to think of it, I am not sure about this. I will ask my girlfriend. She didn't have that much to say about the process, other than it took fucking forever (LAX, hurrrrrrrgh).
Oh no, I know they do. I'm saying other countries don't.
But those other countries aren't AMERICA.
=D Sorry. Most of the TSA stuff doesn't really faze me because I don't feel like it really adds all that much additional time to the whole process if you just go through the motions, but generally speaking arriving in another Country has been a more pleasant, even joyful experience than coming back through Homeland Security.
I don't think there's a BIG difference, but there's definitely *a* difference.
The convenience or lack thereof bothers me less than the fact that they literally have no right to do some of this stuff.
In the sense of there are no laws that allow it or in the sense of it's a violation of your basic civil rights?
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
It's also security overkill trending towards ineffective.
Inefficient is the thing that pisses me off.
All that shit costs a tooooooon of money, which is of course passed on to you, the consumer.
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AntimatterDevo Was RightGates of SteelRegistered Userregular
Why can't they just have packs and packs of bomb/narcotics-sniffing dogs? Or maybe they can train other animals. Like rats. I thought I heard something about bomb-sniffing rats? Yeah. Well, everyone likes dogs, if they instituted a policy of mandatory sniff-downs I don't think people would mind too much so long as they could pet the dogs afterward.
dog allergies
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Muse Among MenSuburban Bunny Princess?Its time for a new shtick Registered Userregular
Why can't they just have packs and packs of bomb/narcotics-sniffing dogs? Or maybe they can train other animals. Like rats. I thought I heard something about bomb-sniffing rats? Yeah. Well, everyone likes dogs, if they instituted a policy of mandatory sniff-downs I don't think people would mind too much so long as they could pet the dogs afterward.
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ButtlordFornicusLord of Bondage and PainRegistered Userregular
airports are the only place where you're presumed to be a criminal from the moment you walk in the door
airports are the only place where you're presumed to be a criminal from the moment you walk in the door
it's stupid
The airport is like the DMV but there's a totally sweet adventure at the end. You get through it and unless you threaten the staff with physical violence, it's over and you get to do the rad shit you wanted to do.
I wish they were more welcoming to foreigners, though. Our visa shit and the procedures visitors to this country are asked to go through is pretty excessive.
US security is a bitch, full stop. And they can't even be polite about it half the time.
I've actually had few problems, but a few friends of mine have been treated pretty poorly.
Last time we flew, Mori and I were grilled more *returning* to the US than Mori had been entering the UK! They demanded to know so much. (Btw; me entering the UK? Took three seconds - I didn't even have to say a word to anyone!) Also, the US is still the only country to demand all ten of my fingerprints and to know how I've funded my trip.
I think they take fingerprints of all foreign nationals.... although come to think of it, I am not sure about this. I will ask my girlfriend. She didn't have that much to say about the process, other than it took fucking forever (LAX, hurrrrrrrgh).
Oh no, I know they do. I'm saying other countries don't.
But those other countries aren't AMERICA.
=D Sorry. Most of the TSA stuff doesn't really faze me because I don't feel like it really adds all that much additional time to the whole process if you just go through the motions, but generally speaking arriving in another Country has been a more pleasant, even joyful experience than coming back through Homeland Security.
I don't think there's a BIG difference, but there's definitely *a* difference.
The convenience or lack thereof bothers me less than the fact that they literally have no right to do some of this stuff.
In the sense of there are no laws that allow it or in the sense of it's a violation of your basic civil rights?
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
Next they'll mandate patdowns for all passengers, and we'll say nothing. Then they'll make us fingerprint as we go through security, and we'll say nothing.
It's tyranny by a thousand cuts. I have no intention of going along with it.
I don't wanna kill anybody. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from.
US security is a bitch, full stop. And they can't even be polite about it half the time.
I've actually had few problems, but a few friends of mine have been treated pretty poorly.
Last time we flew, Mori and I were grilled more *returning* to the US than Mori had been entering the UK! They demanded to know so much. (Btw; me entering the UK? Took three seconds - I didn't even have to say a word to anyone!) Also, the US is still the only country to demand all ten of my fingerprints and to know how I've funded my trip.
I think they take fingerprints of all foreign nationals.... although come to think of it, I am not sure about this. I will ask my girlfriend. She didn't have that much to say about the process, other than it took fucking forever (LAX, hurrrrrrrgh).
Oh no, I know they do. I'm saying other countries don't.
But those other countries aren't AMERICA.
=D Sorry. Most of the TSA stuff doesn't really faze me because I don't feel like it really adds all that much additional time to the whole process if you just go through the motions, but generally speaking arriving in another Country has been a more pleasant, even joyful experience than coming back through Homeland Security.
I don't think there's a BIG difference, but there's definitely *a* difference.
The convenience or lack thereof bothers me less than the fact that they literally have no right to do some of this stuff.
In the sense of there are no laws that allow it or in the sense of it's a violation of your basic civil rights?
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
Next they'll mandate patdowns for all passengers, and we'll say nothing. Then they'll make us fingerprint as we go through security, and we'll say nothing.
