* Posts by Florida1920

1243 publicly visible posts • joined 17 Jan 2011

Canadian sniper makes kill shot at distance of 3.5 KILOMETRES

Florida1920

Not necessarily. There was an earlier record, again by a Canadian IIRC

Bloody Captcha made it impossible to correct this in time. The shooter I referred to was British sniper Craig Harrison.

In November 2009, Harrison consecutively struck two Taliban machine gunners south of Musa Qala in Helmand Province in Afghanistan at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd) using a L115A3 Long Range Rifle. In a BBC interview, Harrison reported it took about nine shots for him and his spotter to range the target.

Florida1920

Wouldn't the target therefore know that he was under fire, and consequently be unlikely to hold still in an exposed location for nearly 10 seconds?

Not necessarily. There was an earlier record, again by a Canadian IIRC, where the shooter was trying to hit a Taliban carrying a rocket launcher. Although bullets were striking around the target, he apparently never thought they'd hit him. And probably never knew they did.

There's an earlier anecdote, about Union General John Sedgwick. From Wikipedia:

Sedgwick fell at the beginning of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, on May 9, 1864. His corps was probing skirmish lines ahead of the left flank of Confederate defenses and he was directing artillery placements. Confederate sharpshooters were about 1,000 yards (900 m) away, and their shots caused members of his staff and artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick strode around in the open and was quoted as saying, "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line?" Although ashamed, his men continued to flinch and he said, "Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."[5] Reports that he never finished the sentence are apocryphal, although the line was among his last words.[6] He was shot moments later under the left eye and fell down dead.

Charles McMoran Wilson, 1st Baron Moran, wrote a book titled "Anatomy of Courage," based on his experiences during the First World War. In it, he relates seeing a British officer walking in the open between trenches, while enemy machine-gun bullets were spattering all around. Walking, not running.

And finally, there's a famous quote attributed to none other than Winston Churchill: "Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." (http://desertonfire.blogspot.com/2009/07/source-of-famous-churchill-quote.html)

Florida1920

Hans beat me to it. If the trajectory was flat and the bullet maintained its muzzle velocity over the distance, the time in flight would be 3.75 sec. The article was clear about the trajectory, the need for the shooter to "hold over," so it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to understand the longer flight time.

It must have been difficult to see the impact points of the sighting shots, so there must have been a lot of "Kentucky Ottawa windage" involved in making the shot. Translation: Skill.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Kentucky_windage

IBM's contractor crackdown continues: Survivors refusing pay cut have hours reduced

Florida1920
WTF?

team leaders are offered a new tool

I'm sure they and their subordinates already know where to find the tools.

Software 'submarine' surfaces data protection for the Nutanix hypervisor crowd

Florida1920

We all live in a software submarine

Never gonna make it to Top of the Charts.

FOIA documents show the Kafkaesque state of US mass surveillance

Florida1920

Re: To Constitute or not to Constitute...

You cannot disagree that it is the sociopath that thrive in the capitalist model, at least not while keeping a straight face.

Yessir, the leaders of the Soviet Union, the former Eastern Bloc, mainland China, North Korea and "revolutionary" Cuba, were and are all well-adjusted individuals. Not a sociopath or psychopath in the bunch.

Teen girl who texted boyfriend to kill himself guilty of manslaughter

Florida1920

Re: Stupid but?

what good is twenty years in jail going to do?

No guarantee she'll get 20 years. She could get a suspended sentence and probation. The next nutcase that comes along may be discouraged from doing the same thing if s/he thinks it will lead to prison. This woman is clearly messed up. There's always a chance she'll get some help if incarcerated. Being allowed to walk free is a license to kill.

Marissa! Mayer! out! as! Yahoo!-Verizon! closes!

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Quote

"[E]nd of an era error for Yahoo! "

"I'm brimming with nostalgia, gratitude, and optimism $209 million I won't be sharing with the 2000 brilliant people getting sacked."

FTFY

We're not saying we're living in a simulation but someone's simulated the universe in a computer

Florida1920

Re: That is not science..just a waste of time and resources!

@Joerg

Your rational-thinking simulation needs work.

Yahoo! shareholders! sign! off! sale! to! Verizon!, which! sharpens! axe!

Florida1920

Loyalty

Yahoo! deserves to disappear, but the 2,000 employees about to be sacked are getting screwed. As usual in business nowadays. And execs will get bonuses for "cutting costs." The puter leat are wise to be making plans for what may come.

