Security Checkpoints.

It's probably true that most travelers get concerned about the security checkpoints they
have to pass through.

Uncle Kage already posted the following:

13) Often they will take you out of line and pass a metal detecting wand over you. Don't worry. It's routine procedure.

I'd like to add some advice to people traveling through security as well.

First of all, I can't overemphasize Uncle Kage's advice about arriving early at the
airport. It's a LOT better to find ways to waste time in the airport than have to
rush through the airport. Furthermore, I'd rather burn off nervous energy by walking
the airport once I'm through all the stops. That way, I have less of a problem being
cooped up in the little airplane seats.

Second, what's security concerned about?
The checkpoints of various types are concerned about 1 of 2 things (or both):

A) Are you carrying anything they interpret as a weapon?
That can be a very broad category, so check the websites of the airlines and the
airports to see what they're concerned with lately. Generally, the sillier items include
"no liquids on the plane." (There's pharmacies close to the hotels for the conventions,
so if you're sorry to leave something behind, you can probably find a close copy
once you're safely checked in to the hotel.)

They also concern themselves with anything they can pretend is a knife. That includes
pen knives, Swiss army knives, and nail clippers, nail files, and so on. In fact,
ANYTHING metal can get their attentions (pens, etc.) So, what I do before passing
through the detectors, is take everything metal I'm wearing (belt buckle, loose change,
pens, anything) and shove them in my check-in bag which they will X-ray. That includes
devices like a camera, cellphone, whatever. If they feel the need to look it over,
they can do so in the seconds before you get it back-which relaxes them. Hang on to
your passport and documentation-none of that is metal. Jackets may or may not go on
the x-ray machine, so, as Uncle Kage said, listen closely to the instructions.

Now, they're concerned about batteries, since they're needed for some weapons.
So, don't have batteries in your checked baggage. (I had a few with my camera, which
went through the x-ray machine. I wasn't stopped.) Again, we have all sorts of places
to buy batteries- like the pharmacies I mentioned- so don't worry you'll have trouble
replacing any standard batteries.

So, "weapons"- liquids, metal, batteries, etc. Leave them out if at all possible.
Laptops go through separately from their case and anything else.

US airports, at least, ask for shoes to be removed and x-rayed. (Someone once tried to
set his shoes on fire on a plane. I SWEAR I'm not making this up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Reid_(terrorist) )

In general, try not to bring anything a slow-witted person might confuse for a weapon.
(One military officer was wearing a medal that resembled a shuriken or throwing star-
and none of the security personnel recognized the Congressional Medal of Honor,
possibly the highest award given in the US Armed Forces.)
http://www.snopes.com/military/medal.asp

Ok, so you've gone through your pockets and luggage, and unpacked anything that even
a paranoid person could misconstrue into a weapon. That leaves one more thing for the
checkpoints to concern themselves with.

B) Importing.
This is much less a concern on the US end of many trips, but you may face it returning
home. They want to make sure you'll pay your taxes (duties) when bringing stuff into
their country. As for "stuff", I mean "anything that's worth money." I can bring lots
of paperbacks and t-shirts and they won't care much. However, electronic
devices tend to get a LOT more attention.

The general rule of thumb is "personal use."
Once you've passed the security issues of "is your device a bomb?", there's the issue
of "is your device meant for you, or is it for resale?" The "personal use" I'm
speaking of is "is this meant for your use on the trip?" If you bring a laptop, it's
probably for you to use on your trip. If you bring 6 laptops, that's something else.
ONE mp3 player on a plane-you're listening to music. A dozen mp3 players, that's
something else. You get the idea.

Once you've worked your way past those considerations, security will just be a matter
of waiting in line, following instructions, and picking up your stuff from the X-ray
machine. Really, it's generally painless- just a line to deal with.