If "una bella figura" like in the picture stepped up to me in an nightclub and asked for a cigarette I would start smoking right then and there. (Somebody already said it: Take your grant money nightclubbing)

The replacement for the shuttle will be around for decades (relying partly on technology that is already decades old). Now is the only time that you have a chance for going metric, or keep on trying to avoid the inevitable. In ten to twenty years from now there will be no alternative. By then all the subcontractors will be busy converting metric to imperial to meet NASA's requirements (and that is as error prone as NASA going metric I'd guess) or - recognizing the unavoidable facts -NSA will start a conversion project which will a) be a major headache once the system is in operation and will b) cost a lot more. So: Jump. Just do it. And live happily ever after...

Wouldn't it be more useful to integrate such plates (smaller versions of course) in the stairs of your nearest subway station? Or any other public building? In cities like London, Berlin, Tokio, Paris, New York etc., etc. literally millions of people are using the subway. If you shut down the escalators you could even improve customer health) and generate even more energy! (just kidding :-)) Seriously though: At the core of the "smart", bidirectional and decnetralized energy grid of the future lies the idea, that every little watt counts and should be consumed where it is produced (and vice versa) and you produce energy form renewable sources in any way possible. TFA says it is a test and as such it should be welcomed as good and creative thinking to be judged based on results (which are not yet available, I presume).

... so the only challenge will be crowd control. Hundreds of people playing musical chairs for every major keynote and standing in line for everything from food to toilets. Maybe another 10.000 iPhone Apps. Maybe finding a bigger vault for all the cash... They are on a roll and although nothing lasts forever, this is not likely to stop any time soon.

Under the EU treaties a european directive has to be implemented as national law by all members to whom it is adressed, normally within a year after it has been passed, member countries can be excepted from this rule, so that they have more time to implement it as a national law. Bu they do not have a choice after that. The strange and noteworthy thing is, that a european directive as such has a direct effect for all member countries (regardless of national implementation) and courts, especially the higher courts, should consider it in their rulings. The national implementation is only an integration in the respective national legal systems.What happens here is nothing unusual, its standard procedure "On 1 May 2008 1,298 such cases open before the Court" s.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Directive So: nothing to see here, move on.

..as far as my "Wing Commander" Knowledge is still intact. :-)

...now more than ever: Keep your towel close and hope that you can hitch a ride.

From the article: "We can use that to heat offices, or water for a swimming pool". Job Ad: "Wanted: Sysadmin, we offer: all year heated office (20+ C), swimming pool, Jacuzzi (body temperature) integrated coffe mug wamer in tabletop and always a nice, warm breeze from our datacenter." IBM could even use the swimming pool as a cooling tank (or is it the other way round?).

I feel for the guy and his lost articles, but I am wondering why he did not keep backups of everything? The stories seem to be gone forever, or else his letter would be about to re-publishing. his stories on his own website.... That is a rather bad case of negligence on the publisher's side , but more so on the part of Mr. Crampton. For comparison: I work with a professional fotojournalist and this guy has been working for 50 years now and has archived everything (more than 1.5 million pictures) like a mad squirrel. If you ask him about an article he wrote in 1961, it takes him about five minutes to find a copy of the article and the raw materials. Everything analog but nonetheless... That makes you wonder if -while embracing digital media and the blogosphere - many journalists have not brought with them the necessary tools to manage and archive their digital assets.

when you will have to go underground to get a decent rat-burger (with fries) and a cold beer...

First emotion: Wow! Far out: L2 is 1.5 million km from Earth beyond the orbit of the moon ( so no space shuttle service missions here... ). But before I looked it up I had completely forgotten that Mars is at best still another 53 million km and then imagining the billions of lightyears Herschel will be able to "see"... I have to buy another ticket for "Star Trek" to lose this image of an invisibly tiny blue spec in a black void in my head...