The theory itself states that information of what enters a black hole is itself retained, and due to the time dilation characteristics caused by the extreme gravity, said information would be present for eternity, even after the last hydrogen atom decays and the universe becomes a vast wasteland. While the matter is long gone, the energy remains and thermodynamics teaches us that the two are interchangeable. As such, the parent is making a facetious argument about how should a hard drive be thrown into a black hole, the universe has made a truly perfect backup of the data that is incapable of being destroyed and will itself outlive all matter in the universe.

And as the saying goes, jokes are funnier when they need to be explained.

Whole economy, evenly distributed
14 Trillion Dollars / 7 Billion People = 2 Thousand Dollars.

Whole economy, distributed to one billion people
14 Trillion Dollars / 1 Billion People = 14 Thousand Dollars.

It wasn't solely his work.

You mean spending $250 million dollars to restore Endeavor to its original flight worthy condition through the use of original, certified parts so that it can be on display for middle schoolers for their field trips to the Science Center may not be a particularly sound idea when "this ship has been in space dozens of times" would still have them saying WOAH! even if a 30lb retention bolts shown connecting the shuttle to its fuel tank couldn't really hold the sheering force of a launch?

Obligatory SMBC

From the same article, I wouldn't really call Apple on the downward slide. They have been selling more tablets than ever, and more than Samsung, Asus, Amazon and Lenovo combined. In fact, all 5 have been growing tremendously Year-over-Year. The difference here is that there has been a significant increase in the "Others" category, all of the other manufacturers who on their own would be considered a rounding error in the report. This is more the case of the Bargain Bin models increasing the size of the market larger than the "Big Boys" care to play in. Example: Samsung isn't rushing out to release a $49 tablet to compete with RCA.

There is this crazy new idea called "wanting to deal with the excess water" should one "just open up the spillways".

The water goes somewhere, after all. Would probably piss off a bunch of home owners in Beverly should their riverfront homes quite suddenly become riverboat homes.

And next time someone comes in and robs them blind, will the perpetrators be buttpirates?

However, in the case of pacemakers it is very possible to cause a bingeminy, trigeminy, or other form of sinus arrhythmia that untreated could ultimately lead to damage of the heart muscle, even for a device operating within its safety limits. Even just by oscillating the gain on the sensing leads could trigger automated defibrillation on devices with the capability (less common).

Definition.

Water and Sewer are utilities, and thereby regulated.
Internet is an entertainment service, and thereby unregulated.

Telephone service providers are pushing to move their equipment entirely to IP, gaining the "service" classification as it would no longer fit the present definition of a telecommunications network.

The concern in this case is that the public sector is using tax dollars and grants from federal entities to overbuild an existing private network, in turn generating income in the areas that have higher densities at the expense of the less dense areas. This effectively leaves those "unserved" still without service, despite all residents paying for the network via their property taxes.

Should the same thing be done by a new-comer into private industry, done without tax dollars, or would connect all those who wanted it there would not be a problem. Protecting monopolistic behavior is simply the knee-jerk reaction to the story.

Further, as Google's Provo offering is no longer a "public entity" offering, it isn't even subject to the bill.
However, at the same point Google would not have been able to enter the marketplace in Provo should the town not have done the initial heavy lifting.

As someone who has gone through physical therapy on my arm, the thought of very good immediate fine motor control and reliable control within a week of training is incredible. I remember spending weeks trying to reliably touch the tips of my thumb and pinky together. Even now, I have difficulty with my ring and middle fingers doing what they are supposed to unless I have them in the corner of my eye.

And to complete the summary Copy / Paste:

The scientists found large amounts of toxic sulfide built up in the muds where the eelgrass grows. The sulfide forms when nutrients from agricultural runoff cause bacteria to flourish. Eelgrass grows radially outward, with older plants in the middle and younger seedlings on the outer rim. Because only the middle ring of mature plants can endure the poisonous sulfide, a near-perfect ring of seagrass forms, the researchers report in the February issue of Marine Biology. While the eelgrass circles make for a remarkable sight and a catalyst for kooky conspiracy theories, the researchers say sulfide from agricultural runoff has become a major problem for seagrass ecosystems worldwide.

Here's an interesting fact: you're not breathing real air. It's too expensive to pump this far down. We just take carbon dioxide out of a room, freshen it up a little, and pump it back in. So you'll be breathing the same room full of air for the rest of your life. I thought that was interesting.

Repeat after me: I misinterpreted the rules.