Over the past few months, a couple of local area gas thieves took local businesses for a lot of gas. They would come at night and siphon gas from trucks at Penske, U-Haul, and we suspect from other businesses, too.
After getting hit 5 times before, Penske finally added a security video camera and floodlights and they nabbed the criminals on tape when they made their sixth hit.
They were VERY bold, and took their greedy sweet time - taking over 35 long minutes to go back for seconds and even THIRDS! They had an obsessed focus on obtaining the gas. These guys were very brave to keep coming back THAT often, and to take so LONG on-scene whenever they'd perpetrate the crimes.
But the video ALSO shows that they were pretty intelligent, too. They were very well practiced at what they were doing. They had one guy running around siphoning the gas while another was the lookout and driver of the getaway vehicle - which was a pickup truck. This can all be seen in the video. The siphoner would give the lookout the collected tanks of gas, and the lookout would then walk them across the street and hide them in the woods while the siphoner continued to go back for more. It was a very bold operation, and these guys had no fear of getting caught or of any consequences. ...Just a dark focus on getting the job done no matter what. While they collected the gas, though, they'd leave behind large, smelly puddles of gas, creating a hazardous materials mess all over the pavement.
The Gainesville Sun reported that the police nabbed them stealing gas from the Main Street U-Haul on July 16th, the 21st, and on the 25th (Sunday) where they were finally caught. What was actually found out about them matched exactly what Penske's videos already showed.
They hit Penske-North on May 29th (3 trucks, 70 gals, $200), June 29th and 30th (5 trucks, 85 gals, $255), and on July 12th and 13th (5 trucks, 85 gals, $238). All told, Penske got hit for 14 trucks, 272 gallons of gas, at a grand total of $777.
...And GPD is NOT interested in persuing these people for what they did to Penske. GPD in fact did not even collect the video even though it showed perfectly HOW they actually do it. Penske-North has tried contacting the police about it by both phone and email, but the police have outright ignored their contact attempts. For all we know, these people could have been armed, or dangerous. People drop off rented trucks at all hours, and had someone dropped off a truck at the wrong time and SURPRISED these guys while they were in the middle of their business...it was felt that there was a chance people could be hurt or killed. The police did not believe it necessary to even so much as make occasional patrols. In the end, what finally caught these criminals wasn't the diligent work of the police...but a citizen who SMELLED something as he drove by U-Haul, and who was smart enough to report it on his cellphone.
The Penske video can be viewed here:
http://www.fireline.org/kb4mhh/gastheft
UPDATE: - 08/04/2010
GPD finally called Penske back and advised them that the fingerprint evidence was inconclusive (of course it was), and that they had "asked" the criminals if they had done it, and they of course said (wait for it)...
"...No."
(sigh)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Gainesville Gas Thefts -
Video From Penske-North
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Index To SKYWARN Web Pages On The Internet
Index TO SKYWARN Web Pages On The Internet
The ORIGINAL list of SKYWARN web sites in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
By Todd L. Sherman / KB4MHH
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Mis-Use of Florida's Windshield Obstruction Law?...
(This particular blog entry has been moved to the "Mobile Scanner & RADAR-Detector Laws In The U.S." Blogspot blog. Click link to view the entry. -Todd)
Monday, April 5, 2010
STS-131 Launched - But Scary-looking On Way Up...
That was the most spectacular shuttle launch I ever saw. Got it all on video tape; but something VERY odd happened after SRB-sep.
Sometime after SRB-sep, and right about the time the shuttle reached the apparent apex of it's ascent, a cloud appeared. Soon after that, the shuttle turned into a huge, bright "comet-like" object speeding across the sky. I've been watching and photographing the shuttle for MANY years, and I've NEVER seen anything like THIS before. It had a bright center, and a HUGE bright tail following behind it even as it headed to the horizon.
It scared me to DEATH because I thought the shuttle had exploded or something sometime post-SRB-separation. It actually frightened me.
I taped as much as I could of the "cometary" part of it's ascent in "night mode" on my camera (which has less resolution, but catches more light).
On the way home, I turned on the radio and there was NOTHING ABOUT IT. After some time, eventually there were some stations which carried comments from I-75 watchers who also commented on the strange-but-spectacular view; but STILL there were no news stories of any explosions or astronaut lives lost. "What the hell?" I said to myself. This was so different. I was SURE an explosion had occurred during the ascent, and I kept whispering to myself, "I hope they were able to abort out of this one." It looked THAT BAD.
I got home, turned on the TV...STILL nothing!
According to the news, and to the Shuttle web site, the shuttle made it to orbit just fine. There are no comments about the comet-like appearance.
