Required For Projects Using Hazardous Chemicals, Activities Or Devices: Fill & Download for Free

Working backwards from the end user:Any change from current forms will have to include:A significant increase in lethality.The same or higher degree of individual portability.The same or higher degree of accuracy.The same or higher degree of reliability.Some elements that new weapons will probably or possibly include:Modularity and Ergonomics — The biggest reasons why the AR15/M16/M4/M27 series are still in US service are ergonomics (how the weapon’s controls match people’s bodies) and modularity (the ability to alter or exchange components to match the form to the current/expected battlefield). The ability to change out sighting systems as technology becomes available, update ergonomic concerns, and add other capabilities like a grenade launcher or a shotgun has allowed the basic AR-15 to adapt. It also capitalizes on troop training.Other than demonstrating how the gas system operates, you could hand an M27 IAR to a Vietnam-era Marine who’s used an original model M16 and expect them to be able to run the gun.Integration — Most weapon optics today are self-contained, but in the time frame between Desert Shield and today, the biggest change in frontline combat vehicles has been the ability to network information and share targeting and logistics info. Assuming modularity, future weapons will probably communicate with this sort of network directly in a secure, hard to detect manner or communicate to some device on the soldier carrying it and then to a squad or other network. The information shared might be target information, ammo status, friendly troop location, etc. to allow the troop to see such information through an optic and allow the weapon optic to be used to target other ordnance.While it’s possible such an ability would be located on the soldier, say a helmet mounted optic, for ranged use, an actual designator would benefit from the ergonomics of the weapon for more precision, especially if the delivery system is a “smart launcher, dumb projectile” system rather than a precision guided munition.Gunpowder-based — Unless we find a way to manufacture very small, very powerful, rugged, and safe power packs, we’re probably going to still be using self-contained gun-powder-based rounds. Gauss guns using electricity to power a projectile magnetically sound good, but the power requirements and complexity may be more than an individual can carry in the near future. Current weapons using electrical power use one of three methods: dense batteries, limited use chemically activated power cell/batteries, and hard wiring to a vehicle mounted generator. Chemically activated power cells—like the Battery Coolant Unit (BCU) on Stinger MANPADS—can provide a lot of power and thermal energy (in the MANPADS, cooling energy)—for a short period of time, but often the chemicals are hazardous or toxic if mishandled. For a shift to electrically powered projectiles to make sense, either the efficiency and safety of electrical storage needs to increase beyond that of relatively inert gunpowder and/or the effectiveness of electrically driven projectiles needs to surpass what can be driven by gunpowder by a great enough degree to offset the risk and mass.Additionally, while we’ve flirted with caseless rounds for decades and exotic binary agent propulsion for artillery pieces, cased rounds may be long in our future as well. The reason why is heat.When a gun goes bang, it makes heat. To moderate heat, you either need a cooling system or a large enough mass, neither of which you want to carry around at arm’s reach 24 hours and 7 days a week. With a brass-case, a lot of heat exits the gun with the casing. If anything, some form of additional heat sink—either as part of the casing, part of the projectile, or part of the weapon—might be something to look at for improvement on automatic weapons.Exotic projectiles — One change over the last 50 years has been the increased ability to precisely machine both projectiles and components of projectiles. While a small caliber round usually lacks the volume for chemical energy (explosive) effects that would penetrate vehicle armor, the potential for such rounds to be used against personnel with armor might be possible. For rounds like High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) the key factor in determining penetration is diameter of the charge and stand-off (how far off the surface the round goes off), both of which might benefit from the miniaturization of electronic components.Variable time fuzes—essentially a time fuze tied to a tiny range-determining radar—are common mortar and howitzer fuzes. They can be programmed to detonate a pre-set distance above the ground, on contact, or after hitting the ground. Dialing the technology down in size and putting it on a 40mm or smaller diameter weapon could be effective against hard armor or used in the same way the experimental 25mm XM25 Counter-Defilade Target Engagement System does without the need to do more than preset the mode.Saboted small arms ammunition has also been around for decades. On the civilian market, the .22 Accelerator, a saboted .223 projectile in several .30-caliber cases has been sold. It produces a very high velocity—in excess of standard 5.56mm/.223 Remington—but has limited accuracy due to both the precision limits on manufacture and the use of a spin-stabilized projectile in a rifled