I completely agree with the "super-zoom" idea. You can get a good camera with a long zoom (I have 30x) which also does macro photography (4 inches) with the exact same lens. SLR's would cost you hundreds/thousands to get the same lens combos you can get with a single super-zoom. A regular zoom goes out to about 10x, which is also fine. But I have been really happy with the extra "zoom". I personally bought a Sony HX100V. I debated and coveted the higher quality of image from a DSLR, but the extra thousands to get there just aren't worth it for someone like me at the beginner level. Someday :).

I need one of these new cold fusion reactors for my flux capacitor. I’ll get that danged thing working yet! - Doc Brown

I fly RC planes and am a member of the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). Congress is working to implement new legislation to control "UAV's" (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which WILL legally control RC hobby airplanes. The AMA has been working with Congress and the FAA to help insure the viability and robustness of our wonderful sport, which prepares young folks for careers in avionics and space, as well as being a darned fun (and expensive :)) hobby. Here is a link to the AMA's government relations site: http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx. This is an issue that is hot and current. Here is the current situation, which is coming to a head in the next few months, per the AMA's website: "Information received at the recent AUVSI conference indicates the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for FAA’s proposed regulation for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) is on track for release in mid December 2011. It’s anticipated the new rule will address model aircraft operations and will provide a provision for community based organizations such as the AMA to submit their own set of standards. If adopted, these standards will provide the modeling community an alternative means of complying with the sUAS rule. At this point AMA is hard at work in developing a set of standards aimed at allowing the aeromodeling enthusiasts to continue enjoying the hobby in much the same way as they do today. ". Actions like this crazy physicist certainly don't help, but they point out the wisdom of a rational approach to a hobby that can be militarized. We'll see what happens.

Doesn't RealNetworks know about the Streisand Effect? I didn't know about the Real Alternative until this case got filed, and now I've just downloaded Real Alternative and installed it on two PC's. YES! No more stupid RealNetworks bullshit to put up with. It is sad the Dutch webmaster had to be sued, but the rest of the world benefits. I guess in a backwards way, Thank You RealNetworks, for bringing this to my attention.

It does look interesting, and we will be purchasing it this fall. So I don't have any answers for you at this point. We spent a bit of time designing tickets, and the pricepoints at which to sell them, so we designed our infrastructure to manage the system. But I represent a snowbird's computer club in Arizona, and they only ramp up from October thru April, so that is why we haven't moved on it yet. My intent is to review everything in this forum and see if there is anything better, but from what I've seen so far, this Checkbox thing "checks" all our boxes so far. I especially like the completely standalone nature, and the ability to add integrated repeaters. By the way, we intend to charge a small fee for daily, weekly, monthly or season use. Hope that helps.

I spent several months researching wifi hotspots for a similar installation. I settled on the Checkbox Hotspot (http://www.layerfour.net/store/index.php/checkbox.html). It is a "standalone" hotspot router, which means you put out a one time purchase price, it is not an ongoing service. In addition, you can buy "repeaters" which extend the range as far as you want, and are integrated with the main "Checkbox" hotspot router. All the software is built into the router. It gives you options to print "tickets" which can be for any period of time. They can also be preprinted, say for 1 day, a week, a month, etc, etc. You can also specify "tickets" for special events which let all computers attach using the same "code". Also, you can specify "permanent" tickets. The router locks to the MAC address of the connecting computer, and the service expires when the ticket expires. Those are the key features I was interested it, but it also has a number of other features. Definitely worth looking at. I believe the Checkbox router is a "G" series router, if that is an important issue.

I thought people who had two monitors were self indulgent show offs, and a bit ridiculous. Until I got a second monitor. Holy Cow!! It made so many things easier and faster. I watched our Accountant go through the same resist-at-first process, and then get blown away at how much easier his job was with two monitors - contracts and spreadsheets up at the same time, amazing! This is a case where there is no understanding without experiencing it.

The reason evolution is such a threat to many (not all) religious people (I'm an atheist, so you can figure out my bias :)), is that they believe in life after death, that is, that they will live forever. To actually "die" when you die scares them out of their minds. Literally. To their way of thinking (and I've discussed this with a lot of believers), if "evolution" is true, then religion must be false. It is an either/or thing for them. I heard one Christian tell me that if evolution were proved true, he would have to stop believing in God. Which means he would also not have eternal life, he would die like a bug. This makes the theory of evolution a mortal issue, and one that must be fought to the death! Fear of final death, which most Christians deny, is the prime motivator behind creationism, intelligent design and all other "stealth" methods of trying to insert magic into science. It is interesting that most religious people are not even aware of this deep seated fear in themselves. But it is always there. That is the power of religion - you do not have to die. The real solution to this is to encourage people to accept that they will die in reality, and anything else is only wishful thinking, but it is enormously difficult. Religions have thousands of years of experience and huge institutions which effectively persuade and convince people they will live forever, if they just don't "think". And so they don't. Think.

