Well... Unless you were one of the victims of Stargate Resistance. Stargate Worlds was well publicized, and then put on the same dev cycle as Duke Nukem Forever. When Stargate Resistance came out, the general noise said that if there was enough interest, it would help push development on Worlds.
I bought it soon after it came out. I found that for whatever reason, it would crash my computer. Nothing else would. Turned out it was some obscure bug in the video driver, and the current driver (and every upgrade from there) didn't work. Finally I found the solution, roll back to a much older driver, and the problem went away.
I got about 12 hours of gameplay in over a couple months. Then the announcement came out. The game was no more. $19.99 for a dozen or hours of gameplay? Great.
I really prefer knowing that I own a disk, and I can play all I want. If it has an online mode where I can play against other players, cool. But when the day comes that they don't support it any more, I can play offline as long as I want. And if my disk gets damaged or lost, ya, I can go download a copy and keep playing.
Ya, that left me wondering too. Maybe they're measuring the human perception of an object at say 30' or something.:)
I still don't get this insane concept of size that people keep trying to apply. as big as a grain of sand, car (VW bug or Lincoln Limo?), or as much information as the Library of Congress. {sigh}
It's not just on here, nor on poorly written news stories. I find people grasping at the idea of how to express size all the time. I always start with "Is it bigger than a bread box?" That seems to throw anyone under about 35, since they've usually never seen a bread box. It lets me have some fun though. "Picture a standard loaf of bread. 30cm x 15cm x 15cm. Now picture a box that would comfortably contain said loaf of bread without distorting its physical shape. They would typically be made from wood, but sometimes other materials are used. So for the sake of this argument, lets assume 2cm thickness on each side. Is the object you are trying to describe more than 34cm x 19cm x 19cm. Or approximately 7,650 cubic centimeters, or 0.27 cubic feet, or 65 gill."
For some reason, people just give up about half way through it. It's a great way to get them to stop asking stupid questions.:)
I've found the perfect way to survive. It's much like "How do you survive a shark attack?" and "How do you survive in the vacuum of space?" Don't put yourself in that situation.
Avoid being at 30,000 feet without the assistance of an aircraft.
Not too many folks have walked away, or even been carried away with a pulse, from a fall like that. Still, that would be an awful long 3 minutes to consider the options.
Hey, don't ruin a perfectly good conspiracy with facts.
But ya, I was a diver once upon a time, and a private pilot. The FAA stays on the side of caution, recommending not to fly after any diving, even shallow dives.
There is even a rule (or at least a strong suggestion). "12 hours from bottle to throttle". That relates to drinking. You're not suppose to fly (as a pilot) within 12 hours after drinking. That counts even if it's one beer or shot, which your body metabolizes in about an hour. It's safer for everyone to follow the rule, than to risk it. If there was an incident, and there is any evidence you were drinking, that will be used against you, no matter how sober you may have been.
I have a great alcohol tolerance. Well, annoyingly so as I have to drink more to feel anything while my friends are already staggering and slurring their words on a small fraction of what I've had. On my 3rd double, I feel something. People I know, if they drank 3 doubles, I'd be picking them up off the floor. Even still, I would not consider piloting an aircraft within 12 hours of my last drink, no matter how sober I may be after a couple hours.
And ya, my last hour or two at a club is spent drinking water or soda, so I'm fine when I walk out, and I can protect my drunk friends should a bar fight start. It's so much easier when the opponent is smashed. I can duck, bob, and block while they swear incoherently at me to hold still.:)
What do we need test monkeys for, when we've had a real human "volunteer".
Capt. Timothy Lancaster, British Airways Flight 5390, June 10, 1990. 23,000 feet, 500mph.
One of the cockpit windshields was improperly secured after a repair, and blew out. He was sucked out of the cabin, and his leg caught on the controls. The flight crew managed to grab his feet and hold on through landing, before he made a full egress.
He lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen. In addition, he suffered frostbite, bruising, abrasions, and fractures to his right arm, right wrist, and left thumb, and a dislocated shoulder.
All in all, survivable (and he did). Most of the injuries would have been due to being pulled out the hole, and being pounded against the aircraft.
If someone made a clean exit, not damaging themselves on the edges of the hole or other parts of the aircraft, it's a survivable event. They may or may not lose consciousness, depending on their breathing and personal fear level. i.e., us adrenaline junkies would probably remain calm-ish, and survive through the air.
The least likely part to survive is that unintended intersection between their direction of travel, and a solid mass. (i.e., straight down, and hitting the ground).
As the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy states about flying, "There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. Its knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, that provides the difficulties." I don't know of anyone who has managed the essential second part without artificial help.
Mr. [redacted] informant was an investigator for the USAF. Not just some random civilian, or someone who thought they knew something.
There would have been no further investigation necessary, as the USAF was already investigating, and any further investigation would be done by them, and any information necessary would be reported back to the FBI.
Pretty much, another agency had control and jurisdiction on the case, and possession of all materials relating to the case. There was nothing for the FBI to do. What were their options? Demand access to now (as of the minute the military touched it) classified materials? Good luck there. I'm surprised the FBI was provided with as much detail as they were given.
If that were to happen today, it may be something more like "We found something, and are investigating." Or as was provided to the public "Nothing to see here. Just a weather balloon. Move on." Use tthe official USAF aircraft identification chart for identifying unknown flying objects.
What I was stating, which may have been misread, is that you or I do not get equal protection, or frequently any protection at all.
I don't agree that it should be this way. Everyone (even those who you do not believe to be human) deserve equal protection. In general, we should all provide that protection for ourselves.
I am a proud gun owner. I have also been trained in a few arts which help protect me. If I felt that I was in danger of harm or death, I would deal with it appropriately. It has happened. And no, I've luckily never needed to use lethal force to protect myself. Generally, I've been able to mitigate the situation, or remove myself from it entirely. You can't try to hurt me if I just get in my car and drive off.:) I figure if in the 30 years that I've known how to use weapons, and have had them available, if I've never used one once in self defense, I probably will never need to.
