Planetfurry BBS

[anthony]

Probably....

Most professional manufacturers doesn't even sell B/W equipment anymore.
And you get much better footage with a few cheap networked webcams and a PC these days than those old analogues.

When you pay up a bit for the pro equipment you get tamper-proof cameras with built-in motion-detection(often you can define areas to explicitly monitor or ignore) which offloads a lot of processing from the monitoring PC.(Can really reduce the storage space needed, also) Some have built-in memory storage of some sort to keep recording even if they lose contact with the PC, too.
Infrared is popular...
Or what about a 180degree 'dome' camera that moves in a set pattern to scan for movement?
(And it automatically 'flips' the picture the right way up)
Of course, I like the 140degree 'domes' I put up recently. Solid-state, so there's no visible or audible warning that it's zooming in on you.

[Karou WindStalker]

Infrared, to my memory, comes up as being in shades of grey ... but it's been a few years.

Yes, the systems that are available commercially nowadays are all color.
Now, the responsible person would go for the newest and best ... but I do have a few questions.

1) How old was the building where Biggs was murdered?
2) When was the security system installed?
3) How honest was the person who installed it?
3a) I ask this simply because of all the stories I've seen on the news about contractors cutting corners and pocketing the difference.
3b) Was the contractor asked to cut corners?

There are other questions, but they'll come to me later.

[anthony]

Yes, Infrared comes out in shades of grey.

Unless the magazine just rents the ofices, it would have been their own security system. And with Biggs running the show, there's two ways he could have acted...
1. He could have gone cheap and gotten some rubbish, or possibly reused either a system being scrapped somewhere else, or belonging to the previous owners of the building. (This is my bet.)
2. He might remember that he's not exactly mr. popularity and buy something that actually works... That would also have included access control, which is doesn't sound like they have.

In other words, this case is hampered by the fact that the victim acted as usual even when it came to security.

In my opinion, security systems should be examined and possibly revised or upgraded every year.
And by examined, I don't mean looking at the blueprints only. I mean a complete physical examination.

[Tigermark]

You know why I like my readers so much?

Cause you guys OA ROCK!

First off, what is material to the story was already stated. There are 3 tapes, which implies 3 cameras.

For your edification, here's te details that aren't stated.

Many office buildings around Cinci are old buildings that have been refurbished. This is the case for Furfemme's offices. The space is leased from the building owner. The cameras were installed about three years ago when the building was last remodeled, and are fixed on whichever area they cover. The system is color, but not the best or newest. The images are clear, and the color as sharp as tape-based recording allow.
There is no zoom on the recoded tapes, but the poodle-cut pink femme passes close enough for the details to be seen.

Happy OA-ing!

TM

[anthony]

[Frazikar]

You mean something like blanks can kill?

Blanks are normal bullets (brass and propellant [maybe less]) and a shell instead of a regular solid projectiile. That shell still leaves the muzzle at speed and can do damage/shock if close to the target (touching range can be fatal)...

[Nosnibor]

[anthony]

Actually, blanks can be many different things.

They've used regular cartidges with balsa 'bullets'(The balsa wood splinters and just about turns into dust in a very short distance)
Cartridges with a longer nect that has been crimped closed is also atype.
Modern blanks(for rifles, assault guns and MGs at least) are usually a plastic cartridge with a brass end to hold the cap and carefully crafted weakness where the bullet usually goes.
On one type that I had the pleasure of using in the RNoAF was the exact length of the normal 7.62x51 NATO round, except that he 'bullet' was a little slimmer, and with a cross-cut at the tip. Unfortunately though, it had a weak 'neck' and so the 'bullet' often ripped off and functioned as a real bullet instead of splitting open. We used them in our MG3s because they had a 'recoil amplifier' that was screwed onto the tip of the barrell, and nothing of the plastic got past that. (Made a right mess of the inside of the 'amplifier', though.)
The ones we used in the AG-3(a version of the H&K G-3) was either a 'short' round with a cross-cut, or a 'normal length' one with a square tip that split open like duckbills.

My father once told me that during his stint in the Army, back when the Garand ruled, they used to shoot off one blank, grab the empty cartridge and stuff it -open end first - into the opening of the barrel before firing off the second cartridge.
Not nice when they played war...

When I was in Boot camp, we had some voluntary evening duty training on 'infiltration, camouflage and observational skills'(we ran around in a small forrest, shooting at each other... Who said military duty couldn't be fun?). Anyway, one of the sergeants had managed to sign out a H&K MP-5 and loads of blanks for it... (Talk about big kid with a new toy. )
So he was firing it off every which way, until he suddenly called off the 'evening duty'. He told us to get back to the barracks, clean out our guns and not talk about who shot at who.

We later learned, through third parties, that he had accidentally held the MP-5 the exact same way as the AG-3, with the result that he gripped the flame dampener instead the forward grip, and the next time he shot, he burned his hand.
The fact that he hadn't yelled out in pain, or even shown any sign of discomfort when he dismissed us... well that'sthe stuff that legends grow from. We already respected him, and this didn't exactly lessen that.

So, yeah, blanks can hurt, and in extreme cases kill.

[Tigermark]

And now, only around four months later, the next chapter of Fire On High is up for your reading pleasure. Go read, enjoy, and drop a comment by if you'd care to.


TM

[anthony]

Methinks that Corrie could use a week off right now, maybe go catch some sun in Barbados?

[Frazikar]

Hmmmm, could be, but I don't think her chopper can reach on one tank...

And the secretary did it with a gun in the ... err ... hmmm...(is there is 'office' in CLUE or is it the 'studio'?)

[Kaeto]

Shure she can reach Barbados. She just has to go borrow a certain black and grey helicopter from Stringfellow Hawke.

[anthony]

Or she could hitch a ride on a charter flight?

[EXan]

[Tigermark]