{"id":480,"date":"2011-03-22T10:53:33","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T17:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=480"},"modified":"2011-03-23T10:47:47","modified_gmt":"2011-03-23T17:47:47","slug":"spring-forward-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

<\/a><\/h4>\n

March 14, 2011<\/h2>\n

Cleveland<\/h2>\n

Scary Soy Spread!<\/h4>\n

One quick word about what you can inspect in this diary:\u00a0 I plan on this being a self-indulgent stream of consciousness sort of thing.\u00a0 So I will talk about what\u2019s happening on my trip and anything and everything else that\u2019s on my mind.\u00a0 So I\u2019ll talk about the books I\u2019m reading.\u00a0 The movies I\u2019m seeing.\u00a0 The games I\u2019m playing.\u00a0 The cities I\u2019m visiting.\u00a0 Current events.\u00a0 Politics.\u00a0 You name it.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try to keep it lively.\u00a0 I really hope you’ll go on this journey with me.\u00a0 And please make any and all comments!\u00a0 I want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Okay so here\u2019s my question for the TSA:\u00a0 Why is something that\u2019s considered unsafe to take with me on the airplane perfectly safe to stuff into my luggage?<\/p>\n

As I made my way through the odious security checkpoint at LAX, they pulled a jar out of my backpack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>
I admit it. This isn't as sexy as the bodybuilder from yesterday. But trust me, I couldn't have lost the 80 pounds I've lost without this wonderful product.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take this on the plane with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was the scary, offending item?\u00a0 A jar of Carb Not Beanit Butter, which despite its atrocious name, is a product that has been a mainstay of my low carb regimen.\u00a0 It is a soybean switch-out for peanut butter that is so high in fiber that its net carbs is zero<\/em>.\u00a0 And it also takes pretty darned good.\u00a0 I devour it at a rate of about a jar a week.<\/p>\n

The jar being held in the imperious hand of the TSA drone was the only one I had with me.\u00a0 I have to special order this product and it would take days to get a replacement.\u00a0 \u201cI really need that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot take this on the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took a breath, feeling myself instinctively switching into Annoyed Customer Mode:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a paste.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 It\u2019s like peanut butter.\u00a0 Scary stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take more than three ounces of any paste on the plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Really?<\/p>\n

\u201cI need this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, run\u00a0 back to the gate and see if it\u2019s not too late to stuff it in your checked baggage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which, believe it or not, is exactly what I did.\u00a0 It was too late to catch my luggage, but a somewhat exasperated yet still helpful manager type at the check-in counter wrapped the damn thing up in a bag and taped it inside a box.\u00a0 I was half expecting him to charge me for a third checked bag, but he didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Score one for We Don\u2019t Care, We Don\u2019t Have to Airlines.<\/p>\n

\"tsa-2\"<\/a>Of course I assumed I\u2019d never see my beloved jar of soy nut butter again.\u00a0 But to my delighted surprise it was waiting for me at the luggage carrel, even ahead of my bags.<\/p>\n

As my soybean-butter-inspired relief washed through me like a Double Gulp Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, I was struck by the question above.\u00a0 If three ounces of a foodstuff that happens to be filed under the category \u201cpaste\u201d is verboten in the passenger section plane, why would they agree to take it anywhere <\/em>on the plane?\u00a0 If it\u2019s suspicious in the one place, why isn\u2019t it suspicious in the other?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I realize there\u2019s a legitimate distinction between, say, a sharp object like a box cutter or a machete that might be considered peachy keen packed away in a check bag but highly hazardous on the plane itself, but a paste?\u00a0 How would I commandeer the cockpit of the plane with peanut butter?\u00a0 \u201cStop!\u00a0 Or I\u2019ll spread\u203c\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

It follows that the reason they didn\u2019t want it on the plane was that somewhere there exists some type of explosive that, presumably, looks a lot like peanut butter.\u00a0 As giggly as this sounds to a like me, who\u2019s mind is blissfully unpolluted by any real knowledge of terrorism, if this is true then I don\u2019t want something so suspect anywhere on the plane<\/em>.\u00a0 Right?<\/p>\n

The conclusion I reached was that this was just another indication of the meaninglessness of the \u201cenhanced\u201d security measures that we allow ourselves to be tortured with in this post-911 world.\u00a0 Yeah, it\u2019s just bureaucratic security fussiness.\u00a0 They forbid peanut butter not because it could hide real threats but because they can and if I don\u2019t like it I can just shut my hole.\u00a0 The TSA doesn\u2019t make our travel safer, but it DOES manage to create some more job opportunities for government contractors who get paid to inconvenience us.\u00a0 Our tax dollars at work.\u00a0 Whoop.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Very good news today.\u00a0 The client confirmed my travel to Brussels, Munich and Moscow.\u00a0 Moscow, holy shit!<\/p>\n

The only challenge will be the fact that I have to front the money for all of the flights, yikes.\u00a0 This will take some careful planning.<\/p>\n

\/\/\/<\/p>\n

Lifted weights after work.\u00a0 Well, I lifted weights a little bit.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a year since I\u2019ve done that so I took it easy.\u00a0 It felt good to start.<\/p>\n

Separate Bags Taken on Trip<\/p>\n

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  1. Large suitcase (checked)<\/li>\n
  2. Large garment bag (checked)<\/li>\n
  3. C-PAP bag<\/li>\n
  4. Laptop case<\/li>\n
  5. Very full backpack<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Average Rating: 5<\/span> out of 5<\/span> based on 222<\/span> user reviews.<\/span><\/div><\/p>

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