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Bureau of Justice Assistance? Who the heck are they? Part of HSA? More useless people on the goverment payroll? A place to employ state college lawyers?

I'm gonna have to google them...



Ohhhh, ok, they provide grants to businesses so they can gather information on their customers.

I see....
 
Last edited:
dave carver said:
Bureau of Justice Assistance? Who the heck are they? Part of HSA? More useless people on the goverment payroll? A place to employ state college lawyers?

I'm gonna have to google them...
Click to expand...

part of DOJ
 
I posted this on YORF.

Heck what if it's a pretty girl at the counter and I am all nervous, is that suspicious too?
 
What the heck is an "unusual interest" in RC aircraft and rocket motors? Many of the "suspicious characteristics" on this list could probably be seen on any given day in any hobby shop.

And what's with the suspicious activity about purchasing a "large quantity of paintball equipment and supplies with very little information about local paintball activities." What evil use could those be put to? I know that tear gas and pepper agent "paint" balls are made since I've seen them on documentaries about non-lethal weapons.
 
Malwarebytes blocked me from viewing the Link, but I gathered what it is about.
The second Link was full of Pop-ups, and when I closed it and returned to here to reply to this thread, it was taking forever, so I closed out, and as I did, I caught a "Flash" of some other screen hiding in the Backround as this window was closing.
 
TopRamen said:
Malwarebytes blocked me from viewing the Link, but I gathered what it is about.
The second Link was full of Pop-ups, and when I closed it and returned to here to reply to this thread, it was taking forever, so I closed out, and as I did, I caught a "Flash" of some other screen hiding in the Backround as this window was closing.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it was just the NSA gathering information on who's going to that site.

Nothing to worry about...
 
i guess one does not buy paintball supplies for a group...


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
This is actually a couple years old, but occasionally still comes up. I'm surprised it doesn't come up a little more often...
 
Isn't that kind of the nature of a hobby? Something you have an unusual interest in? If it was usual, there would be as many hobby shops as there are gas stations. Not much logic went into this at all. So the employees are supposed to interrogate every customer to make sure they know enough about their hobby? What if the employee doesn't know much about it? And what's with specific motors? They're for a specific rocket, so heck yes, I want a specific motor. First they don't want you to know too little, but if you know enough to want a specific motor, that's somehow bad too?
 
TopRamen said:
Malwarebytes blocked me from viewing the Link, but I gathered what it is about.
The second Link was full of Pop-ups, and when I closed it and returned to here to reply to this thread, it was taking forever, so I closed out, and as I did, I caught a "Flash" of some other screen hiding in the Backround as this window was closing.
Click to expand...
I had no problem viewing either link and am using the very well reviewed and free Avast anti-virus/web site malware blocking program. However, I'm also using the free Ad Block Plus plug-in for Chrome (also available for Firefox), so that means all of the blocking you were experiencing was due to the ads at those links, not the sites themselves.
 
I just thought of what an "unusual interest" in rocket items might be:

"Hi, I see that the biggest rocket motor you sell is the Estes F15. Is it possible to order 1000 of those? And I see that the rocket bodies have a BT number that gets bigger with their diameter. Is there such a thing as BT-5000? Oh, and before I go, is there anyone in town who sells this P... U... 2... 3... 9... stuff?"
 
Airsoft and paintball can be viewed as terrorist training tools if you think about it.

Giant RC airplanes can be viewed as explosive delivery systems.

Rocketry almost by definition is a military technology.

Check my signature. If you are interested in firearms, model airplanes, and rockets you probably already are on a government watch list.
 
Hobby shops, by their nature, are there to serve people with unusual interests. There aren't too many hobbyists that would not meet these criteria.
Showing interest in something without adequate knowledge?
Doesn't every rookie want to go straight to the biggest toys without understanding that they're in over their head?
Why don't you just introduce every new customer to their personal government agent?
 
I know I have seen some posts on here that seem out of place. First timers posting questions about how to make something that is a L3 or bigger project (but they don't say L3). And others here have questioned some of these posts. Unusual means compared to most customers. I go to a farm supply store for my lawn fertilizer. When I ask for a bag of fertilizer to cover a 1/4 acre lot, probably not very unusual. If I, not looking like a local farmer, ask for a 1000 lbs, I hope they are suspicious of me.
 
shrox said:
I posted this on YORF.

Heck what if it's a pretty girl at the counter
Click to expand...

Ugh... Maybe you go to different kinds of hobby shops :) Pretty girls are pretty unusual at the hobby shops I go to.

Ari.
 
iter said:
Ugh... Maybe you go to different kinds of hobby shops :) Pretty girls are pretty unusual at the hobby shops I go to.

Ari.
Click to expand...

I've seen a couple -- I know at some places if the owner has a cute daughter/niece of HS/college age, they hire them to work at the hobby shop because they can usually talk guys into buying anything.

:wink:

That's also a side-effect of Hobby Lobby being a major rocketry supplier -- a fairly good percentage of the employees at HL tend to be nice-looking girls. Maybe one time out of four they have some young guy who seems to know about 'guy hobbies,' but usually it's girls into arts and crafts and stuff.

:lol::lol:
 
I found this line amusing.
"Large quantity of paintball equipment and supplies with very little information about local paintball activities."

I collect old paintball equipment and hardly ever play.... I guess I am on the top of the watch list. :rolleyes:
 
CZ Brat said:
I know I have seen some posts on here that seem out of place. First timers posting questions about how to make something that is a L3 or bigger project (but they don't say L3). And others here have questioned some of these posts. Unusual means compared to most customers. I go to a farm supply store for my lawn fertilizer. When I ask for a bag of fertilizer to cover a 1/4 acre lot, probably not very unusual. If I, not looking like a local farmer, ask for a 1000 lbs, I hope they are suspicious of me.
Click to expand...

Fertilizer is just Fertilizer. You have to ask for 33-0-0.:wink:
 
TopRamen said:
Fertilizer is just Fertilizer. You have to ask for 33-0-0.:wink:
Click to expand...

After McVey did his thing in Oklahoma City the Feds had the makers of AN add a substance that inhibits the fertilizer type from exploding. It kind of melts and clumps and that's about all. The type used in ANFO explosives do not contain this inhibitor and normal people can not get it, only those with an explosives permit. ANFO comes premixed or in bulk, for mineing purposes the truck drives up to a hole and a screw feed augers the mix down the hole then they move onto the next hole. It's hard to imagine an explosive that can handle the augering with no problems.
 
dave carver said:
After McVey did his thing in Oklahoma City the Feds had the makers of AN add a substance that inhibits the fertilizer type from exploding. It kind of melts and clumps and that's about all. The type used in ANFO explosives do not contain this inhibitor and normal people can not get it, only those with an explosives permit. ANFO comes premixed or in bulk, for mineing purposes the truck drives up to a hole and a screw feed augers the mix down the hole then they move onto the next hole. It's hard to imagine an explosive that can handle the augering with no problems.
Click to expand...

Can you give citations or sources for your contention that these measures have in fact been implemented? Thanks.
 
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