If the government hadn't been stomping all over its authority (and limits thereof), then perhaps such measures wouldn't be needed.

Holder contends that "It is fully possible to permit law enforcement to do its job while still adequately protecting personal privacy.” that may be possible in theory, but governments everywhere have demonstrated repeatedly that they can't be trusted to protect personal privacy. In other words: allowing law enforcement the ability to search through a phone's contents willy nilly, trusting them not to abuse that authority, is a nice-to-have. And because of their actions, we can't have nice things.

Flying cat is not amused. He and a killer bunny will come after you.

They're trying to duplicate something they saw on a sci-fi TV show, thats primary use was exploration of alien planets

No, the tricorder's primary use was exposition, not exploration.

TV Show Watcher: What the heck is going on there?
Star Trek Character: (consults tricorder) There appears to be a radiation surge from other there, indicating a portal will soon appear and introduce this week's source of conflict.
TV Show Watcher: Thanks, informative tricorder!

Let me guess: the fate of our universe depends on us winning the next Tetris tournament, because the other guys have won the last nine. One sage but somewhat aloof character - Christopher Lambert, perhaps, but with a Russian accent - will gather together a diverse team of fighters - no, arcade junkies - to battle an alien invasion force that has overwhelming technological superiority. Except that instead of actual battles, we'll get head-to-head Tetris. I can't wait for the cinemasins version of that

IEEE Spectrum also has coverage, along with an excellent technical explanation.

It's not about how attractive they are. But how traditionally they are dressed. Which for many people contrasts with space exploration.

Well, although a sari is a wonderful outfit, the flowing fabric would probably just get in the way in zero-g.

(I kid, I kid)

My keys are metal. They don't bend.

Ah, but do your keys have a 5.7" screen?

Read much more coherent coverage from IEEE Spectrum.

Spectrum is great - important and well-written technological articles that 1) get their units correct and 2) don't get breathlessly hyped up like a press release. For a while, the print magazine was the main reason I kept my IEEE membership current. Now the whole thing is posted for free online.

A much better article on this device can be found at IEEE Spectrum. They, at least, are a news organization that can be trusted to get their units correct, and not conflate energy with power.

Shade, dark weater, and high lattitude shifts it downward. (Forget about solar in Seattle, for instance.)

Someone ought to tell that to Germany, which has a mean latitude of 51 and plenty of cloudy days, and generates a significant fraction of their power from photovoltaics.

Naw, who am I kidding, everyone knows that the reason Germany is so successful with PV is because they get more sun! Seattle doesn't stand a chance by comparison!

The cheapest thing with solar is massive massive land area at like 8-15% efficiency, with a flat nonmoving panel, that might cost a couple ten bucks a square meter, long term

I am always astounded that parking lots in hot climates - a WalMart in Phoenix, say - doesn't have a roof of PV panels. Provide shade for customers' cars and generate power at the same time. In those sunny climates, the payback period is well less than a decade.

Wait, I thought hipsters were the guys who liked the new things

They can like new things, but they have to be ironic about it (in the Alanis way).

Oh, the many, many books that people have tried to ban (or succeeded)!

From the American Libraries Association: Banned & Challenged Books.

Over 1,000 nuclear weapons have been detonated on Earth in the past 50+ years

And about half of those were detonated underground, after the 1963 Test Ban Treaty. The ban on atmospheric testing was put into place once people realized that irradiating their own planet and dispersing toxic metals was a bad idea.

Russia recently stopped all shipments of processed Uranium from Russia to America for fuel processing, a move that indicates they have no intention of reducing their arsenal.

Do you mean the Megatons to Megawatts Program? It ended of its own accord: the deal from 20+ years back was for 500 tons of enriched uranium, that amount was delivered as planned.

That the program wasn't extended seems more to be a lack of leadership than hostility. At the time when such an extension could/should have been enacted, when the New Start treaty was signed, the US was on OK terms with Russia. As the article points out, however, the hawks in the Senate stonewalled on ratifying the treaty unless they got their shiny new nuclear complex. They got what they wanted, and undercut the President's ability to negotiate further nuclear deals at the same time.