Re: [CON] GZG East Coast Convention

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:24:22 +0000 Ground Zero Games <jon@gzg.com>
writes:
<snip>
>Sorry, Indy's got in there ahead of you - he's picking me up from the 
>airport.... <GRIN>
>
>Jon (GZG)
>

I can see the international bidding war starting now.  

Not to mention how the Intelligence Community will begin to wonder about
a terrorist connection to the UK with all this money being offered to an
obscure (well, to them) Brit that is flying to the USA.  

Not to mention what the metal detectors in the USA will do with all that
metal in suitcases!  [Yes, I know, you are not really bringing much but
it was a '...can't pass...' target.]

Please consider what you are carrying on your person when you hit the
states!  One of our Chinese translators got the red card for some
innocuous personal thing he was carrying to D.C. for a TDY  assignment
from the midwest recently.  Missed his co-worker on the same flight
because he missed his plane while being interviewed/patted down/given a
thorough inspection with the wand/etc., was re-routed via another city
because he missed his plane (added 6 hours to his flight,) had to rent
his own car (he had the authorization for the rental, she got there
hours
earlier, had to get the authorization switched, sent the agency into a
tizzy when he came up 'unaccounted for' [not as bad as confirmed
'missing'] and when he got there he was without a car... typical
"Charlie
Foxtrot" situation.]  You would think a 'certain kind of agency of the
federal government' employee on official business, not that he could
identify himself as such in public of course,  might be given some
discretionary treatment but apparently not.  Depends a lot on the
paranoia/attentiveness of the personnel at the airport.  Books would fly
through, boxes with metal components will stand out on X-ray  even if in
check-in luggage (which was what flagged him.)

Beth, et.al., do I need to translate "Charlie Foxtrot"?  It's phonetic
alphabet - the "C" - "Charlie" - stands for Cluster... the "F" is
typical
military shall we say?

Jon, I want you to come (even if I can't get there) but I feel obliged
to
tell you the problems our agency people have encountered flying in the
USA recently.  Hopefully you won't have any problems to deal with. I
advise fly 'light' and tell them up front (and show them even, if that's
practical) about any 'sales samples' you are bringing.	Yeah, I'm
paranoid but it's an occupational advantage.

Gracias,
Glenn

"Half the Harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to
feel important.
They don't mean to do harm - but the harm does not interest .	Or they
do not
see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless
struggle to think
well of themselves."   -  T. S. Elliot

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