Thanks for the tip about the Mill CPU!! People have been bitching about how Slashdot has gone down the shitter since I was in High School (~2002). There has always been a variable signal to noise ratio, but the signal has consistently proven to be worthwhile enough to come back. Case in point: this.

http://millcomputing.com/docs/belt/

...or if it didn't get billions of dollars of US aid....

It has? We must be getting our news from two vastly different sources.

I also didn't say "millions" because I desperately hope it not to be true, but based on where this is happening it isn't impossible.

The fact that these cities contain millions of people in deplorable conditions before Ebola even touched it.

The symptoms include severe diarrhea and vomiting. There is little to no sewage system in these cities. Where do you think it's all going?

This pandemic is almost certainly worse than it seems. For every reported case there are now likely a dozen unreported.

I have a feeling that all this effort from the US and others is to make the folks back home feel safer in that we are 'doing something'. In all likelihood the only thing that'll stop the spread at this point is stricter quarantine around the infected countries(!). Refugees would need to go into quarantine to make sure they are not carrying the disease.

This disease, and the corresponding collapse of infrastructure, will likely kill hundreds of thousands of people before its over.

I hope I'm wrong.

Scrapping the entire car? No way! The chassis, interior, and motors will still likely be in great shape. Electric motors have a WAY longer lifespan than reciprocating engines. If anything, replacing the battery every 5-10 years or so should be seen as a good thing. The tech will have improved, so your range for the same car will improve accordingly. While the battery may no longer be good for electric car demands, they can still live a long life for grid smoothing or surplus renewable power storage.

Calling Palestine Israel's neighbor is like calling the inmates in the prison down the road my neighbors. Palestinians are in a walled-in open-air jail. Israel certainly can and do make sure they are the more powerful of the two.

You never kill only terrorists. For every innocent person/woman/child that gets killed....(see above)

For every one you kill two will take their place. Your philosophy breeds terrorism instead of extinguishing it.

How has that approach been working out for Israel? Thought so.

Compare computers in 1979 to now. You don't think that safety mechanisms *might* have improved just a bit in that timespan?

Yes yes, but what about our bacteriome? Surely that is waay easier to genetically modify and have those modifications spread quickly throughout your body...

And if anything goes wrong, some antibiotics should help to clear up your mistake...hopefully.

You typically don't swing a gun right up to the moment of firing. Guns would be: Swing, Steady (aim), FIRE. Hammers would be: Swing, FIRE.

Mod anon up!

Also don't forget the fact that these floating cities are *nuclear*. They only need to be refueled once every 20 years. Running full speed ahead for weeks on end does not shorten this span. Its speed is limited by the other diesel ships in the carrier group though.

There have been some recent advances in catalytic fuels research that can take sea water and create jet fuel. With the nuke onboard all spare energy that would normally be unused could go towards creating fuel. Nothing is close to 'prime time' yet, at least not publicly.

I'm with you on everything up until " I'm pointing back to first principles of SMALLER government and PERSONAL responsibility. "

That's all well and good, and should definitely be a goal for all. However...what do you think we should do with those who will fail the 'personal responsibility test'? This is where conservatives start mumbling. Most seem to be of the opinion 'Fuck off and die'.

That's where I differ. I'm all for personal liberty and all that, but I also realize that there will be people who will fail that test and end up destitute, homeless, a danger to themselves and others. Instead of letting stay homeless I think we should have a decent social safety net including housing, rehab centers, etc. I'm even for the creation of boarding schools for kids who live in horrible situations where it's clear the 'parent' is their largest impediment to a successful life.

Where would we get the money for this? How about the plutocracy (the .01%)?