Slashdot Mirror
Technology Spontaneously Combusts In Sicily
Zacronos writes "According to MSNBC, ever since mid-January, various electronic devices have been spontaneously combusting in the now evacuated town of Canneto di Caronia, Sicily; at this point, the fires are almost daily. The town has been disconnected from the larger electrical grid and was hooked to a generator, but that, too, caught fire. Even unplugged items have succumbed. Nothing seems to have burst into flame except where there is someone present to witness it, but the police no longer suspect a prankster -- after witnessing wires catch fire without cause. Scientists have yet to explain the phenomenon (although unproven theories abound), leading many people to look to supernatural causes."
Many many people will soon flock to Sicily to see the virgin Mary.
Sadly, in the news, a number of faithful Catholics have suddenly burst into flames today.
UID 1000000 is just around the corner.
I knew Windows Longhorne wasn't ready to be released
It looks to me like the whole thing was just invented. I'll bet if I visited, I could find the problem in two minutes... tops.
Electrical devices burst into flames... I guess then slashdotting them is akin to putting out the fire with gasoline.
Never pet a burning dog.
Obviously, if they were running Linux this wouldn't be happening now would it?
"Shredded cabbage and mayo go good together." Cole's Law
From the article: "We're working in the dark. We don't have a single lead so far," said Pedro Spinnato, mayor of the trio of Caronia towns.
...a lesser-known sign of the apocalypse?
I mean, another has already come true -- We've got the little-known 5th Horseman roaming the earth, and has its own variety show.
What? You didn't know she was the Horsman of Stupidity?
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
"Jesus!"
I feel sorry for any IT professionals walking around with a pager, NEXtel, and a PDA in their pockets/belts. Ouch!
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
In unrelated news, media reports that many websites carrying "news for nerds, stuff that matters" spontaneously combust, especially when lots of people are witnessing it. Apparently, a Sicilian hosting company has been hit particularly hard.
Money for nothing, pix for free
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Looks like siciliy finally got the boot!
*badum ching!*
Web servers burst into flame all the time when they are linked from SlashDot.
Bah - I'm from Sicily and this story is a complete load of **BZZZZZZZZTT*
NO CARRIER
It was posted today! The fact that this news piece appears backdated in other websites proves there is something supernatural involved!!
*Jumps into Holy Water pool*
---- Take the Space Quiz!
...Colored markings on the street indicate the presence of volcano experts...
Sweet jumpin' Jesus! The volcano 'experts' must have burned up and left little *poof* marks where they stood.
Nope : They won't switch their computer on to discuss about this since it might catch fire :)
Trolling using another account since 2005.
If their computer which isn't connected to a electricity grid doesn't combust...
I'm a Sicilian slashdotter and I haven't seen it ye- (#*@$#)@(&)DF%N CARRIER LOST
Founder of Mirror Moon - Tsukihime Game Trans
You mean if any kind of EMP is the cause of you thinking?
Who is to say that they aren't?
:)
I mean, aliens don't have to be our size, they could be tiny little critters that can't be seen with the naked eye.
This could just be a series of tiny little BBQ's gone wrong?
If I was an alien, Sicily would seem like a nice place to go
This is the sig that says NI (again)
if the RIAA and Microsoft get all of their DRM technology in order.
Wow, the new Janet Jackson single... gimmee gimmee gimmee playing WOOOOOOOOOF! FLAMES!
who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! heh, i had to do it.
OK, Can any sicilian slashdotter with a carrier pigeon or a battery powered CB radio confirm this?
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
And strangely fitting:
" "....My God! Is that your kitchen on fire?"
"Err, no. It's Aurora Borealus."
"An Aurora Borealus?"
"Yes."
"At this time of the day, at this time of year, in this part of the country, localized entirely in your kitchen?!"
".....Yes."
"....Can I see it?"
".....No."
Or sometimes things just.... catch fire..... we wouldn't want that now would we?
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
"Someone wrote to us saying the solution was to sacrifice a black goat and collect its blood. At some point, that's going to start looking like a good idea."
Wohoo! They took my advice!
"You don a wanna yo microwava to a burna downa yo housa, you paya mia $100 a montha."
Most suspicious.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
It's the result of scientists ignoring Zero Point Energy for so long. Now it is rearing it's ugly head.
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
I have an unladen European Swallow...
Finally a practical use for IP over avian carriers! :)
Witness the vengance of the Amish for their many years of ridicule at our hands!
My electronics burning up may as well be the apocalypse...
I can do that.
:p
Fires are appearing randomly, what are the possible causes:
1. fire bugs
2. higher than normal voltage
3. emp devices being tested nearby
4. act of God 1 (natural causes)
5. act of God 2 (God's pissed - it is Easter, afterall)
6. aliens
we can rule out #1 due to witnesses. Ditto for #2 as fires have been happening in unplugged equipment.
We can also rule out #3 as the slashdot crowd says that can't be it.
There is nothing in nature that we know of that would cause #4. God promised after Noah's flood he wouldn't do this sort of thing again so we can rule out #5.
