I'm not worried about some internet group getting into the systems remotely. A Stuxnet-type attack is definitely possible, but smart protocols (no unauthorized electronics, thumb drives, etc. on site) will make this very hard. Someone will eventually goof up, but even then there are so many overrides that executing a safe shutdown is possible even if the control systems are hacked.

I think a physical on-site attack is far more probable and worrisome (terrorists with guns taking control of a plant). There is a lot of security around U.S. plants these days, but a whole lot of complacency has built up since 9/11 and a few thousand days of nothing happening takes a toll. 20 well-armed jihadis ready to give their all for Allah and their 72 virgins could probably get into a plant. What they could do from there, who knows. Simply getting into a containment and draining a reactor pool would be pretty bad if there was a significant amount of fuel stored (which is the case in a lot of old plants) but containable. They would have to figure out how to shut down and/or disable a lot of safety controls to do anything serious. The plant itself would fight them pretty hard. If they got physical access to the containment and tried to blow up stuff, could be bad but likely containable. PWRs have systems to cope with large break loss-of-coolant accidents, which is pretty much a massive steam explosion and loss of core cooling, as bad as things get.

I honestly don't think terrorists could do anything that would cause anything worse than contained damage and contamination, nothing that would harm the neighbors. However, given the FUD already circulating about nuclear power (yeah, I'm looking at you Mr. Burne) I think it would be enough for them to just take the plant and then sit around drinking coffee. Even if they did no damage at all to the plant, got mowed down by the good guys in 10 minutes, the simple act would have the world shitting bricks. And that is what terrorism is all about, stirring up unaccountable fear.

Cost to get $1 metal wrench to space station: $10,000-$20,000. Oh, and you have to wait until the next launch, which might be weeks off. Developing a capability to make your own tools in space: priceless.

If you know you are limited to a certain material, in some instances you can modify the part design to do the intended job with that material. In some instances you absolutely need a certain surface hardness or thermal properties or whatever which prevents this. But you can redesign a wrench for requisite stiffness and strength, it just won't look like a steel wrench and might be too bulky and unwieldy to use in certain places.

Having worked in the field, I need to call bullshit on this. Umm, yeah, the China Syndrome was fiction . And yes, while many active reactors were designed, built, and initially certified (FTFW) in the 60's and 70's, they have all undertaken numerous upgrades and safety improvements since.

Hollywood and Reality are two different things (hard to tell in the U.S., but it's true!). Nuclear operators have to work very damned hard and jump through a lot of hoops to demonstrate that their plants are safe to operate. Dealing with FUD dispensed by people who think they know it all because they watched it in a movie is the reason nuclear power is so expensive relative to other alternatives. But you can spout your ignorance some more if you would like; it's a free country I'm told.

These ships are not cheap to maintain, even in museum status. The battleship U.S.S. Massachusetts, berthed at Battleship Cove, costs over $1M per year to keep in presentable and safe condition for tourists, keep the lights and ventilation on, etc.., and that doesn't count the significant volunteer work that is done for free.The pier built for it was something over $10M IIRC. That's all for a ship that doesn't go anywhere anymore. It just sits and floats. I believe Battleship Cove was offered the U.S.S. JFK (Enterprise(?) class nuclear carrier), but they simply could not afford to build the proper pier structure for a ship of that size, never mind the annual upkeep.

Just sitting in the water takes a big toll on these vessels. They need hull maintenance and paint regularly. Their hulls wear thin over the years due to corrosion, and periodic corrosion removal and repainting. If you just left them to the weather and never maintained the hulls they'd probably rot through and sink in a few decades.

So we should be racing for Frist Mod! instead?

It is the same nation that gave us George Orwell. Sadly they seem to have taken 1984 to be an instruction manual vs. a work of fiction.

Sure, cameras cut down on the use of force by the police.

It also cuts down on the incidence rate of perpetrators claiming they got roughed up by the police in an attempt to get out of their charges.

Dude, what do you think Slashdot is for?

Lucky bastard; I have the choice of Comcast or...Comcast. How the fuck is this not a monopoly, again?

...is that enough people will pay to see them to make them look like a good idea. CGI shiny all over, not a hint of story.

Mel Brooks FTW

Star Trek, Star Wars, The Hobbit...all potentially great story lines, but all dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, with meaningful story replaced with CGI and endless fight scenes. Each show in the original series had more plot than any of these movies. I saw about 20 minutes of the last Trek movie for free at my friends house, and I have to say that I'd probably refuse a free showing of it again.

And the movie producers wonder why they are fighting such a battle to prevent piracy? The reason is that the perceived content in these movies has an assigned monetary value of $0 by most consumers. I haven't been to a movie theater in maybe 15 years - there is simply nothing coming out of Hollywood worth the cost and effort. My DVD player has been collecting dust for years as well, as nothing now even warrants purchasing or renting a DVD.

Maybe those 14 articles were cited more because they weren't buried under the paywalls imposed by the three "elite" journals? Scientists could actually get their eyes on these articles without paying a steep subscription or per unit cost?

Maybe the elite journals actually hinder the exchange of information and ideas that science needs to move forward? Nah! Can't be!

For the size of the asteroids they are considering, the response would be similar to that of of a nuclear strike, without the radiation. For ones the size of Chixulub, I think the plan should be to party like it was the end of the world.