Salt Lake Ironies

[marcusmarcusrc]

Irony #1: Robert Redford organizes a global warming conference at Sundance. 3 days of 100+ degree weather. Good timing! I was tempted to try and crash the meeting, but had too many other things to do (plus, the newspaper clipping about the conference used the word "exclusive" at least twice, so I don't know what my chances of being let in would have been)

Irony #2: Which is more dangerous? A) A torque wrench on a plane. or B) Miscalibrated equipment in our nation's nuclear missile silos?

If you answered "A" you agree with that fine organization of safe living, the TSA! My seatmate on the plane ride here was on her way to do calibration at a series of nuclear missile silos across the midwest, and the TSA confiscated and destroyed her torque wrench because it looked dangerous. I feel much safer now. (Yes, she got one of her Air Force buddies to agree to drop a properly calibrated torque wrench off at her hotel, but still...)

Irony #3: (Okay, more an observation than an irony, but): I went to a concert last night. They patted down all the males going in quite thoroughly. The women got away with raising their arms and doing a pirouette. Is it because men are more dangerous? Or do we have baggier clothing that is easier to hide weapons in? Or because the bouncers are worried abhout getting punched in the face?

Plus, this is Salt Lake City... the crowd at the concert was about as well-behaved as one could hope, despite being packed in to a 100 degree non-airconditioned room (see above comment about the temperature here). Security wouldn't seem to be an issue...

Comments

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Is it because men are more dangerous? Or do we have baggier clothing that is easier to hide weapons in? Or because the bouncers are worried abhout getting punched in the face?

Worried about getting sued for fondling the women, I have to imagine. (I think most women are unlikely to punch the face of the security guard, but there are other ways to cause trouble if one gets upset at over-enthusiastic patting.)

[arcanology.livejournal.com]

Anyone who could hijack a plane with a blunt object will in fact be able to kill everyone on board using hypnodisks made from the inflight safety card, so there's no point in stopping people bringing that stuff.

But at concerts, I would bet that males are much more likely to bring concealed weapons places.

[remcat.livejournal.com]

Bringing us to the joke, "Is that a torque wrench in your pocket, or ..."

Having had my oh-so-dangerous embroidery scissors confiscated, I sympathize. However, the only consequence to lack-of-scissors was that my cross-stitch threads didn't get snipped until I landed. Not too bad, especially compared to nuclear power plants blowing up.

Scissors

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

I got a little pair of folding scissors to go on my key chain. Can't be more than 1.5" long. When it goes through the X-ray machine, either they don't distinguish it from the rest of my keys, or its deformed enough to not look like scissors. But I've been on a bunch of flights with it and haven't had any problems.

But yeah. Bureaucracy breeds stupidity and all.

Re: Scissors

[davehenry.livejournal.com]

And then there was the time years ago (1989?) when I tried to check the weapon I was carrying so I could avoid any problems going through security and they wouldn't let me. Instead, they insisted that I carry it on the plane with me...

Now, given the limited space inside an airplane cabin, I think if I'd been able to hijack the plane using my three-section staff, I'd be way more impressive than someone who could accomplish the same with a torque wrench...

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

Does anyone else remember the time at MIT when they started cracking down on organized parties because some rap party attracted a bunch of local high school students and a fight broke out, so then the lesbian dance and later the ballroom dance formal had to hire police details?

actually...

[dcltdw]

Story I heard from a medic (now instructor) who works up in the Lowell area:

Lots of guys will rent guns to impress their date. They're wearing the sportcoat and collared shirt and pick up their date and say, "Don't worry, baby; if anything goes wrong *pull back sportcoat* I'll protect ya."

How many? Don't know.

But this was a story he told to people when we were discussing "scene safety" and why someone who looks perfectly normal to you may not be.

Re: actually...

[arcanology.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's asinine on so many levels at once.

[kirisutogomen.livejournal.com]

Certainly concern about lawsuits would be a motivation for the organizers, but I suspect that the organizers have nothing to do with this. Males are more dangerous, and the bouncers are realists.