Scruit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFwkBEniLhs

The thing about outrunning someone on a bike is that if you screw up you're probably gonna die. Gotta weigh the odds.

A lot of the state's case about money hiding was well presented, but some key parts were proven to be innocent... They convinced me that both knew exactly how much money was in the account. No doubt. However the state's claim that the money was trasnferredin $9900 increments to avoid triggering automatic reporting requirements turns out to be a paypal ceiling on transfers. The state countered that the money was transferred from paypal to a bank, then from one bank to another with no such limit, and that the second transfer was an attempt to stay below the magic $10k number. Zimmerman responded that every transfer from bank-to bank matched the transfer from paypal to the bank. So, the question is, should bond be revoked and should he be held until trial? To decide that we have to consider why bond exists... To ensure that people return for trial while alleviating jail overcrowding and ensuring people who wind up being acquitted are not "punished" in advance. I know that the state and the court were both concerned that he was on the outside with $200k in his bank and a spare passport... So it was absolutely the right thing to do to bring him in and re-evaluate the bond. But now seeing the passport is secured and the money is also secured I think the judge SHOULD grant bond again, but it will be a higher dollar amount.

I have NEVER had an ez-out work. They ALWAYS snap off, leaving the bolt un-drillable. Every. Single. Time. I'm sure they would work great on on rounded bolts, but if the threads are siezed enough to snap off a bolt of X dimension, what makes you think a reverse drill bit of less than X dimension is going to hold? Sure, it's hardened... But Hardened is just another word for Brittle.

I didn't see where it estimated my cost... In the old days I could get insurance for 50/pay. Of course now I'm older, have a child, married etc, etc etc.

Sure, if you can justify the word "most'. Got any cites to back that up, or is it just your opinion? "Your opinion" would be valid as long as you note it as such and not stated as if it is an absolute fact.

And big insurance companies are no longer going to be allowed to deny or limit coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. "Got diabetes? Too bad - no more insurance for you. If you want treatment you have to pay it yourself and it will cost too much, so your diabetes will go untreated until you show up at am emergency room and then the hospital treats you for free and rolls the cost of your treatment into the bills they charge other folks."

This statement is quite simply untrue.

You are already paying for poor people's healthcare through taxes (Medicare) and higher medical costs (uninsured person goes to the ER for treatment and never pays).

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/28/how-will-supreme-court-rule-on-health-care-law/

Doesn't have to be anywhere near that complex. 1) Get a pay-as-you-go phone that has a GPS chip and can run Java apps. I use a Motorola iDen under Boost. 2) Activate said phone opting for the data package (Boost is 35c per day) and pay-as-you-go for voice 3) Visit instamapper.com, create an account and get a "device number" and then look at the install instructions. You go to a website, type your phone number in and it "sends" the java app to your phone. You instll the java app and it asks you for the device number you got from the website. 4) Couple tweaks to the phone to make the instamapper app auto start (takes 15 seconds) and that it cannot be shut down... 5) Hide the phone in the vehicle you are protecting. I isnatlled a cig lighter socket in a hidden place and plugged in a car charger. That's it. You can go to the website at any time, log in and see current position and history. The phone costs liskt $50. The service costs 35c/day, the instamapper service is free. Biggest problem is that Boost changed their pricing plans and dropped their exclusive pay-as-you-go option so you now have to pay for voice minutes even if you don't use them. I'm grandfathered. Just have to find a provider that will let you use a Motorola iden phone. Heck, see if you can add it as an extra line on your cellphone account and share the minutes. Extra bonus: Charged-up cellphone in the car at all times in case of emergency.

If they file a dispute then your account can be locked until it is sorted out.

Why do you think that's a slap on the wrist? That's not the end of it... He's just out on bond. He still has to face the charges stemming to the crash.

