Man Killed By His Own Radio-Controlled Helicopter In Brooklyn 479
An anonymous reader sends this news from the Wall Street Journal:
"A 19-year-old model helicopter enthusiast was killed Thursday when a toy helicopter he was flying struck him in the head, a law-enforcement official said. Victim Roman Pirozek 'was known to be aggressive in his flying and often executed tricks. He was executing a trick when he was struck,' the official said. Mr. Pirozek – depicted in [this YouTube video] he posted in July — was flying a remote-controlled helicopter worth about $2,000 when it struck him, cutting off the top of his head, the official said. The Woodhaven, Queens, resident was pronounced dead at the scene. His father was with him at the time of the accident, the official said."
OUCH (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
No kidding. I have no doubt this story discussion will be filled with jokes (somewhat understandably), but man that's horrible for his father as well. My thoughts and prayers go out for that family.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Funny)
quick, lets ban them! think of the children :D
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Funny)
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Funny)
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Interesting)
in MA that would definitely happen. As it is Nannychusetts now requires all dirt bikes and ATVs to be registered (even if used only on your own private property!) and no one under 16 may operate any such vehicles at any time (even under guardian supervision), except to train within 21 days of a sanctioned competition.
I see it now: all RC devices are now required to be registered and may not be operated by minors (even under guardian supervision) unless within one week of a sanctioned event.
Thankfully I don't live in People's Republik of Nannychusetts any more. I know NYC can be pretty draconian but they don't compare to the insanity of Nannychusetts, sugary drink ban notwithstanding.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but I'm sure this will lead to calls for bans or some restrictions. It won't be effective this time, or the restrictions will be minor, but next time, or the time after they'll increase until they achieve the government objective of increase control over the people by removing civil liberties and information.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Interesting)
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Teenagers are neurologically wired to take risks. It's part of the development of brains; many go on to do circus tricks far more dangerous (hell, American Football is as dangerous; there's zero legitimate reason to run full pelt into another guy who's also running full pelt at you, just to grab a ball.. Yet it's an American national sport that everyone applauds!).
This guy was involved in a scene that often leads to interest in aeronautics and engineering, certainly a more technical side than most, so I d
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
At first I thought, fuck man, that sucks, but then I read that one of his tricks was to fly the helicopter close to his head.
This was a pure Darwin Award moment, plain and simple, stupid trick ended with someone getting hurt. It's up there with torn groin videos from bad landings...
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
NPR was just doing a similar story about folks who skydive in flying squirrel wingsuits. They say there's no thrill like flying above the earth at well over 100MPH. It is also implied and understood there is no such thing as a do-over either. Life is inherently risky, while risks of death can be a real turn-on for folks.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/27/215784315/wingsuit-flying-incredible-thrill-but-no-second-chance [npr.org]
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Funny)
folks who skydive in flying squirrel wingsuits . . . risks of death can be a real turn-on for folks.
Effing furries.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
Which is sad.
Some facts about R/C Heli's in the same general class as the one that killed him:
They weigh roughly 10-12lbs, this one was a gas turbine, so it likely weighed a little more.
The rotors each weigh about 3/4 lbs, most of the weight being from lead added near the tips to facilitate autorotation.
They can fly at speeds up to 100mph, though its unlikely he ever went over 30mph when doing 3d aerobatics.
The rotor tips in non-aerobatic flight travel at about 300mph.
In aerobatic modes, the rotor speed goes up by about 30% so you have reserve power, that brings them to nearly 400mph.
Carbon fiber blades are used not because they are lighter (you really don't want lighter blades at that size), they are more rigid, flex is wasted energy and can cause tail boom strikes.
Doing the math on the rotor blades, .325kg * 175m/s * 0.5 = ~28.4 the tips carry approximately 28 joules of energy assuming they don't separate from the rotor head.
That in and of itself, not so impressive. If you get hit with the broad side of a rotor, it hurts like hell, but won't even bruise most people.
But thats not what happens. Even if the rotor separates from the hub in a crash, they are aerodynamically stable. They are wings after all. They fly straight and true in almost every case with the weighted leading edge up front.
Thats 28 joules of energy in what is basically a knife edge. It can easily severe a leg at the ankle.
These are miniature aircraft. They are easily deadly.
