Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Waiting for permission or common sense?

I was at an intersection with a traffic light, a modern one assisted by sensors in the roadway. I wanted to make a left hand turn, and didn't have permission - I was granted permission to drive on the public roadways, I proved I understood the laws and could mostly operate a vehicle without running into other things. But that wasn't good enough, the light had to change and give me, the only vehicle at the intersection for blocks and blocks permission to make that turn safely. I was being controlled by absent lawmakers, by a computer program that wasn't as smart as I was and the FEAR of getting a ticket, if anyone reported that I had violated a law. Well, I wasn't really afraid - the reason I don't murder and rape more often isn't my fear of the LAW, it has more to do with being a better man than the government seems to take care of... I can take care of myself, you know? I am sure that Benjamin Franklin when crossing streets in Philadelphia was responsible for his own safe passage - since those big coaches and freight wagons and wheel barrows or carts didn't have ABS, or lights, or approval for transportation of stuff. Imagine that, he was expected (a chubby balding old guy) to figure out when it would be safe to cross the street.

They are fooling with stuff on the Appleseed forum, one of the safety signals - there seem to be folks that want chamber flags to go into the chamber through the magazine well - if the plastic isn't flexible enough or the ejection port too tiny. And since you have to do it Fred's way or it is the highway, looks like that is how it is going to go... glad I am in hibernation, he has excommunicated two of his hardest working Red Hat/Shoot Boss's for having thoughts that won't work on politically correct Americans. It is almost like the RWVA is going to become a Soccer Mom's 22 Rifle event, done maybe twice a year with the children. But I am convinced that isn't his intent, and as far as I, Thomas Jefferson, Madison, and many others are concerned - speaking out about what you think allows you to partake in civilized discourse. For the improvement of your mind if nothing else.

I am smarter than about sixty percent of the humans in the world, but no one is smart enough to make all the laws that will make me drive my car safely - and threatening me with fines and loss of privileges doesn't seem to work for repeated drunks, texting and talking on cell phones while operating a vehicle. I am protected from breaking those laws by not being modern enough to engage in stupid behavior. Doesn't mean that a drunk, texting or calling driver may not hit me or my vehicle some day - but that becomes my call on if I should be out when I don't know that it is safe... could be why I hide inside the computer cave so much, it isn't safe out there.

I stopped at a light one evening, it was dark, the light was red. And suddenly flashing police lights came on behind my vehicle - so I waited for the officer to approach my window and I opened it. We had a conversation... he wanted to know if I was okay, I hadn't moved out when the light was green. I couldn't remember seeing a green light, the last light I had seen was red - probably caught up in the rapture. But he then wanted the drivers license and registration, leaned close for a good sniff (don't drink, sorry), went back to his car to run the data and find out if I was wanted (only by my waiting wife at home). He brought everything back, asked again if I was okay and wished me a safe trip home. Very nice policeman, very professional -- I did thank him for checking on my condition: it is possible to die while sitting in a vehicle, or faint or be sicker than anyone ever should be.

I did get his permission to continue on my journey, I was happier with a live person than that traffic light computer, I could thank him.

2 comments:

Old NFO said...

Sorry to hear about he negative changes in Appleseed...

SPQR said...

I took 4 chamber flags out of my shoot box. I put three of them in the deep freezer over night. Next day I paired them up with a room temp flag. I used my wee bity fingers and bent one of each into a curved, kind of flexy shape and put them into a Ruger ten times a piece and had not problems. A frozen one worked over in your fingers being flexy enough after the workover to drop in without problems. I then took a room temp and frozen and jammed them into it with the flexing. I had no problems. After a bit they were flexy like the ones that were finger bent. I have been on shoots where flags broke but they all fished out easy enough and were replaced. I have been on shoots where people complain about getting a flag in a Ruger. I show them the finger bendy trick and it always works. I have never fully understood why that concept is not universally understood.