Good. I hope everyone benefits from this feature. MOOC has been a boon for me, and I suspect, for others as well.

One remarkable thing that recently came out of Coursera is Rice University's CodeSkulptor . With CodeSkulptor, I can write interactive games in Python (with additional help from CodeSkulptor's library functions).

You can do all that if you take the course "An Introduction to Interaction Programming in Python" . It's a lot of fun.

If you choose to DIY, it may interest you to take a look at Steve Huffman's (Reddit) at Udacity : CS253 How to Build a Blog. Sure, a blog is not a forum but they share some key elements. Steve uses Google App Engine as the server and codes in Python and Jinja2.

What the hell ?! Would it kill the OP to slap a spoiler alert to this article?

I have tried hard to avoid any information about this movie. I guess I have to try harder next time.

If others have commented about this, my apologies. I dare not skim this thread for fear that more shall be revealed.

Just thought that I would add something I found when I took Sebastian Thrun's AI course.

The Google self-driving car will not work in snowy condition. This is because the localization algorithm computes the car position using lane lines. So, if there is snow on the ground, lane acquisition will fail.

The other tidbit I will throw in also is that the Google car favours a right turn over a left turn because it is deemed less risky (i.e., change lane as least times as possible).

Oh, and one other thing. The Google car does not honk. The Google self-driving car team cannot figure out how to communication effectively with other drivers in this fashion. I

Aha.

I couple more of these "Apple's Story is Like [TV Series]" and we can finally debunk this Slashdot poll "How much TV do you watch in a week"

Duct tape?

Just thinking out loud here: how many bolts does it take to hold down the power unit in the first place? If the original plan calls for ten bolts, then one missing bolt would only diminish the strength by 10%.

You are not thinking outside the box.

Actually found this on snorgtees.com:

"Dear Algebra,
Stop asking us to find your X.
She's not coming back"

It should be the common understanding among the public that results from MetaCritic (or any other sites of such nature) must bring to mind Slashdot's poll caveat, i.e.,:

"This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane"

I wonder if SETI could benefit from Kickstarter the same way some other folks have been successful.

I thought they did a good job to farm out little bits of data for people to run on their computers. This is the very same reason why I think it might be possible for SETI to get funding by way of kickstarter.

I am sure there are still dreamers in this blue earth that could give SETI a hand, provided the objectives and level of outsider participation (like myself) are meaningful.

ps: otherwise, just do it the archaic way: sell t-shirts, dammit. I'll buy one.

I can see the allure of fame for people to apply to Mars One to be the first to reach Mars.

I can see the allure of wonder for tv audience to gaze at Mars from its surface.

But what would bring other potential applicants and viewers back for the second or the third time since the scenery on Mars, interaction between rational people, etc. do not change so much?

If part of your funding is predicate on viewership, is this not problematic for future mission?

According to your (Bas Lansdorp) LinkedIn bio, you founded Ampyx Power upon graduation and left the company three years later to start Mars One.

Maybe you can share with us what compelled you to leave Ampyx Power to branch out into something new?

Mars One's first mission won't start until 2022 as I understand it and as a founder, I am sure you want to see this thing through. Dare I ask what circumstances would make you walk away from this project?

Do successful applicants become employees of Mars-One or mere contestants to a reality space show?
Do these people then earn salaries plus other benefits? I am sure some of them have to support their families

I bet a majority of the recorded conversations would begin with something like this:
"Let's go get some donuts at Tim Hortons, eh?"