Unfortunately, I used the same logic for first aid training. I've trained in first aid and as a first responder so many times, I can't even give a valid number of training events. Most of the use of my training was to calm people in auto accidents, evaluate their condition, and give a good advisement to the 911 so the paramedics enroute would know what to expect, or taking care of myself or friends and family who had minor injuries. In the worst accidents that I've witnessed, the worst I've seen was superficial abrasions caused by the airbags.
I'd never needed to do CPR to save someone's life until just a few years ago. And yes, CPR on a real person to try to save their life is much different than countless trainings with dummies. And, no matter how many times you've been told "your technique is perfect", it won't make a bit of difference when you're a few minutes too late, no matter how hard you try.
So, we should all be self sufficient to the best of our abilities, and make sure those around us are just as self sufficient so if we can't defend ourselves, those around us can.
Private citizens are generally unknown in the scope of national or international events. Unless there are special circumstances, if something, such as murder, happens to them, it may make the local paper for a day.
I can't seem to find the number of murders in the US in 2010. From Jan 1 2002 to Dec 31 2008, 102,210 people were murdered in the US. That averages out to 14,601 per year, or about 40 per day.
Public figures are known by at least a subset of the population. If even the rumor of murder starts circulating around a public figure, that becomes big news.
Consider the following. Most people in America are familiar with most or all of this list. They can recite off the circumstances for each one.
Murder suspects: OJ Simpson (1994), Gary Condit (2001), Robert Blake (2001), Phil Spector (2003).
Attempted murder victims: Ronald Regan (1981) Gabrielle Giffords (2011)
Murder victims: John F. Kennedy (1963), John Lennon (1980), Ennis Cosby (1997), Michael Jackson (2009)
Public figures account for a very small percentage of the overall population. Lets use the hugely inflated number of 0.1% (roughly 300,000 people). I listed 10 off the top of my head. Can you list a respective number of people who are not public figures, who would fall into the 3 categories (suspect, attempted victim, and victim) ? It's only 9,000. It should be easy. Remember, give the name and year of the incident. No, you won't. Most people can't name the 10 individuals on the other side of each crime listed above without looking them up.
It's in the best interest of law enforcement to ensure public figures do get better protection. Bad press for a department means pressures from law makers, which means heads will roll if they don't protect a public figure who reported a threat.
Try applying the same to you or I. If someone broke into your house tonight. Like, the guy who's circled the block 3 times so far, but doesn't live in the neighborhood. You did notice the car, right?
[waiting]
Now that you've looked out the window and see an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway down the street in front of a vacant house. And now you hear a noise from the back of your house. Was that a burglar breaking in? Call 911 and report it, quick! In 3 to 5 minutes if you live in a good area, or 10 to 30 minutes if you don't, an officer will knock on your door. If you were right, you'll already be dead. If you were wrong, you'll look dumb, and may be politely warned to not call unless there is a real crime being committed. If the first happens, you'll be a blurb on an inside page of the local paper, unless Charlie Manson himself did it.
You know, I totally misread the article the first time around, and saw it as saying that it was a Google project.
Triangulation doesn't really do much for you. You have to consider the routes used. I ran a side project at one job for a while, which mapped routes between our own points. Well, there is a full description here. In doing this, we had traceroutes run about once every 5 minutes.
I had more detailed reporting that wasn't shown in the portfolio.
In what the story is referencing, a report showing all nodes that we controlled, to a specific endpoint would be similar. What we'd see is what anyone else who has done the same thing would see. You may get a few distinct routes to the provider, but once inside the ISPs network, it'll generally go down one route. The best you could know with that is a maximum range from the edge of the ISP network to the end user. Using the Google landmark server only gives you a range from the ISP to the Google server. It's less useful as knowing the ISP edge router. Of course, if you don't know where an ISP's edge is, then this would bring it into the right vicinity. With just network information, you can identify me within the correct US Census MSA, or making me effectively one of about 3 million people. I've had a little luck identifying users locations based on IP, but that uses a machine on the same provider, at a geographical edge and watching the latency. For example with one of the providers, the machine I can use is on the far East side of the MSA. Very low latency means they're nearby, within about 10 miles in any direction. Mid-range latency (for the purposes of this, (15ms to 30ms) puts them in the middle, or a 10 to 20 mile radius towards the West. 30ms to 50ms puts them on the far side of the area. That area is bounded by water on the West side, so you don't have anyone farther west. Over 50ms means they are farther than the West boundary, which either means North or South on the Western edge.
The network topology makes it pretty easy to visualize. I know generally (or sometimes specifically) where several routers are, and they use an extended star topology. Traceroutes are very useful there, since the end user may be doing a lot of traffic, but generally their first uplink connection won't be saturated.
I think that's why they said they could get the IP within 690 meters on average.
You have to figure in that Google does plenty of data mining. Consider what they know about so many users. They know the name, address, phone number, and a bunch of demographics on a lot of users.
Consider if Person A was to be located by Google. He comes from a particular subnet on a large ISP. They already know that recently active users on that subnet give a physical/mailing address at addresses within.5 kilometers of a point. They can also pretty easily judge the latency without a ping. For example, the time that a Google Adsense javascript was loaded, to the completion time of a contained element.
There are still plenty of "edge" cases, where a user utilizes Tor (again, identifiable), VPN to another site, wireless bridging, etc.
It's already obvious Google has a hint of where you are, if you are not blocking ads. The displayed ads are not only based on what you search for and the content of the page, but frequently give local vendors. For example, I just went to Google and searched for "Food". On the right side, it shows a little map with the center within about 10 miles of my location, and 7 named locations within 10 miles of me. The same applies for "tires" and "parts" (separate searches). I've been doing a good bit of automotive work on my own vehicles lately, and some has involved searches for vehicle specific things, so they're showing items related to my recent searches, although I specifically set my Google account to not track me. (Hmmm). Lately, I've been working on American cars, so it showed me primarily American automotive related things. When I've done work on foreign cars (such as Mercedes and BMW), the ads shift towards those types of vehicles for a couple weeks.
So their geolocation isn't completely dependent on network items, but somewhat based on your own Internet usage. (my Google login, the Google fingerprint of my computer, Google Analytics, Adsense, etc).
