That's not all that different from how he got started with Tesla. He had no intention of starting a car company (he already had SpaceX), he just wanted AC Propulsion to build him a copy of their t-zero - but they had no interest, even for a small fortune. But then they pointed him to this guy named Martin Eberhard who had this wild idea to commercialize the t-zero's tech base on a Lotus Elise body and was looking for funding... and thus Tesla was born.

I have my own website, but it's just a vanity site. Why do I need to get a certificate and use https?

I doubt it is just for surveillance. Hopefully these devices can loiter for weeks and deliver ordinance to unsuspecting enemy vessels.

Anything that requires my computer to tell me "no" is evil. "Well I could play this file, but some server out there said I shouldn't let you, so no." Nope. That's not the way this works. My computer is my slave. It works for me and only me. Not for Sony, not for Disney, not for the RIAA or the MPAA or anybody else. Just meta-monkey.

And probably the NSA, but fuck if I can stop that.

So I can put the movie on my phone/tablet/laptop and take it with me to places where I don't have Internet access?

So Super Netflix still wouldn't stop people from pirating. Ultimately, I just want a damn file. Sell me a non-DRMed file and I'll buy it.

The GP said pirates would stop pirating if they could get stuff from Netflix. But that still wouldn't be as good because if I want to put a movie on my phone/tablet/laptop to take with me on a plane/train/desert island I can't. So I'd still just want a file.

But somebody does have ocean property. How did they get it? What if somebody else wants it?

I doubt, Joe Biden will score even so much as a nomination â" despite his desires â" which will, of course, be even more embarrassing for the Democrats, than him losing the subsequent election.

This is likely the number one reason why no one has attempted to assassinate Obama. They know we would get Biden in his stead.

This isn't about etymology. It's irrelevant how God and Allah were derived. What's relevant is how they're used today.

You will find as much consistency in the Islamic world as in the Christian or Jewish worlds. If you look at the Monotheistic Abrahamic faiths, it is the Christian sects that, by and large, are the most deviated from the Old Testament norms; in particular as far as the Trinity goes. The Jewish and Muslim view of God is far closer to a pure monotheism.

Louis in German is Louis, obviously.

It's Ludwig, not Louis. Both names have their origins in Old Franconian; in which the name was Chlodowig. They are equivalent, but with various pronunciation changes over the last 1500 or so years. You see, a funny thing happens to words, they evolve in pronunciation and in meaning.

But the word "allah" is merely the Arabic word for "god", and etymologically is related to similar words in other Semitic languages, including the Hebrew "el". If you're an Arabic Christian, you will use the word "allah" for the same reason. For goodness sakes, mate, the Aramaic word for God is "elah".

The only thing dead here is the mass between your ears.

The saddest thing about morons is that that they think their moronic nature is a matter of pride, and not shame.

The Prelude will be replaced in a few years by the Civic Si.

If there are less platters in the WD then the density will mean a speed boost even at a lower spin speed.

Nice red herring on the infant mortality rates.

Cuba doesn't count the deaths of infants that die within three days of being born. Those are considered miscarriages, and don't contribute to the numbers. In the US, any birth that still has a heartbeat outside of the mother is considered a live baby. If it dies moments later, that's "infant mortality." Many (very sensible) countries around the world don't do the math that way, resulting in complete apples/oranges when you compare the stats.

Regardless, you're trusting ANY numbers out of Cuba, where the government jails and sometimes kills people who say even very non-specific things that run counter to the totalitarian propaganda?

Gas is that low despite him, not because of him. Get your basic facts straight.

Which two was that? There's more war in Iraq than there was when he took command, and the war in Afghanistan that he said was the important one is still going on. There's also some new NEW war going on in Syria, where he's now got our forces involved, and we have some lead being slung around in places like Ukraine. "End" two wars? Which ones?

You mean, be in office when the people who were already working on the task before he took office finally got things lined up and got it done? His main contribution: watching from the situation room. And the intel/SF people who made it happen aren't very happy with him leaving the Pakistani doctor who helped make it possible to twist in the wind after the deed. Classy.

That fake number only works if you pretend that huge numbers haven't simply given up looking for work. The real number is much higher than that. Which you know. Which everyone knows. Please, show a little integrity.

Well, he is. So there's something to be said for being honest about it.

In Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International the US Supreme Court ruled:

Recently, after its SCO fiasco, Microsoft's biggest gun in its ceaseless war on Linux and all things FOSS has been patent extortion. IIRC, Microsoft makes a sizable chuck of change from Android devices due to the licenses for a fuzzy bunch of patents that have never been tested for validity in a court of law.

At some point, someone with deep enough pockets to risk a spin on the roulette wheel that is the US court system in regard to patents will take on Microsoft and see if the Emperor is wearing clothes or not. Microsoft owns some very smart lawyers. The lawyers know such a challenge is inevitable. They also know there is a good chance Microsoft will lose and will have to shut down its patent extortion racket. At that point they will need a plan B. This is their baby steps towards a plan B which is way too little, way too late.