That was EditorDavid's egregious error. The quote from TFA is fine.

Annual operating cost for the Deep Space Network is about $200 million to $215 million. So no, the actual cost to NASA is not zero.

If you had read TFA (yeah, I know), you'd know that serving as a comms relay for the rover is a background task for MAVEN. MAVEN launched in November 2013 and entered orbit around Mars in September 2014. The spacecraft’s primary science mission is to study the planet’s upper atmosphere and interactions with the solar wind, including how the atmosphere escapes into space. That is intended to help scientists understand how the planet changes from early in its history, when it had a much thicker atmosphere and was warm enough to support liquid water on its surface.

Most of the people I've talked to vote for the candidate they view as "the lesser of two evils". When I point out that they're still voting for evil, they tell me it's better than wasting their vote by voting for someone that has no chance of winning, or worse, not voting at all.

Personally, I think voting for anyone I consider unfit for office is a bigger waste than voting for a 3rd party candidate or not voting at all. Yes, I know - "People like you are why Trump won." Of course, I live in a state that hasn't been carried by a Republican since Reagan, so my "protest" is lost in the clutter. I would prefer to be offered a choice between (or better, among) qualified candidates whose differences revolve around policy. Fat chance, but I keep hoping.

Trump or Hillary? Hillary had two things going for her: it was "her turn"; and "I'm not Trump". Trump had two things: "I'm an asshole, like you!" and "Lock her up!" Enough assholes and Hillary haters turned out to elect Trump.

Trump or Biden? Biden had two thing going for him: "I've been doing this stuff for my entire adult life", and "I'm not Trump". Trump had one thing: "I'm an asshole, like you!" Not enough people hated Biden to keep him from winning despite a huge turnout of assholes who would spend the rest of their lives chanting "It was rigged!"

Trump or Harris? Neither of them could speak coherently for 60 seconds without a teleprompter. Harris had one thing going for her: "I'm not Trump". Trump had one thing: "I'm an asshole, like you!" So the people who thought Harris was even more incoherent than Trump teamed up with the assholes to elect him to his second term.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Policymakers sometimes fail to recognize unintended consequences. Holy crap! They're human! You may be unfamiliar with this particular phenomenon.

What if you occasionally posted a comment that actually made sense?

Exposure to allergens and exposure to "the brutal horrors of reality" do have something in common -- exposure at an early age reduces sensitivity. For allergens, that's a good thing. For overt brutality, perhaps not so great.

Great question! Its almost as if there could be more than one source of depression in kids.

Fuck everything, we're doing five blades!

Because that's what things with two folds are typically called. Go to Google Images and search for "tri-fold wallets".

Thanks, Captain Pedantic. It was a hacker conference, so the use of "literal antivirus" was just a bit of computer related humor with respect to antivirus software. And as numerous slashdotters mentioned, CO2 levels are a fairly good proxy for airborne pathogens.

Directory Opus for Windows was first released 24 years ago. Were you using it on Amiga before that?

Who uses Windows? I use Linux, and have done for 32 years, starting with Caldera Open Linux.

I never had a Corvette (my one and only sport car was a '59 Porsche 356A cabriolet), but I always thought the '63 - '67 split window Stingrays looked the best.

gwher, you can always be relied upon to represent the lowest common denominator of condescending, mean-spirited human behavior. A silk purse among pigs' ears, a pearl among swine, a real prince among men - you never disappoint.

Haing a large family is certainly a choice you can make - financially it's similar to taking luxury vacations. Good luck, and here's hoping a stock market decline doesn't decimate the college fund.