I read a posting about this years back. Back when the government's "Oh my Christian God, every citizen is a terrorist!!" approach to domestic policy was still encountering a decent, respectable amount of backlash from the masses.
From everything I read, he is a real person and went on to have a career. A career and only slight regrets about the # of years he most likely subtracted from his life during youth. But yeah, sources say it was entirely radiation experiments that caused everything. (Well, that and his parents were divorced - social factors.)
I did not know there was a mugshot, though. Hmm. If he really was radioactive, couldn't they have gotten a much more surreal shot by leaving him in a darkened room with an exposed photoplate?
This is recent news and presumably a recent mugshot, necessitating recent sources. He was caught stealing smoke detectors from his apartment complex. Since this is not in itself a super-serious crime, the media is playing up the "irradiated freak" angle. The response from the blogosphere is that it looks more like very poor hygiene and/or scratching your face off while on meth.
Wait, so this kid is another radioactive boyscout? Seriously? Because I have a webpage from years ago "The Radioactive Boyscout" about a kid who was building a breeder reactor and everything. So is he a copycat, or is there some kind of "underground munitions production" merit badge which is routinely being sought now?
Are you sure this is not just old news being presented as recent news?
I find it hard to believe there have been two boyscouts gathering up smoke detectors and old radium paint.
First off, I'll take that bet for radiation with a base of 1USD.
My reasons mostly stem from from his face around the eyes and cheeks. They're as fleshy as they should be for his build, and this is the first thing to go from tweakers. I've never met anyone bad off enough to have gotten the sores, but I've read they are pretty late-stage addiction features.
Second off, The article said he was gathering Thorium from smoke detectors. This principally decays via alphas, which are stopped by he skin. I guess if he was careful enough to wear a breathing filter, prolonged skin exposure might cause skin sores without the more ususal liver or lung cancer.
My dad had a polonium dusting brush for his photo equipment. He would warn me constantly about how dangerous it was and if I ever did touch the brush, which I oughtn't, to make sure not to inhale. I was mortally terrified of that brush.
Hard to believe you can't brush a fucking picture without polonium.
So I undrestand: The polonium isn't just a dust over the brush, right? Please tell me its impregnated in the plastic, or something.
"...and one could devise a method of separating the polonium from its protective casing"
Like a fork, or a can opener? What kind of "Protective casing" are we talking about?
Also, why is 500 mCi $36 in the anti static thing, and $39 million in demo equipment? If there was a feasible way to isolate it, we could make BILLIONS!!!!
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From everything I read, he is a real person and went on to have a career. A career and only slight regrets about the # of years he most likely subtracted from his life during youth. But yeah, sources say it was entirely radiation experiments that caused everything. (Well, that and his parents were divorced - social factors.)
I did not know there was a mugshot, though. Hmm. If he really was radioactive, couldn't they have gotten a much more surreal shot by leaving him in a darkened room with an exposed photoplate?
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Are you sure this is not just old news being presented as recent news?
I find it hard to believe there have been two boyscouts gathering up smoke detectors and old radium paint.
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Old news: tries to build a breeder reactor in mom's shed; turns backyard into Superfund clean-up site.
New news: boy has grown up; steals smoke detectors, presumably for americium.
Seriously, Troma Films should do a bio-pic of this guy.
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My reasons mostly stem from from his face around the eyes and cheeks. They're as fleshy as they should be for his build, and this is the first thing to go from tweakers. I've never met anyone bad off enough to have gotten the sores, but I've read they are pretty late-stage addiction features.
Second off, The article said he was gathering Thorium from smoke detectors. This principally decays via alphas, which are stopped by he skin. I guess if he was careful enough to wear a breathing filter, prolonged skin exposure might cause skin sores without the more ususal liver or lung cancer.
Reply
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium#Commercial_products_containing_polonium
This is also amusing: http://www.zeit.de/news/artikel/2006/12/05/83406.xml
Hard to believe that was nearly 2 years ago.
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So I undrestand: The polonium isn't just a dust over the brush, right? Please tell me its impregnated in the plastic, or something.
"...and one could devise a method of separating the polonium from its protective casing"
Like a fork, or a can opener? What kind of "Protective casing" are we talking about?
Also, why is 500 mCi $36 in the anti static thing, and $39 million in demo equipment? If there was a feasible way to isolate it, we could make BILLIONS!!!!
Reply
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