The Next Big Threat...?

Too bad the insatiable thirst for information is not being tempered with the wisdom to use it honestly, fairly and respectfully. Until I see evidence of this I will continue to be wary. Probably after that , too.

Can you imagine an army of these...?

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2014/03/09/t-sxsw-drone-stun-chaotic-moon.cnnmoney/

Attack of the Killer Bee's Drones...

I still see the drones from Terminator in my mind's eye. So I can imagine just about anything. Whether I see it as needing to be acted upon is another question.

Silently? Silently? Are you serious???

I think you would hear it...unless you are completely deaf.

Besides, why would THEY need a drone to hack your phone? If you are near a tower, getting service...you're done.

They can hack your phone in your pocket, not being used....as long as WiFi is enabled...The motors are electric, you can't hear them at a distance....Anybody can see your password and usernames with this software and intercept thingy....Encrypt your stuff....

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/10/keep-your-smartphone-locked/

http://mobile-encryption-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://help.unc.edu/help/encrypting-cell-phones/

Yeah, I've heard all this. But still, why would I put a drone over your head when I only need a cell tower or a hotspot within "earshot"?

Any electric quadrotor I have ever heard is really noisy.

If a cell is set up and anybody uses it, there is no worry about the user's encryption when the cell operator is the man in the middle. All the operator needs is a nanoGSM or something like it. Nobody cares where they get access from. They only care that they are getting it.

Hypothesis: An iPhone can act as a 3G hotspot. Set it up for no password and give it an official sounding name. If riding public transportation, use Boingo2 or some such thing. People will flock to the apparently free wifi connection. Since many forms of public transportation use Boingo for their wifi, very few people will bat an eye. Any and all information will pass through the iPhone, prime for the picking.

It's not that hard, really.

"Even paranoids have real enemies." G. Meir

'Paranoids'? Are those similar to 'paranoiacs'?

Wifi is most of the time off! So good luck hacking it!

If you regard UAVs as having the capability of a 'slow flying bullet' or a 'PC virus', then is it time for the personal type of "Norton or McAfee" drone protection to confuse, quarantine or otherwise eliminate the potential incoming physical and/or electronic threats?

Imagine a broad visual and electronic signature detection package that just deflected the incoming and returned the favour ... that could crash the UAV flying platform out of the air. So, would you carry a small pen-sized drone firewall system in your pocket to reduce the incoming threats? I can see a DARPA contract on the horizon, if not already in place.

And for me in Australia, the Department of Defence has an Export Control office that issues control advices to restrict such technologies. I have 3 such control orders for certain hardware and software so cannot say much more!

I think I should start selling my metal mesh Burka. It breaths nicely while providing the perfect Faraday shield. Aluminum helments are extra.

Way ahead of ya'.....the non-hackable phone pouch....

.

Is that a foot?

As soon as you take that phone out to use it...

While the pocket pouch and/or burka could be good passive protection against a drone, how about (a) a pocket of small electronics to actively disorientate the threat, or (b) train a sea eagle to fly with you. See what this sea eagle did to a camera watching crocs. There were a couple of selfies and a 110km 'relocation' flight for the camera system.

I like the idea, but if you hope to develop loyalty in the group of eagles, it might be a good idea to use the proper collective noun. Rather than a 'sea', the proper collective noun for eagles is a 'convocation', as in a 'convocation of eagles'.

.

How about just a personal drone with a can of Great Stuff that flies above the other drones and squirts a little of the expanding foam to interact in various ways? It would probably take out most drones if a reasonable amount were to make contact regardless of where. Light, cheap, readily available, and probably pretty funny to watch.

I actually didn't watch the video, because I'm pretty sure I've seen it in the past, but now I'll go back and watch it to be sure. I actually had a number of ospreys and bald eagles on the lake I lived on previously. Mating season for the bald eagles is an impressive show.

.

I was merely commenting on the use of the term 'sea of eagles'. If we were talking about more than one osprey then the collective noun is 'duet'. I don't recall more than two (with the exception of juveniles in the nest plus parents) ever flocking together, so 'duet' probably works fine in most situations.

.

Okay on closer review, I see my error. I read an 'of' into the sentence that isn't there. My bad, sorry about that.

.

Aren't ospreys called sea hawks? I think sea eagle is something different (inclusive of bald eagles).

I'd seen that video before, but it wasn't one of the ones I was thinking about....

There are a few, like this one, this one and this one that show birds pretty relentlessly going after RC planes.

