Witch takes all the candy

[looney2ns]

It seems weird that an elderly lady would go Trick-or-Treating, let alone grab all the candy that she could hold. Something tells me that she planned this heist and knew that the bowl of candy would be unattended.

Is she that poor that she has to steal candy from the kids who are looking toward the enjoyment of Halloween? The holiday has already been destroyed by adults, yet she takes it to a new level.

Is it a common practice in your area to leave a bowl of candy unattended for the Trick-or-Treat kids? I've never known anyone to do that. It's seems like a reasonable idea, but only for those who would abide by the honor system. However, like everything else, someone like her and that kid will eventually abuse it.

Hardly think that was an elderly anybody. It actually appears to be possibly a male.

 

[PapaBill]

OMG, Mt daughter sent me a ring video of a lady here in my city who took the whole bowl of candy for her kids.
Apparently a elderly couple who lives around here said it was hard on them to keep getting up to go to the door to hand out candy so they put the bowl outside for the kids.
The lady in the video is well known, and it was taken down from the local FB sites because of the kids possibly being bullied in school over this,
So just putting the link up to show ya the vid.
And I agree with @looney2ns that's a man dressed as a witch.
Mom Grabs entire bowl

 

[J Sigmo]

 

[J Sigmo]

Sheesh...you guys certainly are ready to condemn all of human-kind because one witch-bitch took more than her fair share of candy.

Admittedly, this is not a statistically significant sample size, nor were all of the variables controlled, etc.

But it was sort of an unintended social experiment, I guess.

The thing I'm left wondering, though, is: Was that a dude, or was it a woman? I guess I need to watch it on a real computer monitor and not my phone. I tell ya, that witch hat really is good for hiding your face from a typical security camera location.

Halloween: The one night a year when you can wear a good disguise and not look suspicious. You could probably walk into a bank wearing an all black cat burglar suit and a ski mask, and nobody would question it on Halloween!

 

[Mr_D]

I spent 35 years running a movie theatre. I watched the gene pool degenerate rapidly along the way.
In 1981 when I started, there was some semblance of parental actions over the kids they had with them when they mis-behaved.
As time went on, I could easy see that slipping away til the point of the kids were in complete control of their parents.

We've had several generations now of parents wanting to be their child's "friend, buddy, bff" and believing in giving participation trophy's, instead of being their mentor, providing guidance and discipline. Of all the kids that was reprimanded by me while they were there, only 1 or 2 percent of the parents that came to pick them up because I ejected them, ever told me they were sorry for the kids behavior. Most were upset that I didn't give them a refund. Even tho their kid had disrupted a movie for 200 other folks.

I blame the hippies. It all went downhill with them.

 

[Q™]

Admittedly, this is not a statistically significant sample size, nor were all of the variables controlled, etc.

But it was sort of an unintended social experiment, I guess.

This is a much better study...

Study Shows People Will Swerve To Hit Turtles In The Road

 

[Q™]

I blame the hippies. It all went downhill with them.

LSD. That shit fuQed a lot of us up.

 

[J Sigmo]

This is a much better study...

Study Shows People Will Swerve To Hit Turtles In The Road

Well, that's just sad. Road rage!

 

[whatevah]

On my NextDoor app, two neighbors posted about people stealing their bowls. I think one just stepped inside for a few minutes, which was just long enough for some loser to take it. I was escorting my friends kids in the next neighborhood over, and almost left a bowl in front of my house but decided at the last minute not to... I guess it would have been gone if I had left it unattended.

 

[tangent]

I get so few trick or treaters I'm thinking about handing out arduino kits or something similar to kids 7+.

 

[TonyR]

Ok, so let me get this right Tony...have you deduced that "it seems to be happening more" based upon the posts you have in this topic? Did the 11 posts to this topic form the entire body of evidence which has helped you form this conclusion? Or, have you experienced other incidents which have served to help you to form this conclusion? In addition, "everywhere" is, well, it's a very big place Tony; how do you know that these "thieves and scumbags" are everywhere? Have you actually been "everywhere," or are you a part of some extensive all-encompassing Everywhere Network whose agents report back to you with reliable confirmation of thievery and scumbagedness everywhere?

Naw, you're right....after living almost 70 years, 1/2 of that on both the east and west coasts, been in 12 of the other 48 states and 8 other countries during my 4 years in the service, 2 tours in Vietnam, working directly with the public for 40 years, running my own business for 10 years, raising a child, 3 step-children and 3 grandchildren.....I have drawn ALL my conclusions based on evidence presented on posts in a single forum on IP cameras on the Internet.

