Real-Life Weirdness

[tshiggins]

Here we go!

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11355973

The Yellowstone caldera is gittin' a mite frisky.

[Luke Bunyip]

Vampiric beasties, Americana style

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra

[Anaraxes]

LAGOS (Reuters) - Police in Nigeria are holding a goat on suspicion of attempted armed robbery.

Vigilantes took the black and white beast to the police saying it was an armed robber who had used black magic to transform himself into a goat to escape arrest after trying to steal a Mazda 323.

"The group of vigilante men came to report that while they were on patrol they saw some hoodlums attempting to rob a car. They pursued them. However one of them escaped while the other turned into a goat," Kwara state police spokesman Tunde Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddly...50M4XT20090124

[Running Wolf]

News of the Weird is always good for some ideas!

They're either earnestly civic-minded or people with issues, but in several dozen cities across the country, men (and a few women) dress in homemade superhero costumes and patrol marginal neighborhoods, aiming to deter crime. Phoenix's Green Scorpion and New York City's Terrifica and Orlando's Master Legend and Indianapolis' Mr. Silent are just a few of the 200 gunless, knifeless vigilantes listed on the World Superhero Registry, most presumably with day jobs but who fancy cleaning up the mean streets at night. According to two recent reports (in Rolling Stone and The Times of London), unanticipated gripes by the "Reals," as they call themselves, are boredom from lack of crime and (especially in the summer) itchy spandex outfits. [Rolling Stone, 12-25-08; The Times, 12-28-08]

It is a real web page http://www.worldsuperheroregistry.com

[Anaraxes]

DARPA has let a contract for "EATR", the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot. The purpose of EATR is to seek out its own fuel from organic biomass in its environment. To quote their presentation:

- Identify suitable biomass sources of energy and distinguish those sources from unsuitable materials

-Spatially locate and manipulate the sources of energy (e.g., cut or shred to size, grasp, lift, and ingest); and

- Convert the biomass to sufficient electrical energy to power the EATR™ subsystems

http://www.robotictechnologyinc.com/...20Overview.pdf

This will be perfect for your upcoming Terminator / Soylent Green crossover. See slide 7; it even already mounts a chainsaw on an extensible arm.

[Kale]

Why yes, we are doomed.

[tantric]

Don't ever say it can't happen....

A few days ago, I got a bit of junk mail requesting that I fill out a survey. Thing is, when I opened it up, there was a $5 bill inside. Not a coupon, not an online discount, cash. Free. In the mail. In America. The paperwork said nothing about the money - not a peep.

Yes, I went online and did the survey. It was harmless. Not even a request for my email.

There is, in fact, such a thing as a free lunch. Frankly, this is more amazing than many of the paranormal events reported here. It actually pretty seriously weirded me out.

[William]

Ah heh. I've gotten nickels attached to charity guilt trips, but a $5 bill without it even being mentioned in the letter? That is unusual.

[Kale]

Originally Posted by tantric

It actually pretty seriously weirded me out.

I'd be checking that fin for radioactive tracers...

[Anaraxes]

I got an Arbitron radio survey once; it came with two bucks in cash.

There's psychology behind it. Notice you actually went and did the survey? People tend to feel obliged, as though they were paid for their time, even though they weren't consulted and didn't ask for money. So they're more likely to actually respond. Sending out lots of invitations to a survey in the physical mail is expensive. It can be cheaper to send fewer and include some cash to get the same response rate.