Diary

Browsing the articles on Linux Mafia Knowledgebase I came across a link to The Parable of the Languages. Having sufferred XML for the past three years while using CCM I couldn't help but be moved ;-)

XML! Exclaimed C++. What are you doing here? You're not a programming language.

Tell that to the people who use me, said XML.

...snip..

And yet, all I am is a simple little markup, from humble origins. It's a burden, being XML.

At that XML sighed, and the other languages, moved by its plight gathered around...

...and tromped that little XML into the dirt. Yes, into the very dirt at their feet. Basic tromped, and C++ tromped, and Java cleaned and tromped and cleaned again, and COBOL tried to throw a kick at XML's head but fell over on its cane. Even LISP pulled itself out of the pond to throw loopy hands around XML's throat, but only managed to choke its ownself.

And each language could be heard to mumble as it tromped and tromped and tromped, with complete and utter glee:

Have to parse XML, eh? Have to have an XML API, eh? Have to work with SOAP and XML-RPC and RSS and RDF, eh?

Well parse this, you little markup asshole.

'00000000'. According to this story (also featured on /., the 8-digit launch code to protect against a rogue missile launch was left at this trivial setting because commanders didn't want procedure to get in the way of action during a war time situation. Carrying on with the scary but true theme I came across this comment in the same /. article

A flight attendant invited me to a party a few years back, and it was mostly pilots and flight attendants at the party. All getting sloshed, of course - pilot and flight attendants DRINK. Since most airline pilots started their careers in the military I got to spend a lot of the evening listening to 'war' stories.

One pilot I talked to used to copilot one of the two big planes (747s?) that they send up that can launch all the missiles remotely in case NORAD gets knocked out. He told a story about how they would run all these drills where they would scramble, get in the air immediately, and then get transmitted codes from the ground. They would unscramble the codes as "do not launch" and then return to base without transmitting anything to the silos, drill over.

According to him, on one of these sorties received the "launch" code in error. So they asked the ground to repeat the transmission. Which they did, and it was the same. So they took a chance and broke protocol and radio'd the ground and told them that they had just sent the "launch" codes, and did they really want them to transmit this along to the silos? Of course the ground told them to cease and return to base.

Scary truth or dunken bravado? Who knows.