By that logic, a monitor also isn't an output device, unless you're using it to program a Timex Datalink.

3. Further testing of struts in stock found one that failed at 2,000 pounds of force

I think it will work out substantially cheaper in the long run to test every strut rather than to go crazy with the material specification.

That reminds me of the joke about the boy scout who would test all his matches and save the ones that lit successfully.

His name is Kunte Kinte.

I hold out hope that the two of them are getting air time not because they could win, but because they are more interesting than Clinton v. Bush. Plenty of time for that boring crap later.

Vendors cannot be held responsible for stupid (or non-existent) engineering and policy.

Without knowing the GS/contractor divide at OPM, it's hard to say who is ultimately to blame. If OPM gave carte blanche to the contractor, the latter is generally the one at fault. If the government micro managed the contract and ignored suggestions, the blame is back with them.

Jim Webb doesn't strike me as particularly interested in the office.

That Goldwater girl was never liberal enough to want it.

I've had a number of nice conversations with attorneys over the years. They range from specific real cases and current news events, to totally hypothetical events. Frequently, you'll hear "it depends on the judge". Different judges have different opinions. One may side with you totally, while another will be annoyed that you even attempt to reference a particular thing. That's the biggest thing a local attorney who knows the judge will give you.

In his case, one judge may like that he had no intention of violating the IP of the other. Another may prefer to hear that the violation was coincidental. And a third may not care and put him on the hook for a stack of damages.

Asking for legal help here and expecting an answer that can be used is totally different. An attorney doesn't have all the facts, doesn't know the jurisdiction, and would open themselves up to legal trouble.

If the advice is valid in the attorney's jurisdiction, but not the OP, he could come back and blame the attorney.

If the attorney is giving advice outside of the area where he is licensed, he can run into trouble.

If there's something significant that changes the case, then he gave bad advice.

And just like the aforementioned car analogy, a mechanic online can't give the answer to "what is that noise". That thump may be a flat tire, the bass is turned up too loud, or any number of things.

Except into the turning lane.

Someday there will be little robots that swarm out after an explosion to quickly gather up all the people bits, identify which bits belong to which person, 3D print any missing or uselessly damaged parts, and glue them all back together, all within 5 minutes before the brain starts to suffer from hypoxia.

Imagine getting blown to bits one day, then the next day you're right back on the front line.

Maybe they could put a few of these into airliners also, made out of the same stuff as the black boxes.

a system composed of people can be debugged in the same manner as code

False.

o It's point to point; I start where I am and I end up where I'm going

It's nice to have valet parking wherever you go, but I usually have to park and walk somewhere and then walk to the entrance.

o It's considerably more secure; windows up, doors locked, only trusted riders are on-board, and I control the vehicle

If only that were enough to make cars safer than buses and trains.

o I have my music (and my ham radio gear), in short, the environment is customized for me

With all those distractions, you're asking for trouble!

o There's no waiting, no calling, and no communications problems

There's also no reading or texting and you can't use your laptop while you commute. It's all dead time.

I think the most common case by far is that people use it because they have to use it.

People must not like driving very much either or cities wouldn't need to force property owners to have parking (why do we manage parking the same way the Soviet Union managed toilet paper and other basic provisions?), and the roads would pay for themselves 100% through gas taxes and user fees instead of less than 50%.

When you say the 85th percentile rule "has been properly and professionally researched and reproduced," I believe you are referring to the Solomon Curve published in 1964. But that was back when people drove more safely out of necessity because cars were deathtraps. Do you have any evidence that the 85th percentile rule reduces fatalities today? Bonus points if you can prove that it reduces car-motorcycle, car-bicycle, and car-pedestrian fatalities. Good luck!