will probably be higher than the cost to build and run it, with how things are in that neighborhood.
It would be a prime target for ISIS/DASH or your flavor of retard islamic extremists of the week.

"We've always been at war with Eastasia"

is one not-so-catastrophic terrorist event to happen and all this talk about oversight, rights, freedom, privacy and The Constitution will go right out the fucking window and everyone knows it.
One Event

Think of the children. Hell, think of the shareholders...

I'm surrounded by Apple users. iPads, iPhones, iThis and iThat...
Have been for years.

I was going to get an iPhone after my BB became annoying...
I got a Galaxy instead.
Yes, they are both very tied into their respective "camps". And I understand the evil ways of Google too well...

However, I cannot stand Apples UI.
I have never understood the appeal of being forced to do things a certain way, when there are other devices that allow multiple ways to achieve things on a device.
Never understood the appeal.

I concur completely on your description of that age group. Sad it is, and quite disturbing. I've noticed over the last 5-10 years how a sort of "groupthink fog" has enshrouded Millenials.

A groupthink fog engendered by conforming to the whims of "social", instead of thinking for themselves.

However, I must point out, anyone who would be under the 24/7 influence of the smartphone/app/FB/twitter/texting paradigm they have been brought up in would end up the same way.

Interesting times indeed.

There is an optional grid tie in.

There is more than just a "green" reason to build local microgrids.
Energy Security and Grid Reliability are two.

The American electrical grid, built decades ago and in need of major upgrades, is acknowledged to be a problem moving forward with renewable energy. Utilities complain that they can't handle the load. As utilities whine about what solar and wind will do to their grids(while simultaneously poopooing renewables and how much power they can generate) SolarCity will build microgrids that will allow localized power generation and distribution, so the tender and fragile utilities-of-old won't have to be bothered by pesky solar derived electricity.

The American megagrids serve a purpose, and they should be upgraded, however we should be simultaneously building infrastructure than is localized and more robust.

Someone should not lost power because a tree fell on a line hundreds of miles away.

Holy shit mod points!

It seems that sunlight will degrade plastics. Maybe not quick, but quicker than things that aren't outside in the sun and weather.

Because were living in the Roman Empire.

I love your optimism. Love it!
However you are leaving out one critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to agriculture: Water.

Where can we start?
How about the Cripps Institue predictions about water in the Western US/Colorado River Basin, that are now playing out.
How about Californias Central Valley?
How about overdrilling and polluting the aquifer under Sao Paolo in Brazil?
What about the overdrilling in India due to cheap and illeagal diesel pumps?
Etc;

Thats because there isn't one.
Somehow, someway, a combination of complete idiots on the jury and expert lawyering have convinced the aforesaid idiots there is a resemblance.

Correct you are.
The real story here isn't the jurys decision or copyright, blah, blah, blah...

The real story here, which isn't really surprising, is how incredibly fucking lame music is now that this song(if you can call it that), was the "big hit of 2013".
"Shite" is the right word.

I remember seeing an interview with Jim Martin from FNM where he said the same thing about "Come as you are", except he said the riff was from a band he was in before FNM.

I've been playing in bands(rock, metal, country, funk, blues, pop, etc), writing and recording music for a long time.
Reagan was president when I started.

I think I have a pretty good ear and can usually pick up songs pretty quick.
I don't have a degree in music, but have taken many music classes and played some classical and jazz pieces on guitar and bass in college.
Though my reading skills have diminished, I can play bass very proficiently, guitar pretty good, and a little piano and drums.
I can sing ok on some things and not bad on others...
I listen to a very wide variety of music, though at the moment its mainly ambient-trance, 70's hard rock or whatever they play on the Jazz station at night.

When I first started hearing the "buzz" about Pharell, etc I wasn't too impressed.
"Happy"? It should be called "Boring"...

Regardless, I think this ruling is a complete fucking joke.
If you think that song sounds like the Marvin Gaye tune, you've got your head way up your ass.
Ridiculous!
Rhythmically there is some resemblance, but that is a reach.
I imagine if you sit and listen long enough and try to rationalize a close enough resemblance to award some douche bags some money though they didn't do a fucking thing to deserve it(except the lawyers of course) then go ahead and award them.
The jury here are complete idiots IMHO.