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They already offer EC2 an elastic compute cloud, where they basically give you virtual servers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=201590011

Admittedly, very few people have heard of the Trekstor Vibez, which really deserves to at least become the geek's DAP of choice. It mounts as a USB mass-storage device; supports MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg FLAC, FLAC, and WMA (with DRM); comes with a small cable for the headphone jack that lets you pipe your DAP music into any stereo with audio-in; and comes with firmware built from that of the Rio Karma.

But the company is German and doesn't market in the USA, so nobody gives a damn.

The unwillingness of actual scientific communities to challenge the misapplication of their methods by unscientific ones has lead to a dilution of the authority of science as a whole. ...

There's only one way to deal with Cargo Cult Scientists. You have to call them out. You have to show how flimsy and false their supposed science really is.

It doesn't follow that environmentalists must live ascetic lives in order to be true to their beliefs. There is a significant subset of environmentalists who believe that development of technology should be persued, because sufficiently advanced technology used in the right way can benefit the environment. This line of thought is very visible in science-fiction. Kim Stanley Robinson, whose own Mars trilogy touched on the theme, edited a fine collection called Future Primitive ("The New Ecotopias") where various writers speculate about how the advancement of mankind could lead to a stronger ecosystem.

Just carry some of this on you, then tell the cops you have radioactive powers and that they should keep away..!!

Michael Dirda is not a science fiction author. He's a literary critic. Which the submitter probably should have known if he'd read, like, the very first sentence of the article: "On a recent Saturday morning, I headed over to the house of Pulitzer Prize-winning Post book columnist Michael Dirda with an Xbox 360 under my arm."

From the third paragraph: "But [Dirda] is a sci-fi fan and an open-minded fellow, and I was curious whether BioShock's story would be compelling enough to draw him in."

Did a quick Amazon search of his work, and the only things I noticed were essentially books about reading itself.

Just sayin'.

Everyone's situation is unique. Some general references:
"Honest Business" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Honest-Business-Shambhala-Pocket-Editions/dp/1570621799
and:
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Money-Shambhala-Pocket-Classics/dp/1570622779
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips (Author), Salli Rasberry
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Laws-Money-Michael-Phillips/dp/0931425417
(I think the first is a slimmed down and improved version of the second...)

One key idea in that "The Seven Laws of Money" book is a corollary to the first law:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Commerce/RATNA/june2.html
The first law is: "Do it! Money will come when you are doing the right thing."
but the corollary is "The world does not owe you a living".

One way to make budget ends meet is to reduce expenses. Lower expenses means more flexibility.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=voluntary+simplicity

From my own experience, trying to run a business is a whole set of skills which are completely different from doing engineering. They are not necessarily incompatible, but they are rare in the same person and require changing mental paradigms (successful business owners need to be focused on immediate markets, cash flow, return on investment, ownership, and so on). Personally, I know I'd have been a lot better off in life (as well as the projects I and my wife worked on would have been more successful as communities) if I had treated them as a serious hobby, not as a business (or, alternatively thought of them as a very long term business where the investment would span decades and so I could expect no immediate return on capital investment). For one thing, we could more easily have collaborated with others. Take 3D printing, for example -- try to build a business in it and you are all alone and fighting against the established vendors. Do it as a serious hobby, and you could work closely with, say, the RepRap project. http://reprap.org/

Still, there is nothing wrong with right livelihood. Many people work full time doing stuff like solar panel installations or working in university research labs.

Also, my limited understanding of the Australian culture was it was common for people to save up money and take a six month trip, and then go back to work after that. Why not six months spent helping, say, the RepRap project?

Anyway, I'm not saying what is right for you. I can't. I can just say to try to think differently about the situation. Ultimately we are talking about a future where there is little correlation between work and income because computers and automation (and 3D printing) make so much that the problem is more getting rid of stuff than making it. Almost no current business model makes sense after such fundamental change of economic climate, a return to an (once hunter/gathere) assumption of prosperity for all instead of an (agricultural) assumption of scarcity for all. This is a tidal wave of change which some think the forces that be (e.g. RIAA, Disney, others) have been actively holding back for decades. People were describing this change even more than forty years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triple_Revolution
http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/F

Everyone's situation is unique. Some general references:
"Honest Business" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Honest-Business-Shambhala-Pocket-Editions/dp/1570621799
and:
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Money-Shambhala-Pocket-Classics/dp/1570622779
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips (Author), Salli Rasberry
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Laws-Money-Michael-Phillips/dp/0931425417
(I think the first is a slimmed down and improved version of the second...)

