Scary Stuff

By | May 11, 2006
5 Comments

Wait a minute. I just realized. Rather than leaving that terrorist toy helicopter story hanging there in the wrong entry, why not create a new entry to accomodate it? Plus, bonus scary stuff!


Flying robot attack ‘unstoppable’: experts

The Yamaha RMAX G1 unmanned helicopter equipped with the YACS-G system that uses a high-precision GPS unit to detect altitude and speed and control all rudders through a computer. Dimensions: 3 m rotor diameter.

It may sound like science fiction, but the prospect that suicide bombers and hijackers could be made redundant by flying robots is a real one, according to experts.

flyingrobot.jpg

Hmmm…what would flying robots do without experts?

Via Gravity Lens.

Stephen comments:

The current sophistication of radio controlled aircraft can be shocking for people who aren’t part of the hobby. There are hobbyists in this country that have aircraft that approach the speed of sound. Check out this video.

Take an aircraft with a five foot wingspan, equipped with a camera or a GPS guidance system, load it up with a bomb or chemical or biological agents and you’ve got a cheap terrorist cruise missle:

http://www.aardvark.co.nz/pjet/cruise.shtml

I don’t like big brother in my business any more than anyone else, but this hobby needs to be closely monitored or regulated. Government will eventually be involved – either now or after a major attack.

Stephen originally wrote about this back in 2002.

Relic of ancient asteroid found

A large fragment has been found of an asteroid that punched a 160km-wide (100 miles) hole in the Earth’s surface.

The beachball-sized fossil meteorite was drilled out of South Africa’s 145-million-year-old Morokweng crater.

Men Pay the Ultimate Price to Attract Women

While it is tough to be a woman, being a man can be downright deadly.

Women live longer than men. And now scientists suggest a simple Darwinian reason: Competing for a mate can wear a guy out or get him killed.

In this scheme of natural selection, evolution shapes traits that help the best genes survive, sometimes to the detriment of individuals.

Human males don’t always have to wrestle to get a woman these days, but the pressure to succeed sexually hasn’t changed much, the researchers argue. Only the methods have been revised.

Hmmmm…as a happily married guy, I’ll refrain from wondering whether it’s getting a mate that shortens life or maybe some of the stuff that happens afterwards?

Oh, wait. That’s right…married men live longer.

  • http://www.liftport.com bdunbar

    I don’t like big brother in my business any more than anyone else, but this hobby needs to be closely monitored or regulated. Government will eventually be involved – either now or after a major attack.

    Hunh. I can carry at leat 100 pounds on my back, I’m capable of piloting a car at speeds in excess of 100 MPH, I’m capable of learning to pilot a variety of machines at lethel speeds, I’m agile and I adapt well to new conditions.

    I don’t like big brother in my business any more than anyone else, but people need to be closely monitored or regulated. Government will eventually be involved – either now or after a major attack.

    Please. It’s not the hobby that is the problem it is, oh, I dunno, the people who wish to kill others and the sub-culture that nurtures them? Just a thought.

  • Phil Bowermaster

    The only way the government can protect against that sub-culture — in this context — is to watch whether members of it take a sudden interest in model aircraft. And the only way to do that is to pay attention to who’s participating in the hobby.

    Also, the demographic is probably broader than you might initially think. There will be equal concern about both Zacharias Moussaoui and Timothy McVeigh types taking it up.

    Having said this, that kind of government scrutiny is a crummy burden on the legitimate hobbyist. I used to work with a woman who was a hydroponics enthusiast. Grew tomatoes in her basement. She got no end of grief from the cops because they were certain that “no one uses that stuff except to grow pot.”

  • https://www.blog.speculist.com Stephen Gordon

    Bdunbar:

    No argument here against the idea that terrorists and their sub-culture are the problem. The fight was taken to them. But we also locked and reinforced cockpit doors. To win you play offense AND defense.

    Phil:

    Yeah, the good guys always pay for the misdeeds of a few. Try to buy Sudafed lately? It’s kept behind the counter now because of the meth heads. I bet if you tried to buy more than one box they’d give you a hassle.

    I’m sure there’s some legitimate fire arms enthusiasts would love to be able to buy and sell machine guns freely, but it’s probably better that they can’t.

    And if someone already on a terrorist watch list takes a sudden interest in jet powered RC planes with 9 foot wingspans, perhaps the Feds might want to take a look.

    In fact, I have to wonder how much less fun the RC hobby would be if it were limited to aircraft under a certain size.

    - Stephen

  • http://www.kirigin.com ivankirigin

    The solution to speech you don’t like is more free speech.

    Similarly, the solution to terrorist UAVs is … more UAVs. LOTS more. Everywhere.

    Remeber ‘Diamond Age’? Eventually we want a virtual wall of micro-uavs that need to be penetrated to enter secure areas.

  • MikeD

    I think I’m less terrorized by RC helicopters equipped with explosives and GPS than by more common objects potentially exploding. If a terrorist were to rig up a watermelon in a produce department it would be much more insidious because nobody would expect it. If we do start to expect that kind of thing, we will be living in constant fear of everyday life. That (imo) is far worse psychological terrorism than an assault from high-priced gadgetry.