We also had CD "longboxes" in Canada from the mid-'80s to the early '90s. Most of them displayed the expanded version of the jewel case cover art and some had slightly larger booklets and extras (such as posters). Nowadays, I hear that these things are collectible because of the expanded artwork and bonus inserts.

As for why the longboxes were developed in the first place, qubezz already mentioned one reason (i.e. re-using the old LP bins to hold two longboxes side by side). The other reason was that unpackaged CDs were easy to shoplift. The 12" longboxes made it just that much harder to stuff in a jacket pocket or down one's pants.

I've given the platters to my girl fiend as purse mirrors.

Yeah, when I first started going out with my girl, she was just a mere fiend, too.
But, after we got married, that's when she morphed into a Greater Demon.


(just kidding, honey!)

I was feeling optimistic, as well... until I learned that my uncle is missing. He lives (lived?) in Sendai.

As one might expect, my point of view changed drastically when things became personal.

Actually, yes, on purpose. Ten miles from my house, a 4 year old got angry with a babysitter because the babysitter wouldn't let him/her do something. The toddler went to the closet, opened it, grabbed an unloaded SHOTGUN, picked up the shells and LOADED IT, then proceeded to walk over to the babysitter and shoot him to death.

Just curious... Are you referring to this incident that occurred in Jackson, Ohio? In that case, there were no fatalities. Just some minor pellet wounds for the babysitter and a bystander.

As for the child, he definitely showed that he had fairly advanced fine motor skills and was able to display excellent memory recall (either through learning by repetition or by watching adults). However, he wasn't able to distinguish between a real firearm and a toy gun, and probably didn't appreciate the difference (or consequences). He also didn't exhibit much planning ability. The whole thing was pretty spur-of-the-moment.

This is fairly normal development for kids in the four-year old range. It's right at that transitory area between two of Piaget's stages: pre-operational vs. concrete operations. At that age, kids are already physically able to do some fairly complex things, but are only beginning to understand the consequences of negative actions and concepts. I think most people have noticed that this is around the age when kids begin to actively lie, bully, cheat, etc. So, it's hard to say what his motive was, other than to express his disapproval with the babysitter.

(Note: I'm trying not to talk out of my ass. The above was written after consulting my spousal unit; she has an MA in clinical child psychology and works with developmentally-challenged kids.)

By the way, I'm not sure that I believe the incident went down exactly as reported. According to articles that I read on other news sites, there was a fairly large group of kids in the mobile home, ranging from infants up to late-teens. The alternative theory is that the teens were goofing around with the shotgun when it accidentally went off, then laying the blame on the four-year old.

Yes, which is exactly why it's a good analogy. "Peak oil" in the US is also "merely due to a lack of construction" - there's still plenty of oil left in the ground.

You're still not using the term correctly. As mentioned by others, "peak oil" concerns the point of maximum production (extraction) of oil. That is, when the rate at which we pull oil from the ground begins to decline.

What you're talking about is "oil depletion", i.e. where the physical supply of oil gets low.

These two conditions might be linked by circumstances, but they don't mean the same thing, obviously.

You may say "just kidding" but Habs is a racial slur. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitants

That article says nothing about "Habs" being a racial slur.

On the contrary, the term seems to be a source of pride. The early settlers purposely chose to be known as habitants rather than the more servile-sounding censitaire.

Obviously, these vending machines are geared towards cosplayers on their way to/from anime conventions.

You'd better be nice to your kids, and foster a good relationship. You might think such a thing in mandatory on their part but let me assure you it is not. When they turn 18 (and at any time after) they can sever any and all ties with you. You have no legal claim to force them to care for you. If they want to leave you to fend for yourself, they can.

Actually, many U.S. states and Canadian provinces do have laws that force children to provide support for their parents. Although, they are archaic and rarely enforced, they do exist. See this NY Times article for a list of 28 U.S. states that still have such laws and how they are applied.

Also, see this Vancouver Sun article for an ongoing Canadian court case that invokes such a law.

Does anybody remember "Salvage 1" starring Andy Griffith? The premise involved a junkyard owner who builds a rocket so that he can salvage abandoned moon landing equipment (e.g. lunar landers, rovers, cameras, etc.) to sell for profit upon returning to Earth.

It ran for 1.5 seasons back in 1979-80. It was one of the many things that sparked my interest in space exploration when I was a kid.

I always figured that Asimov modeled Sayshell after the Seychelles (the island nation, north of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean). The quasi-French/Dutch place- and people-names used by Asimov would seem to reinforce this notion.

So you think North Korea was trying to start a war by sending that torpedo?

In order to start a war, they'd have to not be at war already.

A temporary cease-fire punctuated by periodic incidents of armed engagement isn't peace, even if it lasts for half a century.

OTOH, I think if North Korea didn't want to be in a permanent state of war (with intermittent, low-level combat and accepting the risk that that would escalate into higher-level combat), then they wouldn't still be at war.

You seem to be under the misguided and misinformed impression that there is no difference between native machine code and interpreted code.

Wrong again, you clearly don't understand the definition. Those languages are not tied to any platform by the definition of platform in the context of cross-platform, which is a specific Hardware/OS. Dumping a software version of that platform (hardware/OS) on top of another platform (hardware/OS) and running it's software does not make that software cross-platform. Again, the ignorant view that there is no difference between native machine code and interpreted code.

"States' Rights!" That's southern for "owning slaves".

This would explain Courtney Love's problems.