One key idea in that "The Seven Laws of Money" book is a corollary to the first law:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Commerce/RATNA/june2.html
The first law is: "Do it! Money will come when you are doing the right thing."
but the corollary is "The world does not owe you a living".

One way to make budget ends meet is to reduce expenses. Lower expenses means more flexibility.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=voluntary+simplicity

From my own experience, trying to run a business is a whole set of skills which are completely different from doing engineering. They are not necessarily incompatible, but they are rare in the same person and require changing mental paradigms (successful business owners need to be focused on immediate markets, cash flow, return on investment, ownership, and so on). Personally, I know I'd have been a lot better off in life (as well as the projects I and my wife worked on would have been more successful as communities) if I had treated them as a serious hobby, not as a business (or, alternatively thought of them as a very long term business where the investment would span decades and so I could expect no immediate return on capital investment). For one thing, we could more easily have collaborated with others. Take 3D printing, for example -- try to build a business in it and you are all alone and fighting against the established vendors. Do it as a serious hobby, and you could work closely with, say, the RepRap project. http://reprap.org/

Still, there is nothing wrong with right livelihood. Many people work full time doing stuff like solar panel installations or working in university research labs.

Also, my limited understanding of the Australian culture was it was common for people to save up money and take a six month trip, and then go back to work after that. Why not six months spent helping, say, the RepRap project?

Anyway, I'm not saying what is right for you. I can't. I can just say to try to think differently about the situation. Ultimately we are talking about a future where there is little correlation between work and income because computers and automation (and 3D printing) make so much that the problem is more getting rid of stuff than making it. Almost no current business model makes sense after such fundamental change of economic climate, a return to an (once hunter/gathere) assumption of prosperity for all instead of an (agricultural) assumption of scarcity for all. This is a tidal wave of change which some think the forces that be (e.g. RIAA, Disney, others) have been actively holding back for decades. People were describing this change even more than forty years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triple_Revolution
http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/F

Everyone's situation is unique. Some general references:
"Honest Business" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Honest-Business-Shambhala-Pocket-Editions/dp/1570621799
and:
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Money-Shambhala-Pocket-Classics/dp/1570622779
"The Seven Laws of Money" by Michael Phillips (Author), Salli Rasberry
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Laws-Money-Michael-Phillips/dp/0931425417
(I think the first is a slimmed down and improved version of the second...)

One key idea in that "The Seven Laws of Money" book is a corollary to the first law:
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Commerce/RATNA/june2.html
The first law is: "Do it! Money will come when you are doing the right thing."
but the corollary is "The world does not owe you a living".

One way to make budget ends meet is to reduce expenses. Lower expenses means more flexibility.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=voluntary+simplicity

From my own experience, trying to run a business is a whole set of skills which are completely different from doing engineering. They are not necessarily incompatible, but they are rare in the same person and require changing mental paradigms (successful business owners need to be focused on immediate markets, cash flow, return on investment, ownership, and so on). Personally, I know I'd have been a lot better off in life (as well as the projects I and my wife worked on would have been more successful as communities) if I had treated them as a serious hobby, not as a business (or, alternatively thought of them as a very long term business where the investment would span decades and so I could expect no immediate return on capital investment). For one thing, we could more easily have collaborated with others. Take 3D printing, for example -- try to build a business in it and you are all alone and fighting against the established vendors. Do it as a serious hobby, and you could work closely with, say, the RepRap project. http://reprap.org/

Still, there is nothing wrong with right livelihood. Many people work full time doing stuff like solar panel installations or working in university research labs.

Also, my limited understanding of the Australian culture was it was common for people to save up money and take a six month trip, and then go back to work after that. Why not six months spent helping, say, the RepRap project?

