In response to one of my posts from several days back, I received more than a few e-mails---most of which tried to squelch my idea of building "rail guns" and the like, on the grounds that this would give militia groups and Arkansas hillbillies FRESH IDEAS for defeating "them dern revenuers" (or something to that effect). I suppose the implication was that our national security would be threatened if JYW featured teams ATTEMPTING such feats of engineering.

How paranoid IS the liberal element in America? Do you actually envision a team of backwoods militiamen taking pointers from Junkyard Wars and building RAIL-GUNS to blow away surveillance satellites or something? That's AT LEAST a paranoid contention. At best, JYW has shown us that EVEN EXPERTS can BARELY MAKE these technological marvels work without DECADES of refinement.

Veioc

-- Charles Austin (Veiocity@aol.com), January 09, 2001

Answers

At least as paranoid as the conservative element in America, whose response to the Columbine shootings was to act against the things that let those two young killers murder so many of their classmates:

Black trenchcoats and computer games.

-- YCDK (ycdk@hotmail.com), January 09, 2001.

One thing that should be made clear is that THECHNOLOGY and HARDWARE DO NOT a gang of thugs MAKE. }=]... By that narrow line of association, a free society should have tried Werner Von Braun for war crimes (in the development of V2) and sentenced him for crimes against humanity. Welcome to the free world. Rather than blame TECHNOLOGY and HARDWARE (or rockets and guns and ammunition) for the atrocities of WWII, the Allies blamed CRIMINAL INTENT, and allowed Werner to more fully explore rocket science, culminating in the modern American space program. Let's call a spade a spade: BAD people do BAD THINGS with WHATEVER technology is available.

Veiocit

-- Charles Austin (Veiocity@aol.com), January 09, 2001.

the plans for rail guns and coil guns are not secret, in fact, Popular mechanics featured a coil gun, a small one, only 6 drive coils in their magizine, it was built at a university and launched a projectile at about 7000 FPS, the coil gun itself was small, could be mounted in a van or on a trailer, the 20 tons of batteries that are neccessary to give the huge amp load to fire it are another story. the power problem is the reason you do not see rail guns as field artilary yet, also the huge magnetic field that they generate in launching would ruin any kind of electronic trigger or guidence system you would put in the projectile, limiting you to solid, unguided shells

-- Eric Kahn (kubla@fuse.net), January 09, 2001.

However, Hillbillies in Arkansas would have really good access to junkyards, and 10 hours to spare. Oh no, God help us. The hillbillies may overthrow the country and make us all eat chitlins and squeal like pigs. Whee Whee oink oink.

-- www.geocities.com/kablamotheclown (kablamotheclown@yahoo.com), January 09, 2001.

I can see the headlines now, Hillbillies rocket to Fort Knox cross ing rivers with bridgers and amphibious vehicles, and lay seige with pumpkin launchers, catapults,and other homemade cannons while bombarding the area from the sky with R.C. blimps. Meanwhile various strange aircraft do reconnisance while gangs of loonies drive around in steam vehicles and others mow lawns with wierd contraptions while grinding coffee with windmills.

-- Waddy Thompson (cthomp3851@aol.com), January 09, 2001.

Do the hillbillies even have cable TV? : ) Sorry, I couldn't resist!

-- Rhonda (mxrs@zianet.com), January 09, 2001.

No, sorry - the hillbillies are too busy building cannons based from an earlier JYW challenge.

+Chris

-- Chris Rake (car@technologist.com), January 09, 2001.

Nice to see some humor on this site again. We'll have to send over remote controled airplanes to drop leaflets down to the hillbillies on how to build a T.V. set so they can watch the series!

-- John Gap (mindthegap@hotmail.com), January 09, 2001.

Sounds like Bakersfield Oakies to me.But you forgot to mention bailing wire and 110 mile an hour tape (the 10 is three extra turns of tape,Oakie style).They could be a real threat to national security if you could pry them away from thier beer and football! (I couldn't resist either!)

-- The Zipper (abbynrml@tcsn.net), January 09, 2001.

come on now you are talkin about some of our biggest fans

-- justjay-Captain-Three Rusty Juveniles (justjay@neo.rr.com), January 09, 2001.

That's right....and I'm one of 'em! (LOL)

-- The Zipper (abbynrml@tcsn.net), January 10, 2001.

>>>Do the hillbillies even have cable TV? : ) Sorry, I couldn't resist! <<<

Honey, the Arkansas Hillbillies have an empty house in New York City, AS WELL AS a $3.5 million house in Washington D.C. Of COURSE they have cable, AND cable modem. Those would be the Bill & Hill Hillbillies... I WOULD post a joke about their cat, Socks (who they "gave away" after 8 years), but I have a bit too much taste to descend to that level.

VeIocity@a

-- Charles Austin (Veiocity@aol.com), January 10, 2001.

Ahhhhhhh. If only Jeff Foxworthy could see this now! I bet he'd have a hell of a time.

-- Tyson Fortowsky (biker_tyboy@hotmail.com), January 11, 2001.

hey now, just cause us'ns is from the the hills don't mean we can't 'preciate good tv. we'uns would be gud players, who else can keep a 49 chevy truck runnin for fifty years wid bubble gum and balin war? I saw sum body mention a still and ethyl powrd car in a nudder message, whuts saw hard or unusul bout that? we's been doin for hundert years.

-- b dudley (bdudley@industrialmechanical.com), January 12, 2001.

you have 55 chanels and I have 500 chanels on the satelite dish and you say we rednecks are backwards.

-- Stephen A. Binion (Stephenbinion@hotmail.com), January 12, 2001.

The biggest problems in any security system in the world or anything relating to security are us. Our ignorance and inexperience and fear causes glitches or errors in the security systems in the world. People try searching for answers elsewhere to resolve security issues when the epicentre of the problem is staring them right in the face. What do we do then to eliminate this errors? Now that's the question that should have been asked from the beginning of any security problem whether its national security, bank security, international security or personal security?

-- Derem Loman (baudtrap@icqmail.com), December 06, 2004.