It's tyranny by a thousand cuts. I have no intention of going along with it.
That's horse shit.
And I have been patted down by airport security. Took 5 minutes of my time and then I got on the plane.
So is there anything one can do for the eardrums thing, aside from gum/sucking on candy? Coming down is always super painful, and since it's ear pressure it does not respond to general things like acetomeniphen or any of the other normal OTC painkillers, and I sure as hell don't want to take the real deal, as those make me loopy (Though I did take a few on the way back from India so I would sleep, as opposed to the sleepless 14hr no windows open, middle seat in a cattle car that was the trip over.)
So is there anything one can do for the eardrums thing, aside from gum/sucking on candy? Coming down is always super painful, and since it's ear pressure it does not respond to general things like acetomeniphen or any of the other normal OTC painkillers, and I sure as hell don't want to take the real deal, as those make me loopy (Though I did take a few on the way back from India so I would sleep, as opposed to the sleepless 14hr no windows open, middle seat in a cattle car that was the trip over.)
Mucinex or something else with guaifenesin in it, it's an expectorant but essentially thins the mucus in your sinuses and eustachian tubes so it's easier to clear your ears.
Well, I can do that pinch my nose and blow thing, and that can get some pops, but never seems to do it completely, and the feeling scares me a little. It's really down to hurting for a few hours after landing, and having what I call "under water hearing" for a day or 2. It does not seem like hearing loss persay, but is just kind of like hearing through a blanket or...I am explaining this poorly. If other people can control their ear pressure I'd be curious to know about it! It was only recently I found out that most people DON'T associate pain with flying.
Well, I can do that pinch my nose and blow thing, and that can get some pops, but never seems to do it completely, and the feeling scares me a little. It's really down to hurting for a few hours after landing, and having what I call "under water hearing" for a day or 2. It does not seem like hearing loss persay, but is just kind of like hearing through a blanket or...I am explaining this poorly. If other people can control their ear pressure I'd be curious to know about it! It was only recently I found out that most people DON'T associate pain with flying.
I don't know if it's because I had a lot of ear infections as a kid or tubes in my ears, or what, but adjusting the pressure in my ears has always been really easy for me. I increase the pressure by inhaling through my nose, and release it by exhaling, or sometimes as little as wiggling my ears. It's easier to do when you plug your nose, but it seems like it might be a lot more difficult for you. What you may want to do is actually practice it until you get comfortable with it. Learn the finer points of adjusting it outside of flying so that when you need to use it, you already know exactly how.
I'm having difficulty being more clear on how exactly to do it, I've never tried explaining it to anyone before.
As someone who works in the aircraft manufacturing industry, I'm getting a kick out of these replies.
I really enjoy flying, even commercial. The TSA stuff is annoying, but not so much for me since I'm flying out of a smaller airport ("Oh hey WuShock! Where are they sending you today? You join any terrorist organizations since Tuesday? No? Cool. Have fun in San Diego.") The only problems I've really had is American Airlines having the habit of botching the baggage handoff to British Airways.
I fly a bunch for work, so it's going to be nice to have an actual vacation where I don't have to be on time to anything when I get off the plane
Have you ever gotten off the plane somewhere where you don't speak the language?
I use to be absolutely terrified of it but I've done it enough now where it's kind of exciting. Trying to get to the hotel (or better yet, FINDING one) is pretty fun.
france seems pretty gung-ho in terms of armed men at airports
we were in nice when I was in high school and we'd checked in early but there were about 4 seats in the entire airport so we all sat down in the middle of this huge entry hall, which I guess they didn't like because they came out with a bunch of gendarmes and yelled at us
Why can't they just have packs and packs of bomb/narcotics-sniffing dogs? Or maybe they can train other animals. Like rats. I thought I heard something about bomb-sniffing rats? Yeah. Well, everyone likes dogs, if they instituted a policy of mandatory sniff-downs I don't think people would mind too much so long as they could pet the dogs afterward.
dog allergies
Also there's little solid evidence that they're actually effective at consistently finding such substances (at least with narcotics, don't know about explosives). But it's a situation where cops/security that work with dogs are absolutely convinced that their dogs can actually tell and will ignore any evidence that suggests the dogs may just be getting cues from the handlers and thus are indirectly being prejudiced in who they target.
my flight from texas to tokyo was miserable for a lot of reasons but most of all because i got sick midway through the flight and that was just the pits
all snotty and junk
my ex had to put up with me bein a whiny baby for like
As a taller than average man I am not looking forward to the ~18 hour flight back to Australia in a few weeks. Actually that reminds me, I need to double check that my aisle seats are confirmed, I need the freedom to get up and stretch my legs every hour or so without bugging people.
I had actually not flown at all until I was 29, and my first flight was Australia to Canada which was not pleasant. Overall it's just a necessary evil that I can get through, and I've never had any issues with airport security or immigration.
I fly a bunch for work, so it's going to be nice to have an actual vacation where I don't have to be on time to anything when I get off the plane
Have you ever gotten off the plane somewhere where you don't speak the language?