Anyway, I'm not saying what is right for you. I can't. I can just say to try to think differently about the situation. Ultimately we are talking about a future where there is little correlation between work and income because computers and automation (and 3D printing) make so much that the problem is more getting rid of stuff than making it. Almost no current business model makes sense after such fundamental change of economic climate, a return to an (once hunter/gathere) assumption of prosperity for all instead of an (agricultural) assumption of scarcity for all. This is a tidal wave of change which some think the forces that be (e.g. RIAA, Disney, others) have been actively holding back for decades. People were describing this change even more than forty years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triple_Revolution
http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/F

About ten years ago encryption was much more in vogue than it is now. The geeks who were the elite of the Internet even so late widely had PGP keys and sometimes went to key-signing events. Publishing on public applications of cryptography was vast: O'Reilly had a PGP guide and Bruce Schneier's great Applied Cryptography appeared. PGPfone and Speakeasy promised to give us secure voice communication.

Now look at what has happened. Today's geeks rarely show interest in GPG, even when they rave about other free software achievements. Figures like Bruce Schneier chose to focus on other aspects of computer security, and O'Reilly doesn't publish anything to show your average computer-literate fellow how to secure his communications. PGPfone was never maintained, and nothing appears to have come to replace it, even in bold new apps like Ekiga. And the web of trust has stagnated because (reliable) key signings are rare.

Your idea of a GPG-capable phone is something I find cool, but sadly encryption no longer captivates people like it once did.

I have heard this mantra repeated a thousand times on Slashdot and I remain unconvinced.

Allow me to suggest an experiment:

Ask Joe to open Linspire's CNR Warehouse. Let him select the programs he thinks worth downloading - and paying for if that is required. Subtract the number that are available for Windows or OSX.

Then let him run riot on Amazon.com, IGN, Download.com, The Underdogs, etc. If Bioshock is too demanding for his PC, perhaps he'll find the Fallout Collection to his liking, at $15 plus S&H.

Don't slip past iTunes, and subscription services like Rhapsody, Live365 and Y! Unlimited.

When he is finished, put the lists side by side and see which excites him more.

Michael Crichton wrote about this in "Prey" in 2002:

http://www.amazon.com/Prey-Michael-Crichton/dp/0066214122/ref=sr_1_13/104-4197432-5312718?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190057918&sr=8-13

It seems like I'm in the minority around here but the Wheel of Time easily my favorite series (Dragonlance and Dark Elf books included). I know it's not for everyone, especially since you really need to read it more than once to pick up on all the things that are going on. You say he rambles on, but there are references in the first book that don't actually happen until the 11th. (Severed hands anyone?)

Is the world too complex for you? Get Reference Guide I know it can be slow at times, but don't know the series until you've read all the books that are out.

There's a neat little book you might want to read called the Millionaire Next Door. It has some neat facts like the average Millionaire never spends more the $20k for a car. He never spends more the $100 for a pair of shoes. You might keep in mind that the people you deal with are living paycheck to paycheck, and essentially renting their lifestyles. The powerful and rich people that I know don't need to hire consultants (which sucks because I do some consulting on the side).

http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Surprising-Americas/dp/1567315682/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-0447068-8758862?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190050166&sr=8-1

To sum up your unoriginal and widely debunked argument: "It's not happening and even if it was it'a a GoodThing(TM)".

As for the "recent analysis of peer-reviewed climate research" that is the source for your entire post - here is what I found with a couple of clicks: The source for your source (at the bottom of your link) is this book. IANAClimatologist but I know enough about "psuedoscience for hire" to recognise the name Singer as it's unrivaled master.

"it makes me think that you haven't actually read the work."

Even though the answer is obvious I just gotta ask: have you?

Well apparently it's Mr Matticus and you who get it. Amazing what experience does to a subject under discussion. The majority here are basically arguing, My rights!, My rights! were there are none, and ignoring the other side of the issue. Two posts for the bookmark file.

"They don't want to give a specific limit because some people are habitual line steppers. I've discovered this with administering forums. You try and think up a set of hard and fast rules governing what is and isn't ok and write them down. Then you get a group of people who continually try to do as much as they can to be problems within those rules. They dance right up to the line and bitch if you come down on them. It's a situation of "Obedience to the letter (sort of) not the spirit." As such it works much better to have the rules more simple and open ended. Basically "Don't be a dick." Though they may pretend they don't know what you mean, they do and it works."

Read this book, and marvel at how flexible people are when it comes to "what they want".

