/dev/null At least on Linux machines where we solved this problem decades ago.

If you have windows, that recycle bin is going to be REALLY full and I'm not sure how you are going to empty it with just a mouse.

Very true.. Wish I had points today!

Mod parent up!

Didn't we solve that problem on Linux already? I've never heard of /dev/null getting full have you?

Yes, but the trick is finding the bits of it that are not worthless, and doing it in such a way you can make a profit.

It's like mining when from a guy with a shovel, to large industrial sized drag lines that can scoop up a pile of dirt the size of a house.

The REAL money isn't in "big data" but about collecting and refining it into little bits of data.

Big "D"?

Do you mean Dallas?

Oh they mean something all right... Just not what people think. It says how well you can take their test, which is only an indicator of how well you do in college.

My daughter scored mid-range in the SAT so you'd expect she's a "C" student right?

I wish I had her GPA. She's pulling straight A's so far. The test are OK, in as far as they go, but they are far from a perfect tool to measure something as complex as human intelligence.

However, according to this article, it was my fast FIOS connection's fault...

I'll bet almost all of them drank something with H2O in it within the last 24 hours too! It's time we ban this stuff.... For the children!!!

Naw, My connection is 25Mbps/25Mbps (Up from 5Mbps/2Mbps) and I didn't get any smarter.... In fact, I sometimes think it was a dumb move as my wallet sure seems lighter these days.

Actually, if you look at the demographics of the last presidential election, it's not all roses for the democrats. I'd not be so sure about your party being "kind of the hill" for all that long. You see, if you look at voters over 30 years old, they voted for the republican more often than not. What got Obama in office was the under 30 demographic, which where only starting to become aware of politics. Now they went for Obama in a big way, but in the end, the margins where usually pretty close.

Now Obama isn't running for office ever again, so you need to start thinking about what got the under 30's to vote for him in such unusually large numbers? Neither you nor I know that answer, but we do know that true to history, Obama's approval ratings have dropped well below those of any president in recent history (even the last Bush). The question is, will the under 30's show up for the next democratic nominee like they did for Obama? You better be careful on that front with who you nominate because I don't think your obvious choice is going to appeal to this demographic and I'm betting that as these people get older, they are going to realize they've been played. ObamaCare and other social programs are not selling well with this group, and as they get older it will only play worse.

But the real problem for your side is that Hillary and Obama only "play" conservative. They are not really. They still are classic "tax and spend" (or more to the truth "just spend") liberals. Spending is a short term strategy, and unless you don't grow the GDP or raise taxes really bad things are going to happen and the 30 somethings are *really* going to be in a pickle financially. I"m sure the puppy love for the democrats will start to look like a bad idea to at least some of them. The fact that democrats are beholden to large corporate interests and use power as a money grab for their friends is going to start becoming known, that they are just politicians is apparent and that they just tell you what you want to hear to advance their own ends will drive down both turnout and percentages voting democrat in this demographic.

This is not to say the republicans don't have issues. They do the "just spend" thing way too much themselves. Plus they have a woeful lack of PR skills at times. But I actually see that improving. There are times when you just sit back and shut up because there's nothing you can say that's going to help you. Republicans have been in such a position with Obama since he took office, yet they kept babbling in front of the press. They are learning to just shut-up and let the issue die when there isn't anything they can do. If they take the senate, that will give them a lot more control of what issues come up, they will be able to drive the national debate a whole lot more. I expect them to use that to their advantage because they can wrap this "do nothing" mantel on democrats who seem to know how to keep their traps shut when they are in no-win situations (best case for you) or if they choose to talk the republicans can wrap them in knots by picking the issues everybody gets to talk about.

So, I'd be careful making confident claims about democrats being in power forever. Being overconfident is not a good policy. You may be winning right now, but the competition is snapping at your heels. Don't forget that.

He got 33 months for being STUPID.... But crime usually is.

That number is just what the film distributor's marketing department *claims* they lost.

Personally I think the real number is a magnitude or two lower. Did the first movie even do that many copies?

Especially that one..

The MPAA can sue you, but they cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip. That's just civil court though.

Problem with this guy's story is that what he did was illegal too. It was the illegal part that got him the jail time.

Which is why we have elections and why we discuss what they do.

I'm personally tired of all the acrimony over political appointees doing what they do by the opposition. My party isn't in power right now, but my attitude is "The other side won the election so they get to do what they want."

That doesn't mean I don't turn a critical eye on their choices, but I'm am not going to just hit the default "They're democrats so it's a bad choice" setting. I'm an equal opportunity criticizer, so if you are a republican and you advance something I think is daft and stupid, I'm going to say so.

Problem is, it seems that the default setting for a lot of this has become more about party affiliation and less about right and wrong so we get this kind of "you better not make this choice because the other party will change it when we get into power" tripe. It's not helpful to anybody and only leads to the making of even worse decisions for the people.

One wonders where this mentality comes from though.... I have my theories (ok I think I know) but I'll keep it to myself because most would consider what I had to say about that hyper partisan.

Oh please. This is exactly how it happens today. The only reason you cannot see it is that much stock is held by institutions (mutual funds, retirement funds, other companies) and not individuals so it's not easy to see who's pulling the strings, but if you start looking at who or what company owns what stock, and start tracing who is getting elected to which companies board of directors it's pretty easy to connect the dots and find out who's pulling the strings.

Come on, all this is public record for the most part. Dig a bit.