Stuff

[magid]

Travel prep

I went online to verify that I can bring my crochet hook on board with me (plus the nail clippers I use to cut thread). Of course, the page I wanted had a 404 error, and is unavailable. So I called the TSA. And waited on hold for something like 20 minutes, which felt much longer, due to a loop of annoyingly innocuous music that lasted only 62 seconds. And when a person answered, she verified that the page was down. Yes, very useful, thanks. I asked about crochet hooks, and that's at the discretion of the screener, which just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies: I use a very small hook, and it's metal. I wouldn't give odds on whether I can get it through or not. (Nail clippers are now apparently fine.)

I also called AA to confirm kosher meals on both flights, and they have both in their system. I'll still be packing snacks, though; airlines tend not to have a great track record with special meals making it on the flight (ignoring whether they're good or not).

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Giving blood

There's going to be a blood drive at work right after I get back from the UK, so I went to see the current guidelines for donations.

I was surprised to see that they've changed from the last time I gave: donating is contraindicated if I have "spent a (cumulative) total of 3 months or longer between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1996 in the United Kingdom" or "spent a (cumulative) total of 5 years or more between 1980 and present in Europe or a combination of 5 years or more in the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey." Which means that my trip to England isn't going towards a three month maximum, but a five year maximum, which I'm much less likely to hit (alas, for my traveling is not extensive). I'm not sure I want to come into work on a day I've taken off to participate in the blood drive, however.

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Zornberg talk

Aviva Zornberg will be speaking tomorrow evening (7 pm) at Harvard Hillel. I don't remember the topic (other than Biblical), but she's an excellent teacher and speaker. Anyone interested in joining me?

Comments

[jaq.livejournal.com]

I remember seeing a woman at Heathrow arguing with check-in staff about not being allowed her knitting needles, I guess that's not quite the same thing though.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Knitting needles are definitely on the not-allowed list; I'm not really sure why crochet hooks aren't automatically on it as well.

[theora.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I was let on a plane at Logan with a razor in my hand luggage. It's luck of the draw, I think.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Hm... Even a safety razor might have disposable blades. Surprising they let you through. (I hope I get someone similar, though :-)

[theora.livejournal.com]

I don't think they let me, actually, I think they didn't notice ;)

My mom's worried she's going to set of the metal detector because she has a metal plate in her wrist.

[magid.livejournal.com]

If you tell them in advance, you get wanded instead of walking through the regular metal detector.
(My dad has something-or-other than means they use the wand on him every time. (Would that it were more a Harry Potter situation :-))

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

I like to take crocheting projects with me on the plane -- they're a nice way to use the time if I don't feel like focusing enough to read a book. I've never had any problems, and I usually keep the hook(s) in my purse. When Walt and I went to Israel last fall, one of the KLM flight attendants expressed some surprise that I'd been allowed to take it on board. I told her no one had said anything, but if she needed to take it she was welcome to it. She replied that she didn't care but wasn't sure what the screeners were and weren't allowing on board these days.

[magid.livejournal.com]

You give me more hope that I'll make it through with my hook, thank you. And I really have no idea why knitting needles are seen to be so much worse than crochet hooks (I've punctured my hand crocheting, but never done any damage knitting. Granted, I knit far less...).

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

My guess is that knitting needles look scarier because they are often longer and more obviously pointy, whereas most crochet hooks are smaller and more blunt-tipped. In other words, knitting needles look more like icepicks. I personally think it's silly because with the proper training, all sorts of innocuous objects can be used for nefarious purposes. But ... since I don't set policy, I'll just be glad that my crochet hooks have never been confiscated.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I agree, there are lots of things that could be used for other than their intended purposes that are pretty innocent (pens and pencils, anyone?). I suspect that at least some of the rules are due to what they can get away with (no one would think it feasible to ban writing implements on board).

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

And, of course, while glass bottles can be broken and used as weapons quite easily, banning them onboard would cause major consternation at the duty-free shops...

[(Anonymous)]

To be safe, you could use a wooden or plastic crochet hook. Yeah, they could be used as weapons too, in the right (wrong?) hands, but they'd probably have a better chance of getting through, being non-metal. Why not take the regular metal one, and they take a wooden or plastic one as a backup in case the screener makes you dispose of the metal one?

[magid.livejournal.com]

The difficulty is that at the size I use, there aren't any wooden or plastic ones, just metal.

(Just checked, it's a US size 7, which is something like a 1.25 or 1.5 mm, I think, which is pretty tiny.)

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

so it's a thread hook, not a yarn hook, then? Size 7 crochet hooks that I have are 4.5mm.

Size 7 thread hooks are 1.6mm.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a thread hook. I didn't know how to distinguish them before (stupid numbering system that requires greater clarification than just the assigned number), so thanks.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

"Discretion of the screener" is TSA's way of covering their ass. And basically means, if some screener is having a lousy day and wants to lord it over someone, they can disallow pretty much anything they take it into their heads too. Ugh. I hope you don't run into any problems.