Card is an author that started out great and somewhere decided to market to the lowest-common denominator and churn out endless sequels. It was certainly that way with the Alvin Maker series. Red Prophet is one of the finest fantasy books I've ever read, but all home that the Alvin Maker series would continue at such a high level were dashed when Alvin Journeyman came out, and it only got worse from there. Perhaps Card's turn for the worst happened around 1994-1995 when he was at work on both Alvin Journeyman, the last Homecoming book, and the fourth Ender novel, all of which were very disappointing. Now, this author who started out making real contributions to science fiction as legitimate literature is just an airport paperback writer.

Similarly, Jordan started out very fine, but around the fourth book of The Wheel of Time, when the series really took off and every high-schooler was reading it, he started to meander and stretch things out. One does wonder if Tor, the publisher of both Card and Jordan, put any pressure on them to produce unnecessarily long material.

John C Wright

There is a whole emerging literature documenting anomalous mental-physical interactions, up to and including religious/mystical experiences. Irreducible Mind is a textbook-quality tome which is expensive, but a good place to start.

The evidence of the honestly miraculous is out there, if you choose to look. A word of warning, though, if you do decide to investigate this stuff, it will get inside your head.

Well my issues with the story is several. The breaking of several laws, the vigilante attitude and the tact approval*, the destroying of lives. There's also going to be the flashback from this which is going to make life harder, not easier. On the "vigilante" side there's the trust issue as far as some will be concerned. If someone anonymous is capable of this in the pursuit of what they want? What's to stop them from ruining someone else's life? It could be you or I as "collateral damage" in the pursuit of "Information wants to be free". How about increasing the friction between companies and workers? "Can I trust him"? Whomever did this I'm more than willing to bet knee jerked this into action without thinking things fully through. And that's the kind of sloppiness no one needs.

*I suggest everyone read this book to understand that the tact approval doesn't come from a sense of justice, but something rather more primitive.

anthropocentric views in general (religion is that in specific), and a host of others from phrenology to past lives.

I never understood the point of these huge, monolithic libraries. They're a bitch to maintain & if you want to use an improved aspect in PART of the library (e.g. a better database interface), you often must upgrade ALL uses of the library that you might be happy with (e.g. the GUI). In Open Sources 2.0, Chris DiBona states "when developing, I like to use large libraries only when I either don't want to deal with a technology, or I don't fully understand it and don't feel qualified to implement it." It seems that many *nix hackers feel similarly about userland tools. So why is QT so popular?

QT, and similar all encompassing libraries are popular because they provide consistency and homeogenity. I still believe in third party libraries, but only if they bring something to the table. The fact is most of us use some wrapper around expat to deal with XML, and our development platforms standard database interface. What QT gives us is a single API. We simply get everyone to compile QT, and everyone can develop QT software.

Look at .NET and Java. They have two advantages over C++. The first is garbage collection, and the second is an all encompassing API. C++ tried to address this with the STL, but the STL only deals with thing like linked lists, hashtables, etc. QT and wxWidgets deal with higher level concerns, and therefore speed up development much more.

Gimp doesn't come with a free graphics tablet, but neither does Photoshop.

A very nice Wacom Graphire4 4x5 USB Tablet can be had for $92.83 http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Graphire4-4x5-Tablet-Silver/dp/B000BBCTHU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-0328201-5263211?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1189909906&sr=8-2

It comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 and Corel Painter Essentials 2. These two free programs are much better than Gimp. No source code, but the price is very competitive.

Maybe its just full of useful classes?...Also GTK is only a graphics library. As opposed to QT, which has APIs for networking, database connections, etc. You can write conole programs in QT.

No doctor in their right mind would call the Rhythm Method (what you are referring to) a fraud. It just isn't nearly as effective as the pill, or virtually any other common method of contraception.

Warning: I am extremely biased against Chiropractory and believe it should be shut down. Any arguing with me on it will be pointless. I am sure you are a nice person and so is your chiro but I look at it as snake oil. I am not going to try to convince you not to go but I will give you some facts. Maybe talk to your "doctor" about it but if you decide to continue seeing one, that is your choice and I hope it works out for you...

I can agree with the parent comment. My wife was given a neck adjustment on Dec 28 2003 and on the 2nd of 2004 had a mild (thankfully) stroke. It appears what happened was when the chiro torqued her neck one of her vertebrae moved. Of course a little while later the muscles pushed it back in place which they will do. At the same time a blood vessel was pinched off to her brain causing her left eye to not track quite as well as her right. She is fine but she still gets a bit of vertigo. Talked to a lawyer about it and they said unless we were willing to go through years of heartache and stress her time would be more worthwhile spent telling people her story. Her GP informed her that she has another patient who is middle age who's right arm is now useless due to a bad chiro adjustment.

