A while ago in class, a scheme concocted during WWII to make use of bats as a delievery system for inendiary devices was mentioned. I remember listening to a bit of a show on the History Channel some time this past year concerning the project, but I couldn't recall much, other than the project had been scrapped, due to an embarrasing accident. So, in order to find out more, I did a bit of digging around, and came up with the following links... The first link concerns the project itself. The second link is an interesting little tidbit that makes mention of the project.
The final link appears to be a page owned by a drama group who wrote/ran a play based on the project.

Airforce Magazine Online
Free Republic
Brooklyn Drama Group

I found this interesting little bit while getting my weekly webcomic fix...
This to me was a suprise, as the reviews/news site I normally frequent hasn't said a peep about this yet. So I decided to do some more digging, to see if I might find a few more articles elsewhere.

For your enjoyment:
Another Blog:
A thread on a forum:
Another reviews/news site:

If these reports are true, as I'm inclined to believe, then the attitude displayed by Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi is slightly disturbing.

"Offering additional testimony praising the handheld, Kutaragi said, 'I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that.' "

I would seriously hope that if a "renowned architect" dropped the ball, somebody would call him on it. This unremorseful stance that Mr. Kutaragi holds about shipping a product that by most indications seems to have some moderate to serious problems absolutely baffles me. It may be his child, but his child is not the most beautiful baby in the world. And to those of you who say sticky buttons may not seem like much: They seem that way only until you actually have to deal with them. And on a controller for a console that wouldn't be as big an issue, because a controller can be relatively easily replaced, and if it's the stock controller that's the problem, then aftermarket companies will scramble to put out controllers without the particular flaw, and the parent company will have to respond in part with a "fixed" design. For a good example, ask an X-Box owner about the original controllers that shipped with the X-Box. (To Microsoft's credit, they at least worked properly) The original X-Box controllers were to put it simply; HUGE. The majority of people had trouble wrapping their hands around the controller, and in response, Microsoft released the XBox Controller S, which is much better proportioned. In a handheld, there IS no easy fix. PSP owners are stuck with this problem, unless Sony ships a new version which eliminates these problems. And given the way Mr. Kutaragi seems unwilling to admit that his company has done anything wrong, it seems like a long shot.

I suppose the question I want to pose to you is this: is it ethical for a company to ship a product with known defects, when said defects are such that they interfere with the primary function of the product, and/or pose the risk of damaging said product? In addition, does anyone else, as a consumer, find such an attitude as that posessed by Mr. Kutaragi as disturbing as I do?

As my first post, I just wanted to take the time to pose some questions. Science Fiction has always been one of my favorite genres, and I ask you all out there in Internet Land this: Do you believe that Science Fiction can become Science Fact? Well, here is one soul desperately trying to prove that this is the case:

Homemade Mecha:

Some other semi-relate links:
A walker designed for forestry work:
An Exoskeleton Prototype being developed at Berkeley:

Edit: Clarification/Background:
This post was originally started as a semi-response to a thread I had been reading on a game forum I frequent. The game centers on mecha as war machines, and every so often, there is a thread asking about the feasability of such a thing in real life. Over the course of these threads, most folks tend to agree that a 3-4 story tall walking tank lacks a practical application, so that even if the technology were there (and some aspects of it are progressing that way, as indicated in the links) it would likely never become reality, except as a sort of fancy, as in the first link provided. That's not to say that there aren't legions of us in that community who'd love to see something of the sort, it's just that there's no market for it. However, a few believe that the Battle Armor in the game (basically exoskeletons) may see some practical use, in extreme circumstances, hence the link concerning the exoskelton.

If any of you are interested, the game I mentioned is known as Battletech, or Classic Battletech, depending on who you talk to. Several computer and console game series have been based on the Battletech universe, most notably the Mechwarrior series, and the Mechassault series (not very faithful to the source material, but probably the best chance for anybody here to recognize) on the X-box. In addition to the video games, a large body of fiction, as well as another miniatures game based on Battletech exists.
If any clarification is needed, feel free to ask...