Slashdot Mirror

I understand you don't like the result, don't worry, it only affects those who are religious. The American slant was what appears to be 'African American Women' and breast cancer. I need to be at work to do a much better check and get the exact papers.

http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=health+outcomes+cancer+god&hl=en

The idea is to plant drought resistant plants in the woodchips. They are definitely NOT a fire hazard, in fact they are just the opposite they prevent weeds and hold in moisture. Here in Australia the various authorities actually encourage the practice and levy hefty fines if you are caught watering your lawn from the mains when water restrictions are in force.

The idea is to plant drought resistant plants in the woodchips. They are definitely NOT a fire hazard, in fact they are just the opposite they prevent weeds and hold in moisture. Here in Australia the various authorities actually encourage the practice and levy hefty fines if you are caught watering your lawn from the mains when water restrictions are in force.

Also, if you type "google" into google, you can break the internet so don't do it, even as a joke.

I'll go one further than $50, I will bet my left testicle it never happens.

"the Opposition will vote no simply because Labor is voting yes"

Yep and when the Liberals were last in power Labor voted no to madatory filtering.

"most of the independents are offside now as well"

That was the whole point, Mr 2% lost interest pretty fast when his own anti-abortion sponsers *somehow* made it onto the proposed list. This shit has been going on for at least a decade, the two major parties take turns at being good/bad cop in order to screw over the nutjob independents who keep poping up in the senate.

As I have been doing for the last 2-3yrs with these stories I will again issue a challenge to anyone who thinks this crap has a real chance of becoming law. Point out a single quote where Conroy has said he is in favour of mandatory filtering. I've yet to see one. I've seen plenety of quotes where he says he is in favour of trials/inquiries, and sure he put up the legislation but it's his turn to be the bad cop and like any Aussie with half a brain he knows full well it will fail to pass the senate.

Actually I meant to say Lomborg paints himself as galileo of course like anyone trained in the art of propoganda (he is a qualified political scientist), he is not so stupid as to directly draw that comparison himself.

Unfortunately you are wrong. I honestly wish you were correct but wishfull thinking and ad-homs will get you nowhere.

RF = 5.35*ln(C2/C1) = 3.71 W/M^2 for a doubling of CO2
T = (3/3.71)*5.35*ln(387.5/280) = 1.41 deg C. For the observed change in CO2 concentrations.

(Assuming it's true) because people like this assume that most people are logical and aren't going to go postal on them so they can just walk in an do what they like. That's the price of civilization, you can bet he wouldnt've raided the office like this or cheated workers ouf of salaries if workers had reputations of smashing skulls in with bats.

And getting a standby flight to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur all of two hours after you've done your ingenious, secret removal of IP is so incredibly difficult (lets not even consider how hard it would be if he were willing to pay a premium).

I'll hit you with the clue by four about Perth, Western Australia. It's cheaper and easier to get out of this country from Perth then it is to get a flight to Sydney or Melbourne from Perth. This arsehole would have been safely on a Singapore Airlines flight from SIN to LAX before anyone in Perth had even woken up. Such is the price you pay for modern civilisation. A fat lot of good bats will do over the Pacific.

BTW we play Cricket over here not Baseball, Cricket bats are noticeably larger and heavier then baseball and result in far greater injuries.
BTW x2, Perth's international Airport is less then 30 minutes drive from Perth's city centre.
BTW x3, flight time from Perth (PER) to Singapore (SIN) is four and a half hours.

As others have said, the Tax Office will get this guy. Forget the AFP (Australian Federal Police) or ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation), if you cross the ATO (Australian Tax Office) you're in for a world of hurt, they are relentless and remorseless.

What's so difficult about this concept:

Children SHOULD NOT BE USING the Internet. Computers of course, as long as they exercise too, but Internet no. Children should be socialising IRL not chatting to each other online. Children should be learning things about the real world, having difficult ideas explained, not being fed schoolyard opinions at home as well as at school. Children's peers should not be as important as their (hopefully positive) adult role models (hopefully their parents). Children should find joy and imagination in nature, books, art and music, not the Internet. Sure those things can be found on the net - if you're looking for it. But mainly no.

