On one hand, 'weather satellite' was a cold war (and probably is still) a euphemism for spy satellite. Kinda like how nuclear missile subs conduct 'oceanographic research,' not 'nuclear deterrence patrols,'

On the other hand, the military is very interested in weather, as 'Hang on, let me check if it's going to be stormy' isn't a proper military response to 'Ok, we need to move a carrier group down to, say, Taiwan. Now.'

That is, if Canada doesn't annex us first.

Shhh. Shhh shhh shh. Just like back and let it happen, America. Just go with it. You'll enjoy the beer.

Something like this:

Keystone says 'we want to put a great big pipe from Here to There.'

The various Departments of Whatever say 'no.'

Keystone says 'Hey, congress guy, here's some money.' Aka, lobbying.

Congress says 'Here's a law saying 'Departments of whatever shall issue the following permits.'

President says 'Nope.'

Eventually, President says 'Ok, departments of whatever, issue the permits with the following requirements/conditions/standards built in.'

Keystone then says either 'Hmm, it's no longer profitable to build, with all these requirements' or 'great!' and goes ahead.

Is it personal cowardice, or pattern recognition?

I've always thought doctor's office waiting rooms were a great way to ensure repeat business.

Yeah, I was being somewhat flip. Of course natural compounds, often plant-based, are capable of making large changes to body structure and chemistry; we call it 'medicine.'

Hallucinogenics on people who possibly aren't really capable of giving properly informed consent, though? That gives me pause, I'll admit.

Do you honestly think 'Hey, I'm looking for a way to wire up a button to trigger an SMS or email' would have gotten posted?

I don't. That's a google search. That's a solved issue.

But: "Hey, my epileptic wife who's medication doesn't work so well any more stays home all day with my baby and two-year-old, and I need the two-year-old to be able to push a PANIC button in case mommy has a bad seizure! How can I roll my own?" Now that, my friend, that brings in the page views.

Unfortunately, I was not diagnosed until I was in my 20s (Asperger's wasn't in the DSM when I was of prime age for someone catching it, and I'm a woman and considered "gifted," which made me even more likely to fall through the cracks of the system), so I didn't get the early interventions. However, I can share my experiences from *not* having those services available to me.

Sorry, did I read that correctly? Do you think Autism is something you catch, like a flu?

Not in evidence.

True, true, but not a completely unreasonable inference.

It could as easily mean she had one seizure after 10 years without and in an abundance of caution they want to add monitors. What is it these days with making assumptions that would explode William of Occam's head and then condemning people for it as if it was verified fact?

Erring on the side of caution. Though, to be fair, your 'once in ten years' statement is about as hyperbolic as 'OMG two hour seizures and the kids are instantly smoking crack!'

Honestly, the guy should have left all of the details out, and just asked about something that can detect a circuit closing and do something about it. Enclosure contacts are a cheap and bog-standard thing. But, without the salacious details to rile everybody up, would the question of landed on the front page?

So when the two year old starts sticking a toy into an electrical socket, or decides to make dinner 'just like mommy/daddy' while Mommy is having a seizure, or whatever, what's daddy going to do?

You've never raised children, have you?