# Jewel Eye: Staring down the beryl (July Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [July 1, 2025, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332 "2025-07-01T03:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/341 "2025-07-31T02:52:17Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I guess in this area they make most of their money now through internet services, so one angry little phone customer didn’t mean a thing to them. Funny thing is that when I had CenturyLink (they weren’t Lucent yet), it was because they had brought in fiber to my neighborhood and were offering ridiculously cheap DSL. I signed up, then it took 6 months for them to hook me up because they couldn’t figure out how to get permits to extend it to my house from the trunk. Then after they got it hooked up, it died every day unless I reset the modem. Sometimes twice a day. Three different technicians were dispatched to fix it, every guy said he found the problem and fixed it, and yet it was never actually fixed. Finally after about a year from when I first signed up, and having never had a true working connection at any point, I called to cancel and they clearly didn’t give a shit. They just don’t care about home customers. Their income is mostly from businesses and government contracts. (One of my best friends has worked there for decades and handles government contracts.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/342 "2025-07-31T12:34:04Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > This is a really good point, yeah. And I think there are some politics threads on this board I should not be following. I follow zero politics threads. The change in my attitude when I made that decision back in March has been palpable, and I have none of the IRL personal challenges you’ve told us you have. IMO it takes literally every ounce of mental oomph you have just to be yourself, plus be a Mom to a challenging child at a challenging age. You have zero spare shits to give for anything outside of your family and your job narrowly defined. Do not pour your precious life energy onto the sands of the world’s problems. It won’t change the world whit one, and it will impoverish you mentally and emotionally. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/343 "2025-07-31T13:12:47Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > We’re going through this, though much farther from our actual house - that sounds really hard! The utility work they said they’d be doing until December. It is right outside our subdivision on a very busy road and they’ve kindly placed a large trailer in the perfect place to block our line of sight for oncoming traffic. They are doing some serious shit, with giant trenches as tall as humans and four snorts\* going at any time. And they are big ass snorts! > > \*Snorts = Excavators. Three or more snorts are a snoggle, so for clarity, we have a veritable snoggle of snorts! This is the only redeeming feature of this situation. > > The thing that sucks the most, to me, is that you can no longer get into our subdivision if you’re heading south, so I have to drive about three miles out of my way every time I pick my son up at daycare to get to the intersection where I can head north. And lately it’s been backed up. > > I really think if I had a single wish, it would be a toss-up between world peace and banishing road construction. Oh my that’s terrible that you have to wait until December for this to be done. I do understand the need for road construction and utility upgrades but some of these situations are intolerable. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/344 "2025-07-31T13:50:03Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Gas lines, water lines and now sewer lines. It’s been a profoundly disturbing mess coupled with episodes of uncertain parking and utility interruption. It’s been difficult trying to predict when the streets might be closed off or otherwise unavailable especially for grocery shopping, random deliveries or luggage packing/removal. I swear PennDOT had a back room where they’d invite all of the local municipalities & utilities to come for planning & coordination sessions, as in, we’re gonna work on Road X, who can start a separate project just after we finish & finally repave the road, or Water Co wants to replace the main on Road B, hey tree trimming co, can you work on Road A at the same time so that we have _triple_ the traffic on Road C, a two-lane residential road with 25mph speed limits. You can? Great! We can _really_ screw the motoring public; we’ll give you a(n illegal) bonus from our slush funds. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/345 "2025-07-31T14:45:55Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I actually think they are actively trying to schmuck their last remaining phone customers off the service and on to VoIP so they can just shut it down. Only my phones haven’t worked long enough for me to get in touch with my ISP, and it may not work anyway for a number of reasons. I’d sure like to get the chance to try!! You are not entirely wrong. Most telecom companies are desperate to shut down their TDM networks. These switches are expensive to run, require a shitload of power, and just are not as reliable as IP switches. Also, the folks who actually know how to maintain them are all retiring. