Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => The Coffee Corner => Topic started by: LesPalenik on October 20, 2019, 07:50:21 am
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US military is upgrading the computer equipment programmed for launching a nuclear strike and running off eight inch floppy disks.
The U.S. military has finally put an end to the 1970s-era system that’s been running their nuclear weapons.
In 2016, the Government Accountability Office reported that the department’s system — responsible for intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers and tanker support aircraft — runs on an IBM Series-1 Computer — a 1970s computing system — and uses eight-inch floppy disks. “This system remains in use because, in short, it still works,” Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson told the AFP news agency.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6050411/nuclear-weapons-system-floppy-disks/
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US military is upgrading the computer equipment programmed for launching a nuclear strike and running off eight inch floppy disks.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6050411/nuclear-weapons-system-floppy-disks/
Scary. On the other hand, I'm still shooting film. :)
Here's a personal story about using old equipment, really obsolete. When I did Energy Management Systems design and installation in my own business in the 1980's, I used equipment that controlled HVAC and lighting systems in commercial buildings in New Jersey and elsewhere from NYC where my company was located. I had service contracts for 25 years afterwards through about 2012 to maintain these systems. I never changed the communication modems in all those years. They operated at 1200 baud (1200bps) at a time when internet speeds had grown to be in the millions of bps. When I downloaded the data from the remote buildings, the information would crawl across the monitor at a speed a little faster than I could type. But the system was stable as anything. Breakdowns occured in the sensors attached to the computer equipment. Or wiring got broken. But I only had one or two modem failures in 25 years.
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I sharpen all my drawing pencils with a single edged razor blade...I include a picture, many a young folk have never encountered these.
Peter
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That old IBM Series-1 computer was running on a mean but lean operating system and couldn't be hacked.
If you replaced it with Windows-10, the incoming rockets would hit the computer command center before the operating system could boot.
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That old IBM Series-1 computer was running on a mean but lean operating system and couldn't be hacked.
If you replaced it with Windows-10, the incoming rockets would hit the computer command center before the operating system could boot.
That's exactly what I was thinking. My antique system was also password protected to communicate with it. But you had to know my daughter's name. :)
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I sharpen all my drawing pencils with a single edged razor blade...I include a picture, many a young folk have never encountered these.
Peter
Peter, those blades have USA on them. I didn't realize we still make things like that. :)
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Peter, those blades have USA on them. I didn't realize we still make things like that. :)
Amazing, is it not???
Peter
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That old IBM Series-1 computer was running on a mean but lean operating system and couldn't be hacked.
If you replaced it with Windows-10, the incoming rockets would hit the computer command center before the operating system could boot.
Hi Les, An even more scary situation is the idea of a single high-altitude burst. We've reached a point with automation where the EMP from such a burst would keep even your car from running. It'd bring everything to a screeching halt. If you lived in a city and wanted to go on eating, you'd have to grow beans in your window boxes.
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Hi Les, An even more scary situation is the idea of a single high-altitude burst. We've reached a point with automation where the EMP from such a burst would keep even your car from running. It'd bring everything to a screeching halt. If you lived in a city and wanted to go on eating, you'd have to grow beans in your window boxes.
My film cameras would still work. Of course I couldn't send film out for processing. :)
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Hi Les, An even more scary situation is the idea of a single high-altitude burst. We've reached a point with automation where the EMP from such a burst would keep even your car from running. It'd bring everything to a screeching halt. If you lived in a city and wanted to go on eating, you'd have to grow beans in your window boxes.
As much as I like my new oven, cant stand that it needs electricity to run. I miss the old school pilots lights, which most commercial stoves still utilize.
At least I can still light a burner with a match; the thermostat in the oven is electric, so no go with that.
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As much as I like my new oven, cant stand that it needs electricity to run. I miss the old school pilots lights, which most commercial stoves still utilize.
At least I can still light a burner with a match; the thermostat in the oven is electric, so no go with that.
I have had a wood stove to heat my house since it was built. I have endured may winter power outages over the past 30 plus years, without a heating issue. I have also used the stove to cook and heat water to make life a little better in such trying times.
It's a very healing heat as well. After a frigid early morning outing to gather info for my paintings, it's a wonderful friend to sit next to...
Peter
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As much as I like my new oven, cant stand that it needs electricity to run. I miss the old school pilots lights, which most commercial stoves still utilize.
