Well... I know it's been a quiet week here at the old 'blog.
I've been busy...sorry.
On Monday I had to do a little equipment install down in Tampa, so I took advantage of the weather and rode my bike down...
On the way down I had the pleasure of driving through this little slice of heaven...
Both Waldo and Lawtey FL are speed trap city, as anyone going from Jacksonville to Gainesville for a Florida Football game will tell you...
Having traveled this road a couple hundred times in the last 30 years I know not to tempt fate...
I did my thing in the St. Pete Times Forum and then got a bite-
The Woman and the Perfect Child suggested a place that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives- Danny's All American...
I had their Mojo Cuban sandwich- marinated cuban pork- tasty!
I headed back north- staying off the interstates as much as possible...
I made my way through some nice canopy roads in central and north Florida...
On Tuesday I was back on the road, or more precisely, back at the airport...
I have been following the tales of The Mighty Skunk and his fortunes with the Trusted Traveler / NEXUS system...
I started my paperwork back in September and finally got tentative approval in November, only needing to have my in-person interview somewhere in or near Canada to get my NEXUS card...
When I was in Detroit a couple weeks ago I was able to schedule some time for my interview and finally cleared the last hurdle...
It was touch and go for a bit... They want to know the details on all your youthful shenanigans... And I have had more than my share of hijinks when I was a young'un. And some when I was not such a young'un... And they have access to everything- even stuff that is expunged and had records sealed. Scary, really.
Customs Guy: "So, Mr. Young, tell me about this charge in 1985 - assaulting a law enforcement officer."
TBG: "W-w-w-what? That charge was dropped!"
CG: "Not from OUR records."
Note to would-be applicants for the Trusted Traveler/Global Entry Program-
No prevarication... They know everything.
So I got my NEXUS card in the mail and was looking forward to using it, to see if I would be able to clear the fast entry line at JAX...
(image from Homeland Security Theater)
Yeah- No.
It did get me into the preferred traveler line, but the TSO at the primary checkpoint declined it as a form of ID.
Not only did she decline it, I was treated with such rudeness that it bordered on abuse-
You'd have thought I was trying to use my Costco card for ID...
She chastised me soundly... I took it stoically- making note of her name and some of her choice phrases, planning on speaking to her supervisor.
Which I did...
And her supervisor was also ignorant of the DHS's rules, telling me that this card was not acceptable- that it wasn't even issued by our government...
(Because there is french terminology on it, I guess.)
Dumbassery on parade- I guess the TSA agents spend their time learning how to cup a guy's testicles correctly, rather than know their own guidelines.
(Notice the change in terminology- no more Concealed Carry Permit)
She made quite a show of inspecting my card, then making a photocopy of it and writing several notes on it...
Good thing too, since I spent the next two hours on the TSA website filing a carefully worded complaint about the attitude and knowledge level of the TSA screeners. I wonder how long it will take for my complaint to filter down, if it ever does.
Hopefully my next TSA experience will be more pleasant...but I doubt it.
The next few days were a whirlwind-
I flew into Philly Tuesday AM- went to Wells Fargo Arena, drove through Manhattan up to Long Island, loaded my SUV with equipment Wednesday morning,
drove back to Manhattan, picked up JR, drove to Newark and visited the Prudential Arena.
It's a new facility, and the guys that work there have a sense of humor-
A little juvenile, but a sense of humor none the less.
We went on from there- we headed down to DC to install equipment in the Verizon Center... I haven't worked in that arena since December of 1997.
Thursday and Friday we did the install, and I headed to the next location-
Pittsburgh.
Just outside of DC the temp went from 50 to the low 20s very quickly.
Then the snow started...
Fortunately the SUV has all-wheel drive...
I got into Pittsburgh with a minimum of problems.
We start installing our gear here tomorrow. 6:00 departure time from the hotel.
Yay.
The old Mellon arena is across the street from the hotel...
What's left of it, anyway...
Not pretty.
Spent a good amount of time in there...
It was a pretty unique arena.
Ah well...
Onward - through the fog.
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
I've been busy...sorry.
On Monday I had to do a little equipment install down in Tampa, so I took advantage of the weather and rode my bike down...
On the way down I had the pleasure of driving through this little slice of heaven...
Both Waldo and Lawtey FL are speed trap city, as anyone going from Jacksonville to Gainesville for a Florida Football game will tell you...
Having traveled this road a couple hundred times in the last 30 years I know not to tempt fate...
I did my thing in the St. Pete Times Forum and then got a bite-
The Woman and the Perfect Child suggested a place that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives- Danny's All American...
I had their Mojo Cuban sandwich- marinated cuban pork- tasty!
I headed back north- staying off the interstates as much as possible...
I made my way through some nice canopy roads in central and north Florida...
On Tuesday I was back on the road, or more precisely, back at the airport...
