🚀 go-pugleaf

m: I need this hand-checked, please. (referring to my backpack)

them: Ok, hand it through.

<person poking through backpack, discoveries Very Large Electrical Metal Thing>

person: what's this, a computer?

m: No, it's a hard drive.

person <with dumbfounded look>: ummm... can you turn it on?
m: yes, but it doesn't really do anything visible.  Do you have a outlet here?

person: up here, by the machine...

m/person <walk to machine>

person: here <pointing to 220V wall socket.  there was a socket below and
  hidden, but she certainly wasn't clear about where it was.... at this point,
  she is holding the plug end of the cord.  I am in the process of putting
  the other end into the drive>

m: ok <thinking that since she is holding the plug, she is going to plug it in>
here: you have to do it.

m: <finally get the plug from her and find the hidden outlet and plug in/turn
  on>

her: does it do anything?

m: it spins real fast... it might make a soft click in a moment.

her: <bending down to listen {i felt like bashing the shit out of her head
  and running}>
old her (OH): what is it?

m <impatient, amused, but annoyed>: a hard drive

oh: what's that?

m: a really big disk for a computer that lets you have lots of information
  in one place at one time that you can get at real fast.

oh: <really dumbfounded look> oh.

m: <turn off drive, unplug, coil cord, look as if I want to leave>

her: well, i guess it's ok <generally looking as if 'I don't know what to do,
  so I'll just ignore it>

m: thanks {under breath: for amusing me....} <head back to table to pack up
  hard drive.

them: huddle in a little group and look completely dumbfounded... galnce in my
  general direction every now and then.

----
never checked: the front of my backpack <little pocket>, my CD case <never
opened it>, or CD player.

a girl going through after me got stopped so one of security could listen to
her walkman... she had walked through the metal detector with it, and it did't
go off...

----

when flying to columbia, I have had to sign a form saying basically that I
acknowledge and verify that I am not carrying anything illegal (for the hard
drive)...  if that plane went down in smoke, guess which airport just foisted
the responsibility off of themselves.

----

neat trip.

b.bum
wb1j+@andrew.cmu.edu