Americans Can’t Seem To Stop Pointing Lasers At Planes

A lot of Americans are terminally stupid. Stupid people believed a military exercise in Texas was an invasion intended to take over the state....you know, kinda forgetting that Texas is part of the US already making conquest a moot point and not realizing that most of us living elsewhere would be okay if Texas wasn't around to drag down the rest of the US. :D
 
I talk to about a dozen foreign folks a day, all over the world, for high end car parts. In my observation stupid does not follow any sort of borders on a map. It's quite possibly cultural though, there are a lot of things that go on here that don't elsewhere. You can say that about anywhere if you look hard enough of course, but some of it we really should be past in this country.
 
I talk to about a dozen foreign folks a day, all over the world, for high end car parts. In my observation stupid does not follow any sort of borders on a map. It's quite possibly cultural though, there are a lot of things that go on here that don't elsewhere. You can say that about anywhere if you look hard enough of course, but some of it we really should be past in this country.

I don't know. I read both the UK and US versions of MSN's news pages and the comments in the US version are like high-density stupid that's been boiled down and compressed so as much of it fits into as small of a space as possible (so it doesn't demand a lot of neural capacity, I think) whereas there are only very occasionally dumb comments coming from UK readers regarding the same articles.
 
I don't know. I read both the UK and US versions of MSN's news pages and the comments in the US version are like high-density stupid that's been boiled down and compressed so as much of it fits into as small of a space as possible (so it doesn't demand a lot of neural capacity, I think) whereas there are only very occasionally dumb comments coming from UK readers regarding the same articles.

Yeah, you aren't wrong on that score, but there really is more to the world than the internet.
I'd agree the US has more stupids on the internet for sure. And the UK folks I talk to are of a pretty consistently higher caliber overall, they can somehow say something dumb but be pleasant and well spoken about it. And they seem eager to learn. Australians are cool too, they don't seem to take anything seriously but aren't letting that prevent them from getting things done somehow. I like that.

It's got to be cultural though, we're all still the same species. Mostly.
Maybe it's this continent? I talk to a lot of really friendly but dumbass people from Canada and South America too.
 
Yeah, you aren't wrong on that score, but there really is more to the world than the internet.
I'd agree the US has more stupids on the internet for sure. And the UK folks I talk to are of a pretty consistently higher caliber overall, they can somehow say something dumb but be pleasant and well spoken about it. And they seem eager to learn. Australians are cool too, they don't seem to take anything seriously but aren't letting that prevent them from getting things done somehow. I like that.

It's got to be cultural though, we're all still the same species. Mostly.
Maybe it's this continent? I talk to a lot of really friendly but dumbass people from Canada and South America too.

All I see in this post and the post you quoted is folks looking down upon others with their nose in the air. ;) If the only thing a person can do is look and point at how "stupid" they think someone else is, they should first look in the mirror and see all the "stupid" things they may have done or said.

Or, in a word, pride. (Not the good kind either.)
 
Hey, I was defending people, in a roundabout way, and complementing folks of other nationalities.

Beyond that, I call em like I see em.
I do dumb things now and again, but it's as a last resort and I correct my error. I exhaust every opportunity and avenue before I bother someone else about anything, for anything, and I chastise myself harshly for mistakes having grown up such that mistakes were not something one could afford to make. I talk to 20 or so people from all over the world every single work day for the last decade that totally ignore the wealth of (free) information and knowledge and easy access to it that practically all of the developed world has at this point. I can't see how any sane and rational person could do what I do and have the experience I have and not come to the same conclusions. I've met dozens and dozens and dozens over the years in my line of work that have done just that so I'm reasonably sure it's not just a quirk of my personality.

And I don't just point out how stupid some people are, that would be a silly waste of time, I help them, I teach them, I show them how to learn and how to find information(teach a man to fish and all that), half the time it's for free, every day of the work week. And on weekends I do it for my friends. Trouble is, and what makes a person cynical and bitter that does not possess the constitution of a saint (i don't), is a large number, the majority even, don't want to learn, they don't want to be better, they don't want to not have to hold out a metaphorical hand and say gimmie gimmie gimmie. They are perfectly content with that, and those people are morons and I hope they don't pass it on to their offspring.

We joke that it takes about six seconds and the tone of a person voice, and you know if they are a waste of time or not. It's not much of an exaggeration. Wish I didn't know that, but somebody has to do it. And I'm proud that I get up every day and do it all over again, for the couple people I manage to really help in the course of a day out of the pile of detritus. Most people would not, and do not. I like not being most people. I've spent my entire life doing things other folks cannot or will not, and I'm proud of that too. :)
 
Yeah, you aren't wrong on that score, but there really is more to the world than the internet.
I'd agree the US has more stupids on the internet for sure. And the UK folks I talk to are of a pretty consistently higher caliber overall, they can somehow say something dumb but be pleasant and well spoken about it. And they seem eager to learn. Australians are cool too, they don't seem to take anything seriously but aren't letting that prevent them from getting things done somehow. I like that.

