As I'm sure you've heard by now, the authorities in the UK have stopped a massive terror plot to bring down 20 planes in the USA using liqud explosives in carry-on bags.

For the first time, we're at "red alert" for a part of the country, specifically, places where planes from the UK are coming into the USA.

At 5:15 this morning, I listened to the CEO of Heathrow Airport describe the security measures thay have undertaken. Read this closely, because this will become the norm for air travel in the very near future.

1. No more carry-on luggage. No computer bags, backpacks, waist packs, whatever. None.

2. No liquids, lotions, creams or other liquid-linje substances. Exceptions are baby milk (which you must drink to prove it's not toxic - a pointless exercise for a suicide bomber) and medications.

3. No electronics of any kind. No iPod, FLASHLIGHTS, Cell Phone, Key Fob Car Unlocker, Laptops, hip tops, nothing that uses electricity or has a battery. No radios of ANY KIND.

4. Allowed items are travel documents, identity papers, money, cards, medications (with prescriptions), sanitary items. All items must be carried in a clear plastic bag. All passengers are hand-searched. All shoes, belts, clothing accessories and so forth are x-rayed and hand examined.

5. Only airport-provided wheelchairs may be used.

Obviously, the next logical step is that you must fly naked & sedated, which would be fine with me. Or perhaps it's time to get serious with this idea:
http://www.focazio.com/pa/

In all seriousness, this raises some profound implications for traveling. Of course, my first bit of advice is, as always; don't check what you can send. Pack it in a sturdy case, call UPS or Fedex, and ship it to your destination. It’s not as expensive as you’d think.

That said, now that you need to (gasp!) check your laptop, it's time to talk about the reality of doing it right.

First of all, physical protection. There's only one way to go when packing a laptop, and that's the case-in-a-case method. My favorite laptop case is the Pelican 1490CC1. There's also a 1490CC2, which is about $20 less, but lacks the storage space of the 1490CC1. They are about $149 (for the CC1) and $129 (for the CC2). Pack that case INSIDE another case (like another Pelican Case ideally, or another HARD-SIDE case.

You can't lock your bags, unless you’re checking a gun, and the TSA-approved locks are a joke, so don’t bother with locks. So another thing you should do is protect your data.

The most basic thing you can do to protect a laptop is to enable a power-on password via the system BIOS. While this won't stop someone from getting at the data on your hard drive if they remove the drive from your computer, it will stop the less-determined. The next level is to disable auto-login on your computer. Yes, it's a pain in the butt to have to log-in to the system, but it's another level of prevention. Before you fly, clear out all of your saved passwords, cookies and delete your temporary files. I use a product called BC Wipe (google it) to make sure files that I delete are really gone.

Finally, and this is a it of a radical step, consider encrypting your hard drive. On a Mac, this is as simple as using the "File Vault" option under the "Security" system preferences. This takes your entire home directory and makes it an encrypted data store. That means that without your password, the data on the file can't be read, even if the hard drive is physically removed. On a PC, things are not as simple, but check out the software that came with the laptop - for example, the Acer TravelMate series includes a fairly decent encryption utility that comes pre-installed on the system.

The other option is to skip the laptop entirely and move your digital life onto a USB Keychain Drive. It's amazing how effective this is. If you go to www.portableapps.com, you'll find a universe of applications that you can copy to a USB Keychain Drive. I carry a Lexar Media 2GB Jump Drive Lightning, and on it I have portable versions of the Firefox web rowser, Thunderbird Email, Open Office - an MS-Office Replacement, Filezilla FTP client, Clam Window Virus Scanner, GAIM - a multi-platform instant messaging client, NVU - a web page & site creation tool similar to FrontPage, GIMP, a photoshop replacement, and VLC, a media player application for video and audio. I fit all that in 747 MB, and that leaves me with lots of room to spare for files. All I need is a Windows computer with a USB port and I'm up and running. The nice thing about this is with a 2GB USB Drive, I can back up everything - applications and files - in a few minutes to a DVD (which holds 4.7 GB). Heck, 2GB is small enough that you can zip the entire drive and upload it to a web server somewhere as a backup. If I really, really really wanted to travel light, I could even forego the USB key drive and put all the applications and data onto a single 2gb SD card (http://usamemory.net/2gbsdcard.html) and tuck that into my wallet. It's easy to find card readers anywhere you go.

