I can't believe no one has brought this up yet - from IMDB: "William Shatner spoofs/punks a whole midwestern town, (Riverside, Iowa, aka: the birth place of his Star Trek character, Captain Kirk) who think he is in town to shoot a big-budget, action-adventure film." A definite must-see for Shatner fans!

If you're in a car under the "bus," wouldn't you get a sense of vertigo from the bus frame moving slower or faster than the road surface and surrounding scenery? That seems like the *biggest* problem to me.

Alcohol = kills brain cells.
Sex makes you smarter.

No loss, no gain!

Wait, are you saying we haven't rebuilt New Orleans because we *don't know how*?

That is patently false. New Orleans isn't getting rebuilt because no one wants to live there. Likewise, new home sales have crashed not because we lack a knowledgeable workforce, but because *no one is buying.*

Beep beep - it's the Surprised Bus!

There are all kinds of technical and vocational schools - realize that fundementally, this is a discussion about education vs. training. I don't know about where you're located, but in the Minneapolis area, some training/vocational schools include:

Dunwoody
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities (MNSCU - NOT part of the University of Minnesota system)
Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute
MN School of Business
Normandale Community College
Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Metropolitan State University
North Hennepin Community College
Hennepin Technical College
Inver Hills Community College
Dakota County Technical College ...and I know I'm leaving several out.

If it's EDUCATION you want (to be well-rounded, in other words), there's:
Macalaster
St. Thomas
University of Minnesota
Augsberg
Bethel
Hamline ...and so on.

These schools exist. They're not hard to find.

Roundabouts, roundabouts, roundabouts.

You'd swallowed "green" message hook, line, and sinker: "Upgrade technology, don't bother conserving." For one, I schedule my thermostat to turn down FROM 68F to 58F. Every night. In Minnesota. In the winter. It can be done, it saves real money, and it saves real energy. Does it mean I've saved the USA from having to buy natural gas? No, but it's an incremental savings, and if more people did it (like yourself), our consumption would drop dramatically. I work for a Fortune 500 company as an Energy Training Specialist. We are currently in the process of nearly rebranding the company to emphasis "Energy/Green/Sustainability" initiatives. The reality is - we specialize in HVAC controls and energy use off-sets. We specialize in saving people money by reduced energy use. One pilot project at a school has saved $200,000 by using controls (room sensors to shut off lights, scheduling the HVAC system to shut down at night and during breaks, etc, turning off vending machines) and behavior change (getting teachers to turn off unused computers, shutting of classroom lights during lunch, etc). AND ONLY 50% OF THE MECHANICAL CONTROLS ARE INSTALLED. They could easily saving another $200k when all is said and done. That $200k in savings has allowed the school district to keep an elementary school *open*. The district was going to close the school. These kinds of conservation measures and controls can be implemented in every school, hospital, government and commercial building around the world. We have other contracts where we save companies MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year in energy use. You said "There simply isn't enough "waste" to make conservation a workable plan for fulfilling our future energy needs" to which I say "You are ignorant about this topic.' You're subscribing to a life of energy gluttony. It's too bad that conservation has turned into a dirty word.

Not complete true. Minnesota has had a moratorium (a "ban" if you will) on new nuclear power plants for 15 years. If it's against the law to build it, credit is the least of your worries.

Not sure about other states.

kdawson posts the stupidest stories on /. I'm going to categorically skip anything posted.

I'd like to point you all to the Titan I Epitaph website: http://www.chromehooves.net/Titan_Epitaph_main.htm . It's 2 parts urban exploring, 2 parts history, and a surprising amount of original technical documentation (including a "guidebook for the planning, construction, phasing, systems integration, installation and checkout, turnover and activation of the operational Titan I complexes and their support facilities"). If you've got an afternoon to waste, you won't be disappointed.

"But they are a working tool - and they get the job done. It's difficult to argue against something that, so far, seems to work." What is it, exactly, that they get done? And how do you know it works? You're turning a blind eye to a government agency with a huge amount of power that is performing illegal surveillance. I'm not nearly as trusting as you are...

" The software opens up the possibility that brass instruments could be customized more closely to the needs of individual players in the future -- catering more closely to the differing needs of jazz, classical and other players all over the world."

Please. This has been the case for years! As someone who has played a brass instrument for 18 years, I can authoritatively tell you that there are already significant differences between a trombone made for jazz music, classical music, and beginning players, to list only a few categories. As far as "customized," Edwards Trombones http://www.edwards-instruments.com/index.shtml can heavily customize an instrument to the player - having played one, I can tell you specifically how my embouchure differed from the owner of the horn. Leadpipe, bell flare, material, even the finish can be customized and predictably constructed to match the player. This is not a "new" concept based on a history professor with a computer - this is an extension of the tradition and history of instrument-making.

"I'm sorry, Watson. Your answer must be in the form of a question."

Geez you nitwit - it's the equivalent of Libraries of Congress per parsec!