That just leaves #6.
I would also suspect, knowing a bit about electrical grids, that there may be unexpected connections around and some of those wires may still be live.
I know of at least one case where a factory had an unusually high power load and the new manager determined to investigate. One evening after work he went round turning off the main switches one after another. One switch had no apparent effect, so he left it turned off. He then later heard that the golf club half a mile down the road had suddenly been totally deprived of power.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."--Arthur C. Clarke
It really makes me sad when, if people don't understand something they assume it's advanced technology.
Not bad, Packet data, AND a decent meal.
:D
Flame grilled pigeon tastes quite nice
liqbase
::Smiles at the idea of a carrier pigeon bursting into flame as soon as a message is attatched to its leg because it now falls under the 'technology' category::
-Colin
That's similar to power over Ethernet, isn't it? Your energy comes with your data?
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
Swamp Gas?
Dear Zeus, I apologize for sleeping with one of your many women. I'd appreciate it if you would stop with the lightning bolts, and just get on with turning me into some sort of half-turtle, half-game show host monstrosity to teach me the error of my ways. Cheers.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from terrorism."--Not Arthur C. Clarke
They're taking the term firewire literally.
The fires have even consumed unplugged lamps and an entire apartment. Black scorch marks still scar the apartment walls.
Did this community do a lot of eBay shopping?
I wondered why I had this firewire jack on my puter.
Sure, blame me!
For the last time, it's the Illuminati!
-- taking over the world, we are.
Oh c'mon, random fires appearing from nowhere, that's nothing special. Watch me pulling this trick off, right now:
:-)
Hey Linux lovers, you suck! I hate Einstein. All nerds have pimple issues. Fancy-dress freebooters! Ectoplasmic Byproducts! Carpet-sellers! Kleptomaniacs! Tramps! Vegetarians! Pickled herrings! Megalomaniacs!
Really, how fast does it go?
**TODO** Steal someone elses sig.
That's what you get for participating in flame-wars...
This comment does not exist.
I think religion is probably the greatest scam ever invented.
...
Behind Health Insurance, you mean
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
They need to call Scooby-Doo and the gang.
I can see it now...
Old man Aldo was setting the fires whilst dressed in a demon costume.
On the lighter side, marshmallow sales in the small village went up.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
Yeah, great. Thanks. Leave my sockets in a TIME-WAIT state, thanks... You do know you're supposed to *ACK* that packet, right?
I thought this was a nerd site!
It's obvious what this is; the barrier between the normal world and faerie is coming down; look for reports of weird creatures in the nearby hills, similar things happening in various spots around the world as the local rules of physics change.
It's FULLY detailed in the Shadowrun or Dark Conspiracy sourcebooks.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
No, you mean Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World." "The Daemon-Haunted World" is Sagan's book about how your computer may be infested with programs that don't run until they're invoked by another application.
when in doubt, blame top-secret-military-testing.
Advertising with the name "firewire," this seems to give a whole new meaning to that.
Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
Bah
It's that giant subwoofer the one guy built...
They invent everything. It's just another protection scheme.
There is a reason my grandparents left Sicily, it was a corrupt shithole.
That being said I'm proud to be Italian (and English).
You know, if I lived in some rural village and my government was willing to pay my rent to live in a 3-star hotel on a hillside, I think my appliances just might magically catch fire also.
Here am I sitting in a tin can, far above the world. Planet earth is blue & there's nothing I can do.
Richard: We've been coming here for years -- suddenly, everybody has an exploding laptop... what gives?
Ricardo: It's a hot spot.
Richard: A hot spot?
Ricardo: A hot spot, broadband, wireless, a tipping point. One hot spot... a blip. Ten... a novelty. Then shit starts exploding... billions of dollars fly through the air and spontaneously combusting.
Richard: Billions?
Ricardo: Billions. (faces Richard) Watch your head.
Sean: (asking Richard) How's our securAAAAAAARGH MY CELL PHONE JUST EXPLODED IN MY FRONT POCKET!!!!!!
Title: IBM SECURITY FOR THE ON DEMAND, SPONTANEOUSLY-COMBUSTING WORLD
Watch our for their dropped packets!
splat.
For some reason, I would think God's wrath is much more impressive than lighting up a few telephone wires in a city who's population is 39.
Kent Simon Multitheft Auto
> "I've seen things like this before," he told the
>daily Il Messaggero. "Demons occupy a house and
>appear in electrical goods."
I have seen this too. It is usually manifested in the form of a great deal of pr0n downloaded onto my harddisk. I have no idea how it gets there.
boycott slashdot February 10th - 17th check out: altSlashdot.org
'I've seen things like this before. Demons occupy a house and appear in electrical goods.'- -- Gabriele Amorth Exorcist
Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance. - "Ghostbusters"
"Capital punishment makes the state into a murderer. Imprisonment makes the state into a gay dungeon-master"
Or, it's just being caused by kallikanzaros, knowing their time is coming again. Word of warning- watch out for Bortan! A+ certified and potty-trained; equally proud of both.
