Weird News Compilation

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I couldn't find the Weird News thread this morning because the title changed. That's weird.

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Looks like the thread's title got changed to the description of the first story that was posted on page one.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Now for the reason that I was looking for the thread. Introducing the Florida Man Games.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.— It ain’t the Olympics, but a group of Floridians plan to host competitions themed according to the collective antics of the beer-loving, gator-possessing, rap-sheet heavy, mullet-wearing social media phenomenon known as “Florida Man.”

Among the contests planned for next February in St. Augustine, Florida, according to organizers, are the Evading Arrest Obstacle Course in which contestants jump over fences and through yards while being chased by real police officers; the Category 5 Cash Grab in which participants try to grab as much money in a wind-blowing booth; and the self-explanatory beer-belly wrestling.

While reading it, I ran across a web site dedicated to Florida Man news stories - https://floridaman.com/. That's a rabbit hole of crazy there. o_O
 
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Definitely a weird morning. Now my posts are time traveling and being posted in the future!

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadog
Roadog is a motorcycle built by engineer and motorcycle enthusiast Wild Bill Gelbke between 1962 and 1965. A total of two were built. Gelbke, who had attended engineering school in Wisconsin and at University of Southern California, had worked for McDonnell Douglas and also owned two motorcycle shops in Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. He wanted to create a motorcycle that was dependable and was able to cruise at highway speeds comfortably for long periods.[2] Gelbe constructed and welded the frame himself using 4130 chrome-molybdenum tubing, and equipped the machine with a Chevrolet 153 engine and GM powerglide transmission.[1] The shaft drive was constructed from a Chevrolet 1-ton truck differential that was cut in half.[1] The complete bike is 17 feet (520 cm) long and weighs 3,280 pounds (1,490 kg).[1] Its great size and weight make the bike impossible for most people to steer until it is moving at a speed of at least 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), and when at rest it is held up by hydraulic rams that are deployed by the driver.
 
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nsaspook said:


The real investment question.
How much to get the meth lab running again?


Surely, the goodwill alone would be worth a tidy sum?
 
Swamp Thing said:
Surely, the goodwill alone would be worth a tidy sum?

A few gallons of this and it's as good as new.
https://safetyexpress.com/apple-environmental-meth-remover-part-1-4l/
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Meth is also known as crank, ice, crystal, chalk and is a white, odorless crystalline powder. Meth users often have a transient lifestyle, meaning they move frequently. This creates issues since once meth is used in a location, or even worse, cooked in a location, it can linger for years after the initial use. This presents serious concerns for individuals and families that rent or purchase these homes after meth contamination. Because of the high use of methamphetamines it is highly recommended that all prospective home buyers/renters get their house tested for meth contamination. The test is relatively inexpensive and quickly done.
The effects of those exposed to a house that is contaminated by methamphetamine are dangerous and documented. Residents living in a meth-contaminated house increase their risk of developing cancer and damaging the central nervous system, liver and kidneys.
Beyond the health dangers, it’s important to properly decontaminate a property since those living in a meth-contaminated house can test positive for meth use when a urinalysis or hair test is performed.
 
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Ukrainians are especially brave these days. Respect!​

A Ukrainian chess champion is prepared to lose her two world titles rather than defend them in a tournament held in Saudi Arabia. Anna Muzychuk said she would skip the lucrative event to protest the treatment of women in that country.

Muzychuk, 27, is the reigning women’s world champion in both rapid and blitz chess. In a recent Facebook post, she said she “decided not to go to Saudi Arabia” because she did not want “to play by someone’s rules,” including being made to “wear [an] abaya,” the loosefitting garment the country usually requires women to cover themselves with while in public.

Muzychuk also said she was opposed to being “accompanied getting outside,” and to being made to feel like “a secondary creature.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...n-saudi-arabia-to-protest-treatment-of-women/
 
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https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/benicia-car-handwritten-license-plate/3380522/

Benicia police on Friday arrested a person who they found driving a car with a handwritten license plate.

An officer was patrolling in the area of the 5000 block of East Second Street at about 1 a.m. when they spotted the "beautifully handwritten license plate" on the car, police said.