While we have plenty of edge cases, where we VPN, use Wireless bridges, etc, those are still the minority. It's just like, how many people clear their browser cache and cookies on a regular basis. Probably users here do frequently, but the total probably account for less than 1% of the general population online.
I'm pretty sure a camera would have a crush depth somewhere not as deep as the pressures they're expecting. If it weren't, you could wrap it in a ziplock bag, and drop it down on a rope. Well, a 37,000 foot long rope. Maybe that'll weigh a little bit.:)
Even video cameras need to be protected from the water.:) That thick glass (or glass like substance) would be the same, regardless if it were for your eyeballs, or for a camera. At least with a video camera, it could be recorded. "I saw a giant squid monster" means nothing if you say it. If you provide authenticated video, then it's fact (although likely to be debunked by "experts" all over the Internet).
I still have a thing against getting squished by thousands of pounds of pressure. I'd rather watch the screen from somewhere comfortable naturally around 1 atm.:)
Well, you can do it. Do you have the budget for it though?:)
Fly a specially built aircraft up to 60,000 feet. Fire first stage rockets on straight and level heading to accelerate to Mach 3. Drop first stage rockets and switch to ramjet engines. Accelerate to Mach 5, and climb to 80,000 feet. Drop surplus fuel tanks. Engage rockets, and change your vector to "up". You want 0 ground speed, and max climb. If you do "up" right, you have a safe vector back down. To return, maintain an approx 10 degree nose down attitude, relative to ground, with 0 ground speed. As the air density increases, your descent will slow, and when you gain aerodynamic effect again, you can fly home.
These are just "back of the napkin" numbers. Don't bother to work those specific numbers too much.
Oh, and if you do just happen to build one yourself, even if it wouldn't really work, you'll probably have the attention of plenty of agencies you've never heard of who will either liberate you of your design specs and hardware, or liberate you of your freedom. Calling NASA and saying "Hey, I need a used but serviceable space suit. Because I built a spaceship, and am planning a launch for next Thursday." will either get you laughed at, or picked up faster, either by an agency, or the funny farm.:)
I did a quick look with an online calculator, and that would be 16,055 psi.
According to This story, the deepest spot in the ocean is about 36,000 feet deep. But hey, if you're going to take a ride down to the bottom of the Marianas trench, I'd prefer to know that the sub is rated for more than it could possibly do. Maybe he's doing some advanced planning for global warming, so people can visit the ancient underwater city previously known as "New York".:) (ya, ya, I know, not enough water on the planet, ice or otherwise, blah, blah, blah.)
I do wonder about decompression. 24 hours may seem like a long time, but ascending from that kind of depth is bound to cause some pretty serious problems. I'd bet 16k psi is bound to squish the hull at least a bit.
Here at JWSmythe technical consulting, escort services, pawn, check cashing, and used cars, we can have the escort of your choice delivered to you for just $199 down, and easy payments of $99/mo. Just call us at 1-800-BIG-SCAM.:)
The terms you're groping for are whore, prostitute, call-girl, escort, and courtesan. Each level up level are generally more attractive, more discrete, and cost more. If you're looking to spend $5, you're at the whore level (i.e., $5 crack whore). Around $100 (depending on your menu selection) you'd be on the prostitute level. When you get up to escort, prepare to spend hundreds per hour. And if you're even considering the courtesan level, you'd better have references (other clients, and/or courtesans), and money to burn. Depending on the courtesan, you could spend thousands per hour (if they even do the hourly thing) to tens of thousands for just a weekend.
Inverse to the payment level is the number of clients they service. A "high class escort" may only have a dozen or so customers that they service per year, as they usually demand (and receive) repeat business. A courtesan may have a much smaller client base, but they find themselves well off, and frequently travel a lot with their customers. At that level, their customers frequently have them travel on business trips with them, to make the "right" impression that not only is the business man successful, but he has a beautiful girlfriend with him, despite the fact that when the trip is over, he may not see her again until the next time he needs to make the same appearance.
And yes, you're right. There are plenty of levels of coders. We're all whores. We render a service for the client who's willing to pay the right price. Remember that next time you get your paycheck, and when your "boss" tells you that he needs something you really don't want to do. But I sir, am an IT courtesan. I'm paid very well, and my client base is very small and select.
I never quite saw the goal of beating Microsoft in the desktop market. There will be those who choose to use it. There will be those who don't. Judging by the number of people still running on antiquated WinXP machines, it doesn't matter what shiny whiz-bang features Microsoft puts out, people are interested in exactly one thing on their desktop machines, to work. They want to browse web sites. They want to check their mail. A percentage (but far from majority) want to game.
From my observations, and statistics that I have seen, Linux (majority) and other *nix (minority) have held the server market. That's even despite the overhead of Microsoft servers (more servers are required to do the same task than Linux/*nix servers).
Some of us use Linux desktops. Some of us use Windows desktops. I use both. The Linux machine is to do work and casual stuff (browsing, email, etc). The Windows machine is to game and casual stuff (browsing, email, etc).
I'm working in a primarily Windows server environment right now. Well, it was 100% Windows before I walked in the door. It's now 25% Linux, 75% windows, with the goal of migrating away from the Windows machines in any production environment within a year. It's mostly reliability, but partly cost and management. If I upgrade 50 Windows servers, it's going to cost a small fortune, and part of my soul. If I upgrade those machines to Linux, the cost is trivial, and I've gained substantial advantages in device management, and security implementations that simply aren't available, or available at a huge cost. I've been able to "recycle" aging equipment that was recommended for retirement by past administrations, to be viable production servers with simply memory upgrades. The bean counters love that.
Will I get the desktops migrated? Doubtful. There are quite a few applications that they require. For example, accounting may need Quickbooks, Peachtree, or whatever Windows app they need. They may need a Windows based interface to talk to the banks. Even still, there is the fear factor of employees not knowing or understanding an unfamiliar platform, even though the limit of their knowledge in Windows is to click on icons on their desktop, and call for help if that icon isn't right in front of them.
