Swiss Army Knives now banned by Metropolitan Police London

[JLB]

bugbear wrote:
> JLB wrote:
>
>> nospam wrote:
>>
>>>> 'We stop one in every 25 cars on a random basis, and, let me tell
>>>> you, sir, criminals and terrorists come in many different guises,'
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> If it's one in every 25, how on earth is that random? Doh!
>>>
>> It's not that difficult. Instead of stopping every 25th car, which
>> would be regular, they stop one car taken at random out of every batch
>> of 25; or some similar method.
>>
>
> If they stop cars at random with a probability of 0.04
> that ought to achieve the desired result.

Yes. There are dice used by people engaged in role-playing games to
produce <x> in 100 odds. The dice are 10 sided and used in pairs. Each
roll produce a number from 00 to 99. For each vehicle, the dice could be
rolled. The vehicle would be stopped for any result under 05. Not
terribly practical or likely to be used, but it meets the requirement.

--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap

 

[Colin Blackburn]

JLB wrote:

> Yes. There are dice used by people engaged in role-playing games to
> produce <x> in 100 odds. The dice are 10 sided and used in pairs. Each
> roll produce a number from 00 to 99.

They used to be 20 sided when I used to engage in such activities, each
digit appearing twice on a regular isocahedron. There were 10-sided
things about, essentially two five-sided prismoidal cones attached at
their bases.

Ob cycling: Were there ever any 'bicycle' rules in any of the RPGs?

Colin

 

[Richard]

JLB wrote:
> Yes. There are dice used by people engaged in role-playing games to
> produce <x> in 100 odds. The dice are 10 sided and used in pairs. Each
> roll produce a number from 00 to 99. For each vehicle, the dice could be
> rolled. The vehicle would be stopped for any result under 05. Not
> terribly practical or likely to be used, but it meets the requirement.

There used to be available (it still may be) a 100-sided dice,
essentially a sphere with 100 flat spots shaved off in what was claimed
to be a symmetric pattern. The problem with the damn thing was that it
never stopped rolling.

R.

 

[Richard]

Colin Blackburn wrote:
> Ob cycling: Were there ever any 'bicycle' rules in any of the RPGs?

A number have Ride:, and one has to specify the type of mount (horse,
zebra, motorbike, bicycle, Imperial Scout speeder, etc)

R.

 

[The Reids]

Following up to Call me Bob

>>nope, why would you put in your briefcase.
>
>It's obvious, you take a baton to the office to beat the **** out of
>that photocopier which always jams.

Basil Forte would have just uprooted a pot plant for the purpose.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

 

[The Reids]

Following up to David Hansen

>>>People dressed in blue clothes with the letters POLICE written on
>>>their clothes do so regularly.
>>
>>no doubt you also object to them exceeding the speed limit in hot
>>pursuit?
>
>Nice try.
>
>However, I did not object to (or say there was anything wrong in)
>people dressed in blue clothes with the letters POLICE written on
>their clothes carrying an extendable baton in a car. Therefore I
>cannot *also* object to them exceeding the speed limit in hot
>pursuit.

congrats, nice way of avoiding the point.
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" <-- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

 

[Arthur Clune]

Colin Blackburn <[email protected]> wrote:

: They used to be 20 sided when I used to engage in such activities, each

All the old geek role-players are coming out of the woodwork now....

Roll 2 D20 and take double damage....

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

 

[Colin Blackburn]

Arthur Clune wrote:
> Colin Blackburn <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> : They used to be 20 sided when I used to engage in such activities, each
>
> All the old geek role-players are coming out of the woodwork now....

It was a long time ago in another life. I think their stall was nearest
the door at the fresher's fair.

> Roll 2 D20 and take double damage...

Hmm, "City Messenger - the exciting new urban cycling RPG". Then again.

Colin

 

[Marc]

On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 11:14:34 +0000, Gordon Harris wrote:

>>A gentlemen in blue working for the British Transport Police
>>accosted him and asked him what he was carrying in his hand. Being
>>an honest sort of person he replied, "an electric drill". The
>>gentleman in blue then asked him what he was going to do with it.
>>"Drill holes in things", was the rather obvious reply. The gentleman
>>in blue was too stupid to leave it at that but continued to make
>>himself look even more ridiculous for several minutes (a common
>>failing amongst such people).
>>
>>My friend was working on the fire alarm at the station. This
>>involves drilling holes in things, for which an electric drill is
>>useful.
>
> Who did you say was stupid?
>
> The police guy was doing his job, and security officers aren't amused by
> jokers. Why didn't he say he was going to work on the fire alarm?

