All this time, I thought I was just trippin' on acid. Now, what about the walls? Are they really melting into a pool of psychedelicly colored dolphins?

Increased scientific literacy increases sceptism toward those who claim to be the standard bearers of truth. "The more I learn the more I learn how little I know." Some old smart dude said something like this once.

Seems unlikely that the legal arguments presented will stand up to public legal scrutiny. I'm certainly not a lawyer. However, as I read the cited comments about weighing private vs government interests, the cited commentary doesn't appear to suggest that due process can be denied altogether. Rather, the commentary appears to discuss practical issues of war that might have the effect of delaying due process. Conveniently, the Obama administration lawyers failed to comment on the legal motivation behind the Bush era Guantanamo prisoner military trials. Namely, federal courts ruled that these prisoners had due process rights even though they were enemy combatants and despite the fact that they were not U.S. Citizens. Both the dates of the legal opinions and news reports describing the Obama administration legal review process clearly show that the Obama administration had ample time and opportunity to engage in judiciary. They just chose not to do so, apparently. Given this, the al Qaida dirtbag's constitutional right to due process was trampled. Personally, I have 0 sympathy for al awlaki, but clearly Obama signed off on an executive branch doctrine of extra judicial execution of American citizens that could be used to kill just about any American overseas. Asserting that a person is a member of a terrorist group and using that assertion as justification for that person's execution without providing external review and due process is nothing short of tyranny. Granted, if Obama had to violate some American's rights, he probably picked the right person.

What an incredibly horrendous idea. Increases in student debt are the result of students making bad decisions about the schools they attend. Students are enabled by the federal government that created and supports student loan programs that allow these young kids to qualify for insane loan amounts.

A better solution would be to restructure the current student loan programs such that student debt load is capped at some reasonable level. The effect would be that students would be forced to make more rational choices about the schools they decide to attend and how they pay for their education. The education market would respond accordingly as more money flows into community colleges, state schools, and other lower cost education options. Costs would go down.

"Free" college education supported by general taxation or more targeted taxation would have the undesirable effect of disconnecting personal spending choices from personal spending consequences. The result: market distortion that pushes costs up at increasingly unsustainable rates and second order pressure for education rationing by the federal government.

''' Rob found himself resenting the inordinate amount time it takes to fry an egg in the morning and decided something had to be done. Simplifying food as "nutrients required by the body to function" (which sounds totally bulimic, I know, but I promise it's not), Rob has come up with an odourless, beige cocktail that he calls Soylent. '''

I can relate. I also resent the the inordinate amount of time is takes to bathe every day, pick out something to wear, or talk to a girl. Over a 20 year period, the average time a strong and virile young man like myself and Rob are at their mental and physical peak, eliminating egg frying and all these other hassles can liberate up to five years worth of extra time for more worthy pursuits such as playing D&D. Toss in the benefits have making some serious bucks and getting to drink a beige, odorless yet tasty beverage twelve times per day, well...damn. Sign my ass ...err stomach up!

From contract.

'''

You agree to keep confidential at all times all matters relating to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the Promotional Requirements, and the CPM Compensation, listed above. You understand that You may not post a copy of this Agreement or any terms thereof online or share them with any third party (other than a legal or financial representative). You agree that You have read the Nondisclosure Agreement (attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A”) and You understand and agree to all of terms of the Nondisclosure Agreement, which is incorporated as part of this Agreement.

'''

The sketchy bit for me is that Machinima bills itself as "Machinima is the dominant video entertainment network for young males around the world. " Doesn't seem to clearly state that it is, perhaps, a promotional entity as well.

News flash! 13 yo Syrian nerd tired of wanking all day, every day. Decides to deface web pages part of the time. Says that he will also spend time trying to build up courage enough to talk to totally hot girl who lives next door... After he wanks a little more.

What an abhorrently overly simplistic question. Really? MOOCs provide an abundance of value to the curious mind. Many participants, I assume, are very much like me. They occasionally complete an entire course, but only sample sections of most. I'd much rather watch a great set of lectures on neural networks during my down time than watch the crap that passes for entertainment on broadcast and cable television. Moreover, experimentation in format and content delivery will most certainly transform more formal education services for the better. Rock on MOOCs and those who love them.

"speaking about his objections to mass indiscriminate surveillance by governments"... From the warm embrace of a totalarian state and from under the approving gaze of it's thuggish leader, Putin. He is both a "tool" and a tool of Putin's propaganda machine. Perhaps, he should have invited to his broadcast the just released from Russian prison system Pussy Riot band members.

Lol. Siamese are wonderful cats. IMHO, they actually bond with their pet humans, well, selectively bond. Seems like they can live an exceptionally long time as well. My family had a spectacular Siamese. She lived into her 20's. However, she preferred killing birds to eating mice. Never ate the birds. Instead, she'd leave them for us, placing them ever so conspicuously at the front door threshold.

Don't know about the magazine itself, but the project's indiegogo FAQ is worth a read, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/linux-voice/. Some interesting info describing the cost associated with producing (not including print costs) a magazine these days. Some back of the envelope math suggests that they've raised enough to produce... But not print... One year worth of content. Not bad considering that they can still draw on subscription fees and advertising.

Well executed, sir/ma'am!

I've built a strontium 90, thorium hybrid neutron pulse nuclear reactor in the basement. What fun! By the way, you are all as sterile as me and bender. Have at it!

I have surveyed several coursera courses and completed a couple. Being a Comp Sci, telecoms professional, I derived tremendous value from Coursera material related to these disciplines. Only cost is my time. The video lectures are gold. Most classes that I've seen are project based. Learning is doing. In general, I've found that course difficulty usually floats somewhere between college senior and first year grad student. Some are just insanely hard. One has to accept that one bit of important material is missing, proofs. Just no way to auto-grade them, in general. I haven't seen anything to complain about.

Well, of course. Yahoo has such a stellar record of making sound business decisions that one should surely have anticipated this move. Word on the street is that Dilbert's pointy haired boss is slated to lead this new management initiative!