Showing posts with label Insects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insects. Show all posts
August 26, 2024
June 5, 2023
January 2, 2023
November 4, 2022
Creepy Crawler
August 5, 2022
Get The Pest(s) Out Of Life
October 20, 2020
Best Looking Bees
February 2, 2020
The Real Threat Is Surprise Attacks
The element of surprise can overcome most defenses. This can happen whether through an insider threat or through new and stealthy technologies. Already in August 2018, two explosive-laden drones were used to attack the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. Similarly, last year, in the movie, Angel Has Fallen, we saw the president of the United States attacked by a swarm of drones. While this is a great threat in and of itself, I believe that the greater threat lies in the miniaturization of the drones, in some cases, drones with the size, shape, and function of insects.
Unfortunately, Yigal Amir used the element of surprise to assassinate the prime minister of Israel. Now there are other high-tech threats like miniaturized, weaponized drones. There is no excuse for us not to be on the lookout for and to be prepared to defend against these, so that our leadership and our democracies are duly protected. Surprise is a big advantage in warfare, but we must be one step ahead, so that we are prepared to defend against these as well as to turn the tables and effectively employ the continued element of surprise against our relentless adversaries.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 28, 2019
Revolting Bug Food
It says:
"Eat Bugs"
Bugs are a source of high protein.
Crunchy too.
The ones above were Cheddar Cheese Crickets!
There was also Chile-Lime Crickets (with Pumpkin Seeds) and Dark Chocolate Crickets (with Amaranth Seeds).
Then came the BBQ and Honey Mustard Crickets
And to top it all of some Salt and Pepper Mealworms.
OMG folks, we have gone back to the Stone Ages eating this crap.
Or maybe this is all that will be left when Armageddon finally comes. ;-)
(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
July 15, 2019
February 19, 2019
Cockroach Tea
I saw this chest of draws with all sorts of herbs and insects listed.
One draw included a label for "Cockroach".
I asked innocently:
Do you have cockroaches in there?
The lady behind the counter responds in broken English:
Oh yes, there are roaches in there.
Again, not understanding the relationship to the herbs for sale, I inquire:
What are the roaches used for?
The lady looks at me a little more intently and says:
It is for tea--cockroach tea!
My eyes literally bugged out and I go for a third round:
Do people drink that for health reasons?
She responds:
Yes, and it is good for managing pain.
Hesitatingly, I asked her to take out the bag and open it so I could see for myself.
I don't know about you, but growing up in NYC, we definitely didn't value cockroaches as part of our diet--in fact, we did everything we could to try and rid ourselves of these disgusting insects--but usually to no avail.
The roaches survived everything we could throw at them!
If they are so resilient, maybe they can provide some health benefits to people (who knows--you've got to respect ancient alternative medicines), but I will only say this, you won't get me anywhere near this roach tea--and not for all the tea in China! ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
June 9, 2017
Drones Vs. Man
Look how close this machine is flying to his head!
Aside from the surveillance capabilities and offsetting privacy issues, these are bringing some dangerous fighting capabilities anywhere and everywhere.
Just today, I read about how the U.S. shot down an armed Syrian drone--presumably made and deployed by Iran!
I guess it's not proprietary technology anymore!
As drones and robots become better, faster, and cheaper and ubiquitous on the battlefield and on main street, who will be (relatively) safe anymore?
Unless of course, my drones are stronger than your drones!
It's going to be a war of technology and machines more than ever before.
Small ones like insects, swarms of them like engulfing locust, and large ones like Godzilla.
What was once human flesh against a steel blade, arrow, and then bullet is now going to be an superfast artificially intelligent, armed to the hilt "man of steel" (and they don't miss) against just regular everyday people.
Don't hurt your hand punching that Robot in the face. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
January 27, 2015
Trouble In Protection Land
(And it comes on the heels of knife-wielding assailants running wild through the front doors of the White House, people taking pot shots at the White House, and even planes crash landing there).
This time it was perhaps, a small drone innocently passing low without a significant radar signature unto the White House grounds, but next time it may be a miniaturized drone the size of an insect that attacks the President or his senior staff in the White House itself.
This could happen with a pin prick of poison or a small drone carrying explosives, biological, or chemical weapons.
We are entering a new dimension of threats that are not easily addressed with existing technology.
It is said the the President is proverbially protected by a bubble of defenses around him, but where we are going is that this bubble may need to become an actual physical bubble that nothing, not even an insect drone can get through.
It may sound ridiculous, but it may be the only way (for now) to really protect against these threats that literally fly beneath our radar!
Perhaps at some future time, we will have our swarms of defensive drones that go after any attack drone, no matter how small or how many, but in the meantime, we must protect our critical leadership and assets.
Almost two years ago, I blogged about robots, drones, and commandos in exoskeletons attacking the White House and our not being prepared with adequate defenses and counter-measures.
This week's drone crash should be making the alarm bells go off on this issue big time now!
We must move past reactive steps and a failure to anticipate and become true forward-thinkers, strategists, planners, enterprise architects, and futurists.
The protection of our leaders, institutions, critical infrastructure, and people depend upon true out of the box thinking, not doing the same thing but on a different day.
The time is now to think about protections from much more than traditional attack patterns to the wildest and craziest we can imagine--because our enemies are not hampered by the past and won't rest until they see what we won't. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to David Illig)
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