Automation system hit by lightning

[NeverDie]

@westom
Please don't take offence, but are you a human or a bot?  
 
Originally I thought he's using language translation in both directions, but the lack of specificity does seem rather machine-like.  I bet it would be very hard to detect if it were unleashed on political discussions, which tend toward broad generalities anyway, and it's almost normal for people not to really listen to what the other side is saying.  In that context, it could be a cyber-weapon of sorts, causing all kinds of disruption.  Hmmm...  That would explain a lot.  

 

[pete_c]

I vote that westom is a bot. 
 
That said it/he/she does stimulate conversation here. 
 
Like a DR scenario many folks think of the lightning protection after the fact or wonder if they have done enough after a damaging lightning strike. 
 
That said and from what I read above; a direct hit of lightning will cause damage no matter what (except for my uncle who has been strike by lightning three times in his life and just got burned shoes from it).
 
Helping a Homeseer peer last year in FL relating to that lightning stuff.  It seems to be very common there and a bit sometimes difficult to implement lightning protection (well compared to the midwest).
 
The lightning kept blowing out the network interface on his alarm panel.
 
Me; I do change the fuse for the Rainbird irrigation device at least once a year in FL.  I have not bothered to automate it for that reason. 
 
It's too bad that we cannot direct that lightning as a quickie source of a battery charger or electricity for a month type thing.

 

[mikefamig]

It's too bad that we cannot direct that lightning as a quickie source of a battery charger or electricity for a month type thing.

 
It's back to the future.......you just have to know when and where the lightning is going to strike. You wouldn't think that that would be that hard to do in Oklahoma.

 

[pete_c]

Or maybe just keep a tethered lightning attracting helium dirigible airship tethered way above your home. 

 

[mikefamig]

If it's a bot then we should all be afraid. Can you imagine how disruptive something like that can be in a world where so many depend on computer communications? And imagine how marketing people can abuse something like that! Add a good voice synthesizer to that and imagine cold-calls where you end up arguing with a machine on the  other end. Pretty scary.

 

[pete_c]

It is already abused by whomever or whatever company these days.
 
Cold calls/emails/automating service tasks from machines/bots. 
 
Cold telephone calls using voice synthesis and a little bit AI these days.
 
Those little text chat boxes when you go to support web sites are just that these days.
 
It is being utilized by legitimate services and scam artists and charities (or so they say).

 

[westom]

Nothing has passed the Turing test.

 

[pete_c]

No absolutes there as today most folks believe or want to belive everything they read on the internet or hear on a telephone call just based on it being close to a human voice or text or whatever.  
 
AI is not soup yet but in general folks accept much of nothing these days; easy peasy with little effort these days and that is because they do not know and trust machines. 

 

[mikefamig]

HAL passed the Turing test

 

[westom]

HAL passed the Turing test

 
HAL existed in 2001.  But in 2016, he still does not exist.  Even Einstein could not explain that.

 

[pete_c]

coda shuda wuda
 
.... Einstein could define his world (1917) just fine (like Turing in 1950).  Einstein went beyond his world but didn't get the whole enchilada; just a bit of it.  And now he is dead.

 

[NeverDie]

HAL existed in 2001.  But in 2016, he still does not exist.  Even Einstein could not explain that.

 
That clinches it.  Definitely a bot.  We should ask it to solve some captcha's.  [I bet it has no idea what "it" refers to, does it?   :rofl: ]

 

[dementeddigital]

It pains me greatly to resurrect this thread, but this might be of interest to people.
 
I was looking for some components on Digikey today, and I saw an advertisement for this device: http://ams.com/eng/Products/Wireless-Connectivity/Wireless-Sensor-Connectivity/AS3935
 
It is a lightning sensor IC which can detect lightning within 40km AND it claims to be able to estimate the distance to the head of the storm.  The distance estimation could be very cool.  I could envision an automation system providing some warning if a storm is within 10 miles (announce "get out of the swimming pool!" or something like that) and then maybe take some action if the storm is within 2 miles (open some relay contacts to power down sensitive equipment, lower an antenna mast, fly a kite, etc.)
 
OK, so I looked at the datasheet, and it seems to estimate the distance by the number of lightning strikes in a given time and also the energy per strike.  (It also calculates the "energy" per strike and provides a unit-less number.)  It's not as exciting as I was hoping, but it still looks like a useful little device.
 
In any case, it might be a cool Arduino project, and it might be of some use to those of us near lots of lightning.

 

[pete_c]

Yup; nothing like beating a dead horse nowadays.
 
Flogging a dead horse (alternatively beating a dead horse, or beating a dead dog in some parts of the Anglophone world) is an idiom that means a particular request or line of conversation is already foreclosed or otherwise resolved, and any attempt to continue it is futile; or that to continue in any endeavor (physical, mental, etc.) is a waste of time as the outcome is already decided. (IE: this is popular in third world countries today)
 
Here have always watched lightning using a 1-wire lightning sensor.
 
In FL retired folks just unplug all of their electrical stuff (well like easy stuff to unplug) for the last 50 years.
 
It also works for a nearby tornado.
 
It does work well as I use to use it to trigger an event to ping me while golfing.
 
The local golf course here was more interested in monies (mickey mouse business etiquette) rather than players and would never alert players on the golf course relating to incoming storms. (except all of the rangers would take shelter).
 

 
Personally I hope it rains really soon around here as it has not in a few weeks. 
 
Too dry doesn't mix well with the holiday approach.