So, I wanted to poo poo this stupid phrase. But hey, it is interesting. RTFA.

So what's the story here? Is it about a publisher, or about a copyright infringement? Should I comment on one, or both? Why does it require 300 words?

I admit that either story holds some interest for me, but both together deliquesce that effect and leave me flustered and flummoxed.

That stuff is nasty! It'll mess up your engine, hurt your gas mileage and do little if anything to clear the atmosphere.

If we accept it's about cleaner air. And we assume that it burns X% cleaner. And we assume that we will burn X% more fuel over the same distance ... What have we gained? I have seen good arguments for using biodiesel but not ethanol.

It's all about corporate welfare. Big corporations and well funded universities make a show of looking for clean, efficient alternative fuels while sucking up taxpayer dollars. Where is MY lobbyist? Who will pay to overhaul my engine when it corrodes internally?

Your family seems to be doing well with homeschooling. Many others here will probably also do well. But two things stand out as I read your story: church and Texas.

And I am reminded of many stories of people who wish to 'protect' their children from beliefs that the parents don't share. Those beliefs may involve religion, science, politics, vaccination, sex, sports, etc. Certain US states and foreign countries encourage eccentric viewpoints on these matters.

Texas is famous for leading the fight against science and in favor of ignorance. Well beyond its borders, the state influences the publication of schoolbooks that millions of schoolchildren are saddled with--books that tend to encourage belief in creationism and deny climate change.

In those situations, for instance in the Middle East and parts of the American South, people often cling to beliefs that don't blend well in modern society. We face a current epidemic of measles in the US because a superstitious segment of the population doesn't believe in preventive treatment. Private, charter, and home schooling encourage the propagation of unusual viewpoints and make it difficult to assure a beneficial and uniform education to all children.

Many slashdot readers are capable of leading their children successfully into the future, but some who use alternative education systems will bring their children to ruin. Just as standards benefit engineering efforts, they can benefit education. Every child at a given level of education should be able to prove that they have been exposed to a standardized level of knowledge.

Yes, certain individuals may be limited by standards. Let's hope they can be identified, accelerated through the system and stimulated to be their best. Others may need extra time to absorb the necessary knowledge. But leave no gaps in their exposure to the information they need to survive our world.

"I don' think that general-purpose computers should be used in schools without software to limit the use of the computers."

Absolutely. When possible, children (and most adults) will avail themselves of youtube, twitter, facebook and other nonsense. This brainrot actively interferes with any tendency to learn anything. We once thought that television would be a great educational tool--well, what happened there?

The problem is not the technology or the media; it is the eye candy that competes with the presentation of life-enhancing programming materials.

I've worked with the Federal & California Dept of Food & Agriculture. This is a standard treatment for certain dangerous pests. We released millions of sterile medflies, for instance. The method has been successful.

So far as I know, this method hasn't yet been used on the most dangerous species- homo sapiens.

Mammals, including humans, have a biological directive to protect infants. Even if of a different species. We are programmed. We are easily swayed by this kind of appeal because of that. I am swayed.

But this particular appeal smacks of conspiracy theory. High ranking, respected people joining in and protecting each other while acting in such a perverse manner? A few Catholics may have done so but this accusation is a stretch.

As the facts come forth we will know more. If the accusations are true then let the offenders be castrated and tortured to death. I will volunteer to do it with a rusty blade.

Your insurance papers will probably make it clear that you are NOT covered for commercial use of your vehicle. Even if you don't read the policy, you know in your heart that commercial drivers pay more than ordinary drivers. Lots of people think they can deceive their insurance carrier and save money. The company gets the last laugh when it's time to pay for a claim. Any deception on the part of the insured is likely to negate the contract and no claim will be awarded. Yes, possibly years of payments to that company and all for nothing because you lied.

Like the people who watch your credit worthiness and the people who observe you for terrorist tendencies, the insurance industry has vast resources focused on you. If you try to cheat any insurance company, the word is spread and none of them want to deal with you. If you can get insurance it will be very expensive. Honesty is the best policy.

An example of why the limit is useful. You might have said it in 140 characters but you wasted my time. Learn to use language effectively. [138 chars]

Engineers at Samsung, Apple and other marketing conscious companies are sometimes asked to do unusual tasks. At Honda, planning the introduction of the 6 cylinder CBX motorcycle in the 1970s, sound design became important:

"From the beginning," Irimajiri explained, "our Six produced a smooth jetlike exhaust sound. But with an ordinary exhaust arrangement, it wasn't that close to a jet. We thought if we worked on it we could come up with a motorcycle sound like no one has ever heard before.

"So we sent some engineers to the Hyakuri Japanese Air Force base in Chiba prefecture. For ten days they tape-recorded the sound of Phantom jet fighters, and then came back and designed an exhaust system for the CBX that could duplicate that sound. When I heard it for the first time I was amazed; they had captured the Phantom sound perfectly."
from: http://www.motorcyclespecs.co....

short Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
hear the sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Of course we all benefit from patents, copyright & trademarks, right?

There may be a battle brewing in the sound of cars. ~20 years ago, Harley Davidson tried to trademark the sound of their motorcycle, but that didn't pass. Many others have though and we can expect more as 'sound branding' becomes more widespread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
http://mentalfloss.com/article...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Fine for ordering in a restaurant or asking directions. Not appropriate for business, medical or government communication, contracts, etc.

"Rare Recalled NES Game Stadium Events On Ebay For $99,000"

Removing some capitalizations might make this understandable.
Why does slashdot have to capitalize EVERY word?
Fucking retards

http://www.excaliburdatarecove...

Ah, the memories!

necessary

We have a general rule about life: anything that eats must also shit. As this entity wanders the galaxy in search of our sun it will leave a trail for us to follow. We will be able to track the brownian motion of this trail with our new b-ray telescopes. Our best defence may be to ship all of our stored airborn pollutants to a point between the entity and our star. The sun will appear so dim that the entity will choose another victim.

alternately

We already know of such a star eating phenomenon: black holes. We shouldn't jump to the conclusion that they are alive, much less intelligent, but hey nobody messes with them so they must be pretty smart. Fortunately they don't seem to be too mobile so they won't come to us. But they might expand and suck us in...

conversely

A mini hole, smaller than a donut hole, with the mass of a Wolf-Rayet star that mercilessly sucks in anything in its path as it dances around the universe. So small as to be invisible to our instruments, so massive that it warps space time making it even harder to detect. Intelligence? It's just a mindless bully bent on destruction. No smarter than that punk kid dealing drugs on your corner.

obversely

We know that virii can survive extreme heat, cold and even outer space. Even the corrupt environment of your body can host one or more virii. Who's to say the sun is immune? A cozy warm environment with no discernible bacterial competition and a virus could have its way with our sweet sun.