* Posts by XML slave

25 publicly visible posts • joined 14 Jun 2007

Alabama sex shop owner swaps 'Guns for Toys'

XML slave
Pint

Rest easy

I'm a current resident of Alabama.

It's not hard to get "toys". (or mags, or dvd's, etc) There may be a law in place to prevent the sale to the general public, but it's not readily enforced. Yes we have to go into the back room of Love Stuff, and yes we do have to show ID to prove our age. Other than that, it's not a big deal.

Petty-minded puritanism? There's nothing puritanical about the vast majority of the men and women here. Is the current law stupid? Sure. Is it annoying? Yep. Is it representative of the general attitude of the people of the United States? No. Of the residents of Alabama? Not that I've observed.

And it's not just women that are prohibited from buying the toys. (and yes, men buy them) So it's not as comparable to Afghanistan. So relax. It's not as dire in Alabama and the US as you think.

'Miracle' bra saves Detroit woman from robber's bullet

XML slave
Pirate

logistics

What kind of round was it? I mean if it stopped a .22 it's a fairly impressive story, but if it stopped a .45 ACP there must have been a bloody steel band in that bra.

As for the criminals...not very bright are they? If caught they could be charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, etc. Sure she could call the police if not shot at, or she probably would still call if shot at. The only thing they managed to do was to alert more people to their presence by firing a handgun in a populated area. Increasing the punishment without mitigating the risk. Prats.

Yahoo! engineer in murder-suicide riddle

XML slave

To Allen Dyer

You are indeed correct that America would have fewer homicides if proper gun controls were in effect. Of course, more homicidal types would revert to melee weapons to dispense their judgement. Still, the efficiency of the firearm is greater. More people would end up surviving encounters with the homicidal....

But not enough for it to ultimately matter.

The way I understand it is that 5.6 per 100,000 people in USA die by homicide. In the UK, that figure is closer to 2.0 per 100,000. So significantly more people in America die by homicide than in the UK. Let's say proper gun control would bring the USA to the UK level of homicide. That means 3 or 4 people per 100,000 get to live (not sure if permanently injured or not). It's a serious impact, don't get me wrong. I'd be glad that those people survived and had the chance to finish out their lives.

However, I wouldn't be glad of those things at the expense of civil liberty. Having a government, a majority, or even a minority group dictate the terms upon which I must live is what I consider to be the greater of the two evils. In order to prevent a few deaths I would sacrifice more personal freedom. Because a few are unable to wield a power responsibly, a government has the right to revoke everyone's right to wield said power? It's not the well-adjusted person who needs a law of this nature, but those of damaged intellect or psyche. Odd as it seems, it's thus the miscreant that dictates the terms on which people must abide.

It's not easy to say, and it shouldn't be, but I would sooner have those people die in a hail of psychotic gunfire than relinquish any more of my personal freedom and choice.

Playmobil Bible faces wrath of lawyers

XML slave
Alert

At least...

Nobody has tried to make a display/diorama/whatever of a certain islamic figure. Then you'd have a tort from the company, AND angry radicals trying to kill you.

Why would you make a religious display out of these things anyways? A better figure, or medium even, couldn't be attained? Millions of christ depictions in the world, and this dude chooses...Ugh...

NYC granny shoots mugger with .357 Magnum

XML slave
Paris Hilton

Re: Re: great story

"It's not the angle, it's the trajectory."

One has to wonder how many men Ms. Bee has had to correct on that point.*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

(Sorry for the late comment, different time zone)

Paris because she knows all about that kind of trajectory.

US Navy SEAL uniforms: Now with built-in tourniquets

XML slave
Black Helicopters

RE:A fair enough point Alex but...

"That sort of armour (note the u 'merikans!) you speak about is the dream of the military but a soft flexible armour capable of deflecting even handguns is some way off."

An excellent point, and I'll even go further with it. The current Interceptor vest with shatter-plate inserts is ridiculously heavy and restricting. It's capable of stopping 7.62mm rounds from an AK-47, but only because of those ceramic inserts (or the shot was at a shallow angle). Having ceramic plates to cover the thigh's could prevent some of these injuries, but it's going to slow down soldiers even further.

Having worn the Interceptor in the sandbox during the four hottest months of the year I can say this. We were required to wear those vests, but most of the time to trade out protection for mobility we detached the groin and neck protection as well as removing the ceramic plates in the torso piece. (even thought we were frequently ordered not to) It gets ridiculously hot there where a 48 C day would be a cool blessing, so adding more insulation doesn't seem overly appealing to me. I shall shush now.

English Channel defeats one-armed Frenchman

XML slave
Linux

My heart goes out...

