Mythbusters successfully demonstrated that a SCUBA tank, which have pressures up to 30 MPa (4400 psi) and internal volumes up to 18 liters, will turn itself into a missile if its regulator catastrophically fails. The tank proposed in TFA would have a pressure of 34 MPa and a volume of 54 liters, meaning that it will store even more energy.

An over-pressurized liquid nitrogen tank caused major damage to a Texas A&M building when it failed (read: exploded). According to the engineer's report (pdf):

The blast cracked the floor but due to the presence of the supporting beam, which shattered, the floor held. Since the floor held the force of the explosion was directed upward and propelled the cylinder, sans bottom, through the concrete ceiling of the lab into the mechanical room above. It struck two 3 inch water mains and drove them and the electrical wiring above them into the concrete roof of the building, cracking it. The cylinder came to rest on the third floor leaving a neat 20" diameter hole in its wake. The entrance door and wall of the lab were blown out into the hallway, all of the remaining walls of the lab were blown 4–8" off of their foundations.

Pictures of the devastation are included in the report. This tank, like all compressed gas cylinders, had both a safety relief valve and an emergency blowout disc. The explosion only occurred when both of these safety features were compromised due to improper maintenance.

While the hybrid's gaseous nitrogen tank is substantially different than the liquid nitrogen tank described above, it is safe to say that compressed gas cylinders are dangerous beasts. Unless you're planning on participating in the Hybrid Space Program, I would suggest steering away from vehicles like this.

1181. When asked what game we want to LARP, Frogger is not an option.

from 1900 Things Mr. Welch can no longer do during an RPG.

Spawn-killing isn't as much of a problem in UrT, since players spawn fully armed and armored. Each player spawns with one primary weapon, one sidearm, and three or four other things; players can adjust their load-out in between deaths. Some (maybe all?) servers use spawn protection to further limit this problem. There are still people who try, but they generally don't live for very long. You are more likely to see enemies occupying territory just outside spawning grounds, and it can be very, very difficult to flush those enemies out.

As for maturity of spirit: it varies. The clanners tend to take things seriously, but there are plenty of others who just like being obnoxious on comms. The real problem in UrT is hacking. It's an open-source game, making it easy to hack and modify, but most hackers hack poorly enough that it's immediately obvious. Most of these problems can be mitigated by playing on a server that is actively administered—the admins will kick the 'tards off when they can.

UrT is distributed as a ZIP package with statically-linked i386 and x86_64 linux executables, so it should work in most linux environments. You could also get a package for ioquake3 and try adding in Urban Terror, but I've never tried doing that.

Urban Terror is a good example of a game that makes an effort to have "realistic" weapon damage effects. In the game—a free, open-source FPS—players square off using modern weapons and equipment. When you spray machine gun fire at your opponents, your accuracy degrades. When you get hit, you start bleeding, and you must bandage your wounds quickly before you bleed out. If you are shot in the leg, your movement speed decreases, and you also take damage to your legs if you fall from heights greater than one story. If you are shot in the arm, your accuracy decreases. Reloading your weapons takes time, and in the middle of combat it is usually more expedient to draw your trusty sidearm, rather than reload.

Unlike most FPSs, where players engage in running gunfights that can last for tens of seconds, the typical Urban Terror engagement is very short; players frequently die before they realize they are under attack. This turns the game into an unending quest for the perfect ambush—attacking with surprise, from behind, almost always ensures victory. Many players tend to be snipers or campers, since the gameplay mechanics make very difficult to "run and gun" effectively. With that being said, it is still possible to power-slide down a hallway, turn, and take out two alert enemies with well-placed bursts—it's just very, very difficult.

Nonetheless, UrT distinguishes itself for its reliance on teamwork. There are almost no plain Deathmatch servers, since UrT Deathmatches simply aren't interesting. Instead, it is all about the team-based gameplay: team-DM, CTF, and bombing run missions. A lone man is easy prey, but squad of two or three players can take and hold an enemy base for some time, provided they know what they're doing. In UrT, working with others is the key to victory, and your ability to score frags can increase exponentially if your team-mates are nearby. If you like teamwork, and don't mind the occasional insta-gib, then you should consider checking out UrT. The game is based on ioquake3 and will run on almost any Windows/Linux/Mac system that's less than ten years old.

Under Section 512 of the DMCA, all requests must include

A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed. (17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3))

The offenders can be prosecuted for sending false DMCA notices, since they made statements "under penalty of perjury." All it would take is for one judge to get annoyed and throw the rulebook at these people. Unfortunately, perjury is a criminal offense—not a civil one—so it is unlikely anyone could file suit to force the issue.

The parent is, of course, referring to one way hashing (crypt, MD5, SHA-1, and the like). Unix passwords were originally stored in the /etc/passwd file for all the world to see—any user could open the file and see everyone's password hashes.

One-way hashes keep systems secure by virtue of computational complexity: an attacker must blindly try passwords (either by brute force or word list) until he finds the one that produces the correct hash. However, there are many different possible passwords. How many? If users use no more than eight letters or numbers, the total number of possible passwords is the sum from i=0 to 8 of (26+26+10)^i = 2.2192 * 10^14. Even at 10 million checks per second, it would take 256 days to check them all.

Unfortunately, I've never seen a bank that allows you any more (or less) than four digit PINs, which is only 10^4 = 1000 combinations. This makes one-way hashes less than useless for encrypted PINs: Anyone who knows how to compute the hash and possesses a list of hashed PINs could easily crack PIN numbers very, very quickly.

There is another option

3) Coup d'etat. Replace the paranoid, militaristic North Korean regime with a new government—possibly one backed by the United States or her allies. Since the North Korean population is unlikely to do this on their own initiative, they will need some assistance and logistical support from another world power. Another country could theoretically encourage a "friendly" general to seize power and then back him up militarily, politically, and economically when he does so. The U.S. has a long history of supporting anti-Communist coups via the Truman Doctrine, and we have even backed totalitarian dictatorships—so long as they weren't Communist.

A successfully executed coup could be relatively bloodless, would leave North Korea's infrastructure and population centers (such as they are) intact, and would certainly cost less money and manpower than a full-scale invasion. However, the outcome is entirely dependent on luck: military leaders might succeed in launching a WMD attack on South Korea before they are deposed, the new government might not be sustainable, or the coup might be a complete and utter failure. Additionally, U.S. involvement would require our intelligence agencies to demonstrate actual competence, and a U.S.-backed coup could seriously impact our relations with China. Still, I think a coup would be a better option than a full-scale attack.