I've put multiple helis into the ground to avoid possibly hitting someone or something, some of the scariest experiences I've ever had were due to a out of control heli. The worst was where I didn't properly fasten the radio antenna and it got pulled into the rotor blade during inverted flight nearly directly over the flight line (where everyone stands to fly) at our local club. Nothing I could do at that point but watch it tumble towards the ground and yell at people to scatter. I was able to recover the aircraft when it got closer to me and without hurting anyone, but you can not imagine the fear people had as the aircraft was tumbling towards them.
Jokes about this kid getting hurt are about as funny as jokes about the Shuttle Columbia's last re-entry.
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Jokes about this kid getting hurt are about as funny as jokes about the Shuttle Columbia's last re-entry.
All of this, and many times over.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe if the Shuttle Columbia was trying to do inverted tricks on re-entry.
Otherwise, it's not much different than someone juggling chainsaws that are running.
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Yeah, exactly, he was doing the stunt to entertain. And he's entertaining. So what?
Re:OUCH (Score:4, Insightful)
Um, sorry, but you acknowledge (and even highlight) the danger and then go on to say how you basically almost decapitated a spectator by flying this admittedly deadly thing directly above them and losing control of it. Remind me never to be in the same park where you're flying.
If this hobbyist was flying it close to himself he was taking a serious, and seemingly well understood, risk. You play Russian roulette long enough and your luck runs out, period.
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"Jokes about this kid getting hurt are about as funny as jokes about the Shuttle Columbia's last re-entry."
While in real life it is sad, but most of us are rather distant from the actual person. It explains the jokes, but doesn't excuse it.
But we have the Darwin awards and we laugh at them too, we often don't think of the guys family who is missing a loved one now, due to some bad decisions on his part.
We have jokes like What is a Rednecks last word "Hey Billy Bob!, Watch This!"...
The truth is life isn't F
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Yeah, this can really tear you up...
http://www.heliguy.com/nexus/dangers.html [heliguy.com]
Check out the one guy who's belly was struck 20ft away when he blew a landing. That is a picture of the bruise 3 days later - owwie! Or the guy who had to have both internal and external stitches when he fired up a copter with the throttle stuck open - not good!
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They weigh roughly 10-12lbs, this one was a gas turbine, so it likely weighed a little more
I highly doubt that. Gas turbine engines are very rare in the RC hobby, and quite expensive. The cost of such an engine would exceed the media's quoted price tag of the entire helicopter. Given the expense and typical time invested by the hobbyist, gas turbine helis almost never see 3D flight (acrobatic flight, as the articles describe).
The most common power system in modern high performance helis is the brushless electric motor, powered by a high-discharge rate 6-10 cell lithium polymer battery pack (30-40
Re:OUCH (Score:4, Informative)
"Gas turbine engines are very rare in the RC hobby, and quite expensive."
Expensive, not so much any more, and rare, not even fucking close. More than half of the RC devices flown by Citrus State Park are gas turbine engines, with the rest being battery pack - no nitromethane anywhere to be found. There's even a guy with an F-16 with freaking functional full-auto airsoft cannons on it. you know when that sucker gets started up, even half a mile away.
Re:OUCH (Score:4, Interesting)
Jokes about this kid getting hurt are about as funny as jokes about the Shuttle Columbia's last re-entry.
Humor is a method of learning, in addition to being a wonderful coping mechanism. While I am not a fan of certain types of jokes, I personally see nothing wrong with the jokes in this thread. Perhaps you prefer racial jokes, or find something else humorous that others have difficulty with. If you find no humor in anything, you are not really human.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
Kinetic energy is 1/2 * m * v^2, so using your numbers gives ~5195 joules. It's actually a lot of energy, about the same as a car going at walking speed, delivered as you say, at a knifes edge.
They'll easily chop a man in half if the rotors don't break first.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
Kinetic energy is (1/2)(m)(v^2), not v. So it works out to 4977 Joules. More than twice the energy of an AK-47 round [thefiringline.com].
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Yeah, I've got jokes running through my head just like a lot of other people, but a man died. Family and friends are grieving.
Human decency requires a suitable interval before making light of such a tragedy. By the time that interval passes, this thread will be in archive mode.
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Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
No, people don't care about the death of a man's child, even if he was 19. Think how his parents, his family and friends are feeling right now.
If you wouldn't say it to their faces, don't fucking say it at all.
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Irony, AC is your name.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe he was just trying a random stunt that he though up off the top of his head.
