This. Plus there is an assumption that if losses decrease insurance premiums will decrease, as opposed to the insurance companies just pocketing the profits.

It wasn't "found" in tobacco, it was inserted into tobacco by genetic engineering. Even by slashdot standards that is a terrible summary.

I agree. I hate this episode. I can suspend disbelief about how ridiculous a universal translator is in the first place and enjoy most episodes, but not an episode that specifically calls attention to the universal translator. Most SciFi has some ridiculous elements that exist purely for convenience and should not be turned into plot devices. Except for Doctor Who, which can turn any kitsch into cool.

So I could equip my car with rocket launchers to blast away any obstacles, and it's not my fault that the other cars can't safely deal with my rockets?

Maybe the next KITT will be a Tesla. It's only important that the bad guys have big fireball explosions.

Axis perpendicular to the road. Plane of rotation parallel to the road.

If the flywheel spins parallel to the road I don't think it would affect turning left or right - except it would resist the car leaning to the side on a sharp turn, which might be a good thing.

he used the word "should"

My grandparents were pretty upset when they could no longer get the party line discount because party lines didn't exist anymore.

There are state Supreme Courts, and other countries have them too, so unless you are going to type out the entire thing, SCOTUS is more specific. Are you opposed to all acronyms, or just this one for some reason?

If I get fired then I get hired somewhere else tomorrow. Big deal. Being my own boss means doing lots of shit that is not the shit I love to do (sales, marketing, accounting, etc.). I'd rather let someone else do that and pay me.

My parents had one (they may still have it). They had a business writing custom software, so I guessing that if they had one it's because a customer had one. So that's 2 out the 3 you claim were sold right there!

gives a whole new meaning to the phrase

I have an old Intel MacBookPro that won't run Lion (it's 32 bits, Lion requires 64).

No ones money was taken at gun point. Did someone point a gun at you? Yes, I realize that if you don't pay your taxes, someone will eventually point a gun at you and put you in jail, but it is not taxation without representation, you get to vote on the representatives that vote on how your taxes are used. Don't like how it went down? Become more active in politics (griping on Slashdot doesn't count).