I use to be absolutely terrified of it but I've done it enough now where it's kind of exciting. Trying to get to the hotel (or better yet, FINDING one) is pretty fun.
I'd like to do it in India some time. =P
Naw, unfortunately everything I've done for work has been in the US. Someday I'll get out of here!
But it's (or at least the McNamara terminal) one of the nicest airports I've been in, every time I fly through there I sit by the shooty water fountain for a while and feel way better for it.
Posts
What kills me about this is now he works as TSA in Seattle!
Security in the US is nothing compared to the security I went through flying in/out of Kuwait/UAE. Had my passport and bags checked at least 6 times. The size of the planes was worth it though.
Either way, my experience with travel has been "When in Rome..." and not spend a lot of time getting indignant over something that costs me less than 15 minutes total anyway out of a grand total of 20-or-so hours of travel.
That's pretty outrageous.
Being in jail is no fun.
I don't think it needs to happen to a 90 year old to be outraged by that kind of stuff.
It's also security overkill trending towards ineffective.
Inefficient is the thing that pisses me off.
All that shit costs a tooooooon of money, which is of course passed on to you, the consumer.
it's stupid
The airport is like the DMV but there's a totally sweet adventure at the end. You get through it and unless you threaten the staff with physical violence, it's over and you get to do the rad shit you wanted to do.
I wish they were more welcoming to foreigners, though. Our visa shit and the procedures visitors to this country are asked to go through is pretty excessive.
It was crazy!
Made me want to travel more!!!
It's tyranny by a thousand cuts. I have no intention of going along with it.
That's horse shit.
And I have been patted down by airport security. Took 5 minutes of my time and then I got on the plane.
It occurs to me I have never asked any one this question before.
But I was by the wing!!!
The Robot Chicken sketch for this is fantastic.
Mucinex or something else with guaifenesin in it, it's an expectorant but essentially thins the mucus in your sinuses and eustachian tubes so it's easier to clear your ears.
I don't know if it's because I had a lot of ear infections as a kid or tubes in my ears, or what, but adjusting the pressure in my ears has always been really easy for me. I increase the pressure by inhaling through my nose, and release it by exhaling, or sometimes as little as wiggling my ears. It's easier to do when you plug your nose, but it seems like it might be a lot more difficult for you. What you may want to do is actually practice it until you get comfortable with it. Learn the finer points of adjusting it outside of flying so that when you need to use it, you already know exactly how.
I'm having difficulty being more clear on how exactly to do it, I've never tried explaining it to anyone before.
I really enjoy flying, even commercial. The TSA stuff is annoying, but not so much for me since I'm flying out of a smaller airport ("Oh hey WuShock! Where are they sending you today? You join any terrorist organizations since Tuesday? No? Cool. Have fun in San Diego.") The only problems I've really had is American Airlines having the habit of botching the baggage handoff to British Airways.
Have you ever gotten off the plane somewhere where you don't speak the language?
I use to be absolutely terrified of it but I've done it enough now where it's kind of exciting. Trying to get to the hotel (or better yet, FINDING one) is pretty fun.
I'd like to do it in India some time. =P
What is terrible about airports?
the scottish airport whose name i forgot was gross and tiny, but you could keep your shoes on going through it so its super worth it
The major ones are Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Inverness.
we were in nice when I was in high school and we'd checked in early but there were about 4 seats in the entire airport so we all sat down in the middle of this huge entry hall, which I guess they didn't like because they came out with a bunch of gendarmes and yelled at us
it was alright because one of them was smokin
on the way to pax last year me and @Romanian My Escutcheon were sat on either side of this kid who was also going to pax
and was absolutely terrified of flying
so we had to talk him through an anxiety attack for the beginning of the flight
cool kid though
we watched adventure time together
detroit airport
owns bones
Also there's little solid evidence that they're actually effective at consistently finding such substances (at least with narcotics, don't know about explosives). But it's a situation where cops/security that work with dogs are absolutely convinced that their dogs can actually tell and will ignore any evidence that suggests the dogs may just be getting cues from the handlers and thus are indirectly being prejudiced in who they target.
my flight from texas to tokyo was miserable for a lot of reasons but most of all because i got sick midway through the flight and that was just the pits
all snotty and junk
my ex had to put up with me bein a whiny baby for like
16 hours
I have you scheduled for a 10:00 am meeting with a margarita on the beach.
It is such a great airport
and the trains pull INTO the airport, so you can seamlessly transition between train and airport with exactly 0 hassle.
It is a crime that every major airport everywhere in the world is not also a train station.
I had actually not flown at all until I was 29, and my first flight was Australia to Canada which was not pleasant. Overall it's just a necessary evil that I can get through, and I've never had any issues with airport security or immigration.
Naw, unfortunately everything I've done for work has been in the US. Someday I'll get out of here!
Well maybe not the best thing
But it's (or at least the McNamara terminal) one of the nicest airports I've been in, every time I fly through there I sit by the shooty water fountain for a while and feel way better for it.