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Holy crap! If I had mod points... you owe me a new monitor and keyboard.
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Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
It's his fault for not taking proper precautions. He was 19, an adult, and apparently had many, many hours of previous experience.
If all of that didn't instill in him the need to take basic precautions, what other conclusion can one make?
If I'm driving down a back road at 60 mph, stiff arming the steering wheel because that's how the cool kids drive, yacking on my phone while leaning against the door and don't make it through a turn, I can guarantee people would call me a dumbass or stupid for my actions.
This is no different. To bring up a phrase which will immediately get me marked as Troll, personal responsibility. It was his responsibility to make sure both he and anyone everyone else watching was in a safe location before attempting these stunts. He failed to do that and suffered the consequences.
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Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
and I can not recall ever seeing any RC person doing that.
Line judges in R/C pylon races wear helmets or hard hats.
Pilots usually do not, however -- the risks are not large enough to justify them. That said, this situation shows us that they are not zero.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't know how this guy's flying club/park was set up, but at my local flying club, there is a fairly large "no man's land" between where the model aircraft fly and where the pilots are supposed to stand. Sometimes pilots and planes violate this separation (e.g. a pilot crossing the space to retrieve a damaged aircraft, or a plane being taxied through the space on it's way to or from the "runway"), but in general this no man's land is respected by everyone and accidents occur far away from anyone's head. Also, aircraft are never made to cross over the audience or pilot areas (I'm not part of the club so I don't know if this is an enforced rule, or just something everyone follows out of courtesy).
What this guy does in the TFV (The Featured Video) is totally stupid and reckless, and is just asking for trouble. Not only does he fly the thing over and near a parking lot (basically an audience area), but he flies it within a couple of feet of both himself (sitting down at a table at the end of the video) and another couple of individuals. As one youtube commenter posted, that thing is a flying chainsaw; you just don't fly it that close to anyone's head. This guy was a cocky, stupid individual, and sorry to say, he paid the ultimate price. Again, sorry to say, good thing it was him rather than somebody else. Far from being a freak accident, I bet you this was entirely predictable and also entirely avoidable with a few basic safely measures (and I'm not talking about wearing helmets). Maybe this will serve as a lesson to the others flying at that club, and they'll actually put into place a few basic safety rules to protect both themselves and the audience from this type of thing in the future.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
I've attended several R/C fly in's with jet powered planes and helicopters. I've never seen a plane fly over the heads of spectators, ever. When a R/C plane zips by the runway at 200mph (322kph) it's in a direction that when it crashes it doesn't impale / decapitate or otherwise injure spectators.
Sadly this will end up being mentioned as a cautionary Darwinian tale.
The park was not set up safely. (Score:5, Informative)
I had just visited the park where this happened to watch because i love this hobby (prior to the incident) and there really should be more safety precautions taken in fling fields, because these helicopters are only 40-50 yards from the spectators, and there is nothing stopping these things to do what it did to that kid
Last year I went to a fun fly at that field. A lot of those guys, including Roman (who I met), were pretty much flying right in their faces and on the deck the entire time they were flying. Even that day there was an incident where another guy was flying above his skill level on the deck, the tail smacked the ground and the heli started pirouetting out of control. Well it flew right into the pit area and hit a car, and the shattering glass injured somebody. And yet immediately after there were still about 6 or 7 guys at a time flying next to each other on a field that's about 500 feet wide without any concept of staying in their own flight box. Since that day I hadn't been there again and I definitely am not going back there now.
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Basic precautions? The only one that would have really helped would be a helmet, and I can not recall ever seeing any RC person doing that.
Are you serious? Don't fly near your head. He was doing that intentionally when he died. Check out the video here, he lands on a table a few feet from himself and a friend. Seated, so they can't get away. They both thing it's really cool, but it's totally stupid and lacking the most basic of precautions.
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Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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While I generally agree with you on the point of personal responsibility, I think all of us have done REALLY stupid things in our lives that could have gotten us killed. To be honest, if you haven't, you haven't really lived anyway.
They just happened not to in our cases.
So I may agree he was to blame, I'm not going to rub it in.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
It doesn't change the fact that it was (almost certainly) his fault. Just because it sucks to get killed, it doesn't absolve you of the responsibility especially when you personally control most of the risks.
I fly radio controlled helicopters. A 700-size electric heli is not a toy (and it's not people trying not to be thought of as being "childish" when RC modellers insist their models are not toys) but something that carries quite a lot of energy. The blade tip speeds on a typical 700 size (nitro or electric) that's set up for aggressive 3D is on the order of 400 km/h. They are made from carbon fibre (with a metal weight in the leading edge) and must be respected enormously. Deaths are very uncommon (I think this is only the second death caused by a radio controlled helicopter) but injuries are rather less common and the majority of them are because someone didn't take proper precautions. Only the person with the transmitter is responsible for this. He was the person with the transmitter, he was the commander, he was responsible however much it sucks. It wasn't merely bad luck. It wasn't "luck" that he was flying the heli close enough to where he was standing he couldn't get out the way if things went pear shaped. That was his own, deliberate choice.
The radio manufacturers go to great lengths to try and prevent radio problems leading to runaway models (signal integrity checking and failsafes). Component failures are pretty rare but they do happen. But all of these things won't hurt you if you take the simple precaution of flying the model far enough away from you that if everything goes tits up, you can get out of the way.
Yeah it sucks that he's dead, especially for his family and I have a great deal of sympathy for them but at the same time it is most likely he was personally responsible for his own demise. He was the one with the transmitter, he was the one commanding the model to fly close to where he was in the first place.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Interesting)
“He was the best person ever. He had the biggest heart,” said Mr. Pirozek’s sister, Amy Pirozek. “I think he was just doing it because it was his day off.”
She said he worked as a cargo handler for an airline. “He always protected me,” she said. “He was a good brother. I’ll never forget that.”
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Saying "feel sorry for his Father" not him, as actor in his own demise.
Empathy. It's what's for dinner.
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Insightful)
He got lucky, a lot of times. Luck doesn't last. This was the time it ran out, he could have lost his hand, killed a bystander, or sliced his gut open instead of getting hit in the head.
He'll probably win the Darwin Award for September, and deservedly so.
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That is why there are important safety rules like not flying it over people including yourself. He was doing a stunt that is reckless. If the equipment malfunctioned, that is actually an expected result of flying these things. They do malfunction. That is one reason for not doing "stunts" like the one he put on youtube where he flies it over himself, stops the rotor, and then starts it again when it is right over his head falling at him. Reporters claim that this was the same stunt witnesses described him d
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I have huge sympathy for his family.
However, he was the one with the transmitter, he was the one solely responsible for flying that model close enough to where he was standing he couldn't get out the way when it went wrong. Even if the equipment malfunctioned, there is no failure mode that makes an RC heli chase you down and kill you - an equipment malfunction will only take you out if you chose to fly the heli close enough to where you were standing you can't get out the way before it hits you.
I fly radio
Re:OUCH (Score:5, Informative)
Holy hell that's insane. What a way to go :(
At least he died doing what he loved. But in the last 60 seconds of the youtube video, he lands the helicopter on a table just a few feet from his face, while he is seated and thus unable to dodge it easily. One of his friends isn't even wearing eye protection. He was taking dumb risks and it isn't a total surprise that he was later killed. I fly R/C helicopters, and mine are small enough that they could barely leave a scratch, but I would never land one that close to a seated person, and I would never operate in the vicinity of someone without eye protection (parts can come loose, and even small helicopters can kick up debris).
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Holy hell that's insane. What a way to go :(
Ah, but he died doing something he enjoyed. Isn't that the dream of every man?
Here Lies Ackthpt, Fully Debugged At Last
Hats off for model helicopter enthusiasts. (Score:3, Funny)
Hats off for model helicopter enthusiasts.
Too soon?
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Now I know why they call them choppers!
cheers,
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Always wear a helmet! (Score:3, Funny)
Real helicopter pilots always wear a helmet. And so should you...
BTW, would somebody think of the children ? How long before some maniac brings one of these to school and decapitates a bunch of innocent children?
It is long overdue we ban them on school grounds (and for a couple of miles around each school) and establish a national registry for the devices and background checks for buyers!
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Oh, no we don't. This most recent incident is just another painful reminder, that the time for half-measures is gone! Enough! We must do something about the safety of our communities, the safety of our kids. And we must do something NOW! .
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But we must make sure to only ban assault model helicopters!
Those are the ones that look exactly like other model helicopters, except they have black synthetic bodies and a tac. rail, right?
