..is already taken - we'll be calling it the "Next Tablet Microsoft will Release" Tablet.

"Use of Weapons" also has one of the funniest moments when the protagonist who has been beheaded, rescued in the nick of time and kept alive and still headless by Culture medical technology is presented with a gift by the snarky drone in said book.

It's a hat.

I have to say that I agree with your assessment of the book - it was depressing. However I felt that it was a story that Baxter wrote to stretch out the amazing level of research he did for the significantly better, and somewhat magnificent "Voyage" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_(novel), where he postulates an Apollo-based mission to Mars in the mid-80's.

Titan in comparison was utterly ridiculous in its use of Apollo technology. Like taking the Saturn V out of the rocket garden in Florida and restoring it for flight (in reality they've moved it to a huge walk under indoor display). The human dynamics of such a ridiculously long flight were depressing and readable but the basic notion was absurd.

Actually while the war itself is depressing and the cultural changes that the main character experiences divorces him from the culture and reason he is fighting - it has an upbeat ending and message. Society has passed through good and bad cycles and reached a stable equilibrium - ironically the kind of society they were fighting in the first place, just didn't understand. The individual characters end up happy because in such a society they hedge their bets and recreate a set of "baseline cultures" just in case they need to go back to first principles. Good stuff.

Yes the end is totally a bummer I agree. The sequel Anvil of Stars really is quite gritty and depressing in its own way - even though it has a "Humans kick ass" plot.

Well most bittorrent sites bundle hundreds, if not thousands of them of them in 1 gig+ torrents. But I agree, the casual user won't know about these.

I think it pays not to lose your cool in any professional environment. The key (as far as is humanly possible) is to be polite, respectful and easy to work with or for, in any professional context. Bottom line, chances are that you will cross paths with these people again, and the probability increases significantly when you meet people who know other people etc. Case in point. I used to work with a fellow developer who was just an ass. Unhelpful, condescending, backstabbing - just a plain awful human being (good coder but soft skills were a real issue for this jerk). In the last 10 years I've been asked multiple times to provide a reference for this guy via mutual contacts simply because I worked with him in the past - and have refused every time. Politely and legally. It speaks volumes. Lots of doors have closed for him just because he couldn't take the time to act like a decent human being. ...and it costs so much energy to be a dick, why bother burning bridges?

Thats what EB-1 and EB-2 green card categories are for. A green card where you can apply for permanent residency based on your own achievements. If you are writing research papers or filing patents left, right and center it's a good category as you don't need employer sponsorship.

The clear evidence that Tandoori Mixed Grill and Nachos Supreme exist.

public class Universe
{
public double size ()
{
return Double.POSITIVE_INFINITY;
}
}

I accept cash, credit or paypal.

"Hey lets slap some mouldy bread on this open wound - Fred down the street says it healed him up real nice". Simulation. 1500AD. Penicillin trials.

Complete and utter nonsense.

David Carradine? Is that you? Damn dude, I knew that whole hotel, neck, right-hand thing had to be faked.

(btw - I liked your post - MOD UP)

I believe for you its likely to remain a hobbyist niche - high performance computing is of course of value to many, many industries but you have placed a constraint on it that makes it difficult to satisfy what otherwise would be an easy to meet requirement. I'm not sure how far your ethical framework extends, but the hints in your OP suggest that its extremely important to you - that is something worthy of respect as you have placed limits on your own development / personal income for matters of principle. May I suggest the following: Go to a more niche site that deals in your field and ask the same question - you are likely to get more specific answers, and perhaps a satisfactory outcome to your dilemma. Also AskSlashdot is like wrapping yourself in deer meat and wandering into a wolf den - you may find the answers discouraging (although I have seen some great posts this time around). I wish you all the best in your hunt.

Most reasoned argument I've seen posted on /. for a while - excellent.