They (Walmart) trialed the self checkouts in my area and then took them out. Not sure why, shoplifting perhaps?

Option A: 2 hours of driving time, finding parking, wading through the store, standing in line at one of the 2 open registers waiting while someone tries to prove the Tums are on sale, gas, wear and tear on the car all to save $10.

I'm hoping that there is some improved power management in 13.10. Even with TLP, I'm lucky to get 90 minutes of battery life whereas I get nearly 4 hours if I boot the Win 7 partition.

Costs are also driven by the insurance companies and the folks who don't have insurance. If you're a hospital trying to stay afloat you have Medicare and Medicaid which often reimburse at less than cost. You then have the self pay people who have something like 65% bad debt—no money is collected. Then the insurance…

Insurance costs are high because they are publicly traded companies and the shareholders demand a profit. They also need to spend exorbitant sums to CEOs, bonuses to top performers and of course lobbying politicians to ensure that their very profitable business model carries on.

"If for some reason a bowl of guacamole doesn't get devoured entirely..."

Bastard! ;-)

Wow, good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Are they upfront on the shipping costs? Without knowing that number you really don't have a way of determining whether you're getting a deal or not.

It has nothing to do with insurance? Of course it does! Insurance is out of the range of most Americans and it's an industry that makes money only when they don't pay. It's also the fault of the legal system that sues doctors/hospitals for anything under 100% success. Its the fault of doctors who order unnecessary…

Honestly, that your last post was great and there are many points that I am not knowledgeable enough to debate. Interestingly we probably agree on better than 80% of things. :-)

I see your point. My problem with your argument is that 17 Americans died as a result of terrorism in 2011 while 30k+ people die from flu-related illness each year. Terrorism simply isn't the biggest threat that we face. It's largely a manufactured threat to allow the government to purchase new toys or bomb…

I would argue that the ability of someone to receive healthcare is a common good. Everyone pitches in, everyone gets healthcare. Healthcare costs go down for everyone and accessibility goes up for everyone. Sick days go down and productivity goes up. Will there still be people who smoke and eat themselves to 400 lbs?…

You are, and always have been, paying out of your pocket for someone else. Your tax dollars pay for road, police, fire etc. They pay for healthcare and retirement plans of public workers. They pay for children to go to school they pay for jails, they pay for soldiers and missles and aircraft characters. Billions go…

I agree that for the stuff you do online Evernote and the like are the way to go. When I think of "taking notes" I'm thinking more in the lines of a meeting or conference type classes. If I'm trying to use tech, I end up missing half of the information. With handwritten notes I can write unconsciously without the…

I don't know that I would scan them. I look at it like taking minutes at a meeting. I would pull out the salient points and clarify them. Going through my messy, disorganized handwritten notes would be an exercise in futility for someone else.

But first you need to find a way to import the handouts you just got into a pdf vs using the pen in your hand on the paper right in front of you.

Having a nice view from your office is a good thing. But even if you're stuck without a view, you can still make your office a better space. You could learn to choose (or build) the perfect desk. You could also check out our top 10 office decluttering tricks. But for now, we're curious what you're looking at. Snap a…

Gotta say that I'm sold. I've put in a preorder and can't wait to see it.

I love all things tech, but there is nothing has supplanted pen and paper. Cheap, fast, portable, scaleable and flexible there's just nothing out there that comes close. Call me when they make an app where I can make notes and doodles in the margins of handouts!