Topic 'Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.' in forum 'Canadian Chat' - dslreports.com

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 19:47:19 EDT

Guspaz posted : I walked about 800m to school unsupervised when I was in elementary school... Following him to the bus stop in the mornings, be it in person or with a drone, is ridiculous.
--
Developer: Tomato/MLPPP, Linux/MLPPP, etc »fixppp.org

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:15:25 EDT

pnjunction posted : When I was a kid we walked at least 400m to and from the bus stop unsupervised.

And if we missed the bus by the time we got there, we walked another 10km to school because even in -40C weather that was preferable to going home and telling my mom we missed the bus.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:55:01 EDT

Thane_Bitter posted :

said by Gone:

Tell me, when have you ever built something so elaborate or - dare I say - so cool?

You mean bought off the shelf parts and assembled as such? :p

Gone, not trying to bash his technical skill set but hardly something new or original, there are many quad-copters out there and this was more of an assembly project. I would have been impressed if he actually designed it and made it himself, all of it; in short he built a Heath-Kit.

My point, I am just disgusted that he would rather sit at home then spend time with his kid. Hell that project it would have made a good Father-Son project, a teaching experience as well as bonding experience.

In short he should be less of a child himself and be a parent a bit more.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:22:54 EDT

dirtyjeffer posted :

said by TLS2000:

said by I_H8_Spam:

Given the sheer scale of idea conception, design, part accrual, construction, programming, testing, and deployment. I'd hardly call the author lazy.

It's funny though. People go out of their way to be lazy, even if it involves more work. lol

I think this is cool. I'm actually getting a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 soon.

these are cool too:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ErEBkj_3PY
--
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

- George Orwell

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:03:37 EDT

dirtyjeffer posted :

said by Dones:

said by I_H8_Spam:

http://www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter/draganflyer-x6/

Same thing only commercialized - Already in use by various police forces.

1080P HD cam or why not go with FLIR?

That thing is sick! If I had $25,000 to spend on something I don't need, I'd get that.

no need to spend that much...i don't know how much this is, but i can imagine it is likely "only" several hundred dollars for his set up.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz2zU5bNcaQ
--
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

- George Orwell

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:46:29 EDT

J E F F posted : I'm with you and Robrr on this one. This isn't anything that a technically inclined person couldn't do with $300 laying around. If he's that concerned about the kids safety, do the 0.8KM return trip, it's not that far.

Now, I do like the story of the father and son that bought a giant weather balloon and hooked up their iPhone to it to get to the limits of our horizon, a quick little look into outer space until the balloon popped. Now, that was a good one..simple, but very nice.
--
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. - Albert Einstein

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:47:50 EDT

Guspaz posted :

said by Robrr:

Here is a question for you: Do you consider it paranoid over protection to have the dad walk down to the bus stop?

Yes. That's the whole point.
--
Developer: Tomato/MLPPP, Linux/MLPPP, etc »fixppp.org

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:12:42 EDT

Phorkster posted : Thats great, so now he can actually watch as his kid is abducted. BRILLIANT!

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:34:57 EDT

Wolfie00 posted :

said by Robrr:

The man should take the 15 minutes to walk down to the bus stop and walk back. Probably the best 15 minutes he could ever spend with his kid.

If you think walking a child to the bus stop is "the best 15 minutes he could ever spend with him", I'm sure glad I'm not your kid!

The guy built one of the world's neatest toys and for some reason some feel the need for sanctimonious moralizing.

Here's my idea of spending quality time with your kid: spend the afternoon flying your own personal camera-equipped drone. :)
--
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts."
― Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:14:55 EDT

Robrr posted :

said by Guspaz:

A better question is why the frak is this guy following his kid to the bus stop anyhow? Talk about paranoid overprotection. Wrap the kid in bubblewrap while you're at it. I feel really bad for this kid and all the crap he's going to have to deal with growing up with that kind of parent.

Here is a question for you: Do you consider it paranoid over protection to have the dad walk down to the bus stop?

Personally I don't think it is over protective for the dad to walk to the bus stop any more than it is for him to use this helicopter.

The unfortunate difference is that the father has now elected to just stay home rather than walk.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:26:05 EDT

fast4ward posted : literally a helicopter parent

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:11:03 EDT

Guspaz posted : A better question is why the frak is this guy following his kid to the bus stop anyhow? Talk about paranoid overprotection. Wrap the kid in bubblewrap while you're at it. I feel really bad for this kid and all the crap he's going to have to deal with growing up with that kind of parent.
--
Developer: Tomato/MLPPP, Linux/MLPPP, etc »fixppp.org

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:06:33 EDT

TLS2000 posted :

said by I_H8_Spam:

Given the sheer scale of idea conception, design, part accrual, construction, programming, testing, and deployment. I'd hardly call the author lazy.