Good. (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder if... (Score:4, Funny)
Get Hurt Early Get Hurt Often (Score:3, Interesting)
Murder? (Score:2)
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Re:Murder? Possible and maybe practical (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not saying it's likely at all, but how can one be sure that someone else didn't override his signal and took over control of the craft? Just a thought.
It's quite possible with the old analog FM transmitters if you knew which channel they were in, and even then the two transmitters would be "fighting" for control and positive override control would be very difficult. The way he was used to flying so close to himself (according to one of the stories) it only takes a brief "radio hit" while the chopper was close enough to him to lose momentary control and cause this impact. Someone could possibly take advantage of one of these moments and just mess with the signal a little bit, if they wanted to do it deliberately.
In the case of an FM radio system it's more possible it may have happened by accident if someone on the same FM channel started their transmitter and gave his receiver even a quick radio hit. At a field with loose radio impound rules it's possible another user on his FM channel could have accidentally switched their transmitter on without checking to see if that channel was in use. In my rookie days I would have done something like that.
With the newer digital 2.4GHz spread-spectrum stuff it's highly unlikely to happen by accident and would be a lot more work to achieve deliberately.
Either way I would not take the chance to fly so close to me. I have a healthy respect of rotating machinery and so should everyone.
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Michael Fuckin' Crichton knows who did it!!!1 (Score:2)
Yeah, that's Gene Fuckin' Simmons there. WTF 80's?!!
Model aircraft season (Score:2)
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... Colorado selling thousands of drone hunting permits ...
The small eastern Colorado plains town that is thinking of selling these permits != the entire state of Colorado.
Brace yourselves (Score:4, Insightful)
I can hear the legal coffers clinking as lawyers prepare to amass and file class action lawsuits over an infrequent incident blown out of proportion by newscasts seething with "Think of the children" and "Helicopters kill people" campaigns.
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I can hear the legal coffers clinking as lawyers prepare to amass and file class action lawsuits over an infrequent incident blown out of proportion by newscasts seething with "Think of the children" and "Helicopters kill people" campaigns.
Meh, chances are they'll be about as successful as lawyers who sue Smith & Wesson because people play Russian Roulette.
Which is to say, not at all.
Comment removed (Score:3)
Cue... (Score:4, Funny)
In his last video... (Score:3, Informative)
Some of the stunts he performs are pretty impressive, but as far as I can tell they're all dangerously close to him, given the model can go what appears 0-100 in less than a second. At some points the vehicle is less than 10 feet from him. I would call it a toy, but it's a bit beyond that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRPfLKVMGM8 - Last video posted by Pirozek. Rest in peace, doing what you loved.
And for my last trick... (Score:2)
I fly model helicopters (Score:5, Insightful)
They are definitely NOT toys
The high performance ones have 5 to 10 HP motors
The flying style currently popular among the top pilots is to fly very close to the ground and very close to the pilot
So naturally, the guys with less talent want to fly like the pros
I think this is kinda crazy..no room for error
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Quite a lot of them are flown for aerial photography. I have a T-Rex 700 (electric hell, rotor disc of about 1.7 metres) with special skids (taller and wider) to allow a digital SLR camera to be carried on a gimbal. The previous owner used it for photography business.
After reading this.... (Score:2, Funny)
I've got half a mind to build one myself......
Maybe... (Score:3)
In Limerick Form (Score:5, Funny)
Roman was out with his father
Of safety he couldn't be bothered.
As was his shtick
he pulled off a trick
and his helicopter became his barber.
They are NOT "toys"! (Score:4, Insightful)
I keep seeing people (even the parent article here) using the term "toy" helicopter.
These models are NOT "toys". They're precision machines and very VERY dangerous. Treating them like toys is what leads to people getting hurt.
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Do you really refresh Slashdot all day for the latest news, AC? That's not really what it's for. Maybe you live in NYC, but it wasn't on the news aggregators I looked at last night.
Oh, and, topically: BAN ALL THE THINGS!
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Do you really mean ban all the things - like ban chainsaws and BBQ grills and all the other things that could kill a person when not used safely, or do you just mean ban remote control helicopters because you have some irrational bias against other people's hobbies.
Pretty sure he means to be facetious, Eisenstein.
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You mispelled sarcastic.
-
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I know what I said.
