Thanks, GR. I'm hanging in there -- I'm feeling a bit better, although I can't say I'm terribly thrilled about flying home for the holidays. Still, the biggest concern may wind up being my laptop. (WTF do they mean I have to put it in my checked bag, and how can they refuse to compensate me when it gets smashed to pieces by baggage handlers?)...or the part where I can't even have a book with me. Really, though, I just hate feeling like my own security is of my control...naturally, I have a ton of travel scheduled for the next few months, so I just have to grin and bear it.

Regarding the eco-terrorists, ARGH!!!! Like the Animal Liberation Front, abortion clinic shooters and all of those ilk, don't you think they'd realize they're doing their own cause more harm than good? It drives me crazy, especially since environmental work is my life and my passion. I'd really like to "thank" them for being such idiots. Oh well.

Anyway, back to work for me. Thanks for the good wishes. They definitely help.

Yeah, I'm starting to envision a world where the airlines hand you cotton pajamas and slippers to wear during the flight and all your stuff goes on a separate flight. I hope they let you bring magazines, if not books. I don't know how I'd handle an overseas flight without something to read...

Let's see what things are like by the holidays. Slate.com has some articles on how this was tried back in 1994 and they didn't ban fluids then. Of course, the rise in suicide bombers is the big change since then.

In any event, thinking of you and hoping by December security checks will be smart and secure but not paranoid. :)

Thanks :) At this point, we're being told no magazines, either. As one astute commentator observed, if we can't trust books and bottled water sold from stores *inside* the airport security checkpoints, we really must be screwed!

I'm hoping for some improvement, too. I'm not a fan of long plane rides, so this should be fun.

Time to further cultivate that rich inner life, huh?