Here is a collection of those collective nouns related to birds ....

congregation of birds
dissimulation of birds
flight of birds
flock of birds
volery of birds
sedge of bitterns
siege of bitterns
chain of bobolinks
wake of buzzards
brood of chickens
flock of chickens
peep of chickens
brood of chicks
chattering of chicks
clutch of chicks
chattering of choughs
bury of conies
cover of coots
flight of cormorants
sedge of cranes
siege of cranes
murder of crows
storytelling of crows
herd of curlews
bevy of doves
cote of doves
dole of doves
dule of doves
flight of doves
piteousness of doves
brace of ducks
flock of ducks
flush of ducks
paddling of ducks
raft of ducks
team of ducks
aerie of eagles
convocation of eagles
mob of emus
charm of finches
flock of geese
gaggle of geese
wedge of geese (flying in a 'V')
skein of geese (in flight)
charm of goldfinches
skein of goslings
covey of grouse
pack of grouse
colony of gulls
aerie of hawks
cast of hawks
kettle of hawks
brood of hens
hedge of herons
sedge of herons
siege of herons
charm of hummingbirds
band of jays
party of jays
scold of jays
deceit of lapwings
ascension of larks
exaltation of larks
tidings of magpies
sord of mallards
watch of nightingales
parliament of owls
wisdom of owls
company of parrots
covey of partridges
muster of peacocks
ostentation of peacocks
colony of penguins
crèche of penguins
huddle of penguins
parcel of penguins
rookery of penguins
nest of pheasants
covey of pheasants (on the ground)
nide of pheasants (on the ground)
nye of pheasants (on the ground)
bouquet of pheasants (when flushed)
flight of pigeons
flock of pigeons
congregation of plovers
wing of plovers
covey of ptarmigans
bevy of quail
covey of quail
conspirancy of ravens
storytelling of ravens
unkindness of ravens
building of rooks
clamor of rooks
parliament of rooks
storytelling of rooks
walk of snipes
wisp of snipes
host of sparrows
murmuration of starlings
muster of storks
mustering of storks
flight of swallows
bevy of swans
herd of swans
lamentation of swans
wedge of swans (flying in a 'V')
flock of swifts
spring of teals
flock of turkeys
rafter of turkeys
brood of turkeys (immature)
dule of turtledoves
pitying of turtledoves
colony of vultures
plump of waterfowl
raft of wigeons
plump of wildfowl
fall of woodcocks
descent of woodpeckers

I've always like a "murder of crows" ... talk about the next big threat.

Australia was deliberately colonised by cane toads to get rid of a sugar cane pest. It didn't work but now the country is overrun with these toads that have poison sacks underneath. Local snakes that eat the toads die. But, the crows worked out that they could flick the toads on their backs and peck out the flesh between the poison sacks. I wonder about their powers of observation and how many it took to work out that one.

A nesting of hair finches....

Crows really are amazing. There is a researcher who has them bringing change they find to a peanut vending machine. He declined to say how much the machine was netting, but the video looked like the machine was doing a good business.

.

In Japan, the crows take what previously was a nut they could not consume because the shell was too tough, to the roadways to have cars run over the nuts to crack the shells....but get this, not just anywhere along the roadways, they go to cosswalks and then sit on the side waiting for the crosswalk light.

.

I always liked a 'parliament of owls' (I hadn't heard of a 'wisdom off owls' but it does seem appropriate) and also a 'flamboyance of flamingos' (which I didn't see on your much appreciated list).

.

I have one more that is semi-related. I thought there might be something similar in the 'penguin' entries you provided but that wasn't the case. Did you know that the collective noun description for a group of nuns is a 'superfluity of nuns'?

Thanks for the additions! I could add something about the "Superfruity nuns", but then it might mean confession with the local priest and treading on his toes??

As for the crows, and the "next big threat" in this thread, you get the feeling that there is something in the makeup of crows that could be applied to a whole range of disciplines, in defence, business management, education, R&D etc that we may also strive to do, but did not appreciate fully the parallels / refinements in other species.

Maybe under Darth Vader's suit there was a crow ... the dark force and all that?

'...Maybe under Darth Vader's suit there was a crow ... the dark force and all that?...'

.

Oh, that would have been so much better! After hearing James Earl Jones, for three movies, do the speaking parts for Darth Vader, it was so disappointing to see Sebastian Shaw under that mask.

Then there is also a "CONGRESS OF HYENAS" ,the most dangerous of all.How appropriate.

I think you left out "Flock of Seagulls"

Heck I'm my worst enemy! I damn near destroyed my computer by clicking on something and not paying attention! Took some time today to get rid of a rootkit virus!

Don't you just hate that....I've had that happen, what a pain in the arse that was...I have Norton virus now, it will stop any harmful files from being downloaded and pop a window that tells you about the threat...very cool...I have the package that includes phone protection, but haven't installed yet....

Oh I have all the protections to keep things from downloading...I just ignored them and opened a stupid e-mail and clicked on a link like I was an idiot! There's a first for everyone I guess...won't forget that soon!

Yes the school of hard knocks....

The only school you never seem to graduate from....