* Posts by Wzrd1

2260 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Dec 2012

Scientists skeptical of Lockheed Martin's truck-sized fusion reactor breakthrough boast

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: To the skeptics...

Lockheed-Martin hasn't asked for external finances since the Almighty was young.

That is already a warning.

A second warning is their diagram, where anything that does not fuse ends up slamming into the containment vessel.

A third warning was no mention of mitigation neutron embrittlement.

Finally, they're talking magic. Useful energy from something the size of a jet engine. OK, nice source, the collateral equipment necessary to make the damned thing work *and* cool and make work is a hell of a lot bigger.

Now, add in the fact that deuterium isn't cheap by far and tritium is royally expensive...

Finally, despite what our intrepid author has said, fusion is trivial to achieve. People all over this planet, even on Old Blighty have produced fusion devices. Neutron generators are available for sale, the more hazardous requiring various regulatory hurdles to overcome. The overwhelming majority of those are fusion units. Every hydrogen bomb on the planet and most fission bombs today have a neutron source that is a fusion unit.

But, for those, energy input is much higher than the output.

The former examples are curiosities, the latter, neutron sources.

Sorry folks, I call bullshit.

If asked to invest, I'd invest in cold fusion. Just for the comedic results.*

*I have many other objections, some are based upon things covered under various NDA's, some of which could put me in prison. So, no. I'll not discuss some other objections. Anyone who knows collegiate physics will know where I'm thinking, mostly.

Selfmite on STEROIDS: Pumped-up SMS worm is BACK...

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Over 100 compromised devices?

"From the news attention on that you'd think it was the Spanish Flu pandemic all over again!"

But, it is!

When viewed through the wrong end of the telescope.

Malware analysts tell crooks to shape up and write decent code

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Who's more evil - the hackers or these analysts?

Well, one of two things will happen.

Either their prediction will be true and nothing will be done to improve the coding, which is likely. After all, don't fix it if it's working and hence, isn't broken.

Or, they'll be listened to by the APT leadership and efforts will be down for some time as the coders learn how to properly code. Then, the folks analyzing the code will be commanding even more of a premium in their pay and hence, to company profits in elevated pricing, just to compensate for the increased quality.

From my own personal experience with APT's, I suspect it'll be the former.

White LED lies: It's great, but Nobel physics prize-winning great?

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Let's put it this way

When LED bulbs became available for US $8.00, I snapped a few up to test them out.

I've since bought a bag of them an replace my aging incandescent bulbs with them, as well as my CFL bulbs.

While the energy savings seems a pittance of 10 watts vs 18 watts, the light is whiter, appears brighter and is a *lot* cooler running than the CFL bulbs. That heat adds up in my house, as I need more light now than I did in my younger days.

-There is one thing that sucks more than getting older. Not living long enough to be getting older.

Me

Take CTRL! Shallow minds ponder the DEEP spectre of DARK CACHE

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: CTRL-C in Healthcare computing

Leave it to Microsoft to design an operating system so dense and uncontrollable that one has to issue a non-maskable interrupt to get its attention.

As for the clear your cache, that gets me every time. For heaven's sake, the bloody proxy doesn't need to have its cache cleared each and every time, the browser and especially, the damnable chimpanzee of a coder should have it coded in.

meta has been around for a rather long time now.

Like <meta http-equiv="Expires" content="-1" /> or <meta http-equiv="cache-control" content="no-cache" />.

I keep getting the "clear your cache" when dealing with shitrix.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: De Bios, she is incompatible..

Yeah, I've had similar ones to that. I typically can find the excrement in the statement and gladly shovel it back, reminding the idiot that not supporting a paid support product is a fundamental breach of contract.

I've worked my way around the industry, from humping cables like the best cabling monkeys around (trust me, one has to have monkey capabilities in some industrial office ceilings), to desktop support, application support, some development, SA, NA, BOFH and now IA.