From the management standpoint (and therefore beancounter territory), Linux desktops will run without fail, unless there is a hardware issue. Changes can be easily pushed out through a variety of methods. Windows desktops run without fail, unless they get some piece of malware, an update that breaks a driver or their application, they click the wrong link, there is a software incompatibility between two programs (still chasing several of those down). I can have a few well scripted automated tasks manage most issues in Linux, where I need helpdesk hands and hours of time per machine (if re-imaging the machine is not an option) for any (and virtually every) problem.
Pulling the plug on the internet is a crappy way to stay in power. It just doesn't work.
It may be a poor way to stay in power, but it is a proper military tactic. Disrupt their essential services (power, water, food) and communications, and then the enemy is blind and becomes desperate. If the enemy is an attacker, they are more likely to retreat. If the enemy is a defender, they will be more likely to surrender or suffer a total loss.
I've had a few opportunities at jobs, where they had "years of manhours" and a small fortune put into a project that barely worked. They've needed significant changes made, and neither I nor the original coding team could see it modified in the ways the bosses wanted quickly.
Instead, I've taken the existing project, reproduced the list of requirements, and added the new list of requirements, to give a full scope for a new project. Then I busted ass from mid-day Friday to before working hours on Monday, and rewrote the whole thing. So about 48 man hours (about 16 hours at a time). For some reason the upper level management have been upset when I've turned a project around in such a short time. It's usually preceeded by "it will be impossible to do what took the other team over a year", and then ignorant disbelief when they see it's done to the exactly requested specifications.
You are so right. Well, I don't know about all the facts you mentioned. I'm not going to bother research them, because I know enough other ways people get high. When I'm buying supplies to work on cars, some stores check my ID sometimes, because you have to be over 18 to buy many things. Freon, spray paint, various adhesives, compressed "air", OTC cold medicine, etc. There was something else I bought recently that I got carded for, and I can't remember right off what it was. I looked it up when I got home and yes, people were discussing how they could get high on it.
So they've done this completely backwards. They're just ensuring that you're over 18 (or 21) to buy the drug of last resort. There will be those who are buying it to abuse. Most people buy them to (oh my gosh) use for it's function. I bought a bunch of freon cans recently because it's getting warm here, and lots of friends (and friends of friends) are coming to me because their automotive air conditioners aren't working as well as they should. Am I getting high on it? Hell no. Some people would though. If I could buy opium or cocaine at the store, would I? Probably not.
Opium definitely has a medicinal value though, and opiates are probably the most prescribed painkillers. I hurt myself yesterday working on my car. Instead of taking an opiate, I ended up taking about 2g of Ibuprofen over the last 12 hours. I doubt my liver appreciates it, but I prefer not to be in so much pain. If I had any opiate based drugs available, I probably would have taken one or two. Since I didn't, I also didn't go on a quest for it. I could have gone to the hospital, and they likely would have prescribed some something stronger for it, but it wasn't worth the expense, trouble, and hazard to myself to be driven to the hospital, been in the way of people with real emergencies or be triaged to the bottom of the list, had my leg xrayed, prescribed pain killers, then get driven to the pharmacy, waited around, and then get home several hours later. Instead, I went for the OTC pain killer (ibuprofen), rest, ice, pain, and now I can continue work the next day.
And the sad part is now not only is the money being generated by outlaws and various three letter agencies to fund their little dirty wars, but keeping it illegal is doing MUCH more harm than good.
Well, the points you brought up did not pertain to the article, nor the comment I replied to. That's not to say that they aren't valid.
People (drug users) die at a horrible rate, due to taking drugs of unknown quality. For example, someone who has done cocaine for a while, and knows exactly the effects of what they can procure in their area, know how they react to it. They can do lines or rails, and "know their limit", just as anyone with experience drinking knows (hopefully) what their personal limits are.
Most casual and habitual drinkers know when to stop, because they know their alcohol of choice, and how much will damage them. For example, I know I can drink a pint of several different alcohols in an evening, all approximately 40 proof, and not be too drunk to talk, walk, and I will wake up in the morning without even a headache. That is, if someone who doesn't know their limit starts a bar fight and they decide to involve me. (head versus bar stool tends to have results in the morning).
Someone buying cocaine of any personal use quantity has no idea of what they're getting. It's pretty doubtful it's pure. Who knows how many times it's been cut down.
So, the casual cocaine user, who knows they can do 2 lines and will be fine, may be fine with 2 lines of "good stuff" (for their area), but if they were introduced to pure uncut cocaine, they may end up dead on the floor rather quickly.
That in itself is the best reason I can see for control and regulation of such drugs. It's obvious, people are going to do it. It's impossible to stop, even with the huge set of laws we currently have regarding drug possession and distribution. The same controls as alcohol and nicotine products should be in place. It'd be funny seeing 40 proof cocaine in the liquor store. Then again, I thought it was weird that liquor is sold in grocery stores in California, where all other US states I've been in required a separate store. Well, that and in Toronto there is only one liquor store chain, and it is state owned and operated. It took me a while to figure figure out why no stores sold alcohol (except direct served in bars and restaurants). When speaking with people there, many thought I was crazy when I said that in the US alcohol is sold in many retail establishments. I won't even go into the conversation of marijuana bars in Amsterdam.:) I'll just say that I didn't partake, so I was the only guy drinking while everyone else smoked themselves senseless. Damned tourists.:)
If you're going to run black ops mission with operations off the books, that budget has to come from somewhere. It's not to say that it's all bad, they get lots of things done, that wouldn't generally be approved of by the public, but are necessary evils.
It's up to 109? Interesting. So we're well past the "double" point now.:)
I wasn't saying by myself I account for anything resembling a substantial portion of that, but my site, and likely over 100,000 like it it do. I believe for most of the blogging softwares out there, they have plugins/addons that will do it for you, no coding required.
Slashdot Mirror
[/me contemplating a lava flow, and trying to hide in a subterranean bunker as "protection"]
Ya. good idea. Let me know how it goes.
Nah, that'd never happen...
