The even randomer thread

[Wyldnwoody44]

I just heard about Vegas as I have a friend there, she is OK, but damn!

[shrader]

I tweaked something in my neck/shoulder yesterday.  The limited turning motion I have right now made for an interesting drive this morning.  Merging and changing lanes was a bit of an adventure.

[MattPie]

Awesome I'll download it, thanks! How long have you been using it?

 

My wife and I were doing the Spanish stuff for a couple months (we have Spanish speaking family; trips to Mexico are on the horizon). I didn't get  fluent by any means, but I was listening to some podcast and realized I understood the person say, "Would you like some water?" En espaniol. Baby steps. I switched over to learning Japanese more recently and that's a tough one as it goes straight into learning Hiragana and then Katakana and Kanji (the writing systems) so it's learning what sounds the characters make and then trying to remember the words. I feel like if I really kept up with it I'd be at least passable at getting my point across in either, but I've been slacking lately and need to restart both.

[josie]

I just heard about Vegas as I have a friend there, she is OK, but damn!

My friend missed it all by minutes. She's there for a work thing... Waking up to read the death toll/injury reports I was absolutely WIRED until I heard from her. She's fine. Glad yours is too. 

[shrader]

Liger's a big fan of putting colons in his thread titles today.

[That Aud Smell]

It may not have been organized football at all.  Kids play rough.  Kids get hurt.  Happens.

 

My original thought wasn't really contingent on whether it was organized or just a pick-up game. I was thinking of the distinction between something that happens within play, within the norms of the game, and something that arguably happens outside the bounds of normal play.

 

The case that the OP linked to actually seemed have more to do with abstention, though, than assumption of the risk.

 

(One quick aside: As a parent of post-Millenial children, I will say that, from what I can tell, pick-up games are mostly a thing of the past. It's a damn shame.)  

[Sabel79]

My original thought wasn't really contingent on whether it was organized or just a pick-up game. I was thinking of the distinction between something that happens within play, within the norms of the game, and something that arguably happens outside the bounds of normal play.

 

The case that the OP linked to actually seemed have more to do with abstention, though, than assumption of the risk.

 

(One quick aside: As a parent of post-Millenial children, I will say that, from what I can tell, pick-up games are mostly a thing of the past. It's a damn shame.)

 

Yeah, I mostly posted the case as it was driving me insane thinking about it until I found it. And yes, the opinion dealt mostly with the many reasons the court below shouldn't have punted (heh, see what I did there?). Facts were as I remembered them, though.

 

As for the kid in Mom's phone call, I don't have any facts beyond what I relayed. Either way, though, yeesh

[Doohickie]

A coworker of mine lives in Vegas and was at the concert with his wife when the shooting happened.  He took today off work because he and his wife spent last night driving wounded to the hospital, giving blood, etc.

[Randall Flagg]

How can someone just rip those people from their families 

[shrader]

A coworker of mine lives in Vegas and was at the concert with his wife when the shooting happened.  He took today off work because he and his wife spent last night driving wounded to the hospital, giving blood, etc.

 

I can't imagine too many businesses were up and running out there yesterday, especially any of the non-attraction variety.  I've seen far less bring a city to a screeching halt.

[Eleven]

How can someone just rip those people from their families 

 

It's bound to happen in a country that doesn't adequately care for its mentally ill and treats taking too much toothpaste on a plane as a more serious threat than semi-automatic weapons.

[WildCard]

It's bound to happen in a country that doesn't adequately care for its mentally ill and treats taking too much toothpaste on a plane as a more serious threat than semi-automatic weapons.

Bingo

[That Aud Smell]

I learned last night that you can convert an ordinary rifle to a fully automatic weapon by purchasing a replacement stock for about $40.

 

I mean, what in the actual ####.

 

Also, The Onion almost always gets things exactly right:

 

Americans Hopeful This Will Be Last Mass Shooting Before They Stop On Their Own For No Reason

 

 

WASHINGTON—Expressing a sense of guarded optimism that the latest incident of gun violence that left 58 dead and 500 injured in Las Vegas would be a turning point for the nation, Americans across the country confirmed Monday they were hopeful this would be the last mass shooting before all such occurrences stopped on their own for no reason at all. “After something as horrific as what happened in Las Vegas, we’re all just hoping that now these terrible shootings will stop once and for all without circumstances changing in any way or any of us taking even the slightest amount of action in response,” said Harrisburg, PA resident David Snyder, echoing the sentiments of tens of millions of citizens from coast to coast who told reporters they were confident that, after living through the most deadly mass shooting in modern American history and taking no material steps to change gun laws, reevaluate safety standards, increase access to mental health care, or even have a national conversation about how mass shootings could be avoided in the future, tragedies of this kind would at long last come to an end. “Having seen acts of violence like this happen over and over again for years now, I’m really holding out hope that, despite every single factor that allowed them to occur remaining exactly the same, we won’t have to live through another day like today. I know everyone’s praying this will finally be the time this issue just disappears forever entirely by itself without anyone doing anything.” At press time, Americans nationwide agreed that years of taking no measures whatsoever to prevent mass shootings may finally be paying off.

