Games: Sword of the Stars 2 (for me) and lego Star Wars (my son). Other: Adobe.

Dammit I'm out of mod points. You'd get them all.

"People are working on it. And not spending tax dollars to do it, either." Too bad. I'd much rather my money was being spent on this than on killing people so rich people could get richer.

Forget satellites, why don't we land a bunch of cheap remote controlled rovers and explore the goddamn Moon already?!?

Actually, by concentrating the pollution to a "choke point" (ha ha) you make it easier to provide clean power to the process.

This is a silly question. There are many science fiction authors that are under appreciated. By the person asking the question at least. By the public at large? Who can say. Do you intend to interview every person on Earth to find out?

http://beyondmeat.com/

Honor has nothing to do with it. Prostitution has a leg up (so to speak) as it is honest.

I already use Gmail as a dumb (limited) data store. With encryption.

The Age of the Pussyfoot - Fred Pohl
This book was waaaaay ahead of its time. A wonderful short novel from the 1960's that is still a great read. Pohl pretty consistently produces good books. 'Black Star Rising', 'The World at the End of Time', the Gateway series (although hardly obscure) and a whole lot of others.

Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban
A post-apocalyptic novel. Excellent. Would help to have some local knowledge of English culture.

Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
This book does not get enough recognition.

The Lilith's Brood series - Octavia Butler
Three novels about the integration of the human race by aliens after a nuclear war. Marvelous.

Yeah, but who cares if a balloon lands an a bunch of hipster douchebags?* *kidding. I have hipster douchebag friends that live there.

The winds come from the ocean and blow toward a largely unpopulated area. Sounds perfect for balloon launches.

Those exercises won't do much for your heart rate. Fast walks, cross country skiing (X-trainer in the gym), running and rowing are awesome for your heart. Also, don't overthink it: stairs.

The Name of the Rose, Baudolino, The Island of the Day Before, Foucault's Pendulum. All good books.

Actually what I was trying to point out is that success does not have to be measured against how you compete against someone else or how much money beyond what the company needs you end up with. It's not a dog-eat-dog world. The world is just what we make of it.