It's funny though. People go out of their way to be lazy, even if it involves more work. lol

I think this is cool. I'm actually getting a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 soon.
--
Tom

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:56:30 EDT

Gone posted : What does his nationality have to do with any of this?

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:55:48 EDT

anon posted :

said by I_H8_Spam:

Given the sheer scale of idea conception, design, part accrual, construction, programming, testing, and deployment. I'd hardly call the author lazy.

Lazy is right. It's a bought kit.
Just the GPS beacon wasn't part of the kit.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:55:45 EDT

anon posted :

said by Gone:

I think it's safe to say that this has more to do with building something cool ...

Well, this american guy didn't really build it.

He bought the "quadrocopter kit and attached a smartphone with a video chatting app enabled." The open source app already has GPS tracking so all he did was put a GPS beacon on his kid.

Anyone can do this, if you buy the quadrocopter kit. There are some on Amazon for under ~200-250$.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:31:24 EDT

I_H8_Spam posted : Given the sheer scale of idea conception, design, part accrual, construction, programming, testing, and deployment. I'd hardly call the author lazy.
--
AFK: Attack, fight, kill!! The healer is telling you to go pull mobs.
WTF: Way to fight! The healer is applauding your tactical genius

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:23:03 EDT

Gone posted :

said by Robrr:

His quote sums it up nicely

He's the editor of an online technical magazine. He built something and then wrote a piece about what he did, using whatever creative license he felt would make his piece more interesting to readers. That's all there is to it. Beyond that, any allusions to his lazyness or his worth as a human being is nothing but unsubstantiated conjecture from people who may not fully grasp the context for which the comment was made and the publication for which it was first published in.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:22:45 EDT

HoboJ posted :

said by Gone:

The guy who built this is an editor at IEEE Spectrum. I think it's safe to say that this has more to do with building something cool (just like there are people who build furniture or build cars) rather than being too lazy to walk his kid down the driveway.

This. It's sad that everyone here has overreacted to the extreme because one inclined gentleman did something awesome. I bet his kid is going to get to learn and build a lot of very cool gadgets and toys that most kids only dream about when he's older.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:14:29 EDT

Dones posted :

said by I_H8_Spam:

http://www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter/draganflyer-x6/

Same thing only commercialized - Already in use by various police forces.

1080P HD cam or why not go with FLIR?

That thing is sick! If I had $25,000 to spend on something I don't need, I'd get that.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:03:31 EDT

Robrr posted : His quote sums it up nicely

quote:
Last winter, I fantasized about sitting at my computer while a camera-equipped drone followed him overhead," wrote Wallich.

Lazy! Plain and simple.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:00:30 EDT

Gone posted :

said by Robrr:

It may be elaborate but definitely not cool.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:57:53 EDT

Mike2009 posted : It's cool but really this dork needs to get our and get some fresh air with his kid.

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:55:52 EDT

Robrr posted :

said by Gone:

Um, the man built a self-propelled drone that is capable of following a child around and transmitting video back to the control station.

Tell me, when have you ever built something so elaborate or - dare I say - so cool?

It may be elaborate but definitely not cool.

The man should take the 15 minutes to walk down to the bus stop and walk back. Probably the best 15 minutes he could ever spend with his kid.

And really... what is this helicopter drone going to do if someone kidnaps the kid? Shoot the person?

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:47:35 EDT

I_H8_Spam posted : »www.draganfly.com/uav-helicopter···lyer-x6/

Same thing only commercialized - Already in use by various police forces.

1080P HD cam or why not go with FLIR?
--
AFK: Attack, fight, kill!! The healer is telling you to go pull mobs.
WTF: Way to fight! The healer is applauding your tactical genius

Re: Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:39:06 EDT

Gone posted : Um, the man built a self-propelled drone that is capable of following a child around and transmitting video back to the control station.

Tell me, when have you ever built something so elaborate or - dare I say - so cool?

Because walking 400m with your kid is -just- too far.

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:36:58 EDT

Thane_Bitter posted : Tech geek & not so devoted father has constructed a remote controlled surveillance device so he doesn't have to walk his son 400m down hill to the bus stop each day.

"On school-day mornings, I walk my grade-school-age son 400 metres down the hill to the bus stop. Last winter, I fantasized about sitting at my computer while a camera-equipped drone followed him overhead," wrote Wallich. "So this year, I set out to build one."http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/11/geek-dad-builds-helicopter-to-follow-his-son-to-the-bus-stop.html

Needless to say I feel that if you are going to go through the effort of having a child, spending some time with them should be a priority. One wonders if his next project will be building an A.I. program that provides a male role model for his son which will free up more of his own time to play WoW. :uhh: