AC-DC converters have been around for more than a century. They're about as small as they can get for any given power level. Phone chargers are smaller because they only pull 10 watts. Computers use 5 to 10 times that, so the bricks are 4-8 times bigger (scale advantage).

Bitcoin is property. Currency is property too. You generally want something to be a property, because if it's not a property, you don't (can't) own it and the government has no obligation to protect it. Open air is not property, for example. You can't sue or arrest someone for breathing air you think is yours.*

I'm certain he isn't. The NSA, like any large organization, is simply not that risk-taking or that competent.

There is much truth here.

The "fee" is actually an issue with truth-in-advertising law, not antitrust. That's why you see them on Comcast, AT&T and Generic Podunk Regional CableCo. There is no one forcing telcos to add an additional line item for every operating cost they have. "Franchise fees", and every other "fee" on your bill exists to…

I have to agree. I find the Panasonic GH4 is be the most important of the lot (pro-level 4K plus an upper-mid-range ILC for stills in one mostly uncompromised package at a price within reach of prosumers), but that's pretty niche.

This is more of an issue with not enforcing existing antitrust rules than a lack of rules in general.

Most movies (sequels aren't the majority quite yet) have the heavy burden of being origin stories. The Godfather was Michael's origin story. I'm not sure why superhero movies get treated like origins are something unique. It's usually been the sequels which have floundered with too much time and not enough direction. T…

So your answer is "Yes, Marvel movies are soullessly formulaic". Took you fucking long enough.

Good insight. Flawless execution can make up for a thin plot. Tight pacing can be a big part of that. TFA had pretty bad pacing, with a long-drawn out intro, a truncated conclusion, and a montage crammed in to make everything make the bare minimum of sense.

Where did I say that?

While there's always the chance that bed bugs will mutate until they become immune to the immobilizing effects of the histamine

That's not a point. That's a distraction. You aren't supporting or refuting my statement that M.S. movies are predictable. You're just saying, "Oh, yeah? How about Zach Snyder. He can suck the soul out of a rock" which might even be true, but NOBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT. Shit like that is one of many reasons why…

That's a genetic fallacy, as well as a strawman and non sequitor. Could you please TRY to stay on point?

Those don't hurt if they're epic enough. But tell me, and this is the important part, can you figure out the entire move within 2 minutes of the opening credits?

As opposed to nothing. Your comment is a strawman and a non sequitor. My critique was on the Marvel movies alone. What Warner Bros has done, is doing, or will do in movies is irrelevant.

But both of Marvel's Captain films have been pretty fantastic

It seems like you didn't quite understand what "consulted" means in this context. The Navy (who was in charge of the onion routing project) asked the NSA to help them make something secure enough that neither the NSA, or more importantly its foreign counterparts, could break it.

Not quite. The lead on onion routing was the US Navy. The State Department, to this day, provides about 90% of TOR's funding.

One would hope they couldn't defeat Tor, given what it was meant to do and that they were almost certainly consulted on its creation.