That said... if I were buying a new vehicle today, I'd buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the new diesel engine option. The Range Rover outside the US has a fantastic diesel as well but due to the stupidity of Americans, we can't get that option here. The Jeep is fairly close to the capabilities of the Range Rover and that diesel (made by Mercedes) should last many years while only sipping fuel compared to my V8 in the current vehicle. Remains to be seen how the interior of these new Jeeps will hold up over time, but so far the reviews are looking good, they've really improved quality in recent years.

And I might also add that although I only have about 150k miles so far, I know several who are well over 300k, some as much as 500k with the original engine... most of those guys who are over 200k have replaced the transmission once or twice though. The newer models have better transmissions though and probably would last longer than the one I have, but there is no point in getting another new one when this one is still in such good condition.

Clearly you have never actually owned one. I've had mine for 10 years so far (and perform all maintenance myself, the money pit reputation is because of the rates the dealers charge for parts/labor) and never had a single problem. It still drives exactly as it did when it was brand new, and it can take me anywhere I want to go including the house in the wilderness which is only accessible by 4x4. Not a single rattle, interior still looks great, no rust, I see no reason it won't keep going another 10 or 20 years.

What if I keep my bullet proof range rover for 30 years, while the crappy prius quickly falls apart and makes it economically unviable to keep any longer? You also have to factory in all the energy and resources used to manufacture 2 or 3 cheap shoddy vehicles instead of one well made one which will last much longer. Might not be as much of an issue with the Tesla though if the reviews about its build quality are true.

This is a simple logic problem, I don't know why so many people struggle with it.

Atheism literally means "without theism". An atheist is someone who does not accept, as true, claims that assert the existence of gods.

Considering the claims regarding the existence of a god, there are two possible claims:

1. 1. God exists
2. 2. God does not exist

For either claim, there are two positions one can take with regard to belief:

1. 1. belief or acceptance of the claim
2. 2. disbelief or rejection of the claim

For claim number 1 (God exists), the theist's position is one of belief, while the atheist's position is one of disbelief. For claim number 2 (God does not exist), the theist's position is one of disbelief, while atheists can hold either position.

Capisci?

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. If you believe in god, then to you it is a fact. No, it doesn't mean you believe that everyone else must believe it too or else they should be stoned to death, or burned at the stake, but it certainly places you in the theist "camp".

That makes no sense. You cannot "lack belief that there is no god" without believing in god unless you are atheist, or agnostic.

No, that is not correct, you're reading it wrong. Theism is belief in god, Atheism is not believing in god. It is exactly what I said. Just because you don't believe, doesn't mean you positively assert that there is no god. It just means that you don't believe. Why is it so hard to accept that maybe there are some questions we can't answer? There is no point in wild speculation... why wouldn't it make sense for some people to simply not care?

What are you talking about? I obviously can't speak for everyone but I don't think a lot of atheists (myself and every atheist I know) positively assert that there is no god or higher power. They merely lack belief in god/higher power. Not the same thing at all.

A macbook air doesn't weigh that much and it will play diablo 3 just fine (assuming I have an internet connection!). But yeah, if you take off in the woods for a couple weeks or more backpacking, it is nice to be able to have a laptop, what can I say. I could bring a lot more with me if I wanted to, I've carried as much as 100 pounds while backpacking before (which included transporting supplies to a remote cabin), but if you are in shape and have a nice pack it is very easy. Typically I probably carry about 30 - 40 pounds and I hardly notice it. My folding solar panel generates more than 80 watts on a nice day which is enough to power the laptop and charge it at the same time. Folds up to about 6 inches and only weighs a couple pounds. Its probably not for everyone, but I like it. I can even get work done while I camp in the wilderness if I find a spot with good cell reception.

Clearly as demonstrated by the stupid comments of the Microsoft employee, they are not targeting such uses. But you hardly need to haul a big diesel generator to use a computer while backpacking. There are excellent lightweight portable solar power options and a full charge (at least on my laptop) is good for 7 hours or so once the sun goes down.

I bring my laptop backpacking all the time. Solar power. Also, you might be surprised how far out into the wilderness you can go on expeditions with a fully equipped 4x4 like a Land Rover, Jeep, Hummer, etc, and you can carry a lot of battery power with you. Don't forget to bring lots of tools and spare parts too so you don't end up stranded in the middle of nowhere in canada hundreds of miles from the nearest town, not that this has ever happened to me :)

What's so hard to understand? I like to have a games on my laptop or other device which I can play on an airplane, on the commuter rail, on a camping trip, etc... there are many times where I play games and do not have reliable internet... not to mention the potential security flaws which may exist in the networking code of said games which could compromise my devices. Maybe some people don't want to be online all the time. No?

You might also be surprised to learn that in college, I refused to buy the "required" TI junk calculators which the professors insisted upon and instead used my trusty HP with RPN... But how did you get by when they used all the TI programs in class from the textbooks you might ask? Well, I made my own programs that did the same thing only better, generally wrote them during the lectures while there was nothing better to do :)

Yeah its pretty much impossible not to be familiar with eclipse and netbeans unless you live under a rock. That still doesn't mean that one has to use them once they get the job. I usually have one or both installed someplace because there are occasions when someone wants to pull something up on my machine, maybe during a demo or a meeting, or collaboration etc, and I know they would look at me like I had two heads if I pulled up VIM :)