John

Here's a myth buster question for those addicted to explosions. Just watched a movie wherein a guy survived a dynamite blast because he was right next to it. Expert said a few feet further away and he would have died. Hollywood myth, or is there some weird science that makes this true?

What is you opinion of this development?

Through her Facebook page, reality TV phenomenon Honey Boo Boo encouraged her followers to buy girl scout cookies, with a link to pay for them and have them shipped through her.... with the proceeds to go to her local Girl Scout troop. Seems reasonable, right? What could be wrong with that?

The problem was, she is not a Girl Scout, and does not belong to that troop. So, the Girl Scouts honored the sales that she has made, but banned her from making any more sale. Honey Boo Boo's mother is outraged and foaming at the mouth that the Girl Scouts have the gall to ban Honey Boo Boo from lending her star power to raise money for Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts counter that if their goal was to raise money, there are a lot of better ways to do it. Their purpose in having their scouts sell cookies is to teach them about business, and in doing so raise money that they personally benefit from (paying for their troops' camping trips, etc.) They say that an outside agency - no matter their good intentions - cannot sell girl scout cookies. Only individual girl scouts can. To that end, Girl Scouts also have a prohibition against selling their cookies on the internet. Only face-to-face transactions are allowed, so the scouts are intimately involved in the hand-to-hand trade of the product, and appreciate the hard work and rewards from it.

What do YOU think? Are the Girl Scout being mean to Honey Boo Boo, or is the Honey Boo Boo ego train running over other people, thinking they can do as they please?

Spoiled rotten child star, or Nazi Hateful Girl Scouts?

My professor asked the question, and I ask you: Is freedom of speech outdated?

I'm not talking about legitimate opinions. I'm talking about Tea Party haters and religious nuts who teach people to hate gay marriage in the name of "god." He showed us a clip from Fox News and they are blatant traitors, criticizing the President just because he is African American and trying to undermine everything he does to save this country.

My paper is going to be: Our founding fathers would never have tolerated blatant haters like that, and how did our society get to the point where we accept whacked out opinions to be allowed? And the "lie" of freedom of speech needs to be righted because we only have a freedom if it is correct, not wrong!

Can you give me examples of how this is true? I really want to get a good grade on this paper.

The Bob Barker was apparently severely damaged when it was rammed repeatedly by Korean and Japanese while protecting whales in the Antarctic.

Has anyone heard any recent reports of the condition of the ship? They said they were taking on water and were almost sunk by a huge whaling factory ship, then I can't find anything after that.

The techie coolness factor if undeniable. It is the most exciting new development in a long time.

But will folks be wandering around distracted, dropping into open manholes and into telephone poles while watching the latest viral adorable puppy video? Can't you just see legions of legions of litigious lawyers licking their lips?

I've heard many poo-poo the potential dangers of Google Glasses by citing the success of fighter and helicopter pilots using visor displays in complex battle scenarios to great effect.

QUOTE FROM GIZMODO.COM:

"F-35 Helmet Display System To Scare the Bejeezus Out of Enemies

This is the new helmet-mounted display system for the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The helmet is designed to provide pilots with binocular-wide field-of-view, give night vision abilities and scare enemy pilots at first sight. It was used for the first time last April, making the F-35 the first combat plane without a cockpit-mounted heads-up display in a very long time."

http://gizmodo.com/260482/f+35-helmet-di%E2%80%A6

What do you think? Are comparisons accurate?

In the air, there are not telephaone poles to run into, and pilots are trained extensively in the use of helmet displays. Is it accurate to compare pilots to a hormone-intoxicated teenager driving on the I-5 at 70 MPH while reading an incendiary text about how "OMG ugly" his new girlfriend is?

I'm thinking there will be a dramatic death curve with this technology, but it will not stop it..... we will accept the deaths in favor of this cool new gizmo.

There are issues on the Yahoo site. No one is messing with you - it's a problem and is happening across wide platforms.

Chill. Like that Coney Island hot dog you wish you didn't eat.... this too shall pass. ;)

.

Occasionally, my Macbook Pro 13" unibody gets so hot it would burn me if I held onto it for long. I'm talking about REALLY REALLY HOT.

When this happens, I shut it down and make sure it is on a well ventilated place like a cooky rack. It hasn't started smoking or warping the body.

Should I be worried? Is this normal for macbooks?

I'm wondering if I need to be more vigilant about turning it off when not in use, versus just closing the lid.