I'd love to make a comment about silly french accents and all, but I'm a little too impressed by the thought of a one armed man coming that close to crossing. I have two arms and can't swim more than 1/2 a kilo. Someone buy that man an ale.

Biggles battles Yanks for right to sport tash

XML slave
Black Helicopters

Doesn't Surprise

I've had the privilege to work with some of the Canadian RAF and the Queen's RAF, and tis true they do get to sport far more magnificent stash's than we do. The USAF requires the edges of our mustaches not to extend beyond the corner of the lips, and cannot hang below said point. So unless you've got a yap like Jagger's, an American soldier has to make do with a tiny diminutive lip ferret.

Luckily for all, in the US military it's becoming less and less fashionable to sport the stash. We always have those diehard twits that won't let go though.

To the fellow who fought for his stash: Three Cheers for sticking to the Queen's rule, and for supporting extremely bad taste on your face! :)

Icon because I know they're coming to trim my sideburns.

Christian Bale signs for Terminator trilogy

XML slave
Coat

Machines....panic

It's no wonder Batma--err, John Connor, is the guy who can reunite the people in a war against the machines. A caped crusa--I mean guerilla trained fighter would indeed be a formidable opponent. I wonder if they'll cast a good ornithologically corre--woops, military brat--sidekick as his accomplice.

Yeah I know, get my coat and get the hell out.

Unmanned Aerial Manhood outrage at Kasparov rally

XML slave
Black Helicopters

Everybody Wang Chung tonight

"It's a bird, it's a plane.....it's wedding tackle!"

"Putin's may be bigger, but mine can do Immelman turns!"

"The one threat the KGB had never encountered."

"Now that's a political message I can get behind, but I'd bet my wife would like it behind her!:

The Icon because of the aerial capers.

Life a mess? The Moderatrix can help

XML slave
Linux

Prospective Future

There's good money to be made as a web developer, and I'm fairly decent at it. The problem is that I've lost almost all interest in that career. It's a wonderful hobby, but working on the designs laid out by my company is nothing short of tedious and droll.

On the other side of the coin, I'm not really that great at anything else. Oh I'm moderately proficient in other areas, but I only excel in the IT world. Should I abandon all caution and start a career in something I might not be very good at? Or should I buckle down, stop whining, and be a code monkey?

Icon because it's the only creature that might understand my plight.

Taser rolls out taser-on-a-roll, new military zapbomb deal

XML slave
Pirate

Flawed concept

Using electrical current to incapacitate someone is pretty much only useful in the law enforcement field. Given, there are times when soldiers want to take a combatant alive, but they're best bet is really to rely on the currently existing technology of Flashbangs, rubber slugs, and excellent martial training. Because the soldier never gets to select his environment electricity purely for the sake of incapacitating is well...a gamble. Flashbangs and rubber rounds have fewer drawbacks and environmental weaknesses. (Keep in mind, most soldiers aren't going to care if the guy they were trying to incapacitate is accidentally killed instead. HQ might whine, but what enlisted man is going to care?)

Given, there are some very cool developing technologies in the riot control / incapacitation field. I just don't think TASER is going to be one of the more prominent ones for soldiers.

Also, note of clarification. Lead shot in a shotgun is indeed prohibited by most US military units with the notable exception of Special Forces. Indeed there are much fewer limitations on Green Berets, Rangers, Delta, Seals, and Combat Controllers.

Evolution finds a home for recognition technology

XML slave
Coat

Finally, the difference can be told

Clerk - "What is that in his pocket? Is he trying to steal something?"

Lanehawk - "It's not a banana."

I'll need me coat. No heckling needed.

US war robots in Iraq 'turned guns' on fleshy comrades

XML slave
Black Helicopters

Can't believe I get to say it first

Fools! Don't you know not to trust a robot that isn't 3 laws safe?! Obviously the US military doesn't do much reading...if they're even able...

Wait a minute, I'm US military...

*hides under his desk awaiting his imminent TERMINATION*

"Please Colonel, don't send your deathbots!"

Australia to restrict laser-pointers - Minister

XML slave
Coat

Guns don't kill people

Apes with LASER beams kill people.

Rest in Peace, Heston.

Lemme get me coat.

XML slave
Unhappy

Small Suggestion

Okay, so obviously either common sense or common decency has failed when someone has pointed a laser in the hopes of crashing an airliner. To help reduce the number of these incidents, I'd like to appeal to the common sense or common decency of the human next to the miscreants. If your mate is pointing a laser at an airplane and giggling like a moron...please for the love of all that is sweet and fuzzy kick that little twerp right in the gonads.

When civility fails, count on the person next to you responding in an uncivil way.

And seriously...come on...restricting the import of LASER pointers? Playing with LASER pointers is geeky enough, but providing rules by which you must obtain the geeky artifact makes yourself one step geekier. What's next? You'll take away rubber bands because a kid might snap one into your eye?