bore. Sabots allow conventional firearms to fire projectiles with a greater mass to frontal area without increasing the surface area in contact with the weapon’s bore, thus enhancing penetration for the same mass of projectile. The limitations for small caliber long-form sabot or flechettes is the same form that enhances penetration: long, narrow forms that produce limited wound tracts.An intermediate saboted round of sufficient diameter and precision construction and design to both penetrate and create a yawing and disintegrating action in flesh coupled with a smooth bore might be a potential enhancement in future weapons. With appropriate propellent, a more compact overall length approaching the length of the projectile, ideally, could allow for a compact, high penetration and lethal weapon capitalizing on reliable current designs.Complex Accessories and Simple Mechanical Function — Reliability has always been a key design goal of military arms as well as safety. Mechanical systems have been the primary form of operation for small arms. Exceptions include an electrically initiated hunting rifle based on the Remington 700 action (Remington 700 EtronX) which used electrically initiated primers and firing system. A very basic, very simple—electrically—firing system that proved very unpopular due to any number of reasons, including an inability to diagnose and fix what’s wrong with the weapon in the field.While mechanical firing systems are almost archaic and we will see electrical systems in crew-served and vehicle weapons, the weapons of last resort will probably use mechanical safeties and firing systems until the entire weapon is electrical and electronic.Weapon accessories, however, are going to continue to get smaller and more complex. (See Modularity and Integrated above).Sights — Mechanical back up sights in some form will likely remain. Primary sights will be one or more designed to allow both rapid target acquisition and engagement at point blank range and target identification and precision engagement at longer ranges. These sights will have two modes, one using visible light to the naked eye and another that will only be visible and non-obstructive to some form of low-light or enhanced vision.Holographic sights projecting an aiming point and other (integrated) data into the soldier’s view will probably cover the short range sight. A smart, integrated sight coupled with a datalink should display friendly IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) signals in a clear manner (perhaps a large BLUE X) over a friendly with other information like designated target points by a leader in red. The longer range sight or mode should use the same symbology but enhance the soldier’s visual range and spectrum, perhaps integrating information from other sensors. A lock-out safety might be included—blocking firing at a known friendly—but would be able to be over-ridden.Sensors — In Vietnam, in an early demonstration of M16 modularity, an odor sensor called the XM-2 Personnel Detector was tested. Supposed to sniff out people based on the odors of sweat and urine, it wasn’t particularly successful in an environment where everyone was sweaty and such. It also used a backpack to handle the associated electronics of the time and attached by a cord thicker than the M16’s barrel. However, modern electronics might allow a variant of such a device going forward and—depending on the odor—might be tailored to some other smell specific to a population of people. The overall advantage being it’s a passive sensor.Other sensors like thermal imaging , infra-red, or image intensification would likely be integrated into a unified sight instead of individual sights as they are today. Integrated ballistic computers and perhaps rangefinders would be integrated as well.More exotic sensors like radar or ultrasonic motion detectors (like in the movie Aliens) are potentially available except unlikely to be found on military weapons. These weapons rely on transmissions that are projected from the sensor and reflected back to the sensor for interpretation. This means that anyone using such a device is sending out a signal that can be detected at twice the range of any signal and can be used to detect, monitor, and perhaps target anyone using one. These sorts of sensors would only be effective in a highly asymmetric war or in very limited environment where the transmissions would not propagate well.Modular Weapon Attachments — The basic small arm will remain a weapon capable of aimed, semiautomatic, fire with a very limited or no explosive effect. This is due to the necessity to cover almost all possible scenarios as far as safe engagement of a target from 0 meters to the maximum effective range of the weapon. Other fire modes/options may be adapted for with additional attachments or other forms of ammunition.Modular weapons will probably use the same integrated sights on the weapon to reduce overall mass from adding the weapon.The use of underbarrel weapons will probably continue as long as ergonomically reasonable. While it adds mass to a weapon, it usually allows the availability of the primary weapon as well as a secondary mode of fire. A grenade launcher with a focus on semi-direct or indirect firing to produce casualties in an area beyond cover will probably be used, even if the primary weapon has limited similar ability due to the limited caliber and need for a 0-meter engagement for the primary