Weapons that can fire bolts of lightning? Indeed.

I was flipping through the web pages over at yahoo, and found this interesting story about military weaponry. It appears that the "special" guns found in your average first person shooter like Doom or Half life, are being made REAL.

For instance, the microwave-energy blaster "makes targets feel as if their skin is on fire. It produces a millimeter-wavelength burst of energy that penetrates 1/64 of an inch into a person's skin, agitating water molecules to produce heat. The sensation is certain to get people to halt whatever they are doing." It basically cooks people.

Next, is the StunStrike,"Basically, it fires a bolt of lightning. It can be tuned to blow up explosives, possibly to stop vehicles and certainly to buzz people. The strike can be made to feel as gentle as 'broom bristles' or cranked up to deliver a paralyzing jolt that 'takes a few minutes to wear off.'

And here is an interesting quote:"Bitar, who is of Arab descent, believes StunStrike would be particularly intimidating in the Middle East because, he contends, people there are especially afraid of lightning."

This should fill the quota for Real News and OLD SKOOL Sinday.