Wait...they are bringing firefly back?? Are you serious? I cannot wait!! Finally I have something to look forward to.

So true. I wish MS could more like Apple. oh wait...

Wait..what?
What is the purpose of living things? Most people would say that staying alive (self preservation) and reproduction of your genes.

I would say that a 2014 man, alive in the year 3000 and still reproducing has a wildly successful genome. Newer does not always mean better.

Yup, that's right. Our next car will be an electric. Even here in Germany, where electricity is WAY more expensive than in the US.

However, for us, it is perfect. My wife works only 2 miles from home and I work 12 miles from home. My house, which has a simple A-frame style roof which faces North/south. On the south side, I have 1/2 solar electric cells which bring me money from the grid and the other 1/2 is hot water cells which has reduced my oil usage by 50%.
Both of our current cars are diesel, which as you know are really bad for driving short distances. Especially since they have particulate filters. It would great to charge up once every couple weeks. I just hope the battery tech lets them last a long time.

We just pump out something cheap and easy to store, then make it.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

If they are not really cops, that means that a private citizen is attacking me. Therefore, I am within my rights to use deadly force to protect my life, right?

You are basically correct that there are only a couple ways to get hygrogen on an industrial scale. There are of course some very promising new methods, but these are only working in the lab so far.

You also say, "Electrolysis is extremely inefficient. You loos about 50% of the electrical energy you put into this process.".
This is totally correct. However, does it really matter?
If I use coal or gas to create the the power, then sure it does. A lot. But what if we used something else to create the power?
What if we parked 100 square miles of solar reflectors and molten salt towers in Nevada? These type of plants generate loads of power. I could imagine to use them just to power hydrogen production. Then we do not even have to care that they only work in the day. Hell, we don't even have the problem of pollution generated from making solar power cell, since these are just mirrors. Other than keeping it clean, the power production is super cheap, so who cares if we waste half of it to make another fuel for cars which is way cleaner to use than gas?
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I disagree with your post.

Decades ago, Unions were needed to protect workers rights. It was more about the overall working conditions and oppression of the work force. Company stores, unsafe conditions, no paid time off. Things like that.
In those days, our benevolent government did not regulate working conditions or a minimum wage. Thus, the Unions were needed to protect us from shady owners.

For a long time, this has not been true. The unions have become simply a tool for extracting more money from a company and going primarily into the hands the unions versus the workers. Unions routinely demand ridiculous wages for low skilled employment.
Think about the MASSIVE economic damage that the unions have done and are still doing.
Just this week in France, the baggage guys went on strike. It estimated to have caused more than a billion € in damage to the EU economy.
Do these asshole have the right to take money from my pocket because they do not like their job?? I should suffer because they feel they need 25€/hr to put a fucking bag on a trolley?
Think back to the 70's and 80's in the UK. The unions single-handedly destroyed the UK automotive production industry.
Same in the US.
GM, Ford, Chrysler. None of them were able to compete with foriegn car companies because of the unions. What? You need an extra run of cars? Well, we need triple time pay for that. We need at least 80 bucks an hour to stick a fucking screw into a hole.
Because of unions, it is not even possible to keep an excellent new teacher and fire a terrible old teacher simply because she has been there for 15 years. It doesnt matter if she knows how to teach or not.
No, the net impact of unions in this day and age, is negative.

Patents, in their current state are certainly vastly more harmful to both consumers and industry then they are helpful. As such, having no patents would be more beneficial.
Patents were NEVER intended to be used the way they are now. The intention was simply give the inventor a short time period in which to bring his product to the market before everyone could copy it.
I would think a blanket restriction of two years is enough. Not from time to market, but from time of filing. This will prevent patents for ideas. Only a product should be able to hold a patent. Not a process or an idea.
Not a slide to unlock to a bounce scroll. These things are destroying the global economy and destroying innovation.

Specifically, learn about America's adherence to IP after WW2. Protip. They didn't recognize it at all! In fact, WW2 machinery production coupled with the Americas unwillingness to recognize the IP of other countries is what allowed America to become a super power.

On the other hand, with a history like that, one would think America could see that all the blanket IP crap is good for no one.

Maybe they should consider getting all of the various other areas they "oversee" under control before they start trying to expand their power even further.

Do not forget that there were several extinction level events here on earth, spanning millions of years.

So it is not the case that it took so long for us to "evolve". It was just a case of luck that nature wiped out the last owners for us. Who is to say how the original higher life forms on earth would have evolved had they not been wiped out so many millions of years ago.

Of course, we do not know if it is true or not, but "they" think that life started very quickly after the conditions of the planet were conducive. I expect the same is true on any planet.

I call bullshit. (not to you personally, but the idea)
Money is NOT the issue. It has nothing at all to do with the problem.

The problem, my dear fellows, is accountability. Mainly the fact that the US in a general sense, has none. There are zero consequences for these guys when they break the law. In fact, there is only incentive for them to do it.

The answer? Simple.
Public service should be considered public service, regardless whether you "join" the military or attempt to "join" the congress. What happens in the military if you do something which is intentionally against the interest of your country? Best case, you are kicked out with a dishonorable discharge. Worst case, you're shot in the head.

Why should congress be different? They are in much more of a position to harm the entire country than a soldier. Yet, they do not swear allegiance. They are not required to live by any code? Why?
Why are these ass hats allowed to literally destroy America and yet nothing happens.

They should be made to live according to the UCMJ. When they fuck up, they are out. When the fuck up on purpose for money are power, they are shot.

I don't think it is any of those things.

I think it is much more basic than that.
What do police do all day long? They drive around watching people and waiting for you to make a mistake. To break a rule. Then they pounce. Sometimes with the force of a 1000 suns.
I believe this has the effect of creating a "us vs them" mentality both with the police and the general population. Once the police are able to view the general population as their enemy / prey, it is second nature to do things against their interest.

It is just like with politics. People are part of a political "team" and they need to beat the other team. It doesn't matter that it is actually against your self interest because there is no need to think about it. There is only the need to win.

I was going to mod you up, but I can see others have taken care of that for me.

I say more or less what you have just written to people all the time and I would encourage others to do the same. Just look at all the nonsense which is posted on FB for example. I try to explain to these people that it makes no difference at all who is elected. They are all the same person. It is only a question of which industry group is pulling the strings.
The USA and NOT a democracy. It has be proven scientifically. Look to the recent paper published by Princeton. http://www.princeton.edu/~mgil...

Look to history people. It is a very rare thing indeed for an entrenched ruling class to be tossed out without blood in the street. The worst part is, the ones fighting you back are your brothers and neighbors who the ruling class have tricked into dieing to keep them in power, even though it is clearly not in their long term interest.

I have no idea what the real solution is, but I hope someone smarter than me can come up with something.