Texas - The Epicenter Of Stupidity

[Econoline]

Anybody got a picture of it with with the case closed? That looks like a pretty large pencil case. It is metal and has a latch which is not a pencil case I have ever seen before. My kids had either a plastic case with a slid off cover or a pouch like thingy with a zipper.
Not defending what they did, but if it looks like I think it looks like, I can see a cause for the alarmist attitude. There were loads of examples where lesser things that kids got suspended/sent home for.

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[Guinevere]

These adults who supposedly believed this boy had a bomb didn't do any of the things you are supposed to do if you actually believe there is a bomb in the school. They didn't remove the kid or the "device," they didn't evacuate the school, they didn't call the bomb squad, they didn't even put the school in lockdown. Instead, they left him in the principals office with the device , took pictures of it, touched it, moved him into a police car with the device, took more pictures.

They knew it was no bomb and no real threat. Believe me, my boys school has gone into lockdown multiple times. There is very specific procedure for responding to actual or perceived threats and neither the school administrators nor the police came close to following those procedures.

[Econoline]

Exactly.

They just wanted to jerk around and intimidate a kid with a brown face and a Muslim name. The backfire, it burns...it burns so good...

[Gob]

Hope the family sues the school into the ground.

[Crackpot]

this from the guy who calls us "Lawsuit Happy"

(probably have a rock solid case tho)

[Lord Jim]

(probably have a rock solid case tho)

and rightly so...

I have to say though, that for a few hours of outrageous and totally unjustified mistreatment, this has turned into a super blessing for this kid...

In addition to a trip to the White House to meet the President, he's also getting a personal tour of the Facebook headquarters conducted by Mark Zuckerberg, and similar tours at the Google and Twitter Headquarters...

And offers of an internship at those companies, and this:

Mohamed said his dream was to attend MIT. During an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC, he was surprised by a special guest from the university.

Astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein invited him to tour the school and said that he was her "ideal student" because he was "a creative, independent thinker."

"You are the kind of student that we want at places like MIT and Harvard," Prescod-Weinstein said.

Mohamed said his dream was to attend MIT. During an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC, he was surprised by a special guest from the university.

Astrophysicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein invited him to tour the school and said that he was her "ideal student" because he was "a creative, independent thinker."

"You are the kind of student that we want at places like MIT and Harvard," Prescod-Weinstein said.

And this:

NASA: Former NASA astronaut Daniel Tani offered Mohamed a NASA shirt that was worn in space...

And Homer Hickam, a former NASA engineer and the inspiration for the movie "October Sky," was part of a group that offered Ahmed a scholarship to Space Camp USA.

How cool is that?

I'll bet the dude is even getting contacted by cute girls who if he hadn't become a "celebrity" wouldn't have given a nerd like him the time of day...

Yes, what happened to him was outrageous, but when one looks at the larger picture, he's pretty much won the lottery...

He's one very lucky kid...

[Crackpot]

Yeah but it's balanced out buy the same thing (more or less) happening to Kim Davis

[RayThom]

... has its rewards. Besides, this 'lone wolf' is way too young to be handling 72 virgins.

I hope the DOJ looks into the Irving police department to pursue ethnic intimidation and hate crimes charges.

[Crackpot]

The school district really needs investigation. The police department at least has enough sense to downplay their actions in retrospect..

[RayThom]

The school district really needs investigation. The police department at least has enough sense to downplay their actions in retrospect..

Our law enforcement agencies are always big on "retrospect" or its real term "hindsight." It's the easiest and most convenient fall back excuse given by every police department that experiences a wrongful death or arrest of innocent civilians. It assuages all their guilt unless or until public outcry and a subsequent DOJ investigation proves otherwise. So what do we get? A big "OOPS!" and much rhetoric that changes have been made... until next time, a week or two later. Helter-skelter!

We do not create police departments to operate in hindsight. By then peace and tranquility is too late. It's foresight that is sorely needed and a quality they severely lack. In a moment of crisis, when a cop stands there with one finger on the trigger and one thumb up his ass, it is not a reassuring visual. It's the "cop culture" that needs to change but all we seem to get is lip service. And we get what we deserve.

[Crackpot]

Compared to a school district who have doubled down on the appropriateness of their actions?

[Crackpot]

Well Richard Dawkins and Bill Maher have come out against Ahmed. However will Rubato spin this?

[rubato]

How will you shove a pine cone up your ass. sideways?

Really, stop being a moron for a few minutes a day.


yrs,
rubato

[wesw]

yeah crackpot, if you tried harder you could be a moron for the whole day, like rubato

[oldr_n_wsr]

I do have to say I agree with those who say (Dawkins I think) he didn't really invent this himself. Looking at it, there are two printed circuit boards (pcb's) which are totally manufactured. Not many hobbiests could make them. One is the controller for the display which could be obtained as an evaluation kit from the display manufacturer. The other pcb would be the main clock controller. The ic's to make a clock are easily obtained but a hobbiest would normally "bread board" the ic's.

Looks like he "repurposed" an already existing clock and put it in the case that he cut a hole in for the display. Nice project for a rainy day, but not the "invention" people are talking about.

I agree the school didn't do the normal things (evac, etc) associated with a bomb threat and the cops overreacted.

ETA
Thanks for the info on the case Econoline.

[Big RR]

True oldr, but let's not forget that he is only 14 and in 7th or 8th grade. This is a kid making an electronics project, not even a high schooler.

[oldr_n_wsr]

True oldr, but let's not forget that he is only 14 and in 7th or 8th grade. This is a kid making an electronics project, not even a high schooler.

True enough.
My son used to take the cheap-o RC cars from radio shack and made "battle bots" out of them. "Inventions" they were not. Cool activities and re-purposing they are/were.

[rubato]

yeah crackpot, if you tried harder you could be a moron for the whole day, like rubato

He made the gratuitous swipe, and earned the response.



yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

I do have to say I agree with those who say (Dawkins I think) he didn't really invent this himself. Looking at it, there are two printed circuit boards (pcb's) which are totally manufactured. Not many hobbiests could make them. One is the controller for the display which could be obtained as an evaluation kit from the display manufacturer. The other pcb would be the main clock controller. The ic's to make a clock are easily obtained but a hobbiest would normally "bread board" the ic's.

Looks like he "repurposed" an already existing clock and put it in the case that he cut a hole in for the display. Nice project for a rainy day, but not the "invention" people are talking about.

I agree the school didn't do the normal things (evac, etc) associated with a bomb threat and the cops overreacted.

ETA
Thanks for the info on the case Econoline.

It is not much of an invention by any stretch but something can be learned by assembling the parts.


Carly Fiorina bought a whole company (Compaq) which only assembled PCs out of parts other people made.


Michael Dell made his fortune doing the same (with some supply-chain and retailing innovations. He only bought the parts after someone ordered the PC and sold direct to the customer.)



yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

yeah crackpot, if you tried harder you could be a moron for the whole day, like rubato

He made the gratuitous swipe, and earned the response.



yrs,
rubato

You are correct it is is actually a rare thread where you didn't actually make any overly broad gratuitous swines at conservatives republicans etc.

My bad.