Spend a lot of time at MSP (like me)? Have a frequent route or preferred destination?

Check out these customized shirts from Hubwear. Your outbound flight is on the front and your return flight is on the back.

I imagine self-labeling yourself with flights can come in handy if 1) you’re in a deadly plane crash and rescuers want to know where you were headed, or 2) if you experience a long layover or weather delay, thus notifying your airport lounge waitress which flight you’re missing whilst slumped over your suitcase, passed out from your third Kentucky Kamikaze.

I’m not sure it’s worth $35, but if you don’t have the patience for CafePress customization or are looking for a Valentine’s Gift for that special traveler in your life, go for it.

(via Erica, whose route is MSP-DTW)

Back in May, I was awfully excited about the new “expert,” “casual traveler” and “family” lanes. Has it cut down on my aggravation at idiot travelers who still bring through bottled water, don’t take their belts off or leave their plane ticket in their carry-on before going through the metal detector? Sadly, no. Most of the airports I visit either don’t use this system or aren’t busy enough to have it operating when I’m there.

But I still think it has huge possibilities. I would even take it a step further…

What if TSA offered an “Airport Security Accreditation” program that required travelers to take a written AND real-world security test? If you can get your shoes off, liquids and laptop out and all your belongings into a tub in 30 seconds and not trigger any alarms on the X-Ray machine, you earn a special card that grants you access to a TSA Elite Line. Think how fast that line would move. Well, that may be a pipe dream, so for now I wish the current system was more widely implemented.

Maybe we just need to inject some local pride into the system to increase its use?

These are the visuals you see at most airports — including MSP.

But traveling to Louisville Intl-Standiford Field last week, I noticed they had customized signs showcasing Louisville’s Kentucky Derby heritage:

This got me thinking, shouldn’t MSP have customized signs? And if so, what would they be?

I have a few ideas I’ll wait a day to share. Would love to hear your suggestions and/or see your illustrated mock-ups…

Lazy Lightning and commentors discuss replacing vs renovating the currently-condemned Meadow Lake Bridge which carried bikers across the Minnesota River between Bloomington and Burnsville.

Cam Gordon (Mpls 2nd Ward city council member) has the deets on this year’s National Night Out.

TC Biz Journal‘s 2008 Women In Business Honorees.

TC Biz Journal reports what downtown MNspeakers have known for weeks and that is that a SoupMan (of Seinfeld fame) is now open in the Minneapolis Skyway.

The great people of the Tale of Two Cities LiveJournal community discuss Minnesota’s representation in that CNNmoney list of Best Small Cities to Live. “[Y]ou’ll see most of what got Plymouth into the #1 spot isn’t even located in Plymouth.” MNspeakers discuss as well.

Mary Lahammer on Jesse’s non-announcement on Larry King Live. He did, in fact, talk to someone in the local media. Sort of.

MinnPost runs a University of Minnesota eNews report on a study confirming what people who use Facebook and Myspace already know, which is that kids learn technology skills and share/collaborate on creative efforts through social media. New news: the digital divide is perhaps not as big as we think it is. “The students participating in the University of Minnesota study were from families whose incomes were at or below the county median income (at or below $25,000) and were taking part in an after-school program, Admission Possible, aimed at improving college access for low-income youth.”

MnIndy: “Local immigration attorneys and advocates say Postville raid reflected ‘a complete lack of due process'”

NRP is sending a delegation to the 2008 Bank of the West Neighborhood Summit in Omaha. (Bank of the West is an actual bank.) “The Summit will be an opportunity to learn from residents of Des Moines, Omaha, Wichita and Kansas City what they are doing around key issues, share ideas, network, tour Omaha, and have fun!” 31 Minneapolitans attended last year. Apply to attend by August 1.

saintpaulitan visits the friendly neighborhood geodesic dome house.

vita.mn‘s guide to all the drag shows in Minneapolis and St Paul. That’s not very many, but then, how many drag shows do you need? Feel free to edit the list.

TC Biz Journal says, in the wake of the dented nose cone issue, MSP is some new runway status lights at some yet to be determined time between now and 2011. The $400 million tab is to be picked up by the FAA.

I am officially an expert at getting through airport security lines.

I empty my pockets (including cell phone and wallet minus driver’s license) immediately after parking my car at the MSP ramp. I don’t even put my belt on the morning – it goes straight into the carry on bag. All of my wires (mp3 player headphones, cell charger, laptop charger) are bundled and dispersed for easy discernment in the X-ray machine. Liquids are few and tiny in a small plastic bag.

Once in line, I untie my shoes, pop my laptop out of my briefcase and take off my suit coat. Then I wait patiently for idiot amateur travelers to figure out the simple-stupid procedure to get through security.

Inevitably, someone in front of me forgets to keep their boarding pass out, didn’t put their laptop in its own bin, didn’t realize you couldn’t bring a bottle of water through security (this happens almost every trip), didn’t put all liquids in their own plastic bag, forgets to take off shoes, forgets to take off belt and of course, is so flustered by the whole process they stress out, become exasperated at the poor TSA employees and slow up the line even further.

Well, good riddance you loser newbies.

Yesterday, MSP joined more than 24 other airports in testing a new security lane system that they (and I) hope is going to make the frequent business traveler’s life a lot easier in speeding through these checkpoints.

From the PiPress:

Self-selected security lanes for travelers, chosen by how well they think they know the security checkpoint routine, opened at MinneapolisSt. Paul International Airport’s larger Lindbergh Terminal Friday.

When the security checkpoint line was busy early Friday afternoon, Brandy Brant, a traveler from St. Louis, slipped into the “expert” lane. It’s one of three newly designated lanes among the terminal’s six security checkpoints; passengers also can opt for a “casual traveler” and “family” lane…Presumably, “experts” are frequent travelers familiar with the routine and requirements of the security system.

I’m super pumped to try this out. Now if only they could solve the problem of replenishing those plastic bins in a timely manner.