...that the nuclear waste dumps we're planning will remain secure - not just for a few generations but for the millenia promised. What could ever happen in the future that we can't anticipate today?

OK, it was a deleted scene. And I think it involved actual orbital reentry in just a jumpsuit. Still, I suspect that if this guy survives, he will eventually end up attempting something like that. Does Virgin Galactic sell one-way tickets?

I must admit, hearing of the demise of CompuServe is like hearing an obit of a celebrity you didn't know was still alive. I haven't thought of CIS in years, though - along with the Source, it was my "gateway drug" from BBS to commercial services. It's too bad AOL can't donate all the CIS IP to someplace like the Internet Archive, to preserve it - sort of like an online Colonial Williamsburg (grin). CompuServe, now that I'm reminded of you, I miss you. Time to break out the old Dead Kennedy's & Sex Pistols LPs & wax nostalgic for"morning in America"

Then again so did Acela. The reality underwhelms. The only thing Acela had in common with REAL high speed rail was the completion time & final pricetag. I don't doubt that such a project is doable, however I'd be stunned if the political (porkbarrel) process allows it to be done right. It doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but we must keep a close eye on it to prevent it from becoming another "Big Dig"

They're just going for the lowest common denominator. I don't mourn the death of the R rated superhero movie so much as I mourn the loss of complicated stories intricately told - ie movies for adult minds. Why drift slowly toward the bottom? Why not just embrace the impact zone & simply release Telletubbies The Motion Picture?

...and maybe schoolboards.... Of course these people probably suck at math too, so those stats give them no idea how deep in the guano we are. :/

If the Interstate Pneumatics V6 standard had been widely adopted, compatibility would not have been an issue, and we'd be living in a very different world today. I'm imagining something like Terry Gilliam's Brazil.