Why would it have to be under $150? If we're talking industrial CAD applications, money isn't that much of an object as long as it is more effective/efficient. We're not talking hobby work, or making video game models here, we're talking rocket engines. If you can afford to manufacture a working rocket, and launch it, I doubt you care if you break $150 for an input device.

I can do most of my stuff with a $200 point and shoot camera, yet I have a fairly pricey kit... Why? Versitility and increased effectiveness. I don't own the most expensive (or even close to it), because there is a point, for what I need to do, where diminishing returns set in. If I really needed it, and made enough to warrant it, I'd cough up more.

You realize that the U.S. isn't the world, and if it was AZ would be 2% of the world? Perhaps a bit less, since The Rez uses DST, even if the rest of the state doesn't.

Further, for the countries of the world that do use DST, which isn't a majority from the looks of it, they use differing standards so "Smart" appliances would still be useless for them, if they are locked into U.S. DST.

Furthermore, why the hell would anyone actually WANT DST... Its a dumb system, and should probably die. For once Arizona is smarter than the rest of the U.S., at least on this front. I will celebrate tonight.

Finance it.

Hey, not all of us are as creepy as our politicians.. Actually Arizona could be two states, Maricopa County (Phoenix), and Everything Else. The other large population center (Tucson) leans heavily towards the left, as does a decent swath of Northern Arizona. Phoenix is the problem. As a person who lives there, I'd be happy if it was erased from the map. People aren't meant to live here.

I don't know, I've seen some watches I'd cough up a $900 for, or more, if (big if, there) I had a couple extra grand to toss around. I don't, so... If you have the money, there is nothing wrong with spending it. I've bought some things that people with less money would think wasteful. If your living above sustenance level, you probably have too.

Also, there is something beautiful and awesome about a fine mechanical watch... Its pre-digital, pre-analogue, nerdy. One of my relatives got a "class-A" knock-off Vacheron Constantin watch in China for $100, and it is one of the most beautiful bits of tech I've ever seen (with the whole movement visible through the crystal back).. The genuine one would probably floor me, and set me back the cost of a luxury car (or more, they can go up to several MILLION dollars).

And if its like most clocks, its useless for me, since it automatically sets DST. Pretty much every auto-setting clock I've owned has gone in the trash, since they don't work in Arizona.

This might be true of dark chocolate, but British milk chocolate is evil, at least as far as I've experienced it at import stores.

I'm not a huge fan of milk chocolate (the opposite of a fan, generally), but the American version isn't quite as anemic, and doesn't turn into mouth slime. Again, it doesn't matter much, since milk chocolate is pretty vile universally, barring some exceptions (again, Pocky... mmmm).

Briefly they test dark chocolate coffee ones... They were among the best candy bars I've ever had. Obviously this meant they were discontinued.

As for the US ones sucking, at least, in the candy sphere, we're still better than the UK. I've never had a good British chocolate, their milk chocolate makes ours look good. Doubly true for the hideous Aero bars... Bleh.

Green tea KitKats are amazing. You make me want to hop over to our local asian market and grab some candy... And Pocky. Tons of Pocky. Washed down with a cold bottle of Malta... There goes the money reserved for actual food... thanks.

This is true, as it speaks to the reason behind the statement. Sadly, this doesn't really speak to the potential truth of the statement itself. Truth can be propaganda, as well as lies.

Judging from my experience with American law enforcement, and "justice", and everything else I've read, this smells a wee bit truthful. It still serves Russia nicely (them being, perhaps, bigger dicks than us), but I still think they might have a valid point. We're not the good guys, by any stretch. We only look out for our own interests, and by "our", I of course mean only our governments, not "our" as in "we the people".

I really don't get all the hate on this service. It is better than the alternative; devices that are never updated because carriers and manufacturers would rather you go out and buy more hardware every year. This happened to my Droid (Verizon) and Transformer (ASUS), after a single update, they never received even a modicum of support again.

Oh no, Android is slightly more useful, at the cost of carriers and manufactures... must be a terrible plot.

I understand wanting control, but sadly mobile devices have moved way beyond that. You can't control your hardware nor, really, your software. They aren't desktop computers... Sadly. I would kill for upgradable mobile devices, so I don't have to toss them every year. I find disposable hardware to be a bit vulgar. Then add in the fact, that sans rooting (if possible) that your device will never, ever, see an upgrade. So to get more functions, and security, you need to go shell out $300+ for a new device. If you're not on a contract, then you might just be screwed.

I'm also happy that Google recognizes, finally, fragmentation.

It depends. I had a party at my house once, and someone posted photos to Facebook from their phone, tagging my house as a location. I have never been able to remove this. Even flagging the photos doesn't remove the "check in" as my house as a public location. Trying to complain doesn't work, since my house isn't actually associated with me, according to Facebook, I am not the owner of this "venue". So, despite me never telling facebook my address, and removing all location data from everything I share, Facebook now can associate me with an address.