I've had snake oil salesmen aplenty come to call, I have plenty more room in the local bog, should any more come to call. ;)

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: If in doubt, right-click.

That's twice better than an operating system that was originally developed with only one mouse button.

Yet, amazingly, it became rather popular.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: A splinter group...

I gladly make eye contact with them. If they desire to discuss the matter in depth, they must meet me later in my office.

Which is surrounded by a moat with laser wielding sharks.

Assuming that they don't use the elevator, which was coded to deliver them straight into the furnace.

Red Bull does NOT give you wings, $13.5m lawsuit says so

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Really?

Palpitations are not uncommon with heavy caffeine consumption.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Really?

I slightly disagree.

The adverts should either be fully truthful and verifiable or so outlandish (such as the camel hump day commercial) as to only be believed by the village idiot.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Red Bull gives you ISIS

This American, actually, citizen of the United States of America, as I don't desire to offer guilt by association of the same continent to Mexico and Canada, of our idiocy think that he's seen even more energy drinks used in network operation centers.

After all, it's a well established fact of nature that networks to not actually operate by electrons, they operate by caffeine. Network performance is logarithmically related to the caffeine consumption of the engineering staff, hence my network security operations center has its own Starbucks machine and K-cup machines (I use a better brand of coffee, as I rather despise Starbucks rubbish).

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Really?

The simple reality of it is, in the US, anyone can sue over damned near anything whatsoever. It can be a weighty matter, but most frequently, it's a frivolous legal action that costs more to defend against than simply paying out a few million.

Many years ago, I was on a jury in a civil case. A widow was continuing the legal action on behalf of her decedent husband, who had died of lung cancer.

He was a three pack a day smoker, the jury was selected with quite a few smokers, including myself.

After a week of testimony, with suppression of emphysema being excluded because one physician called it the more generic COPD in his report, his chest x-rays were presented. Yeah, it was emphysema, secondary to smoking.

But of course, several women in the jury wanted to take care of the widow and one waitress insisted that the product companies that were claimed to have caused his lung cancer knew about the risk of their product causing cancer 150 years ago.

The product was asbestos.

So, I told a very, very nasty story about the sexual exploits of soldiers on leave, which drove the jury to find quickly, just to depart.

So, the final settlement was $5 million dollars, with 60000 for the husband and the rest for his widow.

When unofficially polled as to why that number was tendered, I explained how I arrived at the number that the jury, erm, accepted. I figured it was less than you were being paid to defend this case.

One attorney for the defense broke into open laughter and agreed.

Meanwhile, the widow's attorney received 40%, with the attorney getting 60%.

That was a long, lousy pay week. Didn't make enough in jury pay to cover the trolley (tram for you, as I recall) and lunch. Fortunately, the company I worked for made up the difference between the laughable insult of jury duty pay and my true pay. That was good, as I made more per hour than the jury pay was for an entire day by a great deal.

'MYSTERIOUS PYRAMID STRUCTURE' found on COMET beyond Mars: Landing planned

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Weathering

Or ice melting and re-freezing pushed it to the surface, just as stones do in farmers fields.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: A large rock that hit the comet - not.

Accretion didn't have to end 4.5 billion years ago. Stray rocks in a similar orbit could come in at low V enough to spiral in.

'A motivated, funded, skilled hacker will always get in' – Schneier

Wzrd1 Silver badge

The ironic part is, he said this while introducing a new product.

One that an FNG (F**ing New Guy) can fardle into the vastness of imagination.

Meanwhile, I've said the very same thing, for the past 20+ years.

An Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) can and *will* enter any enterprise that it desires to enter.

Which is why governments have segregated networks for various security levels.

They're well funded, experienced and know the various platforms and software platforms. It's their job to do so.

One can only hope to delay the intrusion before information is exfiltrated.

The real problem is, it's expensive to do so.

Expensive enough in terms of inconvenience to operations, as well as financial considerations.