I have no inside information, but given that (1) Google developed Android, (2) that Google is REALLY BIG, and (3), that Google is being sued by Oracle for infringing Java in Android (ie, an attack on Android), I can't help but wonder if Google isn't providing assistance and moral support to B&N, in the B&N defense of Android. I don't even know if that would be legal, but I think it is interesting that Google is the 800 lb gorilla in the picture, and I haven't read (or I missed it) a peep about that possible connection. It will be interesting to see if support from Google is possible, and if it plays a role in resolving this issue.

CERTAINTY OF BEING CAUGHT - To commit a crime, a person (a) must desire to commit the crime, (b) needs an opportunity to steal or assault, and (c) needs to feel they can get away with it. Take any one of those away, and you have no crime. The cameras increase the certainty of being caught, so they remove (c). A publicly visible increase in convictions, according to this logic and common sense, should result in a decrease in crime.

This is absolutely correct. Verizon has a very small number of phones, called Feature Phones. You can find the models on their website, here. If you purchase a Feature Phone (and that is all I purchase, as I don't want the data capability), then they won't charge you the extra 19.99/month for the data plan. If you purchase any non-Feature Phone, as most of them are, then you will automatically be charged 19.99/month. You cannot get out of it. So if you are not into texting or browsing the web on your phone, and just want to use it for voice mail and calls, as I do, then you MUST get a Feature Phone. Further, unless you ask, the Verizon policy requires their representatives to sell you a non-Feature Phone set. They are forbidden to advise you, "unless asked", about the existence of Feature Phones. This is Verizon veering very close to being evil, certainly completely interested in their customer's money and not at all in their customer's best interests.

Amazon's Statement - I went to Amazon to see if it was still available. Here was their statement about the book: "Important Message for Customers - On Friday, August 13, 2010, just as St. Martin’s Press was readying its initial shipment of Operation Dark Heart, the Department of Defense expressed concern that its publication could cause damage to U.S. national security. The publication of the initial edition was canceled. However, after consulting with the author, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, St. Martin's Press agreed to incorporate some of the government’s changes, which includes redacting classified text, into a revised edition, which is releasing on September 24. "

The problem with "charging" for rescue support has always run into the same two problems. Currently, the park services are not required to rescue people. They just do so. If they botch a rescue, there are no consequences to the park services. But if they were to charge for rescue services, and they botched the rescue, one lawsuit could cost more than all the rescues put together. This is a real concern. The second reason is that there is a vast army of volunteers who help with the rescues. These are tough independent minded people who value and love the freedom to do whatever they want in the wild outdoors. These are highly experienced outdoorsmen with extraordinary skills in mountain climbing, white water river rafting, hiking, etc. They donate days and months of their time each year training and rescuing, and a lot of personal money on equipment and travel. They do this because of their fierce love of the freedom of the outdoors. Because they value the freedom to do whatever they want, they lobby hard against all efforts by government to "charge" for their services. For this reason, they defend to the hilt the right to be stupid in the outdoors! And because the government/park services could never afford to field this army of volunteers, the volunteers have the government over a barrel. This issue surfaces in the news in the western mountainous states periodically with always the same outcome. Rescuing is usually without a fee. Here is an interesting article about the subject: Bearing the Costs of Rescues .

I would recommend recording or having her write out memories she has of old family stories of her ancestors, her parents, aunts, uncles, her childhood stories, all the information she has that will die with her. Once she is gone, you cannot get them back, unless you or she has recorded them somehow. Perhaps you have already thought of this, but if not, it is a way to capture and save for posterity a whole other side of your wife and mother.

"We used to be 'rich peasants' too, we used to be fundamentalists too (Recall the Catholic church in the dark ages and later on various forms of cultural fundamentalism), then we got rich by trade and various forms of mineral wealth.

Guess what happened then, we turned into a stable democratic society. It stands to reason that any society below a certain wealth/developmental level will tend towards fundamentalism of various kinds and as wealth and developmental level increase in society freedoms starts to emerge."

You are forgetting Saudi Arabia, made an incredibly wealthy country by any standard due to its recently found oil minerals, yet one of the most repressive fundamentalist regimes on the planet, source of the 9/11 terrorists, and source of the extreme Wahabi sect of Islam which promotes Sharia law in Western countries including the US, and which with Saudi Arabia's wealth, is being paid for world wide. Another Saudi Arabia, under the Taliban, would be frightening.