The problem with things like Facebook, is that you have no power over what others can do with your information. You can abstain from using it, or use it as responsibly as possible, and it doesn't matter once someone posts something about you.

Google's terms are still a bit wonkey, though. They are vague enough to do the same things as Facebook.

I've pretty much given up though. It is a losing battle, and I'm resigned to the fact that pretty much everything I do online isn't mine the second I hit "submit". I can either completely abstain from the internet; put in a inordinate amount of time and work to perhaps secure a small bit of myself, or just accept it and proceed with a touch of vigilance. I'm not endorsing this as everyone's choice, but it is the one the works for me, given that none of them are particularly good.

I don't post anything that matters, or that is personal, or that could come and bite me in the butt. Pretty much nothing that you couldn't gather from sitting in a room with me for 15 minutes. The more personal things never hit the internet. If I wouldn't share it with a temporary bar pal, I won't share it online. As for my "IP" (that terms makes me feel dirty, but its the best I got), I only post limited versions for others to see, versions that are watermarked, cropped, and generally inferior in quality. This isn't to keep pirates at bay (I don't really care, at least not at this point), but to keep corporations like Google and Facebook from using it for profit. Having a letter of marque doesn't make you any less a pirate, in my book.

I am a minority, most people don't care. I knew a guy who was on probation, who continually posted pictures of him drinking alcohol on Facebook. I pondered the stupidity of this for a long time. People post their full sex lives, their really personal bits (STDs, Abortions, criminal acts, drug use, etc...) without even thinking about it. Hell, last weekend me and my girlfriend were on vacation, and I almost "checked in" to a location 400 miles from home, advertising the fact that our house was empty, and our stuff was ripe for the picking. And to make matters worse, or more entertaining, no one even cares about the shit we share (at least the people we want to care).

When actions are secret from voters, democracy completely breaks down. How could I make an informed decision based on the actions of the NSA and secrect courts, when I'm not allowed to know about these things? How can I vote on information I'm not permitted to have?

Yes, the usual answer is "Trust us, we're the government", but I'm not even allowed to have enough information to assess this claim. Is the government trustworthy, how the hell should I know. Are they abusing their power, I'm not allowed the tools to assess this either, outside of their say so. Which turns this whole thing into a tautology; I should trust the government because it claims to be trustworthy, and I should trust this claim because the government is trustworthy.

People like Snowden and Manning are the only means I have to be an informed voter. Which is a sad state of affairs, I'm forced to trust these people, acting out of who-knows-what motivations, over my own elected officials.

But then again, this all very naive on my part. Manning didn't matter, things didn't change, why would Snowden make a difference? My government will never change, until the day that it finally, after a slow decline, collapses into irrelevancy dragging the rest of the US with it. But I take some hope that someday, when I'm long dead, the US be the topic of historians who might have a better picture than we will ever be permitted to have. Then, and only then, may we be judged on our merits (and it probably won't be as flattering as we fool ourselves into thinking).

I don't know about his duty to the constitution, but in my view he acted ethically, if not legally. He saw something that he thought was wrong, and harmful to others, and tried to stop it. To me this is a higher good than merely protecting the Constitution. I would hope that everyone would do the same, if in his shoes, or in like situations. This is especially true in situtations like this, where no one who matters (i.e. not the powers that be) are likely to be harmed.

As for embarrassment... Big whoop. If you don't want to be embarrassed, don't do anything embarrassing. If your action bite you in the ass eventually, that is your own fault, and you don't get my sympathy. Especially when it is a Government operating outside their purview (the will, and welfare of the American people). I don't give a shit if it is "my" government, or a "bad" government like China, the standards of judgement are the same. An act is evil, or good, no matter who commits it. I fail in nationalism, surely, but history has taught me that nationalism is rarely a good thing.

If there is any proof of this, then it is worth talking about. If not, it is base speculation and not really worth entertaining. Might as well say that Snowden is working for the greys, to take power from the lizard aliens who control the American government. Both statements are pretty much equivalent at this point, being somewhat meaningless conspiracy theories. That said, their might be more than meets the eye with the Russian connection, but until there is some information it is pointless to speculate. We're also dealing with intelligence communities, so whose to say that most of the information on this tract isn't psyops, or whatever?

My government might regret them. I won't. Even if they are of dubious origin, if they are true, then we deserve the egg in our face. And further, those that permitted this state of affairs should face some consequences. Even if this isn't good for my country, or me personally, I'm find with whatever fallout there may be, since consequences are always deserved for bad behavior. This is probably a rare point of view, but I'll stick with it. Ethics trump power, at least in my book.

And after we bomb Syria, I'm sure they'll be moved to another country we don't like, so we can bomb them in a couple years.

Perhaps Canada someday?