At least I can still light a burner with a match; the thermostat in the oven is electric, so no go with that.
Same as my house. Unfortunately, the electric oven is the worse to broil a steak. Tried it once when I moved here. Then immediately ran out and bought a BBQ (propane gas) for my steaks. I make them summer and winter. I keep it about 5 feet from the back door so I can pop in and out quickly in case it's raining or snowing.
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I have had a wood stove to heat my house since it was built. I have endured may winter power outages over the past 30 plus years, without a heating issue. I have also used the stove to cook and heat water to make life a little better in such trying times.
It's a very healing heat as well. After a frigid early morning outing to gather info for my paintings, it's a wonderful friend to sit next to...
Peter
We're not allowed wood burning fireplaces in my 55+ community. Natural gas only. We bought a resale when we moved here. It didn't have a fireplace, something we wanted. But a gas fireplace just became too costly and complicated to install. And let's face it, just not the same anyway as a wood burning one. So we designed a fireplace and bookshelf that included an electric "fake" fireplace with electric strip heater. The fire looks very realistic. We put it in a real firebox made for natural gas with the screen mesh front and fireplace tools, etc. So we could upgrade to real gas one day. It's not the same as wood. But it does look pretty good and its convenient. Just one switch on a remote "clicker" to operate it. We don;t bother with the electric heating strip though. And I miss the crackle. They do have artificial "crackler" recordings. But I decided against that in the end. A little too fake.
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My first house was a small bungalow with a large airtight wood stove. It heated the whole house and you could boil on its top a pot of water.
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Same as my house. Unfortunately, the electric oven is the worse to broil a steak. Tried it once when I moved here. Then immediately ran out and bought a BBQ (propane gas) for my steaks. I make them summer and winter. I keep it about 5 feet from the back door so I can pop in and out quickly in case it's raining or snowing.
Electric ovens are horrible; thankfully I have a gas oven, it just needs power for the spark ignition. When we bought our house, anything with an electric stove was ignored.
Going back to heating, I have radiators and my boiler is old enough that it has an manual ignition, so I can get it to run. It just would not shut off unless I physically shut it off. Also, the the circulating pump would no longer be operating. So I would have to rely on convection to circulate the water, which is how they use to work but just takes longer to heat the house.
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In an ideal world the best oven is electric for more consistent temps and a faster heating as well as dryer burn. The cooktop should be gas for a more subtle control and instant off. So it's a duel fuel oven and cooktop for the best of both. Can and most likely will cost a bit more.
If I ever redo the kitchen it will my choice of oven.
Peter
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In an ideal world the best oven is electric for more consistent temps and a faster heating as well as dryer burn. The cooktop should be gas for a more subtle control and instant off. So it's a duel fuel oven and cooktop for the best of both. Can and most likely will cost a bit more.
If I ever redo the kitchen it will my choice of oven.
Peter
Interesting idea.
My broiler has both a gas burner and electric heating rod, which I can see both at the roof operating when I use the broiler. I now wonder if the oven heat comes from both gas burners and electric rod as well, which I would not be able to see due to the oven floor?
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In an ideal world the best oven is electric for more consistent temps and a faster heating as well as dryer burn. The cooktop should be gas for a more subtle control and instant off. So it's a duel fuel oven and cooktop for the best of both. Can and most likely will cost a bit more.
If I ever redo the kitchen it will my choice of oven.
Peter
That's what we have. The electric oven does heat up quicker and keep more consistent temps. But it's awful for steaks. The gas range is nice although the wiring got damaged to the starters and the entire harness had to be replaced. They wouldn't stop clicking and no it wasn;t water. We tried to dry it out for two days without success. So we pulled the breaker to stop the clicking and used matches until the repairman fixed it. Everytime I turn around there's something else I have to pay for. I shouldn't complain. It's actually a nice house and pretty reliable.
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The other problem with electric ranges and ovens, electric anything, is the cost of electricity is so high. At least here. It really can get expensive if you heat with electricity. Years ago the utility in NYS offered rebates if you installed electric heating. Those who did are really sorry today what with the price of electricity. It's skyrocketed compare to natural gas or oil.
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The other problem with electric ranges and ovens, electric anything, is the cost of electricity is so high. At least here. It really can get expensive if you heat with electricity. Years ago the utility in NYS offered rebates if you installed electric heating. Those who did are really sorry today what with the price of electricity. It's skyrocketed compare to natural gas or oil.
