Monday, November 17, 2008

v5#5

I'm looking for some advice. I'm not quite sure if it's ethical, moral, legal or what.

You likely know that I travel quite a bit and that I spend a great deal of time in immigration and customs lineups that I would prefer to avoid if I could. Well, I've noticed that a couple of government institutions from a couple of countries which will remain nameless for the purposes of this update are promoting a system where you can avoid the long lines by applying for a special pass for frequent travellers. Of course they put the emphasis on cutting the lines, so recently I applied for said pass, only to discover that, by the way, we'll be scanning your iris in order to ID you when you pass through. As much as I would love to save time in lineups (and I've spent literally hours doing that), the whole thing strikes me as very 1984/Gattaca/Bourne Identity.

So what do you think? Am I selling my soul for a few minutes in line? Or is it just practical way for someone who travels to save time? Please weigh in on the blog comments space if you want. I'm undecided at this point, and your insight would be appreciated.