But a developed country also has decent hospital infrastructure in place, which means that once you know you have something nasty (and people will figure it out when patients come in bleeding from their eyes) they'll institute proper infection control protocols. The reason there was such explosive transmission in many of the early African outbreaks is that you had nurses reusing hypodermic syringes between patients because they didn't have clean ones. So I'm not really sure a first world country (or even a more developed third world country, really) has too much to worry about a catastrophe.

I don't think being a man invalidates your opinion (I'm a man myself), but I do think our opinions carry less weight on this topic than those of a woman. Not because women are born with an innate and deep understanding of feminist employment issues, but because you and I benefit from male privilege in ways we don't even notice. I have worked in environments where I was perfectly comfortable, but where a woman understandably might not be. So while we don't want harassment policies that completely stifle all employee interactions, we do need clear definitions of what behavior is okay and what isn't, and what do to when disagreement exists. It's not about zero tolerance; it's about making sure the work environment is inviting and open for everybody, regardless of gender, age, orientation, etc. Does that make sense?

You think we're closer to walking on eggshells than to providing a non-hostile environment. May I ask whether or not you're a man? Because very often those in a position of privilege don't recognize that privilege. I think if more men did, there would be less worry that the goal is to create some kind of PC police.

Because what if the one making the remarks is her boss? Can you think of any reasons why a new employee might feel uncomfortable telling the boss, "Hey, that made me uncomfortable, and I don't want you to do it again"? Particularly if everybody else in the office thinks it's just fine, because hell, they do that kind of stuff all the time. And of course, a perfectly well-intentioned person might cause offense unintentionally. That's why you have a policy--so that everyone is clear on what is okay, and how to seek redress if something not okay happens. It also provides protection because if your 'spoiled entitled princess' alleges harassment, there's a clear process for adjudicating the complaint and addressing it, which, if followed, should provide solide defense against any harassment lawsuit.

Seriously, it's not about killjoy women wanting to ruin your life. It's about creating an environment where nobody feels like they just have to smile and put up with bullshit because the alternative means getting fired. I really don't know why a decent person would object to that.

Right. It's not a man's fault if he can't refrain from acting like a horny jackass all the time. It's those damn wimmenz and their sensitivity. Don't fix your environment because you want your female coworkers to feel comfortable and welcomed; fix it because those bitches will ruin your company the second you grab her ass (just in a fooling around kind of way, which totally makes it not sexual harassment).

You, big fellah, are part of the problem. This kind of thing is why women have to put up with so much BS. And don't pull that stupid "I'm a guy, I'm biologically programmed to think about sex constantly!" It's a BS excuse for not acting like a goddamn adult.

Yes, because that's what Planned Parenthood is: the government forcing birth control and abortions on those deemed unworthy of procreation. All that stuff about women's healthcare and reproductive freedom is just window dressing.

Hell yeah. 'Everybody Get Laid Tonight' is on my iPod right now. "He is the Lord of Light...and he commands you...GET LAID!"

A private institution which receives favorable govrnment treatment, including low cost access to military surplus gear and minimal rent paid for access to sites like Fort AP Hill, where the National Jamboree is held each year. If the BSA wants to exclude people on the basis of religion or sexuality, then that's up to them, but why should my tax dollars be used to support that? Let bigots pay their own way.

Yes, what awful, entitled thinking to believe that a group receiving favorable government treatment should have to treat people equally. Bunch of sissies.

Yeah, and if I don't want to let those black folks use my washroom, I shouldn't have to!

Maybe the Boy Scouts have been depicted as homophobic because of the way they throw out gay Scoutmasters.

According to 'Comm Check', the Columbia Accident Investigation Board considered alternative reentry options which would have minimized strain on the left wing, but they concluded that anything they could have done might have slowed down the rate of failure due to heating, but would not have prevented it. You'd have ended up with a shuttle breaking up 40 miles closer to Kennedy, but the shuttle would still have burned up. I don't think the difference would have made bail out a possibility.

I'm just finishing up 'Comm Check' right now, and the authors essentially agree with you. The best chance for a rescue in orbit would have involved the astronauts on the Columbia severely cutting activity in order to minimize oxygen consumption--that would buy them a week or so. Meanwhile, on the ground, prep work on Atlantis goes into overdrive so that they can launch as soon as a launch window opens. This assumes NASA is willing to launch Atlantis without knowing exactly what caused the foam shedding (which occurred on both Columbia and on the previous flight of discovery), which they might not have done. The astronauts would then have to spacewalk transfer from Columbia to Atlantis (risky, but reasonable) and then fly home with four astronauts sitting on the floor of the crew module with no restraints for return to earth. So, possible, but just barely.

Of course it's okay for his kid not to love a particular book or genre, but what would you set him up to fail by giving him something that's very likely to be over his head? That's the kind of experience that will convince him never to try sci fi again. Better to pick something more reasonable, though not dumbed down, so at least it's not a struggle just to get through it.

When I was about your son's age, I read Eleanor Cameron's 'The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet,' about two boys who befriend a scientist (who's really almost a wizard) and with his help build a spaceship to explore a small, hithero undiscovered moon populated by friendly mushroom people. It sounds wacky, but it was a lot of fun, and there are a few other books in the series if your son enjoys the first.

Depending on your son, some of Heinlein's fiction for children might also work. I remember loving 'Tunnel in the Sky' and 'Red Planet' when I was ten or so.