this is why I don't like my friends knowing my hobby.

[Richie89]

This isn't all my friends, just a couple PI** me off with this crap!
I'm obviously the Blue and he's the white.
I wasn't gonna post this but I kinda wanted to.

Update:
I'm sorry everyone for not posting this right right way.
That picture was actually a screenshot of a news story here in Oklahoma City of a man hitting a police helicopter, and my friend sent it to me saying how he keeps expecting me to be on the news one day, probably just because I'm the only one he knows with powerful lasers (somewhat) lol
And I got mad at him wondering why the hell he would think that. I just didn't want anyone thinking I knew this Person who did it. I apologize everyone.

 

[Alaskan]

My cousin, now deceased, was arrested for doing thst years ago. His story was he was turning off a street light and fidn't see a helicopter in the distance he hit when doing so, I have no way to know if true or not.

 

[Ears and Eggs]

This isn't all my friends, just a couple PI** me off with this crap!
I'm obviously the Blue and he's the white.
I wasn't gonna post this but I kinda wanted to.

Seriously, wtf.

Idiocy should be a crime.

 

[NightExplorer96]

Sounds like you need a new friend if that is how he talks to you....

-Alex

 

[Richie89]

My cousin, now deceased, was arrested for doing thst years ago. His story was he was turning off a street light and fidn't see a helicopter in the distance he hit when doing so, I have no way to know if true or not.

Holy cow man, see that's what sucks about this hobby, hopefully being super careful will prevent this from ever happening, but what happens if a member on here or anyone for that matter really does accidentally (somehow) hits a chopper unknowingly. And they arrest you, how do you convince them you really didn't mean to and it really was an accident? They'll never believe you

Seriously, wtf.

Idiocy should be a crime.

I agree 100% this is why I usually try and limit who knows I own lasers. Ironically, over where I work at the OU/children's hospital facility in Oklahoma City area are State cops, and they all know me very well and have seen all my lasers, they always ask me if I have a new one, hah! Those particular cops love them

Sounds like you need a new friend if that is how he talks to you....

-Alex

Sorry for back to back posting
Yeah I agree. This isn't the first time he's done that. He's a great guy but he's a moron IMO, good thing he'll never see this post :crackup:
He's probably the one who would hit a plane on purpose.

 

[ElectricPlasma]

I agree 100% this is why I usually try and limit who knows I own lasers.

I do the same, probably a good practice. Like you said, you never know who's gonna be that one guy who'll just pi$$ you off about it. If it comes up, I'll normally just say I build "flashlights".

 

[Alaskan]

I may have fkashed a commuter aircraft once myself when shootng low over a mountaintop, an aircraft came into view while doing so one night, scared me silly.

 

[paul1598419]

My friends all think my lasers are cool. I've been showing lasers for many years, though. Long before pointers came around. I gave my daughter a He-Ne laser to take to school when she was 9 years old. It was the life of show and tell that day. She had been taught at an early age how to use lasers safely and that particular laser was under 5 mW.

 

[GSS]

Took courage to post this:beer: Was this his own laser or did you let him use one of yours?
I didn't care at all for his remark to you:tsk:
So easy to make a mistake and iv'e posted before about hitting the bay doors of the fire department at 3:00 AM..
In the beggining I did bring out a few lasers to show some neighbors but very very rarely now. Its best at the moment to keep quite about them I feel.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

All of my friends get a safety spiel every time I show them a pointer, I usually only shine at trees or walls, and if shining up, look in all directions first.

Idiots will be idiots, and a person is not a friend if they would rat you out over a situation where no one is hurt.

 

[Razako]

The paranoia can really suck a bit of the fun out of this hobby. Whenever I take a laser outside now I feel the need to make sure the neighbors aren't out on their balconies/backyards/etc, check the skies for any helicopters, and I immediately shut off the laser if I hear a door opening or shutting somewhere in the neighborhood. I won't be doing anything illegal, but I also don't want some idiot to call the cops or something because he just saw some "news report" about pilots being targeted by lasers.

 

[paul1598419]

Yeah, if you allow the paranoia to get the better of you, it will suck all the joy out of building and using lasers. Some fear is good, but determining the amount that is probably necessary is the trick.

 

[hakzaw1]

some great advice... +rep

 

[RedCowboy]

I have had no trouble with neighbors although my pleasant Guatemalan neighbors have seen me aiming into my yard, but only at a downward angle from my 2nd story window into my yard where I have a prepared fire pit. I would likely tell anyone who ask that I play with multicolor LED flashlights of which I have many bright ones to hand over and display if I choose , my worry is not that I would do anything wrong as I am very careful although accidents do happen to everyone in time, but proper safety precautions will make those accidents a small oops and not a life altering disaster.

What would be bad is if the teenage kids sneak into the woods to smoke cigarettes and start a fire and I would be known as the laser beam guy who starts fires in his yard, so I try to keep it to myself, also how you say things matters, speaking in 3rd person, such as " I can imagine how an angry person could ---------- < insert horrible deed " rather than saying " I could " when making an example of something, same goes for my flashlight and laser hobby, if a passer by actually saw me and came to ask I may display to them some LED flashlights, I wouldn't say I don't enjoy lasers, but I wouldn't say that I do either, heck I was a reader here for half a decade before I made an account, but as your browsing is all on record anyway it's a moot point for the most part, I have taken down a lot of burning videos just because I don't want to add to the bad image some may have of our hobby, and I don't post beam shots into the sky, distant tree line yes, sky no, but be careful about aircraft popping over the treetops, look and listen before you lase and don't be a showoff ( except here ), it's not worth the risk in my opinion to alert the neighborhood as there are some real A-holes among the many otherwise decent people.

 

[Accutronitis]

I don't understand of anyone could hit a aircraft that is in range by accident because you should hear it long before it gets close enough for a laser to be a real hazard of flight safety ?

 

[Benm]

I don't think anyone should be jailed for -accidentily- hitting aircraft with lasers.

The idea of wanting to light up a mountain top is perfectly feasible, and you have no way of knowing an airplane may or may not come flying over that. But even if it does, it's not likely to crash due to your laser at all.

Jailing people for this i madness, unless you can somehow prove they had intent to make the aircraft crash, -and- their plan had any realistic chance of succeeding.

Luckily in europe legislation is a bit different. Attempting to make an aircraft crash (i.e. manslaughter or murder) is illegal, but only if your attempt is feasible to be effective.

To put that simply: if i attempted to murder you by throwing a ping pong ball at the back of your head, that would not be attempted murder, even if it was my intent to kill you by doing so.

Legislation is such that if there is virtually no chance of it actually working, intent to murder or manslaughter is not proven.

Similar legislation applies to laser pointers aimed at airplanes: it's not feasible to cause the plane to crash resulting in injury or death of those on board.

This reduces the maximum sentence quite a bit, from attempted murder to interfering with traffic. The latter is punishable still, but with much lower maximum sentences. I suppose they'll demand several hundreds as a fine, but if the judge believes you had no intention of disturbing air traffic he could conclude gluity without any punishment/fine at all.

In europe many countries allow verdicts of guilty without any punishment, i guess in the US that would be guilty but with a $1 fine or something.