I opt out every single time. And I pretend to know nothing about the technology. "No way, I don't want to be x-rayed". It's not an x-ray sir, its..." "I don't care what it is damnit. I dont' want cancer from your damn machine..." "Okay, sir, okay. Just step over here..."

There should at least be SOME benefits to getting old. This is one. You can pretend to be insane and people will do whatever you want them to.

I wear track pants and leave my underwear in my luggage. You think *I'm* uncomfortable? Not as uncomfortable as the guy patting down the old man not wearing any underwear I can assure you... Someone needs to counterbalance these young thrill-seekers.

Fourteen years ago I was invited to speak to Canadian MPs about "Internet safety." The only MPs that showed up (sober) were Conservative MPs. Other MPs (Liberals, NDP, and Bloc) were in the same building partying with the Lumber Lobby and the strippers they brought with them. A few Bloc MPs showed up a little later but were so drunk they could hardly walk.

To say I'm disappointed with this current turn of events is an understatement given what I have done to avoid it. That said, anybody who thinks that this is because the Conservatives are in power is, frankly, just an ignorant troll. Governments want control. All governments. You're job as the populace is to vocally encourage them to focus their efforts on methods of "protecting the people" (the initial and still principle role of government) that do so in a way that does not infringe on their rights as citizens.

If you're concerned about it (and you should be), be sure to contact your MP and tell them how you feel, what they should be doing differently, and how this is going to effect your vote in the next election.

My preference is to consume the fermented fruit matter prior to the generation of methane.

Let's keep up the momentum and invalidate a host of other stupid patents.

It was also said in French. And Quebec French at that. So this would have had to have been translated by someone in the US before it was decided that this was a threat. Possibly poorly translated...

But on top of that TFA is merely speculating about the cause of the arrest. Both the prosecutor and defendant are not talking specifics so we really don't know what the cause was. I doubt very much that the Americans built a terrorist profile from a single text message in a foreign language.

I think you meant:

Cheers,
Mike.

Nonetheless, you made my day. Thank you.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching the Curiosity Launch Video. I don't think the rover has to worry about radiation so much as the landing. I'd like to start a pool on which part of the untested landing sequence will fail and deliver a smoking hole in Mars instead of the rover.

I seriously hope it works - if it does it will be one of humanity's most amazing technological feats. But I fear the worst.

I was 12 years old. I worked for a summer and made enough money to buy the unassembled version. It was essentially a bag of parts that you soldered together yourself. Add an old black and white TV, a cassette tape recorder and you were on your way. That way back when "built your own computer" meant that either you assembled it or actually designed the darn thing. Today it means you connected the major components together and hoped everybody followed spec.

The best part of the ZX81 was the fantastic instruction manual it came with that essentially taught you how to program (in BASIC). Very well written. I eventually left basic behind and started programming in Forth.

I don't have mine anymore, but I wish I did. The membrane keyboard was truly horrible to use, the RAM (1K) insufficient (I eventually purchased the 16K add-on), and the entire thing painfully slow. But it was an affordable, functional computer back when that was a rarity. I owe it and it's designers a great debt.

37% nuclear
26% renewable (including hydro-electric power)
21% coal
16% natural gas

From Ontario Power Generation

Some parts of the world have "distracted driving" laws. In retrospect I should have written "I try pairing my car's bluetooth with the phones of those I see nearby who are operating their phones by holding them up to their heads. Where I live operating a cell phone in a non-handsfree manner in a motor vehicle is illegal."

I tend to use parentheses (and frankly, ellipses) too often, and sadly Slashdot still does not have the ability to edit your comments after you post them...

For the record, I cannot and have no interest in identifying illegal immigrants by sight, or by any other means in any country (my own is not the US). I am also not making a statement about the efficacy of distracted driving laws. My car's bluetooth system is integrated into the car and will not allow me to make configuration changes (like pairing with a new device) while moving so this only works in stop and go (for those who thought I had some hardware hack).

Finally a general observation: It is our nature now to try to make the best use of every minute of every day. When people get stopped in traffic the first thing they do is pick up their phone (I see Blackberries the most around here) and check their e-mail or check their voicemail or call someone. One a good day (for me) the second thing they do is see "Connection Request from POLICE" on their phone.

Juvenile I know. But highly entertaining in the right context.