>  > Richard would probably have a better idea what was involved there, both
>  > mechanical and electrical...  
>  ML> It's a man's job [g]
> Yeah, right.... (G)  Women can be quite apt mechanically and
> electrically... just not me....   I'm glad to let him handle those
> things...   My niece-daughter, on the other hand, is quite able to do
> that sort of thing (better, I believe, than her husband, actually)...
> She's actually a Mechanical Engineer... 

Actually, I have a buddy who has led the MIT Women's
Technology Program and has been on the faculty of the
MIT Mech Engineering department for 17 years. We used
to do a bunch of music together.

>  > I don't recall any sort of annoyance on my returns through Canada
>  > (Toronto) from my UK trips... but that was pre-9/11...
>  ML> I used to get a "welcome home, SIR" and a wave.
>  ML> No longer.
> Sigh... the world has changed... and not much for the better....

Regression toward the mean, they call it. At
least (with notable exceptions) things are not
getting totally worse.

>  > I do remember a customs agent in Toronto being amazed at the small
>  > amount of luggage I had with me for my fortnight's trip once... 
>  ML> Occasionally I get that. What's the additional threat in
>  ML> taking less stuff I can't figure. For short trips, I've
>  ML> been known to take zilch, which also seems to bother them.
> Taking zilch could indicate not expecting to return, I suppose... I

It's irrelevant to him if I wanted to return or not.
Without any bag at all, the highjacking scenario
wouldn't fly, either.

> think in my case, he'd never run into a female that could travel fairly
> light....   I had two small carryons, a totebag, an umbrella, a
> camera, and dutyfree scotch IIRC.... I remember it being 6 small
> items, anyway...  My first trip to the UK, I'd had my son with me, and
> we had one very large suitcase, which proved very awkward to manage,
> especially when we were taking the train during our time there.... I
> learned to only take what I could carry easily myself.... 

Yes. As Miss Piggy is quoted as saying, never try to
eat anything bigger than your head. Similarly, never
try to tote a bag bigger than your qualification to tote.

>  ML> the booth, an hour or more later, the agent 
>  ML> glanced at the blueness of our passports - I don't 
>  ML> recall he even opened them - and shooed us along.
> Just relieved to have someone not likely a threat....   There were
> indeed many different nationalities represented this time at YUL,
> streaming out of the egress, meeting friends and family.... 

In Paris as well, but they schedule the planes in at
a certain time frame; the problem was that our flight
was delayed something like 5 hours and right smack dab
into that slot.

>  > And how well did it work....?
>  ML> 15 minutes extra or so. Not much in the larger scheme
>  ML> of things but quite a bit considering my record time
>  ML> through the precheck lane, which was more like that
>  ML> many seconds.
> Not too bad... though certainly not what you've come to expect...  

So forgetting to reapply has its disadvantages, as
they have to start the investigations all over -
they quoted a lag of up to 11 weeks! for their
background checks. So I'm only spottily getting the
precheck these days.

>  ML> Information desks vary widely in helpfulness,
>  ML> though one can usually get enough to go on.
> This was a young man, with an accent beyond the French one... probably
> saw me as a grandmotherly type, worthy of his consideration...  

Take whatever advantage you can get.

>  > ... Fat free cheese is like meat-free beef.
>  ML> Or fat-free beef, for that matter.
> That, too.... 

For me the flesh and the fat are of almost
equal importance.

> ... Age needn't necessarily be a bar to immaturity.

Never was.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Martha Washington's Crab Soup
 Categories: Soups/stews, Fish/sea
      Yield: 6 servings

      1 tb Butter                              4 c  Milk
      5 ts Flour                             1/2 lb Crabmeat; cooked
      3    Eggs; hard boiled;sieved          1/2 c  Heavy cream
      1    Lemon; grated rind of             1/2 c  Dry sherry
      1 pn -Salt                               1 ds Worcestershire sauce
      1 pn -White pepper,freshly ground

  An historic recipe served during President Gerald Ford's administration.

  In a 2 qt saucepan, combine butter, flour, sieved eggs, lemon rind, salt
  and pepper. In a separate saucepan, bring milk to a boil, remove from
heat.
  Gradually pour in the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring with a wire
  whisk. Add crabmeat, and cook over low heat for 5 minutes; do not boil.
Add
  cream and remove from heat. Stir in sherry and Worcestershire sauce and
  serve piping hot.

  SERVES: 6 SOURCE: _The White House Family Cookbook_ by White House
  executive Chef Henry Haller with Virginia Aronson posted by Anne
MacLellan

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