Oh yeah? Well...mine's bigger than yours. Take THAT!

I had to look twice to make sure this story wasn't from the The Onion:

"Russia claims its Electronic Warfare troops can detect and neutralize any target from a ship's system and radar to satellites, rendering ships, planes and missiles useless."  It went on to say, "You don't need expensive weapons to win.  Powerful radio-electronic jamming is enough."

You can read it for yourself here if you like.

While this story dovetails nicely with my previous post, it seems just a little too far fetched to be believable.  First of all, why would the Russians put this story out?  Why would they admit to us how advanced they were?  Unless....they had reason to believe that the US actually did have the technology to, for example, zap a North Korean missile at launch?  

Taking it a step further, do they actually think we really could somehow take down their satellites or aircraft or other systems, too?  Or is this story just their pathetic attempt to play "Anything you can do, we can do better"?

I'm wondering now if the hypothesis of my last post might have just received a (tiny) bit of credence?  Do the world's Superpowers really have some revolutionary new technology that will make our traditional weapons systems obsolete, or are the surviving Twilight Zone writers back at it again pulling our chain?

S  

Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, no wait...are those PIGS flying??

I love waking up in the morning so I can see what screw-ball political news popped up overnight.  Last week I saw a guy who used to be a billionaire Democrat, who raised millions of dollars for them, be crowned King of Republicans.  Then in his acceptance speech he talked about being the voice of the underdog, the working man, and underpaid women workers.  He says he'll bring back American jobs, and he's against a trade deal that [some say] would enable his fellow one-percenters to move jobs overseas and maximize their profits.  Wha....what? 

Then this week I've seen a woman who's been a lifelong liberal Democrat and is on the cusp of being her party's nominee for President, but who is today actually, quietly, the Darling of the Rich Establishment.  She publicly pledges to take down their Big Banks at the same time she gives speeches to them at a Quarter-$Mil a pop, and stuffs her campaign chest with their "donations".   *wink wink*   

She's been scorned for months by a crusty old Independent-Socialist Senator who fought tooth-and-nail with her, but now is having to beg....absolutely beg....his followers to not do anything to upset her status quo.  ('Cause, you know, socialists just loooove the status quo.)  And his loyal followers aren't buying it!  They're in the streets chanting, "Hell no D-N-C...we won't vote for Hill-ar-y."  Double Wha....what?

In my lifetime I've seen Republicans do a 180 and embrace positions that used to belong to Democrats, and vice versa.  The party of Lincoln today rarely gets any African-American votes, while the party of George Wallace gets millions.  Now I can't tell a Republicrat from a Demolican.  I'm so confused.

Are we watching some long-lost episode of The Twilight Zone?  Is the ghost of Rod Serling just jerking our chain? 


On a side note, are brownies supposed to have seeds in them?  ;)

S

When computers strike....

Here's an original hypothesis (mine) that could explain the disappearance of MH370 that has a less-than-a-needle-in-a-haystack chance of ever being proven:  Unknown hackers gained remote control of the jetliner, leaving the pilots powerless to control their craft.  The hackers disabled certain systems and steered the plane in a direction of their choosing.  

The pilots couldn't control turn, climb, descent, or even communicate their dilemma.  It was a beta test to see if they could actually do it.  Then the hackers crashed it into the most remote spot they could think of that would make recovery all but impossible.

It's technically possible.  As a demonstration some "good guy" hackers have shown they can get into the computers that control a car's functions and apply the brakes, turn the steering, shut off the power, etc.  (Read more about it via THIS link.)  With such reliance on onboard computers, cars, planes, power grids, even home appliances can be tapped into and subverted.  The possibilities are real and endless.

Can you imagine the hysteria that would paralyze us if we thought bad guys could take control of our transportation system and cause wrecks willy-nilly?  Transportation is critical to advanced civilizations.  The mobility of people, and more importantly commerce, defines modern society.  Lose that ability and we're screwed.

Of course, if investigators found this to be the cause of the MH370 crash they couldn't admit it, as just the knowledge such a thing was possible would paralyze us.  

"Live by computer, die by computer" as they say.  My yellow pad and #2 pencil are lookin' pretty good now, huh?  :)

S
aka The Technological Neanderthal

EDIT:  As I was composing this K came into the Great Room and said, "Oops.  I think I changed the channel on your TV by mistake.  Sorry."  It seems she was in the bedroom and, using a cell phone app, changed the channel on the wrong TV.    *cue The Twilight Zone music*

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

Remember the old Rod Serling series?  It's like I'm here, but I'm not experiencing the same things everyone else is.


Yesterday I'm driving 70 MPH down the Dallas North Tollway and the radio traffic report says the DNT is stop-and-go from Frisco.  Huh?  Then later the weather report said winds were kicking up all over the Metroplex at 20, gusting to 30.  I looked out and saw flags hanging limp, and trees without a single leaf fluttering.


About 6:45 yesterday evening our building fire alarm went off, so I put on my shoes, grabbed the dog, and went outside.  (False alarm.)  I was the only one there.  The parking garage was full, but all the blinds in all the apartments were closed.   Even the social events calendar they stick in all our doors were untouched, except mine.


What was that old classic movie where the guy goes outside to find he's the only one in Metropolis?  He's screaming, "Where is everybody?", but nobody answers.  That's what it felt like here yesterday evening.  And walking the dog this morning....nothing.  Not even any early traffic on the roads.


Maybe I should just go with it and enjoy the peace and quiet.  But in a neighborhood this dense, it's just weird.


S