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Tag: TSA

  • Podcast #47 – Listener Travel Stories

    Recorded in the TravelCommons studios after a quick Chicago-San Francisco up-&-back and a 4-day getaway to London with my mother and daughter. We talk about the adjustment from BA Club World to AA domestic coach, the increased security precautions in London, and my continuing travails with tooth powder. Then, we devote the rest of the podcast to listener travel stories — one listener has to crawl into a DFW chute to free his luggage, another listener gets some extra beach time in Miami, I interject a story about the dangers of seat-back pockets, and another listener sends along suggestions for new travel words. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.

    Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #47:

    • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
    • Recorded in the TravelCommons studios outside of Chicago
    • Back in the saddle after a quick vacation to London
    • Tough transition from BA Club World to AA domestic coach
    • Bridge Music — Shadows by Antardhyan
    • ORD TSA screeners are still flummoxed by my Eco-Dent tooth powder, but the SFO screeners don’t seem to have the same problem
    • Udayan Tripathi sent a civic lesson about how the TSA overrides the First Amendment
    • Saw a significant increase in security while in London last week
    • Bridge Music — The Distance by Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags
    • Listener story about delays in O’Hare on the way to Tokyo and stuck luggage on the way back through Dallas-Ft Worth
    • Steve Frick discovers a bike trail behind the Hampton Inn in Columbia, SC
    • Listener request that airlines space out the delivery of the $5 lunch boxes
    • Story about a unique use for seat-back pockets on Air Tunisia
    • Hilary Baumann sent along a Daily Candy mailing of their best made-up travel words
    • Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
    • Bridge music from PodSafe Audio
    • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
    • Direct link to the show

  • Podcast #46 – Long-Distance Guilt; Overheard in Bars

    Recorded in the TravelCommons studios after a 3-day Chicago-San Francisco-Boston triangulation, I left behind some torrential rains in Chicago, which flooded our basement, causing me a good bit of long-distance guilt as my wife was left cleaning up the mess solo. We continue the thread on solid toiletries — even with the recent relaxation of the TSA’s no-liquids rule, it’s less hassle to travel solid, though that tooth powder keeps fooling some screeners. We then wrap up with some things I’ve recently overheard in bars. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.

    Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #46:

    • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
    • Recorded in the TravelCommons studios outside of Chicago
    • Had yet another big 3-day triangulation — Chicago-San Francisco-Boston
    • Heading out to London with my mother and daughter for a quick 4-day vacation
    • Bridge Music — Heaven by Electric Skychurch
    • Orbitz’s fare matrix on the web is best-in-class, but their live customer service is at the bottom of the heap
    • The Eco-Dent tooth powder keeps fooling TSA screeners
    • Staying with solid toiletries avoids the hassle of having to pull out yet another thing out of my bag for special screening
    • Direct Link to The Onion satire on George Bush missing his Air Force One flight
    • Stopped off at the Podcast Expo last week in Ontario, California. Got to meet up with T/C contributors Ed Vawter and Chris Christensen, and Alan Lew of the Geography for Travelers podcast.
    • Bridge Music — One Foot Down by Peter Bradley Adams
    • Torrential rains started in Chicago right after I left for San Francisco
    • Hit the ground and was greeted by two voice messages from my wife about our flooding basement
    • While some might call it “lucky”, it’s actually frustrating not to be able to help solve the problems at home that always seem to come up when you’re on the road
    • Trying to deal with the frustration and guilt over a phone line is fraught with danger
    • Bridge Music — Heaven by Los Lonely Boys
    • Back in T/C #23, I did a topic “Scenes from a hotel bar” about what was going on at 10:30 on a Wednesday night in the Memphis Marriott’s Blue Shoes bar.
    • Overhead some classic California-speak in the Jack Falstaff restaurant in San Francisco
    • Got a lesson in the pervasiveness of American culture at the Tanumstrand Resort on the west coast of Sweden
    • Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
    • Bridge music from IODA Promonet
    • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
    • Direct link to the show

  • Podcast #45 – Waiting for Luggage, Enjoying Travel

    Recorded in the Renaissance Madison Hotel in downtown Seattle, we have some good stories about missing luggage. I have some problems with Orbitz’s live customer service, as well as an over-zealous TSA screener. I recalculate my fly-vs.-drive threshold given the added hassles and airport time caused by the TSA’s no-liquids security rules. Looking back at all this, I work hard to remind myself that there are some good things about travel. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.

    Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #45:

    • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
    • Recorded in the Renaissance Madison Hotel in downtown Seattle
    • On a big 3-day triangulation — Chicago-Houston-Seattle
    • Dreaded the Monday Continental flights, until I found that my complimentary Northwest Airlines Silver Elite status gave me status on Continental
    • Bridge Music — Trees by Tamara Nile
    • Orbitz’s fare matrix on the web is best-in-class, but their live customer service is at the bottom of the heap
    • Monday morning’s TSA screener dove into my toiletry kit, only to be disappointed in her zeal to keep airplanes free of toothpaste
    • Check out Hilary Baumann’s ClothingCult blog for a list of solid toiletry replacements so that you too can play “Fool the Screener”
    • Updated the fly-vs.-drive break-even point from T/C #23, taking into account the added hassles of the TSA no-liquids rules
    • Bridge Music — Can You Hear Me? by The Stirring
    • Looks like Congress and the Dept of Homeland Security want to keep the no-liquids ban in place for some time
    • These rules force more people to check luggage, pushing the system to its breaking point and causing security problems of its own
    • Expect to wait at least 45 minutes for your luggage to appear at the end of your flight
    • Stories of lost luggage from Hilary Baumann and Chris Christensen of the Amateur Traveler podcast
    • Bridge Music — Railroad Car by Sara Shansky
    • Scanning my blog posts over the past 30 days and you get the sense that the travel experience has taken a turn for the worse — it’s just a grind, a trial to be endured
    • Enjoyed finding the Bay Trail running along the back of the SFO Marriott
    • Direct link to a Flickr picture of the City of Burlingame Shorebird Sanctuary
    • Last month’s NPR Music podcast carried a story about Peter Mulvey, a “modern-day troubadour”, in which he talks about loving travel
    • Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
    • Bridge music from the Podsafe Music Network
    • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
    • Direct link to the show

  • Podcast #44 – Dump Bucket of the Vanities, Leaving Behind the PC

    Recorded in the Courtyard in Northwest Houston, we look at the decisions forced on travelers by the TSA’s restrictions around carry-on liquids and gels. Is it a trade-off between safety and vanity? Are frequent travelers really that shallow? Also, I talk about how “luggage economics” made me trim my technology load when packing for my recent vacation in Sweden. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.

    Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #44:

    • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
    • Recorded in the Courtyard in Northwest Houston
    • Back in Houston again this week. Started last week in Houston and then went out to San Francisco where I was joined by my wife
    • Stayed at three Renaissance Hotels while in the Bay Area; my wife rated the sheets at the Renaissance Stanford Court on Nob Hill the best
    • TSA carry-on regulations are impacting the carry-out trade at Napa and Sonoma wineries — direct link to a Flickr picture of a sign on the front door of Arrowood Winery
    • Bridge Music — That Ming Thing by Cagey House
    • The blog entries between episodes is generating some great comments and discussions, and seem to be a good complement to the podcasts
    • A listener tells the story of making top-tier status on Delta on an Atlanta-Omaha commuter jet run
    • Bridge Music — Break In by Mark Jungers
    • The TSA restrictions on carry-on liquids and gels forces travelers to choose between lost time and lost looks
    • The choice between checking luggage or leaving behind toiletries has much more impact on frequent travelers than on leisure travelers
    • Recapping the Debating States of Matter With The TSA blog post
    • Listeners urge me to give Eco-Dent tooth powder another chance
    • The ban is much harder on women than men — Hilary Baumann of the Clothing Cult blog totals up the cost of banned make-up
    • Commentators cast it as a safety vs. vanity choice, but no one feels that the TSA’s new regime is making them any safer
    • Bridge Music — When You Hide by Likewater
    • I lightened my technology load on my recent vacation in Sweden — I left my laptop home
    • On last year’s vacation to Switzerland, France and Hungary, I used it to store digital pictures, check e-mail, and produce TravelCommons episodes #8 and #9
    • Skipped making a vacation podcast and survived just fine with only my BlackBerry and my Motorola V551 mobile phone — they “just worked”
    • Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
    • Bridge music from the Podsafe Audio
    • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
    • Direct link to the show

  • Podcast #43 – Here We Go Again, Old World vs. New

    Recorded in the TravelCommons studios, I look back on my trip through SFO as I try to navigate the new TSA rules on the first full day of the new regime and gird myself for 4 trips through the gauntlet this week. A listener tops my Heathrow lines (queues?) story, and we compare and contrast European and US travel experiences. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.

    Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #43:

    • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
    • Recorded in the TravelCommons studio outside of Chicago
    • Delayed recording this podcast so I could give you my personal experiences with the new TSA travel rules
    • Thursday morning’s news is a mix of elation — glad they busted the plot — and dread — the flight home from SFO is going to be brutal
    • Some mundane concerns — try to figure out how to salvage my nearly-new container of anti-perspirant gel
    • All for naught when a contractor decides that all wheeled bags need to be checked
    • The growing tediousness of travel wears on the frequent traveler — no recovery time
    • Bridge Music — Persephone by Ethereal
    • Instead of recording my own podcast Thursday night, I was a guest on Chris Christensen’s Amateur Traveler podcast talking about Chicago. Here’s a direct link to the episode’s show notes.
    • Peter Rukavina sends in his own story of epic lines at Heathrow
    • Bridge Music — Ghost by Hollow Horse
    • Some contrasting impressions of travel in Europe and the US
    • Security screening is much less of a hassle in Europe
    • Although there are a number of exceptions, I think that, on the whole, US airports are nicer than European airports
    • US airlines’ “no meals” cost cutting has turned their planes into picnic grounds
    • Europeans dress nicer on planes, but Americans seem to dress nicer on trains
    • Just can’t figure out why Europeans would travel thousands of miles in a bus
    • Closing music — iTunes link to iconPictures of You by Evangeline
    • Bridge music from the Podsafe Music Network
    • Flying down to Houston and hoping to get through security with my toiletry kit intact — replaced all my gels and pastes with powders
    • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
    • Direct link to the show