There is a big difference between removing 30 screws to replace a hard drive and removing just one.

All of my laptops are for corporate power users and are built with ease of access in mind. I don't mind the weight and bulk since I need the computing power.

I wish more manufacturers would take a modular approach to performance laptops. I had to replace the hard drive on a small notebook this weekend. It required pulling the entire motherboard since the drive was hard mounted on the BOTTOM of the motherboard without an access panel. Steps: remove battery, remove DVD…

It's all part of the greater Texas Urban Triangle. With major freeways connecting Houston to Dallas/Ft. Worth (I-45) to Austin and San Antonio (I-35) back to Houston (I-10), it is expected that this will be one continuous belt of development by 2050. They expect it to be home to 38 million people.

The next step for DIY solutions to the problem of Quadcopter proliferation:

I would add trip-taker to that list. We made several minivan rentals to take long trips before buying an SUV. What we learned in the two years of SUV ownership is that Minivan trumps SUV in almost every aspect of kid/stuff hauling.

This is the flying car (autogyro/gyrocopter) that I want:

Sorry. I didn't see your response to my post. They do have the capability to query by age, but I didn't take the time to run the numbers.

I'm convinced small cars are at least as safe as SUV's and trucks.

It's all fun and games until you are 2,000 miles out and need to take a leak. Oh, wait, the range is only 1,500 miles. You will have a chance to take a leak at the first fuel stop.

"Counter counterpoint: Buy one of these"

"Murican being your first language apparently does not help you very much."

I like this one better.

You somehow notices that I use the word 'autorotate' and assume that I,

It doesn't autorotate. Autorotation is the process by which a helicopter may safely land in the event of an engine failure. As the helicopter falls, rotor speed is kept up by feathering the angle of the blades. Rotor momentum is turned into lift by changing the blade pitch shortly before the helicopter crashes into…

The quads are pretty easy to fly, especially when they have a lot of built-in fail-safes. A friend bought a quad for his 11-yr-old son that is so nannified (that ought to be a real word), you can't get it to tilt more than 20° off-horizontal. It might run into a wall or a tree, but you can't run it into the ground…

It addresses the pan/tilt and flight time issues he cites in his "No Like" section. But you are correct, it is a different experience. Lack of hover, much bigger flying field needed, etc.

Having the ability to tilt up is better. Tilt up to compensate for the nose-down attitude when flying forward fast, tilt straight for slow flight.

It is always interesting to look at correlations, but we must remember that they say nothing about causation.

Going in the right direction for me. Early arrival means I get fresh coffee and a nice quiet office so I can get some work done. Early end to my work day frees me up to spend time with my kids after school - coaching part of the year, playing games, working on fun projects, or just hanging out during the off season.