These remind me of the old Rocketdyne facility near where I grew up in Southwest Missouri. There were a couple of huge rocket testing facilities out there, but they were shut down in the 60s (I think). Thirty years ago, I could take my Jeep and drive around out there and snoop around.

As much as I hate to agree with Bill Gates, I do think we could do a better job when it comes to handling epidemics.

BTW, a "global epidemic" is called a pandemic, but perhaps that's splitting hairs.

Anyway, an epidemic can turn into a pandemic pretty quickly these days, so we need to be more nimble.

There an old SNL ad spoof called "Bad Idea Jeans" that comes to mind.

Facebook already knows everything about you. Now you want them to know who you're sending money to also?

I literally did a face palm.

"Just in case you are not being sarcastic, or someone is not getting it..."

Yes, I'm sure he was totally serious about the dogs and cats living together.

I agree, and I would add "philosopher" to that list of titles. He could impart the most profound insights, and do it in such a succinct, gentle and entertaining way.

I found out on my lunch hour today. I didn't want to go back to work, but Hex doesn't sleep -- the ants need to be kept running.

I'm glad you pointed that out. On closer examination you are right. The only difference between what I got and the new model is the Force Touch trackpad, which (yawn) I can't say I'm really excited about. Otherwise, processor speed, memory, and flash storage and price are all about the same. I feel better now. Thanks.

I just bought a new Macbook pro and Apple TV two weeks ago. Yes, I know they're always coming out with new products, but I didn't expect the Macbook to be so much different, for less money, and I didn't expect the Apple TV price drop of 30%.

Perhaps I am an idiot, but I did read TFA and it stated that the drones only cover a fraction of the border, and are grounded about 80% of the time. That doesn't sound like the drones are very effective.

I don't know if my suggestion would necessarily work any better, but the Border Patrol would know where the blind spots are also and could cover them using other techniques or technology. Actually, it seems like a system that tends to funnel smugglers into perceived blind spots might be effective because you know where they are likely to be.

That's kind of what I was thinking. The border isn't going anywhere, so since the observation area is pretty static, it seems like a string of observation blimps would work just about as well.

At first glance I was prepared to say, "Expensive compared to what?" I was initially prepared to support the drone program. But when I read TFA and got some details, I think it would be fair to say that this drone program is something of a failure.

The border is always in the same place, and therefore the same areas are being patrolled. You don't need a drone to do that. Couldn't you practically accomplish the same thing with observation blimps at a much lower cost? Sure, it doesn't quite have the same "cool" factor, but I would wager it could get the job done.

How do we know it hasn't happened already? It could have exploded five hundred years ago, and we wouldn't know.

He needs to have his colon examined. I think they may find a large insect lodged in there.

"Do not taunt Super Happy Atomic Energy Lab"

I'm sure they won't go away quickly -- probably not in my lifetime -- but I do think they will evolve into something radically different from what they are now.