Category: Travel Page 21 of 29
Seems that a lucky 5 year old shares a name with a fellow on the No-Fly List, and our ever-alert TSA intercepted and inspected him in Seattle’s airport. Even better, in a move that inspires a Dave Berry-like “I am not making this up” disclaimer, the TSA told the mother that she was not allowed to touch her son in the process, as he was a “security risk.” The mother gets points from me for not turning that into a serious security situation right there.
Update:Â Looks like we’ve got another 5 year old national security threat on our hands.
Related: Behind the Security Theater Curtains: Schneier Interviews [TSA head Kip] Hawley.
Maybe the use of the term “police state” is a bit overwrought. The US isn’t one right now (but we certainly are a surveillance society). But every time I see a story like this, or this, I’m reminded that we’re slouching toward that police state. What did I just link? Well, the first was about this program, which Cory Doctorow has appropriately recognized as “facecrime“:
TSA screeners are learning to recognize set of secret, forbidden facial expressions. If your face slips into one of these during a TSA inspection, you will be taken off and given a thorough, secondary screening
[ . . . ]
TSA officials will not reveal specific behaviors identified by the program — called SPOT (Screening Passengers by Observation Technique) — that are considered indicators of possible terrorist intent.
But a central task is to recognize microfacial expressions — a flash of feelings that in a fraction of a second reflects emotions such as fear, anger, surprise or contempt, said Carl Maccario, who helped start the program for TSA.
Now, I don’t believe for a second that a few days of training (which is all they’re getting) is going to turn any of the TSA employees I’ve ever met into someone capable of making that judgment. But that’s really not the point of this program (or the public announcement of it). The point is twofold – first, to continue the security theater efforts at making the public feel like the government is doing something to keep them safe, and second, to continue to keep the public fearful enough that it doesn’t object to the first. Impressively self sustaining, no?
The second story, however, is my favorite. It can be summed up with this picture:
This is part of the FBI’s new digital billboard alert program. And you can see how it checks off all the requirements, just in this picture alone. It’s attention catching, it’s got the scary brown man with a vaguely Arabic name, and it reminds you that there are bad people out there who will hurt you.  Whoever picked this out as an example surely has a fine career ahead of him or her.
These billboards are not just going to be fancy versions of the old post office wanted posters. No, they’re going to actively participate in your life:
Billboards will also be used to display “high security messages to relevant communities” and the FBI also plans to establish a “protocol” for high priority “hot pursuit” messages to run straight after crimes are committed.
I feel safer already. You?
Music from a few dreamlike days in Hong Kong. Click on any track for it to play. The Chemical Brothers’ Where Do I Begin is in my lifetime top 10.
Testing out something I’ve long wanted to do. It appears to be working from this end, but if it’s odd on your end, let me know? (And “odd” *definitely* includes unprompted audio. I hate that.) Thanks.
As has been hinted at, my last trip was a near perfect storm of logistical problems originating with weather, the airlines, and myself. I spent no small amount of time on the concourse trying to sort out what options were available, and at what cost. Handling these challenges was much easier with a laptop and a data connection than, well . . . without either. I’ll sing the praises of a few websites/online tools that have served me well in situations like this:
- Kayak.com – I almost always book my tickets directly with the airline, but Kayak.com is an excellent comprehensive resource in sorting out exactly how many routes are available to your desired destination, and how they compare in cost. The screens are what make it so useful.
- Flyertalk – there is *always* someone with the answer to your question reading the forums at any given moment. Plus, most of them are cheap bastards with rich tastes, so you’ll get the straight scoop on how to achieve your objective with a minimum of fuss and expense. (Contrast this with LP’s near unusable ThornTree forums, which – to this day – remains one of the great tragedies of online travel resources.)
- TripAdvisor – this is a surprising one, for me. I’d long ago dismissed TripAdvisor as being for the sort of folks who stayed at Best Westerns when they went to Europe. And while it still serves those needs, I’ll have to say that I’m pretty impressed with the depth of the information available for a very wide range of travel tastes/modes. Easy all in one resource when you need to quickly figure out the options in any given city.
- Sleeping In Airports – exactly what it seems to be. Most recently used when I booked a 5am connection through LIM, having planned to arrive at 1am (told me that the upstairs food court was a common and safe place to make camp for a few hours). Has also done a good job in directing me to in-airport showers in the past.
- Weather.com – because it helps to know if that Northeast storm is going to keep your Atlanta connecting flight from showing up.
- WikiTravel – dismissed years ago as a good idea, but lacking the necessary participation to make it truly useful, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s grown into a serviceable resource. I may spend some time contributing. (Yeah, I know.)
- The Subway Page – maintained by Robert Reynolds, it’s a great place to snag a map of most any major (and lots of minor) public transport systems in the world.
- BostonCoach – I’m somewhat embarrassed by this. Sometimes, you just want to know that you can step off the plane without thinking, see your name, and know that that person will get you exactly where you want to go, no fuss. BostonCoach can do that for you with very little notice, almost anywhere in the world.
Finally, for fellow Palm users, there is FlightStatus. A rather basic little shareware program written by a young fellow some years ago, it has turned out to be one of the most useful Palm apps I ever installed. Does exactly what it says – gives you flight status and gate information for most any domestic US flight.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few (such as Airpower), but I hope these will be useful to some.
Today starts in Prague. About 14 hours and 5400 miles later, it should end in DC. The end to an unexpected – but quite delightful – trip.
I was going to stay at Torre Dorada. Ridiculously responsive via email, and entirely accessible via phone. They rate a good Lonely Planet Review, and the top spot on TravelAdvisor.com’s ranking of Cusco lodgings.  But alas, I did not stay there. Casa San Blas also rates an honorable mention in the category of email responsiveness (an indicator, I think, of lodging quality).
Much the same can be said for Rupa Wasi, in Aguas Caliente. Unlike Torre Dorado, the grasp of the English language by hotel staff was slim. However, a genuine helpfulness was in evidence when I requested bookings for nights for which they were full. This? Is rare.
Llama Path tours? As best I could tell, they were the sort of folk you’d be comfortable entrusting four days and three nights of your existence in the Andes. They were not only responsive, but clear in communications. When it became apparent that I simply wouldn’t be able to make it to Peru in time for the trip, I’d hoped they’d be willing to apply some small portion of my deposit to a future trip with them. That didn’t turn out to be the case, but I can’t begrudge it (90% of the deposit went to sunk costs).
Hotel Renew, somewhere between Waikiki and Diamond Head. In anticipating a visit there, I discovered that my attitude toward travel in Hawaii involves a somewhat unearned bitterness towards the development that’s occurred since I moved away in the early 80s. So when I think about going back, I don’t want to hear about $500/night rooms on Waikiki (or anything more than $40/night on the North Shore). The pleasant surprises, then, were the rates offered by Hotel Renew for the holiday period. $190 for an ocean view room, just left of Fort DeRussy. Through Jan 31, at least. Jump on it.
Backpackers Hawaii. I’m sure that, with a bit more thought, I could explain the disconnect between my willingness to hang out in a shared-facilities hostel on the beach in Hawaii and my requiring a 5 star hotel in Madrid. But until then, know this: the private rooms in the “village” at Backpackers Hawaii seem like the best deal in the state.
So, yeah, these are reviews of the places I thought I was going to, but never did end up in. Turned out just fine, though.
“Kde se pivo vali, tam se dobre dari”
(apologies for mangling the language)
