Law enforcement used to be encouraged to be part of the community. They were given fixed beats, and everyone knew them by name. They knew the people in the community. And there was a problem with corruption of the officers. SO the solution was to rotate beats, bring the cops in from elsewhere. The thought being that the officers would be more impartial, and difficult to corrupt if the didn't know the people they were policing. And it worked.... The officers are less corrupt than in the past, but on the other hand they have no F'ing clue who the bad guys are. And everyone hates them. Public relations have never been worse. So the pendulum is swinging back towards trying to integrate officers into the community again. Expect cops to start playing golf with the bad guys again :)

The average tire pressure on a car tire is 32 psi, the average pressure on a large truck is well over 60 psi, most run over 100. I was told by a highway engineer years ago that one large truck creates the same amount of wear and tear as thousands of cars, especially if it's overloaded. It is my understanding that large trucks and environmental effects are responsible for the vast majority of all damage. If you start looking at the damage closely you'll start to notice that most of it seems indicative of the dual tires that trucks run, or the long trailers they pull. For example in urban environments where the rear wheels track out of the standard path of a tire on a turn.

You shoot for center mass because that's the most effective point of aim to "stop" or "end the threat". You don't say "Kill" because it looks REALLY bad under cross examination, and furthur more it's not true, that is unless you would walk over to the incapacitated person and execute them before the ambulance arrived. Why do you draw your weapon? To kill someone, Or to protect yourself? That's the critical distinction.

As someone who consumes very little media, and I mean VERY LITTLE. I wonder if by having a large quantity of media readily available for pirating doesn't actually encourage the habit of consumption. I know that often my media purchases (almost exclusively CDs and books) almost always follow an influx of new media loaned or given to me by a friend. I'll listen to some new music and think "this is good stuff" and frequently go out and purchase a few cd's or a couple books as a result, usually tangentially related, sometimes not
            I'm not saying that I purchase what was loaned to me I don't. Those poor starving artists usually get nothing from me. What I am saying is that fresh media tends to wet my appetite for more fresh media, and that if I'm in the mood for something new I usually don't hesitate to purchase it.

        In other words If it were not for books and CD's traded about I probably wouldn't purchase ANY media, other than what was necessary. For me I am quite certain that the amount of "free samples" that pass my way is directly correlated to the amount of impulsive shopping I do. Granted if I had access to all media known to man in high quality for free I wouldn't ever purchase any of it.

Sure you would be crazy to not wear a seat-belt. But the question is, should the government make it illegal to not wear one? It is the Governments job to enforce good common sense? Is saving lives or strengthening the economy justification enough for our Government to dictate our actions?

I don't know what sort of unspeakable mistake you made in the 4th grade, but I peed in the little kids drinking fountain when I was in the second grade. I think I was sick with a fever and a bit delusional, I don't know why I did it, it seemed reflexive at the time. Anyways taking a piss in the drinking fountain with everyone watching really put a damper on shit for a long while.... Keep in mind I didn't dream I did it, I actually did it while in a dream like state... About the time I was starting to get over that (probably the 4th grade) I think my ball-sack fell out of my shorts on the Jungle Gym, and everyone saw it. That made me hide under a rock for another couple of years... I'm not sure if changing these events would make my life turn out different though.. But good grief they would be at the top of the list of shit to change. Gee, go back in time and avoid a marriage and 8 years of hell, or fix some stupid B.S. that happened when I was a kid. Should be an obvious choice....

Umm... I totally understand what you are saying, but I feel compelled to give you a heads up, call it a bit of a warning. You see, your comment clearly reveals your age. As you get older those numbers will start to shift. Be forewarned, It wont be an unnoticed shift, in fact it'll be disturbing. I prefer to think that with maturity one gains the ability to appreciate the finer and previously un-noticed qualities of those other girls... Could just be that as you grow old you get a permanent case of beer goggles...

I have personally known many people who smoke because they *think* it helps suppress appetite. In fact they often justify the cost by claiming they save on food. I've always assumed this is one of the many reasons young females choose to smoke.

Monkey island!

"Everyone wants cool stuff. But nothing is free. It is just basic economics."

Fine then charge me for it. I don't want to give up my privacy.

"There's been lots of discussion here over the Fukushima incident. It's been dominated by the "pro-nuke" side, if you can call it that, but that's not surprising considering Slashdot's demographics."

Yeah, I've noticed that too. My advice for them is to get used to saying "would you like fries with that?" This is already bad news for anyone trying to make a living in any way related to nuclear power, we wont know how bad for months to come, but no matter how you slice it it's not good.

To those who would claim "yeah but next time it'll be different" I would say, correct, next time I'm not going to try and kick the football. http://pratie.blogspot.com/2005/09/charlie-brown-and-lucy-and-football.html

They were hastily made engines often using blocks and crank assemblies adapted from existing gas engines. The engineers involved beyond a doubt knew they were junk. But the big three wanted diesel NOW! The end result was a lot of people got burned and didn't want diesel anymore. Some of them were smart enough and didn't want big three anymore either!!!

"Ironically, the anti-nuclear proponents are their own worst enemies if they actually want to prevent things like this. The demand for power isn't going away, but installing newer plants, which would be of the modern and inherently safe designs, would allow the old ones to be decommissioned or at least overhauled."

You sir are a douche.

If the plants are not safe, they shouldn't be run. If we are going to have safe nuclear energy, it needs to be managed by people who believe this. Not by people who would claim that "we could be safe if it wasn't for our detractors." This incident has nothing to do what-so-ever with anti-nuclear proponents, and everything to do with the people who choose to run and operate the reactor. Right now they have succeeded in making the entire industry look like shit. The problem isn't the outdated designs. The problem is the people who continue to use outdated designs!