Snowden himself disagrees with your assessment.

Charles Barkley doesn't think he's a role model either, but guess what... he is. When people do extraordinary things, there is a significant chance that millions of people will hold such actions in high regard and elevate said person to 'role model' or 'hero' status. Snowden is a hero for the simple fact that he ousted illegal activity by a government organization. If the actions weren't illegal, but were just 'super secret', Snowden would be a traitor and should hang. But no, all he did was risk his own life to expose quite possibly the worst betrayal of trust the U.S. government has ever bestowed upon its citizens.

Really? I just renewed my DirecTV 2 year contract. I tried really, really hard to 'cut the cord' (or in this case 'ditch the dish') but after careful study, I found with a family of four, including two children, this just won't work. I thought some combination of XBox, Hulu, Netflix, and OTA HDTV would suffice but there is one glaring flaw with this: Ease of Use. See, my wife isn't a techie. She wants to turn on the TV from a remote with one button (which then turns on the stereo, selects the proper input, etc.) and then have a GUIDE for everything she might want to watch right now or record in the future. We have 2 DirecTV HD-DVR's that are on the network, so we can record 4 shows at once (we never do) and watch these shows from any of the other non-DVR's in our house. It is simple. It works. And there isn't a solution available (that I could find) that would aggregate all of the available shows into one, easy to use guide for selections. I do watch sports, and losing those would be the only reason I would potentially not switch if I were single because I wouldn't mind using different systems for different things.

Is it really that hard to put a scale on images? It kind of helps and typically makes the science more interesting.

Spirit and Opportunity had the Rock Abrasion Tool back in 2004. That grinded the surface of rocks to expose the interior.

I tried sending an email to anonymouscoward@timewarner.com to get evidence of this but didn't get a response.

I had an iPhone for two years, an Android (HTC Evo) for two years, and I recently got a Nokia 920 with Windows 8. All vey different experiences, but from an overall polish and usability standpoint, Windows 8 is the clear winner. The UI is wonderful. Apple still has the upper hand on hardware (not screens though), and Android has the upper hand in apps and 'openness' (if you even care about that). But when I got this device I felt like I did when I first got the iPhone. Maybe that feeling is what he is referring to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland

I use it for jogging all the time. So much better to have a light weight nano on my waist than a bulky phone on my arm.

This is, well, stupid. I don't even know my own passwords. I have so many of them and they are so long with so many special characters that it would be impossible to keep up. I keep them in KeePass and just copy/paste them in the text box (it deletes the clipboard). Why place such a restriction on passwords when it is more important now then ever?

F-you. Comments like these are so, so easy from arm-chair quarterbacks who look at the world through a pin-hole lens. The Gates Foundation might not donate to causes that you believe in, and it might provide tax shelters for some individuals (based on current U.S. Tax Law I might add), but I'd rather see the kind of work that they do and the funds they provide than nothing at all.

Q: How will you deal with [scientific challenge]? Obama: Create/expand a government program or incentive (with no explanation of what existing programs will have to be cut to compensate)

Nothing will be cut. There is no explanation on where the new money will come from to fund said new program.

It wouldn't take a whole lot to have Google and Amazon become dinosaurs real quick. I just think it's a mistake to believe that five years from now these companies are going to have the same kind of fundamental strength that the big manufacturing companies had in the post-WWII world. There are a lot of companies built on perception and that are very vulnerable to shifting habits.

Really? Both of these companies have massive, massive investments in infrastructure. These aren't some mom-and-pop, dot com, one trick pony shows. Hell, Government is starting (if not already) to rely on Google. Amazon is investing in same day delivery and is one of the biggest players online. It would take quite a bit IMHO for these two companies to become dinosaurs. This isn't 1999.

praxis guitars

I see some pretty good ideas here that I haven't seen from Gibson, Fender, et al. With that said, /. isn't exactly the best place to ask for legal advice, which is what you need. If you're serious about this life decision (which, from what I can see from your website, you clearly are), go talk to a lawyer. Don't let posts like:

stop you from pursuing your dreams.

College football started this past week, so it is officially Fall where I'm at (Southeastern U.S. where college football is all consuming).

Captchas have lost battles to spam, and now they just lost the war.