Bad Ideas

Kara (in a prim, British Royal Voice): "We are not amused..."

Kiskaloo wrote:

Kara (in a prim, British Royal Voice): "We are not amused..."

Jamiebel: Oh, you prim and proper Europeans.  I kinda like an anime Alfa. XD

Kiskaloo wrote:

Kara (in a prim, British Royal Voice): "We are not amused..."

Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope...

Actually, not the most offensive I've ever seen: that prize goes to the 105 series GTV someone had done this too.

Usually I can live with the Itasha thing, but there are limits.

Well, Lamborghini was a tractor maker before Ferrari told him to go stuff himself.

Rolls-Royce SUV to launch in 2017

Kara: "Is nothing sacred? First Maserati. Then Bentley. Now Rolls-Royce! Who's next? Lotus?!"

Laine: "*cough* Lotus APX *cough*

Kara:

Claes: "Lamborghini is making an SUV. Maybe Ferrari will try one, too."

Kara: 

Claes: "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Kiskaloo wrote:Rolls-Royce SUV to launch in 2017

Kara: "Is nothing sacred? First Maserati. Then Bentley. Now Rolls-Royce! Who's next? Lotus?!"

Laine: "*cough* Lotus APX *cough*

Kara:

Claes: "Lamborghini is making an SUV. Maybe Ferrari will try one, too."

Kara: 

Claes: "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Jim: I honestly doubt Ferrari will bother making SUVs. Remember their "Sell less, earn more" plan? Exactly.  And the APX didn't really go on sale, it was more a concept.   God knows what Allison would think if she found out about the APX.

To be fair, Lamborghini once made an SUV before... and it was kind of epic.

Though, admittedly, probably better for being utter madness at the time, rather than sound marketing.

*Triela and Rico sprint out of a Padanian Safehouse, a case held firmly in Rico's hand*

Triela: Where is our extraction!

Rico: I don't know, where is-

Q Branch Member: Hop in!



Triela:   

Rico: Yeah! This looks cool!

*Padania run outside as the two get in*

Triela: OHHHH MMMYYYY GOOOODDDDDDD!!!!! 

*woosh*

I presume the doors have to be slid open to keep it from imploding when the driver throttles up.

Thescarredman wrote:I presume the doors have to be slid open to keep it from imploding when the driver throttles up.

Yeah lol. There was one comment that said something like: "If they hit a bump and those doors close, that guy is going to have his brain sucked out his ass."

Triela: Not comforting! *Van hits bump* Gack!

Rico: That's so cool!

Ferro: *looking around at a group of gathered cyborgs* The works department is wondering if anyone would care to explain this?

Alfisti wrote:Ferro: *looking around at a group of gathered cyborgs* The works department is wondering if anyone would care to explain this?

Jim: To be honest, Jamiebel and I weren't there at the time, but apparently someone tried to make a limo out of a truck, or a mission went wrong. And don't ask me, I wasn't there - otherwise it would've gone horribly wrong.


(under his breath) 不幸だ. (Fukou da. - Such misfortune.)    

Two words: Crowd Control.



via the Mining Mayhem facebook.

Why I am a life-long subscriber to Car and Driver magazine...

For the October 2014 issue, they road tested a Lamborghini Nitro tractor on Italy's Stelvio Pass.

Ferro: Could someone explain to me why Q-Branch has a nearly fifty-thousand Euro transaction to their account? Or why Allison McDonnell and Fiona Loreto are absent from the compound for the next 72 hours?

Heinrich: I heard the two of them babbling about acquiring something for 'evaluation purposes' involving 'shredding tyres' and 'obscene American horsepower'. They booked a flight to Detroit last night and left this morning.

Ferro: I see no one at all heeded my request to keep those two separated.

Lines you do not want to hear in the Agency garage: "One more minute, and I'll have the autopilot disabled on this Tesla D."

"...Ferro....what is car 5 doing in a tree?"

*Ferro gestures helplessly at the two cyborgs screaming from the inside the van.*

"Good question, but we'll have to get them down from there to ask them."

"...right..." Jean massages head, "can't wait to explain this to the chief..."

#reasonscyborgscantfly

Meanwhile, in the SWA tech-wing maintenance and service department...

Has to be a Lamborghini...

Alfisti wrote:Meanwhile, in the SWA tech-wing maintenance and service department...

Jim: Well, they did fit it with ludicrous speed.

Not really a "bad idea" per-se, but an interesting thought...

Technology in Cars Making Them More Hackable

Alfisti wrote:Not really a "bad idea" per-se, but an interesting thought...

