Magneto really exists!!!

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Maverick, Feb 24, 2008.

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Maverick Lord Vader

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Just wonder where the other X-men are

[youtube]_2xRg162c6U[/youtube]
Joe, a 12-year-old boy in the town of Richland in Oswego County, began calling himself "Magneto Man" last year, after his teachers concluded that his presence could crash the school computers.
"Another student could use a computer, and it would be fine. But if Joe was on it, weird things started to happen," said Marie Yerdon, computer lab teacher at Lura Sharp Elementary School in Pulaski. "I think there's something in his body chemistry, something in his makeup, that causes the computers to go haywire."
The idea that a human being can be magnetic, electric or electromagnetic is considered paranormal, but a quick Internet search reveals lots of believers.
Many people claim to have a special "aura" that interferes with electrical appliances and watches. There are "SLIders," or people with Street Light Interference, who claim they turn streetlights on and off when they pass under them. And there are those who just seem to have far more computer problems than the average Joe.
In the case of Joe Falciatano, he says he nearly failed his fifth-grade social studies class last year because his required PowerPoint project was plagued by computer trouble. While his classmates worked on their projects in computer lab, Joe and Mrs. Yerdon spent the time trying to troubleshoot problems with Joe's PC.
"It was weird," Yerdon said. "He might be in Microsoft Word and suddenly he would be unable to change the font. Or if he highlighted something, he couldn't un-highlight it. Or he would get the upper symbols on the number keys without using the shift key. Or he'd save something then couldn't get it back."
She added: "We would shut it down, reboot and he'd be OK for a while, and then he'd have another problem, so I would move him to a different computer that a different student was just on, but it didn't matter. Joe couldn't work on his project like the other kids, and it was very frustrating for him."
Yerdon finally put a grounding pad under the computer, which she connected to an anti-static wrist strap that Joe wore. Yerdon said the school had purchased the equipment to protect a student with a pacemaker from any electronic surges while she used the computer. Instead of using it to protect a student from the computer, Yerdon used it to protect the computer from Joe.
It worked. Yerdon and Joe's other teachers found that when Joe wore the wrist strap, he had no computer trouble, but if he forgot to wear it, any computer he used would soon act up. Joe's teacher e-mailed Joe's dad, a math teacher at the high school, that his son could "break" the computers just by sitting at them.
"At first I thought it was a joke," Joe senior said. "I e-mailed her back, 'Yeah, he always wanted to be a superhero.'"
Joe's parents, Joe II and Dona Falciatano, said their son had no electrical problems at their town of Richland home, except when it came to his Xbox. Whenever Joe tried to play games, it froze. Finally, his parents replaced it with the Xbox 360, which is wireless. Joe is able to use it as long as he sits across the room from the game system, his mother said.
But the most legendary example of Joe's "powers" came at his fifth-grade promotion ceremony last year, when the teachers put together a computer slide show of their students' baby pictures. The gym bleachers were packed with parents, and the students sat cross-legged on the floor to watch the presentation.
"They were going through the slide show, and my son was sitting quietly," Joe senior said. "And all of a sudden, the music started to slow down and get distorted, and the pictures were messing up, stuff like that. As parents, we didn't think anything of it, until two teachers sprinted over to get to Joe. We're thinking, 'What did he do? Did he do something wrong?'
"The teachers moved him away to the side of the room, and then the slide show started going again, and the computer went back up to speed," he said. "And then we realized that it wasn't that Joe was misbehaving. They were moving him away from the hard drive so the computer wouldn't crash."
What caused Joe's computer problems? Kelly Robinson, who runs Electrostatic Answers in Rochester, says it had to be static. After a reporter told him about Joe, Robinson was so intrigued that he drove to Pulaski to investigate.
Earlier that day, Joe had problems on an ungrounded PC after working on it for about 10 minutes. Then he successfully used the grounded computer. Joe's problems didn't recur after the expert arrived.
Robinson used an electrostatic field meter to measure Joe's static electricity and determined it was normal. He measured the conductivity of Joe's sneakers and concluded that they were very insulating, so they might have prevented any static on Joe from passing into the ground; hence, it went to the computer. But, Joe's parents pointed out, Joe wore the same type of sneakers as many other students.
Still, Robinson said it had to be "a static issue" because Yerdon solved it with anti-static devices. He said static issues have nothing to do with a person's body chemistry.
"In science, you learn that your body is made up mostly of water, with a little bit of salt and other minerals in it," Robinson said. "That makes the human body a very good conductor of electricity. And even if there's a little bit of variation from person to person, the conductivity will remain very high."
He said the only thing that would cause one person to hold more static charge than another would be their daily routine -- whether they wear more insulating shoes or clothes, whether they scuff their feet on the carpet, whether they work in a room with very low humidity. Because these things may vary day-to-day, static problems come and go.
"That's what keeps me in business," Robinson joked.
Meanwhile, a change of environment seems to have foiled Magneto Boy's powers. This year, the Pulaski School District built a new middle school wing, and Joe's sixth-grade class moved into it. Joe said he hasn't needed a wrist strap to use a computer in the new building.
"We haven't gone on the computer a lot here, but so far I haven't had any trouble," he said.
He thinks his static stayed with him long enough to make him famous in school, and then he didn't need it anymore. Yerdon said no other pupil has come close to Joe's "Magneto Man" reputation in the elementary building.
"It's a mystery," she said.

