Molten Boron!

What is it you want to do that you cannot?

Also, since when is jailbreaking an iPhone "breaking the law"? There are things you can do with a jailbroken iPhone that break the law, but there are things you can do with a stock one that break the law as well... for instance, hitting someone over the head with one.

You are correct, I did pay for that gunship with my tax dollars. I also paid for the training of those soldiers. Finally, the world opinion of America and Americans (including me) is affected by how we fight in Iraq.

So I feel I am justified in seeking an answer to this question:

What policy is in place that considers shooting an obvious makeshift ambulance a good idea?

Everything up to that point is a terrible misunderstanding. Having watched the video, if I were looking for AK47s and RPGs instead of cameras, I would have seen them. I'm not even going to second guess if the way to build a healthy Iraq is to destroy a group of people standing in a street with gunfire from a mile away, though I don't think that's the decision I would make.

But as for the van: everyone on the radio is clear that the van is picking up wounded. Very seriously wounded. Permission to fire was still asked for, and still given. Why? Even if everyone involved was 100% convinced those were bad guys, why? If this kind of conflict could be won purely by being the meanest guy on the block, Algeria would still be French.

Heh, well said.

Yeah, it helps to let it expire and then move.

Heh.

Requires sticks. Dimmer than the sun. Lame.

... and if nothing else, you'll get a great unique ID to use online!

Man, I wish I had a link to that Dilbert where he is worried about going into management ruining his geek cred with his girlfriend.

"What if I got a Ham Radio license to compensate?"

No, not sarcasm. What examples are you thinking of?

It sure seems strange to me that Apple, who sell themselves as the "complete" and "it just works" experience would release the iPad before the next version of iPhoneOS comes out. This sounds like the kind of giant pay-to-beta-test sort of thing that Apple is known for NOT doing.

As someone who uses an iPhone and would like an iPad, Thursday will be very interesting.

Is anyone else reminded of the 10.0 release of OSX?

Why does it take three books for some guys to walk to a volcano?!?

Has anyone tried it with a bluetooth keyboard? Does that integrate well?

Interesting that it gets the iPhone web pages... that would be irritating.

Also, any reports on how that second-monitor app works on it?

Sweet, thanks.

Well, that didn't take long!

When I can tether the $499 iPad with my iPhone, I'll probably get one to replace my Acer Aspire One.

I have the money for the 3g version, but the idea of paying for two unlimited data plans is just offensive to me.

I dunno, I'm a pretty big nerd and I love my iPhone. There's plenty of fun to be had with it with the serial tx/rx on the dock connector. I'm getting close to getting it to work with a Picaxe, and once that works the sky is the limit.

Disclaimer: I work for the space program, but I'm not high enough to make these decisions.

Some people will never be happy. All the dreams of the last 50 years are about to come true, and all people can do is bitch!

Look, chemical powered rockets have not changed much since the development of the SSME. So why are we only now getting private space launch? Because there was nowhere reasonable to go! ISS cargo is an easy enough mission for non-cutting edge rocketry, and since it is manned there is a long term need for supply flights that won't go away.

The future looks like this:
1. NASA guarantees it be buy x flights at y price from now until 2020.
2. Multiple vendors (currently SpaceX, Orbital, Lockheed, Boeing, and others) use this promise to secure capital to develop launchers.
3. Several years of regular supply flights gives ample qualification of the new boosters.
4. Once confidence is gained, NASA transitions from buying human flights from Russians to buying flights from Americans. Lots of politicians get reelected.
5. All the tech for better than chemical rocket launch now has a concrete mission to design for. Someone perfects laser ablative launch of cargo to ISS and does it much cheaper. Someone else gets an even cheaper launch option going.
6. NASA works on designs for solar system manned exploration craft. Design is steady and largely free from political pressure.
7. Private cargo launch matures, and one day both it and the NASA designs are ready.
8. ISS, which is now a largely private operation, is sold off or deorbited at its end of life.
9. NASA (and hell, maybe even private spacecraft) launch on commercial boosters and usher in a new era.

Look, promises smomishes. Unfunded mandates scmuded fandates. This is the ONLY way to get beyond LEO in a sustained manner by the 2050s ( when I will retire). You all should be overjoyed.