It'll be a while before the liquid rule goes away, although if it does, it'll be for flights of less than, say, X hours, where X=3, 5, or less. It really is too easy to make certain peroxide explosives from liquids on a longer flight.

The lap top rule does suck mightily - I was told that laptops were too dense and need to be x-rayed separately, and that laptops in a bag can hide other devices.

I traveled for years with a butter knife and fork in my suit case for in-room microwave meals and such on short layovers. I got tired of being challenged on it and got rid of it. The fact that "This is the EXACT SAME KNIFE they serve to 1st class passengers" fell on deaf ears.

My favorite irony, and we've all been there when in uniform and simply trying to get to work:

"What exactly am I going to do with that butter knife?"

"You might use it to take control of the airplane."

"Think long and hard on what you just said, Einstein."