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2. A distribution system designed to code is already sufficiently protecting the wiring from overload. The only reason to use larger wire is to keep voltage drops in check on longer runs. Otherwise, oversized wire is completely pointless, it doesn't protect you from anything.

Don't know they are not doing this already too but seems you could go asymmetric. The handsets could send to the tower with 64QAM and the tower could use more radiated power to send 256QAM back to the handset.

Phones are no longer symmetric data entities it probably is the case most smart phone users pull down much more than they send now. Of course you can crank the radiated power from the towers up to much or you are just going to start competing with the neighboring cells more. So I don't know how big the gains would be.

Fuel injection predates electronics. Traction control and abs are fripperies, they don't defeat the laws of physics. Rear defroster is electrical, not electronic. Unplugging and replacing a sensor is simple, obtaining a sensor may be impossible.

Honestly, if they can't keep up they shouldn't even pretend. I'm sick of cars that have overworked electronics that are just waiting to fail. I don't want my car to be a computer.

I'd like to see a car maker have the courage to go in the opposite direction - simpler engineering that's easier and more affordable to maintain over the life of a vehicle.

Back in the 50's and 60's it was much easier for a kid to pop the hood and learn to tear down and rebuild an engine. Now it requires specialized tools. You don't see as many self taught gearheads.

A guy with a rifle is not a threat to any modern Army. What they fear are roadside bombs, IEDs, and similar devices.

Hold on a minute. Since when could you drag an M16 through mud and expect it to fire? Last I checked those things were notoriously picky, requiring exhaustive maintenance after not all that many rounds fired (and even without firing rounds at all). The reason the AK-47 is preferred around the world is its ability to tolerate much harsher conditions and still function. The M16 has an accuracy requirement far higher than the AK-47, making it a much more finicky beast.

I suspect the maintenance a Marine is trained to perform would be more than sufficient to keep an electronic fingerprint system operational.

Your typical policeman... not so much.

Uniforms. If an employer requires that an employee wear a uniform, the employer must pay the cost of the uniform.

In response to many inquiries, the Wage and Hour Division has prepared the following statement which contains the answers to the most frequently asked questions about uniform procurement and maintenance under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

(1) (Q) When is an employer required to furnish an employee with a uniform? (A) The FLSA does not require that employees wear uniforms. However, if the wearing of a uniform is required by some other law, the nature of a business, or by an employer, the cost of the uniform is considered to be a business expense of the employer. If the employer requires the employee to bear the cost, it may not reduce the employee's wage below the minimum wage or cut into overtime compensation required by the Act. For example, if an employee who is subject to the statutory minimum wage of $3.35 an hour is paid $3.50 an hour and works 45 hours in the workweek, $6.00 is the maximum amount the employer can legally deduct from the employee's wages and still satisfy the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Act ($3.50 - $3.35 = $.15; $.15 x 40 hours = $6.00). If the same employee works 30 hours in the workweek, $4.50 is the maximum amount the employer can legally deduct from the employee's wages ($.15 x 30 hours)...

I am aware that ~20k were suicides, and think this does apply to suicides as well as homicides, as the person committing suicide is not necessarily the authorized user of the gun.

Why does it have to be so reliable? The firing range isn't running anywhere. This is a civilian technology, I don't think it will be used in the military.

Nope, but the statistic is misleading. My consumer SCSI HD has a MTBF of 5 years (and my last drive lasted 10 years of 24/7 use before the drive started to even whine a bit). How many times does the read/write arm - which is basically a lever and spring - move during that time? Probably hundreds of millions.

Guns are just simple mechanical machines. There's nothing magical about their parts, which will function in relation to the quality of their design and maintenance as well as their usage situations - like most things.