As an NC resident, I think the key word was "traditionally". The state is aggressively gutting education programs and forcing conservative republicans into important positions in the UNC (state wide) university system. It's seriously a big problem.

Dude, please do the kids with severe nut (peanut and tree nut) allergies a break. They don't get to enjoy the holiday like other kids do. My son has a severe, off the charts, peanut allergy. At least half of the candy is thrown away and I'm always nervous about cross contamination from peanut and non-peanut candy being in the same bag. So, please, from the bottom of my heart, I ask you not to give out nuts. If you must give out an allergen, let's go with shellfish instead.

Agrajag (http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Agrajag). That is all.

Personally, I'd only take a smartphone with a protective case. I really enjoy reading books on the kindle app for iPhone and Andriod. This saves you the trouble of caring around yet another unnecessary bit of hardware. Virtually all phones have cases you can get that ruggedize them.

My wife and kids might have something to say about it, but I swear, if I had any realistic chance of doing this, I would do my utmost to find a way! Death or not, to travel to another world? To travel in space? To set foot on mars? To see what no person has ever seen before? To experience a different gravity.

And hell, I don't mind making a fool of my self in public, so a reality show would be fine too!

Where do I sign up?

Oh, without a doubt, you're right. It's my opinion that one way or another we're going to collectively have to take a spanking. That should rightfully be across all areas of government, even social programs and entitlements. AND, we should raise taxes, close loopholes, increase taxes on the rich/investors, etc. Basically, spend less and make more.

In my house we are always saying how "every little bit helps". If we bring in an extra $20 somehow, or if we spend $20 less a month. It all adds up. So, cutting $10 billion from Nasa, when combined with other cuts, adds up to a net positive for our bottom line.... eventually. But other areas should also give.

Ok, so I want to see us explore mars and space in general. I want this a lot. I think it's important, interesting, exciting, and more. And I really wish we weren't in the financial situation we are in the US, but we are. I don't think this is a matter of the administration valuing space exploration less, but more of a reflection that we can't continue spending recklessly forever.

Mars, space exploration, and science in general are very important for the human kind and the US' wellbeing in general. But we've got to get our shit in order first. I know that using the family metaphor for government is flawed, however, if I have crippling debt in my household, I need to cut back on the things that might not just be what I want, but also some things that may even be important for the future. I need to focus on making it through the here and now, get my stuff in order, and then start making these types of investments.

So, yes, I am really disappointed to hear about this, but I we really need to be brutal for the foreseeable future in how we spend money. Once that's under control we can come back and pick up where we left off.

Since Thunderbolt can be used to drive displays, I personally want it just so I can daisy chain two large displays off from one Macbook Pro. If it also means that I can plug peripherals into the monotor or onto the end of the chain, well that's just an added bonus. This is the one new feature on that has actually made me really want to upgrade sooner rather than later.

Frankly, I'd consider a Möbius strip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip

I just thought I'd throw this out. The Raleigh/Durham (RTP) area in North Carolina has one of these too. I used it to build a swing set for my son last xmass. I've been playing around with their shopbot and using their wood working room too. Access to Solidworks is a nice feature too.

Personally, the vast swath of tools and capabilities just wow me. They've got two machine shops (big and little). They've got a wood shop. They've got a plasma cutter. They've got a welding room. They've got a sand blaster. They've got a sewing room (with a surger that was so dangerous they had to hack it to slow it down). They've got a laser cutter. They've got an electronics room. They've got a 3d printer (and they're *building* two others). They've got lots of space to work too. Not to mention storage rooms and offices you can rent. Oh - and they've got classes on most of this stuff. All this for $30 a visit (or $100 a month for unlimited visits). It's a crazy deal.

Overall it's a great place to see geeks and artists doing their thing. Everyplace should have a TechShop.

Doh! You're right. I use that all the time. I think the true winner is the command and option to the right of the spacebar.

Frankly, I never use the backtick.... and on my laptop I'm missing most of the other keys listed (no windows, context, flock, scroll lock, or anything).

Another contender might be the command and option buttons to the right of my spacebar.

But, other than those, I use damn near all of the yes on this thing.

Not too long ago I saw an interview with someone (sorry, too lazy to look up the name) who is trying to create a system of standardized swappable battery packs for cars. Just like toys and electronics, the solution for electric cars is not necessarily greater range and faster charging. Instead, batteries should be packed and installed in such a manner that they literally snap in and out. This would allow drivers to drive into any gas station that offered this service and swap out your dead or dying battery pack for a new, fully charged pack. This would function just like it does for propane tanks. You simply swap the tank/battery pack out and pay only the cost of the electricity. The station would "own" the battery packs and would charge them for their customers. Heck, in some places they could use wind or solar to provide the electricity for this and it would be very profitable (after start up costs). Also, this would remove the scary idea that maybe these battery packs have a limited lifespan and I as a consumer would have to pay for a new pack. In this scenario, the station would take care of that.

I don't think this is all that far fetched. And, if standardized, this could even be automated to the point where you just drive your car over a machine which removed the batteries from the bottom of your car and puts in a new one. You swipe your credit card and you're back on the road.

Food for thought. :)