Years ago I was at the Denver mint (where they make pennies) and I questioned the tour guide there about getting rid of pennies (as per Oz). For some reason this tour guide couldn't comprehend a world without pennies, and started bring up all sorts of straw men arguments about how consumers would be ripped off, and other things (which I can't quite recall now). It was weird.

But what is also weird is that the US has a $1 coin. But I think that I have only ever seen it in use in Chicago. Apparently USians don't like them. That and the $2 bill - which only seems be given out as change at Monticello in Charlottesville VA, because it was Jeffersons home and his face is on the $2 bill.

You kids with your fancy book references just make me laugh. When I think of HHGTTG, I think of the radio plays, with Peter Jones as the book, and the Haggunenon Admiral's flagship.

Ahh .. the good old days.

Now git off my lawn.

You do know what country you are talking about don't you? sovereignty (especially other peoples) hasn't generally been at the top of the list of discussion points for quite a while(*)

* And by quite a while I mean it .. just look at how Hawai'i became a state.

I take that back .. you ARE required to register

You forgot the carrot .. While registering for Selective service is not compulsory:

Registration for Selective Service is also required for various federal programs and benefits, including student loans (such as FAFSA), job training, federal employment, and naturalization.

Selective service

Uber drivers are covered by a lot less when they are looking but have not accepted a fare.

The amount of insurance carried by Uber drivers is also probably much less than NY taxis.

highlighting UK/IE cultural specificities and taste preferences.

Given the predilections of UK politicians, this could mean working with some weird shit. OTOH if you're from the UK/IE then you are probably already used to that weird shit.

Lets see .. what did I experience in less than 1 hour of driving down an interstate last week?

1. Multiple trucks rapidly changing lanes, in traffic, without indicating because the truck ahead of them was doing maybe 5 mph slower than they wanted to be, and they was "just" enough room between cars in the next lane over. (And I have experienced this in heavy rain just as I was about to pass truck)

2. Multiple trucks attempting to pass other trucks, but totally underestimating the power they have and causing rolling roadblocks along the interstate at speeds well under the speed limit.

3. Multiple trucks weaving almost off the road at alarming rates for no obvious reason (I can only assume the driver was reaching for something in his/her cab - alternatively they were not 100% awake)

4. Multiple trucks tailgating cars.

Yeah .. none of these were actual "incidents", but they are indicative of truck drivers not having an understanding/respect for the rigs that they are driving, and foretell possible future incidents. Things would be a lot nicer on the interstates if all of the above were eliminated.

Hmm maybe we could sync multiple trucks together, and put them on a special road all of their own. That would eliminate all of the above issues. We could give them some snazzy name .. maybe "Trains" of trucks!

I read The group behind the operation, called Dragonfly by Symantec as that Symantec had a group called Dragonfly, and they were performing the espionage.

And my thought processes didn't toss that out as being unreasonable.

While I do feel sorry for what happened to him .. He didn't kill himself because of broken IP laws .. he killed himself because of a mental state that seemed to preclude any option other than suicide. If he had utilized freely and easily obtainable mental health resources(*) he probably would still be alive today.

* Assuming that such things are actually available.

Is your girlfriend upset that you didn't call the International Star registry and get a star named after her (written in book form in the library of congress) like all of her girlfriends did? Was she upset that you didn't care that much for her?

Well now is your chance to redeem yourself. Don't just name any old star after your girlfriend, get a star sized diamond named after her! If diamonds are a girls best friend, then after doing this you'll never have to "[sudo] make me a sandwich" again, as she'll be thanking you for the rest of her life (well .. maybe until her battery runs down). And all of her friends boyfriends will look up to you like "you da man, dawg!!!!"

Call now .. there's only a limited supply (of paper certificates that we bought in bulk)

Half the time when I'm working on any sort of non-trivial program (that is too large to hold in my head all at once) and I need to make a breaking code change (and one that is not easily managed with refactoring tools), I'll make the change where it is obvious to me and then let the compiler tell me where it broke and hence where I need to make my fixes.

Umm .. you do know that I am talking about the confiscation and inspection of electronics in your possession as you legally cross a border into the US?

Now all the US needs is a similar commonsense approach at border crossings.