My point is simply that the foot is a handy length unit to have that doesn't exist in SI. Obviously you can make do without it, but it's something that just works well and if there was a near SI equivalent it would be easier to make the transition. No one seems to use decimeter, which sounds too much like decameter, particularly with all the interesting dialects in the US that would just be a mess. Now if 1 meter was close to 1 foot and then you went in multiples of 10 from there, that would be easier for imperial users to get.

My other point that units that aren't necessarily easy to convert between doesn't matter because the average person doesn't ever actually have to convert you didn't address. It doesn't matter if the system as a whole is better if the only parts that people use regularly are just as good in the old system if it's the average person that you need to convince to use it.

Because no one really cares how many yards are in a mile. Things that are usefully measured in yards are measured in yards and not converted to miles and vice versa. The inch and the foot are more practical units for everyday use than cm and meters and that's what people are used to. If there were closer SI units to the inch and foot I think it would be a much easier conversion to sell.

Letting a temporary tax cut expire isn't raising taxes, anymore than not continuing to get a Christmas bonus in January isn't cutting your pay. I really have no idea why no one calls them on this nonsense. If you are only interesting in technically not raising taxes then you can play whatever word games you want.

The problem is that Republicans see this as an opportunity to cut every program that they disagree with while continuing to spend just as much or even more on the things they do agree with. This is their opportunity to do with the budget what they can't do with votes or the courts, and they won't accept that their little fantasy isn't possible.

I believe it involves Steve Ballmer and hunting down every patent attorney in the world, but I'm a little fuzzy on the details.

Ah but law enforcement wants to be able to fly a drone over your property without a warrant any time they want. So not allowing these guys to do it would be a bad precedent.

Even if it's another entity besides NASA that builds a heavy lift rocket, they are going to need somewhere to launch it from.

A patent will have to interfere with political fundraising in some significant manner. Patent reform will follow in about a week.

TFA: "Says Kellar Autumn of Lewis and Clark University, 'I predict that in the next decade we will see shape-changing artificial muscles in many products, such as mobile phones, portable computers and automobiles.'"

When the next iphone prototype gets left in a bar it simply slithers back to HQ, using its camera to identify anyone that sees it for later questioning by the authorities.

The article talks about how the pyramids got looted within a generation. So by all means, make your don't dig here notice out of fucking platinum and sapphire. I'm sure no one will want to go looking for those things to steal them. A stone tablet sounds pretty much like the ideal medium, but even that will probably get looted because people are stupid.

You might get some people to leave this thing on, but most people who drive like idiots will just turn it off once the novelty wears off because it's not going fast enough, leaving too much space in front of them, etc... The problem isn't that people can't effectively gauge the proper speed to keep the traffic flowing, even though the computer may be able to do it better. They just don't want to, and they aren't going to let the car do it for them either.

He did sort of imply nuking DC would improve things, if you choose to read it that way, while questioning someone else's "misdirected statement". I found it humorous, and we'll need funny people around after DC gets nuked to lighten the mood. So I hope they don't leave the country.

Isn't the only sane response at this point from Iran to get nuclear weapons as quickly as possible to stop us from fucking with them? Then we either decide to leave them alone or go to war with them and bankrupt ourselves.

George RR Martin is doing a good job of making us not want to let the world go back to a feudal society. Or have dragons. Apparently before you can take over the world with them first you have to raise them and send them to college and 8000 pages later you still haven't done anything with them.

Longer hoods? Like they need an excuse to make the beds even shorter. I keep waiting to see the next generation of trucks with 3 rows of seats and a wheelbarrow strapped to the back.

How about we don't have woodworkers price IT projects and don't have IT workers price woodworking projects? You are apparently expecting the wood to cut and assemble itself into a finished product, not consume any electricity in the process or require any rent to be paid on the facility it's building itself in. All of the tools required also purchased themselves and did not wear at all during the process. No other consumables like glue and sandpaper were needed. Further Etsy didn't take 3.5% and Paypal 2.5% off the top. No time was spent photographing, marketing, or answering questions from potential customers either.

All that not withstanding, that maple is highly figured curly maple (which doesn't really show in the article pictures but does in the Etsy ones) so you aren't even close on the lumber costs.