Buz writes:
> I have flown in and out of domestic airports of
> various sizes.  I have had more problems with the
> smaller airports.  They don't have to pass 20,000
> passengers a day through the gates, so they have their
> metal detectors turned up higher, and will quibble
> over fillings in teeth (well, not really, but it
> feels like it).

Smaller airports, and airports in less technically advanced
parts of the world, also appear to be more likely to have
older X-RAY equipment, which may use higher power and thus be
more likely to cause film fogging.  This older equipment may
also be more likely to cause problems with magnetic media due
to poorly shielded motors driving the conveyer belts.

The most gung-ho airport security I've ever encountered was
in Victoria BC, where some genius decided that if they turned
up the sensitivity on their metal detectors all the way then
they would have the highest possible security.  This resulted
in individually scanning every passenger with the "wand" type
detector.  They would wave it next to the head of someone
wearing earrings, which would set the wand off, then make the
person remove each earring to verify that they didn't have a
gun hidden in their ear.  I lost count of how many people came
into the waiting area muttering to themselves and clutching a
pair of earrings, or trying to juggle the complete contents of
all of their pockets along with their carry on baggage.

Fortunately the only computer I generally take traveling with
me is the HP200LX, which gets noticed in my luggage during only
about 1 out of 25 trips through security, and which spends the
rest of the time in a pocket, limiting the theft danger.

G.