could you put a static charge into the heat sink so it repels dust particles?

yay, We both win teh argumentz!!

- You can't use it to pay for illegal goods or services - You can't receive it in payment for illegal goods or services - You can't use it to hide other transactions related to illegal goods or services (i.e., money laundering)

You are missing the point, you list a bunch of stuff that is already illegal. Why do we need additional regulation for this currency, when it is already established that the said activities are already prohibited with regular, cold cash? And what is the point of passing laws governing this currency, when you cannot realistically enforce them? Are you just hoping to pile on extra penalties when I order a hit on someone, and pay for it using digital currency? How will that make the world a better or safer place?

There is not discrimination against smokers. They aren't allowed to smoke anywhere they want to and pollute other people's lungs. They had a century or two to to police themselves, and it seems they couldn't do it, so laws were passed. Is it reasonable to hike Smoker's insurance because they tend to get cancer a lot more than other people and incur more medical bills? Sure, because it is a choice they make. Unlike a genetic condition, they can choose to change their behavior. In the meantime, they are just being asked to pay their share of medical bills being incurred. The flip side would be to boost the rates of non-smokers to subsidize the medical treatment of someone who just felt like taking up smoking.

African-Americans were discriminated against, they couldn't change their skin color. Any time smokers feel picked on, they can stop smoking.

To be fair, the 'Great Generation' fought Nazis at age 18. The Internet (really ARPNET at the time) would have been built by young(ish) engineers in the 60s and 70s (Baby Boomers). The current political problems we have are a result of legislation that has been passed for the last 10-15 years (government moves slowly), which would have been passed mostly by the elder politicians of the time (your 50-70 year olds at the peak of their power and careers) who would have basically been Baby boomers. Gen X is only now starting to come into the senior positions of power in government. Obama is youngish and he was born in 1961, which is at the very end of the Baby boom generation and the beginning of the gen X group, so you won't know what the 'current generation' (who ever you consider that to be) leaves as a legacy for quite some time.

But having assets in place might assist in their defense. If you start attacking us space assets, it is a fair bet that the us will consider that an act of war. I will bet you money there are some military sats in orbit that have offensive capabilities. Start shooting at sats, and you might get a 10 pound tungsten bar de-orbited on your ground based laser or ASAT launcher. Being is space is a POWERFUL position on the military game board.

You are totally correct of course. Way to fact check humorous sarcasm into oblivion, Poindexter. YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

You are totally correct of course. Fuck the founding fathers for not holding off until winter before starting a war of independence against a tyrant. THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

Human error may always exist, but I think the point is that people aren't learning from their errors. With software, you can find a problem, fix it, and then iterate until all the problems that can be encountered are handled. if you build in robust modules there is a point where you start to see less and less errors being introduced into the code. That isn't currently happening. If we really want to, we can build truly bullet proof code modules but it would take a substantial change in the way things are done.

Suggesting that human error will always exist that therefore there isn't any point in trying to reduce or remove it is lazy and stupid.

It is incredibly simple to drill through the ice. Bring a long a one pound sphere of depleted uranium. Before you start breaking for obit, release the sphere on an impact trajectory. Without a thick atmosphere to ablate it, I feel fairly confident in saying that the crater will be fairly deep. Repeat as needed. If you want real precision, I'm sure you can get the military to give you one of the cheap laser guidance packs they slap on dumb munitions. Rememeber that the goal here is to get through the ice, not examine the geology, so I think your comparison isn't quite appropriate.

The agency leadership isn't stupid. If they pull funding from other programs, the could get backlash from cutting other (presumably useful) activities, and when the public notices that the spying hasn't stopped, the next cuts will be even deeper. At some point congress would get collectively pissed off defund the agency completely.

Americans tend to be complacent in the face of minor irritations, but when faced with a real threat/outrage they tend to go completely postal. Just ask the Imperial government of Japan or the Taliban about this.

"Sir, I cannot define private information, but I know it when I see it..."

Ok, I am trolling you with the quote, but your statement is bullshit and I think you know it. Law enforcement agencies shouldn't be collecting ANY information on anyone until they have a crime report in their sweaty little hands or enough evidence to go get a real warrant. Anything more is just the first step on the slippery slope to police state.

Very eloquently spoken, sir. Unfortunately I think that the conflict over patent reform is due not to disagreement about what is the best way to govern progress and invention for the good of the inventor and society. It seems to be a debate between people who want a fair system, and people who think that they need to fuck over everyone in order to get a larger share of of profits in return for doing nothing. (I'm looking at you, defensive patent portfolio holders)

1000 years ago, those with the biggest armies ruled. Now those with the most lawyers rule. This is progress.

this makes a lot of sense to me. Given that EM radiation only travels at the speed of light, and falls of with the square of the distance, it is the cosmic equivalent of writing a letter, stuffing it in a bottle, throwing it in the ocean and hoping that your friend in Japan gets it. We think we are clever monkeys, but we are in effect beating on a log with a stick, when the rest of the universe is likely sending data packets via the cosmic version of fiber optic.

It speaks to our hubris that we assume that we are smart and we use this technology, and that other people will use the same technology. They probably don't even look for 'young civilizations' that use EM for communication, because they blow themselves up half the time before achieving a useful form of communication technology. Would you try to talk to an amoebae on the off chance that it might evolve into something interesting in a few million years?

If there is any way to communicate in a faster than light fashion with others, it will be the standard by which advanced civilizations talk.

...Good to know. Hey WB, if you have canceled my Amazon pre order of TLM just to hike the price, I'm not reordering it. I just going to STEAL it online. Fuck you.