Just over a month ago, Steam has a sale on some very big games, like Wolfenstein: New Order and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. (maybe it's all the colons that take up the space.

It doesn't take too many games at over 20gig each, along with Netflix for the wife and streaming music before you're knocking on 150gig.

Why in the world the Wolfenstein game came out to over 40 gig I'll never know, but sure enough, for the first time I got the email from AT&T that I was at 90% of my limit. Fortunately, it was two days before the billing cycle rolled over, so I didn't have to pay.

I quite likely have, but I am not so crass as to go around asking random strangers in the gym what their orientation is.

This is why I love Slashdot. I discussion of internet overcharging and ATM encapsulation quickly pivots to the etiquette of showering with gay men at the gym.

Honestly, I love each and every one of you. In a purely platonic way, of course, though given enough vodka and grapefruit juice, who knows?.

That's it. I'm definitely not going into space.

NASA, please take my name off the list. I've changed my mind.

All Red Dwarf proves -- again -- is that the English have really low standards when it comes to comedy. Ok, you did produce Python, admittedly some of the best comedy ever, but it appears that was a fluke. You're responsible for Dr. Who, and I'll never, ever forgive you for that.

You *do* realize that the equatorial zone is generally tropical, wet as heck, and quite a bit warmer than everywhere else, yes? And that plants thrive on CO2?

Doesn't follow that making it warmer will make it drier. That doesn't seem to be how it works. Drier happens when water sources go away. There's no reasonable postulate for that which would apply to most equatorial regions.

Nah, it's almost certain to be big cats. Perfect apex predators. They can deal with heat, cold, wind; they can kill anything, climb like crazy, swim, they're fast as hell, stronger than just about anything, they instinctively use available terrain features for cover and shelter, they come equipped with deadly weapons, and they're very smart and wily. Common mutations already include thumbs and other extra digits, and they have a short enough breeding and maturation cycle that populations can recover in a very short time span, given only that mankind isn't around to defeat them using already developed technology.

Is it sane, given foreknowledge of your own demise and the power to avert it, to charge full-steam-ahead toward that demise

It's not my demise; it is the demise of others, sometime in the future. I fully expect to live out the rest of my life comfortably. I rather suspect that's the same set of conditions you face when you describe these worst case scenarios to others. Some of us are sensitive to the woes of future persons, some of us are not. But it's always at least one step removed from today's reality.

In the USA, just look at the number of people who would let the financially low performing suffer the slings and arrows of disease and injury without any particular concern or guilt; you can measure that directly by the resistance to the ACA, which remains substantial, even though it's working out pretty well if you actually take the time to look at the numbers. When people don't concern themselves with the other people in town, who are there and suffering right now, isn't it a bit optimistic to expect them to concern themselves with some abstract, unknown set of people who will exist after most of them have died anyway?

You're better off looking to technology to solve this than compassionate outlooks among the citizenry.

I'm going to go back to watching the news now, where I can learn more about us shooting up Afghanistan for no particular reason other than to prop up our MI complex, as we've kind of worn out Iraq now. You know, because we care. We'd be in Africa "helping" them too, you know, if we needed more income. I'm sure their day will come, though. Both Africa and South America are deep future market resources for our weapons manufacturers. Caring. It's what we do!

I'd expect massive droughts in the equatorial zones

Why? Equatorial zones have a great deal of ocean water, which certainly isn't going to change. That water will evaporate faster, the atmosphere will contain more humidity, and therefore there will be more precipitation, if the average temperature is up a few degrees C. How does that constitute the precursors for anticipating equatorial droughts?

I can see marginal areas (US midwest, for instance) baking off the little bit of moisture they have and not reaching any threshold of precipitation, followed by dustbowls and so on, but at the equator? Why would droughts happen there?

Proposed by those the people of OHIO voted for.

Which may be sufficient to see them ousted next time around, Ohio not being a particularly ignorant state as our states go. Here in the US, politicians think that they have to be religious to be elected (and they may still be right about that) but generally speaking, they aren't controlled by this when in office (look to corporations and the money stream for that.)

In the interim, it's worth keeping in mind the degree of scientific and technological progress that's come out of the USA.

We're not all superstitious wankers, though I can see why it might seem that way sometimes.

The problem with solar is that it requires an upfront investment that pays back over a long term but does not significantly increase the value of your home.

It may surprise you, but some people buy homes to live in them. Not to flip in 3 years for a profit.

And I don't believe there's enough data in various markets to know whether or not solar panels would increase the value of a house more than their installation price (which is coming down, by the way).

Sure they do. Corporatist Democrats play for the same team of rich elitists than Corporatist Republicans. Why do you think that no matter what else happens to the economy, the bankers always get their dough? No matter what happens to the economy, Wall Street gets taken care of first.

And no banker ever goes to jail.

Will you pay more?

Pay more for what? Dedicated servers? They had that figured out more than 10 years ago. How much more do you think it would cost to add dedicated servers to a game today? And yes, if people would pay $19.99 for some DLC that gives your character new hats, I'm pretty sure they'd pay for dedicated servers.

The reason they are not included is because Sony is so scared that there might be some kid in Slovenia playing a pirated version of their game. Not that the kid would actually ever pay for a Sony game, but they are outraged that there is a nickel in some kid's pocket that doesn't belong to them.

LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

2-3 times per week usually its for SEO placement in google. I accept the call and wait for the person to start talking. Just as they do I say "Google Canada, how may I help you?" Then usally I hear "What" "Ummm" "Shuffle" and a "Sorry what was that" and I say "You reached Google Canada, how may I help you"? Then slience.... and they hang up fast

A few times ago the girl sound hot so I decided to be nasty. I said "Hold on let me ask you this. Do you take it in the ass?" There some silence there. So I say "So I can assume that since you haven't hung up yet that, that is a yes?" I can hear people in the background as she still hasn't hung up the phone whlle I proceeded to tell her I'll buy the service if she takes it in the ass. After a bit she hung up.

But yes, I'm sure that a legal attribute totally affects the digestibility.

For me, it does. Monsanto owning a license on a basic foodstuff makes me sick.

The idea of any corporation owning a license on the idea of a basic foodstuff makes me sick. That's something I just cannot digest.

And I can't imagine how improving food production will prevent hunger,

You don't know the story of "Golden Rice", do you?