I was noticing that the boundaries seem arbitrary. For instance, his area 2 goes from the coast north of San Francisco to the Nevada state line. This area incorporates at least three very different cultures. At the coast, Marin County should really be part of the San Francisco, Silicon Valley area. Heading West through the Central Valley to Sacramento is really a completely different area (primarily farming). Then you get to the Sierra Nevada Range which is a third area which is completely different culturally and economically.

Actually, I think it would be best to just get rid of the Senate completely.
It's totally non-functional due to arcane rules and inherently undemocratic since states like Rhode Island and Wyoming (population less than 1 million) get the same number of senators as large states like New York and California.
A parliamentary system would make for a much more functional government.

I don't really understanding what you are saying.
Most phones will operate without a SIM (wifi and bluetooth connectivity).
If you want access to the cell network, you need a SIM... any SIM will do... preferably pick one from a company that doesn't screw you to badly (in the US, T-mobile or one of the many resellers tend to have the best deal).
Of course, if you bought a SIM-locked phone, you are screwed... Why did you buy a SIM-locked phone?

On several occasions I have tried to get data from researchers. Most of them guard their data jealously and will give any number of excuses for not distributing it, including:
- telling me that I don't have the knowledge or context to properly understand the data
- fear of me stealing their precious, precious secrets
- fear of me "misrepresenting" the data
- (unspoken) fear of me finding problems with their data or analysis
Unfortunately, most researchers live in a very closed, secretive world and fear exposure. It's unusual for them to allow access to their data. They would just as soon destroy the data and have only their published paper persist as the record of their research.
Drug research studies are a special case where the FDA has mandated that the data from all studies (not just the ones that have "good" results) be published and available but pharma routinely ignores this rule.

The Garmin Forerunner series is a selection of sport watches...
These don't do anything for the way we drive, navigate or find restaurants.

It's not for your phone. You can keep your SIM.

I agree. The discussion would have been much shorter and a lot more intelligent if people hadn't felt the need to rage about "prying my SIM from my cold dead hand".

Your hardware lock would negate the advantage of the embedded SIM design. The reason for embedded SIM is that you can remotely change the carrier, phone#, etc. without having to physically access the device. This is intended for use in devices such as cars, machinery, etc. It is not intended for use in your phone (most people here seem to have missed that little detail). If you have to physically access the device to flip a hardware lock, you might as well just use a regular SIM.

Listen. Don't talk.

There are lots of anecdotal stories floating around and being touted as "evidence" for and against ACA.
FWIT, my personal experience is that for my family, I can get better insurance (better list of doctors and hospitals, lower deductibles, lower cost) under ACA than I had before under my old policy which was cancelled because it was not ACA compliant. YMMV
It will take at least a few months to get the actual results sorted out.
A lot of the people who had very cheap insurance which was cancelled had "hospital gown" policies (which means that their ass wasn't covered). Others could prove that they were "healthy" and could show that they didn't need insurance.
The big win is for people who couldn't get insurance or who had very expensive policies. They will be able to get affordable insurance under ACA since the scumbag insurance companies can't refuse to insure them. Also, a lot of people who have very low income and couldn't afford insurance can now get subsidies and can buy insurance... a big win for them.

So... blame your cheapass company for dropping your insurance coverage.
They didn't have to buy you a "cadillac" policy... they could have bought you a regular policy but they are using the "blame it on Obamacare" excuse for screwing you.