NZ man uses hedgehog as ninja star

XML slave
Coat

Suddenly it seems...

Sonic the Hedgehog is not nearly as dangerous to a raving mad scientist as was previously concluded. The little fellow can't even kill a teenage with his speed and spines. How does he expect to take on the worlds Meglomaniacs?

Mine's the one with SEGA on it...

Telco firm, Coke sponsor Filipino crucifixion festival

XML slave
Gates Horns

Promoting Darwinism

Why does everyone think this is a BAD idea? If these people are mentally unstable enough to think voluntary crucifixion is appropriate, then I think any illness/death ensuing from said actions are equally appropriate. It's Darwin's Theory at it's best! Better yet, Coca-Cola is throwing it's support behind Darwin's Theory, and possibly improving their sales at the same time. Making money off of human suffering? Capitalism at it's best!

I'm cheering for the skinny guy with the beard. He may not look tough, but inside he's a real penitent! I'll put 20 quid on him.

The pic for capitalism.

Australian man killed by suicide robot

XML slave
Pirate

@mike

Despite conventional wisdom, the .22 handgun is very effective at point blank ranges when fired into the skull. There's enough penetration to get into the skull, but not powerful enough to cause an exit wound. The round spends some time ricocheting around in the skull a bit. It's not ideal for random street violence or police grade weaponry, but for terminating one's self it's fairly effective. He probably came across that while researching his killing machine.

Highly effective yet completely ludicrous method. I feel sad now.

The coat with the Jolly Roger on it, please.

Boozed Belarusian dodges birthday train squish

XML slave

@GettinSadda

Very true. However I have two wonderful counterpoints to your argument :)

1) I long since stopped listening to the Catholic Church.

2) As is my understanding of Irish tradition, the celebration and libations often extend past the deadline.

Cheers!

XML slave
Unhappy

Murphy's Law

Poor Darwin, even he can be thwarted by Murphy. What a story to kick off my St. Patricks day celebrations.

US Supremes reject challenge to warrantless wiretapping

XML slave

Checks & Balances

The entire point of the US Supreme Court (and mind you this is the only power they have ever been granted) is to rule on the constitutionality of any law or action made/taken by the Legislative and the Executive Branch. That's it. When the US Supreme Court recognizes that something may not be legal, but refuses to see the case, they are in effect avoiding their own responsiblity.

If the Supreme Court isn't willing to slap our Law Enforcement Agencies with a wooden paddle when they do something wrong...well why the hell are we paying for them?

As for having no freedom...some of us already know that. I pay taxes for things I wouldn't endorse if I were held at gunpoint, and there's no legal way for me to challenge that. If I thought this was an ideal system of government then I would say so, but frankly it's not so great. Majority Rules. Lovely for a Kool-aid drinking cultist, but not so great for an independent hoopy frood. As soon as my contract is up, I'm leaving the country.

Just my two cents.

Microsoft accuses kids of bullying Santa into sex chat

XML slave

Testing

Pushing software into doing things it wasn't supposed to do? Isn't that what we in the software biz call 'Testing'? At least the question of where kids are learning how to swear and how to have sex before the age of 12 are getting their information.

Santa is corrupting our children! Where's a paranoid soccer-mom (football-mom) when you need one? Down with Santa!

Fort Bragg grunt in gay porn vid shocker

XML slave

Just how it is

Preacher is right, we don't have that liberty. The UCMJ is still largely based on values that were established way back in the day. Homosexual relations are prohibited (though that will only get you an administrative discharge I believe) where pornographic acts in uniform can potentially net you prison time, though usually you'll just get anywhere from an Other Than Honorable discharge to a Dishonorable Discharge.

Truth is, he's getting a lot more punishment over making pornographic materials. Plenty of people each year in the armed forces are discharged for having 'discovered' themselves. I do wonder why those tarts in congress don't change the policy though. It's not like they properly reflect the old values anymore, so why do we?

George Bush's watch clocked on eBay

XML slave

I is hurt...(only a smidgen)

If you want to take jabs at America that's fine. Most of them are pretty amusing anyways. But try to remember that we're not all the same. A baptist from southern Alabama is a far cry from an atheist in Pennsylvania. There's a big difference in attitude, morals, education, and so on and so forth. Make fun of our government, our economy, and our inability to blend in foreign countries and not look like a tourist. But don't lump us all together. That's like saying that everyone on the island can't cook (still up for debate), or all of the french are rude, or that all polish people make blondes look smart.

I've travelled a bit. You guys across the pond are great. I don't get why everyone's got to bash everyone else. Except the Albanians...come on, who can trust them now? ^_-