A museum I could sped weeks wandering around.

Sure. And the irony is, of course, that I've never wanted to go to the
US, but work is work. As such, I accept the alleged hassle as part of
my business trip. In other words, I'm being paid to be there, so it's
just another of the stupid annoying things I need to do to do my job.

 

If I was forced to go via work then it is something I would simply have
to tolerate. I wouldn't like it but as employers tend to expect you to
do as you are told in return for receiving a salary then there ain't
much more to be said.

 

I've managed to get out of it every time so far, claiming visa
complications. Since everything tends to be organised at the last
minute, the prospect of having to deal with the US embassy tends to
steer them towards somebody else in the team.

I've been over there a few times, once on business, and that was fine.
I've no desperate urge to go back, and not since they ratcheted up their
immigration procedure to batshit mental levels of paranoia and
intrusion.

 

The Iris line is generally longer (for a european passport holder)
than the normal line.

Of course I've given up some of my genetic identity to the man through
using this. Still, the automatons sat behind the desks scanning
passports probably iris scan when they look at you anyway.

 

IIRC you do have a genuine reason for having "visa complications" so
that's fair enough. As you say the system is now pretty complex and
predicated on everyone potentially turning up wired with explosives that
it's not worth going. They then have the gall to complain that visitor
numbers from the UK and Europe have gone down. Can't think why .....

I'd hoped Obama might have seen sense and scaled things back but he's
ensnared by the loonies in the Republican Party and the "Tea Party"
tendency so no chance of common sense breaking out any time soon.

I've visited Canada and the States and like both places. As I tend to
enjoy watching some police series based in New York [1] then I find
myself being tantalised by seeing NYC on the telly. It's a great World
City. I also spend far too much time watching "Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives" on Food Network and there are some great food places from that
programme that I would love to visit too while also enjoying visiting
the cities they're in.

[1] latest is Blue Bloods on Sky Atlantic. NYPD Blue it is not but
enjoyable all the same.

 

I was on a flight to the US once, and got chatting to the bloke sat
next to me. Before we got off, he naded me his card and said to look
him up if ever I was in Birmingham, Alabama. Turned out he as a
Reverend Godbother, or something, so I never bothered.

The closest I can get is the Z1000R - I had the 1100.

 

I'm with Ace on this, and yes I have read the "one man's bit of
administrative red tape" posts!

Yes, it's a bit of a PITA, but so is coming back into the UK when
you've been anywhere outside of it. I've just come back from Malmo,
and security was pretty easy to get throught on both outbound & inbound
trips.

Anyway, back to Champ's post about the MOMA, Kennedy and the Grand
Canyon, I've been to see two of those[1] and I really, really think
that the hassle of getting into the US is worth it to experience them.

[1] Never the Grand Canyon, although I've been within a couple of hours
drive of it on several occasions.

 

I got near the front of the immigration queue and Las Vegas last year
and one of the immigration guys took my form to give it the once over.

I'd filled something in slightly wrong apparently, so he held up my
form and shouted out to the whole queue that "this guy's filled his
form in wrong and now has to go to the naughty corner and do it
properly. Don't you do the same".

So I went to the "naughty corner", filled in the form - properly this
time - and got told to go straight to another of the immigration desks
that has no queue, neatly by-passing the rest of the queue that I'd
been in 5 minutes previously.

Result.

 

Patronising twat. I'd have submitted an official complaint once through
immigration.

Still doesn't outweigh being publicly insulted by a government official.

 

Yebbut, it was his name he got wrong...

 

It wasn't done in a patronising way, more an amusung way to be honest,
but I realise my post didn't convey that.

And why? Or in ukrm parlance, would you use your green pencil?

I didn't *feel* publicly insulted. Mildly embarrassed, due to my own
cock up, maybe.

 

Yeah, but it all turned out OK as I'd actually put "Nigel Ince".

Enjoy Florida "immigration" )

 

Thinking of the worst border crossings I've had...
Coming back to England from the continent in '74. They tore me apart
for >1 hour. Finally, a grandfatherly superior decided I wasn't a
threat.
Morocco to Algeria at Figuig. I think the guard was bored and wanted
me to offer him a souvenir. He was curious about _everything._
Berlin to East Germany on my BSA, 1970. The East Germans weren't much
fun. They almost dismantled the bike.
Crossing into Detroit from Canada. Dunno if they thought I was a draft
dodger or a drug runner, but it took a while.

Oh yes. And one time flying from Edmonton, Alberta back home. The US
immigration man in Edmonton gave me shit for a while because I didn't
have a US passport. You didn't need a passport to travel between
Canada and the US then, but he wouldn't accept my DL as proof of ID.
It pissed him off that I wasn't cow-towing to his power, but I was
there on business, and I didn't care if he kept me off the plane. The
more irate he got, the calmer I got.

I have to admit, US border officers can have the worst attitudes. They
seem to forget that 99.99% of all the people they meet are good
citizens.

I've been a lot of places in this world and Southern Utah is at the
top for beautiful landscape. Right up there with the Himalayas, the
Alps, and the view from Kilimanjaro.

 

Has it changed that much in the last 12 months? Or is it different
elsewhere than T5? I've never seen a line as such, just the one time
the booths were (briefly) both occupied.

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

I met a rather laid-back one at Osoyoos crossing once:

"Where ya comin' from?"
"Vancouver."
"Where ya goin'?"
"Lake Tahoe."
"How much money ya got?"
"$300."
"Through ya go!"
"Um, I think you might want to see my passport..."

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

They both rate as highly collectable now. And you can't dress up an
ordinary Z Thou J or something to pass off as a genuine R, because they
had special frame numbers.

 

No he doesn't. IIRC he's only being pedantic on trying to truthfully
answer one of the questios on the green form - it's never bothered me,
and I've been there loads of times in the last year or five.

"Worth" going? if you want go go, the alleged 'hassle; is hardly
anything more noticeable now than it was 15 years ago. It really isn't
an issue, or shouldn't be.

 

Of the bikes I've owned there's 350LC and a 31K 350YPVS, NC30, CBR600,
Ducati 160 Monza Junior, GSXR750, GSXR1000 and a 400 Four. They've
probably got examples of others I've owned that aren't in view in the
photos.

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)

 

The Pacific Coast?

 

Not me, ukrm's resident PC800 afficionado is my old schoolmate Russ,
aka Col Tupperware

--
Lozzo
Versys 650 Inter-Continental Hyperbolistic Missile , CBR600F-W racebike
in the making, TS250C, RD400F (somewhere)
BMW E46 318iSE (it's a car, not one of those 2-wheeled pieces of shite
they churn out)