It's got to be cultural though, we're all still the same species. Mostly.
Maybe it's this continent? I talk to a lot of really friendly but dumbass people from Canada and South America too.

I think you're on the right track with that being cultural rather than part of what makes people human. The differences in how people are expected to conduct themselves between nations can be pretty vast. The US is individualistic, encourages entertaining short-term spending over long term financial stability, and takes pride (to steal MoG's word) in being loudly objectionable about things. Other nations are more collectivist and look further into the future while placing value on thoughtfully constructed arguments presented in a discussion. Not every other place is perfect, but it seems like it'd be really easy to take some of what is better about those other places and attempt to like, incorporate them into our society.
 
Hey, I was defending people, in a roundabout way, and complementing folks of other nationalities.

Beyond that, I call em like I see em.
I do dumb things now and again, but it's as a last resort and I correct my error. I exhaust every opportunity and avenue before I bother someone else about anything, for anything, and I chastise myself harshly for mistakes having grown up such that mistakes were not something one could afford to make. I talk to 20 or so people from all over the world every single work day for the last decade that totally ignore the wealth of (free) information and knowledge and easy access to it that practically all of the developed world has at this point. I can't see how any sane and rational person could do what I do and have the experience I have and not come to the same conclusions. I've met dozens and dozens and dozens over the years in my line of work that have done just that so I'm reasonably sure it's not just a quirk of my personality.

And I don't just point out how stupid some people are, that would be a silly waste of time, I help them, I teach them, I show them how to learn and how to find information(teach a man to fish and all that), half the time it's for free, every day of the work week. And on weekends I do it for my friends. Trouble is, and what makes a person cynical and bitter that does not possess the constitution of a saint (i don't), is a large number, the majority even, don't want to learn, they don't want to be better, they don't want to not have to hold out a metaphorical hand and say gimmie gimmie gimmie. They are perfectly content with that, and those people are morons and I hope they don't pass it on to their offspring.

We joke that it takes about six seconds and the tone of a person voice, and you know if they are a waste of time or not. It's not much of an exaggeration. Wish I didn't know that, but somebody has to do it. And I'm proud that I get up every day and do it all over again, for the couple people I manage to really help in the course of a day out of the pile of detritus. Most people would not, and do not. I like not being most people. I've spent my entire life doing things other folks cannot or will not, and I'm proud of that too. :)

So nice to know that there are people like you out there identifying dumb people in 6 seconds and digging right in to enlighten them and help them to be less stupid. Knowing you make such a valuable contribution to society must really boost your ego.

You are an American hero...in your own mind...
 
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_105701.html


Got this last week.

Fantastic laser cannon. Hard not to hit a plane with it to be honest. the thing is so damn powerful I instantly regretted buying it.

Always wanted a green laser. The beam is visible in broad daylight.

What will I use it for? Hell, I have no idea. not good for pets, too strong. Can't look at the point. It will spend most of its life in a safe out of reach of kids and maybe taken out on foggy days.

Why did I get it? Because I can't get a damn light sabre yet....yet...
 
Ehh, just how much wattage is it really outputting? It says it's rated for 5mW, but if you can see the beam in daylight it's at least 100mW...
 
Ehh, just how much wattage is it really outputting? It says it's rated for 5mW, but if you can see the beam in daylight it's at least 100mW...

Hard to tell I have seen red lasers that claim 5mW that were no where near as bright as this. Could be they misrepresent the wattage to comply with existing laser import laws. :)

It is pretty cool, even my wife (who hates all things geek) thought it was awesome.

With the provided splitter lens it is very safe and puts on quite a show.

Useless but fun. but when those enemy planes come overhead I am ready for them. PEW PEW!!!!
 
One thing to consider about shining lasers at pilots regardless of the automation/sophistication of their aircraft is that it's just damn distracting. The last thing you need is an unfocused irritated pilot at some critical moment, like say a hydraulic failure on a control surface causing the aircraft to rapidly change orientation. The pilot needs to be focused and fixated on the task at hand so that he's ready to react instantly and instinctively. You wouldnt want a pilot listening to ipod music or texting on his cellphone during takeoff/landing any more than you want one contending with brief flashes of diffused laser light in the cockpit. Next thing you know he relaxes his grip from the yolk to radio control tower to say some jackass motherfucker is shining a laser from a mile away when suddenly disaster strikes.
 
Holy shit that thing is cheap as hell! Me wants!

No, you dont. It's a fucking laser. It the same shit you saw someone shining on the chalkboard in highschool. It makes a stupid fucking dot. Whoopdie fucking do. Only this one makes the dot so far away you cant even see where it's hitting. Why on earth would you want this other than to be a nuisance to the world? What could you possibly be trying to illuminate that is beyond visual range?
 
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