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Comment Re:So many elephants in that room... (Score 1) 687

Fifteen years from now food shortages, triggered by the combination of climate change and population explosion, will impact significantly on even advanced western societies. Crops will fail widely, on a regular basis. The cost of food will be relatively a lot more than it is now, and the availability of it a lot less dependable.

You mean the same crop shortages that were going to faminize the 1980's...or the 1990's...or...

There is little chance of that happening in the US, come live out here in the corn belt and even with the OMG, IT'S THE DUST BOWL ALL OVAR AGAIN!!!! and you will see that farmers will grow crops that are drought AND reasonably flood resistant (and with easy to install drainage tile...the latter is moot anyway!).

People also tend to forget that countries like India and China use manual farming techniques since there is a LARGE amount of unskilled labor there who is willing to do the work cheaper than a gallon of petrol. Once wages rise faster than the cost of a gallon of gas....then you will see modernization of those agri-businesses and yields will substantially climb.

Comment Re:So much Energy Wasted (Score 1) 687

PHB's are the only reason why we keep building offices for a sizable percentage of the population. Yes, you will still need to see warm bodies for a variety of things, but in reality office jobs can get done with a variety of current tools and probably more efficiently without having to pay for large buildings, parking lots, etc. Yes, businesses will need a place of "business" for meetings (there is a net-benefit for face to face/socializing/etc in a controlled environment) but for the rest.....ehhh, crack that work/life benefit up to 11 and have my people login when they can and work their asses off for me while I don't have to pay to keep a building empty 13 hours a day and 24 hours on holidays/weekends.

Comment Build Your Own Platform (Score 1) 347

First thing is to ensure your monitor can tilt far enough whether sitting or standing. Most can, but it's a good thing to verify first. After that, it's simple. All you need is a stand that can hold keyboard/mouse and then tilt the monitor to what is comfortable. I built mine out of a $12 piece of bookshelf board from Menards. A few drywall screws and then you can pull it when you need to sit down.

Comment Where do I begin.... (Score 1) 813

As a telecom employee, I'm getting a kick out of these....nevermind. Anyhow, the process for burying lines is pretty straightforward. Look at any relatively new subdivision or business district. Do you see any poles? Probably not. Because most utilities WANT to bury lines. It's easier and looks better and most governments now request/mandate burying lines. Now, try to do that in an older neighborhood. With water/sewer/gas/fiber/copper/old steam pipes/etc. Try getting locates done in a busy older neighborhood. Oh, and in order to bury you are going to have to give some yard space to put in a ped. Watch people flip out as their front yards are shredded by boring machines (if they are lucky....) or that now there's going to be a slew of pads in their lilac bushes.

Comment Re:Surprising... (Score 1) 169

If you mean "The actual amount of uranium that underwent fission", then you are correct. However I don't know of a device that can reach 100% efficiency in prompt fission event. I think you'd probably have more fun with the Americium in the core than the HEU (I think the critical mass for Americium is under 6kg). That's a lot of smoke detectors....

Comment Depends on IT Needs (Score 1) 235

The ones who don't care about building their own core competency usually outsource to a myriad of companies. While they get their work done at a reasonable price, it also means they get a lot of hold music when something breaks. If you have a server/network link that could break and it would require an explanation to the board...you're probably better off having someone in house who can fix it quickly (and find other problems before the big ones go BOOM).

That usually doesn't happen in sub Fortune-1000 companies.

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