So now I'm wondering if this is actually an effect that is always there, but USUALLY NOT VISIBLE because...the one different thing about this launch was that it occurred while the sun was rising but still below the horizon - by about 45 minutes or so, yet. The sun lit the circular plume at the apex of the ascent, and made it "glow" in an iridescent manner. Perhaps the sun also lit the spent Main Engine fuel vapors or something on ascent? (Can any other shuttle photographers out there reading this confirm this for me?)
I've photographed/taped a LOT of shuttle launches and I have NEVER seen anything like this before.
I'm going to wait for the progression of the day and keep an eye on the news stories and NASA sites to see if there is some explanation for the ascent weirdness, but I will DEFINITELY upload my video as soon as I can. I want to get it to TV-20 as well. I have to DL it from the camera, edit it, then I'll upload it. It might take a while though. Don't expect to see the video online until sometime mid to late afternoon or so.
Look for it at http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/shuttle .
UPDATE: 11:00 AM
This morning's launch was for sure the most spectacular shuttle launch I think I've ever seen - barring actually seeing one go up from the Banana River on-site at the Cape.
I think I was right about the effect being something always there, just not visible because it's not usually illuminated from underneath like it was, this morning. As Francisco Reyes of the UF's Astronomy Department put it:
"I got a good part of the effect after the separation of the Solid Rocket that you describe. It was a conbination of the sun lighting the gases from the shuttle main engine and I think it is also the compression of gas in the atmosphere due to the supersonic shock. But I will wait for the NASA experts to explain the effect. It was an amazing view, as you said, the best of all the shuttle launch."
I would have to agree. And the small round cloud at the apex of the ascent was iridescently illuminated. It looked like it was lit from within the way that the sun was hitting it. It was quite cool. I took a number of shots of it in various modes.
So, I think we've solved the mystery of the awesome plume.
For those of you who weren't able to get yourselves out of the bed in time, I'm at this moment uploading the video to the web site
I have a relatively slow connection, though. So it'll probably take it a couple of hours to finish. It's about 200MB large. (I'm putting up the best-resolution version. It'll download a heck of a lot faster than it takes me to upload it, I promise.)
So, the astronauts made it safely to orbit and they will soon be meeting their friends aboard the ISS. (Which also makes it's appearance in the video that I'm uploading. I also happened to catch Jupiter in there, too, low on the eastern horizon. :) Quite a fascinating morning both astronomically and spaceflightically! ...Yah, yah. I know. I invented a word, there. LOL.)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Another Night-time Shuttle Launch!
For those of you who aren't aware that you can even SEE shuttle launches from here in Gainesville, you're gonna get ONE more chance to see another night launch...
I mention this because we were previously told that there would be no more "night launches" for the space shuttle. However, due to some problems that had to be looked at with STS-131, the next shuttle flight, it had been delayed a bit. So now it's scheduled to fly early in the morning on April 5th. Sunrise should be about 7:12a. The shuttle is set to go up some 50 minutes before that, which should be pretty dark. So those of you wanting ONE MORE CHANCE for a "night launch" photo or video opportunity might want to set your clocks to get up early for this.
What's a night-time launch LOOK like from here in Gainesville? Well, see here: http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/shuttle .
If you HAVEN'T seen a shuttle launch from here, yet, NOW is the time. There are only a FEW more flights left before the shuttle program is ended entirely. After that, the future of the manned space program is unsure.
They're well worth setting aside the time to view. ...And since these are the last few launches left, you should definitely get out there to witness a part of history soon to disappear.
-Todd
From the 'Space Shuttle' Facebook page:
"NASA managers gave space shuttle Discovery the "go" for an April 5 launch date for the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. After an all-day Flight Readiness Review meeting, there were no unresolved issues that would prevent Discovery and crew from flying a safe and successful mission.
Discovery is set to liftoff into the predawn darkness from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A at 6:21 a.m. EDT."
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mobile Scanner & RADAR-Detector Laws In The United States
Are scanners legal in Florida? Are radar-detectors legal in Virginia? Know the law before you go!
Lists actual text of known U.S. state-level laws which restrict or deny the mobile usage of radio frequency scanners or radar-detectors.
Great for those who travel with a scanner, or who use a radar-detector, and who often cross state lines. With color-coded maps! Online since 1995. Now celebrating 15 years on the web!
Visit our web site...
Also visit our BLOGSPOT BLOG page at...
FOR INSTANT UPDATES, visit our Twitter page...
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Additional Shuttle Launch Videos Added!
I've added a couple more space shuttle launch videos to my videos pages:
STS-126 - This is a night-time shuttle launch taken using night mode, this time. I just wanted to see what a launch looked like using that mode. Taken from Gainesville, Fla.
STS-119 - This is a launch taken around sunset on March 15, 2009, from somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Panasoffkee while we were driving on our way home from visiting relatives in Tampa.
You can find them on my Shuttle Videos web page.
Enjoy!
