> And here's the saddest part

Yeah. Almost all forums for discussion on the internet and in real life** have devolved to using extreme soundbites and belittling the people who hold opposing viewpoints. Doesn't matter how polite or insightful or close-knit the community starts off, once the general populace arrives, the discussions become nothing but dregs.

It's now incredibly rare to find insightful "shades of grey" discussions about the pros and cons of any given approach.***

Too many people who obstinately refuse to believe that subsidizing an industry to promote advances in it's technology is useful (and who seem blissfully unaware of the subsidies given to all of the existing competing technologies such as oil and gas).

Too many people who don't understand or have the information available about the subleties of cross border power demands (I'd like to thank the people who posted tidbits of factual information about all of that).

I personally think that Japan's shutdown of all it's nuclear plants is a zealous over-reaction -- but on the other hand some of it's plants are just as old as Fukshima, and their industry and organizations definitely can't be trusted.

I've seen people claiming that "look, all the nukes are off and nothing changed", but other people point out that Germany has gone from exporting massive amounts of power to being nearly neutral in it's energy needs. I'd expect that this means someone else who used to be using clean German nuclear energy is now buying it from .... France? Burning Russian Natural Gas? I haven't seen anyone say what the net effects in total are, everyone is cherry picking their "problem boundaries" to advance their own point of view.

On top of all that my own province has it's head firmly buried in the sand. Won't build new Nukes because they are too expensive. Can't shut down existing ones because there is *no* replacement power nor enough power lines to import electricity even if there was sufficient nearby capacity. And can't build wind as fast as needed because everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) is zealously NIMBYish about "the hidden effects of having a wind mill nearby" ... cause you know ... that low frequency noise ... etc etc etc ... ( all the while driving down highways with their windows open and running fans and AC units indoors, etc etc).

Seriously, there are people in rural areas building small houses every 500m on their property and at the four corners of their properties, because the law says that no windmill can be located within 500m of a "house".

Meanwhile in Europe: http://imgur.com/HcX87

(**) I think the way people think and hold their beliefs is bleeding over and/or being infected by their experiences on the internet

(***) Hmmm, so I kinda know what news sources not to read because it'll be sensationalized BS and soundbites "trolling us" and taken out of context and lacking entirely in subtle details and shades of grey. Is there any forum out there that is similar? Where people that fall for the "trolls" or are incapable of discussing shades of grey politely and using facts - are banned, and the rest of us can sort out what's what? A place that's not entirely one side of the argument or the other? Not nuclear phobes and not anti-greenies? It's not slashdot. It's not reddit.

No wonder we spend all of our time in the basement. It's the only place we can get any of the really interesting shit done, and almost no one wants to join us.

Old joke:

Three NASA engineers, one from headquarters in Washington, one from the Johnson center in Houston, and one from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena were discussing whether it was better to have a wife or a mistress.

The HQ guy said it was better to have a mistress, because they are more understanding of the long absences required of a NASA employee. The Johnson guy retorted, "Oh, no, one must always follow proper rules and procedures, and marriage is the proper procedure, so it is better to have a wife."

The JPL engineer replied, "No, it is better to have both. That way, you can tell your wife that you're with your mistress, your mistress that you're with your wife, and go to the lab and work."

Yeah, Apple! Next time we take a cab together you better chip in!

Last time I checked neither x-ray machines nor CT scanners are considered food or drug so why is the FDA involved? I could see the FCC or OSHA but not FDA.

In addition to drugs, the FDA is also responsible for clearing medical products and devices.

Here's this year's list of newly-approved devices so far. If you're going to stick it in your coronary artery, your cardiologist probably wants to know that people smarter than him have spent a lot of time asking a lot of hard questions about it.

Not every device gets the full treatment. But even if you're coming up with a minor tweak to something that's comparatively low risk, it must be cleared under section 510(k): last month's cleared devices. The paperwork's simple compared to a new device approval, but even the 510(k) clearance process means that something as simple as "STERILE LUBRICATING JELLY" is sterile, biocompatible, made in a factory that follows good manufacturing processes, etc.

If it sounds like a horrendous amount of paperwork, well, it is. But the alternative - random uncleared devices without even the practicioner knowing what's in them - is far, far worse. There's a reason that both prescription and over-the-counter medications have standard packaging and labeling requirements, undergo multiyear-long clinical studies, and take the better part of a billion dollars and a decade to bring to market, and why quack 'supplements' advertised on TV and in your email's spam filter have a big disclaimer that "this product is not intended for the diagnosis and treatment of any disease".

If it sounds like TSA used the loophole of "these backscatter X-ray machines aren't intended for the diagnosis and treatment of any disease" in order to circumvent FDA scrutiny, well, I'd have to agree with you there, too. But what's more important: the health of the traveling public, or securing cushy careers for HomeSec bureaucrats?

Except we call his relative's cages "cubes." Now, excuse me, I need to go have my banana for lunch.

In lieu of (+6, Sad-But-True), please accept this cartoon, which hangs on my cage wall: I'm the next contestant on the hot new game show: Who's the dumb ape?