Plan A:
1) Pump all the fuel out of it.
2) If there is a hole in the down side of the hull patch it from the inside.
3) Patch any holes on the top side of the hull.
4) Get as many pumps as possible pulling water out of the thing. while you gradually inflate large air bags under it.
5) Ship pops back up, tug it anywhere you want.
Plan B:
Hundreds of millions of ping pong balls.
So punish anyone who is extremely tall like myself who can't reasonably fit in anything that could possibly be graded in the A band?
I have a hard time believing there is anywhere remotely close to $500-$1300(new Aeron) in materials and amortized research and development in the cost of those chairs. They are priced prohibitively high.
There is no doubt in my mind if they reduced the prices the chairs 1/4 to 1/3 of the current prices, the company would still turn a descent profit on each unit, and sales would explode.
Well, let's see. The movies Armageddon and Deep Impact came out, what, 10 years ago? We are not close (nor will we be in the next 50 years) to being able to save the inhabitants of this planet from a catastrophic event like a meteor, asteroid or comet (or a biological experiment on the planet gone wrong). Let's see - this could effect YOU, your CHILDREN, or your GRANDCHILDREN. And let's forget about all of the valuable minerals, metals, etc., that could be harvested from the asteroid belt, and the energy resources that could be brought down TO Earth from space. But alas, we are so short-sighted now, with our entitlement mentality (mostly unearned), that we are spending all of our money (and going further into debt) here on issues, many of which shouldn't exist. At the same time, the human population of the Earth and the US is supposed to double by 2100 (your children and grandchildren will still be alive then -- maybe). Parts of the US are already overcrowded, and although there is room to expand, most don't want to be rural. Where are we going to put new landfills for 600,000 people? Science fiction has given us many useful ideas, including telecommunications satellites. But one of the easier, most anticipated ideas, travel to Mars and other planets in our own solar system, will probably never be realized due to the short-sighted entitlement culture. Yep, I'd check off a $1000 donation for true space exploration on my tax return, but I won't willingly give another dollar to those that think they have earned it just by existing. We are doomed to die on this rock, and I'd agree with Hawking, it probably won't take 100 years.
I was trying to think of something to post but you said it better than I ever could. Well done. It always seems people in small numbers can and do care for eachother, but when it gets to the scale of billions you don't. We hear about a Tsunami that killed 100,000+ people and find it tragic, but only a tiny fraction of a percent of us go help out or donate. (I didn't either). The Haiti earthquake relief seemed more of a fashionable thing to do than real honest concern for fellow man. I also wouldn't be surprised to learn if a handful of people pocket most of the donated money and only pennies on the dollar ever go to real actual rebuilding.
Actually, rule of thumb for a standard 30-yr fixed rate mortgage is that 28% of your gross pay is the maximum mortgage payment you should be making. That's a bit more than 25% of your take-home.
I find it absolutely absurd that we as a people let it get to the point that it takes 25% of your monthly income for 30 years (not including maintenance and utilities) to have a house.
I avoid flying because I cannot afford/justify the price of first class and because I am 6'8" 240lbs. Those small planes with 1 row of seating on one side and 2 on the others are uncomfortable in ANY seat. Larger planes I pray I can reserve or trade for the bulkhead or emergency exit seat. Another issue is my clothing is simply larger, I cannot fit nearly as many sets of clothing in a carry on or checked bag as most people so if a long trip I'll end up paying more for bags. The size of 38/38 jeans and 15 shoes adds up quickly. I have also been on planes where I physically couldn't do the little exercises to avoid blood clots due to how crammed in I was.
To the systems programmer, users and applications serve only to provide a test load.
