Day: August 14, 2006

I’d pay for this

Ez-Pass Airport Security – Forbes.com

So that’s where Steve Brill went ….

“Don’t expect Thursday’s foiled terror plot in London to ground the U.S. government’s Ez-pass style security program for frequent travelers.”And that’s good news for Steve Brill, the media entrepreneur who’s now running a security business geared to frequent business fliers. His company, Verified Identity Pass, a screening service that’s created an express lane at airport security posts for pre-screened passengers deemed safe by the government, has effectively been cleared to take off past its initial successful test run in Orlando, Fla. Already, it’s proved enormously popular with customers.

Schneier on Security: Last Week’s Terrorism Arrests

Schneier on Security: Last Week’s Terrorism Arrests

I became a Bruce Schneier fan while running the website for CSO Magazine at IDG last year (CSOonline.com). He has some smart things to say about the current state of affairs at airport security stations. In the past few days I’ve heard everything conversationally from a call for a national ID with pre-clearance for known good travellers, to the insane notion of a special airline for undesirables.
Schneier blogs:

“The new airplane security measures focus on that plot, because authorities believe they have not captured everyone involved. It’s reasonable to assume that a few lone plotters, knowing their compatriots are in jail and fearing their own arrest, would try to finish the job on their own. The authorities are not being public with the details — much of the “explosive liquid” story doesn’t hang together — but the excessive security measures seem prudent.”But only temporarily. Banning box cutters since 9/11, or taking off our shoes since Richard Reid, has not made us any safer. And a long-term prohibition against liquid carry-ons won’t make us safer, either. It’s not just that there are ways around the rules, it’s that focusing on tactics is a losing proposition.”

Back to work

Today is the day most people quit their jobs. According to an old USA Today factoid I recall reading, the top reason for quitting a job is dread over returning to work following a vacation.

I am heading back to Raleigh tomorrow morning and dreading the security checks more than anything else.  No toothpaste. No saline solution for my contact lenses. The local drug store is going to benefit at my expense. So, RTP this week, New York next, and back into the swing of things.