weapon. An under-barrel grenade launcher would allow a larger mass, larger effected area warhead as well as other larger-volume projectiles to be deployed.Artillery delivered sensors, radar jammers, and mines already exist and allow for operational influence on the battlefield in areas where troops may not be welcome. Minituarization of these sorts of systems would allow a similar effect, albeit at shorter range, but not worth the dedication of a primary weapon system. An underbarrel launcher of sufficient size could be used to deploy such things onto locations in urban settings—such as building roofs—without the risk of using something like a UAV which might reveal intent to an enemy.Door breaching—if not within the capability of the primary weapon—might be provided by an attached modular weapon.Miscellaneous — Some additional notes…Remember, these weapons are going to have to last. Modern armies keep weapons for several years, training with them, carrying them, rebuilding them. Cheap ideas are probably not going to last.The average soldier is just that, average… They aren’t going to be superhuman, overly large, or overly smart. They will be moderately well trained and in reasonable shape. So the weapons they use will need to be reliable, maintainable, and not excessively heavy. If a 5′3″ woman can’t handle the basic weapon, it’s probably not going to be adopted as a primary weapon.Rifles are only one part of the big picture. They’re the basic weapon, but they will be backed up by heavier weapons so they don’t have to be overly powerful, world killers. Those are artillery pieces.These weapons will be built by the lowest bidder. The builder will build them to the standard set, but they aren’t going to be gold-plated. Also, they will probably be limited to non-exotic materials, hopefully available within the US.Any weapon that is a danger to a soldier in normal use is a non-starter. So, anything that tends to blow up when shot will probably never be adopted. If it shorts out and fries someone if it’s put together wrong, probably not going to be adopted.If it takes a PhD in engineering to understand how it goes together, it’s a non-starter:If you can’t submerge it in water, especially salt water, and have a reasonable expectation it will go bang afterward… it’s a non-starter.So, yeah… that’s what I think infantry weapons will look like in 40 years, at least the basic issue one.

First, based on your other questions, I doubt this situation is real. You almost certainly just made it up. But:As a former Building Official, I reviewed several projects involving shipping containers.I can tell you there is NO legal purpose for which a buried shipping container would comply with the International Building Code, now adopted by all 50 states.It is unsafe for any purpose, and a safety hazard.A building permit should be required for such an installation. Code enforcement competence varies, and some small, or rural building officials may let this kind of thing go, but if so, they are not doing their job.You can ask your local building official if a permit was issued. They should be able and willing to tell you.If so, it should state the use classification.If no permit, the installation was illegal. Whether the building department will take action depends on whether they take law enforcement seriously.The hazards are many. Just to mention a few:A buried steel box will corrode and eventually collapse, leaving a hazardous pit in which children could fall or get trapped.No ventilation, light, heat, or sanitation, making it unsafe to occupy. A person could suffocate, especially if using improvised light or heat.As a storage tank, for what? Hazardous substances will end up leaching into the ground and getting into groundwater.Improvised electrical systems would be electrocution hazards, especially with metal floor on damp earth.It is a “confined space” that could trap methane or sewer gas, and be impossible to escape.There are reasons for building codes. It's not just the owner that is at risk, but responders, guests, family, future unsuspecting owners, neighborhood kids, and the water supply are potentially at risk.The other concern would be possible criminal uses.There is NO good, legal use for such an installation.Edit: ——————It's amazing how many opponents of illegal immigration, respond to this question about CLEARLY ILLEGAL activities of a neighbor by saying: "So what? MYOB."On immigration, they get fixated on documentation, going through all the bureaucracy, doing it the right, legal way.On building codes, they think the opposite.Hypocrites.What this proves is that it's not really about "illegal" immigration at all, but about their support for restricting immigration, as opposed to their disrespect for restrictions on construction.Are we affected by what our neighbors do on their own property? Of course we are. It costs us money. They evade taxes. It creates safety hazards. It builds the equivalent of shanty border cities like Tijuana, right next door, with drugs and criminal enterprises.There is no way that burying a shipping container is legal. It is a serious safety hazard to the whole neighborhood.Is your neighbor here legally? MYOB.Did he get a building permit? That IS your business.Edit ——— ——— ———- ——-Comments suggested some possible “legal” uses for a buried shipping container: shelter, generator, storage.Yes, it is possible to build a legal underground structure for various