I've never tried Google Glass, but I peeked through a few early AR headsets at the VR lab in school. I wonder if anyone's working on a solution for those of us with monocular vision? It would suck to be cheated out of 3d movies AND "The Next Big Thing"

Hear, hear.

Word.

Wonders how accurate the maps of Cornwall are.

OP mentions it in his reply, his political agenda is clear, as is Chomsky's. Anyone who works on a computer owes much of his profession to the outstanding work of Prof. Chomsky.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but why would I care about entering my CC info into a phone? I'm not liable for any unauthorized charges. In the country where I live, it's the vendor who's liable, not me, and certainly not the bank, may their names be praised.

No, nor would I sit through Basket Weaving 150 if it were a required course for a literature degree.

I shouldn't have used the word automatic; I meant reflexive or involuntary.
These are some quasi-clincal definitions that seem to agree with what I learned back when I studied psych:

Direct identification with, understanding of, and vicarious experience of another person's situation, feelings, and motives.

AND

emotional awareness and understanding of another person's thoughts, feelings, and behavior, even those that are distressing and disturbing. Empathy emphasizes understanding; sympathy emphasizes sharing of another person's feelings and experiences.

Both of the above are from the medical section here. Note that the one you cited and the first of these both use the word vicarious, which seems (to me, anyway) to imply an emotional, rather than cognitive response. But perhaps you see it differently.

Clinically speaking, sociopathy is related to ASPD (antisocial personality disorder), and is defined in both the DSM-IV and the ICD-10, the latter of which lists the first criterion as:

Callous unconcern for the feelings of others and lack of the capacity for empathy.

Sympathy is not included in either manuals' definition.

Lack of empathy is also specifically associated with Psychopathy and Narcissistic personality disorder.

See WIKI

I might have empathy for a serial killer, in that I may wince if he were to get stuck with a pin (a reflexive response), but I may not have sympathy for him, because I cognitively determine that he deserves it.

More importantly, who remembers the awesome Star Trek (tos) episode, The Empath ? I think that clears it up perfectly.

That's not really what empathy is. Think of empathy as an automatic response, like when you wince when you see someone get a paper cut, or get kicked it the nuts.
Sympathy is more intellectual, you consider the circumstances, and cognitively place yourself in the situation.
Then you weigh whether the person deserves your sympathy. This is where your ethical beliefs may come in to play.
Or you could think of it this way: A person without sympathy is a hard-ass, while a person without empathy is a sociopath.

Thank you for educating me. A 'whoosh' would have been in order, I suppose.

If by Americans you mean people from the U.S., then don't think that's true.

With a very few exceptions, I've heard "lin-ucks" over here.

Though, I would guess that it would be most accurately pronounced "lee-nucks."

I bought a 540Mb in '95, too. Figured I might as well buy one that would never, ever get full.

Seriously, this site is largely responsible for my decision to change careers 10 years ago. I will never be able to thank you enough. Godspeed.

Well, in my case there is no water or fertilizer. If it doesn't rain, the grass turns brown. The place was a cow pasture for 100 years. It's in the local watershed, so building is restricted. It takes about 3 gallons of Diesel per month to run the tractor.
I guess we could change the zoning laws and pack a Wall Mart and a Home Depot on the land. Or maybe a bunch of condos and parking lots. Would that be less wasteful?
As it is now, the fields and woods in the neighborhood filter the rainwater as it runs to the town's drinking source.
By my estimation (and the people who live in the town), it's not a waste of land.