What exactly is "scroogled?" What does it mean?

Being the most evil corporation to have ever been conceived - and having been conceived by Satan himself, I loathe saying "google this" or "google that."

We can't allow "google" to become the ubiquitous term for "search" like Kleenex did for tissues.

Any suggestion?

Given Google's propensity to invade the privacy of their customers to mine data, how likely is it that they will deploy surreptitious technology to capture data from RFI, facial identification, or other means?

Will you dare enter Google's web?

Henry David Thoreau wrote:

"There will never be really a free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly."

Was Thoreau (and our founding father) wrong?

Democrats constantly say the individual is irrelevant - that the larger society is paramount, and the ends justify the means.

I only have 2. I sold the other 3.

How many more can I get? I heard I can only get 1 a month. That doesn't seem fair, when rich people can get as many as they want any time.

The rich taking everything and leaving us nothing!

Why should I work if I don't feel like it?

Not everyone is the same, and I simply refuse to work. It's my right. And, it's my right to have a home, clothes, and food - the basic necessities of life. Whether I work or not is irrelevant.

I'm a free spirit and refuse to be a corporate shill. What is wrong with that? It's better than being a slave to banks and corporations.

If it is proven that the Chinese government has been sponsoring hack attacks on American government and businesses, is that an act of war?

My boyfriend gets bent when I drink and it causes huge arguments that last for weeks.

How can I convince him that I'm not an alcoholic? I attend AA regularly and only drink once in a while, but if he finds out he goes ballistic and wants to break up.

He's the one with the alcohol problem. Even though he drinks beer sometimes, he claims I have the problem. I don't get mad at him when he drinks. Why won't he leave me alone when I drink? He makes wild accusations that are not true liked I stagger and pass out and my personality changes. I don't change - he does!

How can I make him realize that HE has the problem, not me?

My boyfriend gets bent when I drink and it causes huge arguments that last for weeks.

How can I convince him that I'm not an alcoholic? I attend AA regularly and only drink once in a while, but if he finds out he goes ballistic and wants to break up.

He's the one with the alcohol problem. Even though he drinks beer sometimes, he claims I have the problem. I don't get mad at him when he drinks. Why won't he leave me alone when I drink? He makes wild accusations that are not true liked I stagger and pass out and my personality changes. I don't change - he does!

How can I make him realize that HE has the problem, not me?

Tickle of TV's Moonshiners fame is a classic cross of Archie Bunker and Norm from Cheers: He's got an answer to everything, but chances are the answer is not quite grounded in fact or reality. Like his mangled explanation of "why the sky is blue." (Blue wavelengths are longer and they get past the atoms in the air and reach your eyes - other colors get stopped by said atoms, according to TIckle. LOL. ROFLMAO...) What is YOUR FAVORITE TICKLISM?

When an idea wafts across the mind of a Democrat, he instantly leaps into action with a law or tax incentive to put the idea into action. For example, lets say Democrats want people to install solar power. So they offer a tax incentive - if you install solar power on a new home, you get 5% off the taxes.

But really, the only people who can possibly take advantage of this incentive are rich people who buy expensive houses and can spend extra money on solar panels. You'd think Democrats would say, "Thank you! Good job!"

But no! After creating a zillion tax incentives like that, Democrats scream bloody murder that the rich are "taking advantage of tax loopholes" and avoiding paying their fair share of taxes.

What gives, Democrats? Why do you HATE people for doing EXACTLY what you ask them to do?

I read that nuclear explosions IN SPACE only cause an EMP when they occur within an already existing magnetic field, such as earth's magnetic field. Is this true?

Saw a tv show on how carbon dating works, and it left me scratching my head about something:

I understand that the death of a living organism stops the accretion of carbon-14 (living things take it in through biologic processes like breathing and eating, rather than Carbon-14 infiltrating living things via some osmotic or other non-biologic action). HERE'S WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND: How does death 'cause' carbon-14 to decay? It appears to be an inorganic element and thus should not be "aware" that it resides in a living organism. Yet, when a living organism (man, tree, bacterium) dies, the process of beta decay begins, allowing scientists to date the age of the subject by measuring how much decay has occurred since its death.

How can an inorganic atom determine that it's host is dead, and then begin to decay as a result, thus allowing us to date it (or rather date it's death).

Obviously I'm missing some elemental concept in the science of carbon dating through beta decay, but I can't for the life of me pin it down.