Lacessit

It means you shoot your toes off trying to do a fast draw on debate/discussion. A manager I remember quite fondly. There was also a guy we used to call Wet Cement, because he could talk through it. Your posts remind me of him.

Can't you read? Bard provided two words to my prompt, so it must have understood my prompt. It also understood the word recede had already been used. I won't claim I am smarter than Gemini until I have solved the required word. The title of the thread is "Bard/Gemini is not so smart" If it was really smart, it should not matter what prompt I use.

"And will increase in every nation that has guns" My point exactly. Has anyone ever called you No-Toes?

Was it not Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman " who complained his washing machine consumed belts like a maniac? I bought my GF a Samsung washing machine about 6 years ago, she loves it. Much easier than beating wet clothes on the concrete sides of the local klong, although I do miss the wet T-shirts.

I can be terse , or expand a bit more if I feel it is necessary. Double spacing is a courtesy to other people who don't like reading sentences packed like sardines.

I recently asked Gemini for a word #E###E. The letters available to fill are E,P,C,D,E,E,R. It's a word puzzle, I have done 1351 of them. RECEDE is already used. Gemini gave me two words, PEREDE and PEDERE. Both are unacceptable. If I can solve the word, IMO I can say I'm still smarter than Gemini.

You were a gun dealer? Might I suggest there is some bias in your postings? If you were selling semi-automatics ( I know, if you didn't someone else would ) did it occur to you that you were facilitating mass shootings? Do you understand basic ratio math? More people, more deaths, yes. It's the number of them per 100,000 population which is significant. Whitewashing the problem with vague assertions and look over there deflection does not rebut facts, data and statistics. I've posted the data which proves you are a violent society. What's your proof it is not.? Your experience is a single data point.

I have kept a diary on the back of my autobiography which records what I regard as highlights or significant events, only add to it about once a fortnight. I occasionally add to the autobiography with new recollections.

As you are sedated, why would it make any difference to you.? You can't hear them.

Gun deaths in Australia are about 0.9 per 100,000 population. In the US, it is 4.5. Five times as high. The US Virgin Islands tops the table at 32. Singapore is a distant last with 0.003. You can rationalise all you want. The fact is you live in a violent society, and Australia and other countries demonstrate it is self-inflicted.

Please explain the difference to me between liking guns, and liking drugs. They are both addictions. Using your logic, everybody should have a right to drugs as well. What kills more in America, guns or drugs? The self defense argument is BS. I have never needed a gun for defense in Australia, and it's far more likely you will be killed in your home if you are toting a gun, than if you don't have one.

Perhaps Americans need a God who will tell them to repeal the Second Amendment. Given 50% of Americans still believe in angels, it's an even chance.

Noted you declined to respond to my question. What is especially sickening is the politicians who take NRA donations to support their campaigns, then offer their "thoughts and prayers" to the bereaved. <deleted> hypocrites.

IIRC there was a technical flaw in the finale of "The Last of the Mohicans" when the hero reloaded his rifle, with nary a ramrod to be seen.

I have had colonoscopies regularly every five years. If the OP has any family member - even cousins - with a history of polyps or bowel cancer, he should get it done. If he has never had one, a check could be useful in finding other problems, such as diverticulitis. Doctors don't recommend procedures for fun. They do it because knowledge is better than ignorance, when it comes to health. The sedation is usually quite light, patients don't remember anything. The most inconvenient part is the bowel preparation, although that has improved since my first time. Bum guns beat toilet paper hands down.

There has been a 12% increase in crime, type unspecified. According to Google, New Zealand is quite low on the crime list, generally regarded as one of the safest countries. Please post a link to support your claim there has been a huge increase in gun crime in New Zealand.

Yes, and when they get caught, it's 2-10 years in jail just for possessing a firearm. If you think the solution is more guns, you're as dumb as the Americans.

Really. After Australia banned semi-automatic weapons, there have been only 3 gun massacres since 2000. It's a bit difficult to make progress when one only has a bolt action rifle. Stephen Paddock accounted for 60 dead and over 300 wounded. Australian has a lot of the problems America has, look over there is a two-edged sword. Depressingly, you are right. Americans are addicted to a gun culture. They will keep killing innocents and children,until someone comes along who is strong enough to take their guns away. While I don't like John Howard, IMO it is his best legacy. Tell me, as a gun owner, when there is a gun massacre, do you join in offering your thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims?

The Founding Fathers could not foresee muskets would be replaced by semi-automatic weapons. The Second Amendment is treated as something holy by many Americans. The Eighteenth Amendment ( Prohibition ) was removed by the Twenty-First Amendment. That's what sensible people do with amendments when it is clear they are no longer fit for purpose. In Australia, a firearm license application is 40 pages long. That tends to filter out the crazies. The penalty for possessing a firearm without a permit is 10 years in jail. Despite NRA propaganda, it is quite legal to own a long gun in Australia. Semi-automatics have been banned since Port Arthur in 1996. Handgun ownership is severely restricted. I suppose it is just a coincidence Australia averages one mass shooting per year since 2000, whereas America had 630 in 2023. Almost two a day. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41488081

In Australia, what is thought to be the first school shooting in the nation's history occurred recently. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68432923 In 2023, America had 340 school shooting incidents. https://www.k12dive.com/news/2023-total-school-mass-shootings/703007/ School shootings in America have nothing to do with criminals and terrorists knowing they are vulnerable, and everything to do with the easy access to firearms. Most commonly, it is disgruntled and mentally disturbed students and ex-students who commit school shootings. https://shura.shu.ac.uk/12138/3/whitfield - Characteristics of school shooting incidents.pdf Einstein was quite correct about the infinity of human stupidity. Your post embodies it.

I'm here because I have a much better standard of living than I would in Australia. If I was to win a large lottery, I would still be here, although I might move around Asia a bit more. I would have no interest in going back to Australia even if I was rich. Too many nanny-state rules, fat women, boring.

That was the original purpose, the Founding Fathers envisaged muskets against a tyrannical government. I doubt they could foresee semi-automatics. It's actually quite futile, considering a government could whistle up Abrams tanks, attack helicopters, and drones to deal with any situation. It's like Linus with a security blanket, but I don't know if Linus ever grew up.

OP, serves you right for watching Sky News.

Your post has a logical flaw. Sure, keep guns away from mentally disturbed people. What do you do when someone who owns firearms develops a mental illness? What do you do when a sociopath successfully conceals their condition to obtain a firearm? IMO victims of a semi-automatic are not going to be grateful it was not a full automatic. Americans are full of BS excuses for owning guns, most of them absurd when closely examined. Face it, the only valid reason for owning them is because you like them.