This is almost the same as asking how we are going to transition to a galactic civilization. From the mile-high-view, quit trying to put humans in places where they have trouble surviving for any period of time. You have to port an ecosystem with you and can still lose it all in a single incident. We haven't even conquered our own biome yet (at least not without a number of side effects). Spaceships with humans is not the answer. Everyone born on Earth will likely die on Earth (with rare exception). This isn't wrong or worrisome insofar as there are no good alternatives yet. System wide or interstellar, it's the same problems at different scales. Ain't nobody helping you halfway between neptune and pluto, nor between the stars.

Durable energy storages that are as simple to fabricate as possible, should be at the top of the list for expansion into the solar system. We basically know what materials are available and what energy sources we can play with. We have long-range communication down to the best case for overriding automation, but our computer science doesn't have a lot of science behind software reliability. One result has been that our automata aren't too bright yet. Let's keep working on understanding the mind while bumping up the work on machine learning. Work on genetics for the far-future possibility of launching biological samples interstellar distances (naturally we will test them in our own solar system first, if we get the chance).

> Wouldn't it have been simpler, clearer to write something like:
> In the past 16 years, marathon runners have cut the world record from 2hr 06:23 to 2hr 03:23. But as they get closer to the 2 hour mark, further improvements will
> become progressively harder to achieve.

Maybe the intent would have been clearer to others (it wasn't confusing to me). Either way, I certainly like puzzles and this is /. Having a bit of fun with phrasing, is not clumsy from my perspective. The statement is, simply, clever.

> If some of those laws enable companies to unreasonably stifle free speech then that would be a violation of the first amendment by proxy.

I wish I had +1 for you sir!

> I take it you didn't read the first half of my post. Seriously, this is not a complicated distinction.

I don't agree with the distinction. I stand by my statement. There is only a question of degree and depth of analysis.

> Remember, the entire point I'm trying to make

That's not what you are communicating and obviously not your point, as the majority of what you're saying is trying to convince me that my conclusions are spurious.

> So, not only are you not listening to what those people are saying, you bring out the content-free insults that don't actually address the arguments being discussed.

I abhor the selective application of logic, under the guise of logic and I don't equate that to insults. Cargo-cult (eg Bandwagoning) is not an insult, it's just a behavioral pattern.

Good luck with your efforts to change people's minds about nothing in particular.

> Of course not. That kind of change is totally off topic.

I totally disagree. It's specifically the same. Many companies regularly perform macro/micro experiments (Digg, /. beta, etc), if we are going to call them such. There is only a question of degree and depth of analysis. You should really take up the ethical ramifications of paint colors chosen by market chains to influence human behavior.

> Why is it that people who are supposedly highly educated, experience [observation: your low /. UID] and used to dealing with complex issues have such an insane ignorance with regards to the Common Rule?

The Common Rule does not apply here. The Common Rule is a federal policy regarding Human Subjects Protection that applies to 17 Federal agencies and offices. It does not apply to federal agencies that have not signed the agreement (e.g., Department of Labor, etc.).

> This type of casual dismissal is what I was talking about above

There's nothing objectively special about name-calling it "human experimentation". That doesn't bother me in the slightest, when it's observably false.
Every single person who is offended by this, seems to be on a bandwagon to nowhere. I disagree with your interpretations and you have not added anything to my thoughts, on the matter.

Changing how your website performs text output is not experimenting with users. It's really annoying when /.rs start buying into misnomer. There's no need for consent when I move a button, nor when facebook changes an algorithm. Take a breath and reconsider.

> So high-speed rail is a really good deal.

It was not and still is not.

> move the same number of people by air and highways (4,295 to 4,652 new lane-miles of highway plus 115 new airport gates and 4 new runways)

Those stats are completely made up and are modes of transportation are for orthogonal needs. You aren't going to stop that growth. This kind of quackery estimation is what has landed California in the money pit of the HSR Browndoggle.

> I believe a simpler and more sensible explanation for the roar of the TIE fighters flying through space is that nobody on screen heard them

A long lost recording on PBS, of Lucas speaking at UCLA, is where the theory of the TIE exhaust came up. I watched it as a child. I don't remember if it was Lucas or a student that brought it up...nor can I find a copy of the original recording. Whatever that's worth.

> no one can hear you explode.

Of course they can...if someone is sufficiently close and the shockwave hits a reverberating surface containing an atmosphere that can transmit the resulting sound waves to your auditory sensor. The TIE Fighter sounds were ion streams (from their engines) hitting the hull. That's how close they got to the Falcon!

> She even admitted flat out on twitter to having sex for publicity,

Am I the only one who doesn't think this is wrong?

Prostitution is all but legitimized in modern culture. The social morays have shifted, I feel. Mad Men had an entire subplot dealing with this AS ENTERTAINMENT. This is just a spotlight on what practices are regularly hidden. If not, it's just standard defamation, but I'm not sure why people would be outraged.

Let's hope so.

We have flying cars, they are called helicopters. They are dangerous and appear (to the public) to be notoriously hard to fly...partly because people keep using them as flying cars/platforms.

What's the effect of a strong magnet force on that mix? I'm not very familiar with magnetic properties of most metals, but maybe that could contain the metal or shape it that another process can be applied to fix it in place?

Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheenearned $1.25 million an episode at the end, with his comedy co-star Jon Cryer getting paid $550,000. Hugh Laurie earned $400,000 (£255,000) per ep in season 7.

I'm consistently disappointed by TBBT, so this 1M/ep is rather surprising. Not worth it, other than to rely on a working formula...TV seasons are akin to movie sequels, in this aspect and they have nothing to replace it with.