Can I tape over the labels on my pill bottles before going through airport security? My medical details are none of the screeners' business.
If you have a medical issue interesting enough to warrant privacy concerns, odds are that the subnormal epsilons who staff airport security posts won't even know what those big, scary words on the bottles mean. Then again, it's this kind of attitude that regularly gets Mr. Know-It-All selected for additional screening.
Anyway, although the Transportation Security Administration may take a hard line on bulky underwear and 4-ounce bottles of shampoo, it's a big ol' softie on medical privacy. According to a spokesperson, you're perfectly entitled to conceal the names of your meds and to refuse to tell screeners what pills you're popping. Of course, they can still pull you aside to test the bottle for explosives — just to ensure those tablets aren't molded from C-4.
So the next time you're preparing to fly, go ahead and break out the masking tape. The TSA does not need to know what is oozing from you — or from where.
A tourist asked me to snap a family photo with his camera, but the elfin device slipped out of my hands and broke. Now he's demanding that I buy him a brand-new Canon. Should I?
Sure, sure. "The camera slipped." "The car jumped the median." "The gun just went off." While you're blaming your butterfingers on the wee gadget, we'll just (camera strap) note that (camera strap) you did have options to obviate this situation (camera strap).
But if your version of events is accurate, you shouldn't suffer any great consequences. "The owner likely assumed the risk of the camera being dropped when handing it to a stranger," says Aya Gruber, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. In other words, the tourist bet that you weren't a hopeless klutz. Unfortunately, the dice came up snake eyes.
If the episode is bugging you (and given that you're writing to a magazine for advice, it probably is), try to find some middle ground. A token of your regret (bottle of scotch) might make both you and the camera owner feel better (more scotch).
Laser jammers are legal here in Wyoming, but not in Colorado. So when I cross the state line, do I have to stow mine away? Or can I just turn it off?
Federalism's a bitch. Drive over that invisible boundary intersecting I-25 and suddenly — blammo! — you've passed from the libertarian paradise of Wyoming to the totalitarian nightmare that is Colorado.
OK, Colorado isn't quite on par with, say, North Korea. But state legislators might have been Kim Jong-illin' a little when they wrote their anti-laser-jammer statute (one of only nine in the country), which forbids the mere possession of such devices, to say nothing of their use or sale. If a cop spies your jammer, he has the right to confiscate it.
That said, the ban may not hold up to legal review. "If the issue were really pushed, it could run into problems with interstate commerce," says Jim Baxter, president of the National Motorists Association. So, any interest in pressing your luck on Colorado's highways and then seeing the case through years of appeals, all to avoid the minor hassle of hiding your jammer? We're behind you!
Need help navigating life in the 21st century? Email us at mrknowitall@wired.com.