Find a solution to that problem, you'll be rich beyond royalty wealth. Good luck finding that magical balance. I haven't, Bruce hasn't. Even smarter people haven't.

So, it's all down to delaying the SOB and noticing entry, then cutting the link and remediating.

FBI opens Malware Investigator portal to industry

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Nah, you forget, different agencies in the US government don't talk to each other about their activities.

Hell, the DoD had a rather protracted battle against stuxnet infections a few years back. Malware developed by part of the DoD.

Besides, any participating partner would be unintended side-catch, hence be swamping the data mine a bit too much.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: state-sponsored malware

Sure it would.

Just as the DoD was kind enough to detect stuxnet infections within its own network quickly.

Yes, I'm serious.

That aside, why not? The US DoD and US DHS both do the same, for approved vendors.

Apple finally patches Bash Shellshock vuln that WAS NOT A WORRY, OK?

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Not available

Wow! Thanks for reminding me, I had put off updating macports last night, after a disconnect at an inopportune time borked the install.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Not available

Didn't show up in my crApp store either, had to manually go to Apple and download it.

Not that I needed it, despite a few CGI scripts I happen to run, I had already downloaded bash, compiled and installed the debugged one.

GRAV WAVE DRAMA: 'Big Bang echo' may have been grit on the scanner – boffins

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Another is, we've never had a science war over differences in science.

Only religion holds that dubious distinction.

Boffins: Behold the SILICON CHEAPNESS of our tiny, radio-signal-munching IoT sensor

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: and best of all ...

"Somebody screwed up and didn't get this classified quick enough."

Do you mean something like, the NSA and GCHQ has ordered 15 billion "demonstration units" with specific modifications installed?

Satellite weather forecast: Cloudy with a chance of p0wnage

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Swiss cheese?

True, but when one has *standards*, one has to have a gauge against those standards.

The problem comes when someone takes the scan results at face value, rather than what was verified as a false positive and documented as such, then runs with it to the press.

What goes unremarked is, are these systems network isolated, hence the common vulnerabilities would be non-exploitable? Are these systems on an isolated VLAN, where they can only access their peers and reporting servers?

Then, there are a thousand other questions along similar lines, any of which turns the report into bird cage liner.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: You see, this is the kind of stuff that discredits government-led initiatives...

What the story does not bother with, nor did the report bother with is, there are times that one is using highly specialized software, where a software patch breaks the piss out of the entire system.

I'm an IA guy by trade, that is Information Assurance. Much of my work is and has been government related.

I've had systems that drove me over the edge, as they *always* popped on vulnerability scans and I had to explain that fact in my reports.

The NA/SA in me sought more data, to find to my horror, patches frequently broke those specialized systems. Things had to be tuned and some vulnerabilities left alone.

Which lead me to see to it that those systems were placed onto a heavily protected VLAN.

Now, you may still object, the reality of it is, it very well is likely that patching those vulnerabilities would create an inoperable control system.

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather have operators able to control those rather expensive satellites.

One can only hope that their IA guy or girl saw to it that said sensitive and vulnerable systems are protected by isolation from the big, bad network.

Because, for such specialized systems, that isn't really that difficult.

This flashlight app requires: Your contacts list, identity, access to your camera...

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Heh

I remember trying to install a banking app from my bank, on Google's store.

Bloody thing wanted access to my phone memory, contacts, camera, microphone and a DNA sample from my testicle.

Needless to say, the DNA thing would be acceptable, the rest, nope. I do without their app that desired greater access than GCHQ or the NSA to my information.

Hawking: Higgs boson in a BIG particle punisher could DESTROY UNIVERSE

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: George Osborne is the saviour of the Universe

Hawking: "...unlikely to be funded in the present economic climate."

Fortunately, said funding has already been provided, courtesy of many millions of neutron stars and those pesky supernovae.

