@38thsignal: the choice is more like: Definite destruction of all life on Earth vs. Mild inconveniencing of a collection of other planets that most likely didn't have any life on them in the first place.

@—Core—: how do you 'know' the planet will survive? The universe is a big, dangerous place, there are plenty of things out there that could put an end to something as small and fragile as a rocky planet.

@squishyalt: "Even after we die off, the Earth will heal itself and continue without us. "

A wise person once said:

@Twisted-Pigeon: Filling the windows with an insulating gas could cause the the opposite effect to a vacuum, curving the panes outwards, if the reflective coatings are on the inner pane though, you'll get the same effect as a vacuum with the reflective coating on the outer pane.

If these windows have a vacuum between the panes, it's very likely that they could be curving inwards due to pressure. If the coating then adds reflectiveness to that curve, you could have a dish-reflector on your hands. I find it difficult to believe that either the curvature or the efficiency coating could do this…

@kejoxen: All that means is that the theory does not usefully describe reality, he might as well have said that expansion is caused by tiny invisible fairies tugging at every atom, it's equally meaningless.

@iiqulo: I've been saying for two years now that we've all been shoved into some alternate gaming reality where Activision is suddenly the bad-guys and EA is the not-so-bad guys

@kejoxen: if it's 'impossible to observe a contraction differently from an expansion' then there isn't really a difference...

Joel seems to be largely remembering some different, rosier colored 'golden age' of western RPGs than me.

"his theory can't yet explain the cosmic microwave background"

@Alexander Gabriel: 'other' brands that offer similar or better products at a lower price generally skimp in other areas, such as support or reliability, or may offer products that seem better in easily quantifiable ways (such as offering more/better features, faster processors etc.) but are actually inferior in less…

I have to echo the over-riding sentiment in the comments here, as much as there may be some emotional component to wanting to buy 'name-brand' products rather than 'identical' knock-offs, in reality, the knock-offs are rarely that 'identical' (at least in watches and electronics, I can't vouch for designer clothing or…

Nice to see a good old fashioned retraction every once-in-a-while. they're becoming all to rare in most media, and I don't think it's because new media is just that much better at getting to the 'truth'

@FlyingAvocado: that's not necessarily true, most locks sold int he last five to ten years other than budget kwik-set and similar have some resistance to bump-keys. Sude-bars are becoming increasingly available and popular and any lock with side-bars is invulnerable to key-bumping (though not necessarily to other…

This looks similar to the biometric fingerprint lock that Mythbusters bypassed by licking a piece of paper.

@bacon117 - Escort Owner, Lover: or maybe they did not watch nearly enough?

I think drivers in Mexico City are probably screwed over by more than just protesters...

@cooliehawk: that's adorable

"Maybe we're just cynical, but with every new lock or security measure, won't new hackers arise to bypass them?"