Edited October 3, 2017 by That Aud Smell

[WildCard]

I learned last night that you can convert an ordinary rifle to a fully automatic weapon by purchasing a replacement stock for about $40.

 

I mean, what in the actual ####.

He was known by the local authorities for various reasons prior to this. He also, somehow, managed to sneak 23 ###### guns into a hotel, and stayed there for multiple days. HOW

Edited October 3, 2017 by WildCard

[That Aud Smell]

He was known by the local authorities for various reasons prior to this. 

 

I had not seen that reported.

[Eleven]

I had not seen that reported.

 

Nor had I.  I've seen the opposite; that he was not known to police.

[MattPie]

My original thought wasn't really contingent on whether it was organized or just a pick-up game. I was thinking of the distinction between something that happens within play, within the norms of the game, and something that arguably happens outside the bounds of normal play.

 

The case that the OP linked to actually seemed have more to do with abstention, though, than assumption of the risk.

 

(One quick aside: As a parent of post-Millenial children, I will say that, from what I can tell, pick-up games are mostly a thing of the past. It's a damn shame.)  

 

The kids (5-10 years) around my neighborhood used to play pickup football and baseball in our yards (kids on either side of me, so they'd use all three-four yards as a field). Sadly, the three houses with kids have all switched hands in the last year or two; on the bright side I hit the new neighbor lottery on all counts.

 

He was known by the local authorities for various reasons prior to this. He also, somehow, managed to sneak 23 ###### guns into a hotel, and stayed there for multiple days. HOW

 

I think I read he used his girlfriends info to book the room?

Nor had I.  I've seen the opposite; that he was not known to police.

 

I thought I read that he was known, but that was early on in the fog of war.

[shrader]

He was known by the local authorities for various reasons prior to this. He also, somehow, managed to sneak 23 ###### guns into a hotel, and stayed there for multiple days. HOW

 

I'd imagine that a golf bag with a travel case would make it very easy to get guns in.  No one's going to think twice about that.  He'd have to make a couple trips to the car, but again, that seems fairly simple enough.

 

I thought I read that he was known, but that was early on in the fog of war.

 

The report I heard was that he had a single citation for something.  They didn't say what but it was very minor.

[That Aud Smell]

I've seen the opposite; that he was not known to police.

 

Same here. The accounts I'm seeing are that he'd had a career as an accountant, socked away some money, bought some real estate, and was living the life of an early-retired, high-stakes (compulsive?) gambler. I also saw that his father was on the FBI's most wanted list (for bank robberies and a subsequent assault on police) back in the late 60s through the mid 70s.

 

It's somehow even more disheartening and terrifying to consider that neither mental illness nor religious radicalization played a role in this.

 

I'd imagine that a golf bag with a travel case would make it very easy to get guns in.  No one's going to think twice about that.  He'd have to make a couple trips to the car, but again, that seems fairly simple enough.

 

Exactly.

[WildCard]

I thought I read that he was known, but that was early on in the fog of war.

The report I heard was that he had a single citation for something.  They didn't say what but it was very minor.

Read it yesterday on Fox or CNN, can't remember which and considering I've already had a'talking to once about politics I don't feel like hunting for it just to post it and get suspended 

[That Aud Smell]

Read it yesterday on Fox or CNN, can't remember which and considering I've already had a'talking to once about politics I don't feel like hunting for it just to post it and get suspended 

 

The most recent reporting reflects no indication that the guy had a history with law enforcement.

 

This from WaPo is typical of what I am seeing:

 

Authorities said a sweep of law enforcement databases showed Paddock had no known run-ins with police. Paddock was the son of a bank robber who was once on the FBI most wanted list, but investigators have turned up no clear links to any criminal enterprises or international terrorist groups

[ubkev]

He also, somehow, managed to sneak 23 ###### guns into a hotel, and stayed there for multiple days. HOW

Ever been in a hotel? No one is looking.

[WildCard]

The most recent reporting reflects no indication that the guy had a history with law enforcement.

 

This from WaPo is typical of what I am seeing:

 

Authorities said a sweep of law enforcement databases showed Paddock had no known run-ins with police. Paddock was the son of a bank robber who was once on the FBI most wanted list, but investigators have turned up no clear links to any criminal enterprises or international terrorist groups

I guess the report I rad yesterday was false, or maybe I misread it. Either way, apologies 

 

Ever been in a hotel? No one is looking.

Even in Vegas though? I'm amazed that this kind of thing hasn't happened before there honestly 

[That Aud Smell]

It’s to the point that whenever I am in what appears to be a “soft target” area, I feel regular pangs of anxiety.

[shrader]

 

Even in Vegas though? I'm amazed that this kind of thing hasn't happened before there honestly 

 

You wait in a big line to check in and then you take your stuff up to your room.  The only difference from any other hotel is that the line is longer.  The furthest they go in terms of checking your bag would be if a bellboy (is that still the right title?) happens to notice something odd if they happen to move a bag.  With this guy sneaking stuff in, he's going to pass on the bellboy touching his bags.  I'm not sneaking stuff in at all, but I'd much rather move my own bag too.