If "completely personalized" is what SPAM is like in 20 years, then we will have totally and completely FAILED -- and I'll likely not have even one email account anymore. Sorry, not buying it; in 20 years, we'll have (hopefully!) criminalized SPAM to the point where no one will DARE to do it -- if I have ANYTHING to say about it, that is.

To date, it's been impossible to "cure" pedophiles. It's not that they're "mentally ill" (except in the social sense, i.e., society at large considers it "sick") it's a brain-wiring issue. Thusfar the only way we, as a society, has been able to deal with people who have the miswiring of their brains, is to lock them away and otherwise do all that is possible to ensure they're never left alone with children.

Would I view or appreciate cartoon child porn? No.
Do I think drawing, viewing, or posessing such material is in extremely poor taste and very much ill-advised? You bet I do.
Do I think such material constitutes the same offense as actual child porn and those drawing or posessing it should be prosecuted as such? Absolutely NOT. Apples and oranges.

I'm not sure what you're responding to here.. but I don't agree with you. What do you do about kids? Tell them they can't ride a bicycle on the street until they're old enough to drive? Do you really expect a 5 year old to go to some special class and pass a bunch of tests? What about people on low or fixed incomes? While it's true that some of us are more serious about it as a sport and spend $$$ on it, many people ride casually or ride because they can't afford any other transportation. What you're proposing would invite beaurocratic shenanigans that would end up raising the price of being a cyclist out of the range of everyone except people who have money and don't NEED to ride a bicycle. It's as preposterous an idea as they come. What's next, requiring training and licensing for rollerblades and skateboards?

Looks like batteries of this design are on a par energy-density-wise with Lithium-Ion, and have an estimated life-span of 15 years (although I couldn't find a charge-discharge cycle figure). How expensive are these to produce compared to other chemistries, I wonder?

Some of you are discussing using a flywheel. Does anyone have some data on the efficiency of that technology versus using this type of battery? My first thought would be that coming up with bearings for a flywheel that can handle the mass of the wheel yet be as close to frictionless as possible would be difficult and expensive to develop and then later to maintain.

We can change that.

We can change that. Between where I live and Davis, California, there is nothing but freeway, but there is a bike lane connecting the two over the causeway that is off to the side, protected by concrete guards and a fence. Cyclists use it every day.

You're a fucking JERK, then.

That's an absolutely insane idea. It would make cycling as costly for the casual rider as driving a car, and it would make it impossible for a kid to ride a bike, which is WHY this hasn't already been done.

Making broad generalizations isn't going to improve the situation any, it's just going to give a false sense of entitlement to poor drivers with already bad attitudes, and enrage the cycling community in general for being punished for the actions of the few. Stop pointing fingers and making accusations, and start doing something positive about the situation.

I hear you; I ride a motorcycle, too, and get that sort of treatment with that as well -- but doing nothing about it isn't going to change anything. BTW we both know that cyclists are also partly to blame for this attitude, because too many of them also don't realize they are subject to the same rules of the road -- or just don't care. Cyclists need to behave better, and drivers need to be educated better as well as be made an example of by police and the courts for misbehaving.

Ummm... depends 100% on your fitness level, really. If you're a couch potato, you're not going to average 25mph, maybe not for a long time, maybe never. Professional racers average 25mph over significant distances. *I* can't average 25mph, that's for sure!

I'm not one of the nut-jobs who insist on riding a bicycle everywhere -- you can't go to Costco on a bicycle (although I can sometimes on a motorcycle). I drive my pickup for errands that require hauling significant amounts of cargo. But I'm more than capable of riding the 6.4 miles each way to work.

I suppose if you're dedicated to being "green", you can take public transit when you need to shop. (?)

It's called "civil disobedience", dude. Try it sometime. Worked wonders for us, back in the day. Looks like it's time for it, again.

I think it's the other way around: we place a high "intrinsic" value on certain objects because they stimulate our brains the way they do. Otherwise why should compressed carbon or base metals be worth more or less than anything else? Iron is a more useful metal than gold or silver for making tools, and you can't burn diamonds to keep warm in the winter.