My wife was 30 at the time of the stroke, in perfect health as she was an avid runner even doing a half-marathon, doesn't drink, never smoked, so not even close to being someone classified as a normal risk for strokes.
My wife isn't bitter, I am I admit as I had to look her in the eyes when she was terrified as we didn't know what was happening and whether or not this was the beginning of something bigger. She thinks the big problem was that the chiro glossed over the risks, she doesn't even recall ever being told about them. She had been a semiregular patient for 5 years for lower back pain (which visits to a physical therapist fixed in a couple months after she stopped going to the chiro). I agree with the person up the thread that Chiros should stay away from the neck area and as well they should drop the whole "latent intelligence" BS that moving bones makes your organs work better.

An interesting read (albeit definitely not an unbiased view on the world of chiropractory is book called Spin Doctors, which you can order on Amazon or Chapters .

Irving Kirsch, a psychologist at the University of Connecticut, believes that the effectiveness of Prozac and similar drugs may be attributed almost entirely to the placebo effect. He and Guy Sapirstein analyzed 19 clinical trials of antidepressants and concluded that the expectation of improvement, not adjustments in brain chemistry, accounted for 75 percent of the drugs' effectiveness (Kirsch 1998). "The critical factor," says Kirsch, "is our beliefs about what's going to happen to us. You don't have to rely on drugs to see profound transformation." In an earlier study, Sapirstein analyzed 39 studies, done between 1974 and 1995, of depressed patients treated with drugs, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. He found that 50 percent of the drug effect is due to the placebo response.http://skepdic.com/placebo.html

"Prozac is associated with insomnia, restlessness, nausea, and tension headaches, which normally go away within one to two weeks from the time it was first taken. One possible Prozac side effect, which remains for the time it is taken, is its effect on your sex life. It often reduces desire and can delay or interfere with orgasm, in both women and men. Fatigue and memory loss are other possible problems."http://www.panic-anxiety.com/prozac_side_effect/prozac_side_effect.htm

are you kidding? i'm highly skeptical of the neurophone. wikipedia's neurophone article redirects to the inventor, Patrick Flanagan who sounds like a crackpot.

No, I am not kidding.

First of all, 'Crackpot' is one of those judgment calls which I find indicative of limiting bias.

What makes a crackpot? There are people who suffer from manic-depressive or schizoid disorders. Combine that with egoism and a refusal to look at reality for fear of one's own self-worth being diminished, and you can end up with some spectacularly misled individuals. We've all met people like this. The problem is that often some of the greatest ideas also happen to come from people who have manic brain patterns and who believe they are smarter than everybody else.

--In a similar way, many highschool geeks find themselves more interested in their personal obsessions, be it D&D, video games and science and technology, than they are in dressing 'cool' in order to fit in to the accepted social order. They are often derided, and yet they are also often far more in touch with the workings of reality than regular kids. We've all met that type as well, if in fact you haven't occupied that personality type yourself at some point.

In a sense, anybody who doesn't fit in can and probably will be called names like, 'crackpot'. So what is the difference between a legitimate crackpot and an illegitimate crackpot? I would say that it's the value of their contribution to whatever field of study they happen to be exploring. That's really the only fair way to gauge, otherwise, it comes, essentially, down to how well they fit into the herd. --Do they wear the right clothes and act the same way and hold the same values as their peers. Those kinds of questions really don't interest me. I'm interested in ideas.

So for me, the question is, "Do the ideas have any merit?" This is primarily what I was looking at. The Patrick Flanagan fellow I wasn't particularly interested in. In fact, I wasn't even looking at his exploration into the area of mind-control, but that of another, more recent group working out of an Australian university. Unfortunately, everything about that study has vanished from the web, so I don't even have any links or anything to work with, which is frustrating, but not altogether unexpected given the nature of the material. All I'm left with are the ideas. So what do they key upon?

Well, first up. 1. Is is possible to hypnotize people? --Yeah, I'd say so. I've seen and read enough to accept that people can be hypnotized, and that while under hypnosis, the mind can be called upon to do astonishing things.

Next. 2. Can the subconscious mind detect an electrical signal on the skin? --Why not? The nervous system is able to sense and react to all manner of stimuli which the conscious mind is not immediately aware of.

