Been reading a few internet rants about evil, immoral and fattening Tea Parties organized by Fox News. Pure malarky. The Plymouth NH Tea party is organized by purely local folks, with zip for support, publicity, or anything else. I ought to know, I'm doing a part of the organizing, and I'm pretty local and small time. The others in the effort are just as local. Some of them are bigger time than I, but nobody is anywhere close to being a state wide figure, let alone a national figure.
The Plymouth Tea Party steps off at 3:30 in the center of town. Hope to see you all there.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Why require presidential OK to use force against pirates?
According to the TV news, Obama issued the OK to use deadly force against pirates. Should not all US Navy captains be authorized to use any amount of force against pirates, at any time? At least against pirates at sea, attacking merchant shipping. Maybe we can require presidential OK to bombard pirate ports, but any Navy ship ought to be able to take out pirates attacking ships at sea, without checking with the president.
Congress could do something about piracy
Ships ought to have a small arms locker, with rifles and pistols for the ship's crew. Why don't they?
Probably 'cause the owners are afraid of getting sued if their crew shoots a pirate, and getting hassled by port authorities all over the world who believe in gun control.
Congress could pass a law saying small arms are legal on board all US flag vessels, shooting pirates is legal anywhere, and any port that hassles US flag ships over carrying arms will get hassled by the US of A.
Surely Captain Phillips' sailors could have done even better against four gunmen in a bass boat with a few ordinary rifles for self defense.
Probably 'cause the owners are afraid of getting sued if their crew shoots a pirate, and getting hassled by port authorities all over the world who believe in gun control.
Congress could pass a law saying small arms are legal on board all US flag vessels, shooting pirates is legal anywhere, and any port that hassles US flag ships over carrying arms will get hassled by the US of A.
Surely Captain Phillips' sailors could have done even better against four gunmen in a bass boat with a few ordinary rifles for self defense.
Happy Easter
So, I got up, watched the morning pundits on TV . It was snowing and 35 degrees up here. So I went to church. If you go to church at all, you oughta make Easter. Lots of other folk feel that way and the church was packed. Might have 40 people and a flock of kids. Cutest part was the Easter Egg hunt after services. The kids loved that part. Still snowing.
After church I made a dump run and then visited with my Mother. It was still snowing on the way home and it's beginning to accumulate about now.
After church I made a dump run and then visited with my Mother. It was still snowing on the way home and it's beginning to accumulate about now.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
How long will 187 jet fighters last in wartime?
Hard to say. Last time I went to war, my air wing lost 90 fighter planes in 90 days. That's a plane a day from just one base.
Defense Secretary Gates has decided to stop the F22 program at 187 planes. He is going to shut down the F22 production line, which means no more F22's, ever. Gates feels that the F22 is too expensive ($150 million each) and too specialized (only does air-to-air) and not needed going up against the likes of Iran. All this is true.
On the other hand, going up against a more up to date enemy (China? Russia?) we will need F22's. F22 is the hottest fighter in the world, every one fears going up against it. The Japanese want to buy it. Exercises have F22 gaining a 30:1 kill ratio against every other fighter.
To win, or even survive, a war, air superiority is everything. Air superiority means our helicopters, transports, and close air support aircraft can fly where they please, and our ground forces don't have to worry about getting bombed and strafed. It means the enemy's helicopters, transports, and close air support gets shot down by our fighters.
F22 delivers air superiority. Until we run out of them.
Maybe we could fund more F22's out of the $787 billion Porkulus bill? Aircraft production is real economic stimulus.
Defense Secretary Gates has decided to stop the F22 program at 187 planes. He is going to shut down the F22 production line, which means no more F22's, ever. Gates feels that the F22 is too expensive ($150 million each) and too specialized (only does air-to-air) and not needed going up against the likes of Iran. All this is true.
On the other hand, going up against a more up to date enemy (China? Russia?) we will need F22's. F22 is the hottest fighter in the world, every one fears going up against it. The Japanese want to buy it. Exercises have F22 gaining a 30:1 kill ratio against every other fighter.