Take a walk down a busy street with your kid - by the time you get home, s/he will probably have questions that you're glad you can explain in person. The Internet is NOT FOR KIDS, period. Just the chat on most game servers is not for kids.

That position will sound extreme, but as long as I can do an image search on google for "breasts" and get this, ..

uh.. so like I was saying.. extreme position.. What?

Really guys, naming your protest after female anatomy does nothing to help the cause. It is immature and reeks of disorganization.

Its actually a reference to our PM's "Shitstorm" comment on national TV a while back - The Australian, or more via google

Hence the suburb of Upper Hutt is guilty as charged, because it has a Moonshine Road.

Again, look for yourself.

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Plugged+In%2C+Not+Charging&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a

I've encountered it several times in my role as resident geek and computer fixer. Sometimes the unofficial workaround fixes the problem, sometimes not.

Workaround:

1. Click Start and type device in the search field, then select Device Manager .
2. Expand the Batteries category.
3. Under the Batteries category, right-click the Microsoft ACPI Compliant Control Method Battery listing, and select Uninstall .
WARNING: Do not remove the Microsoft AC Adapter driver or any other ACPI compliant driver.
4. On the Device Manager taskbar, click Scan for hardware changes.

The going out of their way part would be the crypto. In order to use the iPhone with non Apple software, you literally have to break the crypto used to hash the database. A simple CRC would have been sufficient if they just wanted to prevent corruption, but they're actively investing time and effort into working against people who are developing iTunes alternatives. There's plenty of info here.

Only in America. Everywhere else fiscally conservative is generally understood to mean "living within your means". You can do that by reducing spending or increasing income.

Great Britain, I'd like to introduce you to this American invention we call the "cowboy hat"

You see, no Briton would be caught dead wearing something as unfashionable as a cowboy hat. We bombed the nazi's back to the stone age because of their hideous black and brown uniforms, the Imperial German state was disassembled by the Brits because of that silly little helmet with a spike on it. I warn you not to gain the eye of the Her Majesty's Fashion Police with such a ridiculous head garment. In Britain, we have fashionable bowler hats, occasionally a fedora may be worn.

Besides all this we all know the "cowboy hat" is just the poor cousin of the Australian Akubra, which is far superior head wear.

Have you ever heard of the AFL CIO? In 2000 they spent 4.1 million on federal campaigns.

What exactly does the Australian Football League have to do with US politics.

Sir, I dare say you should keep your libel to yourself, over here you need to support what you say. For example in the US I can say that jimbolauski is a wanker, in Australia I can say jimbolauski is a wanker and have to prove it.

And I just can’t imagine what that “horrible tearing” is, of which you speak.

I looked for it. I really did. Checked if it is really off. But I just can’t see it.

So I can just as well jump into my very own ultra-egocentric bubble, and say that I just can’t imagine why anyone would think there is a point to vsync.

To me, vsync makes as much sense, as this: http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Parts:Woodlenses

If it doesn't occur on your setup, it doesn't mean it doesn't occur for other people.

It certainly doesn't mean you should be rude, or imply that others are just imagining things. Vsync tearing issues are very visible when they do occur, try google:

vsync tearing

Just a few points...

1. Almost all glaciers are receding precipitously due to AGW, the slashdot article you point to is about the fact that Himalayan glaciers are retrtreating at a faster rate due to soot. The effect of soot on ice has been well documented over the last 50yrs.

2. Your magic eight ball is more informative than Anthony Watts. Watts is either a popogandist or a crank.

3. The world is not heading into 30 years of mini-ice age.

4. There will always be cold spells.

However I agree with your conclusion, the IPCC has been pointing out for over a decade now that the delta's in southern China, India and Bangladesh which currently support well over a billion people are "toast". I doubt the rest of the world will suddenly forget nationalisim and allow those people to simply "get out of Dodge".

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Porsche%20911%20Turbo%20S%20wheel%20multiplatform%20better%20than%20G25&hl=en&meta=

The dinosaurs were smart (especially the Velociraptors). They stopped driving SUVs. That's why we're here.

I had to check.

Here it is. I went looking for it when the original story broke, without a picture or link, and easily found it. I knew where Palm Valley was, and from there the crater was pretty obvious. Mind you, it would be easy to dismiss it as an odd shaped formation if you didn't know you were looking for a crater, so hats off to Hamacher and the accuracy of "legend".

