I was going to wire an electric fence unit to my car with some grounding strips etc back when I had the spare time in high school.. Then I realized that I might hurt someone (child) that accidently touched the car. Worse, I might get sued.

I've heard anecdotal stories where some robber breaks into a house, really hurts themself then successfully sues the homeowner. Don't recall if it was due to a deliberate trap left by homeowner or just a dangerous conflux of chance.

tl;dr = Hurt robber, get sued, lose. Cheaper to let them have the stuff.

For the win!

I think your definition of "decent computer" has shifted. Cut the performance specs by 10% and you'll save 50% off of that $1.5k for the decent modern computer. This would be like buying TODAY a computer that was "decent" 12 months ago. Moore's law etc.

There's a local guy near me that buys used laptops (2 years old), referbs them, and sells them out of his store for less than $200. I'd say that a computer from 2009 is still "decent".

My 2004 Mini S had electric power steering... and Mini Cooper's brand is built on nimble driving, including responsiveness and steering feel.

The one drawback that I have to point out is that the electronic pump is a one of the weaker parts in the car. Anecdotal evidence (my experience plus discussions with dealer service managers and wrench turners) suggests that they fail at least once every 5 years... To add insult to injury, the part ALONE costs $900 at the dealer. Compare to less than $100 for a comprable hydrolic pump in a domestic car. This suggests serious design/material costs or price gouging by the manufacturer.

Shuttle: $450,000,000 per mission
New system: $15,000,000,000 per mission (Source copied below.)
After spending $30B for development and 2 launches, you would need 130 launches with the new system at HALF the cost of the old shuttle before this became break even. And that's even before we consider the time-value of money.

Someone else do the math for the per-pound calculation. I'm too disheartened.

Mod Parent UP!

To reiterate the point, a number of months ago I heard NPR say, "Private jobs have decreased in this month's jobs report, but don't worry the public sector increased jobs to cover most of the gap!"

I heard, "we've lost jobs and we're creating more jobs that we can't afford to pay for given the smaller jobs base." The NPR announcers were actually celebrating this as a good thing! There have been a number of times I have been realized NPR and I seem to be on opposite ends of the aisle...

On this pension issue... Defined Benefit pension plans are ripe for financial manipulation. They're a gun to your head. See my comment: http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2414046&cid=37320404

These other companies you mention are public. While their pension liabilities may not hit their "Net Income" all the time, or to the same effect, you can find their costs in the notes to financial statements. Also check out the "Comprehensive Income Statement". I once had a job where my job was to scan those notes to financial statements and report back which companies were manipulating their pensions the most. Have an unfunded gap? Just increase your estimated annual increase in the stock market and "poof" you suddenly have enough money and don't need to transfer more to your plan to keep it afloat.

As a CPA, I have long felt that Defined Benefit plans (You will get 70% of your pay from retirement until death, etc) should be illegal. The company is mortgaging its future and all of those pensions that people expect to have could be taken away through bad investment luck, fraud, etc. An example is the US auto industry, which has been crippled by their pension obligations. This wouldn't be a problem if employees were on a 401k plan or similar Defined Contribution plan.

To further the problem, imagine an executive faced with a labor strike. Answer: Promise them pension benefits. What does it matter? You won't be running the show in 15 years when the promise comes due, your company goes bankrupt and everyone loses their pension.

You see in this problem in the federal government as well. Social Security collection dollars have been larger than pay-outs since the beginning, but that will change. Where has the money gone? It is has been transferred to the Fed Gov general fund where it has been used to fund wars, roads, and promises elected officials make to stay in office. "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money."

Mod parent up