Neural networks are just a model/guess of how real neurons work together. I am guessing that 'natural brains' do have errors, and more error correcting and redundant systems than are in current computerized systems. If we recognize items one way, we probably (my guess) recognize the same item several ways (and get it wrong a few times). Even then, humans (and other animals) mis-recognize items and others regularly. They also re-analyse data, and use other senses (and even averaging over time with slightly different perceptions) to have better long term recognition results. Could all that be done with artificial neural networks? Sure. But we just aren't there yet, but neither are our biological systems. :-)

Brazil is bard from exporting ethanol to the US, but the corn lobby. Also, we can't use sugar cane sugar to generate alcohol. Sugar cane is a more efficient plant on a per acre and per energy required to farm and harvest than corn is for the purposes of sugar for generating alcohol, but that isn't 'allowed' by the corn lobby. Nothing against corn, but it is much better used as a food stuff than as a 'harvester of sunlight for energy'. ... Driving from TN to MT a few times (or any long distance driving), I find that I get about 10% better milage using non-ethanol gas vs 10% ethanol gas. And more ethanol makes it worse. For the volume, ethanol has about 10% the energy value of gasoline. So if you buy 10% ethanol gas, you are only getting 91% of the energy value of pure gasoline (non-ethanol 'enriched'). The ethanol does cut down on the emissions, but making vehicles that get 10% better milage will be better.

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My Nissan suggest running non-ethanol gasolines for best milage. For short distances, I do find a difference, but the difference isn't overwhelming due to the inefficiencies needed to get the engine up to operating temperature. Short distances I get 17 to 23 MPG (lots of hills in my area, most driving is 7 miles per trip or less, so engine never really warms up fully, also lots of hills locally, and I live in a valley so it is uphill going anywhere from here), and going long distances I can get up to 27 MPG with non-ethanol, and about 24 MPG with ethanol gas. It is some miles to get to non-ethanol gas, so I do mainly drive locally with ethanol, unless I happen to get to where it is available.

No problem, with using bamboo instead... but the encasement cover, typically epoxy, needs to be addressed too. Any suggestions? (I doubt that Gorilla Glue or Hide Glue are reasonable alternatives :-)

How about chocolate covered Fire Ants or Killer Bees?

intelligence whether human or AI can adapt to communications delays. Historically 'instant communications' did not exist, so we used postal mail. Round trips can be from days to weeks for messages. Sending a Text to a son or daughter may take many months to get a response (like the obligatory call on Mothers or Fathers day, or when tuition is close to due!). If the I in an AI is correct, it will be able to deal appropriately. If not, then it didn't deserve the I in the first place.

There were more on the road in 1900 than today. So yes, this 'fad' will be over soon. :P

Nationalize ISPs? So you want it run as well as the Postal Service and Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, Congress, Obamacare, Social Security, etc?

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We already have to deal with Comcast/Charter/AT&T to get to work daily. And they will keep on giving poorer service for higher prices and telling you that pig with lipstick is Holly Berry as long as we are willing to take it as customers.

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Is Mozilla right? They aren't as wrong as leaving things to the big ISPs to decide for us. There could be a 'more correct' decision but my fuzzy crystal ball is on the blink, so I can't tell you what it is.

Already having a desalinization plant ready is great. This still won't keep the residents in cheap water, but they can exist.

On the downside, it normally takes considerable energy, and the only ones to pay for it is the consumers (like everything else). Now if they just solar power the plant (grin)...

Even keyfob active keys doesn't keep cars from being ripped off. But neither does manufacturers that only put in a half dozen different physical keys in their lineup of physical keys. IMHO: If you don't want your car ripped off, drive an old beater that no-one but you wants.

"Digital is a fad" from the USPS, is like Tom Watson (IBM)s quote saying there might be a world market for 5 computers.

