Curious timing! I was literally just trying to explain the Transatlantic accent to someone over the phone, which is quite difficult since I can't reproduce it, and "a combination of Pacific Northwestern and British" isn't enough for them!

It's amazing and fascinating seeing the weathering and scarring on whales' skins. It's like reading the oceans' version of cave writings.

I'd rather we be able to enjoy (or endure) the world as it is in some respects.

I like broccoli and I dislike tomatoes, but on occasion I'll pass up the broccoli in favor of those bright red, explosive balls of slime to remind myself that everything balances beautifully.

What good is the good in life if you never have to put up with any bad?

Compassion for a robot is no different than compassion for a pet rock. The only personality or life in it is put there by the designer or owner.

@Chris said:

Being a human has nothing to do with it. If a stick asked me not to break it, of course I wouldn't. Anything with sentience deserves respect.

But switching off a robot that is programmed to tell you to leave it powered is equivalent to tearing a piece of paper on which someone has written "do not tear." The robot has no intelligence or sentience, it is merely reflecting the intelligence and sentience in the programmer. Burning a book is a disgrace not because it disrespects the paper, glue, and ink, but because it disrespects the author.

I don't know who Microsoft handed their marketing to, but they're finally doing a better job than Apple.

I'm still going to stick with Chrome because it's faster, but a lot of people don't realize that IE 9 and 10 are both faster and more secure than Firefox or Safari. Just ask DEFCON CTF entrants.

This made me laugh, and I'm from Seattle.

And once again we enter the realm in which scientists' understanding of mathematics prompts them to defenestrate logic.

"And this one file format did more harm to the collective intelligence and creativity of the internet than anything else. The End."

Nice and quiet.

Too... much... whimsy...!

But in all honesty, that was very well explained, and this decade really could do with a lot less whimsy.

I can enjoy whimsy with the best of them, but these past five years have been downright insufferable!

Can we back off of the quaintly humorous charm for a while?

How long does Disney have before they go completely off the rails?

What ambitions run through your head when your company owns eighty percent of the entertainment market worldwide?

This is written with a wry grin, but it's not entirely in jest.

Impractical, and probably damaging to the surface.

Most creationists, myself included, hold the scientific method in the highest regard. We simply believe that a good deal of evidence has been misinterpreted, misconstrued, and occasionally even fabricated.

Any "religious" person who denies the value of honest science is a fool.

EDIT: After watching the video, I see a brilliant man speaking for two and a half minutes, and saying nothing at all.

I see a chimpanzee that understands that a broken rock is sharper than a smooth, unbroken rock.

I'm neither impressed nor unimpressed.

@Rallier said:

@mlarrabee: Disney i assume since their name is on the ipad version of the incredible machine.

I assumed they were just the producers but apparently they developed it as well, so they obviously must own the IP.

On a side note, Casey's Contraptions was produced by Snappy Touch, but developed by Mystery Coconut. I don't know if MC's sales were big enough for Disney to bother pursuing IP infringement. Rovio, on the other hand...

Man, mobile game development lends itself to bizarre company names.

So Rovio is re-releasing a purchased IP, Casey's Contraptions, which is a clone of The Incredible Machine.

A little research shows that the Incredible Machine IP started under Jeff Tunnell Productions. Jeff Tunnell went on to found PushButton Labs, who purchased the IP in 2009, but is now defunct. Does anyone know who owns the license now? If it isn't Snappy Touch (the creator and prior owner of Casey's Contraptions), they should definitely lay claim.

I really appreciate the advice! I'm in a position where I can reformat, reinstall, and restore from Time Machine whenever I like without being at a loss for a computer, so I'll give it a shot tonight.

Thanks again!