@#32...

Just... stop it... please?

Everyone here can pretty much agree that the gun did not make the decision to be an idiot. The gun probably would have been completely content to have been left in the closet that night.

The problem here is that for a well deserved change of events- Stupidity DID become painful. Unfortunately the pain was just a little bit off the mark.

Why do anti-gun people always sink to the level of equating the Second Amendment to people possessing "landmines and grenade launchers"?

If you don't want a gun- fine. I don't care. Your choice. But as for me? Well, that would be my choice wouldn't it?

I saw mention of a RockBox app for running on devices without replacing the firmware. I assume that this refers to devices such as PocketPCs and PALMs? SmartPhones and the like?

I use a HP iPAQ 4150 as my mediaplayer. In my opinion, a far better solution than an iPod. The only area iPod wins at is capacity. But really- do you need 30g of music everywhere you go? I've got a 512 and a 1g SD card that both get swapped between my camera and iPAQ and between the two I've never not had enough music to entertain myself. True, they aren't at the best of bitrates- but that's mostly so that I can squeeze a few more pictures from my camera on there in a jam.

The point being, to the RockBox crew that might read this, please continue on the standalone program concept. There is a market out there for it. Take a look at media software for the PPC- PocketPlayer and PocketMusic seem to be the top o' the heap for PPC players. PocketMusic doesn't have last.fm support and development seems to have halted. PocketPlayer beats PMusic- quite configurable accepts plugins and skins but still leaves a bit to be desired.

the clouds part and a single ray bursts through...

Boo and hiss to the "anonymous" tipster- mind your own damn business.

Hooray to the Jury for doing your job.
Hooray to the Defense Lawyer for taking the case.
Hooray to the Defendant for standing up for your needs.

1/12 of an ounce... is that even enough for another joint? I got busted once and the cop tried to used the weight of the film canister it was in to make it appear that I had more on the paperwork. Same cop that told me that it is my Constitutional Duty to carry picture ID at all times. Picture ID is in the Constitution? Missed that paragraph, I guess.

ditto #4...

I still say he looks like Maynard from Tool....

@9 & 11 &... ---

"just don't write in bush"

I disagree... we should ALL write in Bush.

I mean, really... his approval rating (and not the ones touted by the media, think about it- of all the people you know, how many would publicly admit to supporting ol' Junior?) has sucked ass for the last 3...2?... 3... years, he's been keeping his head down just trying to ride this last year out praying that he doesn't come up for air and get a face full of shit.

But to the point... can you imagine the panic when he is informed and realizes that he is indeed chained to the bumper of the car he spent the last 8 years pushing over a cliff...?

Why should someone else inherit the mess he made while listening to whoever the hell was giving him directions from the backseat?

As if Clinton, McCain or Obama stands a chance of rectifying all of Bushs' errors?

@ Michael W. Dean
What about Ron Paul? last I heard he's still running (won't win- but still) and he is definitely for less government... I'd even hazard to go so far as minimal government.

And @ EvilRooster....
Right on... Authority- by it's very nature, should be questioned. One of the first lessons we learned as children is "If Xxxxxx told you to jump of a bridge, would you?" When told to do something you should ask yourself 'What right does this person have to make decisions for me.' For me, 'Because they work for the government' is more of a reason to resist than to comply...

But I'm weird like that......

I love it when BoingBoing covers these... it reminds me of an experience I had leaving a store...

Way back in the days of yore, when PlayStation 2's were the hot commodity I walked into a store hoping that maybe, just maybe, they'd have one on the shelf...

They didn't...

Finally resigning myself to the fact that there'd be no bleeding-edge gaming at my house that night, I turned to leave. But as I walked out the second set of doors I felt a heavy hand clamp down on my shoulder and spin me around...

Fortunately I had heard the heavy breathing and wheezing coming up behind me a mile away and knew what to expect- typically a hand clamping down and spinning me around would have been met by a propelled right hand to the chin...

Instead I had to endure this gorilla with stale coffee and cigarette breath wheezing into my face telling me that he had already called the police and that he was "escorting" me to their "security room"- a broom closet with an empty desk, a mop and a half dozen milk crates.

The better part of an hour later the same gorilla returned with his manager and 3 uniformed officers and instructed me to empty my pockets out onto the desk, I was then patted down and interrogated as to where the "merchandise" was. At my insistance that I had not, nor attempted to, lift anything from their shop I was treated to a rather pathetic attempt at "good cop, bad cop" from the manager and guard while the "officers" stood idly by thumbing the catch for the mace compartment on their belts...

