Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Today in History January 30th


January 30th
I have a link on my computer and an APP for my phone which links me to this site which does This day in History Snip-it’s.  This Day In History

You didn't think I was just so much of a nerd that I keep all this stuff floating around in my head, did you?  I do have a wealth of useless information rattling around upstairs but I do try and filter it to crap I can use in my books.
Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code which is 400 lines long and disguised as an apple boot program called “Elk Cloner.”  This High School students prank turned into a 38 billion dollar a year security industry.
I find it interesting that not only can human beings not get along after all the years of being forced to share the same planet together as parts of the same species of mammals, but that we have to go out of our way to screw with each other, just because.
What other intelligent beings would come up with something as harmful and sneaky as a computer virus to attack the very machines designed and built to make our lives easier and much more fun.  I make an example of this in my second novel “No Rules Of Engagement” as Earthlings are interacting with intelligent but peaceful aliens.  They can’t believe we would come up with stuff like that and release it into our own computer networks.
It is because of this very situation that we have the counter measures to deal with unwanted computer predators, firewalls, scanning programs, anti-virus programs, and blocker programs.  The chances are high that when we run into other intelligent beings that are not in the habit of trying to destroy themselves that they will not have the same level of computer security that we do because of our inherent harmful nature and distrust of our own kind on this planet.
Other tidbits of history are . . .
1959 the MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” just like the HMS Titanic, struck an ICEBERG on her maiden voyage and sank, killing all 95 people aboard.
That story sounds somewhat familiar – Unsinkable Ship Hits an Iceberg!  Happened Twice.
Ever hear the thing people say about History repeating itself?  No, me either.
In 1933 Adolph Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.  Hind sight is twenty-twenty so they say.  Who could have known?  Oh, that’s right he wrote a book or something about his ideas and thoughts.
Lastly the first assassination attempt on a U.S. President occurred when a guy attempted to shoot Andrew Jackson but his pistol misfired.  He pulled a second pistol and tried again and it misfired also.  Andrew Jackson attacked the man with his cane at that point.  I think I did a blog post about this very story last year on my blog.
Have a Great Day.  Check out This day in History if you get bored.  Hell you might learn something here or there.  Personally I find History fascinating and a joy to read as fiction writers struggle to come up with stuff that pales in comparison to real life events throughout our history.


1 comments:

J.L. Murphey said...

I'd be hesitant about calling ANY ship unsinkable

 
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