He knows we are going to talk about how Microsoftie Howard Schmidt is chairman of the board of codenomicon.

Someone who is so easily enraged that they would resort to physical violence over what ultimately amounts to a difference in beliefs over an intangible issue like privacy is no better than those who have, in the past, gone around killing nonbelievers in the name of God.

That's perfectly fine, but in practice, the HR people are the only ones that you are ever going to have a chance of seeing until you've done something to get yourself noticed by somebody higher up.

If you have connections that can get you past HR without any hassle, that's all very well and good... but not everyone is so well connected.

we have to get over the social issue first.

There is no social issue, there is only a propaganda issue. People have been told over and over that nuclear is the ultimate evil thing. They just need some counterbalancing facts about how it can be safe and that in fact it's safer than coal... then start by replacing coal plants with small really well contained nuclear plants, and expand from there.

Lets suppose, we just exclude the U.S., and then we have the consensus that GW is human caused.

Fertilizing the ocean with iron will not increase the fish population, it will rather kill it off. Yes, phytoplankton will increase, but at the same time this will bind much of the oxygen in the ocean, thus animals (including fish) will just suffocate. Ask someone who lives near the ocean what happens if you have an algae bloom: fish populations die.

Climate change is quite well understood (science is never settled). And the question if climate change is something we are largely responsible for is answered with a sound yes. There are some nests of people still trying to argue that, but they are mainly located in the U.S.. The rest of the world just shrugs the shoulders about the ongoing debate in the U.S. and thinks: Americans, ey? Can't just accept a fact, if it means they might be wrong.

They were not a serious problem 200 years ago, because 200 years ago, there were many more serious problems overshadowing them. Basicly the only illness you can catch today that didn't exist 200 years ago is AIDS.

Back before white rot fungus evolved to break down lignin. So the plants fell and their woody parts did not ever decompose. Now they are broken down into CO2 and Methane through biological action.

The type of reactor is important. There isn't enough uranium for us to power out of this with light water reactors. We need breeders. Thorium, traveling wave, IFR that take spent fuel as input and self-enrich.

It's OK. In the winter the gorillas will freeze to death.

Didn't any of you people watch "The Time Machine"?!

On Netflix now is "Pandora's Promise". Released last year, this documentary talks about the specific IFR type nuclear power referenced in the fine article. It is a little one-sided, but pretty interesting overall. The reactor can enrich depleted uranium, and burn it over and over until all the uranium is gone. It is not prone to meltdown, either.

I decided to double-check that point on a government web site, and in fact, all "slower traffic keep right" signs mean is that the road is expected to accomodate a variety of vehicles which may be moving at various speeds (and of course, by law, all of them should be at or below the posted limit), and where the inner lanes are reserved exclusively for vehicles that are travelling at or very near the posted speed limit, other vehicles which may need to travel more slowly are advised to use the outside lane. Slow moving vehicles travelling below the posted limit are forbidden from using the left lane except where it is necessary for a left turn, but under no circumstances is a vehicle going the posted limit prohibited from using the lane, even if other vehicles around them are speeding.

"Keep right except to pass" is another sign which only occurs where an auxiliary lane has been added to a highway for passing purposes only. Usually, the roadway expands in width, with the lane markings shifting the existing lanes slightly to the right, making room for a new lane on the left, similar to what you mgiht find near an intersection having a dedicated left-turning lane All lanes to the right of this new lane are permitted for regular driving, however. The auxiliarly lane is usually of limited length, and the purpose of the sign is to caution drivers who might otherwise expect to be able to utilize the additional lane for regular cruising.

I'd argue that the people who are doing the punching are no less pretentious *or* self-righteous.... like they have made it their own self-appointed duty to, under threat of physical violence, try to make other people see the world as they do, and have a similar set of priorities and values.

This is different from people killing in the name of religion how, exactly?

And what kind of world is it that you live in that this sort of thing is actually amusing?