US sales tax which doesn't exceed 10% anywhere.

No individual location has a state tax exceeding 10%, but depending on what is being purchased and where it's being purchased, there may be an additional tax beyond just the general sales tax that applies, driving the price up. Local governments usually can add a percent or two to the state rate. Alcohol, tobacco also get a "sin tax" added, as does lodging, transportation rentals, and restaurants pushing them well above 10%.

You're right. Who would think that they were stating facts when they say things that are clearly opinions like "Sometimes the facts are pretty scary."

I think Taiwan has airports. I actually had in mind all those islands that are in territory dispute with Japan. But regardless of which island it is and what country claims that island, they do exist.

Why are they building giant amphibious cargo planes today? Who has that need?

Locations that need cargo quickly but can't be timely serviced by road, rail, or conventional aircraft? Perhaps island communities that don't have space for a runway but need things quicker than what a cargo ship could provide.

He is simply pointing out the great difference between Indiegogo and kickstarter, where in the former if you miss project target funding, you may still keep all funding without delivering anything to funders.

Or in the latter where if you make your project target funding, you may still keep all funding without delivery anything to funders.

No, Windows is definitely not needed or desirable in schools.

And then in 99% of entry level interviews in the Real World, the freshly out of school candidate gets screwed over because while they may be equal in every other way, a job that requires use of Word and Excel is going to take the candidate that has Word and Excel experience over the one that doesn't.

Not saying that it's right or fair, just explaining the reality of the situation. My wife just found a job after looking for the better part of 8 months. It's not entry level, but it's not too far from it. She only had to look at probably a 1000 different job posting at that time an a large percentage of them explicitly stated they were looking for someone with Word/Excel/Office experience. Don't have it? You quickly get moved to the top of the stack in the circular file cabinet.

Exactly. Just tag it with [Citation Needed] and let people know that there's a chance he might not be.

I don't agree that nasal pillows are the solution to all CPAP interface issues. I tried them and preferred a nasal mask to the pillows for overall fit and comfort.

I do agree that custom 3D printing is nonsense to the problem. It would be much like people complaining that one pair of shoes were uncomfortable, and just deciding that 3D printing everyone's shoes to their exact foot is the answer. Or maybe they should just have tried on a different size, width, or style to find a better fit.

My optical insurance covers about $325 for a years supplies of contacts or glasses, and the requisite exam, They don't cover any type of corrective eye surgery. This benefit costs me $24/year which is the combined price for optical/dental coverage.

$24 for contact lens, or $4000 for the average cost for both eyes. While I'd love to not have to wear glasses or contacts, $3952 is a chunk of change with a really long ROI. Even if I split it up one eye across two years so that I can use a flex spending account, that still a lot.

Ironically, there total cost of having me as an employee could be less presuming I stuck around as an employee long enough. But the bean counters don't see it that way. They didn't see it that way either for paying $13k worth of diabetes medicine and supplies every year or a $20k bariatric surgery once.

Even if all the machines were identical top of the line machines, many of the things that was listed as requirements would still apply.

"Spend[ing] a couple bucks" isn't always fiscally possible in a education or non-profit environment which the computing lab is likely a part of.

Finally, given likely limited resources, it likely made a lot more sense to buy more lower end less expensive machines if they could adequately meet the needs of the majority of users while having just a couple of high end machines for those that need them. But they need mechanisms in place to prevent abuse between users and sessions.

I think most people would say that "clean energy" and "renewable energy" are synonymous with one another. Why would you exclude hydroelectric as a clean and/or renewable energy source? When considering ALL forms of clean energy combined, Texas is not first. Not first in total production. Not first in percentage of generation.

If you are going to exclude hydroelectricity generated energy because it's only available in certain parts of the country, shouldn't you also exclude wind generated power since it's only feasible in certain parts of the country too? I'd probably also include solar since the further north you go, the less viable it becomes.

There's major rail lines that crisscross the nation. Anywhere there is an automotive plant they've figured out how to ship any number of large and/or heavy items that are needed in large quantities for the production of automobiles. While there is no doubt that convenient shipping would be advantageous, my guess is that Tesla's investment for transportation of supplies and vehicles would be similar whether it's in Texas, California, or any other place that has developed transportation infrastructure. It's not like they would be paying for a dedicated rail line from wherever their plant will be all the way to a seaport.

What state is the largest producer of clean energy (of any kind)? Hint, it's not Texas.

Building a factory that produces vehicles for nationwide distribution based on the criteria of the ranked production of "clean wind energy" is silly.

Building this factory in Texas would make it harder for politicians to fight "Texas Made" cars.

But that's a REALLY big gamble. While having a massive production plant may give you some extra leverage, once it's built it's not like Tesla will be able to just pack up and leave if they don't get what they want. I guess only time will tell which side wins.

Potatoes weren't introduced to Europe until well after Columbus had died. But it was part of the subsequent Columbian Exchange that did bring them.