Much food for thought here. Please don't take any of the below as "dicksizing"--I'm speaking frankly to save time.
John Grigg wrote:
>
> On another Spike Jones inspired tangent, I have been told by Army friends that the army teaches troops how to shoot down low flying aircraft as a team effort. Obviously, the more rifles aimed at a plane, the more bullets being shot at a plane, and so, the odds being that much better of the plane being shot down!
>
> We should all form up into little "shooting clubs" to keep our neighborhoods safe. Mike Lorrey should be put in charge of the online effort to organize this! I bet now redneck areas of this country will now be seen as the safest!! Those poor New Yorkers(like my father) need the right to carry firearms now more then ever.
I think I mentioned that in my earlier post: three guys with .223s vs. one guy with something in .30.
If one lived in a state where tracers are legal, or if one were willing to engage in serious (potential felony charges)
civil disobedience, one might practice quick controlled groups (pairs or triples): tracer followed by
one or two 55-grain ball or SS109 light armor piercing rounds. And for a target drone, maybe an RC airplane towing
something.
Hmm. For once, that silly triple-round-burst auto setting on the current M-16s has a use. Whaddayaknow...
Don't set your neighbors on fire, now, y'hear? And good luck finding a 6-mile range, even over open water.
Camp Peary, anyone?
> I'm just concerned about about becoming a casualty in this patriotic effort. You may not get too many shots off before the poison gas does you in!
<snip>
> And what if you shoot down the plane thinking you are alright, when in fact you have been exposed to a horrible disease like anthrax? Well, at least you possibly limited the area directly infected.
As my guidance counselor used to say, "And how old will you be in four years if you *don't* go to school?"
If you're not determined to fight in "go-to-hell" style, you probably shouldn't fight. I hear Belize is nice.
> Should we all go and buy gasmasks, or even full biohazard suits?
Good luck getting a good price. It's hard to determine the utility of canisters that were manufactured for
Israel in 1971. How were they stored? Etc.
Full-on suits are very uncomfortable, and you probably won't get the atropine ampoule and needle included in the
price. So much depends on the agent and the dose.
If an attack is bio, rather than chem, assuming no open cuts and no direct contact with spores, etc.,
your lungs are your first thing to protect, your eyes and mucosa (lips, etc.) are the next most important.
There are lots of OSHA style respirators that might provide some protection.
Few would be effective against very small airborne virus particles, but they might still stop "wet" aerosol
droplets cold. The desired filter size is around .5 micron if you can get it. And lose the beard, if you've
got one, or use a lot of vaseline and hope for the best.
> And walking around in such garb with a rifle slung over my shoulder could give people reason to panic...
This is true; this is today. Consider:
How much can you pack in a gym bag? How often can you practice donning, assembling, loading and taking aim?
What are the odds you'll be effective?
What are the odds you'll be braced as a potential crazy by the gendarmes?
> I think for any cryonicists among us, it could be a smart move to keep a big vat of liquid nitrogen in the garage. Should you be infected with a deadly disease, simply grit your teeth and gently fall into the vat. I hate to think how painful it would briefly be, but try to think of the potential long term benefit!
*Pfft*. I have a freezer contract.
I want my death to have meaning, if possible. I'd like to help build a world that wouldn't mind bringing
me (/us) back, and _most importantly_, a world I wouldn't mind coming back to.
These three desiderata are, for me, in ascending importance. YMMV.
If I had a wife and kids, I'd probably have other priorities.
-- Job One: MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL. If you're not part of the solution, what are you doing scumming up the bottom of our beaker? --MMB "Let's roll." --Last words heard over Todd Beamer's cell phone before the counterassault aboard UA93, 02001.09.11.~10:10EDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:11 MDT