The casualization of the world

[Edward]

Some walking sticks can be rather effective as weapons:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-replica-Gandalf-Wizards/dp/B001B0NYQK

I rather think anyone who would be likely to fork out that kind of money on this particular stick is rather unlikely to present much of a threat to airline personnel....

 

[MisterCairo]

I rather think anyone who would be likely to fork out that kind of money on this particular stick is rather unlikely to present much of a threat to airline personnel....

I guess my post would have made more sense if, instead of a reproduction of the prop, I'd been able to find a screen shot of Gandalf being asked to hand it over before being shown before Theoden....

 

[Edward]

I guess my post would have made more sense if, instead of a reproduction of the prop, I'd been able to find a screen shot of Gandalf being asked to hand it over before being shown before Theoden....

lol Fair point!

 

[Flicka]

No dressing properly, just he security. I've been aware of the environmental questions for years and give them quite some thought but to be brutally honest it is the frankly stupid levels of security to which we are subjected nowadays that make me avoid flying where there is a reasonable alternative. I once had a walking stick refused as carry-on, and had to check it into the hold on its own. Any aeroplane which can be successfully hijacked with a walking stick damn well deserves to be.



I always ask them if they need my shoes - most of the time they say no (typically I am in leather shoes with leather soles). I do try to fly in braces to avoid the hassle of removing a belt. I'm afraid, though, I refuse to be rushed by airport security when I am re-dressing myself. hey have inconvenienced me enough already - if they wish for me not to take up time getting my shoes, jacket, belt etc back on - plus everything in my pockets, then they can stop inconveniencing me to that degree. hat said, I will choose that every time over to total invasion of privacy that is the X-ray machine. I saw those in operation for the first time in DC last year. Very civilised that one is offered the option of that or the traditional route. Here in the UK, while the X rays are only being trialled in one airport they are non-optional, and a number of people who objected for religious or other reasons have been refused access to their flights.

My sister got a pair of tweezers confiscated once. Now, to me she doesn't really look like she could take over a plane with a pair of tweezers, but I might be biased. However, they never seem to worry about airport shopping. I wonder why. I mean, if my sister was the sort of person who could hijack a plane with a pair of tweezers, what wouldn't she be able to do with a box of Godiva and a bottle of Bacardi?

One shudders to think of it.

 

[MisterCairo]

Some walking sticks can be rather effective as weapons:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-replica-Gandalf-Wizards/dp/B001B0NYQK

Let's try this again.


You know, some walking sticks can be rather effective as weapons:

 

[TipTop]

Today's Wall St Journal (shop is on E 57th between Park and Lex)

See if this link works; subscription may be required.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...d=WSJ_NY_MIDDLETopStories#articleTabs=article

 

[Edward]

My sister got a pair of tweezers confiscated once. Now, to me she doesn't really look like she could take over a plane with a pair of tweezers, but I might be biased. However, they never seem to worry about airport shopping. I wonder why. I mean, if my sister was the sort of person who could hijack a plane with a pair of tweezers, what wouldn't she be able to do with a box of Godiva and a bottle of Bacardi?

One shudders to think of it.

Yeah, funny how I always end up buying so much of the stuff they'd only confiscate once I'm through security....

Let's try this again.


You know, some walking sticks can be rather effective as weapons:

 

[scottyrocks]

I had a security guard want to take my cane from me before entering the tour of the Sistene Chapel. It's a hand carved African cane with two faces. The body of the cane is the 'bodies' of the two faces intertwined all the way to the bottom. The discussion was longer than it needed to be because he spoke Italian, and I speak English.

I don't know if he thought it would be mistaken for a museum relic, or that I was gonna swing it around, destroying ancient heirlooms, but somehow I was able to make it obvious that I needed it to walk any sort of distance. He put an 'official' sticker on it and let me in.

What do they not let in people who use canes? They are automatically barred from seeing the place? It didn't seem right, and I never got an 'official' reason for the hard time. But I have a cool Vatican 'souvenir' sticker on my cane! And I got to take the tour.

 

[Two Types]

When i think of the world getting more casual, one thinks back to the way men have stopped wearing hats. It always makes me think of this photograph taken in England in the early 1930s. Every man in the photgraph bar one (in the centre) is wearing a hat:

That's my grandfather. So you can blame him for helping start the trend towards more casual dressing ...

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Fail! :doh:
It's bad enough seeing practically everyone not wearing a ballcap wearing a knit cap. Now for something really naff: Introducing Beardo, the combination knit cap and detachable face mask.

 

[Shangas]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! What the hell is that!? That is horrifying!!

 

[Pompidou]

They have a few nice ones for looking like an ancient Mesopotamian king.

 

[Tango Yankee]

When I flew to Manchester to stay with friends many years ago (probably April 2000), I was wearing a leather riding jacket and carrying a satchel filled with my riding gear, including my helmet. I was stopped and asked to empty my bags. When the agent asked me my reason for traveling, my daughter, then 7 years old, who had heard too many of our conversations during the planning of the trip, said, to 'drink beer and ride motorcycles.' After my initial shock at her response, I smiled at the agent and said, 'not at the same time.' They let me through without any issues.

When I was still active duty I bought a motorcycle on eBay. I was stationed in South Carolina and the motorcycle (a '72 Yamaha 650) was in Kansas City. At the airport I discovered that even with an active duty military ID card you get selected for "special treatment" if you're a male flying alone on a one-way ticket! I had my riding gear in a waterproof bag and was carrying my helmet as a carry-on.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Undertow]

They have a few nice ones for looking like an ancient Mesopotamian king.

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