Well... Unless you were one of the victims of Stargate Resistance. Stargate Worlds was well publicized, and then put on the same dev cycle as Duke Nukem Forever. When Stargate Resistance came out, the general noise said that if there was enough interest, it would help push development on Worlds.
I bought it soon after it came out. I found that for whatever reason, it would crash my computer. Nothing else would. Turned out it was some obscure bug in the video driver, and the current driver (and every upgrade from there) didn't work. Finally I found the solution, roll back to a much older driver, and the problem went away.
I got about 12 hours of gameplay in over a couple months. Then the announcement came out. The game was no more. $19.99 for a dozen or hours of gameplay? Great.
I really prefer knowing that I own a disk, and I can play all I want. If it has an online mode where I can play against other players, cool. But when the day comes that they don't support it any more, I can play offline as long as I want. And if my disk gets damaged or lost, ya, I can go download a copy and keep playing.
So, you're saying the camera is the size of a moon. ... wait ...
That's no moon ... It's a space station.
Ya, that left me wondering too. Maybe they're measuring the human perception of an object at say 30' or something. :)
I still don't get this insane concept of size that people keep trying to apply. as big as a grain of sand, car (VW bug or Lincoln Limo?), or as much information as the Library of Congress. {sigh}
It's not just on here, nor on poorly written news stories. I find people grasping at the idea of how to express size all the time. I always start with "Is it bigger than a bread box?" That seems to throw anyone under about 35, since they've usually never seen a bread box. It lets me have some fun though. "Picture a standard loaf of bread. 30cm x 15cm x 15cm. Now picture a box that would comfortably contain said loaf of bread without distorting its physical shape. They would typically be made from wood, but sometimes other materials are used. So for the sake of this argument, lets assume 2cm thickness on each side. Is the object you are trying to describe more than 34cm x 19cm x 19cm. Or approximately 7,650 cubic centimeters, or 0.27 cubic feet, or 65 gill."
For some reason, people just give up about half way through it. It's a great way to get them to stop asking stupid questions. :)
I've found the perfect way to survive. It's much like "How do you survive a shark attack?" and "How do you survive in the vacuum of space?" Don't put yourself in that situation.
Avoid being at 30,000 feet without the assistance of an aircraft.
Not too many folks have walked away, or even been carried away with a pulse, from a fall like that. Still, that would be an awful long 3 minutes to consider the options.
Hey, don't ruin a perfectly good conspiracy with facts.
But ya, I was a diver once upon a time, and a private pilot. The FAA stays on the side of caution, recommending not to fly after any diving, even shallow dives.
There is even a rule (or at least a strong suggestion). "12 hours from bottle to throttle". That relates to drinking. You're not suppose to fly (as a pilot) within 12 hours after drinking. That counts even if it's one beer or shot, which your body metabolizes in about an hour. It's safer for everyone to follow the rule, than to risk it. If there was an incident, and there is any evidence you were drinking, that will be used against you, no matter how sober you may have been.
I have a great alcohol tolerance. Well, annoyingly so as I have to drink more to feel anything while my friends are already staggering and slurring their words on a small fraction of what I've had. On my 3rd double, I feel something. People I know, if they drank 3 doubles, I'd be picking them up off the floor. Even still, I would not consider piloting an aircraft within 12 hours of my last drink, no matter how sober I may be after a couple hours.
And ya, my last hour or two at a club is spent drinking water or soda, so I'm fine when I walk out, and I can protect my drunk friends should a bar fight start. It's so much easier when the opponent is smashed. I can duck, bob, and block while they swear incoherently at me to hold still. :)
What do we need test monkeys for, when we've had a real human "volunteer".
Capt. Timothy Lancaster, British Airways Flight 5390, June 10, 1990. 23,000 feet, 500mph.
One of the cockpit windshields was improperly secured after a repair, and blew out. He was sucked out of the cabin, and his leg caught on the controls. The flight crew managed to grab his feet and hold on through landing, before he made a full egress.
He lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen. In addition, he suffered frostbite, bruising, abrasions, and fractures to his right arm, right wrist, and left thumb, and a dislocated shoulder.
All in all, survivable (and he did). Most of the injuries would have been due to being pulled out the hole, and being pounded against the aircraft.
If someone made a clean exit, not damaging themselves on the edges of the hole or other parts of the aircraft, it's a survivable event. They may or may not lose consciousness, depending on their breathing and personal fear level. i.e., us adrenaline junkies would probably remain calm-ish, and survive through the air.
The least likely part to survive is that unintended intersection between their direction of travel, and a solid mass. (i.e., straight down, and hitting the ground).
As the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy states about flying, "There is an art to flying, or rather a knack. Its knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, that provides the difficulties." I don't know of anyone who has managed the essential second part without artificial help.
Check the memo on the FBI site.
Mr. [redacted] informant was an investigator for the USAF. Not just some random civilian, or someone who thought they knew something.
There would have been no further investigation necessary, as the USAF was already investigating, and any further investigation would be done by them, and any information necessary would be reported back to the FBI.
Pretty much, another agency had control and jurisdiction on the case, and possession of all materials relating to the case. There was nothing for the FBI to do. What were their options? Demand access to now (as of the minute the military touched it) classified materials? Good luck there. I'm surprised the FBI was provided with as much detail as they were given.
If that were to happen today, it may be something more like "We found something, and are investigating." Or as was provided to the public "Nothing to see here. Just a weather balloon. Move on." Use tthe official USAF aircraft identification chart for identifying unknown flying objects.
What I was stating, which may have been misread, is that you or I do not get equal protection, or frequently any protection at all.
I don't agree that it should be this way. Everyone (even those who you do not believe to be human) deserve equal protection. In general, we should all provide that protection for ourselves.
I am a proud gun owner. I have also been trained in a few arts which help protect me. If I felt that I was in danger of harm or death, I would deal with it appropriately. It has happened. And no, I've luckily never needed to use lethal force to protect myself. Generally, I've been able to mitigate the situation, or remove myself from it entirely. You can't try to hurt me if I just get in my car and drive off. :) I figure if in the 30 years that I've known how to use weapons, and have had them available, if I've never used one once in self defense, I probably will never need to.
