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Hunters Shot Down Google Fiber
aesoteric writes "Google has revealed that aerial fiber links to its data center in Oregon were 'regularly' shot down by hunters, forcing the company to put its cables underground. Hunters were reportedly trying to hit insulators on electricity distribution poles, which also hosted aerially-deployed fiber connected to Google's $600 million data center in The Dalles. 'I have yet to see them actually hit the insulator, but they regularly shoot down the fiber,' Google's network engineering manager Vijay Gill told a conference in Australia. 'Every November when hunting season starts invariably we know that the fiber will be shot down, so much so that we are now building an underground path [for it].'"
All the above sentiments.
When fox-hunting was banned in the UK, there was a pretty huge outcry from the hunting community, with modest support from locals/country folk etc, and ambivalence from most of the rest of us. However, it quickly became apparent that the only real / main reason to keep hunting going was to continue the 'tradition' and to keep a few people employed. I think at this point public opinion swung in support of the government, and I think most of us haven't looked back since.
I'm all for hunting for food, but hunting for sport just seems gratuitous and disrespectful to nature.
Duncan.
I worked for a ISP that had a POP in the sticks. It's feed would regularly be shot by some stupid hick. There was also only one telco field tech for the area, and it would take him forever to respond and even longer to resolve the issue. The city has its own issues. Once a very large section of copper was stolen from the telco taking out an untold number of consumers.
If you work for telcos that have thousands of miles of fibre traversing farmland, you'll quickly come to appreciate (especially in the hunting season) that shotgun damage is a fact of life.
And no, the hunters are not shooting at the fibre or insulators, but at the pheasant, grouse and other flying game creatures that routinely alight on the overhead cables (usually power lines) that carry the fibre.
I get up, I get down...
I do, they're likely HID lights and thus are suitable for indoor horticulture.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I'm an american, and outside law enforcement officers, I've seen perhaps 3 or 4 guns in private possession in my life. I suppose they must be out there somewhere, and I've sure heard stories that make me shake my head, but I think those stories get a little overblown with regards to how many of us own or carry a gun.
Agreed!
High voltage discharges create intense UV radiation - and because your retina doesn't detect UV it doesn't trigger your blink reflex.
So you'll end up with corneal burning and irritation if you're lucky, cataracts or permanent blindspots if not.
So these idiots intentionally reproducing these things to see the pretty colours deserve all they get. Unfortunate pylon workers, welders and high voltage researchers do not.
-Nano.
I moved to Oregon from South Carolina... Arguably two of the most "redneck" states out there, except may be Idaho. What most city slickers don't realize about Oregon is that a lot of it is nature. With animals. Real animals. That will eat you.
The project I manage now is sandwiched between urban core and a rock quarry. Before the excavators moved in, we had a pack of coyotes hunting the area (and they'll be back as soon as we're done). When I hike, I regularly come across bear and cougar tracks and cougar kills. There are at least 3 cougars that share one of the urban parks with thousands of visitors. It's not unusual for trails to be posted with cougar sightings.
(For those of you who don't know, a cougar is a large cat, also known as a mountain lion.)
Many rural governments advise new residents to purchase a firearm to protect their property from assorted flesh-eating critters.
We also have a house in Europe, in the Czech Republic, which also has a long tradition of sport shooting and hunting. The wildlife is nowhere near as wild or abundant there.
So.... Yes there is a gun culture here in Oregon. The vast majority of gun owners here are responsible. Most of us responsible types stay away from the areas where the signs are shot up and people shoot at beer cans. There is a small minority of idiots. How's that different from any other population?
The only problem is that these idiots have guns. Darwin takes care of a few every year.
Then why do only 3% of Americans own guns?
Once again, the moderators are on crack -- giving +1 to something that can be proved wrong with a simple Google search:
Two in Five Americans Live in Gun-Owning Households
>>>Concentration camps were where they sent the Jews
Also the japanese-descended Americans during World War 2. Or have you forgotten how FDR unconstitutionally imprisoned Americans in concentration camps? He took their liberty, their property, their homes, their wealth, and imprisoned them without trial for almost four years. FDR makes Bush look like a nice guy in comparison. FDR was an ass that mistreated millions of American citizens.
But you've forgotten that. You've forgotten we had concentration camps right here on our own soil.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
They're idiots who shouldn't be allowed off a supervised range with a gun. Shooting at a highly elevated target with no (likely) backstop but the sky is the height of firearms irresponsibility.
Just a few years back, some yahoo in Jersey let loose a few .30 cal rounds at a soaring turkey vulture. A couple miles away, a guy working on the roof of his suburban home took the round and died on the spot.
If you're not certain of your field of fire, you don't squeeze. Period.
15 years later and hunters will still defend their pass time with the fervor of a rabid PETA campaigner, or Muslim cleric. Saving the world you know. Thinning pests, and over population of grazing animals...
Hi there, hunter here from Wisconsin. Do you know that there are more deer in Wisconsin than before it was settled? It's true. And do you know why? There are no more wolves. The deer have no natural predators any more. Every year deer cost millions of dollars in crop damage and insurance claims. Almost 27000 deer/car collisions a year.* $28 million in crop damage.** They also destroy forests by eating new growth faster than it can recover. Yes they are cute and many people are afraid of guns due to ignorance and inexperience, but don't let that stop you from actually getting the facts.
And trust me, all the shitheads that want to go around poaching and shooting road signs and transformers piss off every decent hunter out there that has to defend themselves against stories like these. It's not the guns or the hunting that's the problem, it's STUPID PEOPLE.
* http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/HUNT/DEER/CKDFY10.pdf
** http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/G3083.pdf
Most people on Slashdot are technically competent enough to Google things for themselves. As you're apparently incapable of using Google though, enjoy:
Happiness:
http://www.happyplanetindex.org/explore/global/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index
Crime:
(rapes) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita
(murders) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
(firearms murder and accidental) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate
(burglaries) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_bur_percap-crime-burglaries-per-capita
Health:
(life expectancy) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
(cancer deaths) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_dea_fro_can-health-death-from-cancer
(obesity) http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
As you can see, there are some stats where the US is equal to or above a handful of European nations, but in pretty much every case the US falls below the European average, and in some cases, is below that of all European nations.
You have no idea what you are talking about
People in the UK have never carried guns and the ban has affected almost nobody. I've lived in London for 36 years and I have NEVER seen a gun, other than carried by the (rare) armed police, or military.
Even British police don't carry guns. There's a reason for that.