how on earth was this comment "Insightful". Take a look at the financial figures. The market cap on Northrup Grumman is $16B. Raytheon is $19B. Boeing is $50B - which of course also has a commercial side. Microsoft is $262B. Apple is $630B. Amazon is $114B. Most of these companies (and others like Oracle, IBM, Target, Walmart, etc.) are bigger than ALL THE DEFENSE companies. Take a look at the history of these companies. The best ones track the DOW, Nasdaq, SP. The lesser ones don't even keep up.

I know these type of comment are popular "old wives" tales, but insightful. Give me a break.

I hope you haven't kept it plugged in these last 6 years. I had one of those and it idled at about 400 watts. You could feel the heat radiating on the outside of the HUGE plastic case. We kept it for a few years and would only power it on when we needed it, but then decided it was just easier to get a newer machine (a Lexmark coincidentally) that idles at about 30watts. Yes the old HP 4 and 5 series were built like tanks, and the parts are still cheap at places like precisionroller.com, but they are not economical to keep plugged in 24/7.

The PC was introduced before the network. And when the networks started, it was a single floor or group and local access only. It was years before we had connections to other groups, and then even more years to other people in the same company at different locations. And then years more before a general connection to the outside world.

Considering the huge number of classified defense projects that are on isolated PC's (or workstations), I'd say a whole lot gets done without a network connection in 2012.

Nothing to add that wasn't said above. Oh, nastalgia!

No the Republicans tried to kill all 3 methods. Why, because we DON'T WANT THIS. Period. People like me are very happy with our healthcare. Our family pays about $200/month for the 5 of us (major medical) and don't find it a particular burden. We never use it and I would go to a higher deductible if I could find one (can't). Most likely scenario is a kid needs a cast or stitches. This would be cheap out of pocket. Most other things are very unlikely and so major medical is all that is needed. We eat and exercise regularly to keep in good health so we don't need medical care.

Our national debate is NOT screwed up. People like you WON'T listen. Try to railroad something thru that approximately HALF the people in the country DON'T want is not a way to debate an issue or run a government. We've told you NO in no uncertain terms so either work at the state level if you think it is really necessary, or leave the country. 50/50 debates and issues and having one side push through an agenda will only lead to the other ~50% being pissed off. I say this to the Republicans too! This leads to civil war ultimately. It's why Democracies DON'T work and is why we are in a Republic (or a least originally were). It's the classic 51 wolves and 49 sheep deciding what's going to be for dinner (slight mod).

Good start, but you can add several other HUGE budget busters to your list.

Paperwork. Think volumes like medical companies filings for FDA approval of a new drug.

Handholding for way too many people/bureaucrats. Huge teams for PDR, CDR for EVERY SINGLE TANK. Congresscritters out to get a vote/photo-op. All those are of course budgeted at the beginning into the tank production costs.

Rescheduling. Government in their infinite wisdom decides that if task A can be done by X people in Y time, then same task can be done by 1/2X in 2Y time. Somebody slips the schedule and all of a sudden Specialist B must only work 20hr/week on the project. And where can he charge the other 20??? A even if this were to work out in reality (NOT), there are these people called managers who are still taking a piece of the pie who now are basically doubling the management time. And, of course, no time is allocated to rescheduling the project, milestones, subcontractor deliveries, etc.

Ancient tech. Nobody pays for upgrades from DOS to recent OS's since the delta-quals are way too expensive. The porting itself is reasonable, but nobody will trust that the new stuff works exactly like the old stuff unless it goes through extensive retesting. And even then someone will raise a bogus issue and add significantly further to the nightmare. So some sub-systems are ancient. Ni-Cads, DOS, kerosene/LOX, aluminum, 486's, RS422, hydraulic TVCs, ancient analog electronics that are 10X their original cost since the main production line is obsolete and custom runs are made to produce them.

All above also applies to defense work. Virtually the same bureaucracies in place, and these types of things happen ALL THE TIME. $200 hammer or toilet seat is a BARGAIN!

> iPod is a very risky move because it is significantly larger than things that fit in pockets.

