Just because Microsoft won't support XP, doesn't mean my company won't still be using 14+ year old software.

... and to the republic for which it stands ...

Nothing to see here. Move along.

I knew SciFi was gone last holiday season when we didn't get to see a classic literary work re imagined like "Tin Man" or "Alice" from prior years.

The company I'm currently working at hasn't changed the alarm system code in 10 years. They've fired several vengeful people in that time, plus we've never modernized with a facility access logging/keycard system. Yep, 200 employees all use the exact same master key that opens every door in the company.

A former employee with a copy of their physical key could access a nearby building undetected; disable the alarm; and shut down a major fiber backbone line between Salt Lake and Las Vegas.

So you're suggesting we take Mars by having anchor babies?

I've used placebos so frequently with my children that they have asked the babysitter for a placebo because they had a headache – usually we give them Ludens drops.

Journalists report to editors, and journalists report the news – rarely becoming part the news.

Ethics aside on how he obtained the material, Assange is more of a librarian or archivist then a journalist.

When the Swiss [banks] turn their backs on you, you're pretty much hosed.

I work in the cable industry and administer a local ad insertion system. Periodically, I field calls from viewers complaining about the volume on ads.

Viewers don't realize their ears are tricking them. While there are offenders out there, most ads volume levels don't peak any higher then the surrounding program. Advertisers just tend to compress their audio range near the peak.

When you watch a TV program, you see 5-7 minutes with an audio ranging from crickets to explosions. When you watch a 30 second ad, there isn't time for that kind of range. Pay attention to a conversation around you today. You'll hear loud parts and quiet – even silent – parts. Now imagine that conversation if one of the participants is talking over everyone else and speaking very quickly. They're not any louder then the other participants, but they seem loaned (and annoying).

And a final point to make: Quality programs aren't a God-given right. Good shows are paid for by advertisers, and your attention is the product being sold by the TV station to the advertiser.

Canceling Caprica frees up more time for WWE wrestling – Because we all know that's what I tune into a channel named SciFi to watch. Cable is about developing a genre and packaging thematically similar programing onto one network. SciFi died when they rebranded.

Do you know the IP address to any good Hotline servers?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotline_Communications

Almost as good as when my local paper reported on the football matchup between Virgin Valley HS and Beaver High: "Virgin Pounds Beaver".

I think the MSRP on the Boxee Box just got pushed down a bit.

Full Disclosure: I work for a local telco.

Municipal broadband projects have an overwhelming track record of failure because the same principles of other required municipal services are applied to an optional service. When a city establishes sewer service, they require everyone to purchase the service – the same for water and refuse pickup. The expenses are shared and necessary for everyone. Internet is still really an optional luxury – albeit a very useful luxury. The same business model applied to a sewer system doesn't work with broadband services.

Consider the largest quasi-municipal broadband project I know of – Utah's UTOPIA group ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Telecommunication_Open_Infrastructure_Agency ). When proposed around 2003, the system promised service to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses. That estimate dropped significantly over time. Quoting from a mid 2009 article about the project:

This is just one example of a municipal group throwing money down the drain. While I agree there are some areas where the incumbent providers are failing, the best service for the consumer is found in the free market with limited government regulation. Alternative services from Clear, Sprint and other mobile providers are spurring development and technology growth while keeping pressure on low prices for internet service.

How is posting photos any different then the very public police blotter in the local news, or the booking log at my local county jail. I'm aware of at least one situation where a newspaper began publishing home addresses in the arrest report because a repeat criminal had an identical name as a prestigious businessman and politician. Mug shots certainly would be helpful in those instances.