purposes, using a shipping container as the basic skeleton, but any legal use would need so much else, that the statement, "My neighbor buried a full sized shipping container in his back yard," would be so insignificant to the total project that the container itself would be a minor part of a much, much more extensive project, which would very clearly require permits, inspection, and a lot of other work.For example, a fallout shelter would require as a minimum:LightHeatVentilationSanitationWaterStorm drainageIngress and EgressFoundationsWater proofingSo, lets think this through:A shelter, in an 8.5 ft tall standard container, with 3 ft of earth cover on top. The floor would be about 11 ft below grade. So, how are you going to get in? Presumably a stairway. At the maximum slope of stairs, the stairwell would about 15 feet long, plus a landing at the bottom, so, at the end of the container you would need an almost 20 foot long pit, with stairs. There would be a big hole in the ground, which would need a guard rail around it to keep people from falling in. Sure, you could partially cover it with a concrete deck and earth, but unless you build a hatch basement door, there's still a hole needing a rail around it.(You could also cut out the top of the container and put the stairs inside the container, but that would take most of the room in a 40 ft. container, and cutting a big portion of the container roof would take out the roof's bracing of the sides, allowing the sides to bend inwards under soil pressure. You'd end up having to have the sides redesigned by a civil engineer. And, you would still have the big hole in the ground with a guard rail.)If it is a bedroom, to stay and sleep in, you also need a second egress, usually with a window well, but 11 ft underground, I'm not sure that works. Maybe, with a ladder. Just for laughs, lets assume that. Another, smaller pit, another guardrail. (True, the openable window might be problematic in the nuclear blast, but we won't go there)Now, that stair pit is going to collect storm water. What are you gonna do with that? Either pump it out, or maybe just build an entry shack over it to keep the rain out.The steel container needs to be protected from water that would rust it and cause it to collapse. So, a waterproof underground box of air. How are you gonna keep it from floating up out of the ground if the ground gets saturated with water? You need a dewatering system, or heavy tie downs, or somehow prove that it can't happen (enough soil piled on top?).Any habitable space requires ventilation, heat, and light. Without those, some one would use a flame to get light or heat, and without ventilation, die from carbon monoxide.So, you need an electric service for light and heat. An extension cord from the house will not do. Maybe a sub-panel off the house service.A mechanical ventilation system is needed. Plus heating - lets assume electric heat to avoid the complications of gas. Need above ground intake and exhaust. You could use the stairwell for the intake, and the egress well for exhaust. But this is ostensibly a fallout shelter, so you would want HEPA and carbon filters on the intake. Big blower to make all that work.Now, as we learned in the last few weeks, the most critical need for sheltering in place is toilet paper, and a toilet in which to use it. So, you're gonna need a bathroom. Sewer connection, 12-13 ft. deep? Big, expensive, shored ditch to put the sewer line in, a major project in itself. Instead, maybe go with a sewage ejector pump? (to pump it over to the house sewer). Or maybe a composting toilet to avoid a sewer line? But either way, with a toilet you need sanitary wash water, and a way to dispose of it. Maybe a gray water system to get wash water out. So, you need a water line, and a leach line at a minimum. What about bathing/showering? I'm going to assume that while we're waiting for Armageddon, that you are gonna make some use of this room, as an extra bedroom or man cave or something. No? How are you going to assure the building official of that, much less, your wife? But, we’ll assume no shower or hot water.So, how ya gonna keep all this working after Armageddon, when you lose outside power? A generator? Where? You don't have to put that in, but if you lie about it, thinking you can just put it in later after the permit signoff, a transfer switch would give you away. You need to think through the fuel storage and generator location. May not want them down in that hole with you.So, the electric service needs to support:Electric heat (240v).Lights.Ventilation system, with fallout filtration.Dewatering pump.Sewage ejector or composting toilet.Standby generator connection.Convenience outlets.Now, that stair pit will presumably have a concrete slab floor with foundations below. If you don't put a similar foundation under the container, it will sink into the soft ground and settle below the level of the stair pit floor landing, opening up the water proofing and flooding the whole thing. Which means, just digging a big pit and lowering the container into it won't do. Gotta pour some concrete at the bottom, which means shoring to keep it from caving on the workers.In summary, yes, you could legally use a "buried shipping container" as a fallout shelter, but the whole project would be a LOT more complex than would make sense to simply describe as that. It would have visible above ground features for access and egress. Major utility