Yes but once you get the power...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...

I see what these geeks are thinking about now...

This actually makes a lot of sense, not sure why more countries including my own don't do it. Probably because even the poor here are energy hogs. Anyway not only is it a good way to help those at the bottom of the earning power allowing them to spend on other things, without promoting electricity waste (because it is effectively capped). It also great from the standpoint of the energy companies. At a certain point, all that billing and collection and accounts is a waste of time for them due to the values involved. Not to mention, but lets face it, a lot of poor default on their bills for obvious reasons, then going after debts, collection services, forgiving debt, admin overhead etc... I am pretty sure they would LOVE the government to cover that, as it is secured money, and they know they will always get paid...

Of course this is Greece we are talking about so maybe not! :) Badda Boom Boom! Try the veal!

LOL yes exactly this. I also work in GIS, and specifically in this particular field.

I'll add to everything you just said, plus anyone who has ever used Google Maps, should know that some of their stuff is out of date, some of it very out of date. Parcel data changes all the time. I am willing to bet that whatever Google maps uses is significantly out of date. The data also tends to be pretty expensive also to acquire as its maintenance is also. So anyone that uses this as anything other than to get a general idea is fooling themselves. The world of land registry and titles is improving, but much of it is stuck in an archaic system, Some of which is due to the simple vastness of the legacy records out there, and also due to some specific legal requirements that exist. I have access to systems and data that the public doesn't, and even then, to get a definitive answer, you need go through a more manual process.

As you say, EVEN going through the manual process can be a challenge (if doing it for legal purposes), and a bit of a historical lesson. Depending on when and where the land was surveyed different methods may have been used. I recall my Dad who was a lawyer looked into some land my grandfather owned, which ended up being some of the first land given out by the King. It pretty much pre-dated any kind of survey method, and was mostly based on features that may or may not exist anymore or that may have changed. All hand written, in an ancient book. I also recall an example when I took a course on land registry about a property dispute, where the description included a river, which of course changed its course to give more land to one land owner, and less to another, then trying to prove the old track of the river... etc... In some instances more art than science unfortunately.

Anyway it is still pretty cool that the software is free, and it does include some of this information. Though I do see it causing headaches when people in the public using it, assume it is accurate, take it as gospel, then make decisions or engage lawyers/land registry/government into it... Hopefully there is a big disclaimer on the data (not that anyone will read or pay any attention to metadata in my experience).

Haven't read the decision, but such was my concern.

Usually it involves some determination of "Competency" which can be somewhat hard to define. In many cases legally this may be influenced by undue "Duress". Which in many of the cases due to the nature of the issue, both are at risk. As the injury or affliction may rob someone of their faculties, and being in a lot of pain could certainly be called duress. If so, the number of incidents this would actually cover might actually be quite small.

It may sound selfish, but I know I would not want to have to make such a decision for a loved family member, and if it isn't an option, then that decision is taken out of your hands. I know the only two examples of this I can recall (because they were in the media), were parents of a mentally challenged girl, and an older woman suffering from dementia, neither of which would likely pass the competency test anyway.

Then the difficulty becomes in diagnosis. About the only time this might apply is someone that gets early diagnosis of something really bad, and decides that they do not want to live through the experience. That said, just like the argument against capitol punishment, judges and the court system are not infallible, and neither are doctors or our medical system. Though presumably, one would proceed though the initial stages prior to any decision of this magnitude being made, however given the limits, if you wait too long... may no longer be allowable.

LOL! I keep thinking of that zombie fungus that some insects get that tells them to go drown themselves....

Perhaps your stomach does have some influence over your food craving...

"I dunno, but my gut tells me that I need to eat those donuts!" :)

It's definitely right of centre, but is hardly Fox News. It is right of centre for Canada for sure, but that of course isn't the same thing as down in the US.

