Monday, October 30, 2006

All In The Name of Education, Folks!

My wife and I got a new, snazzy computer around 12 years ago. It was a Mac. We loved it.

As computers do, it aged as gracefully as it could... which was not at all. We haven't used it in at least 5 years. Fortunately, we both have high-speed Internet access at work, as well as Internet-capable laptops at home.

The time finally came, recently, to get rid of the old computer (which is so old that Macintosh hasn't supported the system for many years). There was nothing wrong with the monitor, so it went to Goodwill with a ton of books and too-small children's clothes a few weeks ago. The problem was that you hear so many horror stories about personal data being retrieved from discarded hard-drives, we didn't know what to do with the CPU.

Being the forward-looking fellow that I am, I decided to use the old CPU as a teaching aid.

I took the aforementioned CPU to my range, and decided that I would take a series of photographs showing what bullets would (and wouldn't) do to various things.

Please see below:

This is what the CPU looked like during it's life.

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This is what the CPU looks like, standing on end, with three rounds of .357 copper jacketed hollow-point bullets in it. NOTE: Although the bullets easily penetrated the casing and smashed parts of the drive, they did not penetrate all the way trough to exit the CPU.


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Next, I decided to see what kind of damage I could do the CPU with standard shotgun ammunition, so I loaded my Remington 870 (nicely modified, don't you know!) with 12 gauge, Magnum deer slugs.

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And this is the result:

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The deer slugs did the job, as usual, and penetrated so thoroughly that they even tore great chunks out of the steel bottom-plate of the CPU.

Here is what a rifled, magnum deer slug looks like after having impacted the parts and pieces of a CPU.

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The CPU is well and truly demolished, as is the internal hard drive. Not only have I properly disposed of any personal information, I have given new life to the old computer as a device to train new agents.

Stephen Covey would call this a Win-Win situation.

Some less than charitable souls might say that I was just having fun with all of this.

I assure you... it was nothing of the sort.

Mostly.

GF

16 comments:

Rissamama3 said...

I couldn't think of a better way to get rid of what could be a potential security risk! It's just too bad you didn't enjoy it more! LOL

Lisa Johnson said...

This has got to be one of the most original posts ever! I certainly don't see this everyday. : )

Kelley said...

That was awesome. It reminded me of the copy machine "beat down" scene in the movie Office Space.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Now that's how to get rid of a hard drive.

Middle Girl said...

Well..that certainly was one way to deal with it. :)

Anonymous said...

Can you come to my work and do some "teaching" on the fax machine please?

vasilisa said...

Now this is the most creative way of securing personal data... Absolutely hillarious...

The Thinking Black Man said...

Hey Gunfighter-

Your post brought a huge smile to my face - so I wanted to drop you a line...

Then I saw your seventh comment (which will probably be deleted by you before the day is done!)...

This scum-bag left a similar comment on my blog (which I have already deleted)...

I suggest you bring your Remington 870 and I'll bring my Mossberg Maverick 88 and we rid the blog world of this clown once and for all.

Gunfighter said...

I'll bring the ammo!

weese said...

huh. to think I could have had all this fun.
to destroy our old drive, I submerged it.
hey - it destroyed my cell phone...

Anonymous said...

When I get around to retiring my antique Mac I will know who to send it to. It looks even more fun than taking a baseball bat to it. Mick said he hoped you still had it plugged in when you started shooting. Maybe you can try that with mine.

Gunfighter said...

Come one, come all!

I would be happy to shoot-up all of your CPU's if you wish.... I'll even send you the photos when I'm done.

Next time, I'm going to use a submachinegun with armor piercing ammunition.

Zanne said...

You totally crack me up! Love how your mind works--if I end up in VA will you teach me how to shoot? ;) I've got stuff I gotta kill too!!! LOL!

Gunfighter said...

...if I end up in VA will you teach me how to shoot? ;) I've got stuff I gotta kill too!!!"

I'd be delighted, Zanne... as long as you promise not to commit any crimers with the knowledge that I impart to you.

Zanne said...

DEAL! :D

honeykbee said...

whoa-- brilliant!