work would be involved, and a lot of concrete poured. Whether it makes sense to use a shipping container as the basic structure is another question.I am a little north of "Tornado Alley," in Indiana, but we do get tornadoes here. Last year, we spent several hours with the whole family sheltered in the back of our semi-basement, during a tornado warning/watch and intense thunder storm (wind gusts, hail, heavy rain, thunder, lightning, humidity, darkness, the whole bit). Sheltering from tornadoes is not as long as you would use a fallout shelter, but more than a few minutes. It can last for a while, maybe even all night.The only thing I would take off the list of features for a tornado shelter vs. a fallout shelter would be the air intake filtering. From my experience, to make it tolerable to stay in, I would recommend air conditioning, but that's not a code requirement. I can tell you that anyone with an underground space is going to want a dehumidifier, as such spaces are always damp, and get stinky and moldy without it.ANY space designed to have people in it needs the very minimum of safe access, ventilation, light and heat, to avoid having more people dead from taking shelter, than from the danger from which they sheltered. And trying to get the family to take shelter in a dark hole in the ground would not work.Above ground, ventilation is much easier, as you can just open a window and let the breeze blow through. Below ground, mechanical ventilation is needed. I should probably point out that most residential basements avoid that mechanical ventilation requirement because they are not fully underground. Usually, the first floor is a couple feet above ground, to keep water out, and any slope is taken advantage of to put in a basement window. You could do that with a partially buried shipping container, by leaving the top couple feet exposed above ground, which could save a lot of complications, and would probably be good enough for a tornado shelter, but that wasn't the scenario.I should also point out the fire hazard in limited egress bunkers. A similar situation on the dive boat Conception, last year in California, trapped 34 people, none of whom was able to escape a fire in that cabin, with a gangway ladder exit. Comparing that to a buried shipping container should make several points: One is that a ladder entrance/exit is not safe. Another is that two means of egress should be provided. A third point is the hazard of makeshift electrical systems:"One of the surviving crew members theorized the fire may have started in the galley of the ship, where cellphones and cameras had been plugged in to charge overnight. The designer of the vessel speculated the fire began in the bunk area, possibly sparked by a lithium battery. Boats made at the time the Conception was built were not installed with electrical systems that could handle the amount of rechargeable devices that would have been had by the passengers, between cell phones, cameras, and lighting systems for their dives. The sheer number of devices charging at once may have overloaded circuits, coupled with the hazards from lithium-ion battery overloading. . . On September 10, the Coast Guard issued Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 008-19, immediately advising owners, operators, and masters of passenger vessels to limit "the unsupervised charging of lithium-ion batteries and extensive use of power strips and extension cords." Sinking of MV Conception - WikipediaJust running an extension cord out from the house is virtually asking for deaths. All of my family was using their devices during the tornado alert.You could question the need for a toilet in a tornado shelter, but people gotta go even in just a few hours sheltering from a storm. I can see someone suggesting a portable chemical camp toilet. There are many problems with that. As a permanent solution in a permanent bunker, it would invite abuse. The main problem is that, even though the bunker might be intended as only for use during a storm, once it's built, there is no way to limit it to that use. It is going to get used for other things and other times. A habitable building with no sanitation is not going to end up safe or sanitary.

Let's go over the Evil Overlord List and see how they compare:Peter's Evil Overlord ListMy Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.Voldemort and Palpatine both violate this, but there is no mention of Sauron doing so.My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.Inapplicable to Voldemort and Sauron, and we never see Death Star's ventilation ducts.Shooting is not too good for my enemies.Voldemort repeatedly violates this where Harry is concerned; Palpatine violates this by deliberately drawing out Luke's death. Sauron is up by 2 points, as I recall him never having this issue.The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.For Sauron this is the One Ring, which he kept on himself in a visible spot, which is how Isildur cut it off. For Voldemort this is his horcruxes, which he made out of unique items and hid in places significant to him. For Palpatine I have to go to Legends to find a comparable example, his cloning facility on Byss; I'll give him a pass on that but the other two fail.I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.Palpatine fails, Voldemort fails, Sauron passes.When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."Voldemort fails, Palpatine fails, Sauron