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I remember being a teenager in the 90s in Erie, PA and making things from the AC was our go to entertainment. Many a weeknight was spent cutting the heads off m

by ada1981 4y ago

I remember being a teenager in the 90s in Erie, PA and making things from the AC was our go to entertainment. Many a weeknight was spent cutting the heads off matches, stuffing them into PVC pipes and throwing bombs at each other in the woods. It’s nothing short of a miracle that we all made it out of that time period alive, with our limbs and fingers intact, and not in federal prison.

cameron_b 4y ago
I was a half-step back from you. I was in high school after Y2K and some had already paved the way of foolish use of this stuff such that I got long quiet interrogative looks from my dad over the material. Glancing through the introduction, I'm sure I never understood that stuff at the time. I remember looking through the electronics ideas and wanting to make a pen-microphone-transmitter, but then wondering why go to all the trouble. I'm glad I filed it away as "I know where to look if I need the information" and didn't do anything with it. I do remember the discussion of the honeypot nature of some topics and keywords. It is important to understand more about the giant before you attempt to stand on his shoulders.
deleted 4y ago
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starkd 4y ago
I think most people were intrigued because of the experimentation and just having that kind of knowledge (ability) at your fingertips. There's a very strong DIY mentality that gets spawned from information like this. I don't think the mere presence of such material should be discouraged for that very reason. Anyone who seriously wants to implement any of these projects for nefarious purpose will need an extraordinary amount of self-discipline to carry it out. Even if they succeed, it's hard to believe any will succeed without raising red flags. The societal benefits outweight the risks.
- sammalloy 4y ago
  In my specific case, I never actually wanted to blow anything up, I was just curious as to /how/ and /why/ things could be blown up.
euroderf 4y ago
Growing up in the 70s, I remember seeing lots of injunctions against being a "basement bomber". Apparently it had been a thing (in the 60s?) to make pipe bombs, from match heads etc.

cameron_b 4y ago

I was a half-step back from you. I was in high school after Y2K and some had already paved the way of foolish use of this stuff such that I got long quiet interrogative looks from my dad over the material. Glancing through the introduction, I'm sure I never understood that stuff at the time. I remember looking through the electronics ideas and wanting to make a pen-microphone-transmitter, but then wondering why go to all the trouble. I'm glad I filed it away as "I know where to look if I need the information" and didn't do anything with it. I do remember the discussion of the honeypot nature of some topics and keywords. It is important to understand more about the giant before you attempt to stand on his shoulders.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

starkd 4y ago

I think most people were intrigued because of the experimentation and just having that kind of knowledge (ability) at your fingertips. There's a very strong DIY mentality that gets spawned from information like this. I don't think the mere presence of such material should be discouraged for that very reason. Anyone who seriously wants to implement any of these projects for nefarious purpose will need an extraordinary amount of self-discipline to carry it out. Even if they succeed, it's hard to believe any will succeed without raising red flags. The societal benefits outweight the risks.

sammalloy 4y ago
In my specific case, I never actually wanted to blow anything up, I was just curious as to /how/ and /why/ things could be blown up.

euroderf 4y ago

Growing up in the 70s, I remember seeing lots of injunctions against being a "basement bomber". Apparently it had been a thing (in the 60s?) to make pipe bombs, from match heads etc.