Until batteries for electric vehicles come in a common form factor, that can be swapped out by automated equipment at a charging station, so that the wait time is comparable to the wait time to fuel your vehicle with gasoline, then charging built-in batteries is going to be the major impediment to the adoption of electric vehicles. On the other hand, there's a major opportunity here for all participants in the industry. Electric vehicle manufacturers would need to adopt a common form factor for the drive batteries, that allows the battery capacity to be quickly and reliably measured, and allows batteries to be swapped by automated equipment, replacing depleted batteries with fully charged ones, billing the customer for the net amount of charge added to the vehicle. This system could be deployed to your local Shell, Mobil, Sunoco, etc., stations. Those stations would retain banks of batteries that would be part of a huge pool of vehicle batteries. They could charge them on-site or take them back to a central location like what happens with propane tanks. (Obviously, you would different physical protection and safety measures, but the basic premise is similar.) The batteries themselves can be equipped with data ports to log their performance, and when they get too old for useful service, they can be removed from the pool and recycled or properly disposed of. This would add the benefit of removing from the vehicle owner the responsibility for their specific batteries, which would make electric vehicles more attractive. But the best bit is that you could "charge" your vehicle in a couple minutes while you go inside for snacks, or sit in your car doing whatever. A two-hour stop is now a 5-minute restroom break. Obviously, the ability to charge your vehicle at home should be retained, so that people who have that option can use it. Likewise, there's no need to remove charging stations at offices, or the currently installed charging stations. It should strictly be an additional service that can be provided that makes the vehicles more attractive to the consumer, and therefore, increases the demand experienced by the manufacturers.

In thinking about this, I'm looking at odd numbers, specifically, odd numbers that are whole multiples of 3. Those are the numbers that are the result of the first step of the simple arithmetical expression. Every odd number has an odd number as its multiple of three. From there, you must prove that for every prime number greater than two, when multiplied by three and one added to it, is not prime. Since these will be an even integer greater than two, it will not be prime, and therefore, at some point, will reach an integer power of 2, and subsequently the 4,2,1 pattern. Charting it out in excel, you can see some pretty interesting patterns develop quite quickly. The most interesting one is 27. It requires over 100 steps to resolve (25 is the next highest before that, requiring 23 steps to reach 1). Its sequence also contains several two-digit primes and a few three-digit primes. Also, 27 will never be encountered again in a future sequence. Since it is a multiple of three, none of its multiples of powers of 2 can be encountered as the result of adding one to a multiple of three.

If you take the effort to make sure that your wireless transmissions are sent using an encrypted protocol, whether it's encrypting all traffic to the router, or just certain web browsing sessions, then you have an expectation of privacy. Otherwise, it is IDENTICAL to when someone turns on a CB radio and keys the transmitter. Just because you don't KNOW that everyone nearby can listen to the transmission is irrelevant. The literature is abundant and clear on the fact. When using any technology, whether it's flint to build a fire, bow-and-arrow, automobile, or a sophisticated computer, you have a responsibility to use it in the manner you want. Protestations based on ignorance do not absolve you of the responsibility to properly use your equipment.

I love extraordinary supper powers! I can make a mean omelet and my ribs soaked for 48 hours in a Guinness marinade are a wonderful treat, but I would kill to have a housemate like Alton Brown (of "Good Eats"). I would kill tasty, delicious animals on a daily basis to fuel his extraordinary supper powers.

Military, so I could say when I die on the job. But being Air Force, I'm statistically eight times more likely to kill myself, or twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle accident back home. Since I can't be laid off, (passed the force-shaping window) or fired, and I've already got my Masters, and a natural disaster just means we'll move somewhere else, that pretty much leaves quitting or retiring. Why isn't retiring on there?