passes.After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.Not applicableI will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such.All three pass.I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.All three fail.I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.All three pass.One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.All three fail.All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.Voldemort fails this in DH; Palpatine and Sauron are never in this position and so pass.The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.Voldemort fails, Sauron passes, Palpatine passes.I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.Not applicable.I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."Voldemort fails, Palpatine passes, Sauron passes.When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.Voldemort fails, Palpatine fails, Sauron fails.I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would provide a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time.Technically all three pass, as Palpatine's son only exists in Legends.I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father.All three pass.Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly.Voldemort fails, Palpatine fails, I don't remember if Sauron ever laughs, so I will tentatively pass him.I will hire a talented fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legions of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman footsoldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set.All three fail.No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.Sauron fails as he puts too much of himself into the Ring; Voldemort fails because he creates seven horcruxes. Palpatine passes.I will keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train my troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize my power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- my troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks.Sauron only has low-tech weapons, but Palpatine and Voldemort both fail.I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.)All three fail.No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot.Palpatine fails because he builds two Death Stars; Sauron fails because the Ring is virtually indestructible except in the fires of Mount Doom; Voldemort fails because he never checks on his horcruxes.No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber.All three pass.I will never build only one of anything important. All important systems will have redundant control panels and power supplies. For the same reason I will always carry at least two fully loaded weapons at all times.Sauron fails but Voldemort passes, because there was one Ring vs. multiple horcruxes. Palpatine fails as he only had one cloning facility.My pet monster will be kept in a secure cage from which it cannot escape and into which I could not accidentally stumble.Not applicable.I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion.All three fail.All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.All three fail.All naive, busty tavern wenches in my realm will be replaced with surly, world-weary waitresses who will provide no unexpected reinforcement and/or romantic subplot for the hero or his sidekick.All three fail.I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.Voldemort fail; I don't know if Palpatine or Sauron did this, so I will pass them.I won't require high-ranking female members of my organization to wear a stainless-steel bustier. Morale is better with a more casual dress-code. Similarly, outfits made entirely from black leather will be reserved for formal occasions.All three pass.I will not turn into a snake. It never helps.Voldemort fails but the other two pass.I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X.All three pass.I will not imprison members of the same party in the same cell block, let alone the same cell. If they are important prisoners, I will keep the only key to the cell door on my person instead of handing out copies to every bottom-rung guard in the prison.Voldemort fails, the other two pass.If my trusted lieutenant tells me my Legions of Terror are losing a battle, I will believe him. After all, he's my trusted lieutenant.All three fail.If an enemy I have just killed has a younger sibling or offspring anywhere, I will find them and have them killed immediately, instead of waiting for them to grow up harboring feelings of vengeance towards me in my old age.Voldemort fails, though admittedly he tried. The other two pass.If I absolutely must ride into battle, I will certainly not ride at the forefront of my Legions of Terror, nor will I seek out my opposite number among his army.All three fail.I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve.A rare pass for Voldemort as he uses the Killing Curse early and often; Sauron gets a pass as he frequently sends out the unkillable Nazgul; I'll also give Palpatine a pass as he is definitely not chivalrous or sporting.Once my power is secure, I will destroy all those pesky time-travel devices.Voldemort passes; not applicable to the others.When I capture the hero, I will make sure I also get his dog, monkey, ferret, or whatever sickeningly cute little animal capable of untying ropes and filching keys happens to follow him around.Voldemort and Sauron fail; Palpatine passes as Luke was definitely alone when he was captured.I will maintain a healthy