Unfortunately, I used the same logic for first aid training. I've trained in first aid and as a first responder so many times, I can't even give a valid number of training events. Most of the use of my training was to calm people in auto accidents, evaluate their condition, and give a good advisement to the 911 so the paramedics enroute would know what to expect, or taking care of myself or friends and family who had minor injuries. In the worst accidents that I've witnessed, the worst I've seen was superficial abrasions caused by the airbags.
I'd never needed to do CPR to save someone's life until just a few years ago. And yes, CPR on a real person to try to save their life is much different than countless trainings with dummies. And, no matter how many times you've been told "your technique is perfect", it won't make a bit of difference when you're a few minutes too late, no matter how hard you try.
So, we should all be self sufficient to the best of our abilities, and make sure those around us are just as self sufficient so if we can't defend ourselves, those around us can.
Actually, he's not.
Private citizens are generally unknown in the scope of national or international events. Unless there are special circumstances, if something, such as murder, happens to them, it may make the local paper for a day.
I can't seem to find the number of murders in the US in 2010. From Jan 1 2002 to Dec 31 2008, 102,210 people were murdered in the US. That averages out to 14,601 per year, or about 40 per day.
Public figures are known by at least a subset of the population. If even the rumor of murder starts circulating around a public figure, that becomes big news.
Consider the following. Most people in America are familiar with most or all of this list. They can recite off the circumstances for each one.
Murder suspects: OJ Simpson (1994), Gary Condit (2001), Robert Blake (2001), Phil Spector (2003).
Attempted murder victims: Ronald Regan (1981) Gabrielle Giffords (2011)
Murder victims: John F. Kennedy (1963), John Lennon (1980), Ennis Cosby (1997), Michael Jackson (2009)
Public figures account for a very small percentage of the overall population. Lets use the hugely inflated number of 0.1% (roughly 300,000 people). I listed 10 off the top of my head. Can you list a respective number of people who are not public figures, who would fall into the 3 categories (suspect, attempted victim, and victim) ? It's only 9,000. It should be easy. Remember, give the name and year of the incident. No, you won't. Most people can't name the 10 individuals on the other side of each crime listed above without looking them up.
It's in the best interest of law enforcement to ensure public figures do get better protection. Bad press for a department means pressures from law makers, which means heads will roll if they don't protect a public figure who reported a threat.
Try applying the same to you or I. If someone broke into your house tonight. Like, the guy who's circled the block 3 times so far, but doesn't live in the neighborhood. You did notice the car, right?
[waiting]
Now that you've looked out the window and see an unfamiliar car parked in the driveway down the street in front of a vacant house. And now you hear a noise from the back of your house. Was that a burglar breaking in? Call 911 and report it, quick! In 3 to 5 minutes if you live in a good area, or 10 to 30 minutes if you don't, an officer will knock on your door. If you were right, you'll already be dead. If you were wrong, you'll look dumb, and may be politely warned to not call unless there is a real crime being committed. If the first happens, you'll be a blurb on an inside page of the local paper, unless Charlie Manson himself did it.
You know, I totally misread the article the first time around, and saw it as saying that it was a Google project.
Triangulation doesn't really do much for you. You have to consider the routes used. I ran a side project at one job for a while, which mapped routes between our own points. Well, there is a full description here. In doing this, we had traceroutes run about once every 5 minutes.
I had more detailed reporting that wasn't shown in the portfolio.
In what the story is referencing, a report showing all nodes that we controlled, to a specific endpoint would be similar. What we'd see is what anyone else who has done the same thing would see. You may get a few distinct routes to the provider, but once inside the ISPs network, it'll generally go down one route. The best you could know with that is a maximum range from the edge of the ISP network to the end user. Using the Google landmark server only gives you a range from the ISP to the Google server. It's less useful as knowing the ISP edge router. Of course, if you don't know where an ISP's edge is, then this would bring it into the right vicinity. With just network information, you can identify me within the correct US Census MSA, or making me effectively one of about 3 million people. I've had a little luck identifying users locations based on IP, but that uses a machine on the same provider, at a geographical edge and watching the latency. For example with one of the providers, the machine I can use is on the far East side of the MSA. Very low latency means they're nearby, within about 10 miles in any direction. Mid-range latency (for the purposes of this, (15ms to 30ms) puts them in the middle, or a 10 to 20 mile radius towards the West. 30ms to 50ms puts them on the far side of the area. That area is bounded by water on the West side, so you don't have anyone farther west. Over 50ms means they are farther than the West boundary, which either means North or South on the Western edge.
The network topology makes it pretty easy to visualize. I know generally (or sometimes specifically) where several routers are, and they use an extended star topology. Traceroutes are very useful there, since the end user may be doing a lot of traffic, but generally their first uplink connection won't be saturated.
I think that's why they said they could get the IP within 690 meters on average.
You have to figure in that Google does plenty of data mining. Consider what they know about so many users. They know the name, address, phone number, and a bunch of demographics on a lot of users.
Consider if Person A was to be located by Google. He comes from a particular subnet on a large ISP. They already know that recently active users on that subnet give a physical/mailing address at addresses within .5 kilometers of a point. They can also pretty easily judge the latency without a ping. For example, the time that a Google Adsense javascript was loaded, to the completion time of a contained element.
There are still plenty of "edge" cases, where a user utilizes Tor (again, identifiable), VPN to another site, wireless bridging, etc.
It's already obvious Google has a hint of where you are, if you are not blocking ads. The displayed ads are not only based on what you search for and the content of the page, but frequently give local vendors. For example, I just went to Google and searched for "Food". On the right side, it shows a little map with the center within about 10 miles of my location, and 7 named locations within 10 miles of me. The same applies for "tires" and "parts" (separate searches). I've been doing a good bit of automotive work on my own vehicles lately, and some has involved searches for vehicle specific things, so they're showing items related to my recent searches, although I specifically set my Google account to not track me. (Hmmm). Lately, I've been working on American cars, so it showed me primarily American automotive related things. When I've done work on foreign cars (such as Mercedes and BMW), the ads shift towards those types of vehicles for a couple weeks.