I stand here, before you now, truthfully unafraid. Why? Because I believe something you do not? No, I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me but because of the path that lies behind me. I remember that for 13 billion years we have fought these machines, errr, survived such energetic events. And after Hawking's pronouncement, I remember that which matters most... We are still here!*

*Liberally mutilated from a stolen passage from the Matrix Reloaded.

Cyber-hoodlum tripped, fell, landed in Obama's Healthcare.gov server

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: "If this happened anywhere other than HealthCare.gov, it wouldn't be news"

Heh, in short, they accidentally installed a honeypot.

Meanwhile, the media ignores the hell out of numerous DoD compromises, every government agency having compromises and focuses on a code testing machine that was compromised.

Oh well, any hyperbole to try to kill a first, faltering, half step toward universal health care in the only industrialized nation in the world to not have universal health care.

Of course, the right wing media spout off how universal health care is communism and all of Europe is socialist-communist (they typically cannot ascertain the difference between the two systems) and ignores monarchies that most assuredly not be socialist by definition.

HP: NORKS' cyber spying efforts actually a credible cyberthreat

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: GPS

@John Savard, erm, it's a *bit* more complicated than that.

First, you confuse network centric warfare with electronic warfare, which are two entirely different things, that *may* coincide in some operations.

Second, you manage to ignore the hell out of global history in not noticing North Korea *is*, was and will remain a satellite state of the PRC. That news is only thousands of years old.

Strange that you missed the memo, I got the memo around... Genesis.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Hacking into defense nets? That makes me feel safe

"If all the electronic traffic generated by the various militaries is so secret and sensitive, why is it going across what appears to be the "public" networks?"

OK, a primer. First, the traffic is *not* typically over "public" networks. It is over private networks, with various means of encryption, but with internet access.

That leaves a dozen rather sweet spots of vulnerability and more less sweet spots open.

Laundry, food, toilet requirements and more are unclassified and hence, are transmitted on (hopefully) private network connections back home.

Well, that (hopeful) is only that, if a server or certain workstations can "see" said traffic.

Now, here in the real world, food requirements and laundry is the *least* of that which is transmitted on unclassified networks.

One also must include vendors supplying the needs of the defense requirement.

So, what is *your* suggestion?

I'm quite certain it will be outside of mission requirements or general reality.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Misdirection

"Instead, many regime-sponsored attacks are launched from cells based in China, US, South Asia, Europe, and even South Korea."

Interestingly enough, various nations learned the value of buffer nations. China learned of it far, far, far long ago.

The west learns of it at variable lengths of time.

I'm honestly uncertain if the UK or US has the longest record. There were a few gaps, the longest being the US, but some, erm, effort has since been expended...

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: What's that rattling noise coming from HP?

Save that HP wasn't the *only* source. It's only the only trivially available publicly available source.

But, whatever. I know what I saw in the traffic and logs, you know far better than I, based upon your Twinkie encrusted sofa in mom's basement.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: North Korea is ramping up its cyber spying efforts ..

"Luckly, we here in free world have the American NSA and British GCHQ to protect us .."

Well, if it's any consolation, there is the US NSA, the US DoD, the US DHS and more "protecting us".

For every charm there is a countercharm.

For every mousetrap, there is a smarter mouse.

To be honest, today's weapon of WMD is an exceptionally cheap one. Education and network access. No Manhattan project, no adding hydrogen species to the mixture, simple network access and education.

I'm an information security professional and one with US DoD experience watching raw logs.

We'll suffice it to say that I'm rather alarmed, not by this, just overall open atmosphere nuclear testing of information warfare.

The harm that can result from some actions *can* result in the use of WMD's.

For, all sides are village idiots and insist upon pushing things in some ways. It'll only take one off programme individual or group to run it all off of civilized information warfare into ruins.

As in, the nuclear clock should be two seconds from midnight.

Worse, I'm an optimist in my field.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: The conspiracy becomes clear...

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I managed to track traffic of some rather serious trolls that were hellbent upon causing unrest in certain regions to this particular entity.

