It's not that big of a deal for the consumer. According to, ah, GLBA I think it was, the consumer is completely off the hook for any fraudulent activity that takes place on their cards. So if some bad guy gets a hold of your card and begins a spending spree, that's on Chase or Citi or Navy Federal or whoever your card is with. You should always pay attention to activity on your card, but no need to go nuts.

But has it learned to let someone else design Breakout and then steal a couple thousand dollars from him for his efforts? When it does that, it will truly be an intelligence. (And it will be a superior intelligence if it leaves off the black turtlenecks.)

That's not the worst part, that's the only part. The entire purpose of using a Real Name is that it aids various governments in controlling their citizens. You will even recall US Federal government officials encouraging anonymity in the early days of the Internet for personal security. That anonymity provides security is obvious. Security through obscurity, although imperfect is also obvious; however it is still security. Or in the case of a government, a hurdle to overcome when policing a populace.

Otherwise, there is no advantage in using a Real Name in conversations on the Internet, but rather only disadvantages.

If electricity is outlawed, only outlaws and Nikola Tesla will have electricity.

Here he comes to save the day!

Yeah, pretty much. But in this case, I will put my money on the hull of a schooner. Old piece of garbage got dumped there wholesale I'll wage.

150 years ago:
Person A: "Hey, we need landfill. Do you want this leaky decrepit hulk any more?"
Person B "Give me 20 bucks and it's yours."
Person A: "Here you go, thanks! That'll make great landfill and as long as anyone doesn't try to dig a giant tunnel through here, we're set!

Some badguy once said that the way to win a battle was "He who gets there fustest with the mostest". That typically works pretty well for most human endeavors. We should want a scramble to get to the moon. Human innovation, powered by greed, has typically been the best catalyst for moving forward. I fail to see why this would be any different.

The UN would undoubtedly screw it up, as would any other controlling agency. So for the time being, leave it uncontrolled. It causes no harm and may do good.

"I came here with a simple dream. A dream of killing all humans." B.B. Rodriguez

If it's a small office, you can use Ethernet over power lines. I have not used it before, but it seems to be what you are looking for.

That being said, it's difficult to give up the 1000 Mb connections from modern ethernet cables, along with POE for phones, etc. The designer by not putting ethernet cables in place did your business a disservice. A secure business requires secure ethernet.

It's called John's Phone. They seem to be a bit on the out of business side however. Still, it was a good idea. It's just a cell phone. Nothing else. No address book, no texting, no surfing. Just a phone. With 2 week battery time.

I'll stick with gold. Thanks.

That's funny. Pheasants also freak out at my 16 gauge.

I would eat some mummy meat. I bet it might be tasty.

Heh. In more practical terms, it would be cool to figure out what went into making this meat. We could eat ancient Egyptian meat, much in the same way that we enjoy Midas Touch from Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales.

I wish I had mod points. The only thing I would add to this is:

1. The cost of keeping people in prison and the rise of the prison-industrial complex. People make millions off of other Americans' misery.

2. The absolute disgrace of sentencing CHILDREN to adult prison. No attempt at rehabilitation. No effort made to protect their freedoms - which is unconscionable, as we remove their rights to pursue their particular happiness.

The prison system in the United States should make each and every one of us physically ill.

Some knucklehead did not turn off the autoplay for CDs and USBs. It's as simple as that.