Search results

No, it's lawyer talk for "no matter who you are or what your problem is, don't bother wearing underwear when you come into my office. It just gets in the way and does nothing to help you avoid the inevitable."

For which I apologize. Wrong of me to do that. I'll try to remember this and do it better.

Good point. I'm struck by the close similarities in history, government, trade, and isolation between Mao's China and today's Netherlands. . .

Yeah, I can. Taxslave and I had a nice conversation above. We swapped info and ideas, and it wasn't one long we-hate-True Dope-fest. We all get that you hate True Dope. Which candidate do you like, of the ones with a decent shot at PM? THAT would be interesting. So far (and as usual, not...

Robert Alan Zimmerman.

OK, I stand corrected. It's perfectly OK to dump your sewage in the river. Nothing bad'll happen.

You go! 100% support on that. Of course, I'm forced to point out there'll be some whiner in BC, let's call him "slavetax" who'll piss and moan about it. . . ;)

I do a lot of work with satellite companies. They cooperate very well, cuz when you spend a couple of billion to design, build, and launch a satellite, you have a powerful incentive to make damn sure it won't interfere with/be interfered with by other satellite systems. Ain't like you can send...

Cursing the growth of government does no good. This isn't 1880. You can't just dump your waste in the river anymore. One technique that seems to help keep government organizations on task and minimize empire-building is the Peace Corps's policy that you can work there for five years total...

And Dylan who named Desolation Row.

Obviously, the way to think about it is the total taxes you pay. All the different little taxes here and there are an example of the law "Complexity trumps transparency."

Mandatory standardization is pretty common in the automotive industry. But the shakedown period is painful. Not so bad when it's electrical connections for consumer products, but with something as expensive as a car. . . And it seems to happen every time. Companies X, Y, and Z will each...

Could be. Or fuel cells (which is an application of hydrogen). We'd have to work out problems about how hard it is to store, and how incredibly explosive it is. When Honda came out with its fuel-cell vehicle, I was envisioning a system that could be overlaid on the current gas stations, based...

I kinda think we'll get used to planning around charging time and availability. Same way back in the day we got used to planning for the thin-on-the-ground gas stations in the rural/desert parts of our respective countries.

You're supposed to say something back, tax.

That'd make sense. France has private practitioners, and is usually rated the "best" health-care system in the world. But you propose a solution, then say you already have that solution. Honestly, not a set-up question. . . what's the problem?

Happens every 20 years or so. It would appear to be a feature, not a bug.

Probably the most amazing empire humanity has ever constructed is FIFA. Trillions pass through its hands (with the appropriate nick, of course), it rules with an iron fist the dictators of yesteryear (or now) can only dream of, and people and countries work incredibly hard to come under that...

I think one should either shut up or do something more effective than sharing one's OUTRAGE with a group the large majority of whom are already similarly OUTRAGED, and the small minority of whom one will not sway.

Good reasons/not-so-good reasons. The world is vastly more complex, interconnected, and comfortable than it was in 1959. That ain't cheap. Organizations, of which the government is one, will always work to ensure their survival and increase their power. And money is power.