one SQL database? As in, one ginamic SQL database? yeah, that's a headache.

OTOH, one SQL database per "type" of data (i.e., "last summer's research.sql")? Hell yes. If it's not in a database, you need to spend the ten minutes to learn how to make one. MS Access exists for a reason, and this is it. It won't be a very pretty db, but it doesn't need to be -- it'll be indexed, searchable, and more or less protected.

The only reason NOT to put it into a relational database is if you have some system that's essentially a database already, and in that case you can just leave it as-is. (Microsoft's SharePoint, if the data's small and simple enough, is an example.)

Too complex. here's a MUCH better idea:

Automatic licensing for patents. If you have a patent, you need to have a set licensing rate for anyone else who wants to use it. Let's start at 10% of gross revenue, divided by the number of external patents included in the design. Manufacturers pay it as a tax to the fed, who forward it on (less a 1% processing fee) to the tax account of the holder of the patent.

We reward innovation, allow businesses to use patents for competitive edges, fund the patent office, and prohibit the "I don't want anyone to use this" patent ideas. And we can also allow alternate arrangements, if someone wants to give a better deal (i.e., the standard "you use our patents, we use yours, we're all OK" patent-sharing agreements.)

There are no absolutes.

1 + 1 does not always equal exactly 2. Depending how how precise your measures are, you may wind up with a value somewhere between 1 (0.50 + 0.50) and 2.98 (1.49 + 1.49).

You will, of course, wind up with a value greater than either of the numbers you began with, so there IS relative value. But no absolutes.

No, the limitations of the iPad are largely things other than transistor size. The iPad's weight, resolution, and heat are all limitations of the DEVICE, not the people using it. (Not to mention fragility, cost, and the need to design an app before you start doing something with it. [Pen and paper needs no OS] )

Don't take this the wrong way, but... you and you wife are idiots.

I have no idea how to do my wife's job, but I understand it, and in a pinch I could probably do the basics. She doesn't know how to do MY job, but she also understands it--and even does some in a pinch for her own hobbies.

You trying to explain to your wife what you do and failing is not an indicator that it's generally a bad idea. Hell, Occam's @#Q$Ring Razor suggests that, when a teacher fails to teach a student, the probably most likely lies in either the student or the teacher, not the basic idea of teaching.

Hawking's a moron.

If your society travels between the stars, you can get all that want from ANY star. Solar power, fission, and raw materials are all at least as easy to find just floating in space (or on a random planet) as they are on an inhabited planet -- and anyone who's ever done ANYTHING with their hands knows that it's better to grab the raw materials that don't have random organic gunk all over them.

Unless, of course, Star Trek is right, and all aliens are essentially just like us. But I think that backs up my previous statement.

Better idea: just negotiate this in their next contract. Any union worth its membership dues will recognize the occasionally necessity of layoffs, and be willing to trade a "no layoffs" policy for a fair layoffs policy. (ideally, one that spells out what criteria are used, and places laid off workers in a "hire back" list.)

NY state workers are almost all unionized, and the only reason that we haven't had any layoffs is that Paterson is a short-sighted moron, who made a dumb deal with the unions last year and tried to do something not addressed in the contract this year. (We ARE making ready for layoffs at the end of the year, when Paterson's moronic deal runs out.)

Forget that! If we're imagining magic boxes, let's hook up all those lightning rods to a magic box that holds the power from the lightning strike, and then sends it out in bits and pieces...

Each piece of data has a 10% chance of being necessary. For any given sample, 1/10th of them will be necessary.

Now, a MUCH more useful set of data is probability over time. 1/10 within 10 years? 5 years? 1 week?

No, that's a corporation's fiduciary purpose. What their "job" is depends entirely on who you are.

If you work for a corporation, their job is to keep you dutifully employed.

If you supply a corporation, or sell its goods, their job is to buy the things you make or making the things you sell.

If you're a government, then a corporation's job is to improve the life of your citizenry, by engaging in a healthy marketplace.

And if you're a CUSTOMER of that corporation... well, then their job is to make you happy, and F- them if they forget it.

Which is why they don't care about you.

Believe it or not, we have a way to fix that. Change the EPA's guidline to "your cars must get at least X miles-per-gallon" or "your cars must get no more than X gallons-per-mile" Watch how quickly the new number gets onto your local dealers' showroom floors.

No. Their UI layer is Mojo -- an HTML + JavaScript engine. Their window manager is the only part of the GUI that you can call "closed", but it's hackable as all hell.

And on top of that, Palm realises that they will live or die by their developer community. To homebrew on an iPhone, you need to void your warranty. (Yes, they might not call you on it -- but they CAN). To homebrew with the Pre, you just put the phone in developer mode, and you can do pretty much whatever you want.

I'd wager that WebOS is in some ways more open than Android -- but I haven't peeked at Google's Android machine too closely. WebOS is FAR, FAR closer to a "standard Linux system" than Apple ever would be, though. (YES, the darn thing runs Linux -- and there are homebrew apps by the dozen to get you a commnand line.)

You can say whatever the hell you want to a cop -- so long as you do not resist arrest and obey any lawful orders. It's just not always a good idea.

"No Liberty without Representation!"

"Live Free or Die!"

"Remember the Alamo!"

Slogans is how the gestalt of democracy works. You hear the slogan, compare its implied argument towards your understanding of the facts, and either cheer or boo. This is not new, and I suspect if the ancient greeks and romans had better record-keeping (and movable type), you'd be able to find similar slogans as well.