I wonder what the fuss is about. When you're agreeing on a cell phone + contract, the contract has a subsidy in it. So, Obama is actually forcing a seperation of both parts. I still think companies should be able to lock the phone for the initial 2-year duration of the contract. If you don't want that, buy your phone somewhere else and get a bare contract, like I've been doing for years, or PAYG.

I usually buy my phones whenever I want a new one, where it's cheapest. Then I go and find a contract where the guy selling it hands me part of his commission, or I use PAYG. I'm usually better off than with a contract+phone.

So if everyone around you started chewing khat*, you'd say: "My children can do it, too, so they will function in the world around them. We're not some cult who abstains from what everyone else is doing!"

I doubt your children will miss anything if they're not constantly exposed to TV series, smartphone apps or the internet in general. The educational value of ruining your attention span is also quite dubious to me.

*: Or smoking cigarettes, if that sounds less far-fetched to you. I assume neither of us lives in Yemen.

...or log in to both accounts from the same IP or browser?

True infact.

On German satellite HD channels, timeshift is usually disabled for many channels. And there's still ads, and you have to pay 60€/yr for the HD channels.
IPTV (Telekom Entertain) DOES support timeshifting on all channels, but it's impossible to get the recorded movies out of the set-top-box (Microsoft Mediaroom). So I'm stuck watching on my TV. That is, as long as my subscription for IPTV was active. The second I changed my DSL provider, all the movies on my STB's HD were ...gone. Imagine my fury when some long-kept documentaries were lost.

  It's simply MUCH easier to download complete seasons of "Game of Thrones" and just put them on a NAS, or do whatever I like with them.

I remember when GoT started on TNT HD: I missed the first few episodes, and the only way to catch up was... pirating.

Next they'll start cutting cost in restaurants: providing a single menu, or just letting the patrons cook.

Well, healthcare is a problematic issue in all the countries - because of its nature. I cannot even start to explain the system in Germany, its rules, shortcomings and benefits. Let's just say: healthcare is *always* expensive. I think our system is comparatively okay. The British NHS is a disaster with low-quality healthcare for the masses, the US system *so far* seems to provide good results, but at high cost, and with social problems I would rather not see in my country. I was quite surprised to see fellow students without healthcare in the US when I studied there. At that time, in Germany, most students were just part of their parents' contract, or paid the student premium of maybe 60 USD/mo.

Why not have a mail service that scans your documents for you and delivers them electronically? That way, you could keep your "virtual" mailing address. I heard the NSA might be willing to help, since they put most of the infrastructure in place already.

So you are saying that we could all be better off (more comfortable, less junk mai) if the USPS just increased prices? Paying 2x the current amount isn't going to stop anyone from sending you important mail, but it COULD stop bulk mail. I often have to dump 95% of my mail right at the door, and I bet I have already lost *some* important mail that was hidden between some junk mail I tossed.

My first one was a Commodore C16. Now I have 8 GB. 5.3 million times more memory...

Except that wood releases substances that are practically antibiotic, where cut. And you can actually plane them again. Or put them in a dishwasher, or pour boiling water over them, or just burn them in your fireplace. Or just be happy that you are using such a wonderful material, which won't even harm your knives. Whatever. I have never seen any reason NOT to use wooden cutting boards.

Nope, that is actually the definition of opportunistic behaviour. In a democracy, in theory we transfer power to people we have elected for certain goals and values. If I wanted a flag hanging in the wind, parties would become obsolete.

Your question immediately brought this gem back to mind: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1705773/

Watch it, it contains some epic quotes worthy of quite a few trash movie awards.

85 tons is the displacement of the boat. 11.7 tons is the weight of the battery, so the charging time and capacity are less than you think. Where do these ominous HP come from in your calculation, anyways? How many HPs do the electrical outlets in your house have?

Of course, you could have found and translated the Wikipedia entry at http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BBranor_PlanetSolar, which gives the capacity of the battery as 1130kWh, the weight of the batteries as 11.7 tons, and some more information.

It costs US$ 103-118 (depending on whether it's diesel or not) where *I* live, so still a bargain :-)

1. Pay a few guys to start clapping and keep going.
2. Profit!

(Or: guess where the word "claqueur" comes from. This effect has been known for centuries.)