As a firefighter, I don't really see what benefit this stuff will really bring to us, given that we're already supposed to be covered completely by our turnout gear. We certainly don't have time to go applying it on the way to a call anyway.

Unless maybe it can be applied to the outside of the turnout gear and make it more heat-reflective?

I got mine through school, but just because I signed up for the co-op program and the lady at the desk just happened to know a certain company was visiting the next week. She put me down for the last available interview slot. I walked in completely unprepared, but wound up with an offer. Upon graduating, I was offered a chance to come back at far better pay than I was being offered anywhere else.

With luck, I'll be able to retire here--I don't think I'' find another job with comparable benefits (especially time off and OT) anywhere else.

That would actually take a good bit more energy than just ejecting it from the solar system entirely.

I'm in the same situation as GP; OT is rare for me, but I do get paid (at regular rate, not 1.5) when I work it. But I'm an aerospace engineer, not a programmer.

I quite willingly and happily work more than nine hours a day (I do ten-hour days). In exchange, I get pretty much every Friday off, so I get three-day weekends 40+ weeks per year. I'll spend that little extra time at work Monday through Thursday (after all, I'm already at work, so the day's mostly shot) so I can have a full extra day off.

You'd have to pay me a lot more just to get me to go to a regular five-eights schedule.

I work 4-10s, 0600-1630. I spend the first two hours doing the administrative/minor stuff, and then I get on to actual work. I still get off at a reasonably early time in the afternoon, leaving time for a workout or other things while it's still light out.

I'm also more of a morning person than most; I'd be up early anyway and would rather just go straight to work than sit around for an hour or two, unable to do something too involved because I'm just going to have to go to work soon (like I would for a "traditional" 0800 or 0900 start).

We also get paid (straight time) for hours over 40, so sometimes I'll come in for a half day or so on Friday. Usually, though, I just enjoy the extra 52 days off every year; staying two hours more at work is a tiny price to pay for that.

Yes, and it has an extended battery too. Doesn't matter what kind of pants I'm wearing.

Pockets are nice because they are accessible, can't be accidentally set down or lost, are harder to steal from, and don't scream "look, I have expensive items!". I carry everything in my pockets.

Who says anyone is "spraying and praying" all over? One shot is one shot, and neither the bullet nor the game animal cares what mechanism cycles the next round into the chamber. Lots of people (myself included) hunt with semiautos, not out of some crazy "must shoot everything in sight" urge, or a need to make up for poor shooting skills, but rather just because we already have one, it works fine, and there's no sense buying another rifle just to hunt.

The AR-10/AR-15 family is actually quite well-suited to hunting use (provided appropriate ammunition is used for the desired game), if you put aside asinine drivel about "spraying lead everywhere". Here's why:

Synthetic stocks are less susceptible to warping due to humidity and temperature changes.

Adjustable stocks (as commonly found on these rifles) make them usable by a wide range of ages and body types. My 6'3" friend and his 5'1" wife can easily use the same rifle to hunt, despite the large disparity in size.

The gas operation and large buffer tube reduce felt recoil, making it more comfortable for small or new shooters.

The placement and operation of the safety mean that it can be operated easily while already sighted on a target, unlike many bolt-action rifles where the safety is high on the receiver, or even on the back of the bolt. The safety can also be left engaged while loading and unloading, helping reduce the chances of accidental firing.

The detachable magazine makes loading and unloading much easier and reduces the chance of dropping cartridges while fumbling with the floorplate of a fixed magazine, or repeatedly cycling rounds through the action. Not only does this improve safety during these evolutions, but people are also more likely to follow safety rules like unloading when crossing ditches or fences, or climing into/out of tree stands.

Clarke's The Star was pretty depressing, as was The City and the Stars.

A magazine-capacity limit makes about as much sense as the TSA restriction on liquids in containers larger than 3.4oz, or a state (NC?) only allowing liquor to be served from the little tiny 1.5oz bottles in an attempt to reduce drunk driving.

I like how it's always 10 rounds that seems to be the magic limit. There's never any kind of sound logical justification behind it, only gut feeling from people who have no idea what they're talking about.

I've printed (and designed) models that get sent to the 3D printer, and are articulated/movable fresh from build (after suitable cleanup), no post-printing assembly required.

The new idea is the "take a character and automatically place/design joints" part.

I tend to stick to high-end PC flight simulators (X-Plane, Orbiter, Falcon, etc.). Detail is crucial in these, not as much just visually as in physics and systems modeling. Being a pilot and aerospace engineer makes errors, omissions, or shortcuts even more glaring.

In Falcon's case, the flight model is numerically accurate, but has some limitations, the aircraft systems are fairly accurate too, but the terrain modeling and large-scale AI engine are very outdated. They've been dressed-up significantly, but it still has the feel of a 1998-vintage program--which it is. I hardly ever mess with it any more because it seems too game-like--I can spot the limitations of the 3D sim engine and where it switches over to the 2D theater-wide engine, I know exactly where the AI's blind spots are and how it reacts to things, etc. Suspension of disbelief is removed.

Unfortunately, I don't know if we'll ever see a military sim with that level of detail again. Getting data on modern equipment is too hard due to classification, developing a believable environment with ground and sea units takes a long time, and a dynamic campaign engine (instead of sets of scripted missions) hasn't been attempted since.

I've realized I don't much care anyway. I've got enough going on in my life that I don't have time for sims any more.

The sad part isn't the time and development cost... it's that we're having to start all over again because we lost and threw away all the work we'd done before.

If the other option is something like "I get killed" or "my wife gets raped", killing the other guy seems like a great option to me...

If you're making more than a couple, the ATF is going to come knocking...