Here ( Netherlands) we pay about 0,2 €/ kilowatt
and gasoline about 1.70€ a litre.
I am sure the gas is cheaper in the US we have a lot of tax on it.
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My house is egregiously huge and it's my fault because I designed it. My heating season extends from the beginning of October to the end of March.
For the previous 15 years, I heated with wood. Feeding the open maw of the admittedly extremely efficient stove gave me some degree of satisfaction and exercise and, like most wood-heated householders, I declared that "There's no heat like wood heat." This despite the fact that I was introducing into the atmosphere tens of thousands of pounds of carbon. Every year.
Recently, the price of firewood increased substantially and I was tiring of the endless moving of firewood from one place to another. I decided last January to install a "mini-split" - an electrical air-source heat pump. Interestingly, this purchase coincided with a record cold spell, with temps approaching minus 20 C. That's close to zero for you last remnants of the Fahrenheit scale users.
The heat pump worked amazingly well, perfectly, in fact, keeping the entire house cozy with no intervention from me other than selecting the temperature via the wireless remote. I no longer had to shovel a path to the woodpile and I've not had a heat fire since.
Unlike most furnaces that cycle on and off, this system gradually throttles itself, so its operation is near-silent and undetectable in operation.
Several areas of the house, unusable in summer due to solar heating (the sun room!) are now usable year 'round. Not only does this thing heat the house, it cools it, too. With the new reality of high 30's C in summer, this is delightful.
My wife takes care of the household accounting and, after a few months of operation she reported the cost of the electricity used to heat and cool the house with this new system. It was cheaper than firewood.
Of course, there's nothing like a wood stove. Mine is in the kitchen, where I and both see and feel it, and it's lovely. But now, I can have a fire when I want one, not when I have to.
And I'm saving both money AND the planet. :) :) :)
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Here ( Netherlands) we pay about 0,2 €/ kilowatt
and gasoline about 1.70€ a litre.
I am sure the gas is cheaper in the US we have a lot of tax on it.
Your price of 0,2 €/ kilowatt is about $.22kwh. Price here in New Jersey is around $0.125kwh or 0,11 €/ kilowatt. Your electric costs are about 80% higher than ours. Of course, in NYC it's higher.
Gasoline (regular 87 octane) here in New Jersey is about $2.50 gallon. Or $2.50/3.8L= $.66 a liter or 0,59 € a litre. About 1/3 your cost. No wonder why you drive small cars with high mileage. On the other hand, we drive more miles than you do. My wife and I probably drive a total of 17000 miles a year. Or 27000km. What's your driving like?
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A friend in Germany has a 15 year old small Lexus with 55K km. That's about 3,666 km per year.
They are both retired, live in a small town, and can walk to most stores.
I drive these days about 5 times as much, which is 4 times less than my mileage from 20 years ago. Excluding the rental car miles.
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A friend in Germany has a 15 year old small Lexus with 55K km. That's about 3,666 km per year.
They are both retired, live in a small town, and can walk to most stores.
I drive these days about 5 times as much, which is 4 times less than my mileage from 20 years ago. Excluding the rental car miles.
Wow, you used to drive 70K miles?
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60,000-70,000km some years (NOT miles). I did a lot of paddling and boating, and for that I had to drive long distances.
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60,000-70,000km some years (NOT miles). I did a lot of paddling and boating, and for that I had to drive long distances.
Right. Kilometers. Are you guys still on the metric system? :)
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Right. Kilometers. Are you guys still on the metric system? :)
Since 1970. But we use also dollars. Some years ago they were worth more than their American counterparts.
And we use also gallons. Bigger than yours.
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Since 1970. But we use also dollars. Some years ago they were worth more than their American counterparts.
And we use also gallons. Bigger than yours.
Right. Imperial gallons. Are you still part of the Commonwealth? :)
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I sharpen all my drawing pencils with a single edged razor blade...I include a picture, many a young folk have never encountered these.
On the subject old school (literally) writing tools, today I needed ink for my fountain pens. It comes from the same place as one-edged razors: the art supply shop.
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Right. Imperial gallons. Are you still part of the Commonwealth? :)
Yes, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is our commander in chief.
