Read up on active galaxies, eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A....

> The more 3d printers are manufactured, the lower the cost and the more features (bang for the buck) that scaling out any product brings.

A 3D printer in a retail setting, where it's kept fairly busy, will use a few thousand dollars worth of filament and electricity every month. A retail location needs to charge the same amount again to cover labor costs (a $9.50 employee costs $20/hour with taxes, healthcare, workers comp, etc.) Then roughly the same amount again for rent of the floor space, signage, permits, roi, etc. So the store needs to sell about $10,000 in prints per month for the machine to earn it's keep.

Whether the printer cost $5000 or $3000 to purchase has very little impact on the final cost to the consumer.

Not trolling... I don't use BSD really, but my understanding is that some of the BSD distros are more server focused. I don't mind being corrected but my understanding is this could be a legit alternative if the idea of splitting Linux is a no go. I don't know why BSD isn't seen or heard of more (I do know it is used and has a strong following, but doesn't seem as prevalent as Linux... Mac doesn't count here). For BSD adherents, maybe this is the break they are looking for?

> As with everything, economies of scale and increases in technology will bring the per-unit cost down

"Economies of scale" refers to the various reasons that it's cheaper to do something 10,000 times, assembly line fashion, rather than one piece at a time. In other words, the exact OPPOSITE of what's being talked about here.

It may be useful where , due to the inefficiency of handling an order for one 20 cent knob, the manufacturer doesn't sell parts directly to consumers. The knob that costs 20 cents at scale (on Alibaba) will cost $5 to print. Alibaba operates at scale, and though. 3D printing is for when you're willing to give up economy (pay more per unit) because you're NOT operating at scale.

Advancements in 3D printing technology and competition should reduce costs somewhat. However, costs have already fallen by an order of magnitude or more. It's likely that they cannot be reduced another order of magnitude. The one economy of scale available is keeping the printing machines busy to amortize their cost across many prints, but Shapeway's printers are already busy. Now we can only save shipping costs by having a local machine busy.

But only to build his army of gay-married socialist drones.

In certain circles there's no such thing as good news.

What happens when you boil water inside an sealed container?

Nothing at all if you completely fail to boil the water because the container you used shields the contents from the energy you were hoping to use to boil it.

Per the youtube video, the beer stayed cold. The metal can shields the water from heating, so it doesn't even heat it up, nevermind boil.

They could be thinking of microwave energy. Of course that means they need a 10Km rectenna on the plane, which would be problematic to put it mildly. From their web site, there's no way to tell what they're thinking, or if they're thinking.

Lets see what he does in 2032.

Right. Everybody I know cares about saving the planet from global warming until I ask them if they've started taking cold showers. Nobody needs a hot shower - they're actually quite unnatural and bad for your skin too. Yet, I've not once gotten an affirmative answer (stick a RADAR gun on how fast they can change the subject!)

We need to stop ascribing any virtue whatsoever to hypocrites who only want other people to sacrifice (and actually call them out on their ill behavior - it's harmful in aggregate).

Of course we won't arrest you for drunk driving or domestic assault Mr. FBI, just like you won't arrest us for violating civil rights or using this highfalutin' cell phone spy gizmo.

Won't someone require a verification of ID tags against actual equipment serial numbers in a case like this, at least for some statistically significant portion of the equipment list?

Otherwise, you're just inventorying ID tags which could be stuck to anything. Now if they could manage to integrate the tag into the system somehow, although you'd have to define what the system was, otherwise you kind of get into a Theseus paradox situation.

Which makes me wonder how many empty computer cases have been "inventoried" even though there was functionally no computer inside.

Skip made up names and look to mythology. Greek guardians (Kerberos obviously already taken), Norse guardians (Fafnir?), etc. The best made-up names will be taken, but the mythological names might still be open for use. Especially if you get away from Western mythology.

uh... no you couldn't, the angular resolution of even the largest telescopes coupled with elementary physics would prove that.

And even if we could, say via a flyby with a satellite or some futuristic hubble 2.0... the only people who could afford such a 'telescope' would clearly be in on the hoax, so you can't trust them.

The only solution is to take the hoaxers and send them to the moon to see it first hand with their own eyes. Something I am entirely in favor of.

If that doesn't convince them, fine, this wasn't really for them, it was for me. And I was satisfied the minute they were out of earths orbit and don't see any reason why we should bring them back.

Hey, dementia is a great disease.

At first, only you notice it.
Then everyone else notices it, too.
Then, only everyone around you notices it and you don't.
And then life's great again.

That's a valid point, of course. Perhaps I should have been more specific and said the concept of a long- endurance vehicle being nuclear powered has been proven, but keeping the nuclear power source aloft for years is another question.

Power for long-range airplanes is a tricky thing. More endurance requires more fuel, but that additional fuel is more weight, which increases fuel consumption. Many options would be counterproductive, weighing more than can be kept aloft by the energy they provide or store. I suspect that only nuclear fuel and a hot-air envelope can provide enough energy to keep themselves aloft for years.

I like the multigenerational family setup, although it could have some annoyances (will I really have to listen to my dad's ideas on how I am supposed to mow the fucking lawn forever?).

The biggest problem is that employers don't want to give you time to manage the lives of your children, let alone elderly parents.