3. Can the subconscious mind detect an EM signal? --Well, the brain itself certainly can. You asked "Where are we learning this?" Well, with regard to EM radiation, a noted scientist by the name, Robert O. Becker, wrote a very accessible book on the subject. It's well worth looking at, and you can get a used copy for under $4.00 if you're at all interested in learning more.

Put those three items together, and what do you get? Well, I don't know about Patrick Flanagan in particular and the kitsch naming of the 'neurophone', but common sense tells me that the idea itself makes sense.

So what about practical application with regard to mind control and big bad government and all of that?

Well, that's a large subject with its own heading, but certainly one which can be analyzed. I won't go into it now, but suffice it to say that have been numerous examples of secrecy and mind-control experiments which are on the public books. The MK Ultra material is one of the bigger and better known examples. --A Canadian researcher spent a number of yea

This is just fantasy. There were no Muslims in Spain for many centuries. The current Muslim population of Spain is composed of immigrants and the descendants of relatively recent immigrants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain#Religion).

Is that a fact? Seriously, Google is your friend.

You live in a fantasy land.

I believe I did predict, in a previous post, that you'd reject what I have to say, as they do not agree with the syllabus of Western education systems. Most of what I know I had to learn myself from the public library when I decided I wanted to know more about the religion I had been born into, and when I got tired of our religious education teachers telling me that I come from a long line of adulterous, belligerent peasants. I suggest, if you really *do* want to be able to say you've studied the history of Islam, that you do the same. The best primer on Islamic history that I am aware of is this book, which incidentally was written by a Jewish author. I have a copy which I have read twice and thus no longer need. If you want, I'm more than happy to mail it to you for free.

I bought a 360 recently and besides Gears of War I'm having a very very hard time justifying spending $60 for pretty much anything on the shelf right now... But then I'm pressed for time and so very selective about games in general... Don't have a lot of time to play a game in hopes it'll work out in the end... ;)

Get Oblivion Game of the Year Edition It could be the only game in your collection and still justify your 360 purchase.

...the newest French diet!

NBC's recent withdraw from the iTunes store leaves the millions of Apple's customers who have Macs or iPods without a legitimate way to purchase and watch NBC's content.

• System Requirements
  Microsoft Windows XP or Vista (32-bit versions)
  Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher
  1.5 GHz processor & 512 MB RAM
  Broadband connection

I've read quite a few comparisons. ToUCam only beats the old Meade cams, and then only on lunar/planetary imaging because it can grab frames faster.

The NexImage *is* a $99 camera, and comparisons of it versus the ToUCam generally favor the NexImage (just to pick a random example). The NexImage uses the same CCD board as the ToUCam. Why pay $150 for a ToUCam plus adapter?

Simple, portable, anti-viral filters are not new. The First Need Deluxe Water Filter/Purifier is $93 at Amazon. First Need is one filter that claims to meet EPA virus-removal standards by filtration alone -- a nice change from the yucky taste (and for some, the health risks) of iodine. Most antiviral filters involve an iodine element; when its job is done, a carbon element rids your water of any face-scrunching aftertaste. How To Buy a Water Filter

Although this story begins with the proposition that string theory isn't adding-up, inflation itself is susceptible to some probing criticism. For example, neither the relative uniformity of the present universe nor its "lumpiness" (required for matter to form galaxies) are in any way required results of inflation; even the slightest variation in the initial quantum fluctuations thought to be responsible for the non-uniformity produce wildly different outcomes. That our universe came out the way it did, with physical laws and characteristics necessary for galaxy formation (and hence life), is statistically highly improbable. In fact, some inflationists have posited that there is a perhaps an unlimited number of expanding regions of space where these characteristics have not obtained, regions that will never intersect because space itself expands faster then the edges of these individual pockets. Further, inflation doesn't say much about the enormous amount of energy that is required to drive inflation; how does a force that acts so powerfully suddenly disappear and give way to the cause of today's much slower expansion?