As to the measures or sizing, the most nonsensical are the aspirin dosages in USA and Canada - 325mg, 500mg and 800mg. Maybe some doctor came up with those numbers.
And then when it came to a decision for the low dosage aspirin, some dimwit in charge decided that the low dosage for heart patients should be exactly a quarter of the regular size (325mg). That's how we ended up with the silly 81mg for the baby aspirins (100mg in Europe). BTW, same dosage for a 100lb lady as for a 250lb man. Poor example of applied science or a reliable engineering.
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I'm on baby aspirin. Did you ever try to split a 325mg aspirin into 4 equal parts of 81mg? Of course, I bought the pre-measured ones. But there was a recent article study that people shouldn;t take them. I asked my cardiologist, the one who doesn't care about meats only carbs, and he said I should continue them regardless. It's hard to go against the guy who got me Dr. Naka.
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As to the measures or sizing, the most nonsensical are the aspirin dosages in USA and Canada - 325mg, 500mg and 800mg.
Well, the 325g is completely obvious: it is 5 grains, the grain being the fundamental unit of weight in all _three_ of the old British systems (troy, avoirdupois and Apothecaries') plus the American system, with the pound defined as 7000 grains. It is supposedly the weight of a grain of barley. Apothocaries seem to have been particularly fond of the grain measure.
The 500g dose in the USA is a weird half-way modernism—like deli scales that measure in tenths of a pound rather than ounces.
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I'm on baby aspirin. Did you ever try to split a 325mg aspirin into 4 equal parts of 81mg? Of course, I bought the pre-measured ones. But there was a recent article study that people shouldn't take them. I asked my cardiologist, the one who doesn't care about meats only carbs, and he said I should continue them regardless. It's hard to go against the guy who got me Dr. Naka.
No surprise that most cardiologists recommend baby aspirins for heart patients. That's what they learned 40 years ago. Nobody will sue them for endorsing aspirin. Same as the old "wisdom" in the IT industry - nobody got fired for recommending IBM. My cardiologist is of the same opinion as yours, but that doesn't mean they are right.
Several recent studies conclude that baby aspirin doesn't help everybody in the same way, and in some cases it can be more harmful than beneficial. It depends on your age, type of diet, current state of your arteries, your other medications, and additional factors. Eating a plant-based diet and regular exercise will do definitely more for your heart and general well-being than any number of aspirin pills.
One of the new studies included more than 15,000 people with diabetes, a disease that boosts the risk of cardiovascular problems by two to three times. The study volunteers took a 100-mg aspirin tablet or a placebo for an average of nearly seven-and-a-half years. Over all, the benefits of aspirin were partially counterbalanced by the risks. For every 1,000 people taking aspirin, 11 avoided a serious vascular event (heart attack, stroke, ministroke, or cardiovascular-related death). But nine experienced bleeding that was serious enough to result in hospitalization or death, which means the risks and benefits were about the same. The study appeared in the August 26 New England Journal of Medicine.
The second study, in the August 26 Lancet, included more than 12,500 people, all of whom had several risk factors for heart disease, such as elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, or being a smoker (but not diabetes). They also took a daily 100-mg aspirin tablet or a placebo. Over a five-year period, aspirin did not lower heart attacks or related events. Gastrointestinal bleeding was low, but it was twice as likely to occur in people who took aspirin.
"Often, people come into my office and tell me they're taking aspirin because they've heard it prevents heart attacks," says Dr. Cannon. These new studies show that's not always the case — and that aspirin may do more harm than good for people who've never experienced a heart-related event.
In a nutshell, people with diabetes appear to benefit from aspirin, but the risk of bleeding offsets some of that benefit. These studies suggest that for people who don't have diabetes — as well as anyone who is age 70 or older — aspirin provides no heart benefit and seems to increase your odds of bleeding. This means some people currently taking low-dose aspirin should consider stopping it, says Dr. Cannon.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/rethinking-low-dose-aspirin
According to the latest Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, the AHA and American College of Cardiology no longer recommend taking a daily low-dose aspirin for heart health. After decades of advising low-dose aspirin as an effective preventative measure for heart attacks and stroke, the new 2019 guidelines now say aspirin be used infrequently due to “lack of net benefit.”
