thndrchld

Why does it have to be digital? If a species is cable of building a simulation that can model... well... everything, I doubt they're doing it on anything we would recognize.

Can confirm.

Years ago, my friends and I ruined it for everyone because we won the call in contests so much. We all delivered pizza, so we were in our cars listening to the radio for hours on end.

First, they made it so you could only win one prize every two weeks.

But we still won every two weeks.

Then they made it so you could only win monthly.

So we started giving fake names.

Then they made it so you had to provide ID.

So we started giving the names of friends and family members and telling them to pick up their free stuff.

So then they made it one winner per household per month per caller ID number, must present ID at prize pickup, no transfers or substitutions.

They won. But I still had a CD binder full of free CDs I got from them. I've won concert tickets, CDs, movie sneak peak tickets, and more station swag than I knew what to do with. Even got to go up in the studio one time for a pickup line contest. Callers would call in and try pickup lines on me and I got to choose the winner.

At the height, we were on a first name basis with the receptionist at the radio station. Sylvia. Very nice lady. "Hey, {thndr}, who are you this week (wink)?"

wow... I read that as shoot golfers on his farm. I then wondered if Canada had an epidemic of people in stupid hats and ugly plaid pants running around putting their balls in everything.

I'm a gun-toting, conceal-carrying gun-rights proponent. Saying that...

Yes, guns are far too easy to get. I have four guns and a license to carry concealed (or open, for that matter). My license test consisted of a 40 question written test that anybody with the mental faculties of an average eight year old could have passed, and a range test that consisted of 50 bullets hitting a target slightly larger than a pumpkin from 10-20 feet (varied during test)

One guy in the class even picked up one of the demonstration guns from the table, pointed it at his friend, PULLED THE TRIGGER, and said "bang bang." Yes, he pointed an unknown gun at his friend and pulled the fucking trigger on a gun he just picked up from the fucking table without checking the chamber.

Everybody in the class passed their test, even Ol' Grandma Myopia and the woman who openly said she was planning to shoot her ex.

When I bought my guns, it was a $10 fee and a 5 minute wait while they ran my background check, and that was because I bought from dealers. If I had just bought one from Joe Shadyguy, no fee, no wait, no background check, all legal.

Now, I do my best to be proficient, know what I'm shooting at, and avoid confrontation, but there are way too many morons out there that think they're all hot shit because they have a gun, and that they can use that gun to force compliance with whatever they want.

Plus, the patchwork of state laws that vary from all-but-passing-them-out to no-gun-for-you make shit VERY inconsistent. Moving from state to state is a fucking nightmare. I made two cross-country trips last year. I had to research the laws of every single state I drove through just to make sure I didn't end up in a jail cell for doing what was perfectly legal in my state. Plus, the shit changes all the time. Hell, my license is valid in Virginia until Feb 1, when it's no longer valid, even though nothing has changed on my end. So, not only do I have to research, I have to make sure that the information I'm reading is up to date, since shit changes all the time.

We do need some serious reforms, and it's a conversation that nobody wants to have, since any mention of reforming gun laws is met by near-violent opposition by people who automatically assume that their semi-auto AR-15 is going to defend them from the tyranny of a government that orders their bullets by the million and can shove a cruise missile up a dog's ass from 2500 miles away.

We need a single, nation-wide standard that establishes a baseline of competency for the possession and operation of firearms. We need a single set of laws that govern where you can carry, what you can carry, and how you carry it, rather than the hokey-pokey mishmash of incongruent bullshit we have now.

But wanting to inject some common sense into gun laws automatically makes me a statist, and we can't have statists, can we?

As an emergency responder myself, I have to say..

Yes, I DO use them to scare the shit out of the probies when they're not expecting it.

Hey, TJ, the brakes were making a funny noise. Check the brake fluid for me will you? (Places finger over airhorn button and waits)