Wow. You must have hobbit size shirts and pants. I've been able to fit all the different IPods in my pockets so far. Maybe you should try the Nano! :)

When I stated "I believe in God because science has PROVEN to repeatedly fail", it doesn't mean I give up on science or that it is the reason to believe in God. There is enough bad science and bad religion around, but you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

"I'm an atheist because I see no reason to believe in God"
Then you are automatically throwing out a whole branch of knowledge. People sometimes throw religion out because of some bad experiences or because of some idiot. I don't give science a free pass. And I don't give some religious nut a free pass either. I don't give up on science because of some whack job theory. I would ask you not to give up on God just because He is misrepresented by some kook who is really representing himself and NOT God.

"If new evidence appears that challenges your beliefs then rethink your beliefs. THIS IS HOW SCIENCE WORKS. What evidence is there for the existence of God?"
So, summarizing. Live by some falsehood until proven false, then jump to the next...falsehood. This is the cycle the OP was emphasizing. I "believe" Lagrangian mechanics has repeatedly shown itself useful in solving some problems, and so I have used it successfully, but I also am aware of its limitations. Evolution has shown itself useful for...NOTHING. Why bother. Natural selection has explained some things about adaptability. Nice, but like the unity principal in quaternion mathematics, useful to a very few projects. Why chase after the wind.

"Science has also repeatedly been proven RIGHT. Hence me sending you this message to you right now. Go science!"
And God gave you fingers and a brain that allowed the message. Go God! Sorry, couldn't withhold the irony.

"But until I see some evidence that a certain god exists I will keep filling the blanks with "unknown - to be explained later"
Until I see all the theories and laws proven correct I will fill in the blanks with "God will reveal it in His own time"

"then created his son from himself so that he could die to save us from the sins which he created"
You fail to understand the law or even some of the subtle precepts and suppositions. "Sins which WE created" is the words your looking for.

"How come you feel this way about religion but because science has been proven "WRONG" repeatedly you believe in god?"
I believe in both regardless of the human failings in improperly defining either. It's because of Christianities specific description of the wrongness in people and wrongness in people's ideas that make it appealing.

"I just think that science has one major bonus: it encourages testing and re-evaluating"
So do some "religions", such as "work out your own salvation", but I won't bore you with details in which you have no interest.

"All theories? Every single one of them? Wow, when did that happen"
Yes, every single one I listed.

"but none the less can be used to shoot satellites into space and predict the path of interstellar objects"
Your correct on the 1st, but wrong on the second. You can put a satellite into its 1st orbit (or even the first few orbits), but can't track the orbit without relativistic compensation to the Newtonian math. And you certainly can't predict an interstellar object's path with any precision either. Good way to fly right threw a star or bounce to close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?

"but GOD is allowed a free pass"
Where did I or the OP allow this? Further down I state that 90% of religion is crap. And THAT sounds like a free pass to you?

"you must, MUST, answer the question, well who made the creator"
Then you must, Must, MUST answer what is the intrinsic sub-properties of string theory and the multidimensional continuum? Right. Thought so. Right back to the OP. Not having all the answers doesn't prove or disprove ANYTHING.

"Why don't you love me while I'm stealing things from you?"
"Why don't you love me while I OD and die?"
"Why don't you love me while I abuse my little daughter?"

The answer is we do love you, but we aren't willing that any would get hurt or die. Just because I love my kids doesn't mean I'm going to let them make harmful and painful decisions (while young, eventually you have to turn them loose - just like you will eventually be turned "loose").

This one is only the 3rd that I found to be on topic and the most helpful reply so far. I also have an individual HSA with a $10k deductible. Cost about $180/month for a family of 5. Never been to doctor yet, so I'm pocketing all the savings. Our family eats healthy and stays fit so we don't expect to see a doc anytime soon and we like not having to pay for all the sickies out there. We hardly ever eat sugar or pop either, so all my kids are cavity free too. We only make it to the dentist once every couple of years and they are amazed at our teeth. Stay healthy and insurance isn't much of a concern.

