Like a lot of folks reading this, I have a fair amount of gear that mostly sits around in various packs and duffles. Under the auspice that "it's better to have it and not need it..." and the fact that messing with gear is more fun than writing reports, I put together another kit based off the BONY bag (thanks Kurt_W!). It rides in a laptog bag along with a laptop, charger, external drives, pens / pencils, etc...and, since I try to travel with carry-on luggage only, be as security-friendly as possible. It's designed to get me to local caches and shelter-in-place locations in / near Los Angeles, Denver, New York, and various middle-of-nowhere places in Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, wherever. These items (sometimes) get used in every day capacities and supplement what's already in my pockets. The laptop bag is typically near me at all times. Items are listed in no particular order.

In a 1-quart ziploc bag so it can be easily inspected at checkpoints:

Mini-Match magnesium / ferro rod
Pelican mini-flasher 2130
Adventure Lights Guardian strobe light
(I may get rid of the blinky lights and get some Glo-Toobs since I already carry CR123s, but I like blinky lights)
DR eQ multi light
a few differently-sized split rings
a few safety pins
several different sizes of needles
travel pack (10 meters) of dental floss
mini Sharpie
Pack Shack compass pouch - can be attached to the shoulder strap of the laptop bag
cut down Fox 40 whistle (with lanyard, in compass pouch)
2x3 Star Flash mirror (in compass pouch)
Mini-Comp II micro orienteering compass (in compass pouch)
mini-bic with plunger secured by a zip tie
3 cotton balls stuffed into a Listerine breath strips case (decided against Tinder-Quik because I didn't want to explain to security what they're for - thanks, KenK! - I have Carmex, Chapstick, whatever to grease them up)
flattened 1/4 roll of duct tape (it's a lot, but the roll grows smaller as I use it)
~half meter string to be used as lanyard
~20 mini zip ties

The ziploc and contents ride in an Outdoor Products fanny pack (whichever model is the skinny one), along with:

disposable poncho
6 20 cm zip ties
6 meters p-cord
trau-medic and a bunch of band-aids
mini EMT shears
10 MicroPur tabs

I went with the fanny pack so that in the event of an emergency landing / ditching, ala the Hudson River awhile back, I could take some gear with me as passengers aren't permitted to bring carry-ons when leaving the aircraft. The fanny pack should escape scrutiny. It is somewhat bulky for the utility so I may scrap it.

Things already in the laptop bag:

Witz container with cash and encrypted USB drive
a few bucks worth of quarters
Res-Q-Me
bottle opener (can't legally have a multi-tool past the checkpoint)
hand sanitizer
travel pack of Wet-Ones
shirt-pocket size Rite-in-the-Rain
6 CR123s (case is also padded with cotton balls)
nitrile gloves
mini-bic
over-the-counter meds

Things I will be adding to the laptop bag:

an Aqua-Pouch (probably a larger capacity Nalgene Cantene as soon as I trim some of the fat off the current layout)
Green Rescue Laser Flare
a smoke hood (still have to look into the most space-efficient model - recommendations?)
light leather gloves
County Comm's breaker bar (yeah, I know that's not getting through security)
Leatherman Squirt
pre-addressed, pre-paid padded mailer for when I forget to / don't have time to take out the Leatherman when I get on a commercial flight
County Comm's embassy radio
a corkscrew (thanks Equipped4Chicago - Canoedogs - MDinana!)
Night Core D-10 (I'd like to have the versatility of a high-intensity light that takes AAs - thanks whoever mentioned this in a recent thread!)

I should probably do something about food as well...

Specific questions:

If I decide I have room AND can afford it (neither's very likely) I may add a dual-band 2-meter / aviation frequency HT. I looked at what was available several years ago and I wasn't impressed with the reliability. Can anybody make recommendations of models to look at?

What have been people's experiences with having hacksaw blade strikers go through checkpoints?

Does anybody have a recommendation for practical shoes that aren't out-of-place with a suit?

Okay, hit me with your critiques and criticisms. What am I missing? Where am I being silly (stupid)?