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That's terrible Canny Lass, no wonder people don't want to get involved these days. HPW ...... Yes, what's wrong with just using a stick to point out things in presentations? It also has the dual purpose of bringing the daydreamers and class disruptors back into the real world! WHAAAAACK!!!

Mebbe there shudda been mair phones so he can "phowne howme" from any location....!! Seriously,I was done at the Wansbeck hospital,a year or two back,when the first Parking-eye was installed. I paid the parking fee into the machine o.k.,but in my flustered state,out of breath,having had to park up beside the windmill,walk down to the machine etc,I entered a wrong letter into the machine. The "fine" came through the post a few weeks later,totally unexpected by me. No problem,I went in to see the "P.A.L.S." receptionist,a canny young lass,who sorted it,and I didn't have to pay the fine. Noo!! What annoyed me,indirectly,was the fact that the photo of my car front and rear,showing my registration plate,was absoloutely crystal clear,high resoloution. The point I am making is.....whenever anyone is mugged or a theft takes place,CCTV footage is always blurry and faces of perpetrators can never be positively identified. Makes me wonder why! Morrison's!!! ....a wudn't gaan back any mair [mind,a divvent gaan ti start wi!] stick ti Aldi and Lidl..!!,yi canna gaan wrang!

A relative of mine has one of these which has a 25 mile range,with a distinct fine,but powerful beam which would be seen for miles around at ground level,and is used as a pointer in astronomy to point out particular stars etc. In responsible and educated hands,who understands flight paths of civilian aircraft,and only used on crystal-clear starry nights.with no wind,so even the furthest-away aircraft can be either seen or heard,this is a valuable tool,but even after all that,I cannot help but think they should be either banned,or restricted and licenced to those who can show justification for requiring one for personal use. One such night,a while ago,my relative was out star-spotting alone in the garden,in the early hours of the morning,and while momentarily testing the laser-pen out by flashing it quickly,in very short bursts,she was terrified by a whirring sound behind her back,and upon looking up,saw a strange craft hovering over the house-roof at a very low height. After a few seconds,the strange-looking craft turned slowly and just whizzed out of sight.This story has been covered in another thread,if my memory seves me correct,and whether it was a military stealth craft or an alien craft makes no difference,it is obvious that the reason it appeared was to recon the source of the laser. In the wrong hands,they are deadlier than a shotgun....i.e...the potential for disaster on a much greater level is present. Do we really need them even for instructional purposes?....what was wrong with the good old-fashioned stick?...it was alright in my hands on syndicate work on courses that I attended!!

At the sort of range this would have been at it's likely more than a low power laser pen. It's quite easy to get hold of medium/high power lasers, and they are relatively cheap. Terrorism a distinct possibility; if not in this particular instance then soon.