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New Zealand Building Cruise Missile 5 May 2003 Edition
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I love the power of the Net as a communications medium.

There's simply no easier way for individuals to spread information to a huge audience at a near-zero cost.

The downside of this is, of course, spam.

But today's column isn't about spam, it's about how my latest website went from zero to 160,000 hits in the span of about 48 hours.

What's more, it produced a good fistful of people who are prepared to ante up with hard cash to subscribe.


The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project

Yes, at last, this feature has been updated again! (31 Mar 2003)

And, as as I expected, this little site has generated significant international media interest that will likelyresult in another massive increase in traffic over coming weeks.

Interestingly enough, the response to this site has been to polarise people as to the issue of free speech on the Net.

I have already received hundreds of emails from people who have visited the site and felt strongly enough to contact me.

Readers Say
(updated irregularly)
From Yesterday...
  • Quicksilver slipstream... - Owen
  • Quicksilver slipstream(2)... - Owen
  • Have Your Say
    The vast majority of those who wrote were simply intensely interested in the premise that someone could build their own relatively accurate cruise missile for just US$5,000.

    There were however, a number of people who believe that this type of thing ought to be banned from the Net -- and to say that some were more than "a little inelegant" in their prose would be an understatement ;-)

    When the "geek" discussion site Slashdot carried news of my website it prompted over 500 comments from readers -- some pro, some con.

    Of course I should state quite clearly at this point that I'm not a terrorist who wants his own cruise missile to bomb the snot out of anyone who doesn't agree with my politics.

    Indeed, one of the reasons for publishing this site and publicising my activities is to avoid the situation where authorities might find a "secret" cruise missile in my garage and suggest that this was the case.

    To this end, I contacted the NZ Air Force through the airforce.mil.nz website to ask whether they might like to "supervise" the testing of this missile.

    Unfortunately, I've not heard back from them yet. I only hope that the seemingly broken code on this page (screenshot) hasn't meant that messages submitted aren't reaching them.

    So, if I'm not a terrorist, why did I want to build a cruise missile?

    Firstly, because I need to build an unmanned vehicle to act as a test-bed for the final stages of my jet engine R&D.

    Secondly, as a marketing tool for my new jet engine technology. Given that one of the key target markets for this technology is that of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including cruise missiles, there's no better way to demonstrate the superiority of these engines than in a real-world application.

    So once again, the internet proves its power as a communications medium that allows a NZer working in his garage to rattle chains half a world away in the world's most powerful nation.

    If any Aardvark readers have an opinion on today's column or want to add something you're also invited to chip in and have your say.

    Yes, You Can Donate
    Although the very kind folks at iHug continue to generously sponsor the publication of Aardvark, the bills still exceed the income by a fairly significant amount. It is with this in mind therefore that I'm once again soliciting donations from anyone who feels they're getting some value from this daily column and news index. I've gone the PayPal way of accepting donations because the time involved in processing a bunch of little credit-card billings sometimes exceeds the monetary value they represent. Just click on the button to donate whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally donate twice what you were intending :-)

    Contacting Aardvark
    The Best of Aardvark Daily As always, readers are invited to submit their comments on material covered in this column. If you'd like your comments published here then please be sure to use this form and select For Publication.

    Other media organisations seeking more information or republication rights are also invited to contact me.


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