An alternative to inflation that preserves much of string theory (at least M theory) is put forth in a book by Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok called "Endless Universe." http://www.amazon.com/Endless-Universe-Beyond-Big-Bang/dp/0385509642/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-2736756-6626517?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189688680&sr=8-1 The book details some of the intellectual and experimental hurdles in the development of inflation and advocates a cyclic universe with periodic collisions between closely-spaced dimensions. Although the book is non-technical (and I surely would not understand the math if it were included) the authors claim that every prediction inflation makes is equally well predicted by their theory. Additionally, some of inflation's more problematic results are avoided. According to the authors, the WMAP team has predicted that future experiments will be sufficiently sensitive to make measurements of phenomena that have different predictions under inflation and the cyclic model.

In any event, the book is a stimulating read.

Second-hand? Hell, you can still get it new on Amazon

You can buy it on amazon (starts at $5.99), it's worth it. http://www.amazon.com/Havas-Interactive-FGC9510410-Sacrifice/dp/B00004TSX4

That doesn't make it right. Read Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. No referral link.

This is the first book to explore in detail crime committed by the general public. Thomas Gabor challenges the prevailing stereotype of the criminal by documenting the extent to which ordinary citizens (those who are not habitually in conflict with the law) violate the law, exhibit dishonesty, or engage in actions harmful to their fellow citizens. He shows that so-called respectable citizens account for a large proportion of many kinds of crime: theft, fraud, tax evasion, assault, sex offences, business scams, political and corporate crime, environmental crime, technological crime, and mass lawlessness such as looting and vigilantism. He also discusses crime by police and other authorities in the justice system. Case studies provide concrete examples and raise crucial questions about law enforcement.

By discussing the justifications and excuses ordinary people provide for their transgressions, Gabor draws a parallel between those justifications and the ones provided by chronic or hard-core criminals. He shows, through experimental and other evidence, that members of the public are often not firmly committed to society's laws or the legal system. Using existing theories in conjunction with an original, interdisciplinary theoretical model, he shows why criminality is so widespread, and why it varies from person to person, and from one milieu to another. He shows why some crimes are more prevalent than others, and why some people are more immune to being labelled and processed as criminals within the criminal justice system. He concludes with a discussion of approaches for dealing with widespread criminality.

This is the first book to explore in detail crime committed by the general public. Thomas Gabor challenges the prevailing stereotype of the criminal by documenting the extent to which ordinary citizens (those who are not habitually in conflict with the law) violate the law, exhibit dishonesty, or engage in actions harmful to their fellow citizens. He shows that so-called respectable citizens account for a large proportion of many kinds of crime: theft, fraud, tax evasion, assault, sex offences, business scams, political and corporate crime, environmental crime, technological crime, and mass lawlessness such as looting and vigilantism. He also discusses crime by police and other authorities in the justice system. Case studies provide concrete examples and raise crucial questions about law enforcement.

By discussing the justifications and excuses ordinary people provide for their transgressions, Gabor draws a parallel between those justifications and the ones provided by chronic or hard-core criminals. He shows, through experimental and other evidence, that members of the public are often not firmly committed to society's laws or the legal system. Using existing theories in conjunction with an original, interdisciplinary theoretical model, he shows why criminality is so widespread, and why it varies from person to person, and from one milieu to another. He shows why some crimes are more prevalent than others, and why some people are more immune to being labelled and processed as criminals within the criminal justice system. He concludes with a discussion of approaches for dealing with widespread criminality.

I go in and still find titles 3+ years old selling for more than $20 used. Seems a bit ridiculous to me, seeing that if one were to try to sell said games to gamestop they'd get about $5.00 for it.

Supply/Demand and the business model.

Supply and Demand

I can walk into a Gamestop and buy a used PS2 game for $3 or for $80+. It depends on the game. No joke. Buy a copy of Madden Football [year-2] (aka it's 2008, get 2006) or a professional wrestling game and it'll probably be $3. Conversely, just the other day I found Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the PS2 for $79.99, no box slip, no manual, etc. Why? Because you cannot find MvC2 or games like some "Baulders Gate" or "Champions of Norrath", etc High Demand, Low Supply. It's economics, you cannot fault them for that.

Business Model

Used games is where stores like Gamestop make their money. It's not selling consoles or new games. The games industry has very tight control over the games price and the profit garnered from each game. Suffice it to say, the margins are small. Without used games, such speciality stores probably wouldn't be able to operate.

Use it to your advantage

Is it disappointing to see used games sell for $45 when the new game is $50? Sure. Then buy the new version (or save yourself $5, because, hey, it's $5. That's 1-2 beers at a bar.) Not happy that they'll only give you $0.50 or $3 for your 3 year old game? Then sell it on Ebay, in classified ads, or many other options. Reselling video games are not an exclusive right to Gamestop.

