Emminent scolars in the field of radiation and medicine do not agree with the conclusions that the wikipedia information that you present asserts. See, for example, this letter from UCSF faculty in bilogy and medicine, here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35498347/UCSF-letter-to-Holdren-concerning-health-risks-of-full-body-scanner-TSA-screenings-4-6-2010

With all due respect, I would assume the sigtanators to this letter to certainly not be "purposefully ignorant" on this matter.

Pat-downs are given to those who fail either of the automatic methods, or to those who explicitly request opt-out from the backscatter xray.

I belong to the latter group, those who request opt-out. As it would be, hospitals and veterinary clinics have highly trained people with advanced degrees who, when taking any kind of medical imaging, are tracking exactly the exposure that their patients get (and over time). This, so as to minimize and manage the risks from being radiated. They also have people at hand who know how to deal with radiation burns etc.

Airports have.....the TSA. They're neither trained in radiation nor tracking exposure. As exposure is cumulative, there is a real risk.

The general advice has been around here, that if you have a melanoma in certain forms, you definitely should refuse backscatter x-ray because we simply do not know that it won't worsen it, and we suspect that it may.

Thus, having a (common form of) skin cancer sufficient reason for the TSA (the employees of which, for the vast majority, are not licensed to practice medicine) to present "more embarrassing" treatment.

I systematically refuse to go through backscatter x-ray, as I find it unduly invasive, and that it does nothing to further aircraft security. Sometimes the TSA agents ask, and I reply "on medical grounds" - as they are not physicians, they are not competent (and they start to know this) to discuss passengers' medical conditions.

And, for the record, I know of at least one sexual molestation lawsuit having been brought against a TSA agent and the TSA, who enjoyed the "pat-down" of a teenage girl a little too much. Note to TSA agents: if you want to group a teenage girl, pick one whose dad is not both a trial lawyer and just behind her in line .....

i want a solid mechanical link between the controls I'm pushing on and the control surfaces on the wings... That way, even if EVERY computer on the plane dies, I can still control the damn thing...

And yes IAAAP... (I Am An Airline Pilot)

Do you by "mechanical link" mean "hydraulic link", by any chance? I am personally not convinced that hydraulic control of surfaces is any less prone to problems than are electric control using localized actuators and possibly disjoint/redundant electric linkage through the fuselage. FBW is not my greatest worry a - a hydraulic failure/leak is hard[er] to recover from than is a computer failure [where you have redundant computers and channels, and possibly various restart options].

It's true, however, that the automatization of the flight deck has radically changed the role of a pilot -- I still haven't made up my mind if that's for better or for worse.

I was surprised, while living in France last year, that RedBull is illegal. I was even more surprised when they told me you can buy Poppers at clothing shops like nothing happens. Any Frenchie care to comment on it??

You asked for it, there you have it. I am not a Frenchie and can't speak for the availability of poppers -- but Red Bull *was* illegal due to its taurin content. The French equivalent of the FDA didn't think that it was possible to determine, based on available studies, if the product was safe, and was citing at the time (if I recall correctly) something about detected hyperactivity in animals who'd consumed high doses of taurine. In April 2008, in a neutered version (arginine instead of taurine and much less caffeine...) was approved for sale in France.

In, I think, later 2008, the unneutered Red Bull entered the French market: this time it was the EU that forced the French to accept it. A product sold in one EU country can legally be imported and sold in an EU country (or something to that effect), and Red Bull was/is sold in many (but not all) EU countries.

I've got a full-time job, a wife, and two kids. I scuba dive, play in a concert band, and play DnD once a week.

When, exactly, would I go out and join a soccer team? During naptime for the toddlers? In the evenings, when it's one of the rare days when neither my wife nor I are going out so we can spend some time together? Sure, I can bike to work, but I'm the one who drops the kids off at daycare. That means either using a trailer (sunny and warm days only) or biking when daycare's not in session.

Bring the Wii Fit into the equation, and I'm down 15 pounds. I can get a good set of cardio and strength work while the kids are napping or asleep.

Seriously, some people simply can't go outside some days.

Yeah, what he said....now, I do not have kids, but I have a spouse and a cat -- both of which need attention -- a job that requires me to travel about 60% of the year and I teach scuba diving on the side. In short, I spent plenty of time outside of the house already, and joining a soccer or other team sport team would be just impossible: I'd not be able to be there regularly due to an unpredictable travel-schedule, and so I'd make a horrible team-mate (not to mention, I'm a horrible soccer-player to begin with, making me even more of a boat-anchor for a soccer-team) and, frankly, what evenings/weekends I do have left, I'd rather spend with the spouse and the cat, than with a bunch of sweaty 40-something men chasing a ball.....

The nearest gym is about an hour away from where we live, btw., so one hour of workout would "cost" 3 hours of wall-clock-time. Just not cost-efficient.

Wanting to stay in relatively good health, we set aside a room in our house, and rebuilt into a gym -- principally a treadmill and some other exercise machines, and a wall-mounted TV. It allows - as notes Beardo the Bearded - that whenever either of us have got an hour available, we can get some exercise in without having to commit to trekking to the nearest gym. Often, it's of the form "hey, I was home first tonight, I'll toss the roast in the oven, then do an hour on the 'mill and some back-strengthening workout", and concurrently keeping up with what's wrong with the world on the TV.

We've got a WiiFit as well, and while that's great fun, I do not get the same "sweat" out of it nor do I manage to get my heart-rate high enough and exercise/strengthen my back. It's great for its Yoga-exercises, and a fun thing to do together (although, it'd have been cool had the WiiFit allowed for easier alternations between two players exercising together).

Anyways, when we were acquiring the treadmill, we were looking to see if there were more "fun" options than just "running at various paces and inclinations", but what we found was insufficient: either it was "more game than exercise" or it was "more flimsy" -- or the game just didn't seem like much fun after having tried them out once. TSo for us, and for now, it's the treadmill (with iFit training programs) + TV for the gym, and the WiiFit/WiiSport for having fun in the living room.

Now, just need to find a way of getting the cat to exercise as well....

Btw., "Beardo the Bearded", good job at dropping 15lb with the WiiFit! Keep it up!