Static solutions

If you seem to have more computer problems than other people, there's a good chance you have a static problem. Somehow, you may be picking up static electricity in your home or workplace and discharging it when you sit down at the computer. Here are some tips for preventing this shocking situation, compiled with help from Kelly Robinson of Electrostatic Answers in Rochester.
** Take off your shoes. Or wear less insulating footwear that will allow static to pass from your feet to the floor. A lot of the sneakers on the market today are especially non-conducting and will keep your body more charged than, say, leather.
** Wear cotton socks instead of polyester, which is less conducting.
** Raise the humidity. The more humidity in a room, the less static. If the air is very dry, use a humidifier or boil a pot of water to steam it up.
** Get rid of carpeting or spray it with an anti-static coating.
** Use a wooden chair rather than a plastic one.
** Get in the habit of washing your hands before you use the computer. The act of touching the faucet will ground any static charge you are carrying, plus it's good hygiene.
** Ionizing room air filters do not dissipate charge. Keep them away from your computer.
** To help get rid of static, touch a file cabinet before sitting down at your computer.
** Sit still. Scuffing feet on carpet while sitting at a computer can generate static.
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#1 Maverick, Feb 24, 2008
Last edited: Feb 24, 2008
jono281 Well-Known Member

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impossible....FREAK!
imagine life if u couldnt ever go on a computer

#2 jono281, Feb 24, 2008
wind2000 Self Schemata

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"Im famous, YES" the kid likes to be known..

#3 wind2000, Feb 24, 2008
tiffer858 Well-Known Member

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hahah sucks that every computer he uses he breaks it hahah

#4 tiffer858, Feb 24, 2008
drkbcbot Well-Known Member

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Wow... soon there's going to be wolverine and jean grey and stuff =X

#5 drkbcbot, Feb 24, 2008
shw Well-Known Member

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Lol :rl:

#6 shw, Feb 24, 2008
aznboy420 Member

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imagine a little girl that controls the weather like storm

#7 aznboy420, Feb 24, 2008
master_g .

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just static...

#8 master_g, Feb 24, 2008
mr_evolution ( • )( •ԅ(ˆ⌣ˆԅ)

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Sucks to be him, can't use a computer.

Now to find a girl to control weather, a boy to have claws and rapid healing, a boy to shoot lasers out of his eyes, a bout to teleport and a boy who can use kinetic energy.

#9 mr_evolution, Feb 24, 2008
Great Sage Equal of Heaven Original V I P

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DataBeast said: ↑

Call me when they find a cyclops
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that would be the whole x-men considering we got Da Beast right there.. -lol

#10 Great Sage Equal of Heaven, Feb 24, 2008
xmichelly Well-Known Member

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i want to be rogue =D

#11 xmichelly, Feb 24, 2008
khaotic Fobulous

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xmichelly said: ↑

i want to be rogue =D
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You mean the girl that can never physically interact with other people and has almost no real love life? Lol

#12 khaotic, Feb 24, 2008
Great Sage Equal of Heaven Original V I P

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lol chelly can be Wolverine!!

#13 Great Sage Equal of Heaven, Feb 24, 2008
Flames Out of Date User

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Ecko said: ↑

lol chelly can be Wolverine!!
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I wanna be wolverine, make her juggernaut

#14 Flames, Feb 24, 2008
xmichelly Well-Known Member

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khaotic said: ↑

You mean the girl that can never physically interact with other people and has almost no real love life? Lol
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all i need is gloves .. lol

Ecko said: ↑

lol chelly can be Wolverine!!
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flaming said: ↑

I wanna be wolverine, make her juggernaut
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i don't wanna be wolverine, and definitely not juggernaut!! lol
maybe kitty pryde or mystique ...

#15 xmichelly, Feb 24, 2008
khaotic Fobulous

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xmichelly said: ↑

all i need is gloves .. lol

i don't wanna be wolverine, and definitely not juggernaut!! lol
maybe kitty pryde or mystique ...
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Wow. You get to touch your partner with your hands -lol. No other signs of affection are possible.

Michelle wants to be a lonely girl :(

#16 khaotic, Feb 24, 2008
Flames Out of Date User

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xmichelly said: ↑

all i need is gloves .. lol

i don't wanna be wolverine, and definitely not juggernaut!! lol
maybe kitty pryde or mystique ...
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Nope, You're gonna be juggernaut

#17 Flames, Feb 24, 2008
xmichelly Well-Known Member

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noooo i don't like juggernaut >.<

#18 xmichelly, Feb 24, 2008
Flames Out of Date User

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xmichelly said: ↑

noooo i don't like juggernaut >.<
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thats why you shall be juggernaut -sorc

#19 Flames, Feb 24, 2008
Knoctur_nal |Force 10 from Navarone|

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next up..xavier school for the new xmen..

#20 Knoctur_nal, Feb 24, 2008

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