Just read lots and lots - but here's a few I like:

Known Space series by Larry Niven.
Anything by Anthony Burgess - e.g. A Clockwork Orange, A Dead Man in Deptford, Any Old Iron
The Prince - Macchiavelli
Canterbury Tales
Beowulf
Le Morte D'Artur, any of the Arthurian Romances
Peanuts collections
Calvin & Hobbes collections

OS400 !=Hinduism

Reminds me of "Wings of OS/400" and the other OS iterations from:
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~zurawski/humor/new_os_air.html

i think stronger ownership laws would help. No-one should own more than 50% of the news sources in a given district, whether newspaper, TV or Radio. Obviously there are complexities in making it happen, but would Murdoch and others be so powerful if their influence hadn't been allowed to grow by swallowing up the competition? Also, if advertisers (admittedly a shrinking market) had the balls to send their $$$ to the competition AND tell the publishers about it ("You're blatantly lieing about x, and you won't see any more of my money until you print a front-page retraction"), it might help. Media publishers don't care what the readers/viewers/listeners think, as long as they continue to consume. They care a lot about advertisers.

Ah, yes. Thanks. I knocked back the "free item" once - I pointed out that the "buy one, get one free" offer on coffee rang up as two separate items, and 10 seconds later after verifying the shelf label and cash register docket, the cashier's supervisor said "Right, that's both of them free, then", I said not to bother, just give me the original 2-for-1 deal, but she insisted.

Actually, the barcode scanning code of conduct (I think that's what it's called) at grocery stores here in Oz states that if there's any discrepancy between sticker price on the shelf, and what the register rings up, you get the item free. That's OK for a bag of potatoes, but a $3K computer would be different.

The advertisement is an offer to trade. If the consumer accepts the offer, and the seller accepts the money and delivers the goods, that's the end of the deal. Tough titty for the seller if they've allowed an error all the way through to the completion of the sale - they have the option to back out any time up until accepting the money.

What's the issue/s with durability? Mine are warranted for 80% of claimed output up to 20 years (BPSolar), the rooftop mounts are cyclone-rated, and the panels themselves are rated for hail up to (can't remember right now) size.

I've had people ask me about this great offer they've had from some local start-up that offers them cheap chinese panels with a five-year warranty, and I tell them to say "no" until they are offered well-known brands with better warranties. At least those people were smart enough to ask around for advice and opinions - I suppose others who don't ask for advice and opinions might get stuck with poor durability.

Add a few HCF instructions here and there. You might be lucky enough for it to cause some consternation at the listener's end.

Well, if you want to sell me something for upwards of six figures, you'd better be prepared to sign a contract for support that includes drivers for updated interfaces (USB vs. Serial) and updated operating systems (Windows 7 vs. XP or even 98). I wouldn't expect an open-ended arrangement, just enough to cover the lifespan of the machine (the robot, not the PC controlling it).

Suppliers going out of business is a common threat but it hasn't got anything to do with being prepared to guarantee support for your product. If the supplier of my industrial robot goes out of business and no-one else is willing to take up the support, then I'll be replacing my robot as soon as I can afford it. I won't risk running them for as long as possible knowing that the beige box in the corner might give up the ghost any day now and I can't buy a mainboard with EISA slots anymore.

As for discontinuing product lines, IBM continues to support (albeit for a lot of $$$) many of its discontinued lines and many people are prepared to pay for that. In my experience with AS400s, it would have been cheaper to upgrade than to continue maintenance on our ten-year-old E35, but management decided to switch to Windows servers instead (I left not long afterwards).

As a matter of interest, I've wondered if long-discarded anti-bacterial agents could be used again, e.g. you would think that most bacteria today would be resistant to sulfanilamides, being the offspring of those that survived in the past. But if those drugs haven't been used for a long time, would the inherited resistance be reduced or gone, as it hasn't been "challenged" for many generations?

You're right, but I can't understand why the contract for a six or seven-figure {insert specialised hardware here} doesn't carry clauses for updating the software that communicates with its generic WinTel controller. I mean it's obvious that a (for example) car factory robot is expected to last for more than the turnaround cycle of a Wintel box, why isn't the supplier of said robot obligated in the support contract to provide updated drivers for Windows for the expected life of the robot?

I've got customers (mostly farmers) who have trouble understanding that generic computer hardware used in their office isn't expected to last nearly as long as the farming equipment in the shed outside. I still see Pentium 4-vintage boxes occasionally, and I immediately make sure the data are being backed up.

That just might instigate a new protocol for dealing with people who die from "food poisoning" - check 'em for radiation before the autopsy.

Although IIRC some of the symptoms from a lethal dose of radiation have distinct characteristics and aren't confused with other causes.

Dayum! I doubt if they even knew what hit them.

Evolution in action.

Especially the Sunshine Coast Region, where I live. The cheapskates put in Single Frequency Networks and some channels just aren't working. There's other problems, too. Even people with a clear line-of-sight to the tower need masthead amplifiers. At least I can get the ABC and SBS channels, but I mostly watch streaming stuff from ABC's iview and SBS OnDemad, anyway.

But for nearly all intents and purposes, the government *does* exist. It is a legal construct, and the people elected to represent our interests possess the power, via legislation, to affect many aspects of your life. You're right that "other people grant you rights", but they don't do it as individuals, they do it via the legal entity known as government. One of the things that's handy about having a "government" grant you rights, pass legislation, etc, rather than individuals is that you don't have to re-affirm legislation every time there's an election. Collectively, we agree to the legal construct because life would be chaos otherwise.

I look forward to these calls - any time the CND shows "OVERSEAS" I get ready.

"Hello Sir, I'm calling from....your computer is...." the usual crap.

"Which computer? I have lots"

"All of them" (that was funny)

"Which IP address?"
Lather, rinse, repeat.

Finally tell them I use Linux. One guy actually called me a liar when I said that. I held him on for a few minutes denying I used Windows (if he's going to lie to me, I will return the favour) - he got more and more angry, finally called me a fucking arsehole and hung up. My kids came and asked why I was laughing so much.