I'll remind you of this: "Although North Korea’s cyber infrastructure may not measure up to that of wealthier nations, the regime is making significant progress in developing capable and technically trained forces..."

The PRC has quite an exemplary cyber operations unit and education programme. Within that programme is various dialects of English, such as UK, Australian, New Zealand and US English educated upon.

It's quite good.

I am unable to go further, due to various NDA signatures.

Virgin Media blocks 'wankers' from permissible passwords

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Erm...

Apparently, our intrepid author failed to recognize *dictionary attacks*.

Hence, the dictionary of refute.

My personal one is far more extensive, but profanity is quite common.

Brookhaven boffins boggle at baryons

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Question

"...maybe even flying cars one day..."

Who in the hell would want that?!

They can't bloody drive on the ground, I'd hate to see the mess that the average idiot driver would do in the air.

And honestly, I put a roof on the house 10 years ago, I'm not in a hurry to replace it, along with the upper story of my home due to an idiot driver crashing above.

Renegade NSA, GCHQ spies help fix Tor vulns, claims project boss

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Well, here, in the real world

The NSA *officially* supported the software. Officially.

Then, unofficially.

Then, considering the official mandate of supporting certain people, via TOR.

Meanwhile, I consider the *mission* of the "puzzle palace" and their ongoing mission to meet new encryption and crush it or adopt it.

*That* is the real world.

Some parts are trying to catch up, some parts are forward of that curve, a few adjusting, the "senior management" still fights and is first echelon.

We, in the real world are stuck with licensing of our software, guarding against many enemies, some being part of the US "bad list", some earning their keep onto a watchlist.

For the El Reg correspondent, I'll suggest more research. You've screwed the pooch and missed a much more notable story, as I know from a firsthand basis, if the NSA doesn't want to be noticed, it shan't. That said, I know full well how said agency goes "loud".

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to phrase something, I *really* need to address a certainand current problem set.

Intruder alert: Cyber thugs are using steganography to slip in malware badness

Wzrd1 Silver badge

FUD

Signature detection doesn't work. Use *our* signatureish BS.

I'm looking on my watch for the blowme button....

'Be super careful with AI. It's potentially more dangerous than nukes'

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Interesting

Just today I read about Big Blue having a chip with the "brain" of a farking FROG.

If we're currently endangered by a farking frog, we *should* join the dinosaurs!

Never fear, more moron milk will ensue from "above"ish...

Leaked docs reveal power of malware-for-government product 'FinFisher'

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: So quite a lot of AV not very good?

SSL isn't *that* hard to decrypt. Especially so in a corporate enclave.

But, AV isn't the be all and end all of security. It's the storm door lock, which opens to find the entry door lock of much more complexity.

One line of defense is no defense at all. Ask the French about one line of defense in WWII.

One layers and staggers defenses.

Such as monitoring network traffic, monitoring endpoints, NIDS, HIDS, etc.

For, the zero day can and does await. With a layered and staggered and target oriented defense, one will prevail.

Waiting for AV to detect is a fools errand akin to the Maginot Line.

But, you do what you want to do and your organization desires. I'll stick with what works.

Microsoft hacks out new EMET, spits out Adobe Flash

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Yet again, Microsoft offers a Forefront * security offering.

With somewhat mixed blessing in *real* security.

The problem:

Mixed blessing for *any* security product. :/

China: Our approved vendor list – Kaspersky, Symantec are not on it

Wzrd1 Silver badge

"China has never been particularly chuffed about the allegations but it is even less amused these days after former-NSA-operative-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the US's data snooping."

Yet then rejects antivirus software well known to be connected with the USA and Russia.

Then, promotes their own malware, erm, antivirus software.

The reality of it is, anyone who has more than an E1 connection is doing it at a national level.

Frankly, the *only* nation I'm aware of that isn't is Somalia. Hell, Libya still is online.

Just get used to it, as I've yet to hear a *realistic* solution to resolve the problem. And to be blunt, I have no solution either.

