What if I get a 1? Do I get to murder you and keep the $1M?

Am I the only one who read that as NOOB-FAP?

Over the course of your career, there has been a huge amount of technological advancement. Has the changes in technology over that time made it easier or harder to investigate people's claims? Do you see the same tricks refreshed over time as technology changes?

Surviving the World is quirky and cerebral and gives XKCD a run for its money.

I used to follow /GU comics back when I played EQ and it was still being actively done.

The "flash" looks like the upward moving ground leader from a lightning strike. Those leaders often do not connect to form an actual strike. It actually appears to be coming from the base of the lamp, not the top, which would be the most logical place for a leader to form.

The streak, I'm not so sure. As others have suggested, it could be a contrail "shadow", however, it seems much too straight to be a hair, or even a shadow, as contrails quickly deform. Even if the ground has no wind, upper atmosphere usualy does and contrails will not stay that straight for very long. It does apear to converge (smaller top-left, to larger closest to the flash). But, I could be wrong on that.