Why does he need to?

 

[Bryan Hall]

I am that fool.
Naive as well.
Ho hum better go off for a walk now I've been told how to live my life.

> Politics encompasses the whole of life. If anyone thought that
> newsgroups were non-political then they were foolish.
>
>
> --
> David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
> I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
> prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Arthur Clune
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Richard Goodman <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> : [re Simon and coppicing]
> : Nothing has changed, you can still do your job.
>
> Does it make any difference that (I imagine) that Simon's coppicing
> *isn't* work, it's a hobby. Can you still say "tools of the trade"?

Indeed.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
.::;===r==\
/ /___||___\____
//==\- ||- | /__\( MS Windows IS an operating environment.
//____\__||___|_// \|: C++ IS an object oriented programming language.
\__/ ~~~~~~~~~ \__/ Citroen 2cv6 IS a four door family saloon.

 

[James Hodson]

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 19:17:03 -0000, "AndyP"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Yeh, but cheetahs are lazy and have got no stamina. It's mongooses ya want.
>Hard bastards, mongooses when they team up and they'll go all day on a
>packet of pork scratchings.

That's as maybe, but the idea is to catch foxes, not pork scratchings.
Perhaps some sort of genetically mutated tiger, cheetah, porky would
be in order.

James

 

[Pyromancer]

I'm still not sure what your (and presumably his) problem with all this
was, and why the references to football hooligans? All your friend had
to say was "it's a drill, I'm working on the station electrics today",
accompanied perhaps by pointing towards said station.

And why was the drill dressed in overalls?

Getting back to the original thread, yes, there is a worry that
sometimes the authorities get over-zealous, and it's good that examples
of this are exposed - but to travel through the middle of London with a
lock-knife (which is illegal) and a cosh (which is also illegal) in
this day and age seems like rank stupidity.

 

[Richard Bates]

On 01 Dec 2004 16:47:25 +0000 (GMT), [email protected] (Alan
Braggins) wrote:

>There is also the Zocchihedron, a 100 sided irregular (but allegedly fair)
>sort of die. (It's a sphere with flat dimples, rather than being a
>polyhedron. e.g. http://www.biffleys.com/Dice/hundredsideddie.htm)

Proudly shown to me years ago at school, and introduced as the
"Hundred-Bowler"

 

[Vincent Wilcox]

The Reids wrote:
> Following up to David Hansen
>
>
>>>However, am I the only one who sees something wrong in carrying an
>>>extendable baton in a car?
>>
>>People dressed in blue clothes with the letters POLICE written on
>>their clothes do so regularly.
>
>
> no doubt you also object to them exceeding the speed limit in hot
> pursuit?

Yes. There is enough evidence to suggest that not doing Bodie & Doyle
RS2000 impersonations on people who have nicked a packet of Hob Nobs or
worse is a good idea. In real life most pursuits dont end up in a stack
of cardboard boxes on waste ground.

http://www.policedriving.com/article44.htm

 

[David Hansen]

On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:23:27 +0000 someone who may be The Reids
<[email protected]> wrote this:-

>>However, I did not object to (or say there was anything wrong in)
>>people dressed in blue clothes with the letters POLICE written on
>>their clothes carrying an extendable baton in a car. Therefore I
>>cannot *also* object to them exceeding the speed limit in hot
>>pursuit.
>
>congrats, nice way of avoiding the point.

No, a way of making the point that you are using a straw man
argument. Whether it is nice or not depends on one's views.

If you wish to discuss whether I object to police officers exceeding
the speed limit in hot pursuit, the answer is that it depends on the
circumstances.

I have not heard what effect data recorders have had on the
Metropolitan Police's poor record of killing and injuring the
public. Does anyone have any information on the results of this
scheme.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Colin Blackburn wrote:
>JLB wrote:
>
>> Yes. There are dice used by people engaged in role-playing games to
>> produce <x> in 100 odds. The dice are 10 sided and used in pairs. Each
>> roll produce a number from 00 to 99.
>
>They used to be 20 sided when I used to engage in such activities, each
>digit appearing twice on a regular isocahedron.

