Um, yeah, forget what I said about 50:50 in the first case. But I too am having trouble seeing the difference between the first case and the second case.

I wonder if it's possible you mis-stated the problem? If you tell me they have two children and that at least one is a daughter, the tested condition ("both children are girls") comes down to the other child also being a girl, with a probability of 50%. If the other child is a boy, then the condition is not true, and if the other child is a girl, the condition is true. The condition will be true in 50% of the cases. Am I missing something?

Put another way, "In all families with exactly two children, both children will be girls in 50% of families who have at least one girl."

I'm assuming, as you stated, that any given child has an equal chance of being a boy or a girl.

It's good to inform people who don't understand statistics. On the flipside, here are two points for people unfamiliar with security:

1. A broad screening for "terrorists" is not made with the expectation that every person flagged is a terrorist. Rather, it identifies behaviors that make a person worth giving a second look. If properly conducted, the flagged person is not treated or considered a threat during the second or even the third look. The 300 people you mentioned would almost certainly be treated politely and sent on their way (I myself have received a second or third look several times. No problem.)

2. Perhaps the most important purpose of a broad security screening is to discourage criminals from using that avenue in the first place. If I have several dozen potential means of attack, for example, the ones that involve getting a weapon onto an airplane are going to be near the bottom of the list. Not because I can't do it, but because, why bother?

Oh wait...

I guess the crux of our disagreement is whether a netbook makes a "fine e-book reader." As I said, I have both, and I can't imagine reading a book on my netbook. It simply is not suitable for that purpose, in my opinion. I'm not just talking about whether I can read from the screen or not. I'm talking about reading for hours on end, in many different locations and in many different positions and postures, and all types of lighting, with no power cords or downtime during the entire process. In other words...just like a book. But a book that becomes whatever I want to read at the moment.

I do agree, however, that at the current price point, the Kindle and other readers are luxury items. But the issue of price does not mean that another similar item is "just as good."

I have both a netbook and a Kindle, purchased about 30 days apart. They are completely different machines. A netbook does NOT do what a Kindle does.

If I had a paper book that could change its pages to whatever book I wished to read at the moment, I would gladly pay $350 for it.

The "trick" to which you refer is the replication of the book reading experience, which the Kindle and similar do very, very well. The fact that other devices are able to present text that you can read does not even begin to touch the value of a dedicated e-reader, in my opinion.

Why on earth would you want to have a keyboard on an ebook reader?

On the Kindle, the keyboard is used for making notes in your books, entering search terms, and browsing the wireless book store.

A paper book is also a one trick pony, and they've been pretty successful.

I'm 5'10 and 175 pounds. I can easily slip my Kindle in my standard work pants (I wear a coat and tie to work) when I go to the bathroom, so nobody knows I'm catching a read in there.

Originally the EC didn't have to vote with the state!

They still don't. The electors can vote for whomever they wish.

...treat yourself to a stop at Gravelly Point Park, located immediately north of Reagan National Airport (best to depart the airport heading north, rather than trying to reach it by driving south toward the airport.) It's at the end of the runway and directly underneath the landing path (takeoffs are less interesting because the planes are much higher by the time they reach the park.)

Two things to note, other than the extremely low jets directly above you:

- The periodic "air cannon" (my description) used to scare away birds. It goes off every couple minutes. Took me quite a while to figure out what the hell it was.

- A bonus is the wake turbulence that passes overhead about 10 seconds after a plane passes. It sounds like ripping paper.

Dave, I'm going to have to ask you to put the book down.

Dave?

Put the book down, Dave.

I remember a "Simon and Simon" episode (early 80's) that featured a whiz kid with an Apple II Plus. The plot focused on his hacking abilities, but he was also shown playing Raster Blaster. It was one of those self-conscious "Hey, check out this technology" moments. At the time, it was pretty novel to be able to play such a high-fidelity simulation on a home computer. I would love to see that episode again...I'm sure it would be hilarious.

What part of Apple's DRM scheme annoys the tech illiterate? As an upstream post said, people buy a song for $1 at iTunes. It plays on their computer immediately. They put it on their iPod(s) and it plays there too. They burn it to a CD, and it plays there too. Where's the trouble?