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I'm pretty sure that 'bonified' could reasonably be taken to be the past participle of 'bonify', which has fallen out of use, but means, roughly, "to convert into good." So this guy either means 'bona fide' or he's making a far more subtle point than first inspection would indicate.

The funny part, is the only reason the shuttle program exists is to visit the station, and the only reason the station exists is to have a place for the shuttle to go. Every other purpose had to be removed to save money in budget crunches.

Actually, that's 100% backwards. The original purpose of the Shuttle was to supply and support a space station performing research in space. (The orbital equivalent of an Antarctic research station or something like Sealab.) Which is why it's called a shuttle in the first place.* It was meant to travel back and forth between two points - station and launch/recovery site. All the other capabilities, satellite deployment and recovery, etc... etc..., were added to the Shuttle when the station (and the heavy lift boosters to build it) were axed from the budget in the late sixties and early seventies.**
 
That's why, if you examine the history of Shuttle designs, you see a sudden rise in weight, complexity, and cost*** in that time period. That's why the Shuttle was already moving in a direction that made it (relatively) easy to modify the design to bring the DoD onboard. That's why the Shuttle was marketed as being 'all things to all people'. That's why rising costs lead the Administration and Congress to cap the development budget.
 
The other functions (that shuttle had as built) were steadily cut back not due to budget cuts, but in reaction to the Challenger and Columbia accidents. The former is why NASA stopped lifting commercial satellites and payloads. The latter is why the Shuttle stopped flying independently, except for the controversial Hubble servicing mission.
 
 

No one makes money off a built station that has been budget crunched to the point that it does nothing.

Had the station been budget crunched to the point where it does nothing, you'd have a point. To be sure it's a hell of a lot less useful than it could have been, but does nothing is a bit extreme. You also have to realize that much of the cost of the station (as built) stems from two causes. The first is the constant changes to stations scope and function imposed by Congress in the 80's (leading to multiple expensive redesigns). The second is the decision to shift the station to an orbit the Russians could reach so as to funnel welfare in the direction of their space program and rocket engineers in order to keep them employed and thus unlikely to sell their services to states more interested in weapons than science.
 
* The definition of shuttle, uncontaminated by the current Shuttle, in the Webster's 1913 dictionary makes this even clearer.
 
** The Administration and Congress were actually right in this however - the heavy lift boosters used for station deployment would have had an extraordinarily low flight rate and thus would have been extraordinarily expensive. Which is why I've often thought that we should revisit the original shuttle concept now that heavy lift boosters are commercially available.
 
*** Complexity and cost in particular are strongly bound. When you have to use 'extreme engineering' to meet your performance goals, your costs are going to rise sharply. As Elon Musk is attempting to demonstrate (and already has to some extent) when you can simplify your design, engineering, and manufacturing, launch costs can drop dramatically.

Not deferential. Obedient. Doing what one is told. He isn't doing something someone else told him to do. You're not correct.

Dictionary disagrees, both are correct:
http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Obsequious
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obsequious
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/obsequious
http://www.dictionary.net/obsequious

This is what a real mini looks like.

From my experience, handling is somewhat better on Gringo cars than on European cars.

But one of the best cars I've ever had was a '91 Geo Prizm.

No Geo models were actually manufactured by GM, instead generally being produced for the company by such foreign firms as Daewoo, Isuzu, Daihatsu, and Suzuki. One partial exception was the Prizm, which was produced at the GM/Toyota joint-venture NUMMI assembly plant in California. This makes the Geo line unusual in being composed almost entirely of captive imports, making it similar to Ford's short-lived Merkur brand of the 80s.

I've owned my share of US cars, and will NEVER buy another one.

"For instance, if you had a summer home and left a car there so that you could just fly in and go with it, and some fuck wad took it over the winter and then put it back -- ensuring that nothing was damaged, the engine was serviced and the oil was changed and had someone on the inside so that if you were anywhere near a thousand mile fucking radius, they could put it back as good as new (or better) -- would this be theft?"

Well, in the UK at least it wouldn't be theft.

In your scenario, the car is kept as good as new and no criminal damage has ocurred, so the only offence comitted is that of Taking Without Consent (T.W/O.C in Police shorthand, hence the term "Twoccing").

This offense was dreamed up at the back end of the last century, when joyriding became immensely popular with the chavs and pikies that infest the housing projects of this green and pleasant land.

Since the car was invariably abandoned after the fun was over, the prosecutor could not show that there was an intent to permanently deprive the owner of his property, hence , no theft ocurred.

The Twoc law was introduced so that the fun-loving and excitable rascals who joyride could be charged with a more serious crime than merely busting a car door lock.

T&M.

EULAs are licenses, not contracts. There's a real difference.

You're the one spreading FUD dipshit! I never once mentioned "contract" so your whole comment is pointless. I mentioned "contractual clauses" as in parts of a legal agreement, which is what a "license" is.

(I'm pretty sure Webster's Dictionary's trademark has long since passed into a more nebulous place.)

It has. Why, just look it up at Webster's Dictionary!

Vaporware. Microsoft is so famous for it, they are referenced in the definition.

Is there any project for a similiar file system in linux?

The idea itself is a good one.

Vaporware. Microsoft is so famous for it, they are referenced in the definition.

Is there any project for a similiar file system in linux?

The idea itself is a good one.

There is nothing wrong with using the word speed, especially when vonerting everything to time.

Agreed, in this context it is a perfectly cromulent word.

I think I'll stay on the "A console is a fucking computer" side of the fence, thankyou very much.

All the examples you give are places where that surveillance could/would extend into your home (PRIVATE areas) without any due cause. What activities are you doing that are being repressed? What secret police are maintaining control over you? You are in public - public means just that. If you expect to be PRIVATE in a public area you are living in a fairytale world. There are cameras on everything nowadays (street lights for speeders, people's phones, etc.)

If those surveillance cameras start to extend into your homes that is when the problem starts. The Olympics are covering a PUBLIC venue which has been targeted as a high profile event.

Mod parent -1 Pedantic Wanker

"Although the UK does not have a Constitution"

I know this is a bit pedantic, but the UK DOES have a Constitution. According to websters http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/const itution the definition of a Constitution is:

The fundamental, organic law or principles of government of men, embodied in written documents, or implied in the institutions and usages of the country or society; also, a written instrument embodying such organic law, and laying down fundamental rules and principles for the conduct of affairs.

The UK Constitution consists of various legislation and conventions such as the Magna Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Union (with scotland) of 1800....etc

Everyone knows that each electrical component is built with a certain amount of smoke inside of it that makes it work. Let the smoke out, and the thing won't work anymore

It's not just any kind of smoke, but a special kind of smoke developed by several top-secret fabs both here and abroad. The correct techincal term is Magic Smoke , or Blue Smoke .

See websters definition

". The state or quality of being real; actual being or existence of anything, in distinction from mere appearance; fact."

Websters Link

Reality is seperate from appearnce and hence it is not subjective.

...inherantly (sic) simpler, and simpler == stabler (sic).

So you're saying I'm simple? I'm a stabler you insensitive clod!