I think numbered from 1 to 20 is/was more common, even when used as
percentage dice.
The important thing is that "in pairs" means "two different coloured
dice, with which one is tens and which one is units declared in advance",
you don't get to roll first and then decide whether it is e.g. 19 or 91.


> There were 10-sided
>things about, essentially two five-sided prismoidal cones attached at
>their bases.

Like these: http://darkelf.bizhosting.com/
translucent_10_sided_dice_loose_stock_choose_your_color_and_quantity_.html

There is also the Zocchihedron, a 100 sided irregular (but allegedly fair)
sort of die. (It's a sphere with flat dimples, rather than being a
polyhedron. e.g. http://www.biffleys.com/Dice/hundredsideddie.htm)

I didn't have one, though I did have some spherical six sided dice.
(There is a cubical hollow inside, with a round weight in that, so they
do always end up with a distinct side up.)

 

[Nick Kew]

In article <[email protected]>,
Simon Brooke <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>> Does it make any difference that (I imagine) that Simon's coppicing
>> *isn't* work, it's a hobby. Can you still say "tools of the trade"?
>
> Indeed.

Talking of not-work, how about a far more common situation? Not so
long ago I realised my parents were using some seriously knackered
kitchen knives. So I went out and bought some new ones - one of those
sets of four or five that live in a wooden block. Could I have been
banged up for carrying that home to them?

Oh, and as for swiss army kinves, I have several (bought, bought-in-
an-emergency, given, ...) including more than one with a good size
locking blade. Great for chopping the vegetables when away from home
- e.g. camping - though they more often gets used for opening bottles,
and indeed tins. I'd be far more terrified of trying to use one in a
confrontation than if someone threatened me with it: the handle is
good for its real purpose, but could so easily slip in the hand if
one had a momentary loss of control.


--
Nick Kew

 

[JLB]

David Hansen wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Dec 2004 12:41:49 +0000 someone who may be "W. D. Grey"
> <[email protected]> wrote this:-
>
>
>>There was the violinist who jokingly told the customs/immigration people
>>when asked what he had in his violin case - "A machine gun"
>>
>>Security was called, and even when he opened the case to show the
>>violin, he was still taken away and dealt with. Spent the night inside I
>>think.
>>
>>The airport comment was - "We take these things seriously" !!!
>
>
> This and similar stories just show that people working in the
> aeroplane industry need to be educated in dealing with passengers in
> a grown up way.

What was so grown up about the violinist's joke? The jobsworth's
reaction is entirely understandable, and even reasonable. They get many
thousands of people a day through those security checks. If someone says
they are carying a bomb, gun or something similar, can they ignore it?
Can you picture the reaction afterwards if they just waved someone
through after the person specifically said they were carrying something
like that? Look how the press carries on each time one of their
reporters manages to get some suspicious-looking object past the checks.
Even worse, what if the putative joker was in fact a mentally disturbed
individual who really did have a weapon and was going to use it if they
got far enough; there are examples of such people, such as the one who
attacked the pilots of a BA flight and nearly brought down a few years
ago over Africa.

The security people (and all the other passengers) do not need anybody
exercising their peurile sense of humour at the security gate. The
security staff are right to make sure people understand this. The only
way that seems to work is being very heavy with anyone who tries out the
alleged joke. The (not) disproportionate reaction gets the message out.
As we see, for example, from this thread.

--
Joe * If I cannot be free I'll be cheap

 

[JLB]

David Hansen wrote:

>
> Incorrect. Doing his job would have involved not asking stupid
> questions. Football hooligans are not noted for walking around with
> electric drills dressed in overalls. This is called observation,
> something the police bod appeared to lack.
>
> The Inter City Firm of the time were noted for travelling in suits,
> first class.

If the hooligans can be clever enough to disguise their criminal
intentions by wearing suits, what stops them switching to overalls for
the same purpose?

Particularly if they ever watched "A Clockwork Orange".

Wearing overalls has been noted for years as a good way of getting into
places without being challenged. The plod who did stop this person
appears to have been commendably alert.


--
Joe * Be alert - your country needs lerts.