This is good advice, and gives me an opportunity to speak to the community at large: some of us who go to cons and are in a position to shake tons of hands politely decline. It's not because we're being dicks, it's because we know it's a good way to substantially decrease our chances of catching and spreading any germs.

I played the PAX Pandemic game, where the Enforcers handed out stickers to attendees that read [Carrier] [Infected] or [Immune] (There was also a [Patient Zero].

I got the [Immune] sticker, and by the time I got home on Monday, it was clear that I had the flu. I've had a fever between 100 and 104 all week that finally broke last night, but I'm going to the doctor today because I think whatever I had settled into my lungs. I'll tell him about the H1N1 outbreak and get tested if he wants to run the test, but at this point I think it's safe to assume that I was [Immune] to the Pig Plague, but definitely [Infected] with the damn PAX pox.

Even though it's been a week of misery, it was entirely worth it, and I don't regret going to PAX for a single second.

This is why my motto (and fundamental rule for life) is Don't be a dick: it's simple to understand, and reasonable people can agree on what it means.

There are other versions of TECO.

Where's TECO? Screen editors are for wimps with poor memories and the inability to write their own screen editor as a TECO macro.

In 1963, the FCC made almost all land mobile (two-way FM radio) radio equipment obsolete when they mandated new channel spacing and FM deviation standards to make more efficient use of the radio spectrum. Users had to buy new radios that complied with the new standards, at their own expense.

The FCC computer models for coverage assume that the receiving antenna is on a 30' mast. Rabbit ears are not going to work in fringe areas.

Digital TV was invented in the USA. It's the implementation that has taken forever.

The government didn't take anything away from you. It has no obligation to compensate anyone for hardware that has become obsolete or useless due to new laws and regulations. This isn't the first time that this sort of thing has happened.

Much of it is just greed. Auto mechanics have been ripping people off for many decades. It's just too easy to feed the average customer some bullshit and make some quick and easy money.

You can save a lot of money by switching to an economy plan, instead of the normal local unlimited plan. The optional calling features are a complete rip-off.

Right, the "Vast Western Conspiracy" to talk trash about China. That's the sort of thing I hear from Chinese students who have little experience with other societies.

The sad part is all the people who get crippled by playing high school and college sports, motivated by the very unlikely prospect of a professional career. They are cannon fodder for a system that makes big profits for the schools and TV networks, and does little for the athlete.