Friday, July 17, 2026

Just a passing thought

I don't know who needs to see this, but B.F. Skinner taught pigeons to fly drones on kamikazi missions. He used conditioning, that is food, to teach the birds to peck at the base of the Japanese aircraft carrier's superstructure. When they pecked the proper place, they got  kernel of corn. The plan was to put a grid over the airplane's canopy (window) and the pigeon's pecking would be converted to an electronic signal that activated servos that adjusted flaps.

Compared to that, teaching pigeons and starlings to defecate on the solar panel that powers Flock cameras is a piece of cake. Fabricate a dozen mock-flocks. Put a feed trough that will positions the rear-end of the bird over the photo-cell. Birds typically de-ballast just before they start flying.

The assumption is that the birds will become habituated to perching on Flock cameras in a way that will result in an opaque (and corrosive) coating being deposited on the solar panel.

It is poetic justice if flocks of starlings and pigeons become the "Flock" spy camera's undoing.

As far as I know, there are no laws against ornamental bird feeders.
 

Bonus video: My primary home-defense weapon is a chihuahua


 

2 comments:

  1. Grumble...that would work for me!

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  2. I was reading about using bats that had incendiary devices strapped to them and then released. The critters were released from a plane and promptly found a dark place to hide. Like the test facilities own aircraft hangers, under building on the base and similar dark, quiet hangouts. When the timers went off, Poof went the bats and dozens of small fires broke out.

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