The End is NEAR!!!

Snow Crash?

I remember filing into the gymnasium with classmates, crouching down facing the wall and covering my head with my hands.

Like in a nuclear explosion I might be able to prevent a head injury with my hands...

I'm also glad I didn't really understand what it was about, it was just another type of fire drill to me (we also did the get under the desk ones too-because desks are known to protect us from g-forces, searing heat, and falling debris.

Oh not THAT book again.......

We're all gonna speak in some language derived form Babylon?

Hey, it works for tornadoes.. kinda. Works for earthquakes.. kinda. Of course, it does come with the disclaimer, "Sometimes it might even save your life." All they needed was the end disclaimer of "Does not work 99.99% of the time," and they'd be safe from prosecution!

Maybe it's all a conspiracy?

They are just saying it's nuclear tests - best look out for unusual symptoms and activites going on in SL.

I already own my own Nuke. They can save billions and rent mine.

Pffft, nukes. Death ray's and sonic cannons and doomsday devices are the proper way to go.

It's customary to ridicule protective measures against nuclear attack and instructional movies like Duck and Cover do seem somewhat naive today.

And of course, if you're in, or close to, Ground Zero, the protective measures will not do it for you.

But as you get further and further away from Ground Zero, there will be a point where the heat radiation is less intensive and where covering or not covering will make the difference between getting burns or not getting them.

And though most everything will be levelled at Ground Zero, a distance away from Ground Zero, the damages will be similar to the damages from conventional weapons. Burning buildings and blast damages to buildings and structures. In such areas, taking cover, like under a table, will (might) protect you from falling debris and glass fragments from windows being blown in.

So there is no harm done in teaching children (and others) to take cover. If they are too close to Ground Zero, they will be dead anyway, but if they are some distance away, it might just do them good.

If it is seen as a good thing to survive in a nuclear holocaust

Even in grade school we always thought of it more like "put your head between you lets and kiss your ass goodbye."

During the whole Y2K build up, I purchased a couple of books on survival. I forget the name of one, but it went into all the different types of weaponry and their effects (nuclear, biological, chemical, etc.) After browsing through it for a time, it scared me so much I think I gave it away. (Will have to check my library.)

One thing that's been coming to mind while reading this thread: The Duck & Cover film kept saying "Atomic" bomb not "Nuclear." Not being up on my global destruction weapons, would there be a better chance to survive an atomic bomb. Was thinking that it is different than nuclear in some way.

Remember the "bent over double at the middle" thing that used to happen to our avatars?

You thought it was a bug?

Nope!
They were testing the "Kiss your ass goodbye" animation.

LOL, Sling!

My avatar never did that for some reason until a couple of nights ago it did it twice and...

Accckkkk!!!!!

/me looks wildly around my house for something to get under

Not sure if anyone mentioned this:

A worker at the Hadron Collider made a rap video about Physics.

I thought it was pretty cool! I normally dont like Rap. But I like "Geek Rap".

The Article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10050008-93.html?tag=TOCcarouselArea.4

The Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

Very cool!

SURE IT IS!!! There's always a chance you'll get to fight for your life against flesh-eating zombies!!!

By the time I was in Grade School, "Duck & Cover" was loooong gone. So some of you folks just dated yerselves!

My Dad remembers doing it. He's 64.

I just remember the Nuns telling us "Communism is bad!! They want to kill us. Nuclear 'anything' is bad. Pray to Jesus".

Funny thing was- My dad works in the Nuclear Industry/War Industry. I have NO problems with it. My mistake was saying it to the Nuns. What an argument THAT was!

So far I've found out that the Nuns LIED!!! I was told we'd be at WWIII by now. So far.... NOTHING!!!

Little did they know, there's many many many things *worse* than a nuclear bomb. Like say.... a return of Smallpox? A virus as small as a particle of cigarette smoke that spreads like the wind. My fiancee read a science book about the dangers of a smallpox outbreak. Seems Russia had a virus that was immune to our immunizations, which most of us need new ones. Somehow, Russia lost or sold it off to another country- one that's not friends with the USA. And from what she read, the CDC will NOT give out the newer immunizations to people because it can cause death more than preventing it. Nice, eh?

Sounds like a fun Virus!!! Fluid Filled Blisters, followed eventually by your own skin filled with fluid till it just sloughs off, bleeding from orifices, and being conscious the whole time yer dying!!

What FUN!!!

i think they are going to land short of hitting and blast in the air causing an emp affect and us all be frozen trapped where we stand so they can empty all our inventories at once instead of the ninja style here and there tactics they have used in the past..
the best conspiracy is in your face not behind your back

/sets ground zero as home

... bomb goes off ... endless recursion results as avatar is sent "home" to the center of the fireball over and over.

/attaches blast goggles and stands very very close.........................

I live ten miles from NSA. The last thing I want to do is somehow survive, figuring just the near misses will make my backyard largely unusable (OTOH, wouldn't have to mow). I'll go to the deck, open a triple ale and wait for the flash...

Lindal's Resident Geek, checking in. OK, this is a topic that I unfortunately know something about, having spent some years a long time back in the defense industry.

1. "Atomic" bombs. This was an early popular term for fission weapons. After a fairly short period, fission weapons were superceded by the "hydrogen bomb", i.e. fusion weapons. Both types are more properly referred to as "nuclear weapons", since they operate by releasing energy from splitting (fission) or joining (fusion) atomic nuclei.

2. Surviving Armageddon. If you're too close to the explosion, you're dead. In the same way, if you are too close to the explosion of a stick of dynamite, you're dead. Simple physics. However, shelter can increase your chances of survival a LOT, assuming you're not actually at Ground Zero. The main protection you get from sheltering is against fallout, although a properly designed shelter can give you a lot of protection against blast and thermal effects too. Even so, your best strategy is to be somewhere the Bomb is not...move to a small town now, or be prepared to get out of town for an extended vacation at the first sign of trouble. Waiting too long is what kills the victims of almost any large disaster, whether natural or man-made.

3. Would the Living Envy the Dead? Maybe. Most realistic assessments of large scale nuclear war indicate that it would kick us back to about a Civil War era standard of living. There were a lot of reasonably contented people in the late 1800s. Life would be much harder than it is now, and probably shorter. But the bleak post-Apocalypse worlds depicted by Hollywood are simply not realistic. In any case, wouldn't you rather be among the living so that you have a chance to find out for yourself? If life after Doomsday is simply unbearable, suicide is always an option.

Speaking of "Life After Doomsday", it's the title of a very informative book by Dr. Bruce Clayton, who did a lot of research into how to survive disasters, including nuclear war, and wrote it all up in a form that's easy for the average person to read and understand.

Ever watch the series "Jericho"?

A few episodes, yes. Fascinating series...but neither Lin or I watch much tube these days. She's too busy with SL, and I'm too busy keeping her computer out of trouble. If it isn't her machine, it's the kids'. I never should have allowed more than one computer in the house. The day we got two is the day I became an unpaid IT department.

Lindal's R.G.

ROFLMAO!!!

I know the feeling! Got 6 at home myself. If I had kids, I would have only 1 'cuz I've seen what kids can do to them.