Neckwear Discrimination?

Last week my husband and I travelled together. On the final day, we both found ourselves flying in serious business attire. My ensemble included a lightweight scarf, about the weight of the one in the photo.

My scarf must be placed in a bin and xrayed as we go through security.

What I do not understand is why his necktie can be adequately screened while still on his body.

Seriously, how would I hide a significant deadly object in a sheer scarf that could not also be obscured by a silk tie?

This may just be one of those mysteries we never understand. I would love to understand the rationale. If you know anyone from TSA, have them wander by and explain this policy to me.

In the meantime, I guess scarves are one more thing I will try to avoid on travel days.

Pretty soon I will be avoiding so many items that I may end up flying naked.

Images courtesy of PhotoXpress.

So Long, Anaheim

Check-out time nears, and my laptop has to find its safe case for the trip home. Tomorrow I will be back in Omaha, checking in with my lab peeps and seeing patients all afternoon.

Today’s post was going to be about the Renal Section Dinner last night, with video of the undergraduate and post-doc award presentations. Watching these folks try to line up for a photograph is hysterical; you will have to trust me for now.

I plugged my flip into the laptop this morning and started the upload to YouTube. Everything went well for over an hour. At 95% things were still going smoothly. Then, the message: problem with download.

I do not have time to start over now. Tomorrow I will try again with my hard-wire connection. I will make this available (because everyone’s parents deserve to see this sort of thing).

So stay tuned. I will prevail over my gizmos.

Trip Time

Tomorrow I leave the homestead in the heartland for a workshop in Boston.

I have wanted to attend one of these writing courses since I first saw the brochure. I am finally making it happen. Maybe, just maybe, I will write my book one of these days.

So tonight I will pack 3 days worth of clothing in a carry-on bag. And I know my readers are asking, “What will you pack?”

• 2 pairs of dress trousers in wrinkle-resistant blends
• 3 tops
• 1 jacket
• Undies and accessories and other necessities
• PJs

I will wear my best pair of jeans with another top and jacket; the jeans will make the trip home as well. I have a pair of neutral metallic 1.5” wedges, that will serve me well through airports and along city streets, as well as complimenting every outfit in the suitcase.

The usual electronic devices want to come along for the ride: BlackBerry, Netbook, iPod, and Kindle.

It is time to do those things I love, travel and write.

I am so glad I gave myself this trip!

The Art of Packing

I officially start my 2010 travels today, blogging from Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. When I awoke, Omaha registered 9 degrees; I am heading to the San Diego area where the predicted high for the next 5 days hovers around 70. I will be making a stop in Denver, where I hope my only exposure involves the climate-controlled airport.

I managed to get clothing for this 5-day adventure into a roll-aboard bag and my computer tote. How? Careful planning and experience!

For today, I start with a pair of dark-wash, straight-leg jeans and a black leather belt that will fill all my needs during the trip. To these I add a comfortable, cotton top with elbow-length sleeves. It will be warm enough on the plane, but comfortable at my destination as well. 

My parents dropped me off this morning; had I been parking at the airport, I would have worn a sensible puffer coat and left it in the car. With delivery and pick-up service from family, I could forego that layer and wear a water-resistant gray trench, the perfect weight for windy evenings along the bay.

On my feet are a pair of 3” black patent slingbacks that are incredibly comfortable and easy to take off for security. They will work with most of my outfits, although I did squeeze in one pair of open-toed shoes. I have no idea when enough snow and slush will clear in Omaha to wear them at home.

I only needed 3 days plus the travel days for this meeting. I easily could have done one or two more days with a couple of additional shirts, as I will demonstrate in the days to come. Had this meeting required cold-weather clothes or dressier attire, I might have had to check a garment bag. In that case, my shoe wardrobe would also expand.

So challenge yourself to carry-on for meetings. Plan your wardrobe carefully (that is what a spreadsheet is for).

Stating the Obvious

While waiting for an elevator during rounds today the following arrived in my email box from Principal Investigator E-Alert:

Reader Question: A month ago I was flying to a convention of my research specialty in San Francisco, and in one of my checked bags was my notebook computer and three discs of raw data (non-encrypted) on about 800 patients we have enrolled in a clinical trial. But the airline lost the bag in transit. Of course, I filed a "lost bag" claim with them, but no trace of it yet. Little hope now. I have heard there is some new law called HITECH that applies to lost data. What should I do at this point? Should I already have done anything?

Expert Comments: Brace yourself, we're going to have to deal with some "alphabet soup" of U.S. government acronyms while explaining your situation.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH, is the U.S.A. Federal law that requires you take immediate action and notify those affected by a loss of protected health information (PHI).

First, figure out if HITECH applies. In order for it to come into play, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability of Accountability Act of 1996) has to apply to you. It does if you're working with patients. However, does HIPAA apply to the particular data you've lost? If you took all of the identifiers off the data, then you're ok because de-identified data isn't covered by HIPAA or HITECH.

View the remainder of the expert comments

Comments by Kristen H. West, J.D., Associate V.P. and Director, Office of Research Compliance, Emory University Atlanta

The expert goes on to more details about the relevant laws and notification requirements- you can follow the link above if you want more. Only the commentary addressed the real issue:

Why would you check a laptop?

