Airport security theatre: Zipties

[robbat2]

So my carry-on laptop backpack got a full going-over because of a little folding tripod that apparently looked weird on the scanner...

And they saw and removed the small zipties that I use for securing my suitcase normally, claiming that I could use them to tie people up.

Nevermind the 6ft ethernet cable, or the laptop cable, I was going to be able to tie somebody up with a couple of zip-ties, each 5cm in length, with a width of less than 4mm.

The American TSA side has never complained about them, and now on a Canadian domestic flight they did. Just simply crazy.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/hub_/]

between you on me, Canada airport security only miss abusing people to exceed TSA in term of badness....

Well,

[smitty1e.livejournal.com]

We'll see if the border guards are as wierd, as the wife and I drive up for OLS tomorrow.

[tupni.livejournal.com]

Here is a fun thing to try (once you are home..). Put your hands behind your back, crossed. Now have M use one of the puny little zaps to zap your thumbs together. Now watch her laugh maniacally as you try to free yourself without destroying your thumbs : D

The laptop cable/ethernet cable are really just built to carry electricity, and provide a minimal amount of shielding on same. It's hard to tie someone up/strangle with either one of those - they stretch, and will snap (I would think either could support maybe 60lbs). Yeah, the little zaps support less..but they are good at holding small bits of people, where you cannot provide the amount of force needed to break them.

You can also zap toes together to secure feet. It is also funny to watch ; )

Dave

[tupni.livejournal.com]

I know you are going to try this, so wait 'til you get home. There are sillier reasons to miss a conference, so use one of the sillier ones if you have to (gigglesnort).

[amethest.livejournal.com]

Apparently, he took you up on the latter suggestion - seven glasses of beer and throwing up his dinner definitely counts as, "Sillier."

I think when he gets home we're going to have a very nice talk about the dangers of binge drinking and peer pressure.

If everyone else's liver jumped off a cliff, would yours?

[ill-esha.livejournal.com]

Why do I feel like there's gotta be a zip tie fetish porn site somewhere? haha

[amethest.livejournal.com]

...And thus it was called in to being.

[foxgrrl]

I once had my roll of (painter's) blue masking tape confiscated by airport security, because I could tie someone up with it, and They don't make the rules.

Also, my friend thewronghands is at the OLS this week too. She's apparently the only girl there, from how people have been reacting to her.

[robbat2.livejournal.com]

i don't know who thewronghands is, but there are quite a number of females (of various sorts) at the conference. I hung out with amaena.