So there's apparently a spy balloon hovering over the central US, believed to be Chinese in origin. The Chinese say it's a civilian airship that has gone off course, which pretty much confirms it's a Chinese spy balloon. Officials say it is too dangerous to shoot it down, as it would create an unpredictable debris field that could injure or harm people on the ground. So what can we do about it?

I'm thinking we're missing out on some comedy gold here. We should get those people who make the crop circles to create Mandarin symbols that say "Xi eats boogers". We could determine what frequency they're using to communicate with it and override it with a stronger signal playing "Never Gonna Give You Up". Maybe run a bunch of empty trucks in large convoys going from military bases all over the US to Los Angeles Air Force Base where Air Force Space Command is headquartered, all with Winnie-the-Pooh painted on their roofs. We could fly another balloon up there with googly eyes on it and follow it around.

I really think this requires some maximum trolling on our part.

Anyway, take the Quiz and come back and tell us how you did and how you think we should handle this situation.

Don't forget the Easy Quiz!

Good luck, and let me know if you have any issues.

We should go all Barney on it as soon as it's not over a populated area.

syrynxx: woohoo top score

I'm still in third!

WickerNipple: ox45tallboy: We should go all Barney on it as soon as it's not over a populated area.

Do we have less populated areas than Montana?

Probably not outside of Alaska.

I say tell everyone to get indoors and go for it. Our intelligence people would love to see what's in there.

And then put out a statement on how embarrasingly low-tech it is and how far behind China must be.

Can we maybe hit it with something tiny like a little needle gun that will slowly let the air out of it instead of popping it?

cyberspacedout: NM Volunteer: ox45tallboy: Can we maybe hit it with something tiny like a little needle gun that will slowly let the air out of it instead of popping it?

I am surprised that they don't already have something left over from the Cold War, in case the Soviets did something similar.  A rocket with some sharp blades and a parachute that deploys once the rocket burns out and it stops being level.

Nowadays, we could probably use a quadcopter drone to do the trick.

Well, it's waaaaay up there, like 66,000 ft. I don't think quadcopters can operate that high due to the lower air pressure.

cyberspacedout: ox45tallboy: cyberspacedout: NM Volunteer: ox45tallboy: Can we maybe hit it with something tiny like a little needle gun that will slowly let the air out of it instead of popping it?

I am surprised that they don't already have something left over from the Cold War, in case the Soviets did something similar.  A rocket with some sharp blades and a parachute that deploys once the rocket burns out and it stops being level.

Nowadays, we could probably use a quadcopter drone to do the trick.

Well, it's waaaaay up there, like 66,000 ft. I don't think quadcopters can operate that high due to the lower air pressure.

Oh. How about a military drone?

Well, they could get that high, but they can't hover. Maybe the DARPA people could create some kind of net so  they could catch it on a flyby.

Captain Orr: Holes in the jeans at the pockets? Are we talking about front pockets or rear pockets here?

/gucci gucci goo!

https://www.gucci.com/us/en/pr/women/ready-to-wear-for-women/denim-for-women/denim-bottoms-for-women/ripped-washed-organic-denim-pant-p-638045XDBFI4011

And it seems we won't get to try any of my ideas.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11712125/Explosion-sky-Billings-Montana-Chinese-balloon-spotted-U-S-airspace.html

cyberspacedout: ox45tallboy: And it seems we won't get to try any of my ideas.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11712125/Explosion-sky-Billings-Montana-Chinese-balloon-spotted-U-S-airspace.html

Even if there were any credibility to the Daily Mail reporting on a social media video, we could still try on the second balloon that's been spotted over Latin America.

Yeah, it appears that whatever that explosion was, it wasn't the balloon.

cyberspacedout: Meanwhile, on CNN:

"North Carolina police department urges residents to not take potshots at suspected spy balloon"

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/suspected-chinese-balloon-us/index.html

Fortunately our elected Representatives are completely sensible about this matter.

cyberspacedout: ox45tallboy: Fortunately our elected Representatives are completely sensible about this matter.

[Link][Fark user image image 598x445]

See, this is why she shouldn't be complaining about those Jewish space lasers.

I know, right? Perfect opportunity.

princhester: Quoll question threw me.   A largequoll is 15 pounds.   That's a pretty small medium sized dog.

And most quolls are far smaller than that.

125 cm is definitely not a small dog. Also, they're not semiaquatic, nor are they rodents.

Diocletian's Last Cabbage: There are only two options: a missile, or a laser.

Fortunately we have the Jewish space lasers from the 2020 election.