1. Laptops are fragile. Don’t let that aluminum exterior fool you; that screen is just waiting to be cracked. Have you watched the way checked bags are handled? Remember those Samsonite commercials when they gave apes at the zoo luggage to destroy? You really want folks to play catch with your computer in a tote bag? Really?
2. Laptops are valuable. Even if it is years old and you have to duct-tape the CD drive closed, someone can pick it up and sell it for a few bucks. Your checked bags have to be accessible to TSA for search; do you really think everyone who touches luggage is immune to thievery? Really?
3. Even in puddle-jumper jets like those by Embraer  you can usually keep your laptop. Roll-aboard bags must be gate-checked, but surely you have a padded tote for the laptop that will fit under the seat in front of you or in those tiny overhead bins. Even when the compartments are filled, the attendants can usually check the tote but tuck your laptop in one of their cubbies during take-off and landing.

My next question:

Why were you traveling with all those data?

1. Planning to work in the airport or on the plane? And you checked your laptop?
2. Planning to work during the meeting? Then why are you going? You are supposed to be meeting- learning, networking, and interacting. Not analyzing your own data in your room.
3. Planning to work in the evening? At a convention of your research specialty in San Francisco? Go out and socialize; the best collaborations in science begin in bars!
4. IRBs require data protection plans. At my institution, we specify that data will be coded and password protected on our servers. Any hard copies will be kept in locked areas accessible only to the PI and other approved personnel. So why did you think taking them on a trip was appropriate?
5. If you absolutely need to access large data sets, invest in some sort of cloud computing. Your institution may be able to set up remote server access for you, and other options are out there. I subscribe to DropBox. Up to 2 Gb can be stored for free, and the applet synchronizes the most recent version with all computers you install it on. Other services also allow you to store files and access them via any internet connection with appropriate security measures.

The bottom line: The scenario described should not have occurred for a whole bunch of reasons. Traveling with a laptop often allows me to accomplish something during delays at O’Hare (as well as sharing my ongoing deep insights with readers of this blog), and I love my Lenovo Ideabook S10 netbook. I would never, never, ever check it!

Learning Never Stops

Once again, I find myself in the Omaha airport using their free wi-fi to update my blog. Today I travel to Boston for the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

This meeting is not sciencey.

This meeting features my hobby, faculty development. If we want faculty to perform functions not featured in their degree training, then we must provide opportunities to further their skills.  For example, no physician or scientist I know received administrative training during their formative years. Instead, the traditional route has been to promote them until they fail. This strategy actually worked out pretty well for awhile; if you can run a big lab or clinical section, you probably have the skills to lead a department. Unfortunately, the strategy also leads some people to failure.

I serve on a couple of committees that implement faculty development programs. Topics include educational techniques, leadership skills, hot topics like programmatic assessment, and more basic skills like writing. The chancellor provides a generous budget, and our sessions receive good ratings from faculty who attend. A 90 minute lunch-&-learn typically brings in 50 attendees, while the all-day institutes often draw larger crowds.

So I am off to ponder being a better faculty  member for a few days. Boston is usually fun, although nippy, and I know I will learn stuff. Stay tuned for updates.

Here is a question for any academic readers who wander by: What is the most important thing your institution needs to help you learn to succeed in all aspects of your job? Leave a comment and I will find programs that address the issue.

Ode to the Minivan

Last week I tweeted when I got ready to go on vacation. I had managed to get all of the stuff we needed for approximately 1 week of fishing, swimming, and sunning at the lake into the vehicle. We were ready to go. Some in the twitterverse were not impressed by our mode of transportation: a minivan.

We own a 2002 Chevy Venture. Unlike the example in the photo, ours is red with the Warner Brothers media package, way cooler than the example shown (even without mountains in the background).

My parents test-drove one of the original passenger vans of the 1970’s. Imagine a delivery van with windows cut out and seats slapped into it. Upper trim lines featured “leatherette” trim. We considered one in seafoam (seasick?) green, but instead purchased a less gas-hungry vehicle when lines began forming at the fuel pumps.

I spent the 1980s in school and training, driving an econo-box. I remember when the first minivans began appearing: built on a car chassis so they handled like a passenger vehicle, but they seated 7 or 8 people without anyone sitting backwards (a la the station wagon). As my own family grew (along with the stuff and friends that come with children), a minivan looked like a wonderful option. We bought one in 1991 after we got our first real jobs and house. One of our vehicles has been a minivan ever since, and we have enjoyed many roadtrips.

We are aware that this vehicle is not considered cool; however, when we looked at SUVs, we could not make the change. Most SUVs hold only 5 people comfortably (unless you go up to the massive models), and achieve about half the mileage we get with the MV (and even less for the bigger ones).

Our “baby” towers over me at 6’1”, nears his 17th birthday, and starts his junior year of high school tomorrow.  In short, our minivan days are numbered. We have completed 125,000 miles with the current van, and we will probably trade it in next year. We do not require a minivan or similar vehicle at this time, and my husband (who drives our bigger vehicle) is beginning to ponder what might replace it. Will a car be sufficient, or should we purchase a cross-over for lake trips?

The minivan will be over soon, gone the way of poodle skirts and the Baby-on-Board sticker. Goodbye to 20 years of a practical vehicle.