If you had a working DEFCON meter that reported on real data, would it be cool or distressing?
Before we get ahead of ourselves: no, not that DEF CON. Instructables user [ArthurGuy] is a fan of the 1983 movie War Games, and following a recent viewing –hacker senses a-tingling — he set to work building his own real-time display.
Making use of some spare wood, [ArthurGuy] glued and nailed together a 10x10x50cm box for the sign. Having been painted white already at some point, the paint brilliantly acted as a reflector for the lights inside each section. The five DEF CON level panels were cut from 3mm pieces of coloured acrylic with the numbers slapped on after a bit of work from a vinyl cutter.
Deviating from a proper, screen-accurate replica, [ArthurGuy] cheated a little and used WS2812 NeoPixel LED strips — 12 per level — and used a Particle Photon to control them. A quick bit of code polls the MI5 terrorism RSS feed and displays its current level — sadly, it’s currently at DEFCON 2.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, because you can reconfigure such a display to track whatever you might like!
at least DEFCON is a more sensible metric than that stupid doomsday clock some parrot bangs on about from time to time.
I am thankful we aren’t at real DEFCON 2. Something (fortunately) got lost in the translation from the UK Threat Level.
I predict this is going to be an interesting thread…
Defcon – “Defense readiness Condition” is strictly for the military whereas the terrorism threat levels are for the civilian population. The two are not joined.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFCON
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Threat_Levels
^ This ^
You be careful when out there today, the UK is currently at Threat Level Critical! Which means something could go down somewhere in some way at some point in time, SO LOOK SHARP!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7CTlIcKlw
Well to be fair, nobody reported an odd bag in the tube standing there, so you need something to make people feel they can and perhaps should report stuff. Because in a normal calm day-to-day situation you feel silly going ape about a plastic lidl bag.
We should all live in fear whilst ISIS enjoy them selves….
After all haven’t you heard about the ISIS rave???
I heard it was a blast!
“You know what happens when that goes to one, David?”
I’m concerned enough to forward a copy of my research to ()
Just in case.
Shouldn’t it be upside down, with “1” at the top?
Not to be complaining too much, but I think I’d go with regular LED when the color never changes.
And talking of which, why have colored filters in front and then use colored relatively expensive addressable RGB LED to again do the color?
Just use white LED or fixed color ones.
It was meant as a movie prop, that used coloured acrylic so mine had to as well. I was also making use of things I had which is why it uses WS2812 LED’s, anything else would have meant buying new components.
I think we need a more intuitive emoji based system ranging from deliriously happy to poop.
The DEFCON 1 emoji needs to show a head between two knees, kissing the a** goodbye.
Is this s game
It briefly went to 1 but its now back at 2.
https://twitter.com/ArthurGuy/status/908790187353878529
Well I don’t really believe a website that lists the danger of a terrorist attack in Northern Ireland, connected to the troubles, as SEVERE. I mean it’s still not totally calm up there, but the still fighting sections of both the loyalists and the republicans are nowadays more or less street gangs fighting over influence for drug dealing and stuff. If one thug kills another one it’s basically gang violence and not terrorism, even both of those thugs have a paramilitary background.