To use Woody Allen's words, death is in general a terrible inconvenience.

As far as I know, much of that itching sensation comes from the proteins injected by the critters to impair blood coagulation (so they can suck unhindered). Proteins, in turn, can be coagulated by heat, and made inactive.

Ok, I meant the bricks with the airspaces (see picture), which again, of course, trap air and provide insulation; put those up two rows deep, and you get a cosy home in winter. Yeah, solid bricks would get cold! The problem I see with those extremely well insulated wood houses is that they do indeed 'trap' the air…

Guess it's ok to wear these in SF. Testing this in the Midwest would be...

Congrats! How did you make sure that the sky crane would not drop the rover on a big boulder, or, e.g., with one wheel on a big boulder, tilted, and horribly un-recoverable? Did the sky crane scan the terrain, using pattern recognition?

Beautiful! But where has Aeolis mons gone that was visible on one of the first pics? I suppose that that part of the panorama (where the front of the rover is pointing to) is simply overexposed.

Talk about 'range' here... This doesn't look very meaningful to me. The 'connected standby' sure is important, to download the security updates.

So someone perusing chatroulette is a 'perv'?

Bricks all the way! Best insulation coefficient. This, plus vacuum double pane windows, will bring any heating/cooling cost down dramatically.

Oh well, the No Such Agency might just TELL you that it's un-hackable...

Yep, that last point you mention pretty much sucks. I have lived in Europe during Olympic games, I've lived in Australia during the games - and I've seen first hand that you can broadcast this stuff differently. NBC's way is distinctly chauvinist (in the classical sense) - almost only US teams/successes/medal…

Giz writers don't extinguish between the two.

Phht - I have that, AND I carry powdered water with me. Just add the powdered water to the powdered soda, and there you are!

Could you please elaborate on those 'virtual cards'? That sounds interesting.

I know exactly what you mean, and there's some truth in it. At the same time, it's unlikely that the 'big business' sport to whom the poster alluded inspires most of those who need physical activity - the elderly, or obese. Most likely young people, right - but then there's the problem to maintain that habit, once the…

I largely agree with you on sports - at least spectator sports (although there can be an inspiring aspect which is important, too). With space exploration I think it's different. Sure, it doesn't help the poor, sick, jobless, but that is not the only thing that counts in the larger scheme. As with all research and…

"...babies, birthdays, etc.": you forgot to mention cat bites.

Imagine you're a kid who built his sandcastle to high up on the beach...

'...formerly known as...' - I love that reference!

This.