Kinetic energy is 1/2 * m * v^2, so using your numbers gives ~5195 joules. It's actually a lot of energy, about the same as a car going at walking speed, delivered as you say, at a knifes edge.

They'll easily chop a man in half if the rotors don't break first.

No worrys. I got a good smile out of it. ;)

An external "ship-suit" could perhaps be usefull in some cases, e.g. on the ISS for EVAing, but I'm not really convinced. The only reason I can think of to send an astronaut out to do something is because her hand/eye coordination and manual dexterity is required on a particular spot. (otherwise they'd just send a robot) So, the "ship-suit" would have to have sleeves and gloves with which she could manipulate objects as easily as from a normal space suit.

Tethering the astronaut would on the other hand be much simpler. Just clamp the Canada-arm onto the suit. No need for foot-fasteners and all that other fancy stuff.

It's an interresting concept, but there's a lot of engineering tradeoffs to consider before judging one of the solutions superior to the other.

I'm fairly certain ThreeKelvin's original comment was in reference to the article. ;)

- And your analogy is definitly better.

No - striking shows the employer that the employees will not work under the terms set forth, but wouldn't mind doing the work if they could come to terms. It's a lighter version of finding a new job - and a rather more appropriate response in many cases.

Now, the employer can respond in a number of ways. Just to name a few; She can fire the employees if she thinks that the pay is adequete to attract new employees, she can wait the employees out, or she can enter negotiations. You know - just like any other free market where people are negotiating prices and conditions.

(On that note: I really don't get why some Americans are so much in favor of a free market when it concerns goods, but very much against it when it's labor.)

The suit Cameron and Co. are building isn't for extra vehicular activity. It's a second, redundant layer of protection for the astronaut while he's in the capsule and beeing boosted towards space - sort of like the drivers suits used on race tracks.

So, in short: Different problem, different viable solutions.

Mass to orbit is horribly expensive, every kg counts.

A "mini space ship" might not be much heavier than a space suit, but it'd have to fit inside the main space ship, which would then be heavier.

You know, that sounds like something that would significantly alter the tides.

You've got to elaborate a bit more than the short, uninformative sentences that you put up. What are you talking about? What is this "horribly thought out position" that you accuse me of having?

Let me break it down for you. You accuse me of being either:
a) a shill, or
b) an idiot,
even though I've pointed out some of the safety issues that stem from not being able to correctly copy when it would be assumed that you could, and by extension critizised Xerox (the company) for not comming forward with this, when they, as you put it "sat on the information".

Now, as dos1 pointed out above:

So, again I must say: sorry, what?

Sorry, what?

Sorry, I just can't seem to parse your post and grasp the meaning. Could you perhaps elaborate a bit?

It isn't a security problem? Seriously?

What if a doctor copies a prescription or your medical journal? Government officials copies personal information for use with a visa? Police officers copies statements? Or any other place where you'd want to copy something, that must be copied correctly?

Sure, it's not a computer security issue, but it's definitly, among other things, a security issue.

They don't have to. You just have to use the set of scales you've constructed and the paper to weigh everything, then, though the weight of the final product will be off, the relative weight between the ingredients won't.