That was my thinking. Maybe we have giant silos of cacao, and those are dwindling, although I lack the imagination to think this is literally true. The whole premise looks like a reason to raise prices and profits.

If the world is eating more chocolate, it means the world is getting richer. Not many in China would be eating chocolate regularly 20 years ago, Same could be said of other areas.

Regardless, the math doesn't add up, particularly the future estimations of us consuming a million tons more than we make. The only place you see that kind of math is typically in the Ministry of Truth.

Lead acid batteries can produce hydrogen gas. Not sure what nicads do, except for "very little".

Exactly. This is the probably the best and least error prone book I know about his life. I've read it more than twice.

I gave up spray deodorant and switched to stick years ago, simply because I didn't want to be inhaling aluminum chlorohydrate and other goodies. That it isn't good for the environment is secondary to that.

I agree that smaller government isn't "the" answer, but smaller is easier to keep an eye on, and much of the "smaller" means that things instead get shifted to the state or local level. Frankly, I like that, because I can easily go downtown, or easy enough to the state capital, but when D.C. is in charge, there is zero chance of being heard. I would rather be a tiny voice here in NC than a non-existent one in DC.

So you are saying only rich people should be able to break the rules? Do you have any fucking idea how patently offensive and elitist your comment is?

But this is one of the few times when the article is actually more interesting than the comments here. Worth reading, even if that is breaking the unwritten rules around here.

That is right. I was in during the middle 80s when it existed, but was still rare.

No, it was called a Senior Airman. Very few Sr.Amn went to NCO school and took the rank of buck sgt. before just going for staff, so the majority of E4s were Airman tier, not NCO tier. Sr. Amn and Buck paid the same, both being E4, with the only difference being NCO school and tier, plus some advantages (priority) if you wanted to separate rats and quarters and were single. Oh, and the star on your sleeve was silver instead of blue, although that isn't a perk, just an indication you were an NCO.

Note that most of the "exceptional" airmen back then would simply go below the zone (make E5/Staff Sgt. in less than 4 years) rather than seek buck sgt. Bucks were fairly rare for a variety of reasons, including the above.

Yes, I was in the Air Force. So was most of my family.

It's funny, you speak of "no meaning" as if you have a scientific basis for this. Unless you do, your opinion is no more valid than the guy strapping a bomb on himself to get 72 virgins, and no less dogmatic. Not everyone defines "meaning" is as narrow a manner as you.

For starters, deism isn't a religion, which makes the rest of the comment not worth bothering with.

I've been deistic for decades. It discounts the idea that god is an old man on the mountain, but maintains the idea that there is purpose and meaning to everything, not just man.

As you point out, not all birds of a feather stick together. I'm not a Tea Party guy. I'm just not closed minded enough to judge a friend by their politics. If you only have friends that agree with your politics, you are probably narrow minded or take politics too seriously.

Has the United States of America become a member of The Totalitarian Club ?

Yes. Each President has been moving in this direction more and more, but Obama has managed to overreach even more than those before him. Take the IRS, for instance. I personally know of people who have been getting involved with Tea Party politics and now are getting audited. Like their politics or not (it doesn't matter), that is totalitarianism, which means the next time a GOP'er gets in, he can do the same thing. It isn't a good time to be an American.

However, it takes a really fast car to stay on the other side of the planet.