Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday Mr President

Happy birthday to you

Thanks, Mr President

For all the things you've done

The battles that you've won

The way you deal with U.S. Steel

And our problems by the ton

We thank you so much

Everybody, happy birthday

Hmmm...modded to Troll -1. I suggested lynching a Gungan, and all the Gungan rights activists pounced on me.

+1. If the transportation goes where people need to go when they need to go there, they will use if. If it complicates people's schedules to use public transit and does not compensate in time or money, no one will use it.

I live in Massachusetts, but unfortunately I don't commute into or out of Boston, but along I-495 (one of the major loops around Metro Boston). I've done a lot of homework on public transportation commute options and they all suck. There are lots of train or subway options to get into or out of Boston radially, but nothing directly along the I-495 corridor. Some buses run that route, but they are not cost effective and the schedules don't usually align with my work schedule. I teach so I absolutely have to make it in by class time, so reliability is a problem.

On paper I *could* take trains to where I work, but I'd have to take one into Boston (~1 hr), get off and switch to a different line (~30 min, maybe less, maybe more), and take another train out to my destination (~1 hr 30 min). 6 hrs daily commute by train if I was so inclined. And I'd be at the mercy of the infrequent but not uncommon delays.

My commute by car is 35 minutes one way, all highway. With gas and maintenance (not counting my time), the cost is less than paying the train fare. Ride share options are not great as there are few other businesses near where I work. Bus is an occasionally possible option, but the schedule conflicts with my teaching and the cost is no better than driving myself. Bike is a no-go because of the distance and winter.

I would give away my car in a heartbeat if there was a sensible alternative to get to work, but there simply isn't one.

Just updated to Mint 17.2 and use MATE. Nice - it is a bit snappier. The only aggravation is the start menu still lags on first opening (a "paper cut" issue, but it's been around for a while).

I am a Windows XP EOL refugee that transitioned to Linux Mint last year (but I have used UNIX and Fedora at work for some time). At the time I had no idea what would be the best home desktop distro for me out of all the Linux distros available. Mint with MATE behaves a lot like XP; UI is similar enough that the transition from XP was very painless. I put a lot of different distros on a stick and checked them all out, and Mint/MATE worked for me.

This is one of the bigger problems preventing Linux desktop adoption IMO; there is an overwhelming number of Linux flavors, and very little guidance available as to what are the pros and cons of each, so casual users just suffer on with Windows because it is a simpler decision. Few really want to put in the effort to explore that whole ecosystem to find one that they like (and fewer know that they can even test the variants without installing), so Windows is the default experience.

Every time I see some of these crazy machinations to try to jam more and more people into less and less space, I can't help but think of this diagram:

Description of a Slave Ship

The economic motives are even similar, more bodies per craft = more profit.

We've been through this before. Computers and automation were supposed to decrease everyone's workload. Keynes predicted we would have a 15-hr work week by 2030. It hasn't happened yet, and likely won't, because the bean counters and CEOs will simply see the untapped 25-hr/week as lost potential growth and will do all they can to exploit it to maximizing profits.

We live in a society that demands growth, not steady-state. Trekonomics does not account for the fact that humans are inherently greedy, some so addicted to shiny things that they are willing to struggle to horde so much wealth that they cannot possibly spend it in a lifetime. Until that mentality is erased I wouldn't make extended vacation plans just yet.

Hmm, what kind of herbs ?

Greece owes something like 660 Euros per citizen of the EU for the bailouts to date.

To compensate them, maybe Greece should offer a one-week, all-expenses paid vacation for each of them to ... Greece?

Unlimitied retsina and ouzo allowance, of course.

Greece will be in ruins afterwards, but it already has a lot of ruins.

You go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.

Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu, you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.