Not only does coffee help prevent prostate cancer, but so does regular masturbation too. A study came out in 2003, and then resurfaced in 2008 and 2010 that men who masturbate regularly can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer by as much as 40%.

So while nearly all men will get prostate cancer if they live long enough, I sure as hell won't!

Starbucks and Kleenex: the path to a long and happy life.

I have Netflix. Most of what I listed is not available for streaming. Thanks though!

GC was awesome! You could record conversations without the knowledge of the other party. The great thing about dealing with larger organizations is they already had a "call may be monitored" disclaimer so I didn't have to. It really did save my bacon once during a dispute with my mortgage broker...I got the rate we agreed on and victory was mine!

I don't think it would work for them at all. There are many majors that require software installation so this wouldn't be the tool of choice. More broadly speaking though, I'm not sure it would work for students in general. I mean, can you print with it? How do you install printer drivers? Will I have to convince all of my professors to accept digital submissions of my work if I can't print? What if they only take Word documents because they aren't tech-savvy that's all they know how to use?

In my mind, there are a lot of questions like these surrounding this device. So the final question is, why not just get a Win7 laptop for basically the same price, fire up Chrome for all the stuff I can do in a web browser, and have the peace of mind knowing I can handle anything else that can't be done in a web browser? I like the *idea* of ChromeOS and it does have many compelling qualities, but I think you would need to build or rebuild your IT infrastructure from the ground up to really make it useful for your students or your employees.

Taking a long-view, perhaps that's what will happen. Organizations might find that they could dramatically reduce their costs if they migrate away from their Microsoft infrastructure and embrace a web-centric IT culture. They probably could but it's such a huge pill to swallow. I think they talked about 'momentum' in Google's Android keynote yesterday. Well, Google doesn't have it in the enterprise and Microsoft does (at least in my org). I don't know what it would take to shift that, but it would be interesting to see it happen.

I'll third this: motion carries!

I've longed for a cable channel or streaming video site that allowed me to view, on demand, the following:

Any episode of these TV shows: Star Trek (all series), Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate (I liked 'em all), BSG (sure both eras, why not), Firefly, etc.
Movies: Star Wars (all 6), Star Trek (40 now?), Blade Runner, Serenity, The Day the Earth Stood Still (original please), old Japanese monster movies, all the comic based flicks, etc.

I'd like to see original programming. There have been many shows that I enjoyed for a season or two only to have them cancelled: Surface, Invasion, Flash Forward, SG-U, Day Break, Firefly (I'll never let it die!) too many to count. Sure they haven't all been great, but they all held my attention and they were all way better than the crap SyFy shows now. Also, I don't need to see a single reality or game show. The only sport on this channel I might watch is Korean StarCraft tournaments!

I think the advertising could be there, but just not through the usual channels. Proctor & Gamble may not pay millions for Ivory Soap commercials, but video game vendors buy commercials for regular TV...a dedicated audience of geeks is their target demographic. Computer hardware and services companies would likely advertise. You could probably pay for the whole thing with advertising from 900 number services...LOL! Yeah, I'm not pushing stereotypes or anything!

Your last line reminds me of something I've wondered for a couple of years now. Why doesn't the company whose server and desktop operating systems and software often found in the enterprise, team up with the company whose handsets are often found in the enterprise? I mean in the wake of iOS and Android's success, I don't see the MS/Nokia deal being enough of a defense...at least not in the US anyway.

BUT, I think a MS/RIM partnership would be HUGE. RIM's security and notification system, MS software and network integration; it'd be a big win for enterprise. I could see many businesses feeling comfortable putting their mobile eggs in that basket. I'm not even a real fan of either company, but I would feel like the mobility needs for my enterprise would have a secure road map for development, infrastructure, and support.

You know, I totally understand this. What I don't understand is if every channel is racing to the middle, then they all have to compete with each other. It would seem this would also reduce the audience numbers for any given channel (SpikeTV vs. Syfy vs. G4 vs. FX vs. whatever else). There are also plenty of channels that would seem to defy this logic like: Discovery: Health, Hallmark Channel, Big Ten Network, Versus, etc. Those guys found a business model that works for their limited audiences.

