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From: eacj@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Julian Vrieslander)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: New Year's Eve idiocy - an eyewitness report
Message-ID: <1991Jan9.200754.8857@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 91 20:07:54 GMT
References: <4655@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM>
Organization: Cornell Theory Center
Lines: 29

In article <4655@wrgate.WR.TEK.COM> jeffw@midas.WR.TEK.COM (Jeff Winslow) writes:
>
>New Year's Eve brought the usual assortment of firecrackers, skyrockets,
>M-80s (I guess - bright and LOUD), and so forth. As I was enjoying the show
>(and giving thanks I live a good mile away from the jokers with the M-80s), 
>I was startled by a green flash from a nearby substation. This thing was
>BRIGHT - so bright it effectively washed out all other lights for dozens of
>blocks on either side. The flash itself appeared to be about a half a city
>block wide. There were two of them, about 10 seconds apart. And funny thing -
>a lot of people's lights went out. :-)  Anyway, at the time I assumed some

I was in Miami during New Year's Eve.  The locals there have gone way beyond
M-80's.  At midnight, they have this quaint custom of going outside and firing
thier automatic and semi-automatic weapons into the sky.  It sounds like
a revolution in a banana republic.  There have been reports of damage to cars
and houses (I have not heard of human injuries yet).  It would not surprise
me a bit if one of these yahoos were to shoot up some power lines or a
transformer.






-- 
Julian Vrieslander 
Neurobiology & Behavior, W250 Mudd Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853    
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