Technology in Cars Making Them More Hackable

Valentina: (turning a worried expression toward her handler) So, papa... why again are you driving a modern car? Don't you know that our enemies might be able to do the same things I can do?

Giancarlo: Don't worry, baby girl... First thing I did after buying the Fiesta was to modify the ECU and all the other on-board systems. Ford's Sync isn't all that interesting, anyway. Oh, and I removed the tire pressure monitors from the wheels as well, just for good measure.

Valentina: I noticed that much already. But... um... don't you think we should at least tell the others to do the same? I know I'm not supposed to monitor them, but I always feel strange when I can detect their cars when I walk by.

Giancarlo: ...You do remember that you're not supposed to spy on the other handlers, right?

Valentina: I... S-sorry papa! I-I didn't m-mean... I c-can't help it t-that... (violent retching, followed by a thud as she collapses to the ground)

Giancarlo: (sighing) Well, there goes another set of clothing. Guess it's a good thing Priscilla loves shopping for her.

PSVT wrote:Valentina: I noticed that much already. But... um... don't you think we should at least tell the others to do the same? I know I'm not supposed to monitor them, but I always feel strange when I can detect their cars when I walk by.

Giancarlo: ...You do remember that you're not supposed to spy on the other handlers, right?

Monty: *with a sigh* Remind me to double check the Bluetooth is locked down next we're in Rome will you?

I presume Valentina can do Bluetooth as well?

...and I'm sure there has to be a way of spoofing those keyless entry/start transponders (dislike those things, I like a bit of positive feedback to know the car is locked) without having to re-key a fob directly from the OBD port.

As an aside: tyre pressure monitors work on measuring the disparity between wheel speeds rather than directly on air pressure. A flat tyre has a smaller rolling radius than a fully inflated one, and thus will have to spin faster at the same road speed compared to its fellows, which is what the monitor measures... which is why, in order for it to work, you have to check the tyres first and set it so it has baseline to measure from. It uses the same set of hardwired sensors that also do things like traction/stability control, ABS, cruise control, etc, which would make it very difficult to disable them without removing all the others (and which is also why, when one gets a flutter, the whole dash lights up like a Christmas tree).

At least, that's how it is for BMW (1-series coupe, Australian market), mileage with other manufacturers/locales may vary.

Hm. A handler's choice of a high-performance car, either for pursuit or evasion, becomes nothing but vanity if his cyborg is capable of turning off the bad guys' engines - or shifting their transmissions into reverse at eighty miles per hour - just by thinking about it, wouldn't you say?

Regarding modern cars' tire pressure monitors, they can be used actively hack a target's car or passively track their car. Indeed, I (plan to) have Valentina do exactly such a thing in a later chapter in my story.

Also, a handy video doing the same thing (though with unfortunately bad audio in this episode):

PSVT wrote:Regarding modern cars' tire pressure monitors, they can be used actively hack a target's car or passively track their car. Indeed, I (plan to) have Valentina do exactly such a thing in a later chapter in my story.

Huh... that's a very different (and more advanced) system to what I'm used. As described before, that runs off the wheel rotational sensors and is hardwired into the car (and just lets you know if one tyre has lost pressure).

I do note the one described here is a US mandated system so, if you were planning to use it in Europe, I would double check it's standard there as well... or at least fitted to whichever vehicle you were planning on having Valentina hack (or, I guess, invoke artistic license). It's certainly not something I'm used to seeing here, even on new cars and, doing a bit of reading, only really seems to be sold after-market... mostly for 4x4 enthusiasts.

Thescarredman wrote:Hm. A handler's choice of a high-performance car, either for pursuit or evasion, becomes nothing but vanity if his cyborg is capable of turning off the bad guys' engines - or shifting their transmissions into reverse at eighty miles per hour - just by thinking about it, wouldn't you say?

Lets be honest here: picking a high-performance/specialist car, no matter how many real-world excuses are made, is always going to have a hint of vanity involved at any level.   

Fortunately for the Padania (and the chance to have exciting car chases), I suspect Valentina's the only one so far with the requisite EW capability.

http://www.odometer.com/lifestyle/9545/27-bizarre-aircraft-we-cant-believe-existhow-do-some-of-these-even-fly

It had to happen and for it Rachel got her laptop confiscated by Fernando... Why?

"Let Kara and the others 3D Print their own cars. Rachel already has an X-1/9. She can have the laptop back when the 3D printed car fever fades."

Its not her fault (this time...)


https://localmotors.com/3d-printed-car/

This is awfully reminiscent of the Dale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Motor_Car_Corporation

Ladies and gentry, the New South Wales Police Force, 1936...

