Thoughts from the workbench of Radical RC. The online retailer of electronics and kits for radio control aircraft. Dave Thacker shares his thoughts and knowledge of electronics, batteries, kit design and overall enjoyment of the hobby.
Obama: “I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it — if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than defuse potential altercations,”
My HPO Remarks: “In order to have a more docile public, perhaps we should replace it (Stand Your Ground) with “Bend over and take it.” No Mr. president, requiring people to turn their back on a potential killer is like running from a dog, cowardice invites trouble. Only in a society where government owns it’s citizens can one rationalize government approved self defense. I own me.”
Thomas Nast’s most famous drawing, “Merry Old Santa Claus”,I received an email forward recently from a familiar and friendly source. It really took the cake. It claimed that Snopes (a well known site for investigating Internet rumors and chain email claims) was a left wing Democratic/Communist group funded by George Soros. While it’s true that George Soros is a left wing commie, the linkage to Snopes was just another fabrication used to trick somebody into forwarding “Information EVERYONE Must Know!”.
Please avoid participating in forwarding these chain emails. They are part of a greater hobby similar to those that write computer virus programs. It’s all about getting you to forward their viral email fiction all over the Internet so they can see how far and wide (how viral) they can spread a story they wrote. We would all do well to avoid stuffing the Internet and your friends mailboxes with items you’ve not bothered to look up and verify for yourself. Just because somebody you trust sent it to you, does not make it trustworthy. Remember, whoever they are, they once believed in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. They are not evil, just fallible and they have fallen prey to a “Fairy Tale” like belief that everything they see on the Internet is true.
The letter I sent follows:
Every viral chain email that mentions Snopes as a form a credibility or non-credibility is at least 95% certain to be non-credible.
The purpose of these outlandish emails is to try to get viral status and see them come back to you from all over the world. It’s part of the virus hobby. They write these to get you to forward them. They are almost all 100% hogwash. It’s not unlike an important part of the HAM Radio hobby, who’s purpose is often to make as many contacts all over the world as possible. Viral Email’ers are creative writers of fiction for sure, yet they contribute only static. It’s not much different from unwanted telephone sales calls.
When I check these forwarded emails, I find only one or two per year that are true. They tug at your heart strings on one level or another so you feel compelled to forward them. If it urges you to forward to all your friends, you won’t hardly ever be wrong if you just assume it’s a fabrication and delete it.
