Comment Re:Australian mining stock (Score 1) 868
I would prefer taking company equity / listed shares via a salary sacrifice option. No tax on the initial income and a growing tax advantaged income stream from dividends.
Comment Re:Two (Score 1) 674
I've never met an Engrish speaker that speaks English.
Comment Re:I only speak 2 languages.... (Score 1) 674
My chinese coworker says he picked up English in one year when working in hotels, and in 19 years still can't understand 'Strayan.
Comment Re:Bad summary (Score 1) 412
Before JB Hifi I had to search 5 different CD stores over 3 square km (in a city of 1 million people) to find some albums I wanted, and I was paying more for them 15 years ago (not in real terms, raw dollar for dollar). Yeah you know what, they pull some shit, but life got easier after they came along, and I get more shit for the dollar. Suck it up and don't buy an iFad.
Comment Re:Still out of date (Score 1) 515
Yep - and we still have a banking system.
Comment Re:Still out of date (Score 1) 515
We still haven't perfected the technology. Or more to the point, perfected the technology for $5 notes. The rest are fine, the 5's fall apart all the time. Baffling.
Comment Re:While were looking at that spreadsheet... (Score 1) 776
Probably the most racist thing I've read all day.
Comment Re:Cartoon porn is still porn (Score 1) 673
2 years probation for his first offence. Hell of a book.
NASA To Propose Commercial Space Initiative 151
MarkWhittington writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that starting with the FY2011 budget request for NASA, the Obama administration intends to propose a new program to encourage the development of a commercial space flight industry. 'The controversial proposal, expected to be included in the Obama administration's next budget, would open a new chapter in the US space program. The goal is to set up a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying US astronauts into orbit—and eventually deeper into the solar system. Congress is likely to challenge the concept's safety and may balk at shifting dollars from existing National Aeronautics and Space Administration programs already hurting for funding to the new initiative. The White House's ultimate commitment to the initiative is murky, according to these people, because the budget isn't expected to outline a clear, long-term funding plan.'"
SETI Founder Outlines Ambitious Future Plans 281
Lanxon writes "'In the universe there is intelligent life, I'm confident about that,' SETI founder Dr Frank Drake (of the Drake Equation) affirmed earlier today during a talk at the Royal Society in London, 50 years after SETI was founded. One of his visions to prove this, and to show that the last five decades were not a waste of time, is to station a radio observatory not in near-Earth orbit, but on the far side of the moon. He also suggests that another craft could later be stationed 500 times further away from the Sun than the Earth, using the Sun itself as a giant magnifying lens to resolve alien worlds."
Failed Games That Damaged Or Killed Their Companies 397
An anonymous reader writes "Develop has an excellent piece up profiling a bunch of average to awful titles that flopped so hard they harmed or sunk their studio or publisher. The list includes Haze, Enter The Matrix, Hellgate: London, Daikatana, Tabula Rasa, and — of course — Duke Nukem Forever. 'Daikatana was finally released in June 2000, over two and a half years late. Gamers weren't convinced the wait was worth it. A buggy game with sidekicks (touted as an innovation) who more often caused you hindrance than helped ... achieved an average rating of 53. By this time, Eidos is believed to have invested over $25 million in the studio. And they called it a day. Eidos closed the Dallas Ion Storm office in 2001.'"
Own Your Own Fighter Jet 222
gimmebeer writes "The Russian Sukhoi SU-27 has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (more than 1,300 mph) and has a thrust to weight ratio greater than 1 to 1. That means it can accelerate while climbing straight up. It was designed to fight against the best the US had to offer, and now it can be yours for the price of a mediocre used business jet."
Comment Re:Plenty of consulting dollars to be spent (Score 5, Funny) 572
I've been watching Enviromission not build a solar tower in regional Victoria (Australia) for a decade now. Not building one in the United States is a real step up for these guys.
Comment Re:Multilayer WTF? (Score 1) 926
Fly to Malaysia and you'll change your tune. Mandatory death penalty for drug import.
Mars Images Reveal Evidence of Ancient Lakes 128
Matt_dk writes "Spectacular satellite images suggest that Mars was warm enough to sustain lakes three billion years ago, a period that was previously thought to be too cold and arid to sustain water on the surface, according to research published today in the journal Geology. Earlier research had suggested that Mars had a warm and wet early history but that between 4 billion and 3.8 billion years ago, before the Hesperian Epoch, the planet lost most of its atmosphere and became cold and dry. In the new study, the researchers analysed detailed images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is currently circling the red planet, and concluded that there were later episodes where Mars experienced warm and wet periods."
