Proving once again that NASA hasn't quite gotten out of the '80s yet.

If someone dropped a vintage Hasselblad camera in my back yard and left, I wouldn't be one to complain.

A good alternative to chemical bonding of plastics is ultrasonic welding.

Crimean Special Election Ballot (English Translation):
1. Mark Here_____ if you want to be an notionally 'independent' country that is in a slowly decaying orbit around mother Russia.
2. Mark Here_____ if you really really really want to join Russia now!!!

For as long as Putin and his cronies are in power, the U.S. and the rest of the western world should offer any law-abiding Russian citizen who wants to leave an automatic green card, work permit, etc. We cannot realistically or morally change Russia from the outside. The most powerful weapon against fanaticism would be allowing regular law-abiding Russians to vote with their feet. We could always use some more scientists and engineers anyway...

I did the exact same thing, the last time I bought a new car. (It's been a while) The only harassment was when the "manager" tried to hard sell me a "rust protective coating" and an "electrolytic rust protection" system for around $500 each. I figured I could get those things for less somewhere else. After about ten minutes, he gave up. Later on, did an internet search for both "options" and realized they were just scams to skim off an extra few dollars on top of the deal. The electrolytic system only "works" if the auto were submerged in salt water, something I don't plan on doing. It's not a boat. Glad I said no.

and you can't repeal demographics. The last time the Republicans made this argument, they forgot that their most reliable voting block was retired white males over the age of 65.

It's almost as good as Putin's quote about "local security forces" buying Russian uniforms at any local military surplus store. So in order to protect law and order in my own country, I'm supposed to don the uniform of a foreign country? Now where did I put that old French Foreign Legion ensemble?

Sounds like something out of Superman 3.

"Remember, you must think in Russian..."

Tanks, but no tanks.

...listening to your gut.

We're not at war with Iran, and no sane person in the U.S. or in Iran wants a shooting war. IMHO, what we have here is more of a cold-war style cat and mouse game where each side tries to provoke the other and see how far they can go. Examples being Iran supplying arms to Shiite militias in Iraq, Iran being involved in proxy wars in Syria and Lebanon, taking Americans hostage, and developing a nuclear weapons capability. The U.S. responded with Stuxnet and probably a few other things that we don't know about. In the end it's really about gaining some sort of political bargaining advantage and to have a stronger bargaining position when the time for deal making comes.

Iran is also the regional heavy weight, and they're not a bunch of modern-day spearchuckers as the parent somehow implies. They do have a professional conventional military with semi-modern weapons systems. They also have the ability to maintain, develop and upgrade their weapons systems. The main difference between Iran and the U.S. is that Iran lacks the global logistical capabilities that America brings to the battle field, and the depth that the U.S. has in any fight. The Iranians would lose a conventional battle with the U.S. and both sides know this. Defeating the U.S. in a conventional battle probably isn't a factor in Iran's military planning. They're more focused on regional domination, especially if and when the U.S. pulls out of the middle east. Without the U.S. backing of the Gulf states, Iran would probably be able to defeat any of their neighbors in a conventional war, at least in theory. Without the U.S., the only country in the region that might defeat Iran would be India.

If somehow forced into a conventional fight with the U.S., Iran could, with the right leadership, inflict heavy damage before being defeated. But Iran is a very old country. IMHO, they're playing for time and will poke us at any chance they get. As Sun Tzu once said, "If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by." In more modern terms that is called, "strategic patience."

And those nineteen individuals all used toilet paper. In the name of fighting terrorism and saving the children, I recommend security checks for anyone purchasing toilet paper. We should limit the purchase of toilet paper to two rolls per person per week. We need to institute spot checks to make sure no one is storing more than a two-week supply of the stuff. Manufacturers of bathroom furniture need to change their designs to prevent storing more than three and a half rolls in a "storage appliance". We also need to start various technology projects to use backscatter, sniffing, etc. to be able to quickly check cars and persons for possession of toilet paper. We need a colored alarm system to warn us of anyone having too much toilet paper. Code white, is relatively safe. Code yellow means moderate danger. Code brown means impending attack. Lastly, we need a new federal agency of toilet paper control to coordinate all this stuff, keep us at a permanent code brown, and to think of more ways to keep us safe from ourselves and from the menace of toilet paper.

Not a troll, but a genuine question. If all these devices are connected to AC power, why not some simple protocol over power line? A lot of home automation used some form of RS-232 over power line to control lighting, etc.