I prefer that to the type that charge you "per locate". The GPS track (tracks every 30 seconds) is useful for other things too: - When I'm on a long trip I can log where I go and remember where are the good roads are. - If I am overdue on a bike trip my wife can locate the bike - if I wreck or break down I know help will come soon. - If I am accused of speeding I can check to see if I was - and either prove I was no, or happily accept that I was. - I have a cron job on a linux box that scans and tracks the location of the bike every minute. If the bike stops reporting its position (GPS tracker fails sometimes if I don't ride for a week and don't have the battery tender plugged in) then I get an email. Once the bike moves more that a couple hundred feet (to account for GPS inaccuracy) then the tracker considers that the beginning of a "journey". If the gps location of my cellphone does not track with the bike then I get a text message that the bike is moving. Once the bike stops for more than 5 minutes the "journey" is concluded. The software I wrote keeps a history or journeys and I use that to determine realistic commute times per day of week and time of commute. ie I know that 4pm mon-thurs is a good time to leave, but 4pm friday is as slow as 5pm mon-thu, which is about 50% slower than 4pm. That really kicks in at 4:45. 4:30 is still ok. I use instamapper.com for the free tracking, and a Boost mobile phone as the tracking hardware.

One of these days you guys will discover GPS theft tracking. Cost me $50 to buy the tracker and 35c a day. Tracks constantly, so even if they find the bug while stripping the bike down I still have a track leading to the chop shop.

Raw video could hold more info (faces, conversations, names, more of the route taken, meeting points, closer views of the bikes etc) - the stuff posted on youtube will have been sanitized and identifying info removed if taken by a member of the group - or will have been recorded by people not familiar with the riders and will only show the anonymous bikers with covered up plates.

You know that predictive text learns from the words you use a lot... So "cell", "suck", "meat" and "balls" are common words for you...??

I already said it... Exigent Circumstances allow for the warrantless seizure of evidence that could be easily destroyed. A judge must review the seizure prior to the evidence being used, supposedly. http://www.ncids.org/Defender%20Training/2004%20Fall%20Conference/Exceptions.pdf

UK style test is much harder. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/LearnerAndNewDrivers/PracticalTest/DG_178328 There is a free-riding section where you are followed by an examiner and you have headsets on to communicate. You just ride like you normally would and the examiner watches you, just like in a car test. Do anything stupid and you fail.

Better than "Here 18 year old guy, you can't even swerve between cones at 3mph but we'll unleash you and your R1 on 270 anyway."

Was the guy with the camera part of the group? I have a helmet cam - that doesn't automatically make me part of any group that happens be to near me, nor is it an invitation to arrest me just to get my footage. If I catch evidence of a crime on my gopro and the police ask for it I'll give them a copy.

- Was his license plate obstructed? - Does Texas law allow for an arrest for an equipment violation? (you can be arrested for speeding but you usually just get a citation. Refuse to sign the citation and you can be arrested) If the police become aware that you have footage of a crime then they can take it. normally this would require a warrant but under the circumstances he could easily argue exigent circumstances (the footage could be destroyed prior to the issuance of a warrant) and take the footage pending a judicial review. Of if arrested then the property is inventoried. The police can use any evidence they come into possession of legally. So the question is "Did the police cone into possession legally?" That will depend on the answers to the questions above. Apparently the guy got his camera/footage back, right? This could be a good strategic move by the officer... Given no violence or mistreatment the worst he'll get is a letter of reprimand if he didn't cover all his bases - but now the illegal bikers know there is a risk of the footage being taken if someone is filming so are they less likely to tolerate recording? Therefore less likely to show off? Or it could be a disastrous move. If a judge rules the stop/arrest unlawful then the footage is fruit of the poisonous tree and cannot be used against the arrested biker - BUT it then creates a cloud of suspicion over what else they are using the exluded footage for. If the footage is ruled inadmissible then they clearly cannot use the footage to bring charges against other bikers - but can they use the footage for general intelligence purposes if it is ruled to have been illegally obtained? For years you run the risk that any biker charged with other offenses can claim the police used the illegally obtained footage in their investigation, therefore any leads generated by the footage are closed off, and any evidence found using those now-closed leads is also fruit of the poisonous tree. If an officer pulls me over and searches my car without consent and finds a piece of paper listing details of a murder I committed then it is reasonable to assume they will pursue the murder investigation. If the stop is ruled illegal thent he evidence fromt he paper is inadmissible, and all leads coming from that paper (ie the murder scene etc) are also inadmissible. If, at the murder scene, they find evidence that I killed 100 other people then guess what? Inadmissible. All leads from inadmissible evidence are also inadmissible. The only way out of this is to convince the judge that they would have found the murder scene anyway using other leads.

Snopes has a good writeup. Don't want to go to that URL on my work computer tho.

Why show Micheal Fish, a British weatherman standing in from of a map of the British Isles, when describing Russian weathermen? The "fornicate under consent of the king" thing is bogus - that word has germanic roots - not an acronym.