My beloved Palm TX - if it hadn't developed 'blind' spots on its touchscreen.

A bit off-topic, but this is of little help when you leave your wallet in El Segundo...

I have to confess that I never had heard the term 'steradian' before. I am going to practice it, and from now on weave it elegantly into dinner conversations.

What about 'Vista reloaded'?

I'll just open the taps of my lye-tank.

Population is not a factor. Looks like the way it is figured out is something like

I disagree. The primary purpose of the military is not to kill and be violent, but to enforce something; this might entail lethal force, yes, but not as an end in itself. Also, in this day and age the military is also often out there in peacekeeping or stabilizing missions. I second Jesus's point - display of force…

Pages, numbers, keynote, Matlab - it's all there and handy on my iPad. Usually good enough when you're out, and need to get some stuff done. The 'serious-serious' work needs to be done at the desk, with a serious machine, anyway.

Ain't y'a bit too smart here, knowing stuff nobody told ye to know...?

So - where do all those batteries go when they're depleted (after the eons)? To the landfill? Hmm. Maybe it's convenient, but not very sustainable.

This is a good year for carrots. Tomatoes are also more on the big side this summer.

would be nice to see a graph showing electricity supply stability as a function of the countries...

Looks a bit like a shredder, doesn't it?

Have the exoskeleton done in China (I'm sure it comes out nice, just with a few more glue-seams), and get the guns and missile launchers on the market in Peshawar, and you can shave a few millions off.

Just to be the spoilsport: the owners are likely to be pimps, real estate people, or celebrities. Whatever fancy car they drive - I still don't regard them very highly.

I second your choice - now tell your colleagues that their majority vote is just plain boooooring.

Nope - 'alter...alter' in Latin covers it all: the one, the other, and the other, and the other....

It's a mess in this country, Sam, and all because the folks after the founding fathers misunderstood the second amendment.

You're absolutely right about 'overdrive'. The same brainless use of words happens when the hero, being in a sticky situation, ponders about what 'other alternatives' there are, or what the 'first priority' now is. Somebody starts that nonsense, and everyone copies it faithfully, because it sounds so smooth.

When I read the comments, it struck me how much talk there is of 'wasting time', 'killing time', 'not much to do' etc etc. Don't people have the need to (at least sometimes) think, feel, 'catch up' with oneself, muse? I've been on long hauls without a 'lot to do' - a book, yes (there's so many books out there that…