Professional data recovery services are expensive. I've used Drive Savers a couple of times. Costs run from $400 to $2,500 or thereabouts, depending on how much they recover. There may be no charge if they can't get anything. Problem is, they end up dismantling it in a clean room facility and copying it bit for bit to another drive.

If you've got a lot of nerve, you can download Seagate's diagnostic software, or Hirens boot CD and see if it's just a corrupted driver. But odds are, if the drive has failed, the more you mess around with it, the more you'll mess it up.

Could we get people to sign a binding agreement that they agreed NEVER to get any serious and complicated illness that would require more funds than they had available? No one except the extremely wealthy could ever get cancer or other dread disease, because no one could make such an agreement. If someone who chose not to have coverage did get (for example) cancer and required years of treatment, the health care system could turn them away because they had no way to pay for it? You think that would happen? Don't misunderstand ... I don't wish that on anyone, but I see nothing wrong with requiring people to provide some level of cost coverage for them and their dependents instead of continuing to expect "the system" to provide it at no charge to them. Oooooo .... that almost sounds Republican! It's so confusing.

But doesn't matter, I guess. Supreme Court upheld the Act.

Dave,

It may be overstretched but let's take a couple of steps back & ask why are the poor, poor? Usually, it's because they're out of work. We've been at double-digit unemployment now for a number of years. Trust me. I know. It hasn't been this bad since the Great Depression and in fact, on a per capita basis it's worse.

This is simple supply side economics. When Carter, Reagan & Bush all cut the capital gains tax, the money in the federal coffers increased. Reagan literally double the numbers during his tenure. When he took office, there was ~$400 trillion in federal monies. When he left, it was ~$900, yet he's blamed for one of the worst deficits in history.

A lot of people seem to forget that we had a democratically controlled congress that was spending money faster than it was being collected.

This is simple math which is lost on people that can't balance their own checkbooks. If the goverment has to raise $100 in tax from 100 people, each pays $1.00. Cut the jobs in half & now the remaining 50 pay $2.00. Keep doing this until there's one person left with a job & that individual pays the whole $100 in taxes to support the remaining 99.

What's ironic is that with all the "rich-don't-pay-their-fair-share" rhetoric, the remaining 99 aren't resentful that they no longer have jobs. They're resentful the the one person who can pay does!

Suppose I'm a 1%er who has millions to spend on business expansion that could create jobs. These new employees will pay taxes on their wages which will help offset the capital gains cuts. More importantly, it will give them disposable income to spend on goods & services from other companies who in turn, will need to hire more employees, etc, etc.

Now if I have this money to spend during an administration that imposes stifling tax restrictions on me (literally penalizing me for growth), what do I do? Should I go ahead & make the expansion and cross my fingers? Or, should I ship the money to the Caymen Islands waiting either to retire or be able to turn around without finding Big Brother's hand in my back pocket YET AGAIN?

Some what puzzled on what is taken from someone who
hasn't any thing to be taken. I was wondering on the idea
that Obama has that the rich aren't paying their fair share
of taxes. I'm 65 years old, i've been working ever sense
I was 16. Every one of whom I've worked for were always
richer then me and I was told that the rich will always hire
some one for less then what he him self makes.
Now back to the idea that the rich ought to pay more, let
me put out this question and ask for a honest answer, if
the rich 1% of this country where to give every thing that
they own to our goverment come Monday, would you honestly
said that by the end of this year or the next 5 years that there
still wouldn't be some one complaining that some one else isn't
paying their fair share. HONESTLY

I have made my neighbour sound like a monster. He is a nice guy and an animal lover. He keeps dogs but they are for his work but he loves my dog and I keep seeing him making a fuss of our cats through the window.

He is humain and keeps within the law with licences galore for this and that. The RSPCA (Royal society for the prevention of cruilty to animals) keep calling in on him and can't pick faults with how he works.

I have even helped him with the odd thing and he does not do it for sport. The trouble is he knows I can shoot a photo he has seen my work many times and even helped me a on shoots a few times. I have done photography for him (all free, thats the way we work). He knows im not that squeemish too.

Its just that bit too far over the line for my liking. I will do it though. He can count on me as I can count on him if I need help but I will hate every second and remember it, probably for the rest of my life.

Heard about those frost heaves. They say by the later summer you can see the black tire marks for many yards after the heave from vehicles landing after having been airborne. I will for sure check out the teleconverter. Thanks.