ReconRat

I've seen it. It's true. I forget which magazine or webzine did the test.

I think not. I saw the estimates years ago. It really has nothing to do with any of the current politicians, and everything to do with society. Ours, as well as most Euro nations.

Bullshit. No one is buying anything because the population has inadequate or nonexistent income and debt they can't handle. Ask China, they know this very well. The USA isn't spending anywhere near what it used to. Consider yourself lucky if you've got a decent full time job.

Oh yes, the entire field of computer technology is now obsolete. Thanks.

lol, we have 50% employees missing in my group at work. We won't hire until the economy changes AND the issues with health care settle down. Not happening. And we have a pay freeze, until further notice. And our health care is going up, again... So I haven't seen any changes yet. More or less just waiting for something else to go wrong... edit: And we stopped hiring full time employees where possible, in favor of only part time employees, because of the health care costs and predicted changes.

Crap, I'm one of the 53%. You know, the part of the population that pays for everything. Why aren't we in control? Does this need to change? Don't get me wrong, all nations have a "47%", that's just the way it is. We take care of them, it's who we are. Good people at heart.

4000 to 8000, depending on the season's activity. I ride to work almost every day and everywhere else. I'll store the bike over Winter from first salt on the roads till good weather in March. I've tried to hit 10,000 in a year, but without some greater distances to work, or some long distance adventures, it won't happen.

Unemployment often drops in late Summer, and especially election years. Something I've wondered about, is what effect hiring a bunch of part time poll takers would have. I crunched numbers, and about 0.0015% of the population would account for the difference in employment numbers. So on my campus of 3000 students, that would maybe be 4 poll takers. And that's what I generally see. The problem with that, is the unemployment numbers are for a previous month. So the poll takers would have to have been hired back then. Still possible, because there are a lot of different polling companies getting setup and hiring at the time. We live in a weird world, where the action of taking a poll can actually effect the outcome of the polling... edit: Even stranger thought. If I were a poll taker, and called 3000 people on the phone, 4 of them could be poll takers. I am amused...

Any answer is possible with gravity, since it's been rather hard to find the source. All current attempts center around the proposed existence of a graviton particle that hasn't been found yet. And would still require figuring out how it actually works. An interesting part about black holes, is that once inside, gravity is back toward the shell (event horizon) that you just passed through. edit: I'm not deep into understanding this "bubble" yet either, but I get the impression it's in some way formed by inter-dimensional action, if it's using inter-dimensional travel. So who knows, it could go either way. But they are claiming no change.

A time honored tradition in combat. Always an option. Often taken advantage of.

That is one of the options of the plan. A company may elect to just make a payment to the employee. Sort of like the HSA I already have. Which would be no longer allowed under the new rules, from what I understand.

Yes, the sudden stop could have easily broken the friction plates. That sudden removal of motion would have to translate to other forces, which would probably be trying to sling/throw it outward. It can also bend shafts, so check them for run out.

Their calculations said whatever gravitational forces exist inside the field would not change. Things like inertia, mass, and perceived speed of light (inside) would not be effected. But we don't have artificial gravity on demand, only spin to make gravity. So part or all would spin to produce gravity. Whether it would be used during a transit, I don't know. And they would have to prove it.

I'd think something got jammed in the gears, for a tooth to break off like that. And that one friction plate looks like it hit a chunk of something also. Which is odd, I didn't know a friction plate would do that. So be on the lookout for yet another piece of metal. Probably steel.