I know science fiction isn't for everyone, but I gotta believe that with some decent programming they could draw enough of an audience to make it worth it. Then again, maybe the problem isn't the numbers/content, just the numbers watching the content on television vs. getting it through other avenues. I think it would be a reasonable conclusion that many of the people interested in science fiction programming know how to get it online.

We need a Sci-Fi channel that exists only online. A place where I can watch everything Whedon has done, all the Star Trek shows, get classics like Blade Runner or go way back to The Day the Earth Stood Still (original please). That would be my go-to entertainment destination, and since I have an HTPC it wouldn't be a much different experience than my cable box.

Theoretically, as long as all forward progress in HTML was always backward compatible and you never deprecated anything, it probably could be done. In practice, who knows. But that's really the problem because what happens when some new technology becomes available that, for whatever reason, is necessarily not backwards compatible? You just don't implement it? Even though it cures cancer right over the internet?

I think it's a worthwhile thought-experiment to imagine what kinds of technologies could benefit from an organic update methodology. There are probably more than a few that could. I'm not sold that HTML is one of them though.

I keep mine at a 2T WD external USB HD ($100), as well as on my PC's HD. The nice thing is I keep the external connected to the HTPC so I can pull up the photos (or movies, music, etc) in XBMC for my viewing pleasure. I suppose if I really wanted to protect them for a longer period of time, I could back them up to Blu-Ray or DVD...but it's not like those last forever either.

Well, we launched Deep Space 1 in 1998 for a grand total of about $150 million, which is a real victory considering how many untested technologies went into it. It had as many failures as successes, but I think it was well worth it for the price. We learned a metric f-ton and we got to Jupiter in just two or three years. Lumpy is correct, we very likely could build a more state-of-the-art system using ion propulsion that would pass the Voyager craft in a very short time frame.

We spend far more on endeavors that are completely devoid of merit, scientific or otherwise.

So you are going to let TSA staff look at naked images of your children, or feel them up? Dude, you're sick.

Rent a fucking car. Everyone knows it's the journey, not the destination. I'd gladly rather spend 3-4 days driving across the country and showing my kids all the great things to see, than spending an agonizing 3-4 minutes of TSA staff violating my children. Unless traveling on your own, driving is typically less expensive and definitely more rewarding.

Not to mention the fact that until people simply refuse to fly unless it's absolutely necessary, these scanners are here to stay. Just don't say you weren't warned when the body cavity searches start.

Come now, Number One, we must embrace this new future. By positioning the Sahara as the single source of the electricity, I will be able to hold ransom the global energy supply. The world's super powers will fall over themselves to pay my extortion, lest I blast this new facility with my space-based death-ray and bring their economies to a grinding halt.

Now...it's time to feed my piranha.

I already have enough problems with users being unable to distinguish between memory (RAM) and storage (HDD/SSD). I will now have to deal with a type of storage called Racetrack Memory?!

This is only a half-hearted joke. Does this new form of storage/memory obviate the need for RAM by simply allocating one of the racetracks to that type of storage/retrieval?

I just don't understand Microsoft's strategy here. It's like they are trying to reinvent the social aspects of cell phone use, but that is an area in which they have zero experience. I suppose it's a hearts and minds kind of thing, but Elda is right...it's WAY too little and WAY too late.

One area they have a metric f-ton of cache is enterprise, and speaking from experience, enterprise users have been languishing with the outdated, non-innovative Blackberry for years. Even iPhone and Android don't offer an equivalent of the Blackberry Enterprise Server (still wondering why). Microsoft should build a phone OS that leverages the ubiquitous use of their existing technologies (Office, SharePoint, Exchange, etc.). Make it seamless and it then becomes a simple corporate/IT decision: Are my employees more efficient and informed with WinMo7 or BB? Make that answer WinMo7 and they don't have to worry about hearts and minds because who wants to carry two cell phones? They just have to add a little space for user to be a person as well as an employee by allowing the more typical social integrations (app store, web mail, maps, games, etc.) and give at least some control over that stuff to the IT department.

