If you can, ride, don't fly

[Bobnoxous]

I am really starting to hate flying. While most of the time people are pleasant, I still believe the TSA rules inconvenience us much more for show than substance, and the money I have to pay to cover this "security" shows just how poorly run the TSA is.

But it's not only the TSA that's making flying a pain. The airlines seemed to have lost perspective as well. Here (http://www.nbc10.com/news/13575254/detail.html), a 4 year old having a tantrum "forces" the plane to land (he must've been one mean 4 year old). Isn't this getting a bit silly?

Riding may take longer than flying, but the trip is so much more pleasant, and I don't have to empty my sippy cup before getting on the bike (yes, I have a sippy cup). I think the entire airline industry should be left to go out of business, and maybe we can reinvent something useful.

[grifscoots]

And just try getting on a plane with nothing but your ticket, wallet and a can of Copenhagen.

[hschisler]

Don't even get me started, Bob.

OK, just a little... :o

I'm not a frequent flyer, but I have been in the past. And, I have flown a few times since 9/11/01. My personal opinion is that a lot of what we are doing in the name of "security" is a joke, an over-reaction, and appeasement. A guy tries to blow up a plane with a shoe bomb? OK, everyone take off your shoes for the security screening. No, I don't have a solution but I am heartened by the few stories I've read of passengers restraining an unruly passenger. In one instance this resulted in the unruly passenger's death (by asphyxiation, I believe, from multiple good samaritans sitting on him).

I'm aware the TSA has also done some good; I'm just not impressed with most of them with whom I've had contact, and the occasional news article (like the one you mention) just reinforces that admittedly-uninformed opinion. I am taking a series of classes this summer and fall for my employer and I am trying to schedule them all within driving/riding distance, for the same reasons mentioned previously.

[tbarstow]

Granted, I agree with the premise that the TSA is just about useless when it comes to security.

If you can't keep your 4 year old in check, DON'T PUT IT ON AN AIRPLANE!!! Or don't be suprised when I hand you a piece of duct tape and tell you to use it before I do.

I'd be willing to bet that there is more to the story than the first blurb puts out. Somehow, I think it will involve a crappy parent that lets a 4 year old run their life making an inappropriate statement to a member of the flight crew.

[DaveDragon]

I quit flying a couple of years back.

[brianbeemer]

If there was a way to cross the pond by bike I would do it. :( At least I fly British Airways and that way I only get half a hassle - at the US end :p

Our vacations start the moment we sit on the bike and hit the button to open our gates and they end when I roll back into the garage. The ride is always the best part, and even SWMBO now agrees with me. We end up in some fabulous places around Europe and all she wants to do is get back on the back and move on!!!

[meese]

Agreed. My work commute is just under 1,000 miles. Unless absolutely forced, I'll ride the bike. In fact, I'm sitting in a hotel now after working a half-day then heading halfway home for the 4th.

[Daman858]

What Grif said...I flew round trip in one day from Myrtle Beach to Baltimore by way of Charlotte so that I could be at a settlement for a piece of property that I sold. I had no luggage, no carry-on, no nothin' except my wallet and my clothes. They treated me like I was the second coming of the shoe bomber or somebody. Pulled me out of line on my return trip and asked me a bunch of dumb assed questions. TSA guy wanted to know why I was flying to Myrtle Beach with no golf clubs. I told him that I don't play golf. He looked at me like I was crazy.

[grifscoots]

What Grif said...I flew round trip in one day from Myrtle Beach to Baltimore by way of Charlotte so that I could be at a settlement for a piece of property that I sold. I had no luggage, no carry-on, no nothin' except my wallet and my clothes. They treated me like I was the second coming of the shoe bomber or somebody. Pulled me out of line on my return trip and asked me a bunch of dumb assed questions. TSA guy wanted to know why I was flying to Myrtle Beach with no golf clubs. I told him that I don't play golf. He looked at me like I was crazy.It's insane, right? To top it off I was in shorts, t-shirt and leather sandals, not even a belt. They took a long time wanding me. Fortunately, I thought it was so ludicrous that it was funny and had a good time with it. Felt like I was trying to enter Israel. Now, what's even funnier, is a TSA goober giving a long time lawman crap.

BTW, I'll be repeating the process as I'm driving a pickup to Dallas that I sold tomorrow. I'll be flying back under the "heightened" security.

[Steve_R]

Well, if you'd get that mad bomber look out of your eyes, maybe you wouldn't of had a problem. ;) :P

[Steve_R]

He looked at me like I was crazy.And your point is?? ;) :D

[UncleRock]

Try showing up with no Drivers licence, thats always a good time
yes you can still get on the plane, there are restrictions 1 guy from the Sons of Liberty does it all the time just to bust their balls. He has the statue and file numbers for them to look up. Hey if they are gonna take your time, might as well amuse yourself.
Rock

[KMC1]

Just to play Devil's advocate here, they (TSA) are doing an incredibly difficult job though. I was in Orlando a couple months back and the line for the check in was about a mile and a half long or something. Seemed like the entire world was trying to get out, and of course the majority was fussing / crying children since they had just gone to see The Mouse. It was not a fun time.
What really pisses me off is that it's just because of a bull-*&^% group of idiots who will murder to promote an agenda which is designed to retard the progress of the rest of the world. Why we continue to treat the symptoms instead of the disease is just beyond me.

[tbarstow]

Grif -

Show up in flip flops, a speedo, and a wife-beater tank top. Anxiously request to be searched and they'll refuse to acknowledge that you exist! Problem solved.

