The future is now! Technology is bringing all sorts of great new things into your life, according to Tuesday's news! No, not flying cars. Er, no, not internet-enabled voting. But how about a sky full of drones recording everything, legal pot that doesn't get you high, and opportunities to be your own boss while never leaving the house? Yeah, let's go hijack a privately funded space vehicle…
Tampa's Fly Habana is the first company in the state to receive an FAA exemption allowing it to fly drones commercially. The official use for the drones is "commercial TV and movie production work," but we all know that's really code for crazy new "aerial creeper" porn.
That lower-THC "non-euphoric" medical marijuana Charlotte's Web cleared for use in the state last year may finally be nearing availability, now that a state judge has done away with the final legal challenge. The illegal "good pot" industry — and sick folks who long ago began to grow their own — shrugged, hoped it helps, and continued to trim their plants.
According to a recent WalletHub study, Tampa is the 8th best area in the nation for staycations. Well, derf; Florida added more self-employment jobs than any other state over the last couple of years, and self-employed people can't afford to stop working long enough to go freakin' anywhere.
And finally, the U.S. military inadvertently shipped live anthrax samples to multiple labs from its biodefense facility in Utah. There's apparently no cause for worry or possibility of exposure, even though four Defense Department employees have been placed in "post-exposure treatment" (read: QUARANTINE). I'm not sure toking up on some Charlotte's Web is enough to make the country feel any better about this…
This article appears in May 21-27, 2015.