Re:This Was News Yesterday (Score:5, Interesting)
I play with model rockets. Fairly big ones, I'm up into the "G" engine size, and we practice a certain amount of range safety. I've had factory-made engines explode on the pad and that 30' distance is very important, as are following procedures for hooking up the electrical wiring for the ignition. Even with rockets that have exploded on the pad, rockets that have broken up in-flight right after leaving the pad, and rockets that have caught on fire, no one has ever been hurt because we're not stupid enough to sit right next to the rocket when we fire it. The only real danger we have to face is rockets whose parachute ejection fails, and the rocket coming down like a javelin, which has happened a couple of times but nowhere in the vicinity of where anyone was at the time.
I feel sorry for the guy's family, but my sympathy is limited by the documented reckless behavior he's shown before.
Re:This Was News Yesterday (Score:5, Informative)
Given his performance-nature of his stunts, think of it like the guy who juggles chainsaws, a not-recommended use of the device, that could, and in this case did, lead to injury and death.
Actually, juggling chainsaws, while somewhat dangerous, isn't as bad as it looks. Even though the motor is running, the chain is not moving, at least with a stock chainsaw. You have to press on the trigger for the chain to move. Fucking safety interlocks, how do they work?
Re:This Was News Yesterday (Score:5, Insightful)
There probably are procedures, at least minimal, CYA procedures for model aircraft too. That he wasn't following them is why he killed himself. Given his performance-nature of his stunts, think of it like the guy who juggles chainsaws, a not-recommended use of the device, that could, and in this case did, lead to injury and death.
Except that helicopter was many feet away from him for most of its use, and it was intended to be used exactly as he used it. It's sometimes not possible to be aware of exactly how far away and high up a model is just by looking, as models are small and depth perception is weak in our species.
There is only ONE 'CYA' rule for model aircraft: Try not to hit anything. Most of the time when you operate an R/C aircraft, it's something smaller and softer, where if it did hit a person, it might give them a small cut from the prop but is otherwise like getting hit by a big Nerf dart. This guy was using the metalized pro model, which was a bit more dangerous.
It sounds like he was doing some simple ground effect tricks, and the heli got too close and clipped him. It's actually a hobby and a sport, in which many hundreds of people participate. If you think doing tricks with model helis is 'documented reckless behavior', then I have nothing to say but "You must be a ton of fun at parties.."
Re:This Was News Yesterday (Score:4, Interesting)
No, I have my own dangerous hobbies. I've built engines, rebuilt carburetors and had my share of spontaneous combustion of some of them that I screwed up with, and had other automotive issues that were interesting to deal with when they cropped up. Nothing like a front tire blowout on a 30 year old truck at 75mph... Anyway, he cut part of his head off, his fault. I'm not saying that I would've told him to not do what he was doing, but I wouldn't have wanted to be around when he was doing it either. He did what he wanted to do, and it cost him everything.
Re:This Was News Yesterday (Score:4, Insightful)
If you want recent news, don't come to Slashdot.
If you want hardcore technical news, don't come to Slashdot.
If you want real politics, don't come to Slashdot.
Slashdot is about discussing the stories. Most of the discussions and stories carry a bias that most either love or hate. Most are wildly inaccurate... to the point some of them come off like total lies.
Slashdot really isn't a news site. It's not the best place for news from any genre of news. The opinions of those who discuss the news are often narrow minded and wrong.
Welcome to Slashdot.
Re:Natural Selection at Work (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Natural Selection at Work (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Toy? (Score:5, Insightful)
"The only difference between men and boys are the price of their toys."
Don't be so sensitive on the terminology. Any recreational device can be considered a toy. Some "toys" are quite expensive, and some can be quite deadly if used improperly and require caution and respect, but they're still basically adult toys.
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It is a device whose sole purpose is entertainment. It was not a training tool for his job, it was not a mode of transportation, it was not something he did for a living. It was entertainment. AKA, a toy!
All of the guns I own are toys because I don't use them to hunt for food or for protection. Does that make them less dangerous or less expensive? My snowboards cost me over $1500 (combined) but they're still toys. My bicycles, arguably a form of transportation, are used as toys.
The price of the toy is
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No, they are designed to accelerate a metal projectile to high speeds with an accurate vector. What the intent of that action is has nothing to do with it.
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well what do you call a device you have for no practical reason.. a tool? no, you call it a toy. even if it is big and dangerous.
fyi, dirtbikes are toys too(for 99.9% of owners of them)..
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