The Gungan dialect sounds really close to Jamacian and other Caribean dialects.

Actually, Watto (the flying blue dude) reminded me more of this persian guy I roomed with than any Jew I know. Short, round, sleazy, big nosed, cheap, and always needing a shave. I swear if you painted him blue and gave him wings he would be Watto.

Telling them to grow up would be counter-productive because no child would ever react to this playset in that manner. Only overly-sensitive grown-ups looking for offense would see anything like that in a playset from Lego.

I do no think it means what you think it means. Something that is a commodity product is fungible, meaning any indiviual product from any of various vendors is effectively interchangable with any product of the same kind from any other vendor. Computer hardware has been commoditized for a long time. While processors are not wholely interchangable (AMD vs Intel), the motherboard/CPU combo generally is. Everything else in a computer can more or less be swapped out with a different brand with the same or similar features. All pricing is based on cost and perceived value. The only way it could be more of a commodity is if someone came up with a way to plug any processor into any motherboard socket. Oh, and bonus points to anyone who can guess why the retail companies are moving away from separate box systems to all-in-ones. HINT: Look at the upgrade path for laptops.

This is a stupid question. An act doesn't stop being criminal if it is done as civil disobedience. Saying an act is civil disobedience isn't a defense and isn't a "get out of jail free" card. If you commit a crime as an act of civil disobedience you should be ready to serve the time.

No, it can't because it relies on other precedents and concepts. Specifically, the idea that transient cached data doesn't require a license or infringe. The judge ruled the only infringing copie were the ones displayed on the websites and not the ones created by web browsers caching the web pages. So called "file sharing" deliberately creates multiple infringing copies of a work. These are not transient cached copies created incidentally, but intentionally created "permanent" copies.

Yes, that would work because I am sure a gay male playing a gay male character won't mind having the audible voice output saying something like "You are a lovely woman" when he uses the flirtation dialog.

Yeah, just plug in any skill or talent and it's associated profession then realize that one can't do it all.

Are you saying that people were not using leaded gasoline in significant quantities in the 30s, 40s, and 50s? Especially in the urban areas in question? Please go read a history book.

So the guy who developed the first drill press should have shared that development with everyone else?

I think you have it backwards. You seem to be saying that if everyone had equal access to tools, everyone would be able to create things on the same level.

You seem to conveniently forget that those tools are prohibitively expensive because it cost a lot of money to develop and manufacture those tools. Again, you are saying that someone's work should be free so you can compete with a third party who can afford the tools you can't.

By the way, you do understand that most of the protocols and technology used in the internet was developed by DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, which is funded with taxpayer dollars, right?

Oh, you want a royalty check? What, exactly, did you do to deserve a royalty check? And, provide your complete name so I can determine if you are who you say you are.

And, while you are at it, I want a royalty check from you because I am a developer and system engineer.

The upswing in violence started about 40 years AFTER the introduction of leaded gasoline. Kind of puts a big ass hole when trying to change that correlation into a causation.

Exactly where did you get the idea that the "playing field" should be or ever has been "level"? Seriously. Do you think that all people are of equal ablity, interest, education, and talent?

You have access to paint, brushes, and canvases. The quality of the tools varies with price. Do you honestly think you could create a painting using the most expensive tools that would be better than what Van Gogh created with the paints he created at home?

Do you think you could design a building better than Frank Lloyd Wright, even if you were allowed to use CAD software which was unavailable to Wright?

The playing field never has been and never will be level. Suggesting that someone else's work should be free so you can use it to compete with someone else is just arogance and selfishness.

If the quality of the software you use for work affects your livelihood that much, perhaps you should have hired a programmer to write it to your desired quality and with the features you desire (this is known as work for hire and you would hold the copyright and have the source code) instead of buying something off the shelf.

After 20+ years of computer viruses, you are going to ask that question? If that were possible, there wouldn't be a problem with computer viruses because people would practice safe computing.

For an even better example, look at personal data loss. After decades of "Back your shit up", as I type this there is someone in the process of screaming "Noooo!" as their personal data disappears into the bit bucket because he had a catastrophic failure and had no backups.

Burden of proof? Seriously? This is a workplace matter, not a logical argument. You certainly don't have a legal right to bring your personal computer or smartphone to the office.

The workplace is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship. If the boss doesn't want you to bring your smartphone into the building, you have 4 choices: quit, sneak it in and hope you don't get fired, try to convince the boss he is wrong and risk getting fired or him suggesting you quit, or accepting the policy.

And, remember, if you take the third path, the boss does not have to provide any evidence or proof or justify his reasons to you. You have to prove your case to him and he is under no obligation to listen to you let alone accept your evidence as sufficient. And, in the end, the boss can say "You are right on all counts. But, we are still implementing this policy. If you don't like it, quit."