The officer determined that the car had been reported stolen out of Alameda, according to police.
The driver was arrested without incident and booked into jail, police said.

"We know we are not superheroes, but just FYI this is NOT a way to get one over on us," police wrote in a Facebook post.
 
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https://news.yahoo.com/tried-cross-ocean-hamster-wheel-103133862.html
He tried to cross the ocean on a hamster wheel. Actually it's a “HydroPod”
. . .
a Coast Guard commander issued him an order under federal navigation laws: No runs without being cleared by a marine inspector and a support ship.

Baluchi set off again in 2016 and 2021 with a similar craft powered solely by his feet. Again his attempts were cut short by authorities who deemed his journeys “manifestly unsafe.”

But he vowed to never give up his dream of “running” across the sea.

Then in August, the Coast Guard spotted him 70 miles off the coast of Georgia, in his floating hamster wheel, trying to cross the entire Atlantic.

Just go to the beach and enjoy like everyone else.
 
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A Tesla owner told Reuters part of his EV's suspension broke when he was driving with his family the day after he'd received delivery of the Model Y. The car had 115 miles on its odometer when the suspension issue caused portions of the vehicle to come in contact with the road and Jain to lose steering capabilities, according to the report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...t-s-part-of-a-much-bigger-problem/ar-AA1lNNOZ
The owner paid $55,000 for the car, and then got hit with a $14,000 repair bill for the failed suspension. Tesla claimed prior damage?!

This is beyond weird to surreal.
 
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PSA -- Let's avoid veering into political commentary please. Thanks. :smile:
 
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a small-town auto mechanic peddling a green-energy breakthrough pulled off a massive scam, a billion dollar Ponzi scheme that "hooked" Berkshire Hathaway's GEICO and US Treasury - until the SEC and FBI steeped in. :oops::rolleyes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/dc-solar-power-ponzi-scheme-scandal/673782/

Lots of red flags!

Toward the end:
In early December [2018], the Carpoffs told their office manager, Brian Strickland, that they were going on an unplanned vacation. They needed him to take photos for new passports, which someone was helping fast-track.
Then on December 18, 2023:
While the raids were under way, Carpoff called the office to ask if his and Paulette’s passports were still on his desk. Told no—agents had seized them—Carpoff said, “Oh f***” and hung up.

Over eight years, in at least 34 deals, DC Solar had defrauded more than a dozen corporate customers out of almost $1 billion. Because those corporations had used the investment tax credit to deduct roughly that entire sum from their taxes, DC Solar had effectively robbed the American people.

Of the more than 17,000 generators sold from 2011 to 2018, only about 6,000 would be found to exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Solar.
DC Solar was founded in 2008 and went defunct in 2018; Seized by the FBI; in Chapter 11 bankruptcy liquidation

Jeff Carpoff is "serving his time (30 years) in a medium-security correctional institution in Victorville, in a sun-scorched patch of California’s High Desert." (The Atlantic) His wife Paulette was sentenced to 11 years, 3 months.

Just - Wow!
 
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Astronuc said:
a small-town auto mechanic peddling a green-energy breakthrough pulled off a massive scam, a billion dollar Ponzi scheme that "hooked" Berkshire Hathaway's GEICO and US Treasury - until the SEC and FBI steeped in. :oops::rolleyes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/dc-solar-power-ponzi-scheme-scandal/673782/

Lots of red flags!

Toward the end:

Then on December 18, 2023:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Solar.
DC Solar was founded in 2008 and went defunct in 2018; Seized by the FBI; in Chapter 11 bankruptcy liquidation

Jeff Carpoff is "serving his time (30 years) in a medium-security correctional institution in Victorville, in a sun-scorched patch of California’s High Desert." (The Atlantic) His wife Paulette was sentenced to 11 years, 3 months.

Just - Wow!
I was in a country band in Martinez. John Muir's house is there.
 
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The passengers from sunken dive boat ^^ There is no proper licensing for boat drivers here or marine safety standards. This dive Boat that was blown over by wind/waves was actually a river boat inappropriately being used for a seagoing vessel
 
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