Please let me know when the TIME CUBE conference is being held. I will definitely attend that one.

Dangit, I clicked on the comments hoping for some good "+5, Funnies" about "Michael Jordan," and all I got was a stupid on-topic, well-researched, and educational comment on what the real Michael Jordan thinks about the challenges of "big data." And the best we could do on the name is "A man of many talents"? That does it. Slashdot is dead. (Netcraft confirms it.)

Copyrights don't apply in this case. Patents might. The Supreme Court has recently been struggling with drawing a line between "abstract ideas" (which are not patent-eligible) and concrete methods (which are patent eligible). In general, you can't patent the math per se, but you can patent (for example) a space craft programmed to perform that particular maneuver. As applied to ship building, if it's sufficiently novel, you may be able to patent a ship having certain hull parameters, but you won't generally get a patent just for "make it BIGGAR!" The patentability will usually lie in your solution to the problems you encountered in the process of making it bigger, which means that if somebody finds a different way to make it bigger, you may not be able to stop them. (This isn't legal advice, of course.)

I call BS. I can buy a brand-spanking-new replacement for literally any part of my Garand except the receiver. In fact, when I bought it, the receiver was probably the only part that was still original. I know for sure that the spiffy walnut stock and Criterion barrel were new off-the-shelf. I can also buy clips, bayonets, ammo pouches, and other accessories on the cheap. I don't personally own a Lee-Enfield, but it's a fairly popular hunting rifle. You can get parts for it. This reeks of a contract for the contract's sake.

I don't know if Boeing patented that method or not, but if they did patent it for the 1969 moon shot, the patent has long since expired. (Yes, I am a patent attorney.)

There's a big difference between Columbus and space exploration. Columbus was going to a place with air, water, and life. It was already self-sustaining. Space is a much harsher mistress than the West Indies.

You say this as though it's something other than exactly what the lobbyists who wrote the law intended. They get more of your money, and they pay for less care. It's a win-win from their perspective.

Tell that to the nurse in Dallas who used full biohazard protective gear and still got Ebola.

The GP post was fairly bad, but I doubt it actually killed anyone, much less enough people to be eligible for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Wow. Do you also take issue with MSNBC's overt conservative bias?

How are your parents enjoying their stay in North Korea? Have they made it to Baekdu Mountain yet?

[SIGH OF RELIEF] For a minute there, I thought you were going to say there is no Santa Claus. But I can live without his grammar Nazi cousin Santa Clause.

It means whoever wrote this doesn't know what "times" means.

Apparently you missed the Doctor Who episode "New Earth."

I'm Mormon, and I'll have you know that I have very strong opinions about which local microbrew has the best root beer, you insensitive clod!