If you have ever owned an old Fiat, the concept of Italian electronics spontaneously combusting is not that far fetched. ;)
(Sort of like, "Why doesn't the Psychic Hotline lady call me?")
That's how it works in Soviet Russia...
This is the last time you slander us Mr. aliens. We will now take you to court.
We will also take Slashdot to court for chopping off the m at the end of our name.
SIG: HUP
...don't pay your SCO license.
Table-ized A.I.
I don't know if anyone posted this but could there be a relationship to Piezo Eletrical activity.
I wonder if they have done any kind of surveying or tests for minerals (assaying). Is there any sign of tectonic movement? I have no idea what I am talking about.
Sorry he's been replaced by Faux Smoulder.
At this point in the discussion I doubt this will be read by anyone, but I'm going to tell the story anyway.
At the tail end of a stint in the Marines (too short to deploy) I got shipped to a headquarters unit personnel office that had a bunch of computers networked to a couple of shared printers. Since I knew the most about computers (which isn't saying much) people often asked me to help them with small problems.
One of the corporals came to me once and said that her computer wouldn't print. I walked over, fiddled with everything I knew to fiddle with, and when that didn't help I turned to religion.
"Corporal," I said, "Papa Legba is the voodoo god of the crossroads; all communication falls into his domain and he is displeased. We must make a sacrifice. Do you have a floppy disk that you are not using?" She gave me a 3.5" disk, which I held in the air and then tore open. I used a ballpoint pen to mark some arcane-looking but utterly meaningless symbols on the disk's medium, then had her tape it to the side of her monitor. I told her to try it again.
Of course, when she tried again it printed with no problem. I have no idea what changed, but as I walked back to my desk she told me that I was the weirdest man she had ever met.
The "sacrifice" was still taped to the monitor when I rotated out three months later.
The Dalai Llama
...probably reading "Count Zero" at the time...
My sig could be your sig!
Always applying religion when there is a simple more rational solution.
Jobe obviously wasn't killed by the mangetic core reactor as we thought he was... *looks around*
When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
Knight 1: Maybe he spontaneously combusted before he could finish?
Knight 2: He wouldn't say **BZZZZZZZZTT*, he'd just say it!
Knight 1: Maybe he was dictating.
Perhaps an immortal was killed on holy ground? Seems much less severe than the last time this happened, though (Pompeii).
;-p
TV teaches me so much. I'm glad I gave up that bad habit.
You all laughed at The Core , but now the effects of the government expierements are rising to the surface. Stock up now on unobtanium now, the market will go through the roof soon. Forget your foil hats (they attract electrical discharges anyway) crack out the asbestos underpants and the SPF 1000. And don't forget to send those Apocolypse Day Cards.
SD
IMDB link for the clueless.
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
Yeah, I thought it was a nerd site too. Too bad the people investigating this aren't nerds or they would've figured it out by now. Consider this quote from the article: "We're working in the dark. We don't have a single lead so far," You dumn shit. If you're working in the dark you need a LED not a LEAD. Sheesh.
If you can't just be yourself, then be more like me, ok?
:-)
I sometimes think that digital devices are a lot less deterministic than we think they are.
I once had a machine come back to me for repairs several times a week. I could never find a problem with it. I had the user go through whatever caused the problem while I watched quietly, and it would never fail.
In desperation and attempting to put some humor in the situation, I dropped a single hair on the MB and closed it back up.
No more problems. :-)
I'll have to remember your solution. Great potential there to start some really funny office gossip!
i'll vote for the aliens too; i was thinking that was why people keep up and disappearing, then finding themselves away from home, dehydrated and disoriented. the aliens are trying out some new tests on us that aren't working so well. in this case, one of the aliens left something on that wasn't supposed to be on:
alien 1: did you remember to shut off the gamma regulator on the...
alien 2: uhh...well, i uhh...
alien 1: now we have to go back and turn it off! that'll put about another 30,000 light years on this boat. when they check the odometer at the rental place, we'll have to pay an over light-year-mileage charge!
a co-worker used to say that LAX was a giant battery that took the energy generated by all the people going in and out of the airport and stored it underneath in what looked like a huge capacitor( i was shown a map of LAX.) he also said the earthquakes around here were caused by the aliens blasting a deep underground tunnel from LAX to someplace in nevada(like area 51). they could just buy the chunnel borer now that it's on sale.
i love how this thread went from scientific hypothesis to linux lp0 on fire, to god, to magic, to tesla, to volcanic activity. the only thing i haven't seen yet is the de rigeur, "...in soviet russia..." joke!
"...that's as white as it gets; all the bits are on..."
favorite quote: "Demons occupy a house and appear in electrical goods."
I knew it was a demon that shocked the crap out of me last week when I was soldering a live wire!!!
It's obvious the town has been slashdoted.
But I've been aiming for Redmond!
Perhaps the Ark of the Covenant was hidden in Italy by the Knights of the Templar and it is trying to return to its master.