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California Wildfires Causing Havoc Online
from the the-virtual-world-isn't-always-so-virtual... dept
Thought the tech world could just keep on humming through whatever was happening out in the "real world". Well, it seems that a few ridiculously large wildfires in Southern California (why does this state always seem to go up in flames?) is causing some headaches in the tech world. Tech companies with offices in Southern California found their offices closed down and told their employees to take some time off (too bad this didn't come during Friday's slack off from work day). Microsoft's big Longhorn presentation wasn't as well attended as expected, since many couldn't get to the presentation in LA due to fire-related travel problems. Meanwhile, for folks playing online games like Star Wars Galaxies and EverQuest, the very real fires meant that there was no online support staff/government around, and those games may become an experiment in anarchy until the fires subside. Of course, in that situation, I don't see why you couldn't just let some support people work from other locations.
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Next come the power lines
Will the tech world shit its pants if a big fire starts in Northern Cali, as all the firefighters here are down in LA right now? Burn away all the pompous luxury homes of silicon valley execs in the hills.
If I were an Al Qaeda general, I'd think about deploying snipers with silent crossbows to pick off firefighters or cops. But that's just me. Crossbows go right through bulletproof armor.
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Re: Next come the power lines
What is a "silent crossbow?" Is that one that has a muffler fitted to it? I wasn't aware that a crossbow was a particularly noisy weapon, nor that it could actually be silenced.
A compound hunting bow would work about a zillion times better and is essentially a silent weapon already. And it weighs a hell of a lot less. But it probably doesn't look as cool on EverQuest.
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You folks back east are LOST!
You may make "funny" little comments about what's going on in CA, but if you opened you minds to the real side of the planet you would know that over 450,000 ares has burned, 15+ people have been killed by the fire, over 100,000 people have been evacuated and over 1500 home have burned to the ground. Additionally many communication points i.e. transmition centers and lines have burned to the ground.
We in California are sorry you are having problems with your mindless little games due to our big problem.
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Re: You folks back east are LOST!
I lived through a tornado that killed 23 people and did nearly a hundred million in property damage in about fifteen seconds with absolutely no advance warning whatsoever. Stop whining because you've overbuilt in a drought-stricken area for sixty years. The rest of the nation and the world have problems too. The universe doesn't revolve around California, or NYC for that matter.
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Re: You folks back east are LOST!
Scott,
I am glad you posted your comment. Maybe these people do not realize the destructive power of a 200 ft wall of flames. You people are laughing at people (over 20 now) who have died because of these fires, you are laughing at more than 2000 families that now are homeless, because their houses and all their belongings are gone, you are laughing at the hundreds of firefighters who are risking their lives to save others, you are laughing at the damage created in the environment, at the deaths of many animals as well.
You are laughing at people's tragedies, loss, fear and worries and that, my friends, says volumes about who you are
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