Got a solution? Shoot it my way, I'll see to it that you're wealthier than the royal family in spades.

I'll settle for three million dollars. One to work for me, one to be riskier invested, one to be "safely" invested.

I'll not expect a realistic reply. :/

Tor attack nodes RIPPED MASKS off users for 6 MONTHS

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: No ACs Allowed - Adverse effect

"I believe that gun sales have gone up since all of the recent anti-gun campaigning."

First, let me introduce myself to you.

I'ma competition shooter, hunter and general enthusiast on things that go bang or even boom.

I'm not a villiage idiot.Indeed, I am far from it, coutesy of the US DoD testing.

I'm known for my utter inability to quit.

If you can't figure it out, you *are* athe village idiot.

As an owner of a full dozen firearms, *I* consider our system of giving harm upon a vilageidiot or insane, erm, insane in the extreme.

I guard our rights fo a level that resembles religion.

But.not being the village idiot, I also recognize that the insane ned not apply for a canon, shotgun, rifle, pistl or even a sharp spoon.

Meanwhile, my firearms are under lock and key.

And,to be blunt, wonder how my family's right to life is secondary to my family's right to *life* and enjoyment of life.Your "defending" your defending your life is interesting, as it opposes our very right to live, Or, more improtantly, why your right exceds the right of my family to survive your random gunfire.

Please excuseme if I ama bit of in laguage.

My spacebar is FUBAR, it's late and I'm massicely insulted by my "peers".

"Peers" who wish to join me as a peer. Nothing of which they've submitted wouldleet them wash my dirty socks,

I've served. I've losts damned good friends.

The moron brigade lost nothing more than a few keystrokes.

I'l respect them a *little* when I can visit my buddy, who was burned, literealy in halfin a veritcal measure.

Our mutual friends shreded.

Until then, he can wash my dirty underpants. The dirtiness is secondary do previous wounds, which the VA budget prohibits, scondary to theloses of the teat tard.

Hmm, thought of tea tard, saw what is real and left teat tard.

As for nuclear arms, they're of the nature of using a hand grenade to defend your home.

It'll be effective, but the home isn't wirthy of living in.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: No ACs Allowed

Well, I'll suggest national interests, then suggest this:

The problem isn't achievening critical mass, but that of one retaining supercritical mass.

This is accomplished by-------, with _____________ with a secondary method of ************.

Do you *honestly* desire that blanked information being available for one and all?

I most certainlydo not.

There are also embarassing matters, such as the UK convincing a US president to overthrow a democratic government, to which we now, for some inconsiderable reason, have problems...

Add in information sources that would end up dead, if their information to become public, erm, it *should* be a no-brainer.

But then, it *is* a democracy.

If you can figure it out, clue me in. I have no clue, but do know those, erm, solutions and more.

It's both that simple *and* that complex.

Hanged if I can figure it out. I can only mange to vote for someone I don't consider the village idiot.

May *your* mileage fare better.

Firm issues soft denial against Iron Dome hack

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: In the words

Well, to judge from my own experience as a US DoD IA contractor, the contract isn't at risk due to underperofmance.

I've watched that one firsthand, with a one billion dollar recovery for one incident and a classified cost for the month later recurrance.

Said company was *awarded*, based upon the response to the monster they created by their non-compliance with US DoD standards.

Now, as a victim, I'd usually minimize the impact in a press release.

But, the impact was a pitiful 800 megs or so. In an age where terabytes are normally sent astray.

Knowing information systems rather intimately and, erm, knowing something about guided missile systems, 800 megs would give them some fuel formuae and general construction data only and more likely, granted access to laundry and food consumption data as well.

Leaving them at best, fuel formua data and sparse information on anything *really* of import.

But then, I've dealt with compromises, *real* data and know what file size files actually are for designs.

So, it's most likely that the data compromized was chow hall consumption and sparse unclassified data that is of little import.