[magid.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought about "discretion of the screener." And yeah, I'm hoping it'll've* been an easy day for the screeners in that terminal...


* I know, I should spell it out, but the allure of double apostrophes is great :-)

[(Anonymous)]

I adore double contractions! "Wouldn't've" is the one I often end up using. I think this is the first time I've seen "it'll've" -- cool.

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

I've never had any issue whatsoever with bringing crochet hooks on planes. Once (post-9/11) I brought a cross-stitch project on board. I was allowed the tiny needle, but had to use nailclippers rather than scissors.

I don't recommend trying for sewing needles, but I'm betting you won't have a problem with the crochet hook. Just tuck it into your bag. Slipping it into your pocket probbaly won't go over well.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I have a ziploc with current crochet projects in my backpack (I'd hurt myself if I tried to keep that hook in a pocket!). I'll be adding some more rolls of kippah-sized thread (DMC #8) before I go, depending on what I feel like working on.

I'm surprised that they let you on with any kind of needle, actually, but, then, I haven't figured out their logic on any of this.

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

P.S. I can't give blood. It makes me sad and significantly annoyed with the Red Cross.

[magid.livejournal.com]

A lot of people I know can't give blood, and while for some of them it's an obvious active medical situation, for others it's not fitting some of the more general guidelines, even when they know they're in good health. It frustrates me at times, but I've decided to keep on donating as long as I can anyway, to help whoever should be so unlucky as to need it.

On the other hand, I refuse to give money to the Red Cross, a bit because of this, but mostly because of their exclusion of Magen David Edom from the International Red Cross umbrella. It's horrible.

[(Anonymous)]

It was this really cool thing in my high school to turn 17 and be able to give blood at the annual blood drive at my high school. It was a status thing to be old enough to do it, like getting one's driver's license was. I went to do it, and the woman disqualified me because she decided that I had a slight sniffle. Then that fall, my first year of college, I was diagnosed with a certain disease that disqualifies me from donating, so I've never been able to donate. It makes me sad.

Last year, I had noticed that a fellow I was getting to know made giving blood whenever there was a blood drive nearby (or not so nearby) a priority. I didn't think much of it except that he was a good guy doing tikkun olam. Later he shared with me the story about a certain time in his past that was a very hard emotional time. It was then that I put it together that because he lost a good deal of blood at that time he needed major blood transfusions, and that is why he has made giving blood such a priority ever since. Very powerful.

I know about some of the silly exclusions, like of healthy gay men. What are others?

I didn't know of the exclusion of MDA from the international umbrella. What are their reasons for this? MDA is a group that was very important to my grandfather, z"l. I remember learning about MDA the summer I turned 7. With all the bombings especially, I'd say they do fairly holy work.

Good for you for giving blood, and thank you.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I remember eagerly awaiting my 17th birthday so I could give blood. I'd gone with my parents and some older friends when they went to give, and it always seemed like a right thing I could do. And then there was a blood drive on my birthday! Except that I was a freshman in college then, and hadn't thought about needing my parents' permission (until I turned 18), so I didn't get to give on the first day I was able after all.

I'm sorry to hear that you've got medical issues that interfere with giving. And it's impressive to hear about other people going out of their way to give (I always hear about shortages at blood banks, not the more upbeat stories.).

Healthy sexually active (safely) gay men, bi men, and bi women. Some of the travel exclusions seem silly, since they're not based on any 'dangerous' activity other than being in another location (In England, blood donors will have been in England more than the Red Cross maximum, after all.). Those are the ones that leap to mind, though for some of them the surprise was the other way, that people who have X disorder/disease can give if they're otherwise feeling well. Sure, many things aren't transferred by blood, but it still surprised me.

The exclusion of MDA is to keep the Red Crescent groups in the international umbrella. And yes, they do excellent work; I wish they had to do less of it...

(I remember giving blood in Israel, and was surprised that they didn't have lots of guidelines for after giving, as they do in the States. Nothing about drinking more water, not smoking for the rest of the day, no heavy lifting, not even a snack.)

PS MDA

[magid.livejournal.com]

Apparently, technically, MDA is excluded because it won't use either the Red Cross or Red Crescent symbols. Which is, of course, totally ridiculous. Which is why I said the first part. If I'm remembering correctly, a (Jewish?) woman who was president of the Red Cross resigned over this issue.

Re: PS MDA

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the information. Sheesh. And you know, after I posted, I thought it could be something like that, but couldn't believe it really would be. After all, these are relief organizations, not Coke and Pepsi.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

someone (CNN?) was saying that the guidelines were just changed again this week, which could account for the site being down.
blergh.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Oh, great. I suppose I should check again today to see if it's up...

[magid.livejournal.com]

Well, the link works today, and it's still the older document. Which allows both crochet hooks and knitting needles, though everyone says knitting needles are verboten. So much for federal oversight...

[aliza250.livejournal.com]

Depending on the weight of yarn/string you are using, the cutter on a spool of dental floss may work to snip it cleanly.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Good thought, thanks!