Hmm... To agree with that we would need to eliminate things done from instinct rather than conscience thought. A dog turning in circles to prepare a sleeping area probably doesn't rise to the level of tool use. Hitting a bone with a rock to get to the marrow probably isn't tool use. Keeping one particular rock that fits your hand shape to save you time searching for a nearby suitable one moves into the gray zone of tool use. Tying a rock to a stick to get more impact force is definitely a tool.

If I find an unusually strong stick that I use to hit berry bushes so only the ripe fruit falls off, is that a tool? I didn't shape or modify it, but I did use it in a non-traditional way to achieve a specific result. Separating instinct, handy resources, and planned outcome optimization can get murky.

When trying to break something, any heavy object becomes a "hammer".

All those features can be found in the free software PDFgear. https://www.pdfgear.com/

There are plenty of other software packages that do the same thing, in fact Firefox allows you to edit, add, fill, and comment on PDF documents then save them. Acrobat Reader enjoys the name recognition of Adobe, but they are not the only software package that many people use.

That is not completely true. The laws themselves are just a collection of facts and therefor cannot be copyrighted. They can, however, require following a specific industry code like building codes, electrical codes, fire codes, and heating/plumbing codes that are industry standards.

For example, purchasing the National Electric Code book for 2026 costs about $169, but normally is only needed by licensed electricians and electrical companies. Private individuals can get free online access to the code for their own use or to verify contractor compliance. Some local jurisdictions or states might have standardized on previous versions (2023 version, etc) but will probably update their laws soon.

For example, the NEC 2026 clarifies allowing 10 Amp breakers with 16 AWG wires for exclusive LED lighting circuits. 16 AWG wire is so much smaller and easier to install that this might quickly become the new standard for lighting in new homes. Allowing builders to implement new features like this in the NEC 2026 is why many state laws just require following the current or newest NEC code in the law for building codes.

The other problem is finding stars with planets whose plane of rotation lines up with us. If the planets rotate on a plane that does not cross in front of their sun from our viewpoint, studying the sun's variability won't reveal any data about their planets.

The other complication is the time it takes for the planet to rotate around the sun. It might take years before that planet crosses its sun's position again. In our solar system the three planets near the Goldilocks Zone take 225 days (Venus), 365 days (Earth), and 687 days (Mars). I imagine you can guess the orbit length by how long their sun's light diminishes during the first observation, but waiting almost two years for a second look, and getting the window correct, will take a lot of observations and waiting. Imagine studying a sun for six months just to see if we are lucky enough to be inline with the systems plane of rotation takes a lot of patience.

Waiting two years, then locking the telescope on a sun for two months to get the passing planet's data sounds like plenty of time playing Solitaire.

Agreed. If the cause was pulsed RF radiation it would have been detected years before this. The RF spectrum around an embassy is probably one of the most studied and analyzed environments outside an active war zone. Suggesting that a secretive pulsed RF signal was transmitted toward the embassy without being detected is just imaginative speculation. Extremely sensitive spectrum analyzers are recording continuously inside and outside the embassies.

Past analysis has extensively studied the RF spectrum around the embassies. They are looking for external signals transmitted toward the embassy as well as unknown signals radiating outward from it. They are looking for small spy transmitters sending intelligence out of the embassy. It is really feasible that a high-powered external signal would escape detection?

An analogy would be dozens of embassy agents wearing IR goggles, scouring the inside and outside for the embassy looking for faint glows of anonymous heat signatures of electronics, while at the same time failing to notice the huge flame thrower and spot light aimed toward the embassy walls. Something that easy to detect would have been caught immediately.

Agreed. I use Thunderbird with POP to my ISP with a 30-day retention on the server. I can check recent email through the web interface on vacation and still download the messages when I get home.

This does not allow me to use the mail account as a data repository while traveling but that is not what I use my email account for. I have important emails in Thunderbird going back to my college courses in 1998 that have outlived four email providers.

