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Comment Pre-AIM there was FIDOnet (Score 1) 395

Back in the (coughcough) 80s, I remember how exciting it was to dial into a FIDOnet BBS (back when phones actually had dials), post a message to an echomail group, and be able to get an answer within days! All for free, or at least subsidized by the dedicated people who had setup FIDO servers and modems. Everyone who was anyone had a FIDOnet handle. "Wow" I thought! This technology could make the USPS obsolete! Almost as kewl as the fledgling usenet, which required you to have access to that government-run internet thing.

Comment Re:We don't need manufacturing jobs.. (Score 1) 489

If you think about it, this is the biggest outrage of the speech, because America used to make our living by manufacturing. I liked how this sounds, but on further consideration, it feels like we’re conceding manufacturing prowess to other nations. Since manufacturing fuels jobs, that’s a serious problem.

Americans used to make their living by hunting for wild animals with pointed sticks. Things change. The age of American manufacturing is being replaced by a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy. Even now that paradigm, like the assembly line before it, is being outsourced to regions with lower cost of production. Some jobs, like on-site physical construction, food delivery, and some health care, cannot be sent to South Korea, Hyderabad, or Shinzen. It's hard for someone located in a different time zone to repair my roof, flop my whopper, or jam a needle in my arm. The outsourcing of those jobs involves the labor pool moving to the job, not the job moving to the labor pool. I don't see manufacturing as the future of American jobs. The unions had their day in the sun.

Comment Not really a big deal (Score 1) 301

In the grand scheme of things, having to sit 20 rows back instead of 2 is not a big deal. Yea, it offends my self-righteous indignation, but it's not life or death. I don't think prison time is fair for people gaming the system. Our systems are designed for gaming. Our elected officials do it for a living, and what's the punishment? "Censure". On the other hand, I wouldn't protest if the perps were all separated from their reproductive organs by a crazed weasel. I would scalp tickets to that show.
Earth

The Story of My As-Yet-Unverified Impact Crater 250

tetrahedrassface writes "When I was very young, my dad took me on a trip to his parents' farm. He wanted to show me 'The Crater.' We walked a long way through second generation hardwoods and finally stood on the rim of a hole that has no equal in this area. As I grew up, I became more interested in The Crater, and would always tell friends about it. It is roughly 1,200 feet across and 120 feet deep, and has a strange vibe about it. When you walk up to it, you feel like something really big happened here. Either the mother of all caves is down there, or a large object smashed into this place a long, long time ago. I bought aerial photos when I was twelve and later sent images from GIS to a geologist at a local university. He pretty much laughed me out of his office, saying that it was a sinkhole. He did wish me luck, however. It may be sinkhole. Who knows? Last week I borrowed a metal detector and went poking around, and have found the strangest shrapnel pieces I have ever seen. They are composed of a metal that reacts strongly to acids. The largest piece so far reacted with tap water and dish-washing detergent. My second trip today yielded lots of strange new pieces of metal, and hopefully, one day the truth will be known. Backyard science is so much fun. And who knows; if it is indeed a cave, maybe Cerberus resides there."

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