Pigeon Protocol Finds a Practical Purpose

Selanit writes "Since David Waitzman wrote his tongue-in-cheek Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers, there have been occasional attempts to actually transmit information via pigeon. One group back in 2001 successfully sent a PING command. But now there's a practical use for pigeon-based communications: photographers working for the white-water rafting company Rocky Mountain Adventures send memory sticks full of digital photos via homing pigeon so the photos will be ready when the rafters finish up. The company has details on how the pigeons are trained and equipped. It may not be a full implementation of the Pigeon Protocol, but it works in narrow canyons far off the beaten path — and just as David Waitzman presciently predicted, they occasionally suffer packet loss due to hawks and ospreys."

Packet loss

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the best part of the story is the packet loss explanation!! If only the pigeons could upgrade their internal CDMA protocol!

the falcon business

[SethJohnson]

One time I attended a class for people wanting to start a business. The teacher started the class asking us each to describe the business we had in mind of starting. One woman stood up and said she wanted to start a "peregrine falcon business."

Without any further description, the teacher said, "You can't sell those birds. They're protected." She replied that she wasn't going to sell falcons. She was going to rent them.

Her plan was to get contracted by big box stores. When they get normal birds stuck flying around inside the building, they'll call the falcon lady and she'll bring her peregrines in and set them loose. It's illegal to poison birds. Shooting them indoors is also a dicey proposition considering that the species could be protected as a migratory bird. But there's no law against releasing a falcon to devour a wild bird.

Don't know if her business 'took off,' but I admired her clever idea.

Seth