In ancient times, Silex was a brand of vacuum coffee maker, a glass contraption that my parents used.

I was in a hospital ER recently that had several "atomic" clocks on the wall, and they showed times that were off by several minutes from each other and the correct time.

Pardon my paranoia, but what if one's employer's scanning device keeps a copy of what you scan or fax?

But corporations are people too!

The main user would have to keep his/her head properly aligned. Sounds uncomfortable.

in Schenectady, not far from RPI. A small college with engineering since the early 1800's.

Feel free to set your own clock to any time you want -- or turn it off since your personal time zone won't matter to anyone else.

The FTC are serious people, and this is a staff job, so he doesn't have to be confirmed by the Senate.

"The way we think" is more fundamental than even the calculus level. Basic algebra and geometry bridge the gap between collections of memorized facts and a systematic way of formulating problems.

My employer blocks the Firefox install and update sites. The want us to use only their outdated and crippled version, which is "approved" but not "supported".

My employer blocks access to Google Docs.

Just a slight risk of being struck by lightning.

Same problem for me, and the gradients between the far, medium and near parts of the lens made too much of it blurry, which made it particularly tough to find the right view in dim light. My optometrist took them back and gave me lined trifocals. I also got a pair of bifocals with the medium and near focus that is great for computer use. I can sit at my desk and see most everything I need.

How tall does this rack have to be?

As a reader of a newspaper, his "customer relationship" is Not My Problem. I do not choose to be the target of marketers' "customer management" fantasies.