Maybe, but we don't know that for sure. There could be genetic markers that can work to match up personality and compatibility. Nothing else seems to work.

We do so many things scientifically, or at least with a process in our society, but when it comes to mating rituals there is simply chaos. Not only have we not introduced much practical technology to dating, all of the processes that have evolved over millenia have been summarily rejected by an enlightened society that believes procreation should be governed by romantic feelings instead of any kind of parental input or societal pressure. Personally I would welcome a system that would sample my DNA and provide me with a suitable partner. It couldn't really work any worse than our current system.

Not really. The person in the next cube coding naked would most likely be distracting in one form or another regardless of appearance. I already have adequate distractions.

You are right, Obama can't micromanage every department, but when things become public like this he could address those. The TSA essentially works for him, it would take him 30 seconds to shoot a message from his blackberry to the head of the TSA asking him to release this information. I'm not asking Obama to fix everything, but take a little time off from the talk show circuit and take care of these obvious failings in his 'transparent' government. In your example the real problems was the production of the goods, not the actual lying that was the problem, plus it was the 1950s, they barely had phones. The lines of communication are so much better, I don't think your example really applies.

Or better yet, when the safety mechanism kicks in and they get stuck at the 100 km level and starve to death/aphyxiate?

So how many megawatts does it take to build a panel? Would a factory that produces 1 solar panel per hour consume 5 megawatts? If so, does the life span have to average 10 years? What are the odds of the solar panel actually having a lifetime of 20 years? Panels are going to get damaged or replaced due to new technology, taking 20 years (or even 10) to recoup the costs seems really ambitious.

I think if I ever want to get rid of someone I'll do it in a diabolical Batman (the TV Show) villain method. Nobody will believe it.

No, just make sure everyone knows that Linux has been too busy saving the world Buckaroo Bonzai style to bother showing up at the little meetings of PC and Mac.

Ok, Rodney McKay and his girlfriend Kaylee.

About 15 years ago magnets were all the rage. I had a friend who's uncle was part of a pyramid scheme to sell magnetic insoles and other items. He came out to give us a demo of his products. He had a massager with magnets in it, and a little gizmo that lighted up when you introduced EMF to it. He spun the massager to show us how the magnets created an electric field and caused his tester to light up.

I was an electronics student at the time and understood magnetics and electricity. I grabbed my electric mixer, plugged it in, and ran it next to it's tester. The tester, of course, glowed much brighter with my mixer. I then asked him why I should buy his massager when I could accomplish the same thing by using anything that had an electric motor.

I don't think he liked me much after that.

Don't know about his case, but the people I've known who have had back surgery that didn't solve their problems in the long term. That may be anecdotal, but the reality is surgeries aren't always 100% effective.

Weigh that in with the risks of any surgery, and the fact that costs of surgery would offset years of chiropractic visits, it's probably still a good choice if it works.