Comment Fire insurance (Score 3, Interesting) 104
Not that they don't deserve donations, but why do they need to solicit for funds for this purpose? Wouldn't fire insurance cover the losses?
Comment Re:Anyone know of a good list of these companies? (Score 2) 79
I couple of months back, I picked up an unlocked GSM Pre3, and I haven't had a chance yet to really dig into which of the pre-paid companies offer good terms for smartphones for my usage pattern.
I know that Phone Scoop has a list, but it doesn't mention the 4 virtual carriers mentioned in the article summary.
I've been recently looking at http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2011/02/best-prepaid-voice-plans.html and http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2011/02/best-prepaid-data-carriers-and-plans.html
Comment Re:Missing Information (Score 3, Insightful) 667
Who exactly won? Thanks Dick Durban!
I would say the consumers and small banks have won. Based on the 2008 financial mess, I think it's safe to say that having money distributed across many small banks is better than having to depend on the financial decisions of a few giant banks.
Comment Re:Domestic production? (Score 1) 358
I don't think that oil prices would drop if the US ramps up production. Shell says (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/u-s-has-capacity-to-boost-oil-production-40-hofmeister-says.html) that the US could increase production from 8 to 10 million barrels per day. I would expect OPEC, at 30 million barrels per day, would decrease production to keep oil prices stable.
Comment Re:First new constitution since '49? (Score 1) 157
What were they going to use in the 90's? A Newton?
Woman Sues Google Over Street View Shots of Her Underwear 417
Kittenman writes "The Telegraph (and several US locals) are covering a story about a Japanese woman who had her underwear on the line while the Google car went past. She is now suing Google: 'I was overwhelmed with anxiety that I might be the target of a sex crime,' the woman told a district court. 'It caused me to lose my job and I had to change my residence.'"
Survey Shows That Fox News Makes You Less Informed 1352
A survey of American voters by World Public Opinion shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. One of the most interesting questions was about President Obama's birthplace. 63 percent of Fox viewers believe Obama was not born in the US (or that it is unclear). In 2003 a similar study about the Iraq war showed that Fox viewers were once again less knowledgeable on the subject than average. Let the flame war begin!
Comment Re:Huh?! (Score 1) 374
If you are equating "Fair Tax" with a flat tax rate, I don't see how it would make things simpler to file taxes. I spend my entire time gathering and sorting my papers, entering all my capital gains, entering my dividends, entering my deductions, finding tax credits, etc. I spend 99.99% of my time entering numbers to calculate my Adjusted Gross Income, then TurboTax calculates the tax automatically. I would save no time if TurboTax used a different formula for calculating the tax from the adjusted income.
Nuclear Power Could See a Revival 415
shmG writes "As the US moves to reduce dependence on oil, the nuclear industry is looking to expand, with new designs making their way through the regulatory process. No less than three new configurations for nuclear power are being considered for licensing by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The first of them could be generating power in Georgia by 2016."
Comment Who? (Score 1) 213
Al Gore?
Comment Inter-what? (Score 1) 90
Am I the only one that learned a new word today? Interstitial advertisements. Now I know the proper term to use when I curse those god-damn ads!
LRO Photographs Soviet Lunar Landers From the '70s 24
braindrainbahrain writes "Photographs of the Sea of Crises on the Moon taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Soviet lunar landers Luna 20, Luna 23 and Luna 24, which landed on the Moon in the 1970s. In addition to the landers, it is possible to see the tracks made by the Lunokhod lunar rover! The Soviet Lunokhod lunar rover predates the first successful Mars Rover by some 30 years. (Note: Very cool old-style artists' drawings of the Soviet craft at the Wikipedia links above.)"
Comment Re:Not reform, capitulation. (Score 1) 2424
I have been hearing for a year now about how insurance companies can't compete across state lines, but I still fail to understand what the Republicans mean by this. For example:
Cigna is based in Pennsylvania and offers plans in 9 states (http://www.cigna.com/our_plans/individual_and_family/for_you.html).
Aetna is based in Connecticut and offers plans in all 50 states (http://www.aetna.com/members/individuals/health/help.html).
They are clearly selling across state lines, so I don't see what the Republican argument is.
Space Photos Taken From Shed Stun Astronomers 149
krou writes "Amateur astronomer Peter Shah has stunned astronomers around the world with amazing photos of the universe taken from his garden shed. Shah spent £20,000 on the equipment, hooking up a telescope in his shed to his home computer, and the results are being compared to images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. 'Most men like to putter about in their garden shed,' said Shah, 'but mine is a bit more high tech than most. I have fitted it with a sliding roof so I can sit in comfort and look at the heavens. I have a very modest set up, but it just goes to show that a window to the universe is there for all of us – even with the smallest budgets. I had to be patient and take the images over a period of several months because the skies in Britain are often clouded over and you need clear conditions.' His images include the Monkey's head nebula, M33 Pinwheel Galaxy, Andromeda Galaxy and the Flaming Star Nebula, and are being put together for a book."
Comment Re:Boxee with Revo? (Score 1) 163
I'm also looking for a nice little box to run Boxee. I would appreciate any comments on good, pre-built, hardware.