While I don't doubt that everything else in your post is correct, as it coincides with my own prejudices regarding police, according to a google image search I just did, Jean Charles de Menezes is not brown.

meat has roughly 15% of the calories e.g. potatoes have

Hmmm. Looking at those figures, I would suggest that it's the tedious kilocalories = Calories issue raising its ugly head again.

Eg. other tables of meat kilocalories suggest it's on par with your potatoes.

Once they start adding this to the water supply you will all be happy (by order)

Looking at google, I'd say the correct number is 1.1km. It suddenly sounds a whole lot less impressive. All they are doing is applying a texture, and updating it quickly.much research for the dollar.

The company that makes the "Wasgij" series of jigsaw puzzles might not agree...

http://www.google.com.au/search?q=wasgij+puzzle&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

The SMH is one of our better rags, however like all newspapers it does print some syndicated stories verbatim. It also has the occasional wacko in the editorial pages to stir up contraversy (I'm looking at you Ms Devine).

The SMH is owned by the Fairfax group, funny you should mention Fox News because Howden is actually employed by News Corp, not Fairfax.

"the models that claimed shell building creatures would fare bad if more CO2 was dissolved in the oceans have been falsified by proper scientific testing"

Dishonesty or ignorance, take your pick.

I think you misunderstand the meaning of the word 'bribe'. Indeed, the very first definition on Google for Bribe is:

http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=bribe :
make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence; "This judge can be bought"

"Because some of what Watts has reported has been simply contradicted by the people who did the original research doesn't mean that a compelling rebuttal has been presented."

Here is a short video detailing the lenghts that NOAA went to to debunk Watts. I'm not sure what Watts objected to in the video that made him abuse the DCMA in an attempt to remove it

Perhaps it's the fact that it notes NOAA took Watt's 70 cherry picked stations, re-ran their analysis and found no sinificant change?

"Is there anybody who doesn't sing from the RealClimate song sheet that you consider listening to?"

I'm listening (and responding) to you as I have in the past but so far you are not making a great deal of sense. Perhaps if you applied some of the self-skepticisim you seem to think I lack your argument would improve, ie: grit your teeth and spent the 8min to watch the video all the way to the end.

Did I say anyone was entitled to violent video games? No, I said they are a right. There is a difference.

No you said they were a basic right.

but Right Now they're without a basic right which the rest of the world enjoys.

See, you did say that. Here is the google search on basic rights. So according to your logic the right to play violent video games is right up there with Human Rights (clean water, food) and Habeus Corpus.

"It's illegal to buy pornography in Utah is it not. Oh snap I guess the US is treating it's people like children and they've lost their freedom to choose."

According to your logic yes or is there one rule for the US and one rule for the rest of us?

Sure you can import L4D2. What about the local shop owner that wants to sell it? He can't. He doesn't have the freedom to do so.

By local shop owner I assume you mean the multinational corporation that has a mandate against stocking R rated media anyway. Seriously, if this is your best point (and it is) it's pretty bloody weak. Even if R18 games were available the corporate mandate of EBGames, Coles Myer, Woolworths and so on wouldn't permit the game to be sold there anyway just because it has an R18+ rating.

I will say this about your posts, they are consistent but that's only a good thing(TM) if you're not consistently wrong. Once again, please go and learn about the entire situation before posting nonsense. Also read that link on what is a basic right.

I'm not a US citizen, I'm German. So can anyone please explain to me how this can be legal?

Microsoft has a monopoly in one market and is already convicted multiple times of illegal practices. So now Microsoft is saying that they will pay somebody to not go to the competition. Isn't it using a monopoly in one market to hinder competition in an another market?

Google have a nice book to read: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=oT07hNxzMwQC&pg=PA302&lpg=PA302&dq=using+a+monopoly+in+one+market+to+hinder+competition+in+an+another+market&source=bl&ots=Z2oK-26Xqf&sig=sLQIoG-abfgthpHWeEAWiEGzag8&hl=en&ei=uLUSS_bULYSBkQWKz4mjBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The hypocrisy and faux outrage of the left wing in the US is more than a little disturbing and starting to become a little overwhelming to the point that it's truly starting to taint my view of the entire movement. It's not like they don't remember 18 months ago when they were still doing the *exact same things* to the bush admin as is being done here. Calling them Nazi's, the underlying racism against Rice and Powell, calling Powell a pet, token black, etc (until he changed to their "side" that is), the photoshop fridays, etc.