After 10 minutes of "We know you did." "No I didn't" "We KNOW you did." "No, I didn't." "Yes you did. We KNOW you DID." "Dude, no I fucking didn't..." "We have security cameras in place for situations like this." "Good, lets see the tapes so I can prove I FUCKING DID NOT DO IT."

30 minutes later, after they finally found someone with access to the "camera room" (do they build anything other than broom closets in these places?) with another desk (this one actually had a TV on the desk... judging by the other room I was thinking we were gonna be watching this tape in the electronics department) and a locking cabinet with VCRs'...

So after another 20 minutes of taking tapes out of machines, playing through them, swapping for the tapes in other machines, swapping tapes some more, and still more swapping tapes it was determined that indeed- At no point while I was inside the store did I even come close enough to any merchandise to be able to pretend to pick it up off the shelf.

The tapes showed me walk in, walk to the electronics department, stand dejectedly momentarily, turn and leave following the same route I entered through...

After it was all said and done I did not even get an apology. From anyone.

The manager simply opened the door and gestured for me to leave through it.

I guess I should just be thankful that the officer was willing to remove the handcuffs without detaching my hands at the wrists...

But the point.... The true kicker... the reward for reading through all that, is this...

When the officers first arrived, as I was going through the "empty your pockets" spiel- as the officer was looking over what I took out of my pockets he asked where my identification was. To which I replied, "Probably at home as I wasn't expecting to have to prove my identity today..."

To which the "Officer of the Law" rebutted that "... it is your ***Constitutional Obligation*** to carry picture identification with you at all times."

I shit you not, and that is as close to an exact quote as I can manage considering the flood of thoughts that crashed into that mental barrier that prevents all thoughts from becoming spoken words... But I shit you not, the words "Constitutional Obligation" were used in that context...

Give me Liberty or Give me Death, my ass...

Ya know... after reading comment after comment comparing the role of food in this topic to alcohol, tobacco or drugs I'm left wondering- what ever happened to personal freedom? It's OK to take this away... but don't you dare threaten my deep-fried twinkie? What crap...

If I choose to eat greasy, fatty food until my heart ruptures because it can't handle the stress of forcing blood through my clotted arteries, or if I choose to smoke cigarettes until I dislodge a chunk of lung every time I cough, or stick a needle in my arm until I look like a Haitian VooDoo doll it should make no difference to the Government... Or anyone else with no vested interest in keeping me alive...

None... at all... At least not until my actions impact the life of another.

The fact that politicians are even toying with legislation such as this proves that they are running out of work to do.

I mean- seeing as how it is the job of Politicians to enact laws that are of value to our society and to keep us all safe, sound and secure and legislation such as this does not fit any of those criteria. Well, then it stands to reason that much like in the real world, when a business starts running out of work to do they typically start laying people off, also known as "downsizing"...

That being said, I think people reading this (as if people read what I write) can fill in the blanks and continue this internally...

And for the record... the problem with fast food IS NOT portion sizes. Just because it is on your plate does not mean you have to eat it. And the last time I was in line at a fast food counter behind an "obese" person, they didn't call it quits with a "#2, Medium, Extra Cheese, No Tomato."

It's usually closer to "Can I get a #2, x-tra large, extra cheese- I'm also gonna need a McRib, a 6 piece chicken nugget- extra sauce and 2 apple pies... Oh, and can I get that with a Diet Coke?"

Overall, my point being, you do not know what is best for me... only I do. I would never dictate to another person how to live their life simply because I know that I simply will not tolerate someone attempting to do the same to mine. For all I know this life is the only time that I have granted to me and I'll be damned if I'll allow anyone to compromise that in any shape form or fashion.

At first I wondered how Maynard James Keenan from the band Tool made it to BoingBoing...

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:xEcjpBtCgg1_rM:http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w207/Pixiebubble/maynard.jpg

is a smallish pic I found on Google... striking resemblance.

to #4... Did you not read the description? Second half of the first sentence- "designed at the request of HK South American sales rep, who saw a market for dignitary protection and increased firepower in a small package."

From that I gather that the H&K rep wanted it as a demo model to show off to *South African Blood Diamond warlords* (the part between th *'s is meant as a half joke).

Being American, I have a bit of a fetish for guns. Being me, I also think the recent steampunk movement is fascinating. And this photo is what I think of when I try and picture a steampunk MP5. It's sleek and pretty, but there is no mistaking what it is meant to do and which end is the wrong end. The engraving reminds me of a safe that was installed in a hotel circa 1920-ish. Awesome find.

I can't belive that Randy Johnson didn't make the list of notable "Animal in a ball park" stories... What a way to psyche a batter out... kinda puts "Hey, batter batter batter..." to shame.

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