I'm not one to generally complain about cost of items, but this one gets me. Cell plans have always been expensive - more or less so depending on where you lived back in the day. For example the NY/NJ metro area was roughly 30% more expensive than NY capitol region (Albany, NY) back in the early to mid-90's. This is one area where I believe there is basically price gauging occuring - originally because of the lack of options and the targeted customer base (C-level executives, salesman on the road for extended periods) and more recently because it's virtually a "must have" technology. I believe that not only should prices lower - maybe not 50% - but that the providers would still be making plenty of profit to allow growth with a significant drop in price.

So sitting on one's couch Internet shopping is actually healthier than the alternative?

Back when it was still considered a modern game, Defender was my favorite in the arcade for a while. I was a fan of that old Star Wars game too, but for some reason I did better at Defender than others (maybe I'd only go through $1 in a 20 minute period - that's four games at 25 cents each - I wasn't very good) so it was my favorite for a while. Actually I was in high school around that time and had Defender and other Atari titles for the Apple II, so played them in the school computer lab too (unless I got caught - games were not allowed in the lab). Now though I find I would prefer to play pinball - something mechanical instead of something electronic - than any of the other options. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many others voted the same way!

You know, that's the first thing I thought as well. Where the hell are you that you're four year old isn't that you need to call him/her? Seriously I think we've gotten completely out of control.

So I too noticed slow scrolling in Safari on my 4s after upgrading to iOS 7 but it seems to be site specific. Here on Slashdot the issue is very noticeable. Less so on most other sites I've visited. Overall I believe iOS 7 is a faster performing OS, but I believe the hardware on the 4s isn't quite up to snuff for everything iOS 7 has to offer. I'm looking forward to an upgrade to a 5s after the excitement dies down a bit - probably next month. I'm expecting some blazing speed out of my device then.

I realized after posting this I recall that the "station" I heard this on was Alan Maxwell's KIPM. Might help if anyone wants to look this one up. Considering SciFi was Alan's specialty I think it's well worth checking out!

Although it's getting harder to find all the time, radio programs of this sort still hold a special place in my heart. I remember several years ago listening to a playing of "He Who Evolved" (go ahead and download a copy of this - well worth it in my opinion) on a pirate broadcast station on shortwave (6955kHz most likely). SciFi just sounds so much better to me when you have to listen close to the speaker at times due to fade - it really does. I suppose it's like everything else - the extra effort makes the experience more special in some way. While the percentage of SciFi content is low, listening to that old time radio channel on SiriusXM is pretty cool as well!

Unfortunately this is the world we in the US now live in. Courtesy of the extreme Left we are now living effectively in a police state. US citizens are even experiencing great difficulty now in exercising the rights "guaranteed" to us under our Constitution. It's time for a change. Our leaders have no business making off the cuff remarks regarding world issues, making decisions on their own without consulting Congress, and treating US citizens like criminals as their standard MO.

I got a chuckle out of this. Enough said.

The subject of my comment is a direct quote from the website. I'm curious as to why the author believes a "guns and ammo" website would warrant this type of surveillance. It seems everywhere you look these days the left is looking to encroach on our rights as American citizens (the provider is based in Utah). The irony here is that the main point of the article seems to be that this type of surveillance is an invasion of someone's privacy and at least an inconvenience to the provider.

Archie had this figured out in 1974 or so. A classic from American TV history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjNJI54GMM

That really blows my mind. I couldn't imagine going around without mine, and I have many to pick from. It's just so handy to have. Car breaks down? Knives come in handy in many ways there. Pet get caught up on your walk and you need to cut a piece of string, rope, etc to free them (this has happened to me)? You need your knife. Open a box? Much easier with a small pocket knife. Bored? We were taught "whittling" in scouts as recently as 30 years ago. I can understand restrictions on switch blades and very large knives (like over 5" blade or over 10" overall) but everyone should be able to carry at least a Small Stockman, which is a small knife with three different blades that does not lock - a "slippie" as we call them, referring to their being of the "slip-joint" variety as opposed to locking, auto opening, fixed blade, etc.

They really are for various reasons, but I'll say space is my biggest gripe. I had to fly earlier this year - first time in two years. My first leg actually wasn't bad. I'm 6'3" and I go about 350 lbs, so I'm a big guy. I was in the middle seat on a newer United 757 and was relatively comfortable with guys on either side of me. Don't get me wrong, it was cozy but it was tolerable. My return trip however was horrible and I even had an aisle seat with no one in the middle seat next to me. This was an older Continental 737 and was much smaller, even though I paid for "extra leg room". I can't imagine what I would have done if that hadn't been an option. This was a red eye flight (seven hours) and I think I slept for about five minutes total. I woke up almost immediately because I was literally toppling out of the seat into the aisle. If not for my seat belt I would have certainly been on the floor in the aisle. If I had to pay for that flight, well I wouldn't have. Since my employer paid for the base airfare (I only paid the extra leg room part) I took it since I really wanted to attend the conference. Really I should have drove even if I had to take a week off for the drive.

I was curious which people would think I meant - the plane or the gun! Nope, just the can opener. But try to explain that to TSA.

Besides the horrible service and the conditions (ie personal space mostly) on aircraft today, they continue with these absurd bans on common items. I never leave home without a knife, many times a SAK, other times a Spyderco or Queen. To me that would be like leaving home without pants. You just don't think about it, you just do it. When I do need to fly I'm very much aware that I'm without my knife or even the P-38 I keep on my keychain (I'm sure they would figure out how to take that away as well).