amount of skepticism when I capture the beautiful rebel and she claims she is attracted to my power and good looks and will gladly betray her companions if I just let her in on my plans.Not applicable.I will only employ bounty hunters who work for money. Those who work for the pleasure of the hunt tend to do dumb things like even the odds to give the other guy a sporting chance.Voldemort fails because of Fenrir Greyback; Palpatine and Sauron pass.I will make sure I have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what in my organization. For example, if my general screws up I will not draw my weapon, point it at him, say "And here is the price for failure," then suddenly turn and kill some random underling.Voldemort fails, Palpatine fails because of the Death Stars, Sauron passes.If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor.All three fail.If I learn that a callow youth has begun a quest to destroy me, I will slay him while he is still a callow youth instead of waiting for him to mature.Voldemort gets partial credit because he was trying, even though he was failing. Palpatine and Sauron fail.I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge.All three fail.If I learn the whereabouts of the one artifact which can destroy me, I will not send all my troops out to seize it. Instead I will send them out to seize something else and quietly put a Want-Ad in the local paper.All three fail.My main computers will have their own special operating system that will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh powerbooks.Not applicable to Voldemort or Sauron, Palpatine fails because Artoo can slice the Death Star computer.If one of my dungeon guards begins expressing concern over the conditions in the beautiful princess' cell, I will immediately transfer him to a less people-oriented position.All three pass.I will hire a team of board-certified architects and surveyors to examine my castle and inform me of any secret passages and abandoned tunnels that I might not know about.Voldemort and Sauron fail, Palpatine passes.If the beautiful princess that I capture says "I'll never marry you! Never, do you hear me, NEVER!!!", I will say "Oh well" and kill her.Not applicableI will not strike a bargain with a demonic being then attempt to double-cross it simply because I feel like being contrary.Not applicableThe deformed mutants and odd-ball psychotics will have their place in my Legions of Terror. However before I send them out on important covert missions that require tact and subtlety, I will first see if there is anyone else equally qualified who would attract less attention.Voldemort gets partial credit; Palpatine passes, but Sauron fails.My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.Sauron passes, the other two fail.Before employing any captured artifacts or machinery, I will carefully read the owner's manual.Voldemort fails; not applicable to the other two.If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner.Not applicable.I will never build a sentient computer smarter than I am.All pass.My five-year-old child advisor will also be asked to decipher any code I am thinking of using. If he breaks the code in under 30 seconds, it will not be used. Note: this also applies to passwords.All fail.If my advisors ask "Why are you risking everything on such a mad scheme?", I will not proceed until I have a response that satisfies them.All fail.I will design fortress hallways with no alcoves or protruding structural supports which intruders could use for cover in a firefight.All fail.Bulk trash will be disposed of in incinerators, not compactors. And they will be kept hot, with none of that nonsense about flames going through accessible tunnels at predictable intervals.Palpatine fails; not applicable to the others.I will see a competent psychiatrist and get cured of all extremely unusual phobias and bizarre compulsive habits which could prove to be a disadvantage.All fail.If I must have computer systems with publically available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.Palpatine fails; not applicable to Voldemort, though Sauron still fails because Mount Doom is impossible to disguise.My security keypad will actually be a fingerprint scanner. Anyone who watches someone press a sequence of buttons or dusts the pad for fingerprints then subsequently tries to enter by repeating that sequence will trigger the alarm system.Not applicable.No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a full-scale emergency.Not applicable.I will spare someone who saved my life sometime in the past. This is only reasonable as it encourages others to do so. However, the offer is good one time only. If they want me to spare them again, they'd better save my life again.Not applicableAll midwives will be banned from the realm. All babies will be delivered at state-approved hospitals. Orphans will be placed in foster-homes, not abandoned in the woods to be raised by creatures of the wild.All pass.When my guards split up to search for intruders, they will always travel in groups of at least two. They will be trained so that if one of them disappears mysteriously while on patrol, the other will immediately initiate an alert and call for backup, instead of quizzically peering around a corner.All fail.If I decide to test a lieutenant's loyalty and see if he/she should be made a trusted lieutenant, I will have a crack squad of marksmen standing by in case the answer is