You mean like LED bulbs costing $22 each? I bought a pack of 10 last month for $20, or $2 each.

Do you have any data to back that up? The myth that appliances, tools, or cars lasted longer in the past is mostly false nostalgia.

That is not because they don't last. It is because manufacturers have figured out that they can make a lot of money selling "extended warranties" to dumb people.

California is a nutjob of a state, but I have to say, I don't really see a problem with them outlawing flamethrowers. I mean, vast portions of the state are hot, dry, and pretty much a tinderbox waiting to be ignited. What could possibly go wrong?

Of course, they probably weren't considering this aspect when they outlawed them. They were thinking "ZOMG! Flamethrowers?!? We're going to see DRIVE-BY-FLAMINGS if we don't outlaw these things!" I'd guess it was just a happy coincidence that they banned something that's probably better off banned for more pragmatic reasons.

Only for very wide definitions of "everyone", including VC investment, R&D, government subsidies, international trade, and every other economic influence, many of which are high-risk investments that effectively dump most of their money into lower-risk investment vehicles.

I'm not suggesting that if everyone invested in a widely-diversified portfolio, they'd be rich. That's ridiculous, since that's exactly what banks do with their abysmally low-return (but very safe) accounts.

I'm saying that if someone wants to invest and have a good chance of a good return rate, they have access to such things.

Well, that's nice, but beyond a thinly-veiled insult, do you have a point?

To answer your question: Yes. Whatever you think of patents (personally I despise software patents and think they're a cancer on our industry), these are not single algorithms, nor are they in any way simple. This is very sophisticated software. At least scan through the Wikipedia entry linked in the summary to get a rough idea of the complexity of these monsters.

Modern video formats are comprised of a vast collection of different algorithms and techniques, and part of the encoding process is determining how best to apply those various techniques to create the best compression while maintaining a specific desired perceptual quality. It's perhaps best to think of a video codec as a family of many different video encoding, decoding, and storage techniques.

"We are pleased Roscomos wants to continue full use of the International Space Station through 2024 -- a priority of ours -- and expressed interest in continuing international cooperation for human space exploration beyond that. The United States is planning to lead a human mission to Mars in the 2030s, and we have advanced that effort farther than at any point in NASA's history. We welcome international support for this ambitious undertaking.

Yeah, that's basically "Go F* yourselves" in diplomatic speech.

And as it should be.

Let's assume that someone without "enough spare income for a whole portfolio" has the desire to invest, and the ambition and effort to do their own research. They'll find a whole class of funds and brokers that will pool several clients' investments into a single security purchase, and those brokers will often accept even a few dozen dollars' investment at a time. Most will also diversify investments appropriately, as well, as a part of their normal business.

Several investment vehicles have purchase minimums. The investment manager doesn't want to deal with the expense of managing accounts for thousands of small-scale clients. However, they'll often happily deal with a single broker purchasing on behalf of his own clients, as long as that broker manages all the busy work of distributing returns appropriately.

The brokers will take their cut from the returns, but it's still usually higher than a bank's low-risk-and-low-reward savings account.

You say that now, but when someone starts making kits to build trebuchets into the back of pick-up trucks...

(The more I think about this idea, the more ridiculously awesome it sounds.)

inorite? When I think back on it, I'm utterly amazed to have survived childhood.

Gasoline mixed with powdered laundry detergent also works fairly well.

These are almost all squatters on someone else's property, or on public land where overnight sleeping is not officially allowed. There would be strong objections to making these camps permanent. There are also practical reasons why it is a bad idea. Most homeless people are homeless for a reason. They have mental disorders, substance abuse problems, criminal records, etc. Concentrating them in one place, with policies that will attract even more to the same area, is going to cause a lot of problems. It is much better to use rent vouchers or income credits to disperse the homeless into stable communities where there is structure and support for them to turn their life around.

Well, fear and burning people to death so they're no longer a threat. Not very efficient, but effective.

And I guess the "practical applications" of your guns, if they don't involve fear, involve gunning people down, right? Don't bother with scaring them off, just kill them.

Between you and me, it seems like the practical application of creating fear is working just great on you, quick-draw.

Incoming legislation in 3... 2... 1...