All the rams were busy being shagged.

Alfisti wrote:Ladies and gentry, the New South Wales Police Force, 1936...

Jim: Bring me my chariot!

(a chariot powered by two motorcycles rolls in.)

Jim: Wait, that's a chariot?  I was expecting horses.

Kara: Michele, you know I'd follow you anywhere and I'd never turn down a mission but seriously...can we please hand this one off to some other fratello?  This has bad news written all over it.



Marisa: Are you kidding me?  This could be the most AWESOME MISSION EVER! (raises hand and waves it wildly)  Give it to us, give it to us, give it to us!

it gets worse,

Okay, guys. Laughed till it hurt.

Professor Voodoo wrote:

This is the real reason Michele and Kara were not at New Trino.

Professor Voodoo wrote:

Nice find, Voodoo. Though, the last thing we'd need is for Marissa to be on that particular mission. Of all cyborgs, she especially doesn't have the great responsibility needed to wield such great power.

Kisk and I saw it while we were catching lunch.  Lambos are cool. Seahawks are cool. Lambos in Seahawks livery?  Not cool.

I distinctly recall seeing a sports car (either a Lambo or a Ferrari; probably the latter) regularly occupying a reserved parking spot in one of the older shopping malls in my hometown. It was probably owned by one of the mall's bosses or something.

I think my initial reaction was "What dumb-ass would buy a sports car and drive it here (the Philippines) when our roads are holey and not a single driver on the street gives a flying fuck?"

My next reaction was to fight down the temptation to ruin the finish with a coin

I'll take a picture of it the next time I run across it.

Speaking of hacking cars, for those who missed it:
Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway

Fortunately for Fiat Chrysler, the pair in question gave the ethical heads up and due duration for a patch to be released (and the car company listened unlike, say, Seagate) before announcing their zero day. In the long run, this is probably actually a good thing for Fiat Chrysler. If they play their cards right, they've got a bit of a head start over an industry that really doesn't seem all that savvy on the electronic security front.

Great. I now have imaginings of my wife's Ram Battlecruiser running over Minis on the highway, remotely piloted by Geek Beavis and Butthead.

Again, just in case there's someone out there who hasn't seen it yet, here's a video of a man surfing on a motorbike.


Jethro: Maybe for the next jungle....

Monty: No.

Avise: Agapita! Explain this please?
 

Would've been even funnier if it had been a lawn dart.

Thescarredman wrote:Would've been even funnier if it had been a lawn dart.

For the other girls, perhaps, but since Agapita is a mortar expert...

I presume the yellow banding designates a practice round, else I doubt someone would be standing two feet from it to snap a picture.

Thescarredman wrote:I presume the yellow banding designates a practice round, else I doubt someone would be standing two feet from it to snap a picture.

Eh...no, it means the exact opposite.

At least that's true with US munitions (ex-weapons loader here, USAF).
There's numerous colors to indicate the explosive yield but yellow is a live round...practice munitions would be marked with blue.

Professor Voodoo wrote:

Thescarredman wrote:I presume the yellow banding designates a practice round, else I doubt someone would be standing two feet from it to snap a picture.

Eh...no, it means the exact opposite.

At least that's true with US munitions (ex-weapons loader here, USAF).
There's numerous colors to indicate the explosive yield but yellow is a live round...practice munitions would be marked with blue.

It is indeed a live round. The picture, I believe, was actually taken in Syria.

Professor Voodoo wrote:

Thescarredman wrote:I presume the yellow banding designates a practice round, else I doubt someone would be standing two feet from it to snap a picture.

Eh...no, it means the exact opposite.

At least that's true with US munitions (ex-weapons loader here, USAF).
There's numerous colors to indicate the explosive yield but yellow is a live round...practice munitions would be marked with blue.

Gawd. Should have remembered that 'dummy/practice' banding is blue. Senility creeping in, no doubt.

The guy was still a nutcase for getting that close to it, tho.

This is a YOLO pic if there ever was one.

That guy is lucky beyond all belief. I wonder where that picture was taken though (in other words, who owns that mortar bomb).

Libya, my bad. Found the news article if anyone is interested --> Daily Mail

From the category of Spot the Aussie, don't look at me, I'm not explaining this to his mother, dumb s**t my mates are up to:

THE ICARUS TROPHY

Kara: "And this is why I'm a Bentley Girl."



Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 Concept

Kiskaloo wrote:Kara: "And this is why I'm a Bentley Girl."



Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 Concept

If whatever computer they use to drive it is not called "Parker", I shall be most displeased...


I've also just realised that's a DB5 parked behind.