So their geolocation isn't completely dependent on network items, but somewhat based on your own Internet usage. (my Google login, the Google fingerprint of my computer, Google Analytics, Adsense, etc).
While we have plenty of edge cases, where we VPN, use Wireless bridges, etc, those are still the minority. It's just like, how many people clear their browser cache and cookies on a regular basis. Probably users here do frequently, but the total probably account for less than 1% of the general population online.
I'm pretty sure a camera would have a crush depth somewhere not as deep as the pressures they're expecting. If it weren't, you could wrap it in a ziplock bag, and drop it down on a rope. Well, a 37,000 foot long rope. Maybe that'll weigh a little bit. :)
Even video cameras need to be protected from the water. :) That thick glass (or glass like substance) would be the same, regardless if it were for your eyeballs, or for a camera. At least with a video camera, it could be recorded. "I saw a giant squid monster" means nothing if you say it. If you provide authenticated video, then it's fact (although likely to be debunked by "experts" all over the Internet).
I still have a thing against getting squished by thousands of pounds of pressure. I'd rather watch the screen from somewhere comfortable naturally around 1 atm. :)
Well, you can do it. Do you have the budget for it though? :)
Fly a specially built aircraft up to 60,000 feet. Fire first stage rockets on straight and level heading to accelerate to Mach 3. Drop first stage rockets and switch to ramjet engines. Accelerate to Mach 5, and climb to 80,000 feet. Drop surplus fuel tanks. Engage rockets, and change your vector to "up". You want 0 ground speed, and max climb. If you do "up" right, you have a safe vector back down. To return, maintain an approx 10 degree nose down attitude, relative to ground, with 0 ground speed. As the air density increases, your descent will slow, and when you gain aerodynamic effect again, you can fly home.
These are just "back of the napkin" numbers. Don't bother to work those specific numbers too much.
Oh, and if you do just happen to build one yourself, even if it wouldn't really work, you'll probably have the attention of plenty of agencies you've never heard of who will either liberate you of your design specs and hardware, or liberate you of your freedom. Calling NASA and saying "Hey, I need a used but serviceable space suit. Because I built a spaceship, and am planning a launch for next Thursday." will either get you laughed at, or picked up faster, either by an agency, or the funny farm. :)
Really? 37,000 feet deep?
I did a quick look with an online calculator, and that would be 16,055 psi.
According to This story, the deepest spot in the ocean is about 36,000 feet deep. But hey, if you're going to take a ride down to the bottom of the Marianas trench, I'd prefer to know that the sub is rated for more than it could possibly do. Maybe he's doing some advanced planning for global warming, so people can visit the ancient underwater city previously known as "New York". :) (ya, ya, I know, not enough water on the planet, ice or otherwise, blah, blah, blah.)
I do wonder about decompression. 24 hours may seem like a long time, but ascending from that kind of depth is bound to cause some pretty serious problems. I'd bet 16k psi is bound to squish the hull at least a bit.
Here at JWSmythe technical consulting, escort services, pawn, check cashing, and used cars, we can have the escort of your choice delivered to you for just $199 down, and easy payments of $99/mo. Just call us at 1-800-BIG-SCAM. :)
The terms you're groping for are whore, prostitute, call-girl, escort, and courtesan. Each level up level are generally more attractive, more discrete, and cost more. If you're looking to spend $5, you're at the whore level (i.e., $5 crack whore). Around $100 (depending on your menu selection) you'd be on the prostitute level. When you get up to escort, prepare to spend hundreds per hour. And if you're even considering the courtesan level, you'd better have references (other clients, and/or courtesans), and money to burn. Depending on the courtesan, you could spend thousands per hour (if they even do the hourly thing) to tens of thousands for just a weekend.
Inverse to the payment level is the number of clients they service. A "high class escort" may only have a dozen or so customers that they service per year, as they usually demand (and receive) repeat business. A courtesan may have a much smaller client base, but they find themselves well off, and frequently travel a lot with their customers. At that level, their customers frequently have them travel on business trips with them, to make the "right" impression that not only is the business man successful, but he has a beautiful girlfriend with him, despite the fact that when the trip is over, he may not see her again until the next time he needs to make the same appearance.
And yes, you're right. There are plenty of levels of coders. We're all whores. We render a service for the client who's willing to pay the right price. Remember that next time you get your paycheck, and when your "boss" tells you that he needs something you really don't want to do. But I sir, am an IT courtesan. I'm paid very well, and my client base is very small and select.
I never quite saw the goal of beating Microsoft in the desktop market. There will be those who choose to use it. There will be those who don't. Judging by the number of people still running on antiquated WinXP machines, it doesn't matter what shiny whiz-bang features Microsoft puts out, people are interested in exactly one thing on their desktop machines, to work. They want to browse web sites. They want to check their mail. A percentage (but far from majority) want to game.
From my observations, and statistics that I have seen, Linux (majority) and other *nix (minority) have held the server market. That's even despite the overhead of Microsoft servers (more servers are required to do the same task than Linux/*nix servers).
Some of us use Linux desktops. Some of us use Windows desktops. I use both. The Linux machine is to do work and casual stuff (browsing, email, etc). The Windows machine is to game and casual stuff (browsing, email, etc).
I'm working in a primarily Windows server environment right now. Well, it was 100% Windows before I walked in the door. It's now 25% Linux, 75% windows, with the goal of migrating away from the Windows machines in any production environment within a year. It's mostly reliability, but partly cost and management. If I upgrade 50 Windows servers, it's going to cost a small fortune, and part of my soul. If I upgrade those machines to Linux, the cost is trivial, and I've gained substantial advantages in device management, and security implementations that simply aren't available, or available at a huge cost. I've been able to "recycle" aging equipment that was recommended for retirement by past administrations, to be viable production servers with simply memory upgrades. The bean counters love that.