Donald Trumped: Comey says Prez is a liar – and admits he's a leaker

Florida1920

"it is now established"

That Atty. Kasowitz has sold his soul. Save your money, Marc. Satan Your employer has a long history of not paying his debts, and throwing "loyal" employees under the bus.

HPE to staff: 'We are permanently clipping your costs'

Florida1920

Can't travel / Can't work at home

Does.Not.Compute.

Gordon Ramsay's father-in-law gets six months for hacking sweary super-chef's computer

Florida1920
Joke

The motive

They only wanted to see if Gordon was cooking the books.

Axed from IBM for remote working? Don't go crying to HPE

Florida1920

Not only Linux

world-wide collaboration

The list is almost endless. Can't understand why, when companies are failing, managers always blame the workers. And guess which one gets the big payoff when shown the door. Didn't Marissa Mayer impose the same rules at Yahoo! ?

The internet may well be the root cause of today's problems… but not in the way you think

Florida1920
Pint

@Kieren McCarthy

Well said.

Class clowns literally classless: Harvard axes meme-flinging morons

Florida1920

Re: It's called "drawing the line"

In my opinion this is a collosal overreaction

If we ignore 'pinata' jokes, offensive behavior becomes normalized, making it easier to take the next step, and the next, etc. Society, and the institutions within it, must draw a line. Or you wind up with a POTUS who bragged about being allowed (in his privileged mind) to sexually abuse women, and then goes on to.... oh, read the press!

Florida1920

It's called "drawing the line"

If we don't set limits and examples for privileged young people, we'll keep getting this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Couch

IBM: ALL travel must be approved now, and shut up about the copter

Florida1920
Holmes

How to fail in business

Sales are down? Reduce customer service. Yeah, that will work.

UK PM May's response to London terror attack: Time to 'regulate' internet companies

Florida1920
Facepalm

And then there's Trump

London is tragically attacked by losers, and the President of the United States attacks the mayor again and again and again. Make America Great Again by disrespecting our allies. Oi, cowardly terrorists: Back off. Our government leaders are quite capable of ruining our countries. They don't need your help.

LIGO physicists eyeball a new gravitational wave

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Megaphone

Why is this story in 'Security' ???

That wave is headed our way! R-r-r-r-u-n!

Google to give 6 months' warning for 2018 Chrome adblockalypse – report

Florida1920
Childcatcher

Google isn't thinking about users

This initiative isn't about making the Web more palatable to users. It's a way to facilitate advertisers circumventing existing ad-blocking add-ons. Ad blocking must be working, as Google is apparently losing enough revenue to set people to work on this new "feature." This is one I personally don't need, and will deactivate it if I continue to use Chrome.

Elon to dump Trump over climate bump

Florida1920

Re: Coal stocks fell today

Coal is not exactly a wanted commodity these days

I'm not taking the side of coal, but in my travels in the American West, I have seen huge train after huge train, with up to four locomotives, hauling coal east from Wyoming. As an Easterner, I've never seen trains that long. I've seen several big coal mines out here, too. It's been a real eye-opener for this "East Coast Liberal." The mines, however, are all open pits, not underground tunnels. You need a few people to drive heavy equipment and set off explosives, not anywhere near the number of miners you'd need to extract half as much coal from underground. The idea that expanding coal extraction will significantly increase employment in the long term is a pipe dream in my opinion. By withdrawing from the Paris accord, Trump is only playing to his base and his rich pals.

Florida1920

Re: Whack-a do lobby

Trump will probably be swayed by the crazy religious groups who think trashing the planet is OK.

One in seven Americans think it is definitely (7%) or probably (9%) true that “God controls the climate, therefore people can’t be causing global warming.”

http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warming-god-end-times/

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) told constituents last week that he believes if climate change is a real problem, God can fix it.

“I believe there’s climate change,” Walberg said at a town hall last Friday in Coldwater, Mich., according to the Huffington Post, which obtained video of the exchange.

“I believe there’s been climate change since the beginning of time. I think there are cycles. Do I think that man has some impact? Yeah, of course. Can man change the entire universe? No.

“Why do I believe that? Well, as a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/335886-gop-rep-on-climate-change-god-will-take-care-of-it

Scott Pruitt, Trump's pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency: “There are scientists that agree, there are scientists that don’t agree, to the extent of man’s contribution and whether it is even harmful that this point. We do not know if the trajectory is on an unsustainable course. Nor do we know the extent by which the burning of fossil fuels, and man’s contribution to that, is making it far worse than it is.”

