I have had to buy myself some new headphones. My old ones got manhandled by security at Heathrow. I bought some relatively cheap JVC noise-cancellers from Dixons duty-free to replace them. 
I haven't flown for a long time and didn't realise how useful noise-cancelling is. Someone showed me some NCs a few months ago, but I can now see how absolutely essential they are.
I push a switch and the irritating sound of a screaming child fades almost totally away. It's bloody annoying though that I had to buy them in the first place. They'll certainly help on the train.
I also had to go through a new body scan. Took about a minute, but it skipped me to the front of the queue.
I asked the official who conducted the search to tell me the reason why he did so. He couldn't actually tell me the legal basis for the search. I simply wanted to know what law he was searching me under. He simply stated "Department of Transportation rules". I will, of course, be phoning up the DoT on my return to find out what the legal basis is for the search.
These officials and bureaucrats are totally suprised when anyone questions their authority, even simply asking what law entitles them to search. "Authority" seems to be a good cover-up for lack of knowledge.
There is a rather ominous component to it. The man said that "You have been randomly selected for [search]". I wish these people would talk in the first person. "I have randomly and impartially selected you for a search", for instance. The third person voice neatly covers up what is being asked of a person.
Other than that, security went without a hitch. They didn't even ask for the"boot up" on laptops, though they have to be scanned separately in the X-ray.
Plus the lady at Boston was friendly.
