Who's 'they? Assuming girls, you can like it or not, but good luck changing things. The sexual interest is most certainly not moment to moment - they decide you're interesting in a sexual dimension or not. Once you're in the 'not' bucket (aka friend zone), good luck getting out of it. She may not decide to pursue anything, but you have to be a potential first if you want a decent chance at sex. Whether you decide to pursue longer term stuff is a separate matter.

And yeah, girls go for confident people in general, which means assholes have an advantage, at least short term. Me, I'm finding that having fun and not worrying about specific girls attracts more girls than focusing on someone specific.

Now, some specific advice: find what makes you drool (aside from girls), be it, own it, make it work. Go to the gym, get in shape, wear clothes that look good on you and make you feel comfortable. When you see someone that interests you, approach them, talk to them, and find out what they have to offer. If that makes you nervous, talk to more girls with no particular goal in mind and get used to doing that. If she isn't interested, move on.

A good footnote to this: get good at gauging interest and nonverbal cues so you don't waste time on someone that just doesn't care. There are lots of girls out there, so don't worry so much.

ooh, she's like a real GF, only cheaper.

When they say that they think of you as a friend, that's just code for "I don't like you that way". Of course they want to be friends with their lover, but the sexual interest has to be there first. I see people who started as friends, but they were never 'friends', so to speak. I suppose if you start out as just friends and the guy doesn't go for it immediately, then the girl might start to develop feelings and go after the guy. Who knows? It's all speculation, and I just run experiments all day. I'm not inclined to get too rigorous, though - when I find the right mate, I'm inclined to stop experimenting.

What amuses me is the progression from AFC to smooth operator - basically, girls demand a certain pattern of behavior, guys learn the pattern, start getting lots of attention, and then the girls (who would've ignored said operator if he wasn't so smooth) chase the guy, while the guy notices all the attention and take full advantage. Then girls wonder why it's hard to find a good man.

Bullshit. Every time I try to get to know someone before seducing them, I get friend zoned. Maybe the country is just fucked, but acting like a dick and not being terribly sensitive or at all invested in the girl is a great way to make her work to get you. I don't like it, but do what works is what I say.

That's easy - some choice responses are "cool, I like roleplaying, and that's pretty kinky" (too much), "yeah, but I don't want to bend my sister over a table" (still a bit much), or "I'm more like your brother's hot friend" (better). Go on, what have you got to lose?

Hit on different women, get used to talking to women without expectations and just be funny/engaging. If you're actually into the women you go for, when she says too old/too smart/etc. that just means try a bit more (just don't go too far, and by doing, you learn where that is). Some mutual interest is fine, and don't be afraid to be a total geek - lots of girls out here like that.

One thing that really helps: learn to dance, get some rhythm, and get in better shape. Most women like a nice ass just as much as we do.

And how long has winmo been able to run apps? They're only doing it after apple and steam have been there for years. I still want to see if it's any good.

CS doesn't change quickly, at least the stuff in undergrad - hashtables are hashtables, after all. You could probably teach the majority of the CS curriculum with a copy of knuth and some supplemental stuff for networks, DBs, and OS/compiler constructs.

They were doing activity based computing with a glimmer of the current environment (no-brainer storage of documents and no filesystem) in 1998. They could've been doing this stuff in 2002 if they were any good.

The difference as I see it is that MS wouldn't build an app store - they'd go with what some faceless VP wanted and screw the pooch - again.

Linux is an OS - get over yourself. You do make a good point, though (in spite of yourself)

The Jocks get the pussy, so yes they are the fittest, and so long as they continue getting laid, why change? The nerds and geeks around here (seattle) do pretty well for them selves, but the secret is this: own yourself and don't take any shit and be attractive - you will get some too. You don't have to be a jock or a meathead, but it helps to be in decent shape and have some physical skill (unless you like disappointing your sackmates).

All that pretend crap you're talking about is just getting in the way - bail on it, find what makes you happy and just TALK TO THEM LIKE THEY'RE NORMAL.

you misspelled ipod. Itunes is awful and put me off of apple stuff for years. It's heavy handed and buggy, and really the worst thing about my mac experience.

I have dropbox, so floppies are pointless. I get 2G of storage for free that's backed up and ubiquitous.

I'd say it's largely academic, as you can buy or build them and it's not a subject of debate/panic.And now, a link.