I would suggest installing Thunderbird to connect to a Gmail account just to have a local backup of all your important email. Even if you only sync to your Gmail account once a year, you will still have a local copy of your important historical email. Allowing 10GB-ish of local storage for a secure backup of your mail seems like a small concession to me.

I found the quote attributed to a park ranger at Yosemite NP back in the 80s.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/...

This was actually a quirk that could be used to find who was selling your email address. Giving different vendors variations of JohnDoe, John.Doe, J.ohndoe, Joh.n.D.o.e, etc helped you determine who valued your information more than your privacy.

Another option was to use the Plus addressing. By adding a "+" and a label (folder) you could direct the email into a specific folder and also track who you gave that address. JohnDoe+Walmart, JohnDoe+TacoBell, JohnDoe+Sheraton will all arrive in your inbox and if a matching label is found, it will be applied.

A few clarifications.

First, you cannot copyright facts. Compiling and publishing a list of current US Senators by state doesn't prevent anyone else from publishing the same information.
Second, if you have some unknown information you wish to keep secret then don't publish it. Trade secrets fall into this category.
Third, the first person to discover a fact doesn't own it. Publishing the first book about the interaction of electricity and magnetism doesn't mean you can prevent other people from talking about or publishing information about the same thing.

Publishing or performing is about spreading information, not claiming it.

Doesn't matter. A 2LT starts at about $50K and moves up to $85K at the end of four years. Plus all the benefits of housing, meals and full medical. Computer Science majors also don't get sent to the front lines very often. Do you think every engineer working for big tech companies adore the company owner?

If the person decides after four years to get out, they have VA benefits, GI Bill to further their education, and a great networking base. Plus, many companies look favorably on veteran officers. They might not have experience in the latest coding environments, but they do have experience working in teams, leading groups, and focusing on results instead of office politics.

Four years in the military as an officer is a great way to kick start a career.

Agreed. The default should be the strongest encryption by default. Let administrators downgrade if needed to the highest level that all the dependent tools and connected systems support. If one tool or connected system is the only reason you are using a lower encryption method, it should be documented in the replacement plan so you know when you can upgrade the encryption.

If you are using Onedrive on the road then I might see that use case. If you are primarily sharing files on your own network, a $200 NAS would probably pay for itself in under two years. Small pain to set up, easy to use going forward.

Ugreen 2 bay NAS $188
4Tb Western Digital Hard Drive $75
(populate the second bay for added RAID security)

Not the perfect solution for everyone, but it's an option rather than paying O365/Onedrive year after year after year.

I guess if you're going to ask a question that dumb, it's best to do it as an AC.

Because the airspeed velocity of an unladen European swallow is approximately 20.1 mph (32.4 kph), or about 9 meters per second, and that isn't enough to get to the ISS.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions about a 4-year degree is the assumption that is must be completed in 4 years.

There are plenty of ways to get a bachelor's degree other than full time, on campus, full credit load. Many employers have tuition assistance programs that subsidize those employees that take either online or night classes. Some offer both tuition assistance and book fees.

If a bachelor's degree takes you six years by working part/full time and taking online and night classes but with no debt, is that a worthwhile compromise?

If the best estimates show that student loans will take 20 years at minimum payments to pay off, is it worth it to join the military for three years and then use the GI bill to pursue your education debt free? Many military basic and technical training courses qualify for college credit which apply to many general and elective requirements.

TL;DR There are additional ways to get a degree without full time, debt accumulating methods seen as traditional.

There are actually programs designed to promote this type of training. The IRS offers tax credits under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program when hiring individuals that benefit from hiring opportunities like veterans, folks with disabilities, ex-felons, SNAP recipients, etc. Businesses that offer employment to help transition from government subsidized programs to working members can get a tax credit for their hiring and training. https://www.irs.gov/businesses...

Some states also have special minimum wage categories for apprenticeships. The lower wages reflect the period of time that the company is actively training the apprentice toward their journeyman status. Details vary by state and occupation. https://www.google.com/search?...