Good on the suit however. It wouldn't be the first of last time journalists have gotten science wrong from any news service left or right, though the right does seem to play a bit looser with the truth with "opinion" pieces. Much of it can be attributed to laziness and poor research or lack of understanding than any sort of malice. Or at least the willingness to be lazy and stupid because it supports whatever opinion you want to write about. 50,000$ isn't a lot of money for the National Post, but it is more symbolic than anything else, as it goes against whatever credibility they might have if any... There is a certain amount of trust required for any news service, and once you lose that, it is not long for this world.

The trade off, is to achieve the power required for these lasers and railguns to be effective the ship would require a nuclear power plant.

I'm not sure the hitting of a nuclear power plant would be any less disastrous than hitting a power magazine.

Naval armor hasn't been useful in a long time. So you are down to either A) Counter Measures, B) Maneuverability to not getting hit, C) Detection

A) might work for missiles, however the new ones everyone is trying to build are super fast, making them pretty hard to shoot down. B) likely isn't going to help much unless you are just at the edge of someone range envelope. C) You are either talking about Submarines, or like modern air fighters, you have a longer detection range, and the ability to hit from that range, so you are never in any danger.

Lasers might be able to be used as defense for the defense of the faster missiles, however at that point it is probably as much about detection and target acquisition and tracking than it is about how powerful the laser is. Also you'll probably be playing cat and mouse with stealth missiles, heat resistant coatings, etc...

A railgun however should be able to hit over the horizon, which is what you would need for first detection and strike. However again, half the battle will be as much detection and targeting. However they are likely much more of an offensive weapon than lasers. That said, like old battleships, it has been shown that air is what wins so there is that. Perhaps lasers of sufficient power might serve also as air deterrent. That would be the big change, which might bring back the era of big battleships again...

...have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rainwater, and only pure-grain alcohol?

I hear it is pretty flexible already...

They are also one of the best birding areas in the world. I'm pretty sure some ecologists and wildlife people might object to that location also.

I think it really depends on what you are using the fuel for. Baring massive change to culture and how we do things, it will never really be an alternative for mainstream automotive fuel. It is a niche market. So I like your farm example. That makes sense. There is also pretty much a net zero cost for fuel distribution (as it is produced where it is generated). So the same could be true for a number of industries. But these would all be limited use.

Using it as fuel for transportation (unless we drastically stop physically transporting) or for general energy distribution (i.e. a power plant), isn't really all that reasonable. The only reason to do it now is for subsidies, payoffs, political favors, etc...

Meh.

If we somehow discover intelligent alien life, odds are it would take about 40,000 years to communicate one way, or 40,000,000 years to physically travel there, which kinda renders the discovery moot.

Though perhaps some happiness, in that the question "are we alone?" would be answered. Then again maybe some sadness, for those people (probably religious) that thought we were somehow unique and special (though I am sure they can think up a way to explain it away or just refuse to believe it altogether).

Perhaps deep sadness, if what we observe is perhaps millions of years old, the intelligence is likely long gone to dust and time.

Or perhaps the best reality show ever... "What will Xhapod321@! do next? Who knows! He's/She's/It's a freaking Alien we can barely comprehend!"

However that said. Canada is behind the US in telecommunication, in speed, cost, and coverage. We implemented "caps" way before the US. Canada pretty much has a government supported duopoly for telecommunications, and it hasn't served Canada well. I am a bit hopeful with the latest CRTC ruling against Bell in regards to Net Neutrality (not counting data used by Bell Mobile TV against users cap), however they as often side with industry. One thing that I think is positive, is that people are starting to take notice and these sorts of issues are actually becoming political issues (not just some unwashed basement dweller rants), and we have an election coming up...

That pretty much sums up the US political system. Many countries have that issue, the US isn't alone in that regard. However when the pendulum swings that far, it is kind of ridiculous.

I have 55/10 with a 275GB cap in Peterborough, Ontario (Canada's 39th largest City) for 85$. I am sad now.