"You are getting the issue sort of backwards"
No, you are not comprehending what the original poster was stating. The "negative" the OP is stating is our lack of knowledge. A 10 YO will make a statement that sound ridiculous to a 20 YO. A 20 YO will make a statement that sound ridiculous to a 30 YO, etc. Not always (definitely not a LAW), but it commonly happens. This has to do with experience on the older person's part. Look back in time in science. There once was something called "ether", the world was flat, and the stars, sun, and planets rotated about the earth. All have been proven false. Other long term theories have been proven false too, like Newton's gravity model even though they are close enough for a lot of work. And I'm sure that Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics models will likewise be proven false. So the OP is stating (and I agree), how can you disprove God when there is some evidence (why are we here, incredible complexities, irreducible complexity, etc). And I guarantee you that people in 100 years will look back at some of our quaint and downright stupid "laws" and "theories" much like we look back 100 years and think "how could those guys believe that?" Basically the OP is stating that we are ignorant idiots ... and he is absolutely correct. Therefore how can you logically ignore or totally discount a branch of knowledge. Or to rephrase - religion has incorrect theories past and present, and science has incorrect theories past and present, therefore I need to keep an open mind and keep searching for the truth and not latch on to some so called "expert" of the day.

"Ignorance is not a theological argument"
Your right. Ignorant theories like "dark matter" and "dark energy" are akin to "ether" and certainly sound silly when compared to theology. I see many people (thousands) wasting their lives and time chasing such theories (like ether and others). At least theology has been shown to be beneficial to health in multiple studies (like marriage, eating healthy, etc.) and waste your life less than crackpot scientific theories. There are very useful branches of theology just like I've used Newtonian mechanics. Both are wrong in toto, but have there is enough there to be extremely useful.

"I'm an atheist because I see no reason to believe in God"
I believe in God because science has PROVEN to repeatedly fail. And I'm a rocket scientist of all things. Science is like any other tool, good for some limited things and utterly useless for most of the rest of life. There certainly has been a lot of crap expounded as religion and God throughout history too, but, like science, it is proven wrong and most people move on.

"Please stop acting as if atheists are the one making untenable knowledge-claims."
I never saw that anywhere in the OP. Quite the opposite actually. Specifically the OP stated "most of what the world pushes on you as the concept of "God" is complete crap". Sounds like he is claiming that the "religious" people are making untenable knowledge-claims to me. I saw him claiming to once be an atheist and with time has decided that it doesn't make as much sense since we ALL have incomplete knowledge. I.e. the older and wiser and more knowledgeable (s)he's gotten, the more (s)he doesn't know. And many of us people in our 40's, 50's and beyond have realized how many DECADES we've spent on silly notions (both religious and scientific). We see Jesus calling the religious establishment (pharisees and saudicees) of the day "hypocrites" and "a brood of vipers" and we know exactly what he was talking about. Or in modern day parlance "see the new boss, same as the old boss". Or "it's hard to see the signal through the noise". We live in the noise in both religion and science and the OP and I refuse to fully believe either. Particularly the so called expert pharisees, physicist, "savior" presidents, etc. Science and religion are 90% crap, but that doesn't invalidate the other 10%. He I like that. I think I'll make it my new sig!

"They need a clean, non-rotational separation before the second stage engine fires and can fully stabilize the flight path"

There is no such thing as a clean, non-rotational separation during a staging event. ALL vehicle I have ever worked on have rather dramatic forces, both linear and rotational, acting on both stages during a sep. Some of the cleanest are using linear shape charges to explosively cut the metal holding the stages together, but other systems such as V-Bands and pneumatic pistons have all been tried and have their own problems. And even if the sep systems doesn't impart energy, there is always the aero load. These birds are typically unstable during a sep. Think heavy fuel, located at rear of vehicle - wrong end. It was always a race to warm up the engines (about 0.5 to 2 seconds) and slew the TVC (have to wait to clear the interstage) and catch the vehicle before it tumbled.

And yes, I am a rocket scientist.