So where was this fake outrage and Googles swift action when the internet hoardes were photoshopping Condoleezza Rice to look like an http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=com.ubuntu:en-US:official&um=1&q=Condoleezza+Rice&sa=N&start=105&ndsp=21 african native ?

Absolute hypocrites.

Here is the complete results for traditional vs simplified:

First traditional:

Google Australia:
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Google China:
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&source=hp&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Simplified:

Australia
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%97%A8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
China
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&um=1&sa=1&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%97%A8&btnG=%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%87

I'm guessing google is returning pages based on the language you search in. When you write tianmen in traditional characters it's ambiguous whether the language is Japanese or Chinese (Same characters, same code-points), so the results are a mix. Note the two particularly bloody pictures in the google.com.au search are from Japanese sites.

Heres a Google Taiwan search in traditional characters:
http://images.google.com.tw/images?hl=zh-TW&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi&gbv=1&ei=dv0IS9SvMoyVkAWF8IisAw
As you can see some bloody images come up.

Anyway, I imagine the root of the problem is simply that there's not a lot of discussion about this amongst mainland Chinese (I.e. people who would write in simplified characters).

Finally, as for your question about Mainland Chinese being able to read both traditional and simplified characters well it depends on the character. However, educated Mainland Chinese people that I've meet have generally been able to read any Characters I could write (Me writing the Japanese versions of them, which are generally traditional characters). The inverse is also true I can recognise many characters written in their Mainland China simplified form. In the case of Tianmen, I would be amazed if they couldn't.

Here is the complete results for traditional vs simplified:

First traditional:

Google Australia:
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
Google China:
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&source=hp&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Simplified:

Australia
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%97%A8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
China
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&um=1&sa=1&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%97%A8&btnG=%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2%E5%9B%BE%E7%89%87

I'm guessing google is returning pages based on the language you search in. When you write tianmen in traditional characters it's ambiguous whether the language is Japanese or Chinese (Same characters, same code-points), so the results are a mix. Note the two particularly bloody pictures in the google.com.au search are from Japanese sites.

Heres a Google Taiwan search in traditional characters:
http://images.google.com.tw/images?hl=zh-TW&q=%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%89%E9%96%80&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi&gbv=1&ei=dv0IS9SvMoyVkAWF8IisAw
As you can see some bloody images come up.

Anyway, I imagine the root of the problem is simply that there's not a lot of discussion about this amongst mainland Chinese (I.e. people who would write in simplified characters).

Finally, as for your question about Mainland Chinese being able to read both traditional and simplified characters well it depends on the character. However, educated Mainland Chinese people that I've meet have generally been able to read any Characters I could write (Me writing the Japanese versions of them, which are generally traditional characters). The inverse is also true I can recognise many characters written in their Mainland China simplified form. In the case of Tianmen, I would be amazed if they couldn't.

Interestingly, for Tianamen Square, the google maps location seems to be about a block east of the satellite photo:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tiananmen+square,+china&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=39.349464,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tiananmen+Square,+Dongcheng,+Beijing,+China&ll=39.903745,116.393924&spn=0.016559,0.036564&t=h&z=15

compared to

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tiananmen+square,+china&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=39.349464,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tiananmen+Square,+Dongcheng,+Beijing,+China&ll=39.903745,116.393924&spn=0.016559,0.036564&z=15

I wonder if their maps are shifted or their images are shifted? Anyone in Beijing have a GPS handy to get a reading for the square?

Interestingly, for Tianamen Square, the google maps location seems to be about a block east of the satellite photo:

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tiananmen+square,+china&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=39.349464,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tiananmen+Square,+Dongcheng,+Beijing,+China&ll=39.903745,116.393924&spn=0.016559,0.036564&t=h&z=15

compared to

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tiananmen+square,+china&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=39.349464,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Tiananmen+Square,+Dongcheng,+Beijing,+China&ll=39.903745,116.393924&spn=0.016559,0.036564&z=15

I wonder if their maps are shifted or their images are shifted? Anyone in Beijing have a GPS handy to get a reading for the square?