no.Palpatine fails; not applicable to the othersIf all the heroes are standing together around a strange device and begin to taunt me, I will pull out a conventional weapon instead of using my unstoppable superweapon on them.Voldemort fails; not applicable to the othersI will not agree to let the heroes go free if they win a rigged contest, even though my advisors assure me it is impossible for them to win.Not applicableWhen I create a multimedia presentation of my plan designed so that my five-year-old advisor can easily understand the details, I will not label the disk "Project Overlord" and leave it lying on top of my desk.Not applicableI will instruct my Legions of Terror to attack the hero en masse, instead of standing around waiting while members break off and attack one or two at a time.All fail.If the hero runs up to my roof, I will not run up after him and struggle with him in an attempt to push him over the edge. I will also not engage him at the edge of a cliff. (In the middle of a rope-bridge over a river of molten lava is not even worth considering.)All fail.If I have a fit of temporary insanity and decide to give the hero the chance to reject a job as my trusted lieutentant, I will retain enough sanity to wait until my current trusted lieutenant is out of earshot before making the offer.Palpatine fails, the other two pass.I will not tell my Legions of Terror "And he must be taken alive!" The command will be "And try to take him alive if it is reasonably practical."Voldemort fails, the other two pass.If my doomsday device happens to come with a reverse switch, as soon as it has been employed it will be melted down and made into limited-edition commemorative coins.Not applicableIf my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress.Voldemort fails, Palpatine fails, but Sauron gets a pass because the Nazgul are his best.If I am fighting with the hero atop a moving platform, have disarmed him, and am about to finish him off and he glances behind me and drops flat, I too will drop flat instead of quizzically turning around to find out what he saw.Not applicableI will not shoot at any of my enemies if they are standing in front of the crucial support beam to a heavy, dangerous, unbalanced structure.Not applicableIf I'm eating dinner with the hero, put poison in his goblet, then have to leave the table for any reason, I will order new drinks for both of us instead of trying to decide whether or not to switch with him.Not applicableI will not have captives of one sex guarded by members of the opposite sex.All passI will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button."All fail.I will make sure that my doomsday device is up to code and properly grounded.Palpatine fails; not applicable to the othersMy vats of hazardous chemicals will be covered when not in use. Also, I will not construct walkways above them.Palpatine fails because the Death Stars are walking death traps; not applicable to the others.If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again.All fail.After I captures the hero's superweapon, I will not immediately disband my legions and relax my guard because I believe whoever holds the weapon is unstoppable. After all, the hero held the weapon and I took it from him.Voldemort fails; Palpatine fails because he let the Stormtroopers decline in quality; Sauron passes.I will not design my Main Control Room so that every workstation is facing away from the door.Not applicableI will not ignore the messenger that stumbles in exhausted and obviously agitated until my personal grooming or current entertainment is finished. It might actually be important.Voldemort and Palpatine fail; Sauron passesIf I ever talk to the hero on the phone, I will not taunt him. Instead I will say this his dogged perseverance has given me new insight on the futility of my evil ways and that if he leaves me alone for a few months of quiet contemplation I will likely return to the path of righteousness. (Heroes are incredibly gullible in this regard.)All fail.If I decide to hold a double execution of the hero and an underling who failed or betrayed me, I will see to it that the hero is scheduled to go first.Not applicableWhen arresting prisoners, my guards will not allow them to stop and grab a useless trinket of purely sentimental value.All passMy dungeon will have its own qualified medical staff complete with bodyguards. That way if a prisoner becomes sick and his cellmate tells the guard it's an emergency, the guard will fetch a trauma team instead of opening up the cell for a look.Not applicableMy door mechanisms will be designed so that blasting the control panel on the outside seals the door and blasting the control panel on the inside opens the door, not vice versa.Palpatine fails; not applicable to the others.My dungeon cells will not be furnished with objects that contain reflective surfaces or anything that can be unravelled.All pass.If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstance have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution.Voldemort fails; Palpatine fails; not applicable to SauronAny data file of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb in size.Palpatine fails; not applicable to the othersFinally, to keep my subjects permanently locked in a mindless trance, I will provide each of them with free unlimited Internet access.All fail.*So what's the count:Voldemort: 48Palpatine: 48Sauron: 34Voldemort and Palpatine tie.