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Chris Jacob
@Ryan J Whiteman Nester: I guess the reference was lost on all of you. ;) I more than anything, I was acknowledging the reference to metal gear by bringing up the first of it's kind. #blitzer
Jesus Diaz, I'm an engineer at General Atomics and the guys working on this project are down the hall from me. This is a Navy project, for Navy ships. Nothing to do with army with exception of tests taking place on an Army base.
@Joel Trost: Mistakes are made, there's no need to accuse people of posting lies. Linking the article like you did does enough to explain that, yes, these tests were carried out under contract with the Navy. There is no need to assume malicious activity on the part of the bloggers. Mistakes happen. You point them out, they get corrected. #blitzer
Ever notice that "sci fi" guns shoot slow? I am remined by a quote in Stargate. (paraphrase) A staff weapon is for intimidation, a Gun is a weapon of war.
Even Annubis realised this, which his why his super soldiers had multiple rate of fire lethal lasers... , my point? This Rail Gun thing, is still firmly in the "Weapon of Intimidation Stage." #blitzer
@YingYangCounter: Imho, intimidation is often a major factor in combat. Strike fear in your enemies, and your chances of succeeding multiply. Having the psychological edge can be a huge asset in any conflict.
This won't be mounted on anything really combat-oriented and mobile for a while, though. They'll have to have a really efficient power system and a really short cycle time to make it fieldworthy. And they'll never stick one on a UCAV when precision-guided weapons like SBD-II (250lb gliding bomb with three-in-one targeting) or Hellfire are widely available, lethally effective, and easy to integrate. #blitzer
@Jeb_Hoge: Meh. I think they'll probably stick to having it mounted on other vehicles, like the Navy has done with theirs (one of these, maybe smaller, on an M1-A1 would be pretty sexy). I heard something about the possibility of one being affixed to the underside of one of the Air Force's larger planes from my cousin (who works for CENTCOM), but that was mostly idle chatter and speculation. I doubt the airframes could handle the stress involved. As well as the fact that such an electromagnetic field would probably screw the avionics so badly the plane would simply stop dead, in mid-air, and drop like a stone. #blitzer
@caine3320: Build the rig into one of those tank movers and have it be static in traverse with limited elevation capability. Kill enemy armor from 20km. :) #blitzer
It's horrible to think of the amount of death this will cause. I can't glorify these weapons anymore, but gotta support the troops. Let's get some peace bitches! #blitzer
"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
-David Friedman
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
-Eisenhower
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
-Asimov
"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."
-Robert E Lee
Sadly, that last one, with regard to remote predator drones and satellite guided cruise missiles, is becoming less and less true every day. #blitzer
"Force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authority is derived. Naked force has resolved more issues throughout history than any other factor, and the contrary opinion that violence never solves anything, is wishful thinking at its worst. People who forget that always pay."
well... yes and no. he certainly believed in a well armed citizenry. but as a libertarian, he was adamantly against the initiation of the use of force.
then again, heinlein had a lot of other things to say, you know, about cloning yourself as twin 12 year old girls and sleeping with them? so while i enjoy his work (and i've read 'em all!) and i am a libertarian, i dont always turn to old heiny for pearls of wisdom :P #blitzer
I would like to hear more about an alleged "singularity cannon" being developed by the US Army that creates a quantum singularity in a spot to vaporize all matter in an instant. My physics teacher told me about it, without telling me. He worked on a "project for the military relating to our lesson". Quite terrifying. He quit after he found what it was going to be used for.
Decimating an entire city, leaving absolutely no trace of it whatsoever. #blitzer
I'd like to plug one of these up to an old styled phonograph-like setup, instead of plugging it into a PC.
Probably would get a much more 'organic' and ethereal sound, instead of the digitally processed sound of running it through modern equipment like the guy is doing in the video.
I can imagine under those conditions, it probably would sound spooky - especially hearing the 'voices' in the white noise.
Set that up in a dark room with good acoustics (like that one bathroom stall we have at work that acts like a resonance chamber at the right frequencies), and I bet you could scare the shit out of any unsuspecting passersby.
It's already the 26th, so I may not get to do that this All Hallows' Eve . . . but next year, I'm keeping this little idea on tap and going to work on ways of perfecting it for maximum creepiness for the big day next year. I shall do the Great Pumpkin proud. #spiritradio
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
11/13/09
Nice try tho... #blitzer
11/11/09
Please get facts before posting lies, [www.ga.com] #blitzer
11/12/09
11/11/09
Even Annubis realised this, which his why his super soldiers had multiple rate of fire lethal lasers... , my point? This Rail Gun thing, is still firmly in the "Weapon of Intimidation Stage." #blitzer
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
Oh ho ho. It won't be long before we can protect ourselves from Transformers invasion. #blitzer
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/12/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.
- Gen. Douglas MacArthur #blitzer
11/11/09
Albert Einstein #blitzer
11/11/09
"There never was a good war or a bad peace."
-Ben Franklin
"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
-David Friedman
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
-Eisenhower
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
-Asimov
"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."
-Robert E Lee
Sadly, that last one, with regard to remote predator drones and satellite guided cruise missiles, is becoming less and less true every day. #blitzer
11/11/09
"Force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authority is derived. Naked force has resolved more issues throughout history than any other factor, and the contrary opinion that violence never solves anything, is wishful thinking at its worst. People who forget that always pay."
-Robert A. Heinlein #blitzer
11/11/09
11/12/09
11/12/09
"It's a trick. Get an axe."
-- Ashley J. "Ash" Williams, "Evil Dead II"
11/12/09
oooh I'm sorry, the correct answer is "Army of Darkness". We do have some lovely consolation prizes for you. Thanks for playing. #blitzer
11/12/09
well... yes and no. he certainly believed in a well armed citizenry. but as a libertarian, he was adamantly against the initiation of the use of force.
then again, heinlein had a lot of other things to say, you know, about cloning yourself as twin 12 year old girls and sleeping with them? so while i enjoy his work (and i've read 'em all!) and i am a libertarian, i dont always turn to old heiny for pearls of wisdom :P #blitzer
11/11/09
11/11/09
Decimating an entire city, leaving absolutely no trace of it whatsoever. #blitzer
11/11/09
11/11/09
11/11/09
It's a GUN. #blitzer
11/11/09
10/26/09
Probably would get a much more 'organic' and ethereal sound, instead of the digitally processed sound of running it through modern equipment like the guy is doing in the video.
I can imagine under those conditions, it probably would sound spooky - especially hearing the 'voices' in the white noise.
Set that up in a dark room with good acoustics (like that one bathroom stall we have at work that acts like a resonance chamber at the right frequencies), and I bet you could scare the shit out of any unsuspecting passersby.
It's already the 26th, so I may not get to do that this All Hallows' Eve . . . but next year, I'm keeping this little idea on tap and going to work on ways of perfecting it for maximum creepiness for the big day next year. I shall do the Great Pumpkin proud. #spiritradio
10/26/09
10/26/09
Bright antenna bristle with the energy. #spiritradio
10/26/09
Is that you god?
Yes, and I want you to stop playing with yourself. #spiritradio
10/26/09