Hence, "downgraded".

Forty-five years ago: FOOTPRINTS FOUND ON MOON

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Where did it all go wrong?

It was all a gambit in the Cold War.

We got there first. Things cooled in space, didn't cool Earthside.

Reagan came along and his advisors dreamed up Star Wars. Not as a national defense, but as a money drain on the Soviet economy reflecting our efforts.

It worked.

Then, Bush the Elder found we needed a service economy. In an economy gearded toward the Reagan professional.

The rest is attempting to achieve third world status.

For, the well educated populace is impossible to control. The ill educated populace, triviial to control.

As for paranoia, I learned about OBL back in 1982.

Do you *still* want to play and attract *more* NSA attention?

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Well, shove your asshat northward.

I long knew this and more.

I watched the lunar landing live.

I remember Apollo 13 as clearly as I recall JFK being shot in the head, both of which I watched live.

I also watched the US decline as the USSR declined, then work hard toward achieiving third world status.

Something I *never* enlisted to achieve.

So, sod off, sonny.

Lest I become far less polite.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: sign of times ?

By your standard, Columbus would've been better served with a bottle and a letter.

Still, the US is a faded giant, lacking an enemy that offers more challenging interests.

The US *only* went to the moon because the Russians put a rover there that did *extremely* well. Facing some nonsensical lunar base military force that did not exist, paranoia forced the US to put men into an aluminum can about as stern as a beer can and shoot them at the moon.

Then trumpet it a bunch of times until the populace found a trip to the next town more interesting, as they didn't comprehend the danger of the lunar excusursion.

In short, it was all cold war bravado.

Something I tired of after losing a few friends in various events that "never happened".

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Chinese chest puffing?

Actually, I'd give *real* money to see it happen.

It'd jog the US off of its "successful" ass of mediocracy and into innovation again.

For, now, we're awaiting the barbarians at the gates to rescue us.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Not Complete non-news

Well, when I was in my teens, I recall some newsworthy event in 1976. Some bicentenial thing about colonists being revolting or something.

I also recall 52 birthday celebrations, OK, 51. Can't recall my first birthday, my earliest memories are from when I was around 18 months old.

Then, there was that Edison anniversary.

Various and sundry other celebrations on technology and I'll not even go into our national worship of things warfare.

The latter being somewhat special to me, as I'm a retired veteran, but really don't find warfare worthy of celebrating, only its end.

Wzrd1 Silver badge

Re: Complete non-news

Erm, dude, I was gone from 2005 to 2010 from the US and a bit preoccupied with some war thing and rather strong men trying to kill me and my teams.

But, I recall seeing more than a few stories on just this subject, both before I deployed and since I returned.

So, I'll suggest that either you failed to pay attention due to life events or you choose a better news outlet for your information.

I tend to use CNN, Al Jazeera and BBC for general information. I have a handful of special interests that also include other foreign news sources, but they're outside of this context.

MYSTERIOUS Siberia CRATER: ALIENS or METEOR not involved, officials insist

Wzrd1 Silver badge

OK, reality check here

In my first three minutes of research, upon learning of this recent hole in the ground, I learned some interesting facts.

First, it's a near-permafrost area. Near, not permafrost.

Second, it's an area with a decent amount of water in the ground and soil.

Third, the area is lousy with natural gas.

Fourth, the area is lousy with shallow methane deposits from decompsition.

Add point three and four together, as natural gas and methane are pretty much the same thing (there's some very modest differences, but it's in dilutant gasses for the most part, isotopes being the larger part).

What one geologist suggested seems likely.

A methane bubble formed long ago. Ice and water did their thing, melting ice freed its "cap" and let it vent as a big bubble of fart gas from hell.

The rest is "mystery".

There's no hint of conflgration. There's no hint of detonation. There's less than no hint of impact, vaporization, photon torpedoes, phasers, disruptors or anything else mythical.

Only earth tossed about by modest pressure and nothing heated/burned.