And for the love of any deity you hold holy Microsoft, don't lock out Google apps like search, maps and mail. They're better at that stuff than you and the users already know it. If you prevent the phone from using those apps then the check-signers won't bother looking at your phone because they want to keep in touch with the kids as much as they want to keep in touch with the spreadsheets. Stick to your strengths.

I'd like to respond to these AC's for those who are reading this part of the discussion with interest:

AC1) After the ordeal and due to extenuating circumstances, we had cause to have an attorney contact our cell carrier who then provided transcripts of that child's text messages. Through those, we found several references to suicide, as well as a "final goodbye" an hour before the attempt. My daughter wasn't some emo goth kid, always looking depressed. She seemed outright happy, even more so than usual in the week leading up to her attempt. She had good grades and played violin in the school orchestra. She wasn't an over-achiever or a type-a kind of person; and we aren't the kind of parents that pressure the kids into achievement. We want them to succeed, but be happy and stress-free too. She's just naturally talented, academically.

It's not about spying. Parents have better things to do than read every single text message their kids send out. It is about having tools at your disposal if you think you need them. Kids don't always talk to their parents when things aren't going well, and parents can't make them.

AC2) It is very likely they were already "broken toys" in some respects before they lived with me, but that in no way absolves me of responsibility in terms of how I parent or protect them. Despite my lack of biological input, they are very much "children of my own". Not so much because I say so...because they do. As the youngest once told me on Fathers Day: Anyone can be a father. It takes someone very special to be a dad. I tear up just typing it.

AC3) While I won't stop worrying or caring when they're 18, my role in their lives will be diminished. Once they leave the house, it will be up to them to forge their path and make their decisions. See below.

AC4) I suppose that is the slippery slope isn't it. It's the "Think of the Children" bumper sticker that gets slapped all over everything, and ends up having lasting implications and repercussions for everyone else. I really don't want that either. I think this decision is different for everyone, and different people may come to it at different points (or not at all) given the same set of circumstances. So I guess I'm saying, I won't insist that everyone should read their children's text messages, and in exchange for everyone not telling me what's best for my particular situation. Because if you haven't walked in my shoes, then you really don't have the right. You can try to empathize and see yourself in my situation, but you would be so far from the reality. You just don't know...and really can't know...unless you've gone through it. And if you aren't a parent, while your feelings aren't devoid of merit, you haven't earned a seat at the discussion.

I know what I'm about to say next is total flame-bait for the younger readers. As long as you are a minor, you don't have the same expectation of privacy or freedom as you do when you're an adult. You can expect *some* level, but not total. Not having total freedom is no surprise to anyone living under the heavy mantle of their parents' Stalinist Regime. But privacy? Do parents honestly think their children should not have total privacy? This one does. I want to know where they are, whom they are with, and what they are doing at all times it is possible to know such things. Is it an invasion of privacy? Sure. But it's also being a good parent. I should I add that the level of this microscope was earned by my daughters. They used to have a lot more freedom and privacy. I do have some degree of trust in my daughters, I'm just not gullible. I know they will make mistakes. I know they will get hurt. I don't expect or even want them to be perfect. Happy, healthy, and safe is all I'm looking for. Everything else will be up to them. I wouldn't read their text messages any more than I would read their diary. If I thought their lives were in danger though? They can hate me for the rest of their lives. I'll just be grateful they have a "rest of their lives" in which they can hate me.

As for your bloody revolution? That's not much of a threat. Watching my daughter dying on a hospital bed, that's as real as it gets.

AC5) I have to admit this made me chuckle a bit. Just for your edification, all it takes for me to be the girls' step-father is marriage to their mother. Sex really isn't required. You might be thinking of half-siblings. You are correct about my mistyped used of their/there. I was typing quickly and sometimes I think the fingers move faster than the mind.