This drastic change in the AHA’s guidelines comes after a recent, large-scale study on the subject—the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) Study, which discovered not only was aspirin ineffective in preventing heart problems, but it actually led to a higher chance of hemorrhage than placebo. Upon further review of this study, researchers found the otherwise-healthy participants taking the daily low-dose aspirin were also linked to a higher mortality rate in general.
https://www.cookinglight.com/news/aspirin-heart-attack-stroke-aha
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797
Personally, I follow Dr. John McDougall advice (see below), and it seems to work well:
Heart disease and strokes are not due to “any deficiency in aspirin or fish oil”.
The wisest way to prevent tragedies from a defective blood vessel system is to deal with the cause: your first-line therapy should be a low-fat, no-cholesterol diet.
Add to this sensible diet both daily exercise and healthy habits, and you will be well on your way to protection from heart disease.
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Well, the 325g is completely obvious: it is 5 grains, the grain being the fundamental unit of weight in all _three_ of the old British systems (troy, avoirdupois and Apothecaries') plus the American system, with the pound defined as 7000 grains. It is supposedly the weight of a grain of barley. Apothocaries seem to have been particularly fond of the grain measure.
The 500g dose in the USA is a weird half-way modernism—like deli scales that measure in tenths of a pound rather than ounces.
Thanks for mentioning the historical background for using the grain size as basic measurements.
I believe that in UK, the standard aspirin size is 300mg, and in Germany I've seen 500mg and 650mg pills. When it comes to baby aspirin, they come in 75, 81 and 100mg dosages. Obviously, if needed, a heavier person should take the larger size than a small petite person or a child.
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US military is upgrading the computer equipment programmed for launching a nuclear strike and running off eight inch floppy disks.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6050411/nuclear-weapons-system-floppy-disks/
A young colleague asked me what is the icon meaning "save" in the shortcuts bar of a software. Dooohh!!
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Thanks for mentioning the historical background for using the grain size as basic measurements.
I believe that in UK, the standard aspirin size is 300mg, and in Germany I've seen 500mg and 650mg pills. When it comes to baby aspirin, they come in 75, 81 and 100mg dosages. Obviously, if needed, a heavier person should take the larger size than a small petite person or a child.
Some years ago, I found myself in Scotland without apirin tablets that I take every day in accordance with the cardio's advice. Here, in Spain, the dosage is 100mg. When I asked the Scottish medic for that he almost had a heart event himself: he told me no, that's way too high, and I think I got a 50mg or 60mm prescription. I do have a history of two attacks, and current blood test show my two cholestrol levels to be okay. It is all very confusing.
Rob
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I sharpen all my drawing pencils with a single edged razor blade...I include a picture, many a young folk have never encountered these.
Peter
All young male people have encountered them - it's what they use at hipster barbers where you get your beard trimmed and a nice shoulder massage at the same time :-)
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All young male people have encountered them - it's what they use at hipster barbers where you get your beard trimmed and a nice shoulder massage at the same time :-)
The youth I speak of are mainly women and are from China. They don't know the blade. At least in this version. These youths are my students and use straight razors for sharpening pencils!!! Those they know...
Peter
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The youth I speak of are mainly women and are from China. They don't know the blade. At least in this version. These youths are my students and use straight razors for sharpening pencils!!! Those they know...
Peter
Peter: That's fascinating. So the blades are imported from the USA?
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Peter: That's fascinating. So the blades are imported from the USA?
Alan,
That's just one example...How much are imported, I have no knowledge...
Peter
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On the subject old school (literally) writing tools, today I needed ink for my fountain pens. It comes from the same place as one-edged razors: the art supply shop.
Personally I find you can't beat a quill to write with. When the tip wears, I just nip down to the shore and pick up one shed by the plentiful gulls. None of this new-fangled fountain pen rubbish.... :)
Jim
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Absolutely, Jim. The fountain pen never should have been invented, and the pencil? An abomination.
;D 8) ;)
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Absolutely, Jim. The fountain pen never should have been invented, and the pencil? An abomination.
;D 8) ;)
After the EMP apocalypse, I will write with a sharp stick using my own blood. In beautiful cursive of course.
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After the EMP apocalypse, I will write with a sharp stick using my own blood. In beautiful cursive of course.
Sadly, soon after the various plates of global spaghetti hit the fan, you won't be doing much of anything, and neither will anyone else.
But hey, that will be rung up as the very best deal of them all, won't it? It could mark our collective headstone.
:-)