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OldBaldy1701E

(11,201 posts)
2. So, I had pretty much every version from their catalog.
Sun Mar 29, 2026, 09:07 AM
Mar 29

So time for a story.

In 1983, I still had the one that came out in 1980, or '81. I was eighteen now, and some friends and I were going to meet up with some other friends to go to 'the dam' and launch some simple fireworks for the Fourth of July. Now, fireworks are illegal in the state of N.C., so of course, everyone went to either Virginia or South Carolina to get them. (We were closer to VA.) They had gotten several good ones to launch and we were looking forward to it. Well, we got word that some of the gang had already gone to the dam ahead of us. We were miffed (not really) and decided to play a practical joke on them.

That circuit box could create a siren sound. My car had a CB radio (dating myself here) with a PA horn attached. So, I wired the box up to create the sound, we grabbed a few blinking lights that we could attach to the car, and we drove to the dam. We arrived and saw that they were out there firing off a few things. We waited for a minute, then suddenly floored the car and hit the lights and siren. We blasted onto the dam (which had a path for driving over it. It was an earthen dam, and it was more to create the lake than to dam up the creek) with the lights and siren blaring.

Well, the crew on the dam exploded in every direction. Our buddy Nick actually ran and dove into the lake to try and swim away! The others just scattered... at least for a moment. Then, they saw that the car coming was a 1978 Chevy Nova instead of a modern police cruiser. Of course, we pulled up and fell out of the car laughing. The crew that was on the dam also started laughing. The lone holdout was Nick, who was not happy that he had tried to escape into the water. We were all adamant that this was on him, as no one else tried to do that, or even thought to do that.

I miss those times.

Recommendations

5 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

I had a crystal radio kit, probably around 1950. 3Hotdogs Mar 29 #1
So, I had pretty much every version from their catalog. OldBaldy1701E Mar 29 #2
Back in the day. It's a wonder we lived through it. paleotn Mar 29 #5
Famous Chevy Nova. Named to appeal to Latinos. No Va. Doesn't Go. usonian Mar 29 #17
I had heard about how it was one of the worse selling cars in Hispanic America for that reason. OldBaldy1701E Mar 30 #25
A 350 in that little car was just amazing. usonian Mar 30 #28
Lots of stuff like that back in the day. Feels like there's less emphasis on such things today. paleotn Mar 29 #3
Makers Maninacan Mar 29 #4
AI slop. Please edit your title to reflect this is AI slop, or better yet, pull the entire thing. TIA Celerity Mar 29 #6
It literally says AI Generated content right on the screen. LiberalArkie Mar 29 #7
IMHO you should disclose that this is AI slop in your OP title. Celerity Mar 29 #8
Many kids and teens today build their own gaming rigs Prairie Gates Mar 29 #9
My first IBM Clone was from a defective motherboard I bought from Jameco as I could not afford a new one LiberalArkie Mar 29 #20
Some of us had a higher risk tolerance (just kidding) usonian Mar 29 #10
I have the transistor version of that tube radio. hunter Mar 29 #13
I never saw one. usonian Mar 29 #14
Yeah, it is curious that there were not more injuries. Disaffected Mar 29 #18
There's a lot of ways to electrocute yourself with that. hunter Mar 29 #19
Wow, that takes me back. Disaffected Mar 29 #16
Radio Shack was far from the only company that made such kits. MineralMan Mar 29 #11
I had a montgomery wards type of electronic kit about 1970 BlueWaveNeverEnd Mar 30 #27
Why do people keep hammering this site with AI slop? If it is not inaccurate, it is unethical on account of how it . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #12
I didn't watch the video. I rarely do. hunter Mar 29 #15
It was good. LiberalArkie Mar 29 #21
I can imagine that the scribes felt the same way when the Gutenberg press came out. And all readers that would read LiberalArkie Mar 29 #22
The problem with that comment is that your analogy is faulty. 'AI' is not a means of transmission of ideas: it has . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #23
Same here because generally it is a waste of time to interact with 'AI' content. Take for example this video from . . . xocetaceans Mar 29 #24
More AI slop, with the script probably AI-written as well. Possibly from a foreign content farm. highplainsdem Mar 30 #26
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