I don't know the exact numbers, but let's assume you change your roof every 20 years, so 5% of houses will get their roof replaced this year, lets ask/push people to use lighter shades (or white), probably same cost (just replaced my roof, color didn't affect price to me, so I assume doesn't affect supply cost), in 20 years, it's all replaced (not centuries !)

Science has taught us (me? :) many things, but I haven't got that conclusion and can't recall one example; do you ? BTW, this is how we learn in science, we tamper with things we don't understand so we understand them

As mentioned above, there's still a net gain, since there's much more sunlight in Summer than in Winter (of course, it all depends on where you are, but the research says that it works :)

Back of the envelope, if roofs last an average of 20 years, we're replacing 5% of the roofs every year; lets replace with lighter shades. I just did that (they didn't have the good shingles in white, so I chose the lighter possible shade of gray they had). Only about a month in, AC runs noticeably less now (but we'll see when the real Summer is in :)

Google will give you a free incoming number, and transfer (actually, reroute/repeat) to any number you choose (and many more goodies)

I'm in Atlanta, and our CS undergrads start at around $45 or more (now). Also, notice that the *average* salary includes NYC and San Francisco and such :)

Yes, teachers have more vacation than most, but they're definitely underpaid (with rare exceptions)

ESXi is free (although most of the 'advanced' features aren't)

Roads are funded by gas taxes, AND federal and state contributions (from other taxes). Schools are funded by local school taxes AND federal and state contributions. And the original post referred to taxes in general.

Yes, there is waste in government functions, but many of those functions are essential, and we haven't found better ways to do them.

I don't know what 'average' is :) but I'm looking at my W2, I made slightly more than 100K (which puts me way above median salary), and pay less than 25% counting ALL deductions (including social security). Adding sales and property tax would make it close to 1/3 of my income.

Although modern antibiotics are probably the biggest factor, life expectancy was around 50 in 1913 and is about 75 now; I bet you that things like potable water, health departments making it less likely that I get tainted foods and the FDA, among other government functions have helped this.

Sorry, couldn't resist

There's many different people, with many different opinions. *some* push for pure capitalism, others for some (or a lot of) protectionism. Nobody u (necessarily) throwing away any ideals.

For the *first* job you'll get out of school, grades *do* matter a lot. For the *first* job you get while *in* school (internships etc) grades do matter too.

But also, the impression you make on your fellow students and teachers matter a lot (many times you get jobs from them), and a good way to make a good impression is to be a good student.

Of course, get an internship, volunteer, or get a crappy computing job (Geeksquad type, hell desk etc), so you can hit the ground running for your first real job.

From what I see, I can't redistribute, so it's not open source; right ? do they use an OSI approved license ?

Also, it seemed several other products had the same issue :) they are available for free, or very cheap, but they're not open source

It is not absurd, if you want either of two things: 1. Have Americans learn Spanish 2. Have recent immigrants learn academic stuff while they learn English.

Do you see a better way for achieving either of those goals ?