Also, $299 per eye. Typically it's 5 x that cost. So either, someone's got an old instrument from eBay (and will have poorer outcomes and greater risk because of it), or there's other costs that are in there that that advert isn't telling you about. Some refractive surgeons in the states are no better than used car salesmen!!! In no way is that a good example.

Well, where I'm from (the UK), the shops that replace the butchers, bakers, record stores, are charity shops. But only so many stores can be (goodwill?) stores. So the rest become vacant, and inevitably, vandalised. Not all towns have teens rich enough to regularly buy sweet skateboards and excellent coffee to maintain a town centre's retail economy. Not following your tax logic. Nobody is paying high taxes to maintain town centres. The town centres just decline. Although if the consumer money was being spent there, in your town, employing people and generating wealth, rather than going with tax-avoiding online vendors with robotic-controlled warehouses, the government's tax-take would be higher -- they could tax the individual less. Again, it's society's choice. This seems to be the way things are going. Don't pretend it is all nice and good, and has no consequences.

I think the point of the article is about: Do people want the changes that are happening to the main street to continue?

From a purely consumer standpoint, sure, cheaper is better. And as long as there's no development of monopolies or other devious practices, that's fine for consumers.

But. Stores closing down in your town leads to decrepit town centres; decaying cities aren't nice and have other, unpleasant consequences. Massive corporate tax avoidance (partly why Amazon has such great prices in the UK?) actually is a bad thing too -- for infrastructure, and for your own personal tax bill. So yes, these changes have a cost -- to society. But, damn, that USB memory/ LED monitor/ Android tablet is cheaper there. Yay!

What, the brush was moving too? It (actively) hit the iPhone 4? That's one Fandroid bush!

Sadly, I think Charlie's having a prolonged manic episode. People enabling somebody that's probably bipolar to do batshit crazy things constantly is wrong, however amusing people find it.

In the UK, PAYG phones are getting data thrown in for free with top-ups. The equivalent of ~$16/month in top-ups will get you unlimited internets + some reasonable amount of mins and texts to go with some reasonably inexpensive but good smartphones, like the Sony X10 mini. If that sort of pricing went down in the US, this phone would have a chance. I thought it was quite nifty.

Sorry, I thought you had read my original post above in this thread. EMI own Virgin Records. NTL own Virgin Media (the broadband provider). There is no link there. Hey, Virgin Media can collude with *iaas, I don't know, but I do know the label and the telco share only a name.

And EMI do not own NTL. There is no connection.

Yes, but the "Virgin record label was sold off to EMI years ago."

No, you're being confused by the Virgin name. Virgin Media (the broadband provider) was sold to NTL. Although Branson owns shares in the company, it's not the same company as the record label -- indeed Virgin Media pay Branson a yearly fee just to use the Virgin brand. Further, the Virgin record label was sold off to EMI years ago.

My nephew (aged 3) was singing "America: Fuck Yeah" -- turns out he can operate DVD players with the Team America: World Police DVD in the drive. Mind you, I was trying to teach him the word "bollocks" from the age of 18 months... heh.

I had the same idea with my HTC Desire on a recent trip to Belgium -- without a mobile network, the GPS was useless -- the phone goes into roaming mode -- no data -- and with no (expensive, roaming) data, no GPS fix. However, I'd previously unlocked the device; got a local pay as you go sim, bought 10 euros worth of data -- all good. YMMV in other countries -- but it's nice to be able to use Wikitude/Facebook/Twitter etc. as a tourist in a foreign country.

Man gets so drunk, he passes out. Gets a toe injury. While blisteringly drunk. No memory of losing a bit of toe. I don't think blaming the dog for it is the logical conclusion. It's not like blaming the dog for a particularly noxious fart, you know.

No, I wasn't being sarcastic (I usually use ellipses when I am...) -- this time, I was ignorant of the DS emulator.

Sadly lacking the Microsoft Courier OS. Oh well. Any Nintendo DS emulators out there for Windows 7?