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Re: airport security

From: Doug Sutherland <>
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 03:32:23 -0600

Russell Kohn wrote:

> Alright, this topic was addressed soon after Sept. 11th,
> but I thought that since many more months have passed and
> security has changed some and perhaps more people have
> taken wearables through airports, I would bring it up
> again. So, the question is: What sort of security
> problems do people have with wearables in airports?

Two years ago I assembled my wearable on the plane, fired
it up, used the GPS, and showed it to the crew, including
flight attendants and one of the pilots. They thought it
was cool and chatted with me for hours! Needless to say
that wouldn't be the case today. They probably would have
wrestled me to the ground. Times have certainly changed.

http://wearables.blu.org/wear-hard-00/2000552.html
http://wearables.blu.org/wear-hard-00/20005020.html

> Do the guards stop you? Do they make you turn it on? open
> the case? how much time does it take? <snip> I can't
> imagine how an uneducated security guard would react to
> a little metal box with connectors on the end.... why
> shouldn't he think its a bomb?!

The stuff I used to carry around, internationally, looked
exactly like a terrorist toolkit. Lots of tools, wire
cutters, soldering irons, various colored wires, many
little home brew circuits, antennas, adapters, etc. I
took those all over the world, into china, japan, and
many european countries.

The ironic thing is that airport security was brain dead,
they were trained ONLY to look at laptops. I usually had
a laptop, so they made me turn that on. No problem. Yet
they didn't look at the rest of the gadgetry. And the
laptop was actually blocking out all of the other stuff
from the x-ray. I assume that they are more thorough
these days. SFO would ALWAYS run a sample taken from
the handle of my bags into their little chemical analyzer
though, and countless times I've been asked to lift my
hat! (funny, considering what was in my bags). I'm still
quite surprised that I never got detained or questioned.
The strictest questioning I had was going into customs
in australia, and they were looking for food and bugs,
basically introduction of foreign species. They have
beagles (dogs) roaming around sniffing everyone.

  -- Doug

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