Well then, the South Africans should have no problem extracting the water, given their recent history.

Not so; the book itself cured Mr. Trudeau of poverty.

Those issues can be addressed by particulate filters and urea injection, as the current diesels from VW/Audi, BMW and Mercedes demonstrate. I'm familiar with the VW/Audi technology, having just bought an A3 TDI -- their 2.0l TDI engine uses a particulate filter & is 50-state legal. Their larger engines use urea injection, as do the BMW/Mercedes -- the urea reacts with NOx to produce CO2 and NH3 -- the NH3 is subsequently catalytically reacted to produce N2 and H2O.

NOx can be handled the same way it is in the newer "clean diesel" engines -- either through particulate filters or selective catalytic reduction (SCR -- basically injecting urea into the exhaust stream to convert the NOx into CO2 and NH3, which is then converted catalytically to N2 and H2O).

In truth, the NSA is hundreds of years ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to cryptography.

Most teenagers already have bacteria kits -- their bedrooms.

Great; it's not like we don't have more than enough bogons as is.

More likely an alien invasion.

Just get her on Seasonale or an equivalent.

Beginnings? It was first done almost 25 years ago, as this excellent documentary demonstrates.

Someone didn't watch last night's Family Guy -- Miley Cyrus is an android, not a clone.

Here you go -- this is as close to a portable Sun as I'm aware of.

Lotus Notes, no way in hell will it succeed. Lotus Notes was pure crap, and I say that as an ex-Lotus employee.

So that's how Chuck Berry came up with My Ding-a-Ling.

I'd expect the Planck satellite to provide just one very small constant image.