My bad.

 

[J Sigmo]

I get so few trick or treaters I'm thinking about handing out arduino kits or something similar to kids 7+.

I'm trick or treating in YOUR neighborhood next year!

We were gone for the early hours of prime time this year, but the cameras showed that we missed only one group of kids. After we got back, we had only one group actually. And that was at about 9:30pm, and was high school agers. They'd have probably been thrilled with arduino kits instead of the boring candy we had for them.

Our neighborhood has few young families. But where I work happens to be in an area that used to be way out in the boonies, but which has become surrounded by new houses in the last few years. So there are lots of young families in those new neighborhoods.

As I left work, it was early, and light out. There were many groups of kids with their parents going door to door. As I drove a few blocks through the new neighborhoods, and then entered the older part of town, the number of kids out dropped off to none. It really depends on the neighborhood.

And people don't let their young kids go out alone, especially after dark, the way they did when I was a kid back in the early'60s.

But from what I've read, abductions and the like are actually less likely these days than back then. But its sensationalized in the media far more now, so people have the perception that these crimes are more prevalent now. So they keep their kids in or accompany them, etc.

I remember being warned, in school, about "strangers with candy" when I was in grade school. So its nothing new. But our parents let us trick or treat alone, after dark, in our area.

They let us ride our bikes and dirt bikes without direct supervision, too. And play outside alone, unsupervised and build dangerous things using junk we found, power tools, etc. If we got hurt, it was part of growing up and the learning process.

I'm not saying kids shouldn't be protected. But I also think kids develop common sense when allowed to do things on their own more, and gain confidence and self esteem when allowed to do, and are trusted to do, somewhat dangerous things while unsupervised.

When I look back on things my friends and I did as kids, we never had any serious injuries. But some of what we did then, that was accepted, would get you kicked out of school and land you in jail these days. Not because anyone was being hurt, or property being damaged, but because of how laws and perceptions have changed.

How does a kid grow up to be a scientist or engineer of any sort these days? Just try building a home made liquid fueled rocket nowadays! You'd probably be hauled off to federal prison!

 

[Q™]

Naw, you're right

I'm sorry Tony, you're a nice man, but this "things are falling apart" theme is simply bullshit.

These calls for a return to the good old days seem to imply that these sorts of institutions were bastions of morality in some bygone era when people had more "character;" do we have affirmative evidence of that? Maybe neither the old days nor the current days are so wonderful in terms of protecting the vulnerable from the aggressive. And as the old days apparently gave rise to the current days, so I'm not sure why we should see the old days as not complicit in whatever is ailing us now. What will get us to situations in which there are no damaged people to damage more people and in which bystanders are no longer so concerned about their group membership? I don't think it's a character issue, I think it's a failure to move beyond putting our fears and desires first, and to do that I think first we need to understand that there actually is a viable way to live that way. I suspect most of us don't know what that looks like and how to live that way -- that we have lost track of the fact that we have in ourselves another gear we can shift into. I would like to see us move forward to something more helpful, not backwards to a flawed model that got us to where we are right now.

How good were the good old days when 73 years ago 11-million human beings were murdered for being Jewish, Gay, Slavic, and enemies of the state.

The fact is that shit changes, and when your an old grouchy guy like me (or you) it's fuQin' hard to accept.

 

[J Sigmo]

I'm sorry Tony, you're a nice man, but this "things are falling apart" theme is simply bullshit.

These calls for a return to the good old days seem to imply that these sorts of institutions were bastions of morality in some bygone era when people had more "character;" do we have affirmative evidence of that? Maybe neither the old days nor the current days are so wonderful in terms of protecting the vulnerable from the aggressive. And as the old days apparently gave rise to the current days, so I'm not sure why we should see the old days as not complicit in whatever is ailing us now. What will get us to situations in which there are no damaged people to damage more people and in which bystanders are no longer so concerned about their group membership? I don't think it's a character issue, I think it's a failure to move beyond putting our fears and desires first, and to do that I think first we need to understand that there actually is a viable way to live that way. I suspect most of us don't know what that looks like and how to live that way -- that we have lost track of the fact that we have in ourselves another gear we can shift into. I would like to see us move forward to something more helpful, not backwards to a flawed model that got us to where we are right now.

How good were the good old days when 73 years ago 11-million human beings were murdered for being Jewish, Gay, Slavic, and enemies of the state.

The fact is that shit changes, and when your an old grouchy guy like me (or you) it's fuQin' hard to accept.

