We don't have generally available wireless access where I work, so I use AvantGO. I'm going to miss it! Are there alternatives with similar functionality?

Aww, but in particle physics cats herd (or don't herd) you!

"...much like many home computers from the days Back To The Future was cool".

Oh geez! I missed the memo. Back to the Future isn't cool any more? Man I'm getting old!

I do some work as a volunteer officer and the flashlights you get for $10 just don't compare. Most police-style flashlights are built much more ruggedly and are significantly brighter. When you find yourself facing a hostile assailant with nothing but a flashlight in your hand it's nice to know that the flashlight can function as an object for self defense if necessary, not to mention break-and-rake on car and house windows. Also the extra brightness is a safety feature too. Obviously searching a dark area with a brighter light is safer, assuming you need to use a light at all, not to mention being able to temporarily blind someone whose eyes are dark-adjusted.

Then of course the price is related to the market size. Not many people need a flashlight with these extra capabilities so less market = higher price.

I have similar feelings, although I'm hopeful that Obama honors the platform he ran on and stays just slightly left of center. Clinton did this. He was pretty liberal, but definitely ran the Presidency just slightly left of center. Of course Clinton had a GOP congress to keep him in check. No such luck with Obama.

It actually scares me more to have a one-party system than it does to have a liberal president. Thank all that's holy the Senate Repubs still have enough to filibuster anything that's too far left, like a national police force.

I see this as more a failure of the republican party than anything else. Bush was/is not very conservative as far as I can tell and while I believe it was the right thing to do to go in to Iraq, Bush's reasons were extremely flawed, whether outright lies or just honest bad intelligence. Also the repubs put up some lousy candidates given the climate. They needed someone young and dynamic, like Obama, but instead we got old stiff business men that you could practically see reading their speeches word for word off their teleprompters. Of course they all do that, but Obama makes it look natural.

People with this attitude have always puzzled me... Honestly, what do you think people that make a lot of money do with that money? Do they squirrel it away in a mattress? If not then that money is generally creating jobs and wealth for others. They either spend it, my preferred form of "wealth redistribution", or they invest it in other enterprises that create jobs, and yes, make them more money in the process. That's how a free market is supposed to work!

And what do you think they do when they have to pay more taxes? Do they go out and hire more people so that they can increase their income by doing more of whatever it is they did to make that money in the first place, and thus make up for the loss they've taken because of the tax? Not generally. More likely they'll try to reduce their income, or even better these days, move to another country that doesn't have such a tax burden. And that helps us how?

Easy, I make over $100k a year. I want to pay as little as I can get away with to the US government, and I work for them! I find it hard to believe that people want the government to make decisions for them. You're actually happy you can't shop around for an insurance plan that suits you best? For example when I was younger and without children I had a minimal plan. It basically covered me in the case of a catastrophic illness and left me to pay for anything else. It was cheap and I got to keep more of the money I worked for. Now that I'm in my forties and have a couple of small children and a wife to look after I have the most extensive plan my company offers. It's more expensive but the health of my children is worth it and I'm less risk adverse with their well being at stake. Now I don't think it's perfect, I wish I knew the root cause of health-care costs rising so dramatically, but it's certainly better than some giant government bureaucracy mandating "Thou shalt use this health plan"!

BTW, my mother also had breast cancer and didn't pay anything but a small deductible, and within a week or two at most of being diagnosed she was in surgery and on her way to recovery.

Plus, I can take a shower every day over here! :)

Yeah, and your message was heard loud and clear! While watching CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, etc., last night all the play the third-party candidates got was just overwhelming! Umm, oh, wait a minute....

Seriously, it's not wise to vote for third-parties at the national level at present. Your vote is wasted and doesn't send any message except in your own head. I lean more libertarian myself but I would never waste my vote in the present environment on a third-party candidate in a national election. Choose the best candidate for you that has a snow ball's chance.

If you want to send a message the place to do it is at the local level where your vote MAY not get lost in the noise. The abolition of the Dems or GOP will only take place if we take a bottom up approach (Uggh, now I sound like a democrat!).