I have been following the tales of The Mighty Skunk and his fortunes with the Trusted Traveler / NEXUS system...
I started my paperwork back in September and finally got tentative approval in November, only needing to have my in-person interview somewhere in or near Canada to get my NEXUS card...
When I was in Detroit a couple weeks ago I was able to schedule some time for my interview and finally cleared the last hurdle...
It was touch and go for a bit... They want to know the details on all your youthful shenanigans... And I have had more than my share of hijinks when I was a young'un. And some when I was not such a young'un... And they have access to everything- even stuff that is expunged and had records sealed. Scary, really.
Customs Guy: "So, Mr. Young, tell me about this charge in 1985 - assaulting a law enforcement officer."
TBG: "W-w-w-what? That charge was dropped!"
CG: "Not from OUR records."
Note to would-be applicants for the Trusted Traveler/Global Entry Program-
No prevarication... They know everything.
So I got my NEXUS card in the mail and was looking forward to using it, to see if I would be able to clear the fast entry line at JAX...
(image from Homeland Security Theater)
Yeah- No.
It did get me into the preferred traveler line, but the TSO at the primary checkpoint declined it as a form of ID.
Not only did she decline it, I was treated with such rudeness that it bordered on abuse-
You'd have thought I was trying to use my Costco card for ID...
She chastised me soundly... I took it stoically- making note of her name and some of her choice phrases, planning on speaking to her supervisor.
Which I did...
And her supervisor was also ignorant of the DHS's rules, telling me that this card was not acceptable- that it wasn't even issued by our government...
(Because there is french terminology on it, I guess.)
Dumbassery on parade- I guess the TSA agents spend their time learning how to cup a guy's testicles correctly, rather than know their own guidelines.
(Notice the change in terminology- no more Concealed Carry Permit)
She made quite a show of inspecting my card, then making a photocopy of it and writing several notes on it...
Good thing too, since I spent the next two hours on the TSA website filing a carefully worded complaint about the attitude and knowledge level of the TSA screeners. I wonder how long it will take for my complaint to filter down, if it ever does.
Hopefully my next TSA experience will be more pleasant...but I doubt it.
The next few days were a whirlwind-
I flew into Philly Tuesday AM- went to Wells Fargo Arena, drove through Manhattan up to Long Island, loaded my SUV with equipment Wednesday morning,
drove back to Manhattan, picked up JR, drove to Newark and visited the Prudential Arena.
It's a new facility, and the guys that work there have a sense of humor-
A little juvenile, but a sense of humor none the less.
We went on from there- we headed down to DC to install equipment in the Verizon Center... I haven't worked in that arena since December of 1997.
Thursday and Friday we did the install, and I headed to the next location-
Pittsburgh.
Just outside of DC the temp went from 50 to the low 20s very quickly.
Then the snow started...
Fortunately the SUV has all-wheel drive...
I got into Pittsburgh with a minimum of problems.
We start installing our gear here tomorrow. 6:00 departure time from the hotel.
Yay.
The old Mellon arena is across the street from the hotel...
What's left of it, anyway...
Not pretty.
Spent a good amount of time in there...
It was a pretty unique arena.
Ah well...
Onward - through the fog.
TBG- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Safe travels, and I guess I won't waste my time with the Nexus card... sigh
ReplyDeleteOld NFO: It's still a humongous time saver and worth every dime. I'm based in Montreal and there's a Nexus priority line to get through your Customs and Immigration when traveling to the USA(average time saving of 30 minutes). Same thing coming back. I came back from vacation from DR a couple of weeks ago and there was an hour wait minimum to get thru customs. My wife and I breezed thru in less than 10 minutes. We use our passports with TSA but show our Nexus cards with customs agents (both sides). Actually, US customs agents insists on us using our Nexus cards.
ReplyDeleteI have complained to TSA twice (in writing, via email) about ossifers who would not accept my NEXUS card as ID. Surprisingly, both times I received a timely reply, also via email. In both cases, TSA claimed the TSOs in those particular airports hadn't yet been trained on NEXUS (ummmm, how much "training" does it take for them to read the "For Travelers" page on TSA's web site?).
ReplyDeleteIn both cases, I was given a date by which the additional training would take place. I have since traveled again through both airports after the "training date", and the card was accepted in both places.
Grudgingly and anecdotally, I would have to concede the curtain of ignorance cloaking the highly trained cadre of TSA ossifers seems to be slowly drawing back.
I agree with Luc. TSA asshattery notwithstanding, I still think Global Entry and NEXUS are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I return to the US from abroad about 9 or 10 times a year, and I haven't spent more than 30 seconds going through inbound Customs since I got the card.
I'm surprised you didn't have a printout of that part of the TSA site, or even have it up on your phone... like you did with your concealed carry permit.
ReplyDelete