Actually this is the "this".

The Snowden saga and politicians' and media response to it prove that there aren't 2 teams in politics. Dems and Republicans are part of the same corporation that pays them handsomely with the public's money.

It's like any professional sport organization (NFL, etc). Sure the teams are competitive to a point, but at the end of they game most of them don't give a rip and are chuckling and hugging each other, meeting for drinks and dinner afterwards.... Because they all get paid millions of the public's money, regardless who "wins" a single game. Only the public cares about that single game.

Same with American politics...The debates about healthcare, abortion. The elections. The political news shows. It is all just to see which team is best funded by the special interests. The special interests have big plans for the public's money and/or social behavior. In this system the politicians are always paid, at the public's expense.

It is no wonder why no politician or politically bent media organization will tip this system. It is their cash cow. We Americans need to wake up.

Your home can be a fittting room...

Zappos.com (owned by Amazon) has free 2 day shipping and free returns both ways. I often order the same clothes in a few sizes from there, keep the one that fits and return the rest. They have videos of the clothes on people to help you decide, but failing that the return process is flawless. I am a tall size (6'4" / 1.9m) and shopping malls often don't carry odd sizes. Online usually does. Some prefer to touch before buying so I respect that.... I just hate malls.

Offtopic Big/Tall Protip: 6pm.com offers tall sizes for cheap because they typically are the last to sell. They however do not have Zappos excellent customer service and return policy (Even though they are owned by Zappos / Amazon)...they are the online no-return clearance rack.

Lowest bidder, or only bidder?

This is an honest question...If you Google "who bid on healthcare.gov" several seemingly right-leaning sites say there was only one bid and it was won by Ms Obama's crony CGI.

Reuters and others say there were 4 total bids, although I cannot find who those other 3 bidders are or what their bids were. And the end of that article states "No other IT contractors have come forward to say they, too, bid on the contract to build Healthcare.gov."

So honest question: which is it? As the project sponsor (taxpayer) I'd like to know. As an IT Professional that runs web projects (in the private sector) I would get fired for not getting competing bids on a project with budgets order of magnitude less than this.

In some states its 10 cents! One time my friend Newman and I borrowed one of his USPS mail trucks from work to shuttle bottles collected here in New York (5 cent return) to return them to Michigan (10 cent return) for a cool profit. Hilarity ensued.

...An convenient illustration of this is the Atlas Human Powered Helicopter which uses massive slow-moving rotors to compensate for a human's puny power output.

There is something about the US television coverage of this story that i find... odd. Ive seen coverage on several networks, and the anti-Snowden bias of the coverage is almost universal. Honestly Jon Stewart's daily show seems to be the only one NOT taking the "He's a traitor" stance. CNN, Fox ... Even Letterman seem to be treading very lightly and no one wants to side with Snowden even though he presents a reasonably logical and convincing case against the government. It's like the expected righty, lefty bias is out the door and there is now universal pro government bias. I find this really unsettling.

Somewhere, D James Bidzos just got a massive boner.

I agree with the "appearance of security" bit.

I have season tickets to an NFL team. The stadium security staff "scans" everyone entering using hand-held devices (metal detectors?) that I believe to be fake.

They have been using these for a few years, I have never once seen anyone stopped after a scanning. No one is asked to empty pockets. The devices do not appear to omit any audible or visual feedback....even when going over cell phones, keys, or flasks of whiskey.

If it helps some people feel more secure, I'm ok with that I guess.

I had no idea this topic was so polarizing.

Yes. He is this guy.

Didn't iPhone sales slow Q3 in anticipation of the iPhone 5?

Regardless, I don't understand why some people want their device to "kill" the competition. Must be some sort of self-identity complex that I am not smart enough to understand. Competition breeds innovation. Ideally these 2 companies will start one-upping each other and consumers on both sides will win.

The approach of handling phone "spam" like email spam seems like a logical approach, minus one thing: Email spam is still rampant.

There are countless tools and email spam filters that heuristically identify spam and allow people to flag spam. In the US there exists legislation against email spam (CAN SPAM ACT) with stiff penalties.

Why would this be approach successful for telephone communication?

Sounds like my "friend", Joey Jo-Jo Junior Shabadoo.

I converted to a permanent standing desk a few months ago and I really like it. The first week was pretty tough to get through, but after that it has been great. I recommend an anti-fatigue mat to stand on and some decent insoles like PowerSteps. Some co-workers also have a high stool for when they get tired. I do admit that I look forward to sitting during lunch and after work, but I would never go back. I haven't seen a single co-worker go back to sitting, and more are converting to standing.

At my company HQ (different office) all desks are motorized and can raise or lower with a button. These are awesome and are the ideal (albeit expensive) solution. Most of the HQ employees both stand and sit for a few hours per day, as do I when visiting.

The extra calories burned while standing is pretty compelling. Also there are recent studies that advise against sitting all day.

Of course YMMV based on your physical health and body type. FWIW I am 6'4" 185lb software developer in decent shape...work for 8-9 hours / day 90% of the time at my desk.

This is like Dad getting fed up with his 2 brat kids fighting in the back seat of the car. "You two kids get along right NOW... or I'll turn this car around right now and NO ONE will get ice cream!".

(Yes that qualifies for +5 Car Analogy)