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/346 "2025-07-31T15:50:57Z")
I can’t believe there is no thread about the NYC shooter. How he drove cross country with seemingly no direct information, coaching, of funding directly to the NYC office building where the NFL had an HQ. How he had a Huge semi-automatic weapon with a can (silencer?) on the front and a huge banana mag underneath in his car, but nobody noticed as he drove through the bridge/tunnel that he took to get into the city. That it was as long as half of his body, and he did not appear to be short. How, except for taking the wrong elevator, he would have wiped out half ( or most or all ) of that office. How his suicide note seemed to almost mimic the suicide note of “The Texas Tower Sniper” Charles Joseph Whitman regarding his brain. How he almost seemed programmed or trained to do this, step by step. And how all of this now seems completely sanitized from the news inside of three days. Sure there will be a big funeral with bag pipes, but it sure doesn’t look like anyone is looking too hard into how none of this adds up. If there is a thread re: this, I must have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/347 "2025-07-31T16:01:41Z")
What kind of bizarre conspiracy BS is this? It’s suspicious that he was able to drive across the country all by himself, directly to an address that anyone can find in two seconds on Google? But feel free to start a thread on the topic, we could all use a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/348 "2025-07-31T16:05:21Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > none of this adds up. How so? The guy bought guns legally, drove his car to the building that houses the NFL headquarters, which you can find by typing NFL Head Office in Google. He then walked into the wrong elevator, and shot whoever he got a chance to shoot when the doors opened. If he was “trained” to do this, he wouldn’t have taken the wrong elevator. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/349 "2025-07-31T16:07:37Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > but nobody noticed as he drove through the bridge/tunnel that he took to get into the city. Who was to notice? The MTA bridges & tunnels are all either EZ-Pass or toll-by-mail; they haven’t had toll takers in _years_. Even back when they had toll takers their job was to take tolls not look in cars. What if it was in the trunk or on the back seat but under a blanket? Do you want (non-existent) toll takers to violate your 4th amendment rights? From what I’ve read, this was a building that did a lot _right_. They had an off duty cop there & safe rooms on the office floors. The (unarmed) security guard was killed while running to lock down the elevators. The one girl who was killed on the upper floor was in the safe room but came out on her own, a fatal mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/350 "2025-07-31T16:28:32Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > How he drove cross country with seemingly no direct information, coaching, of funding directly to the NYC office building where the NFL had an HQ. Google Maps has been a thing for a long time. Just type “where is the NFL” in Google, and it will give you the address. They’re advertised in an office building in NYC, this wasn’t a secret bunker buried in the middle of rural Alaska. > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > How he had a Huge semi-automatic weapon with a can (silencer?) on the front and a huge banana mag underneath in his car, but nobody noticed as he drove through the bridge/tunnel that he took to get into the city. In the United States, that the gun was probably legal. “Semi-automatic” just means it’s not bolt-action. It’s not a machine gun. Most guns owned in the US are semi-automatic. The pistol I own (the only gun I have) is semi-automatic. If the gun was _fully_ automatic, that would be a whole different story. Then you’d be asking how he got a military weapon. As for how “nobody noticed”, it’s not like he was waving it over his head like a Tusken Raider while driving, and even if he was, we don’t have cameras everywhere hooked up to AI to immediately alert law enforcement and track the suspect in real time. Such a system can be foiled by putting the fun in the trunk or under a blanket or even in the floorboard of the rear seat. > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > How he almost seemed programmed or trained to do this, step by step. Clearly, you were with him the entire time to have this kind of information. Why didn’t _you_ stop him or at least call the authorities?! Shame on you! > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > If there is a thread re: this, I must have missed it. No, there is no thread for your weird psychotic fantasies. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/351 "2025-07-31T17:21:57Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > How he had a Huge semi-automatic weapon with a can (silencer?) on the front and a huge banana mag underneath in his car, but nobody noticed as he drove through the bridge/tunnel that he took to get into the city. It’s because _everyone in New York City_ was in on it!! The conspiracy goes deeper than we’d realized! ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/352 "2025-07-31T17:30:57Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > But feel free to start a thread on the topic, we could all use a laugh. Feel free to post your ignorance more. Most people get a good laugh when you do. > [@Spiderman](#): > > Who was to notice? The MTA bridges & tunnels are all either EZ-Pass or toll-by-mail; they haven’t had toll takers in _years_. Have a read and Learn. [3 arrested with loaded guns, body armor at Holland Tunnel](https://nypost.com/2016/06/21/3-arrested-with-loaded-guns-body-armor-at-holland-tunnel/) > [@Atamasama](#): > > In the United States, that the gun was probably legal. Not in every state he drove through, not by a long shot. > [@Atamasama](#): > > In the United States, that the gun was probably legal. “Semi-automatic” just means Whenever you stumble across an ignorant gun nut, the first thing they try to do is to derail the subject into a rabbit hole definition of ‘What’s a gun, anyway?’ Whenever they try, I just tell them to F.O. or ignore them. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Clearly, you were with him the entire time to have this kind of information. Why didn’t _you_ stop him or at least call the authorities?! Shame on you! How? I’m not a gun nut like you. I don’t even defend mass murdering gun nuts like you do. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > It’s because _everyone in New York City_ was in on it!! The conspiracy goes deeper than we’d realized! Go move that goal post, Pugsley… I’ll wait. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/353 "2025-07-31T17:42:39Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > 3 arrested with loaded guns, body armor at Holland Tunnel Those guys were pulled over by _cops_ for having a cracked windshield, and then busted because they didn’t bother to put their armory out of plain sight. They weren’t caught by tollbooth employees, because there are none. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/354 "2025-07-31T17:43:34Z")
Lighten up, Francis. The reason no one is talking about this shooting is because it’s just another shooting in the USA. Business as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/355 "2025-07-31T17:44:37Z")
Seriously, the guy bought guns, maybe legally, maybe not. Then he concealed the guns, drove across the country to the address he had Googled, and tried to commit his atrocities. What part of that seems unlikely to you? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/356 "2025-07-31T17:47:14Z")
How sure are we that @Mundane_Super_Hero is actually serious about this “conspiracy theory”? Seems a bit more like parody to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/357 "2025-07-31T18:12:03Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Seriously, the guy bought guns, maybe legally, maybe not. Then he concealed the guns, drove across the country to the address he had Googled, and tried to commit his atrocities. What part of that seems unlikely to you? “Thank you for your Service, detective.” > **[Google Image Result for...](https://www.google.com/imgres?q=dunkin%20donuts%20coupon&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Flookaside.instagram.com%2Fseo%2Fgoogle_widget%2Fcrawler%2F%3Fmedia_id%3D3255806432342930529&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fp%2FC0u8rNBO3Rh%2F&docid=1VVPpFLJtal8kM&tbnid=rDCFYe-BS5uMSM&vet=12ahUKEwiNsP-b2OeOAxW_LFkFHd4TMXcQM3oECBYQAA..i&w=1440&h=1440&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwiNsP-b2OeOAxW_LFkFHd4TMXcQM3oECBYQAA)** ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/358 "2025-07-31T18:58:55Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Not in every state he drove through, not by a long shot. He didn’t have to buy the gun in every state he drove through. > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I’m not a gun nut like you. In other words you’re ignorant. The reason other people aren’t talking about it is because they aren’t ignorant. > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I don’t even defend mass murdering gun nuts like you do. And now you’re just making up shit. You are deranged. Seriously. You have a disconnect from reality. Denying a conspiracy does not equate to “defending” a mass-murderer. Unless you think that the only thing he did wrong was engage in a conspiracy and the whole “murder” part is okay. > [@Seanette](#): > > Seems a bit more like parody to me. Then the shithead is derailing this thread to troll us and should go fuck off. It’s either that or they’re missing a few marbles. I know MSH has come up in the Pit before so I’m leaning towards the latter. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/359 "2025-07-31T19:21:12Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > In the United States, that the gun was probably legal. > > Not in every state he drove through, not by a long shot. In case you haven’t noticed, the USA does not have state police checkpoints at each state border crossing where police would be able to order people out of their car for inspection and search for state-defined contraband. _If_ there were such checkpoints then we might wonder how all the cops at all those checkpoints in all those states that regulate rifles missed his rifle. But since such checkpoints do not exist (yet), the question is moot. Here in present day USA, to avoid police scrutiny of the crap in your car, all you have to do is not get pulled over for an expired plate, a broken windshield, or a moving violation. It’s pretty darn easy to drive the ~2500 miles from Las Vegas to New York without any of those things happening. I probably drive 30,000 miles between police interactions. If I’d quit rampantly speeding I might get 150K miles between police interactions. 2.5K is a doddle. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332/360 "2025-07-31T19:24:28Z")
I haven’t had a police interaction where I was the driver in this century. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewel-eye-staring-down-the-beryl-july-mini-rants/1020332.md?page=19)