Rock - try getting on a plane when the only ID you have is a gun permit. That's excitement!

[grifscoots]

Grif -

Show up in flip flops, a speedo, and a wife-beater tank top. Anxiously request to be searched and they'll refuse to acknowledge that you exist! Problem solved.

Rock - try getting on a plane when the only ID you have is a gun permit. That's excitement!I'll have to borrow Dick's thong!

[Dick]

I'll have to borrow Dick's thong!
heh, heh - that'll gitcha 10 to 20; slam dunk!! :rolleyes: :)

[brianbeemer]

What I'll never understand is why the TSA confiscated a pair of nail scissors in Cleveland on the way INTO the US? They were deep in the wife's hand baggage and had been missed in London - by both us and the so-called security...

[ibbones]

I had to fly three times last week. Not once did I have a problem with TSA. I even have metal in the leg and no beep beep.

[hschisler]

What I'll never understand is why the TSA confiscated a pair of nail scissors in Cleveland on the way INTO the US? They were deep in the wife's hand baggage and had been missed in London - by both us and the so-called security...I'll tap dance just a little and admit that yes -- the TSA does have a tough job. My complaint is with the inconsistent enforcement, the Napoleonic (is that a word?) attitude that some of the TSAers have due to their position of authority over you, and the ridiculous rules (your nail scissor story).

For a good laugh on this whole subject check out George Carlin's "You Are All Diseased" CD; he spends a good bit of time on airport security. :)

[Bobnoxous]

No question the TSA job is difficult, but as with any monopoly, they have no incentive to get better, other than people complaining. There's no balance between cost and security. It's just tax dollars. No matter how bad you do your job, it's not an indication that money is being wasted; it just proves you need more money. Government programs only get bigger.

My funny TSA story. My wife and I were once hand carrying bowling balls on the plane. It's great to bowl with my Mom when we visit. I was curious if it would cause a problem. The Xray checker overheard me mentioning we had bowling balls, so he wasn't surprised when he saw these impenetrable orbs. They did an explosive check, which I think is standard procedure for something they cannot "see" inside of, but had no real concerns otherwise.

Then some lady in TSA garb starts to question whether you can take bowling balls on the plane. I figured I had to diffuse this quick before anyone started listening to her. I mentioned it wasn't on the list of things you cannot take. She says "It isn't?" I said, "Well, your the TSA agent. Show me the list and where it restricts bowling balls." Of course, she couldn't, and didn't seem to have any idea what was on "the list". It just seemed, to her, a bad idea.

So I asked her what could be the danger, and she said you could bludgeon someone with them. I laughed, but tried to stay non-confrontational. I asked her if she had ever tried to hit someone with a bowling ball. If they just wouldn't move, you might be able to pull it off, but it'd be a lot easier to get 10 quick hits in with your fist than to try and pull of 1 "grand slam" hit with a bowling ball. She still seemed concerned, and confused, but the balls had finished being tested for explosives, so we grabbed them and just moved on. She was still in a quandary when we left. As long as no one else was concerned, I figured I'd gain nothing be trying to convince her.

We left them with my mother for our next visit, and bought new ones when we got back. The TSA methods seem too arbitrary to keep messing with, and you never know when you're going to run into a complete arse. It's a good excuse to buy new bowling balls anyway.

[KMC1]

Reminds me of the scene in Braveheart where William challenges his buddy to crush him like a worm.... and then beans him with the small rock on the forehead... LOL! Scots..... :p

[Lzyellodog]

I think we all have some good one so here is mine: I am flying from Hartford to Burlington, VT and then onto Newark, NJ and then back to Hartford. It is fall so I decide to take all my camera gear. 2 Nikon D100 bodies and various lenses. The bag is full. I go thru security at BDL no problem Land in BVT drive to my meeting and then take some pics on the way back to BTV Had several hours to kill before flight to EWR. Finally get back to BTV to check in. There might be 5 people in line and 10 TSA people. AT BDL they just xrayed the camera bag sans laptop. At BTV, they remove every piece of camera equipment and put them in three bins. The yahoo then starts to pick it all three bins at the same time, one stacked on top of the other, I politely tell him he is carry almost $10K in camera equipment and I would suggest he carries one bin at a time. He looks back at and gently puts the bins down and sheepishly takes one at a time to xray. Don't these people have any idea what they are doing? Why can they xray at BDL and EWR but not BTV and be happy with that. I find that the smaller airports tend to make more of problem then larger ones. Oh well, I did have a friend that worked for TSA but he quit because of the problems.

[ldbikin]

Remember the guy named Cooper I think it was, jumped from a plane with a bunch of stolen cash and they never found him?

Try takin' your parachute on the plane after that! Just like the knee-jerkin' the TSA does today. I insisted (plane fuel vapors will waste a canopy in a hurry), they had me in the front of the plane and the chute in the back, heheh...

I can't even imagine trying to do that today, especially holding passengers hostage all day/nite like they do nowadays, somebody might use it. Seems to be the norm since the NW airlines strike. Ask how do I know you say?

Well...I've been riding instead of flying since then, first in a cage, then switched to bikes (except for winter, etc) since 2001. I think I've flown a total of about 5-6 times since then and don't plan on doing much more.

I'll never understand why some puke would go thru my wallet as a security precaution. It was soon after 9-11. I'm still pissed about that, not to mention his friggin hands in my pants :eek: asshatz.

There aren't too many places I need to be that will make me fly and I do biz travel all the time...gimme a wekend and a travel day and I can make it anywhere in the USofA in time for that meeting :)