In the end, air travel, which I remember as being glamorous and exciting when I was a kid, has gradually gone from being something desirable to being only slightly more pleasant than crawling on your hands and knees through a sewer while being yelled at by angry trolls who are throwing rotten tomatoes at your head.

Getting there is none of the fun, that’s for sure.

Wow. Sad state of affairs, but thanks for all the tips on coping.

Just to add... If you're flying somewhere and don't have an address to ship your stuff to, I checked with USPS and they have no problem with people sending packages as General Delivery. You can address the package to yourself and send it to the Post Office of the town where heading and just pick it up when you get there.

>2. No liquids, lotions, creams or other liquid-linje substances.
>Exceptions are baby milk (which you must drink to prove it's not
>toxic >- a pointless exercise for a suicide bomber) and

Actually, most liquid explosives are sufficently toxic that if you drink it at the security check point, you won't make it to the gate, so it isn't completely pointless. Particularly if it's a binary liquid- most of those components are to the far end of the Ph scale one way of the other. If you beverage digests you and not the other way around, you either have the worst luck in the world or were up to no good.

That being said, not allowing people to do the same with water as they do with formula is beyond pointless. They aren't even allowing people to carry on beverages that they buy PAST the security check point- what are they admitting here? That the government is terrorizing the people, or that they have no controls on what gets in the shops in the airports?

Either way, BRAVO to security for supporting terrorism. Way to go guys!

heh, heh... This link was posted on another site:

Bill of Rights, TSA edition

In two weeks my entire family is flying from Florida to Idaho. This includes two children: 4 anf 5 years old. I was planning on taking a DVD player, and a few toys and games. If I cannot do this, then my kids are gonna be trouble on a five-hour flight. It won't be their fault, it is just the way that kids are.

This is gonna be a LOT of fun!

**EDIT**
We are also flying Southwest, where they do not provide lunch or drinks. If I cannot bring food or water, this is gonna be a VERY long flight.

And thus we come to the real reason why terrorism works. Inflict pain and suffering on people, either directly, or better yet, get them to do it to themselves for you. Primary mission failed (maybe- interesting that they aren't touching checked baggage), but the secondary one has been successfully completed - disruption.

Frankly, I've found that it is often cheaper to charter a flight than fly commercial. Even when it isn't less expensive, there are unique advantages.

Some Advantages:

1. Leave when you want, arrive when you want.
2. Take what you want.
3. Land closer to distination.
4. Superior personal service.
5. Psychological advantage in business contacts.
6. No TSA BS.

Have you ever tasted baby formula?? That stuff IS toxic! I'm surprised my children thrived the way they did drinking that stuff! I'm pretty sure I'd rather drive anywhere possible than drink baby formula. Breast milk might not be so bad as formula, but that would just be wierd.

Fear Factor: Terrorist Edition

That being said, the whole flying naked concept might be okay, if I were fortunate to sit next to a few select female celebrities <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I think it just reinforces the concept that as long as you can still think, you're still "equipped". The ability to carry the tools may be restricted, but the ability to think can't be...unless the TSA has been secretly collaborating with the Romulans <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

It definitely worked with me. Given the choice of driving and taking an airliner, I take my truck. My EDC backpack is with me, and my laptop sits on the passenger seat. I get to take lots of toys, cooler and firearms are in the back of the truck. End of the month I go on vacation too; I'll be driving three days instead of flying three hours. These days I feel naked flying.

Unfortunately, my tactic won't work for most folks, but if I was going on vacation from Florida to Idaho with children, I'd consider renting a motorhome or at least a good size van and take whatever stuff I need. Spoken by a guy who's never driven long distances with young kids.

Actually (and this may be a campfire forum topic) this sort of terrorism cannot work, because it has no clear aims.

For example, the IRA acheived something, because we understood what they wanted. Whether we can or will give it to them. or what the terms should be is another matter, but if you understand that, then the opportunity for some type of settlement exists.

With 9/11, 7/7 etc, we are seeing a collection of individuals with a broad 'anti-western' agenda. But no clear demands or goals per se, just a lose collection of grievances. They kill, cause fear and disruption, but there is no clear goal.

So even if we wanted to negotiate, we can't. And they can't win in terms of firepower. So we reach an unhappy stalemate. They snipe, we defend and retaliate. But no one wins until we start talking.

I just find this massively frustrating - I have no time for terrorists, and fully condemn their actions. But if half the energy they expended on violence was spent promoting co-operation and harmony - that would be a beautiful thing