>"This isn't Kindergarten. Nobody is there to hold your hand. Just because you paid for the class doesn't mean that anybody owes you a passing grade. If you can't be bothered to pay attention to class, or don't think it's important, or just don't like the professor, then _you_ get to deal with that. If you can't, then you're going to fail."

THIS, EXACTLY. I taught college Linux/Unix classes part-time for three years (that is all I could tolerate) and after the very first semester it was obvious how I would intro the following classes. So this was my day one speech from that point after (roughly):

"This is college, not high school and not elementary school. I don't care if you don't complete assignments, nor do I care why. I don't care if you come to class or not. I don't care if you ask questions or not. I don't care if you sleep in class. As long as you are not disruptive to others in class, you can do anything you want during non-testing periods... you are all adults and are paying a lot of money to be here. I will do my very best to help you succeed in this class, if you want that help. I will try to make the material interesting and fun, too. But if you goof-off, don't pay attention, don't study, and don't complete assignments, it is highly likely you will fail this class. And that would be a shame."

Amazingly, quite a few students seemed surprised.... and usually those were the ones that later did poorly.

>It seems like no matter what they use in diet drinks, all of them have a pretty horrific aftertaste that I get after just one sip.

You have not tried Sucralose, then, because it tastes closer to sugar than just about anything else. But it wouldn't surprise me if you haven't tasted anything else, because 99+% of non-sugar sodas available use aspartame.

Up until now, the ONLY national soda that has used sucralose (and has for many years now) is RC (Diet Rite). I am glad to see Pepsi changing.

Like you, I drink mostly water, but I do have a Diet Rite maybe once a day. Oh, and Diet Rite also has no sodium and no caffeine.

And yet sucralose also doesn't rot teeth, also tastes just like sugar, isn't dangerous to pets, doesn't cost much, has no calories, is stable at all normal temps, and doesn't pose a danger to phenylketonurics. Up until now, the ONLY national soda that has used it (and has for many years now) is RC (Diet Rite). I am glad to see Pepsi changing.

Monkfruit and stevia are both more natural and promising, but they don't taste like sugar (especially not stevia).

>"[watch/body]Alongside the company's new frontiers, like the car and the home,"

Oh yes, Apple, save us. Because somehow Apple is or will be first and/or most innovative in those spaces just like the concept of the smartwatch they just invented, or the larger phone screen, or pull-down notifications, or touch screens, or auto-updating apps, or handwriting recognition, or all-in-one computers, or windowing! Or whatever the media wants to currently declare Apple created.

I love how when it involves Apple, somehow history is always re-written. And yes, I will scream the next time someone asks me, again, if my 8-month-old Moto 360 I wear every day is "the new Apple watch!!!!!" Funny how almost nobody noticed it until recently.

OK, I am in pain from laughing so hard!

Some of my favs include:

* Effortify! "Share your favorite efforts and discover new ones." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

* Sprayit! "Spray like never before." http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

and

* Insectify! "The evolution of the insect" http://tiffzhang.com/startup/?...

>"Why would view a program intended to help girls as a put-down on men?"

And here is your answer:

We are in a class and I am a teacher. I give candy to all the girls, not because they did anything good. But give nothing to the boys, and not because they did anything bad. Have I rewarded the girls, or have I punished the boys?

Substitute any other situation or groups into that situation and ask the same question.

>"How does helping the several states fund public education not "provide for the [...] general Welfare"?"

Using that logic, the Federal Government can do pretty much *anything* it wants. I don't think that is/was the intent.

Indeed. But the Fed has no right to do that. Education funding with or even without stings attached is still contrary to the Constitution. The States should collect the money they need for education and then it remains in their respective States.

Medicare and Social Security also have no basis in the Constitution, either and should be State programs (if they must exist).

Interstate roads is a bit different, since they really are between states and really are commerce.

Please show me in the Constitution where the Federal government has the power to impose laws about education.

Oh yeah, there is this:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

>"In the past decade, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has wasted $10 billion on defense projects that were either impractical and impossible."

And to put that in perspective, this "tiny" example of federal waste in a never ending huge bucket of waste is probably over $800 for every active taxpayer (depending on how many or few Americans are actually paying meaningful taxes)... not counting the compounded interest on the debt it, no-doubt, incurred.

RE 2) Apple uses a proprietary cable/disc with magnetic device to inductively charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard, multi-vendor QI wireless inductive charging. So, yes my original posting point 2 was flawed. Sorry. It is still nothing new or innovative- just proprietary and likely more expensive.

>Exactly what do Android devices do with you Liver to Notify you?

LOL! *haptic* feedback, I think I cut and pasted his spelling by accident :)

Many good points.

RE 2) Apple uses a proprietary cable/disc with magnetic device to inductively charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard, multi-vendor QI wireless inductive charging. So, yes my original posting point 2 was flawed. Sorry. It is still nothing new or innovative- just proprietary and likely more expensive.

3) The 360 is a premium device- the lowest cost one still comes with a high-quality leather strap, not rubber. And if you don't think 60% less is a lot less, then I have some stuff to sell ya :)

4) The 360 is not "enormous"... have you seen one in person, for real? I get compliments all the time and not a single person has said they thought it was too large. You do realize the 360 case is 45mm diameter, right? That is only 3mm larger than the full sized Apple watch and yet the 360 has s smaller bezel.

>"Don't forget the "Taptic Engine" a haptic feedback mechanism

I didn't miss it, Android wear devices have hepatic feedback also (vibration). I don't see much difference between vibe and "tap". I have been silently notified of alerts since the day I put the 360 on my wrist.

1) ?
2) It uses a proprietary cable with magnetic device to charge. Meanwhile, the 360 uses standard QI wireless inductive charging. So, whether it is actually "wireless" nor not, it is still more like wired and certainly not standard.
3) You are full of it. I am on a national forum of people that talk about the 360 every day, very, very few people are unhappy with it
4) Yep... and isn't that what Apple products are supposed to be all about?
5) One vendor with 3 models is a far cry from a dozen vendors with dozens of models. One represents no choice, the other lots of choice.