To win, or even survive, a war, air superiority is everything. Air superiority means our helicopters, transports, and close air support aircraft can fly where they please, and our ground forces don't have to worry about getting bombed and strafed. It means the enemy's helicopters, transports, and close air support gets shot down by our fighters.
F22 delivers air superiority. Until we run out of them.
Maybe we could fund more F22's out of the $787 billion Porkulus bill? Aircraft production is real economic stimulus.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
US electrical system hacked by enemies
Yesterday the WSJ kicked up a storm with a front page article stating the US electrical grid computers have been infiltrated by spyware and trojan horse malware, sent by URL's located in Russia and China. The article went on to warn that in case of war enemy nations would be able to turn out the lights all over the country. Or even worse, disable automatic protection systems and cause equipment to self destruct. Just turning out the lights can be life threatening in heating season. Damaged heavy equipment can take years to replace.
To be that vulnerable requires three blunders by utility engineers. First is excessive automation, too many unmanned plants, remotely controlled. Second is connection to the public internet, and third is using Windows computers.
For instance, I know of a remote controlled gas turbine generator in Peabody MA. They turn it on, and turn it off from a control room located miles away. Proper design would route the control signals over a private line, say a fiber optic line hung off the power poles. That way, a malicious hacker has to climb a pole, and splice a tap into a glass fiber with the wind whistling past his ears. Not so comfy as working a mouse in the comfort of an air conditioned computer room.
If the utility bean counters forced engineering to use the public internet, 'cause it's cheaper than stringing a few miles of fiber optics, then the system is vulnerable. State utilities regulators ought to check on this sort of dangerous cheap cut. As a rule, no connection to the public internet should be allowed for any operational systems.
Second rule, never use Windows for any industrial control system. Windows is not real time. It will not service interrupts while other programs are running. Should a program lock up (fairly common) , interrupts are locked out and emergencies like fire, overheat, over current, over speed, name-your-own-disaster will not get serviced. Plus, Windows is a server operating system with dozens of external entry points that allow remote users to request the "load and execute this program" service. Windows is so eager to serve that any teen aged hacker can take it over and make it do anything he wants. No experienced engineer would ever entrust anything important to Windows, but the company bean counters might force him too. Windows computers, despite their many flaws, are still the cheapest way to go.
Bottom line. It ain't hard to make the electrical grid immune to hackers. It won't cost all that much, compared to the price of a couple of new generating plants. Public utility commission should enforce the rules against use of the public internet and the use of Windows.
To be that vulnerable requires three blunders by utility engineers. First is excessive automation, too many unmanned plants, remotely controlled. Second is connection to the public internet, and third is using Windows computers.
For instance, I know of a remote controlled gas turbine generator in Peabody MA. They turn it on, and turn it off from a control room located miles away. Proper design would route the control signals over a private line, say a fiber optic line hung off the power poles. That way, a malicious hacker has to climb a pole, and splice a tap into a glass fiber with the wind whistling past his ears. Not so comfy as working a mouse in the comfort of an air conditioned computer room.
If the utility bean counters forced engineering to use the public internet, 'cause it's cheaper than stringing a few miles of fiber optics, then the system is vulnerable. State utilities regulators ought to check on this sort of dangerous cheap cut. As a rule, no connection to the public internet should be allowed for any operational systems.
Second rule, never use Windows for any industrial control system. Windows is not real time. It will not service interrupts while other programs are running. Should a program lock up (fairly common) , interrupts are locked out and emergencies like fire, overheat, over current, over speed, name-your-own-disaster will not get serviced. Plus, Windows is a server operating system with dozens of external entry points that allow remote users to request the "load and execute this program" service. Windows is so eager to serve that any teen aged hacker can take it over and make it do anything he wants. No experienced engineer would ever entrust anything important to Windows, but the company bean counters might force him too. Windows computers, despite their many flaws, are still the cheapest way to go.
Bottom line. It ain't hard to make the electrical grid immune to hackers. It won't cost all that much, compared to the price of a couple of new generating plants. Public utility commission should enforce the rules against use of the public internet and the use of Windows.
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