The person sitting next to me at work - who knows a lot more about this than me - tells me that Jenny Hockings was wrong. He agrees with you.

Anyway, here's the link:

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=lV-swA4Y1zMC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=lionel+murphy+scientology&source=bl&ots=vg2Vn-hh3z&sig=X65f0qH2JDdsL11HSomu9bCr8n4&hl=en&ei=yNEFS_7iBIz0sQOBo5DBCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=lionel%20murphy%20scientology&f=false

Having a defect in a device I've bought has been extremely rare, buying anything from toasters to TV sets to video cards that just don't work is unheard of. Don't talk to me about the "complexity" of writing software, you think you car is simple?

I guess you've never heard of factory recalls?

Video cards
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=video+card+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Toasters
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=toaster+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=f&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Televisions
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=television+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Cars
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source=hp&q=car+factory+recalls&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=1&oq=car+factory+re&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Like a lot of comments made here, yours may sound fair and good, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Having a defect in a device I've bought has been extremely rare, buying anything from toasters to TV sets to video cards that just don't work is unheard of. Don't talk to me about the "complexity" of writing software, you think you car is simple?

I guess you've never heard of factory recalls?

Video cards
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=video+card+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Toasters
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=toaster+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=f&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Televisions
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=television+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Cars
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source=hp&q=car+factory+recalls&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=1&oq=car+factory+re&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Like a lot of comments made here, yours may sound fair and good, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Having a defect in a device I've bought has been extremely rare, buying anything from toasters to TV sets to video cards that just don't work is unheard of. Don't talk to me about the "complexity" of writing software, you think you car is simple?

I guess you've never heard of factory recalls?

Video cards
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=video+card+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Toasters
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=toaster+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=f&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Televisions
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=television+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Cars
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source=hp&q=car+factory+recalls&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=1&oq=car+factory+re&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Like a lot of comments made here, yours may sound fair and good, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Having a defect in a device I've bought has been extremely rare, buying anything from toasters to TV sets to video cards that just don't work is unheard of. Don't talk to me about the "complexity" of writing software, you think you car is simple?

I guess you've never heard of factory recalls?

Video cards
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=video+card+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Toasters
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=toaster+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=f&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Televisions
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=off&q=television+factory+recalls&meta=&aq=&oq=&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Cars
http://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&source=hp&q=car+factory+recalls&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=1&oq=car+factory+re&fp=401997eedf2eee64

Like a lot of comments made here, yours may sound fair and good, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Lets try what is the temperature in melbourne

• google
• bing
• wolfram

Wolfram gives me the best result IMHO, and google the worst. Bing is close to wolfram but using a different source of data. For the average luser out there a nice chart or graphic is better than a link which you have to follow.

That is all that google news search provides a headline with about a paragraph that explains that headline. Murdoch is simply fabricating a lie to hide his true intentions, it really is what News Corp is all about presenting illusions and deceits as the truth. What he hates is google news search along with everybody else's news search provides a choice of which news site to read a particular news story.

Think News Corp sucks and Fox News is nothing but B$=PR marketing as news engine, then when given the choice you will choose an alternate site, especially when you are given not one but often hundreds of choices ie. http://news.google.com.au/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=au&hl=en&q=rupert+murdoch 4,056 choices and the Christian Science Monitor happens to be the first choice. Now that is what Murdoch hates, he want to control the news, to define what is and is not news and in his own deceitful style define what is and is not the truth. A sick enterprise that wants to sell fear and hate because that charged environment draws more viewers, doesn't matter if it all lies as long as it sells.

The problem is the lies on the Fox network can all to readily be debunked by easy access to hundreds even thousands of other news sites that present reality rather than marketing fantasy and, this compounds the problem. Not only do you have many news sites to choose from but people are actively avoiding Fox ie. thumbing it down in stumbleupon parlance or even filtering it out in customise google http://www.customizegoogle.com/. In fact quickly looking through the search results none of their sites appears in the search results, does that mean News Corp is wining ;D.

