Better efficiency for solar is all to the good, but the most important challenge is to make them cheaper and more durable. When it's cost-effective to park on them or tile a roof with them, they can make up in sheer number what they lack in efficiency. The analogy I like to use is the old-fashioned water wheel:…

*A* beer? As far as I'm concerned, that man is never allowed to pay for a drink again.

It requires either AppleCare or the 1-year warranty. If you break your phone and it's not under warranty, it's $199 to replace — still not a terrible deal for a 4S upgrade with no contract extension. You're gambling that the Apple store won't get a 4 in stock before you get there, though.

If you made it through the whole hiring process without realizing that, I can't help you.

It catches the lazy ones. Who, frankly, deserve to get caught. In my day, bouncers used to ask your astrological sign — something most folks know, but few would think to memorize for the fake DOB. Easy enough to prep for, but most folks didn't bother.

"20% thinner body ... A smaller dock connector for some reason"

A friend of mine who lives in Bangkok uses "555" as a substitute for "LOL." The Thai word for 5 is pronounced "ha." I don't know if that abbreviation is universal in Thailand, or just among folks who speak English.

My current favorite is YHGTBFKM. It hasn't caught on as widely as I'd like.

There aren't enough cosplay fanatics to support the ship in authentic fashion, so this is going to end up being a smallish liner by modern standards that looks cool on the outside. I'd love to take that trip, but it's going to be monstrously expensive and then bankrupt.

Okay, so how the hell is he getting the stars and what appear to be daylight shots of the mountains in frame at the same time? If he's using artificial lighting, he must have one hell of a rig.

You know, high-res images existed in the '90s. I schlepped enough of them around on SyQuest cartridges (44MB! Each!). Your prepress shop would have to wait for a CD to ship or leave an ISDN line downloading for hours, but the end result was the same resolution you'd see now.

CMS human interface design 101: Make the editor's notes field separate and clearly distinguishable from the headline field, and the edit button clearly distinguishable from the publish button.

So he looks like Spencer Tracy, then.

"Some of the billions of dollars spent on ... diabetes, heart disease and dementia might be better invested in protecting children from harm."

I'm also a little suspicious of any "survival kit" list that doesn't include WD-40 and a towel.

Don't forget the firewires!

All other things being equal:

No love for Sneakers? Max Headroom? Swordfish and the last Die Hard movie don't win any prizes, but I'd include them before Short Circuit.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of people's assumptions about rates of return kick their asses in the last decade. With a big windfall like a game show or lottery win, I tend to make the conservative assumption that they'll break even or just keep up with inflation. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

In the '70s, Alvin was to the National Geographic magazine what Lindsey Lohan is to Us Weekly. Every time I see him pop up again, there's a pleasant moment of "that little sumbitch is still alive? You go, Alvin."