$400? Woah. I think this is why I have moved to Ubiquiti equipment. The ubnt.com equipment isn't wrt56g compatable, but it is Linux, pretty reliable and solid from what I can tell.

So I guess opening the source for 'public use' isn't enough?

Personally, I think since they EOL'ed it years ago and have kept (under corporate customer pressure mainly) extending its life, it should be allowed to die, or live as an 'open' project. Toss a million at it to start a foundation, give the foundation full rights for whatever and let it fly 'free from continuing Microsoft Support'.

But that is just my idea of what is 'right'.

I am sure they are right, the sky is falling. We are all doomed. I think old age will get me first. If they can't determine some reasonable solution and even various progressive levels of action that can be taken, all they are doing is playing Chicken Little and giving Saturday Night Live more fodder for comedy. Get real. Whatever we do must fit the economic realities. It doesn't have to be easy, but the harder it is, the less likely it will be implemented.

As a grey hair CS type, that has an engineering degree (not software engineering), some of us do understand that 'if it has a wire going to it, it is vulnerable'. This includes power wires, not just digital wires. All wires act as antennas, and even many receivers transmit in 'sympathy' to what they receive. To many CompSci types live in academic ivory towers, and IT types believe their own hype that THEIR NETWORK is 'secure'. Doing just analog doesn't keep hackers from doing their thing, it just means they need different skill sets. The spook communities were snooping long before everything went digital. Digital has just made their task easier. Being cognisant of shielding, network (an non-network) designs, keeping 'outside media' (USB sticks are horrible security issues) from individual machings as well as networks. Remote controls of any kind, even without 'backdoors' no matter how 'secure' we are told they were, are bad ideas if we really mean secure. Islands of computing still seems like a good thing for secure needs. No connections in or out. Even power should not be directly connected, run it through gen-sets (to convert 'power available' to 'more-secure power', even if UPS's are used 'inside' the gensets. All this does isolation. Make every computer and computing area Faraday cages. Even at that someone will find a way to spoof or snake their way in. The more secure, the higher the value of information, the more effort the 'bad guys' are willing to spend to acquire it or at least a copy.
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Sucksnet (and similar) was an 'injection' scheme, to put 'bad stuff' on particular devices. This is blackhat hacker kind of things (destructive). Greyhats (white collar crime - even 'exploratory hacking' like many of us did back in the day) are not necessarily physically destructive but they sure take the financial and emotional tolls. All of it is 'bad stuff'.
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Even my broker and father in law wonders why I want paper copies of statements (at least year end). All this discussion says why. Paranoid? Possibly, but just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are NOT out to get you. :)

I have had my 30 year college reunion and I was getting paid for programming in Assembler and FortranIV while in college. Never got the handle on APL, but everything from MarkIV, Easytreve, PL/1, assembler, BASIC have paid the bills for years. To learn and use REXX effectively, I had to learn a new paradigm of coding. Going to OO is still frustrating. Obfucation for its own sake and getting me away from the hardware adds to my frustrations. On using 'environments', 'frameworks', or IDE's, or whatever other euphemism we want to use: it is just another paradigm to learn where we need to forget what we knew to learn how to use it effectively. Consider using them like being a 'new language' (even if they just produce Perl, PHP, assembler, C, or Swahili doesn't matter for now). New constructs, new definitions for old concepts. But try NOT to map your old understanding on the 'new technology' till you can 'think in the new way'. Then layer your knowledge and experience on this 'new fangled stuff', and you can bring a depth of understanding that the whippersnappers can't believe till they have to go through the change where 'everything you know is wrong' too! If they stay in the biz long enough, they will have to do it several times.

I have made the leap several times. But still remember my the basics of computers haven't changed. It all still boils down to machines running code, and they still only do one thing at a time (no matter what virtual sleight of hand is done).

Hang in there. Learn each 'new technology' as if it was really new (little is). Then once you master it, integrate it into your life understanding of computing. This is a good way to grow and keep your roots, IMHO.