"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill

I nominate yours as the best sig of all this thread.

Regarding plans...
Your post seems to be a snark saying 'future is the only kind of plan'. If that is the case, I must disagree.

There are 'past' plans, which are normally filed under "promising failures"
There are 'plans now unfolding' or 'present plans' which is also 'stuff currently being worked on' which is generally according to a 'past' plan that escaped the failure file.
And there are 'future' plans, which I agree are the best kind. The first two plans can be learned of from looking at discussion lists and discussion list archives.

Future plans normally require the visionary to speak. Often when he would prefer not to.

If your post was genuine enthusiasm, agreement and support, then I agree with you.

+1 funny for appropriate use of "nincompoop"

+1 obvious, but has to be screamed in the face of idiots.

Excellent counterpoint!

It seems obvious, then, that the next logical step is to check the relative increase in quake severity in fracking and non fracking areas.

+1

You may sleep soundly, knowing that the money isn't being hidden in the Caymans or Swiss banks to avoid taxes. The US has very generous agreements with both of those country's banking systems to track funds.

Given that his chief opposition owns the IRS, and that a successful finding of concealed funds in an audit = felony = instant ineligibility to run for US President, there is about a 0% chance that there's any monkey business in his accounts.

He does, after all, give 14% of his income to charity. I don't think mindless greed is much a problem with him.

Larry writes fun stories, but doesn't know much about orbital dynamics.

As opposed to Robert & Virginia Heinlein, who invented/calculated the "S" orbit used by the Apollo mission. On a roll of butcher paper with a pencil. After three days calculus by hand, Robert & Virginia Heinlein both arrived at exactly the same answer; so they figured it must be correct.

Which was used in one freaking line of the book "Space Cadet".

That's why he was in NASA Mission Control when Armstrong made the most important bootprint in history.

I'll wait to believe terahertz radiation is "completely safe" for a little while, yet.

I hope I am dead way before those years! :P

Don't worry. Some future events are extremely easy to arrange for yourself.

When I was very young, my parents invested in encyclopedias. I read the Encyclopedia Americana A-Z cover to cover. Later, in 6th grade, I did the same thing with the current edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. This gave me a HUGE boost in school and life.

Unfortunately, I don't see how the same is possible any more. There's just too much in any electronic encyclopedia to read all of any more. On the other hand, instant access to any information, porn and billions of opinions all easily from a variety of search engines totally makes modern internet a paradise for me.

The only excuses for stupidity nowadays are laziness or mental disability.

Once again, Mom, thank you for forcing me to learn to touch type.

encyclopedias from the early 1900s were blatantly racist and often stupid. encyclopedias from the 1950s reflected the cold war biases of their authors.

Yes, but they still had good reputations. Current opinions aren't able to retroactively cancel encyclopedia sales in the early 1900's.

wikipedia is a steaming pile of shit,

I must respectfully disagree. I find the hard science stuff to be extremely useful. I find software and pc specification articles to be a godsend. The only areas I don't bother much with are politics or religion, and even then, things like birthdays and dates in office are still useful.

...but its better than anything that came before it, which is why people use it and why encyclopedias are dead as a medium unless someone can figure out a new business model where the authors get payed[sic] for their work.

According to your following hint, somebody has already figured out how to pay authors.

(hint - wikipedia already has many articles where authors have been payed[sic], its a dirty secret that nobody likes to discuss, but fundamental to understanding how the site works)

Which I would consider to be a very good thing, though that's new information to me.

Overall, I consider Wikipedia to be about as reliable as a group of highly intelligent, fiercely opinionated friends.

With the older commercial encyclopedias, accuracy and reliability reputations made or broke companies.

With Wiki being free and volunteer, these restraints famously don't exist, leading to exactly this kind of thing. Not good or bad, it just is.

I LIKE arguments in my research sources; sources should be challenged. If the challenges are in the source itself, so much the better.

I telecommuted years ago and am preparing to do it again.
1. Be away from your cube as much as possible. Get your co-workers used to phone/ chat/ video call to contact you. be "down the hall" or 'with ______ in a meeting'. and can communicate electronically now or f2f by later appointment.
2. Webcam: dress your office and body professionally. Videocall people NOW to get them used to it.
3. Some people are going to HATE you for this. Sow all the goodwill you can and never mention to anyone who doesn't have to know. if your office on camera looks like your work cube, so much the better.
4. If you're asked directly, say it's a temporary arrangement for medical reasons. If they dig, remind folks about medical privacy laws.

Good Luck!

Oh, like he 'pranked' Dennis Hopper?

No, like the SNL skit "Pranksters" http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoaft1UI.html

I jumped out and pranked him to death with a tire iron. ... I hate Stiffley Stiffersons; I wanna prank them for hours in my basement.