Check out this book: http://books.google.com.au/books?id=zmpxV1ygjvsC

One of the best collected references on the nuclear thermal rocket propulsion development program that I've ever read.. and almost all the pages are available online.

Fortunately you can use tricks to run itunes using the Quicktime Alternative. I use this method on peoples machines that I know will install it regardless of my advice.

1.8 million. Vs. perhaps 200,000 scattered across a rural countryside. You honestly don't see the difference here?

You also dont get the difference in distances. Iowa is 145,743 km2 (56,272 SQ. MI.) with a population of 3,002,555. Western Australia is 2,645,615 km (1,021,478 SQ MI) with a population of 2,224,300 and 1.8 million of that is in Perth.

You could drive 400 KM in Western Australia and get nowhere. I used to live in a town that was over 1,500 KM from Perth, that's a 14 hour drive if you're speeding and dont take too many breaks so dont preach to me about distances, I've travelled further on roads then you will ever travel in your life. Here, have a look at what's around where I used to live and hopefully then you understand why I consider rural Iowa to be densely populated and a 400 KM journey to be nothing. To drive from Paraburdoo to Perth, your first petrol station was 250 KM away, next bit of civilisation was over 500 KM away. Could you drive on any US road for 400 KM and get nowhere? (OK, maybe in Alaska) so it's not difficult for you to find somewhere decent to bunk down for the night unlike in WA.

Anyway, my initial comments were mostly sarcasm (a reffernce to the Monty Python "four yorkshiremen" sketch), which is why I said you need to calm down and not stress so much. As with travel, a little planning goes a long way as does a little patience.

Well, yippee for you. That doesn't do a damned bit of good for those of us who don't have $900 to spend on a plane ticket or live in an area that can't support such large planes.

You have three choices,
1. Do something about it.
2. Move somewhere else.
3. Stop complaining.

At first class prices, so what's the difference?

How do you figure that? From PER-HKT if you fly QANTAS you'll pay more, THAI and MAS are slightly cheaper but not by much, besides I got the SAL flights on sale (A$750) their normal price is A$980-1075, this is where planning ahead becomes important.

If you want SAL's first class try adding another A$3000 onto that price.

You know what sort of 4,800 km train ride you can get for $900?

Thats all good and well but your ignorance of geography is showing. If I take a train ride from Perth, Australia to Phuket, Thailand I'll run into this little problem called the Indian Ocean. Perth is about as far away as you can get from other cities, your choices for travel to the nearest city Adelaide which is 1750 KM as the crow flies (over the great Australian bight) or 2900 KM by road so your choices are a 3 hour flight, 2 day train trip or 3.5 days in the car and trust me, I've done that one and can say there is absolutely nothing to see in the Nullabor plains (it's a desert, not even a tree for 1000 KMs).

So if you're asking me if I'd trade 2 days of boredom for 3 hours of relative discomfort then compact me and strap me in.

A domestic flight between two Australian cities is relatively cheap, I do not have to pay A$900 to get to any other Australian city on a premium airline, I can expect to get to Adelaide on Tiger or Jetstar (budget) for A$300. If you have to pay US$900 to get between any two points in the US then that is a problem with US airlines, US airports or the US government. You consistently fail to compare Perth's remoteness to Iowa's, remember that I cannot drive to another country, I can even leave my state in 10 hours of driving.

You're an idiot, it's not "fairly light" at all and decreasing performance on client machines only costs them the network bandwidth needed to send them the code that does it (Excluding intangible costs). Network bandwidth is cheaper than CPU cycles.

Yeah, those terrible Brits. Messing with poor Hitler and all that.

I mean have you ever experienced British engineering and cuisine? I mean German cuisine isn't any better but they at least have the engineering bit done right.

Just doing my bit so that everyone learns the correct history, most people can tell you how WWII ended but not that many can say how it started (double points for whomever names the ship who fired the first shot).

Google Image - Britain declares war

There are astronomy clubs all over the world. Google offers a good list of them.

And please note, you'll likely be in very good scientific company - rather a lot of highly significant astronomical discoveries were made by amateurs, just people with their interest perked, ordinary people who persisted in their interest.

After a while, the truly enthusiastic may cross the bridge between amateur and expert. It happens sometimes, don't be afraid.