I understand how Everyone wants something for nothing, but I'm willing to see a service for what it's worth. It cleans to my house and I take full advantage of promotions that are always running that sometimes net me the same or more money for trade-ins than I paid for it. I can also maximize it to cost less than renting new games. At least, console games can be traded in, unlike PC games.

Sometimes we luck out and get a great game for real cheap, other times we're out of luck when you really want to get Marvel vs Capcom 2 but have to pay a premium for it, sometimes 2x or 3x what it cost (try looking up prices for Final Fantasy VII for the original Playstation and see that it goes for $50-$300, which is much lower now that the hype died down after the movie and sequel game have come and gone)

Cheers,
Fozzy

The big advantage with digital is that you don't have to develop the film. You can try as much as you want, and you don't have to wait days to get the result and then realise that it's underexposed (while still having to pay for the film. With digital, you can take a trial-and-error approach, without having to spend money on film.

True but bracketing helps here. As for developing film, many of us including me loves to work in darkrooms. Though I haven't worked in a darkroom in years, and don't have one setup, I plan on joining an imaging group that does have darkrooms members can use. I can shoot a few 36 exposure rolls of film a day but the expense of having the film developed and digitized holds me back. Digital helps there but being able to develop my own film won't hold me back. I can then scan and digitize exposures myself, and get better resolution. Later as I hope to start working as a photographer I want to setup my own darkroom. I have the space in a corner of the basement but it needs to be light proofed, plumbed, and wired.

It doesn't have to be a fancy camera, a webcam mounted on your telescope will get you quite far already. I've made a complete mosaic of the moon that way, 2000x2000 pixels with a simple toucam.

Panoramas can also be stitched together from film photos, and the prints will be high resolution as well as can be made bigger. As for fancy cameras, though I have a 35mm slr it's not fancy. An slr can be bought for less than than a digital camera and it'll have better specs. Amazon sells the film based Canon EOS Rebel K2 35mm SLR Camera with EF 28 to 90mm II USM Lens for less than $200. You can't get a prosumer digital camera with equivilent specs for less than 4 or 5 tymes that price. You can shoot and turn in for development a roll of 35mm film a week for years before you spend as much. Now if you shoot a roll a day, then digital will pay for itself in a year or two.

The truth is, free-as-in-beer isn't a very compelling reason to chose an office suite - something you'll likely have to live with between nine and five every work day.

MS Office Home 2007, retail boxed, three seat license, is $120 at Amazon.com.

#1 in software sales at Amazon.com. OpenOffice.org on disk is #14 in Windows Office Suite sales at 85 cents plus shipping and handling.

If your employer has a volume licensing deal with Microsoft, MS Office can also be yours for the price of the media, shipping and handling. Home Use Program

but it is a BITCH and a half to setup properly

and the documentation ranges from awful to 'documentation., what's that? We don't need no documentation!' for the individual tools that make up LaTeX systems.

first, go to the astronomy club meeting before you buy anything. talk to people, and look at their gear. they will be more than willing to tell you why they got what they got, and answer questions better than slashdot.

read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Astronomy-Hacks-Tools-Observing-Night/dp/0596100604

next, get yourself a dobsonian telescope. best bang for the buck (i.e., biggest aperture for the bucks), nice and portable. google it, and shop around. with other scopes, over half the money you spend is for the stand. with a dobsonian, most of what you pay for is the big-ass mirror.

forget about astrophotography for now. if you want to play around anyway, just hold your digital camera up to the eyepiece. you can get some nice moon and jupiter pics that way. anything else you would want to photograph, you're going to need a lot more than $1000 anyway.

Then why did they make it?
http://www.amazon.com/Mumbo-Jumbo-The-Office/dp/B000P0DOE4/ref=sr_1_9/103-5655588-2508603?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1189528491&sr=1-9

Not if you want a used copy of Chung's Computational Fluid Dynamics, for instance. Their price (new) is as high as the local college bookstore! Compare used at Amazon, 71.99, I got the book in under a week and saved $50+ off the bookstore price.

I can't say I've had Amazon spam problems - but then again I do have a good spam filter so I might not ever see it.

I guess this means liberalism is a mental disorder. ;)