Scientists do not disagree whether climate change is happening, nor do they disagree about the main cause. An overwhelming majority of currently publishing climate scientists — 97 percent — say climate change is real and is primarily driven by human activities, the most salient being the burning of fossil fuels. That’s about the same level of consensus that the medical community has about the link between cigarettes and lung cancer.

https://thinkprogress.org/scott-pruitt-epa-radio-show-comments-c88820974ce7?gi=a9bf2f263b40

Florida1920

Re: Surprised?

People still defend windfarms

I've been touring the American West for 4-1/2 months. Out here there are wind farms that stretch from horizon to horizon. Their locations make them hazardous to migrating birds, to which I object. But I find it hard to believe corporations would invest the billions of dollars these farms cost if they weren't efficient. Even states like Wyoming and North Dakota, major coal suppliers, have massive wind farms. Seems to me that energy companies know the coal isn't going to last forever. Oh, and I've seen huge solar installations, too. Tree huggers clearly aren't the only ones defending alternative energy sources.

Sons of IoT: Bikers hack Jeeps in auto theft spree

Florida1920

Re: Alarms

On most "modern" cars (15 years +) which are designed to be used with a remote key fob for unlocking, the alarm will be activated if you use the mechanical key to unlock the doors.

I have a 2001 Mercury that I've owned since new. Until today I never tried to open the doors with the mechanical key. It has an alarm system. After reading your comment I went out and opened the door with the key. The alarm did not sound.

Trident nuke subs are hackable, thunders Wikipedia-based report

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Big Brother

Call me Ishmael

You don't need to hack your adversary's weapons systems when you can hack and subvert their political process. Putin didn't need an ICBM to enthrone Cheeto Quisling.

NORK spy agency blamed for Bangladesh cyberheist, Sony Pictures hack

Florida1920

Re: Still not convinced

Hopefully Fat Boy Kim will choke on his quadruple hamburger and ultra large fires

If he keeps messing with other countries' finances, he may indeed be choking on ultra-large fires. The U.S. is not the only threat to his continued existence.

German robo-pastor preaches the GNU Testament

Florida1920
Angel

In my life

Nothing will ever replace the FSM, pasta be unto him!

BA's 'global IT system failure' was due to 'power surge'

Florida1920
Holmes

"fixed by local resources"

Translation: Two people. One to talk to India on the phone, the other to apply the fixes.

Florida1920

Re: Maintain your generators

Dipsticks are your friend.

Sounds more like dipsticks were in charge of the data center.

IBM asks contractors to take a pay cut

Florida1920
Thumb Down

Re: Make hay when the sun shines.

If you don't like it then go somewhere else, I did as an employee and then as a contractor for IBM.

Personally, I reject the idea that working for a living requires entering a dog-eat-dog world.

Florida1920

Deja vu

In early 1970 I was a contractor at IBM's new chip foundry in East Fishkill, New York (now owned by Abu Dhabi-based GlobalFoundries -- now that's outsourcing). The state even built an exit from Interstate 84, "Lime Kiln Road," to serve the plant, which was huge and employed thousands of people. There were so many contractors on six-month gigs at that plant and other IBM facilities in the county, that the standard apartment lease was for six months. Around April or May 1970, IBM pulled the plug on contractors, putting thousands of people out of work. Most of them (I'd already quit to move down to NYC so I could be laid off there later in the year) worked through agencies, so the ripple effect was devastating to the area.

I spent about 12 years of my career working as a contractor. There are no "permanent" jobs in high tech anymore, but using contractors only benefits the company. The downstream economic perils are incalculable. Almost 50 years later, I'm not surprised to read that IBM is doing it again. Maximizing profit by periodically throwing workers over the side is what we've come to expect from our economic model.

Comcast accused of siccing lawyers on net neutrality foe

Florida1920
Flame

No competition

The only "broadband" Internet options where I live are Comcast and whatever name ATT DSL goes by. Comcast offers the better bandwidth options by far, so there isn't any true competition. Comcast prices their service accordingly.

In situations like this, citizens would like government to oversee vital services like Internet access, to ensure quality service without eye-watering prices unaffordable to many families. Yeah, and people in Hell would like ice water.

America's drone owner database grounded: FAA rules blown out of sky

Florida1920

Re: They won't give refunds.

Not sure about that. FCC tried charging a fee for new or renewal amateur radio licenses several years ago, but was overruled, and refunded the payments. A ham still has to pay for a new or renewed vanity call sign. If FAA broke the law, I don't see how they can get out of having to refund the registration fees, regardless of who's in the White House.

Robot lands a 737 by hand, on a dare from DARPA

Florida1920

Re: Huh?