Will I get the desktops migrated? Doubtful. There are quite a few applications that they require. For example, accounting may need Quickbooks, Peachtree, or whatever Windows app they need. They may need a Windows based interface to talk to the banks. Even still, there is the fear factor of employees not knowing or understanding an unfamiliar platform, even though the limit of their knowledge in Windows is to click on icons on their desktop, and call for help if that icon isn't right in front of them.
From the management standpoint (and therefore beancounter territory), Linux desktops will run without fail, unless there is a hardware issue. Changes can be easily pushed out through a variety of methods. Windows desktops run without fail, unless they get some piece of malware, an update that breaks a driver or their application, they click the wrong link, there is a software incompatibility between two programs (still chasing several of those down). I can have a few well scripted automated tasks manage most issues in Linux, where I need helpdesk hands and hours of time per machine (if re-imaging the machine is not an option) for any (and virtually every) problem.
It may be a poor way to stay in power, but it is a proper military tactic. Disrupt their essential services (power, water, food) and communications, and then the enemy is blind and becomes desperate. If the enemy is an attacker, they are more likely to retreat. If the enemy is a defender, they will be more likely to surrender or suffer a total loss.
I agree. Well. mostly.
I've had a few opportunities at jobs, where they had "years of manhours" and a small fortune put into a project that barely worked. They've needed significant changes made, and neither I nor the original coding team could see it modified in the ways the bosses wanted quickly.
Instead, I've taken the existing project, reproduced the list of requirements, and added the new list of requirements, to give a full scope for a new project. Then I busted ass from mid-day Friday to before working hours on Monday, and rewrote the whole thing. So about 48 man hours (about 16 hours at a time). For some reason the upper level management have been upset when I've turned a project around in such a short time. It's usually preceeded by "it will be impossible to do what took the other team over a year", and then ignorant disbelief when they see it's done to the exactly requested specifications.
You are so right. Well, I don't know about all the facts you mentioned. I'm not going to bother research them, because I know enough other ways people get high. When I'm buying supplies to work on cars, some stores check my ID sometimes, because you have to be over 18 to buy many things. Freon, spray paint, various adhesives, compressed "air", OTC cold medicine, etc. There was something else I bought recently that I got carded for, and I can't remember right off what it was. I looked it up when I got home and yes, people were discussing how they could get high on it.
So they've done this completely backwards. They're just ensuring that you're over 18 (or 21) to buy the drug of last resort. There will be those who are buying it to abuse. Most people buy them to (oh my gosh) use for it's function. I bought a bunch of freon cans recently because it's getting warm here, and lots of friends (and friends of friends) are coming to me because their automotive air conditioners aren't working as well as they should. Am I getting high on it? Hell no. Some people would though. If I could buy opium or cocaine at the store, would I? Probably not.
Opium definitely has a medicinal value though, and opiates are probably the most prescribed painkillers. I hurt myself yesterday working on my car. Instead of taking an opiate, I ended up taking about 2g of Ibuprofen over the last 12 hours. I doubt my liver appreciates it, but I prefer not to be in so much pain. If I had any opiate based drugs available, I probably would have taken one or two. Since I didn't, I also didn't go on a quest for it. I could have gone to the hospital, and they likely would have prescribed some something stronger for it, but it wasn't worth the expense, trouble, and hazard to myself to be driven to the hospital, been in the way of people with real emergencies or be triaged to the bottom of the list, had my leg xrayed, prescribed pain killers, then get driven to the pharmacy, waited around, and then get home several hours later. Instead, I went for the OTC pain killer (ibuprofen), rest, ice, pain, and now I can continue work the next day.
Well, the points you brought up did not pertain to the article, nor the comment I replied to. That's not to say that they aren't valid.
People (drug users) die at a horrible rate, due to taking drugs of unknown quality. For example, someone who has done cocaine for a while, and knows exactly the effects of what they can procure in their area, know how they react to it. They can do lines or rails, and "know their limit", just as anyone with experience drinking knows (hopefully) what their personal limits are.
Most casual and habitual drinkers know when to stop, because they know their alcohol of choice, and how much will damage them. For example, I know I can drink a pint of several different alcohols in an evening, all approximately 40 proof, and not be too drunk to talk, walk, and I will wake up in the morning without even a headache. That is, if someone who doesn't know their limit starts a bar fight and they decide to involve me. (head versus bar stool tends to have results in the morning).
Someone buying cocaine of any personal use quantity has no idea of what they're getting. It's pretty doubtful it's pure. Who knows how many times it's been cut down.
So, the casual cocaine user, who knows they can do 2 lines and will be fine, may be fine with 2 lines of "good stuff" (for their area), but if they were introduced to pure uncut cocaine, they may end up dead on the floor rather quickly.
That in itself is the best reason I can see for control and regulation of such drugs. It's obvious, people are going to do it. It's impossible to stop, even with the huge set of laws we currently have regarding drug possession and distribution. The same controls as alcohol and nicotine products should be in place. It'd be funny seeing 40 proof cocaine in the liquor store. Then again, I thought it was weird that liquor is sold in grocery stores in California, where all other US states I've been in required a separate store. Well, that and in Toronto there is only one liquor store chain, and it is state owned and operated. It took me a while to figure figure out why no stores sold alcohol (except direct served in bars and restaurants). When speaking with people there, many thought I was crazy when I said that in the US alcohol is sold in many retail establishments. I won't even go into the conversation of marijuana bars in Amsterdam. :) I'll just say that I didn't partake, so I was the only guy drinking while everyone else smoked themselves senseless. Damned tourists. :)
I think you have wrong three letter agency.
Google for some of the following, and you'll find the answers.
Cocaine One
Cocaine flight crashes in Yucatan (2007)
Cocaine flight (1990)
Herion, Opium, etc (1960's on)
And more (1950's on)
If you're going to run black ops mission with operations off the books, that budget has to come from somewhere. It's not to say that it's all bad, they get lots of things done, that wouldn't generally be approved of by the public, but are necessary evils.
It's up to 109? Interesting. So we're well past the "double" point now. :)
I wasn't saying by myself I account for anything resembling a substantial portion of that, but my site, and likely over 100,000 like it it do. I believe for most of the blogging softwares out there, they have plugins/addons that will do it for you, no coding required.