No rumor that. Dunno about cell towers, but it was shown pretty conclusively in the '90s that the "hole in the sky" caused when a stealth aircraft blocks FM radio signals can be seen. Depends of course on having a good FM sensor and a solid transmitter or two in the area.

Probably not a good idea, as here are
the results of said competition.

Mr. Gogol, is that you?

Sounds like what we need is a cert-issuing protocol based on Bitcoin security. Everyone (plus or minus epsilon) trusts that Bitcoins can't be forged.

Dunno why I'm responding to a subhuman troll, but hey it's Monday, so:

First of all, it won't prevent any bombs from being brought onboard. How difficult do you think it is to show a working laptop which happens to have 500g of C4 wedged inside?
Second, it's an absurd abuse of reality, since as everyone and his brother already said, any device w/ dead battery -- or heaven forbid, some toy that only runs on AC and you didn't bring the adapter-- gets tagged as "dangerous terrorist thingie."
Third, it'll be cheaper to pay $10 million per person injured, let alone killed, by your fictional device-bomb than the direct and indirect cost of this screening program.

Finally, it'll take approximately negative 5 seconds for any potential bomber (of which there aren't any in the first place) to use some other gizmo to carry a bomb. Like a fake tin of sardines. Ooops, apologies to everyone who was going to bring a snack on board.

But what if a galaxy formed, then after a few billion years collapsed entirely into the central black hole, which then caused a new galaxy,...
(leading vaguely to a Yo Dawg meme here)

"What's the reason for closing down my place?"
"I'm shocked, shocked to find there's gambling going on here."
"Your winnings, sir."

Robotron? Classic?
When *I* was in high school (and college), 95% of any arcade was pins. Bally, Williams, Gottlieb, Chicago Coin; some wedgeheads thrown in. That was the good old days.

Now get offa my lawn.

So you're saying we should wrap the spaceship in a layer of crew members to save the remaining crew from radiation? Maybe that explains the Reavers' actual reasons for their ship accoutrements.

I was not commenting on your particular conflict; merely on a glaring example of poor planning and support by superior officers (including Rumsfeld).

If you reread my rant, you'll see I accused the people issuing orders of being blind.

May I respectfully disagree, on behalf of all the dead GIs who "went with what they had," in their case being non-armored HUMMVs and worthless body armor.

Read "Paths of Glory" for an earlier instance of the same Charlie Foxtrot.

With rare exception, it's far better to postpone action until properly prepared than to follow blind orders. I suspect Sun Tzu would agree.

Meritorius medal for streamlining things w/ perl, and a dishonorable discharge for doing *anything* with Excel.

And before the accusations fly, my statement stands no matter what spreadsheet program you replace "Excel" with. They aren't database tools and shouldn't be used as such.

I always preferred the political speech (aka prosecutor's question) version: "I challenge Mr. [name] to deny that he kills kittens while setting baby seals on fire."

Can someone familiar with the NYC concept of "key money," a wad of cash handed over for the right to assume a lease on an apartment (that's what I've read, not necessarily the whole story) comment on the similarity or difference between that cash transaction and this one?

Dunno about the system designers, but this Joe Dignan guy is either woefully ignorant or a total asshole. Nothing is worse-looking and intrusive to the urban (and suburban) environment than elevated highways, elevated "subway" lines, and the like. Just because there's free airspace doesn't mean it should be filled in.