No, there is no argument against Creationism, because there doesn't need to be any argument against Creationism. There is simply no evidence, as in none whatsoever, to support it. Therefore it is nothing more than a supposition, not worth anyone's time.

Which is entirely different from global warming/climate change, whatever the f*ck they are calling it today. The arguments against which are that 1. the evidence in support of it is flawed; 2. the scientists who argue for it may have or likely have been influenced by the incentive inherent in their own need to collect a paycheck; 3. That political persons and entities most definitely have been corrupted by said incentives.

Two entirely different things. In the case of climate change, the first argument against should, eventually, be resolved by solid facts. The 2nd and 3rd arguments are extremely difficult if not impossible to refute. The implications are that IF you expect people who are at this point skeptical to be convinced by your arguments, you had better be polite and professional when you state your views. Remember, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!

I have reached the point where I simply trust no one on this. This is after being strongly in agreement that global warming was occurring, was probably caused by humans, and probably would cause trouble if something wasn't done. That is entirely decoupled from what I think or may have thought *should* be done, and whether or not I believe that humans are capable of doing whatever needs to be done without screwing things up even worse. Back to the point...

The more the climate change people crystalize into a faction, which assumes things about anyone who is skeptical and starts calling names like "denialist" etc., rather than politely explaining their position no matter how long it takes, the less I trust any of them.

I work with scientists at a national laboratory. If you think they won't suddenly change their research interests when it is necessary to do so in order to continue to receive a paycheck, then you really don't understand the reality of what we are as human beings. There is nothing wrong with that of course. What would be wrong would be to fudge the science to collect a paycheck. But if you think that people can consistently draw the ethical line there just because they have Ph.D. after their name, then you are a fool.

Finally I have only ever experienced bona-fide intolerance, to the point of nearly having someone spit in my face simply because I offered a contrary position as a purely intellectual exercise, from some people on one particular side of the political spectrum. I won't say which. But the answer is the ironic one. And the ones currently doing most of the name calling.

So you are shooting yourselves in the foot folks. As soon as this name calling "denialist" bullshit started, you signed the check for your own demise. If you were really working from objectivity, you would have been smarter than that.

Well if the cops just happen to get the wild idea that you might have some illegal drugs on you, you may find yourself in a hospital getting fucked up the ass by all sorts of medical apparatus, with no option to decline. Like this: http://www.policestateusa.com/...

This is the monster we have created, and now have to live with. And it's starting to eat us. And you are not exempt from having one of these "mistakes" happen to you.

A kid with a decent $15 multimeter is way ahead of one with no meter at all. There is nothing wrong with cheap DMMs, as long as their limitations are understood. I have some kit Elenco DMMs for about $15 that are useful in many circumstances. I also have very good bench DMMs by Fluke and Tek. And middle of the road handheld 4.5 digit DMMs. All have their place. Any one of them is infinitely superior to nothing.

No.

The Measurement Category (CAT I,II,III,IV, etc.) ratings vary all over the place, with the worst having no rating or a questionable one. If you are working on live circuits in an industrial setting (circumstances which have many onerous requirements for safety) then this matters A LOT. Because, if you are measuring the voltage of a 480VAC bus with an under-rated DMM, and a voltage spike hits it that sparks over internally, the under-rated DMM is going to turn into a 480V arc-flash disaster right in your hands. That is why Fluke DMMs are worth $400-600 for the top models, because they have the internal clearances and beefy transient suppression/protection circuit elements. As well as accuracy.

I didn't understand this stuff out of ignorance when I started working in an industrial (national, research lab) 15 years ago. Their oppressive safety training requirements have changed me over the years. Now I really appreciate it. Because despite all the effort to drive home the point, it still goes in one ear and out the other for most folks.

I spent a lot of time as a kid playing with very high voltages making sparks, at very low currents. So I didn't realize that a 480VAC bus could produce a massive ball of plasma which could melt my face off. Now I understand, fortunately through opening my mind, rather than getting hurt.

Keep learning!

"Business NEVER does things for the common good - ever."

So tell us who does?

So what? Let the people figure out how to be less vulnerable. Letting them take a shot at the crooks would go a long way toward fixing this! We don't need another stupid law. You can be sure that whatever the government does will just f*ck things up worse, or have some diabolical hidden agenda.

It's not that simple. The energy released by fusion is mostly in the neutrons, which aren't so good at converting to heat and blast. Our nukes are fusion boosted fission weapons as the AC and tp1024 stated. They are dirty, radiological weapons by design. Read: http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/...

Let's criminalize things other people do that we don't like but which don't deprive us of life, property, or liberty. Then tomorrow, let's bitch and whine about the NSA and the growing police state! Yeah, isn't cognitive dissonance a wonderful thing!

Illegal to own? No. Read the regs. It is illegal to enter into commerce promoted as a pointing device. There is no law against possessing lasers of any type.

Obviously. Check out market-ticker.org, where among other political/economic rantings, the author frequently delves into in-depth discussions on Blackberry and it's technical characteristics.

You might even learn a thing or two about the real reasons health care is so expensive in the US (if you are in the US and care about that.)

If this was an OD due to illegal drugs, then it's likely that it wouldn't have occurred if the drugs were simply legal. You cannot "know your dose" with illegal drugs because you: 1. don't know what drug it really is at all; 2. don't know the concentration or purity. The best way to reduce ODs would be to legalize everything, then all the info on how to dose and minimize adverse health consequences could be kept out in the open.

Wrong. Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant suffered minor damage, and came close to a meltdown situation before being stabilized by "hook and crook" methods.

Why would I fear the Chinese .gov taking my money? IF you try to move to China, what you have to fear is the US .gov taking your money, first by charging you an "exit tax". Then if you try to put money in a foreign bank acct., charging you 30% witholding' due to FATCA. Then if you fuck up one little thing someday while your retired over there just wanting to hang with your Chinese girlfriends and avoid any trouble, like not filing one of the several required forms that must be sent to the IRS and Treasury each year to report not only what taxes you owe, but also where every penny of your money is in every location on the planet lest you become a felon, they will happily seize all your assets. To top it off, if they add new reporting requirements, you won't even be told about it. So make sure to read every line of every 2000 page bill passed by CONgress each year.

And how do you know startpage.com isn't a foreign shell corp. set up in Denmark by agents of or working for the NSA or something similarly evil? Nothing can be trusted anymore. Nothing.

Thru hole, in 2013? Jeez, I'm even designing mostly SMT for home projects like Nixie clocks. I find SMT easier to work with than PTH.