TSA Burn: OK, the terrorists have finally succeeded in annoying me. I had a two-nighter in Washington DC for work and it's really the first time I have gotten aggravated over airport security.

Longtime readers know that in general I have had little problem with the post-911 security measures. Apart from the first few months after the attacks, when the wait time crested 60 minutes, I have been able to sail through with relative ease. Part of this is because TSA got more efficient; part of it is because I knew the rules and was able to speed everything up.

Then came the whole liquid explosive fiasco. For a while, pretty much all bags were getting checked, even for a short over nighter. If you were bringing any toiletries -- shaving cream, toothpaste, etc. -- you had to check the bag they were in. Well, if you are going to check one bag, you may as well check them all, right? So for a couple of months, the overhead bins were empty and bag-less folks were sailing through security screening to the point where I was comfortable getting to the airport as near as a half-hour to boarding.

Then TSA decided to lighten up and allow toiletries less than three ounces to be carried on, making carry-on only travel feasible again. What I didn't know was that you can just have them in your kit inside your carryon. In Detroit you are required to at least pull your kit out and open it up as you send it through the x-ray. Naturally I just sent everything though like I normally would have, so I got the pleasure of a bag check and some condescending words from a TSA agent.

With this in mind, on the way back from DC, I dutifully pulled out my kit and opened it up to send through the machine, only to be told that it was unacceptable. At Reagan National they want you to pull specific items out and place them in clear plastic bags. In fact they are so keen on this that they won't even send your items through until you do so. Luckily I happened to have a see through plastic baggie; I have no idea what they would have made me do if I didn't.

So here I am with my laptop case and a little carryon bag and I am sending the laptop case, the laptop (must be separate), my carry on, my baggie full of toiletries, my jacket and my shoes through. That is really obnoxious. I mean really, really obnoxious.

OK, if I was prepped for it maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, so I suppose it is partially my own fault for not being on top of the TSA rules. The problem is that, as usual, the rules and the level of enforcement are slightly different from airport to airport. This is typical of TSA, and all bureaucracies for that matter. They issue policies that are unclear, so everyone ends up interpreting it however they want.

But another issue is that they seem to have no conception that when they change the rules they need to change the system to allow people to adhere to them. I don't know how many lines have been held up because everybody is waiting until the very last minute to strip off their jackets and pull out their laptops because there is only the only little folding table in front of the screener. And how often have you had to grope around for a plastic tray. Is there a reason they can't expand these areas so you can use the time you normally spend just standing in line, to prep at a more leisurely pace?

I know most people believe that TSA does little to nothing to enhance security. I sometimes feel that way too, but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as long as things don't get too silly. Also, I accept that security is as much about perception as reality. But instead of just issue new policies, they need to give a lot more thought to facilitating adherence.

Whether they do good or ill, TSA continues to exist because they haven't pissed enough people to make them into a burning issue. But every new person they piss off pushes them closer and closer to the brink. And frankly, if you've pissed me off -- someone who is about as reasonable minded about TSA as is humanly possible -- you're taking a big step in the wrong direction.