Sorry, in a fly-by-wire plane, I simply don't understand what's the advantage to have a robotic arm moving the controls, rather than a system directly interfacing with the plane's electronics.
It's those darn robot unions.

Beaten passenger, check. Dead giant rabbit, check. Now United loses cockpit door codes

Florida1920

Re: I rather suspect

Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if you walked up to the door and just said "Alexa, open the door" ?

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

Comey was loathed by the left, reviled by the right – must have been doing something right

Florida1920

Comey: loathed by the left, reviled by the right

warped by the rain, driven by the snow ....

But he was willin' (to follow up) and that's what got him fired. He followed up on Clinton, found nothing indictable, and said so. Sure looks like Trump thought he wouldn't get off so easily.

Florida1920

To live inside the law

You must be honest. Sorry for the misquote, Bob.

The major reason FBI can't have drug users is, using illegal drugs is a Federal offense, even if some states allow recreational use of marijuana. An FBI employee who uses illegal drugs is a perfect target for blackmail, and there is no end of drug dealers who'd love to get an FBI employee in their pocket. J. Edgar Hoover was paranoid, but insisting his agents be squeaky clean was smart.

FBI might consider using contractors, but after seeing how that worked out for NSA, they're probably leery of taking that step.

Mozilla to Thunderbird: You can stay here and we may give you cash, but as a couple, it's over

Florida1920

Re: And now for something completely different....

Pegasus anyone?

Really?

Pegasus Mail for Windows, 32-bit version - system requirements

Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP or Vista; we believe Windows 7 poses no problems, although we have not yet done extensive testing on that platform.

Florida1920

Re: It's the 21st Century: Outside of Work, Email is dead

"People use Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp &c."

"I'm 58 years old and never email anyone, outside of work."

Sorry to hear that. I don't use Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp &c. Period. It's not a "youth thing," it's simple common sense. No one needs Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp. They're only over-hyped commercial solutions in search of a problem.

Florida1920
Terminator

FossaMail

Has been thrown overboard too. We're being pushed to all-browser all-the-time because a large percentage of the user base would rather click a URL than learn to configure an email client. Clickety-click, and Putin owns your life. People in general are lazy and underinformed. The best and worst thing that ever happened to the Internet is that it got popular.

America's mystery X-37B space drone lands after two years in orbit

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Headmaster

Re: it is unlikely that it carries any weapons... cough... cough...

Maybe BB guns aren't rifled? There's no point if the projectile is spherical.

Sure there is. Early muzzle-loaded rifles fired spherical lead balls much more accurately than non-rifled muskets.

'Crazy bad' bug in Microsoft's Windows malware scanner can be used to install malware

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Paris Hilton

Use Windows 10 for the best protection

From whom?

Don't click that Google Docs link! Gmail hijack mail spreads like wildfire

Florida1920

Re: Meh!

(The angel guy is off at the pub and the devil guy got bored and is my internal paranoid voice... )

As you've seen, just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Another career suicide as reporter leaves The Register for broadcaster

Florida1920

What is "Sky"?

Oh, I see. Looks like a subscription thing. Well, good luck!

'I feel violated': Engineer who pointed out traffic signals flaw fined for 'unlicensed engineering'

Florida1920

Oregon is weird

You can't pump your own gas in Oregon, it must be pumped by an attendant. Except between certain hours at gas stations a certain distance from populated areas civilization. The attendants don't clean your windshield or check your oil, and they hold down the lever 'til the gas runs down your fender, trying to get your purchase up to the next full dollar. New Jersey has the same stupid law, but they elected Chris ("Donuts") Christie, so what can you expect?

China launches aircraft carrier the length of 13.6 brontosauruses

Florida1920

ski-jump deck

But no Olympic-size pool?

FCC's Pai: I am going to kill net neutrality in US

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FAIL

Words will hurt you

Trump's previous comments about immigration have helped derail his executive orders to regulate it. Pai's invocation of unrelated subjects, like preventing deranged demagogues from speaking on campus, may have the same result, when his attempt to rewrite history hits the courts. Which it surely will. This administration regime keeps acting like a dictatorship, and keeps getting slapped down. Fortunately, it's unlikely they'll endure past 2020.

Alert: If you're running SquirrelMail, Sendmail... why? And oh yeah, remote code vuln found

Florida1920
Pint

Re: Looks like it's fixed since the article published

When you see El Vulture circling, you'd better look alive!

CompSci boffins find Reddit is ideal source for sarcasm database

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Facepalm

able to understand when a person is being sarcastic

Most humans don't get sarcasm!