I am not planning any nuclear attacks • Hacker News Board

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#31

Post by tomp » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:30 PM UTC

realusername wrote: post #20

tomp wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, it's not clear at all. The only clue I found that it's only a virtual plan is one mention of "WebRTC" in the third image. Far from obvious for most non-programers.

I'm going to get downvoted for this but I cannot believe what I'm reading... we're talking about a nuclear attack involving inter-continental missiles. I'm far from an expert on this subject but I'm pretty sure you cannot build one in your garage on your own. (and especially not with a simple schema on a white board).

Of course, which is why the whole thing is ridiculous - but that would be true even if the person was planning an actual nuclear attack - in a free country, the only reasonable course of action would be to "let them try" - obviously there is no chance of success.

If they actually do get anywhere, AFAIK possession of radioactive material is illegal, so that's when you could actually arrest them.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#32

Post by omh » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:31 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #13

cpfohl wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What state did you live in? You've got tenant rights, and one of them is almost certainly "You can't be evicted for cleaning your apartment." Just a wild guess.

The fine state of County Durham. As a tenant - a student tenant, no less - your rights are virtually squat.

In the UK you almost certainly have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (even if the agent says you don't). This gives you a lot of strong rights which you can use if you know how.

In practice the agent or landlord has a lot of leverage but you can often win if you use the law to your advantage. In particular there is a very specific set of steps they have to follow to evict you.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#33

Post by madaxe_again » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:31 PM UTC

Zikes wrote: post #16

madaxe_again wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Mouse click" That's the mouse that you put in the nose of a MIRV, and when it starts clicking its teeth because it's damnably chilly in space, it's time to re-enter. Right?

Nukes are computer controlled. Computers have mice. Mice are used for things other than playing games.

They are indeed.

But the computers which control launch and targeting operations predate mice by decades. Launching is usually an affair involving lots of panels coated in blinkenlights and big clicky buttons, switches under panels, and then, finally, two keys, and a button push.

Fun fact: the soviets designed their launch control rooms in such a fashion that one person could turn both keys.

Here's someone's snapshot of the control room I'm thinking of - which was a standardised design. Got to push the button!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tpeddle/11427536443/

Anyway. Take your point, but it'd still require a pretty high level of general ignorance to mistake this for any variety of authentic threat.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#34

Post by mattmaroon » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:32 PM UTC

crazypyro wrote: post #18

mattmaroon wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it's not. At all. I mean, a rational person might make the assumption that this guy is not actually whiteboarding an ICBM launch from a rented apartment. But there's nothing about it indicating to a non-technical person that it's a game.

Uhhh? The "mouse click" was a dead give away. Also, Occam's Razor. Is this guy programming a game in his apartment or is he programming a ICBM with 0 related hardware plus probably no other corroborating evidence. No reason to act like it takes more than a couple minutes of investigation to figure this shit out. Edit: for the guy below me, since I can't reply directly, find me a nuclear missile guidance system that i…

It's not irrational to think that launching an ICBM might involve a computer and therefore a mouse. Hell, I'd be surprised if it didn't. I doubt the Pentagon has posted videos of whatever it is they use on YouTube, so it's silly to ask for proof.

As I said, I agree that it is irrational to think the guy was whiteboarding an ICBM launch. (Not to mention while terrorists could conceivably get a dirty bomb, an ICBM seems well out of the question.) But there is nothing in those photos that would lead an average person to believe it was a game.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#35

Post by scott_s » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:32 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #27

kjjw wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As if they could comprehend the difference. And anyway - quite wrongly! What if one works from home? And whatever happened to fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and asking people to take their own lives in their hands by doing things like setting up their own company, all these things that the current UK conservative government claims to want and support? The law around lettings in the UK is detrimental not just…

The simple answer is - insurance. Let's say that you have an accident at home while doing your office work(because you stayed at home that day), and the house is on fire. Suddenly the insurance agency refuses to pay because the house was not insured for commercial purposes. Stupid, I know.

There must be ways around this - I live in the US, and I have never heard of a renter not being able to work from home.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#36

Post by acallaghan » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:32 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #13

cpfohl wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What state did you live in? You've got tenant rights, and one of them is almost certainly "You can't be evicted for cleaning your apartment." Just a wild guess.

The fine state of County Durham. As a tenant - a student tenant, no less - your rights are virtually squat.

They thought a student had 'mountains of cocaine'? Don't they realise how expensive that stuff is?!

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#37

Post by madaxe_again » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:33 PM UTC

ctz wrote: post #22

madaxe_again wrote: post #9

Ah, letting agents. I got evicted from a property years ago because they did a surprise inspection while I was out (which is, of course, totally illegal), and decided they'd found "mountains of cocaine" on the kitchen counters. It was fucking Ajax kitchen cleaning powder. Still, they didn't care. The police (who they contacted) thought it was laughable, but couldn't do anything about the fact they were evicting me.

What did the court say when they applied for a possession order?

To be fair, they just gave me my marching orders and said they'd proceed to eviction if I didn't scram - and scram I did, as the place was falling down anyway.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#38

Post by scrollaway » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:33 PM UTC

Zikes wrote: post #16

madaxe_again wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Mouse click" That's the mouse that you put in the nose of a MIRV, and when it starts clicking its teeth because it's damnably chilly in space, it's time to re-enter. Right?

Nukes are computer controlled. Computers have mice. Mice are used for things other than playing games.

Such as directing nuclear missiles? Better not run out of battery while hovering over China then...

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#39

Post by DanBC » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:33 PM UTC

kjjw wrote: post #2

Par for the course with letting agents in the UK. I'm surprised they didn't begin evicting the renter. Using a property for work is often prohibited in the boilerplate rental agreements they charge £100 a time to change the name on.

> Using a property for work is often prohibited in the boilerplate rental agreements

To be fair using the property for work changes the insurance and tax situation.

Re: I am not planning any nuclear attacks

#40

Post by DanBC » Fri, Aug 15, 2014, 2:35 PM UTC

realusername wrote: post #20

tomp wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, it's not clear at all. The only clue I found that it's only a virtual plan is one mention of "WebRTC" in the third image. Far from obvious for most non-programers.

I'm going to get downvoted for this but I cannot believe what I'm reading... we're talking about a nuclear attack involving inter-continental missiles. I'm far from an expert on this subject but I'm pretty sure you cannot build one in your garage on your own. (and especially not with a simple schema on a white board).

You don't need to ever reply to tomp.