"And by that, my liege, is how we know the [Universe] to be banana-shaped..."

You had me at microSD slot.

"In fact, it sounds a bit like Google Now on steroids—or like the smartphone precursor to SkyNet, the supercomputer from the Terminator movies that's so intelligent, it decides that the world would be better off if it ruled over humanity."

Oh, good, well, I'm glad we're not overstating it or anything :) Lots of sensors != self-awareness. For my part, I'm more concerned about Wikipedia achieving sentience before my smartphone does. The last thing humanity will see is a teeming swarm of nanobots tearing apart the civilized world in search of the Ultimate Citation.

Suck it, Robert J. Sawyer!

(BTW, this was my post - I forgot to log in first)

What it says is that everyone has a different idea of fun. The parent said nothing about addicts. Contrary to your belief, not everyone who goes to casinos is an addict. Some, yes, but not all. Most are there just to have a good time.

As for throwing money away, the parent made it pretty clear that he is spending money on an experience that he enjoys. It's pretty likely that there are people who consider the things you call fun to be a waste of money and time. It's all relative.

*Spoiler alert*

Yes, exactly. Nero wanted Spock to live with the pain of Vulcan's destruction so he left him on DV where he could watch helplessly and eventually get to safety. The real punishment was to allow Spock to live.