Undressing and other tricks for coping with security post 9/11
 

I've developed the following habit for security:

1. Remove belt, ring, cell phone, wallet, etc... from body and place in brief case.
2. Remove computer from brief case.
3. Remove shoes and place them in X-Ray machine

The last bit about the shoes has been my breakthrough. Before that I always set off the detectors. Although people look at me funny, I get through without the groin check. It's worth it.

1a. Or put them in your jacket/coat and run that through the x-ray machine.

3a. Or buy shoes that don't set the machine off.

Tip: If you're wearing a belt, put your hands over the buckle as you walk through the security gate. (Thanks to the security officers at the Middlesex County Courthouse in Cambridge, MA for this excellent tip.)

I still contend that your wallet should stay on your person (on your body) at all times.

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

Wallet on my person at all times? My laptop is worth a heck of a lot more than anything in my wallet ever is, either in terms of cash value or time and difficulty to replace.

I'd gotten in the habit of putting it in one of the zippered pockets of my carry-on even before the new security went through. I'm too prone to drop loose change into it, plus my spare keys.

I've taken to putting my keys, change, wallet, pen, etc.. into small Ziploc bag and sticking that in the plastic tray. Mobile phones and other electronics go in a back pack or Laptop case. At LHR/EWR/IAH/CDG/SIN the ziploc bag never gets more than a cursory look and I don't let go of the tray until I'm about to pass through the metal detector. It's proven to be a very handy solution if you have multiple sets of keys or currencies. More often than not the backpack doesn't warrant a search either (even post 9/11). Laptops...well that's a whole other story...

Just last weekend I saw some guy at PHL put not a wallet, but a fat moneyclip of bills (I saw 100s on the outside) through the conveyor belt. He didn't even put it in a bin, just plopped it on a belt. And when he got delayed going through the gate I loitered a little to watch it for him, since it seemed like an awfully attractive thing for someone to swipe on their way past.

I've been doing this for years, but it doesn't seem to work any more -- the last few trips I've gotten one or another variation on "Hands naturally at your sides, please."

--Laird

Gold rings do not set off the detectors in my recent experiences. Never have actually.