Well, now, that, I mostly agree with.

In terms of crime rates, I don't think things really are worse now. Crime is sensationalized more these days. The media has always made its money on sensationalism. The famous "If it bleeds, it leads" philosophy of newspaper "journalism" from far back is nothing new.

And now we are buried in all-news TV networks and social media, all of which is profit-driven, and thrives on controversy and sensationalism to hold people's attention long enough for us to view the advertising. It was always so. It's just more all-encompassing and immersive these days.

And, as they say, people choose their news providers and "follow" people based on the desire for affirmation instead of information. So people tend to be immersed in positive feedback, and time lags are very low with things like Twitter and facebook bypassing the usual old-school media time-lag.

In electronics terms, that can lead to instability and oscillation!

To achieve a stable amplifier design, you sometimes need some negative feedback and damping, if you will. Someone needs to create a Bode Plot for society! The phase margin is becoming unacceptably low!

Tribalism, group identification, etc., has always been a problem. Folks need to calm down and make an effort to see the good aspects of other points of view instead of becoming radical.

We've seen the effect of this sort of fervor getting out of hand all throughout history. Maybe it's time to extinguish the torches and put down the pitchforks.

 

[Q™]

And now we are buried in all-news TV networks and social media, all of which is profit-driven, and thrives on controversy and sensationalism to hold people's attention long enough for us to view the advertising. It was always so. It's just more all-encompassing and immersive these days.

Exactly and, driving it all is the Internet which has turbo-charged the distribution of human thought. It used to be that you'd go down to the Joe's Gas & Go and there'd be a bunch of guys sitting around drinking beer and listening to Crazy Joe ruminate about "the niggers and Jews." But that was the extent of it. Now Crazy Joe has a Facebook page and a Twitter account and his 10,000 followers have Joe thinking that he's important and his message is God's truth.

And, as they say, people choose their news providers and "follow" people based on the desire for affirmation instead of information. So people tend to be immersed in positive feedback, and time lags are very low with things like Twitter and facebook bypassing the usual old-school media time-lag.

Right on brother...

• Confirmation bias
• Proportionality bias
• Illusory pattern

All examples of how to yourself, your neighbors, and your fellow Americans.

 

[TonyR]

I'm sorry Tony, you're a nice man, but this "things are falling apart" theme is simply bullshit.

Not sure where you read that in my post.

These calls for a return to the good old days......

Or that.

The fact is that shit changes, and when your an old grouchy guy like me (or you) it's fuQin' hard to accept.

Yes it does........but I don't have to like it or pretend it's acceptable. I can only be responsible for how I treat and regard others. I am a long way from thinking, saying and doing everything that I should but I try to get along, respect others, try to be fair and not pretend the sun rises and sets just for me everyday.

 

[J Sigmo]

Overall, this seems to be a reasonable and thoughtful group. Very cool hanging out here, I must say!

 

[J Sigmo]

Speaking of illusory pattern:

I've spent a lot of time designing, building, and calibrating radiation measuring devices. And something that most people have very little gut-feel for is what I will call here "the nature of randomness".

When you spend countless hours listening to the clicks of a radiation counter, or looking at histograms of pulse heights or time graphs, etc., you realize how "un-smooth" truly random events really are. Things seem to happen in bursts or clusters, etc. And our minds are trained and evolved to try very hard to find, recognize, and identify patterns. That kept us safe from predators and such all throughout human evolution.

But it also leads to us "seeing things" or "hearing things", so to speak. And it leads to us trying to find meaning in sequences of events that are, in fact, just artifacts of randomness.

People see things like "cancer clusters" and blame them on nearby power substations, etc. But you have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions based on shaky statistics.

Spend a few hundred hours listening to the clicks of a Geiger counter that's just measuring background radiation, and tell me you didn't hear some very suspicious-sounding bursts of activity!

Sometimes what we're hearing really is just random noise!

 

[TonyR]

Sometimes what we're hearing really is just random noise!

Ever been running a vacuum cleaner or loud power tool and swear you can hear music or someone calling out your name only to switch it off to find out there's is no music or no person calling you?

Or is it just me?

 

[J Sigmo]

Ever been running a vacuum cleaner or loud power tool and swear you can hear music or someone calling out your name only to switch it off to find out there's is no music or no person calling you?

Or is it just me?

It's not just you.

I often think I hear the process alarm at work when running a chemical mixer and wearing hearing protection. I take off the earmuffs, and nope. Nothing!