How quickly scenarios in the Middle East change. Turkey and Syria now not friends. My Spidey sense is tingling on this one. Not much in the news. Iran-Turkey border. They share a common border and a common enemy in the separatist PPK rebels (Kurdistan Worker's Party) that camp out around there. So here's what's happening, that is not in the news. Despite the nicey nice news articles about opening a new border crossing in such a friendly way. When relations got completely reversed between Syria and Turkey, Iran got attitude and removed all of their troops from the Kurdish areas near Turkey, and allowed them to operate against Turkey. Turkey noticed. More recently, Syria has let it be known to Turkey, that Turkey would have to fight their way through the Kurdish rebels to get to Syria. That's a threat times two. Now add in the shelling across border into Turkey. It started Wednesday, but has continued every day since. Turkey has put out a third warning, and this time has declared it will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Add in a legislative directive in Turkey authorizing military action, and a UN admonishment against Syria that got ratified by everyone including China and Russia. That generally only happens right before some action takes place. But the Iran-Turkey border is completely quiet (in the news), and that's interesting. I expect Turkish airstrikes across the Iranian border into Iran to hit the PPK Kurdish rebels. This already happens on a regular basis across the border into Iraq. Recently both Turkey AND Iran were shelling across borders at Kurdish rebels in Iraq, at the same time. Turkey may elect to carve a chunk out of Syria along the border. That's the plan, but it hasn't happened yet. News is that Syrian rebels are now organized and directed by Turkey, without Turkey crossing the border. A little history. Way back when tribal groups ruled the area of Persia (Iran), much of Iran was over run by invasions from the area of Turkey (Ottoman Empire). So there really is a deep seated background between the two areas. Not to mention a couple of historical conflicts and invasions with Russia (Prussian) against both Turkey (Ottoman) and Iran (Persia), at separate times. edit: Historically, both Ottoman and Persian empires had over run most of the Middle East, at the height of their power. So both really still are major players in the area. edit again: And yes, there is some thoughts that Iraq would join with Iran, if Syria were to fall to Turkey. Now that's a major game changer. It has all the potentials of being a conflict to rival the Vietnam War. ESSENTIAL FRIENDS AND NATURAL ENEMIES: THE HISTORIC ROOTS OF TURKISH-IRANIAN RELATIONS

Here... have another. Impulse drive, like on Star Trek. Somebody's working on it, with expectations of success. 6 week trip to Mars... http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57523867-1/star-trek-fusion-impulse-engine-in-the-works/ (Somebody is working on a functional HoloDeck as well.)

I had an odd thought about Mexico today. There might be certain rebel factions in Mexico that the USA would be willing to support against the government there. There is some thought the cartels are pushing toward having a majority political power in Mexico. That would push some buttons without a doubt.

I'm not impressed when two-thirds of the "new jobs" are low paid part-time workers. It is quite correct that we have a long way to go for a recovery. edit: btw, the number of students in Ohio 2-year colleges collapsed this fall by around 15%. Not really known why yet. Back to work? Gave up? Can't afford it? No one knows.

Coincidence, yes and no. We've been at war with certain factions in Mexico for a while now. Apparently nobody noticed or cared.

That's because the Farmers Almanac is usually correct. Perhaps against all odds, but they do it. Close to 80%, find a weather team that can do that. Check the predictions here: http://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange Columbus Cleveland Cincinnati

A better question, is why do people stand around and do nothing? It actually works if people are challenged for their bad behavior. That's the level of enforcement that is lacking. I guess most people don't stand up for other people anymore. There's probably a law against it that I don't know about. But they will make a video... It's ok to tell some one that they are an asshole, if it appears they don't know it or don't care.

If your company can get equivalent or better care at a lower cost for everyone, they will drop it without hesitation. So if a company isn't dropping health coverage for the Federal alternatives that develop, then the federal alternatives are worthless. Except for MedicAid and MediCare, which may or may not improve. And may or may not improve the costs to individuals and/or society. And were functional in the first place. A bit of a circular argument, I'd think...

MSDS information sheet for DustOff. Which is DuPont “Dymel” 152a. Which is Ethane, 1,1-Difluoro (1,1-Difluoroethane) I don't know what brand you've got. But probably the same data. edit: Yup, it's flammable. (PDF file) http://www.sisweb.com/referenc/msds/dustoff.pdf

holy crap... In any election there is 4 to 5% that will change minds and cross over. Both ways. Pretty much evens out with no gain and no loss. So what you said is hugely different from what media polls/surveys are telling people. Not quite as important as the huge block of independent voters that won't make up their minds till the day they vote. I'll throw in that there is a cycle of who gets to be in charge in any country. Warrior, businessman, and politician trade places as each falls out of favor and the other comes in. Hopefully at the right time per the voting populous.

Exactly. Not much of anything else at all.