>"Iran would not be coming to the negotiating table without the US oil boom."

This is a perfect example of how oil has created such a horrible political mess over the years. It has been very dangerous for us to be so dependent on the middle east.

While I am glad our increased independence is forcing Iran and such to the table, I really wish it were because we accomplished that independence through renewable energy sources. Still, I guess we should take what we can get for now.

" People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both. "

-Ben Franklin

OMG, she is much braver than I am. I would be totally grossed out and freaking out. Humans host a huge amount of bacteria, mites, virii, etc.... but there is something especially gross about visible parasites that just make my stomach turn.

This was a tangent link and I really feel sorry for people who have to live through such encounters, especially a multiple infestation:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893913001695

"
        Be widespread: vulnerability manifests itself across a wide range of products, or impacts a large number of end users.
        Be vendor agnostic: vulnerability is present in implementations from multiple vendors or a vendor with dominant market share.
        Be severe: vulnerability has extreme negative consequences for the general public.
        Be novel: vulnerability is new or unusual in an interesting way.
"

So MS is tired of seeing just the TONS of bugs and major issues with their products and wants to bribe the community to please try and show that a least of few of those same bugs affect other, non-MS platforms? Yeesh.

Let me be one of many to say it is just disgusting.

Please let software patents die. DIE DIE DIE.

The proposal in the article sounds stupid and is certainly not less confusing.

My suggestion- STOP F'ING WITH TIME. Just STAY on Daylight Savings time all year long and stop changing it. Done

No more adjustments. No more confusion. No more going to work in the dark AND getting home in the dark.

That is a fair assessment with Kickstarter stuff, although the Omate isn't really imaginary...

They are far past concept, past design, past prototyping, past beta, have apps already up, and are in pre-production and with an over one MILLION dollar project. Of course, something might happen, and it could be a total crapwad when it comes out. But there are lots of videos and photos and information on their sites to show it is not imaginary and what you can see simply blows the doors off everything out there.

The first major problem with the Samsung is that it is proprietary- working only with Samsung phones. This is a huge no-no for lots of us. In addition to that, it has very low functionality for something so expensive.

The Omate, on the other hand, is far, FAR more interesting. Being not only compatible with all phones, but also even being a real phone, itself if you want. And it is a full Android device with Play access and lots of local CPU/RAM/Storage with bluetooth, GPS, gyro, vibe, and WiFi. And also a better camera, better display, and much better face (a sapphire crystal) and it just has my wallet itching...

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

There is no REAL difference between Republicans and Democrats. They both want to take away our rights and give them to the government. They both want to spend too much. They both want to grab more and more power. They both ignore the Constitution. They are both working very hard to to turn our nation into a fascist police state.

The two-party system is broken and has been for a very long time. Nothing can really be fixed until we have a fundamentally different kind of voting system that allows other parties to participate. And since that is not in the interest of the two-parties, it will be a cold day in hell before that changes either.

And yes, I vote at every election. And usually it is for any non-Democrat non-Republican I can find. I might be throwing my vote away, but at least I am trying.

This is just stupid.

Fingerprints are left all over the place and can be used in ways that are opposed to freedom and privacy. You should never allow your prints to be registered, if you can avoid it.

If they want to use a safe biometric, it would have to be a vein pattern or retinal scan. Something that can't be obtained without permission/participation and can't be easily replicated.

>"The (voluntary) programs, like Progressive Insurance's Snapshot use onboard monitoring devices to track information like the speed of the automobile, sudden stops, distance traveled and so on. Safe and infrequent drivers might see their rates drop while customers who log thousands of miles behind the wheel and/or drive recklessly would see their insurance rates rise."

Fast acceleration, itself, is not unsafe nor reckless.
Hard braking, itself, is not unsafe nor reckless.
Hard lateral G-force, itself, is not unsafe nor reckless.
Speed, itself, is not unsafe nor reckless.

All of these things could be in AVOIDANCE of one or more accidents as a reaction to someone else's poor driving. They can also be done perfectly within the law and perfectly safely.

A spy device in your car tells them NOTHING about how safe or reckless a driver is, it just allows insurance companies to make ASSUMPTIONS about your driving which are very likely to be incorrect and/or unfair. And giving discounts for using one is the same as penalizing those who don't.

All this advanced stuff and it lacks gyroscopes so there is no motion control option? I would think that is a major oversight...

>"the year he and his girlfriend Morgan were born. They're doing it because their kids"

I guess they banned marriage too? Is that too modern?

>"Handing over a non-changeable biometric feature like a fingerprint for no better reason than that it provides 'some convenience' in everyday use, is ill advised and foolish. One must always be extremely cautious where and for what reasons one hands over biometric features.'"

This is much more important for biometric features that are "left behind" or can be remotely monitored. Those include:

* Fingerprints
* DNA
* Facial recognition
* Voice recognition

Other biometrics are far safer for the owner because they [theoretically] can't be collected or used to track the owner without knowledge and consent each time:

* Retinal scan
* Vein pattern

For example, without my permission, my fingerprints can be collected. Without my permission my latent prints can be analyzed and used for searches. And because they (and DNA) are left all over the place, it is far easier for someone to make copies, too- then use those for tracking, breaking into things, or framing the owner for a crime.

>"Congress, all of it, and the Senate, too, should be informed of what the executive branch does. Withholding information about the government itself from legislators is irrational."

Although I totally agree with you, the Senate and the House of Representatives are both parts of Congress. :)