I find pairing up to be incredibly efficient. You are more focused, have a pair of eyes looking over an issue together, have more opportunities for learning, knowledge sharing and (something underrated) make mutual decisions on the why's of certain coding methods. This is kinda like having a code review before bad code is written. Or at least if bad code is written, it's not a single person's responsibility (in theory :p) At my current office, I do a lot of pairing sessions. Not necessarily out of habit but whenever we're attempting to solve an issue. I feel that part of the problem when working in team situations is dealing with the decisions people make in coding or attempting to understanding why someone does something a certain way. Even if you have coding standards, structuring code and defining algorithms to handle a solution differ tremendously between people. Adding that second pair of eyes at least help lessen the human failure problems.

pretty much. then again the government is a big fat fraud and the dems getting the seat in office merely proves that it's all a sham. doesn't matter whom you'll vote for because you'll end up having some puppet on stage, feeding you constant streams of lies and signing backdoor deals with his cartel of business crookfriends. the government isn't about helping people; it's about creating stability to maintain itself and it's ideologies for those in power. you're just a consequence, a random variable that happened to occur. and either you support their cartel or you're labeled an enemy of the state. it really is that simple of a dialectic.

mostly. depends on my mood too. generally, i enjoy vocal-less music to concentrate. but sometimes when i'm pumped up or angry, i'll listen to heavy metal, certain types of pop, etc. metal tends to help drown out overly loud coworkers quite nicely.

maybe Google can counter-sue Oracle in having them claim to be a monopoly on the software stack. it's pretty obvious that Oracle has been lining up for years taking over the enterprise. i'm sure even Microsoft will want to jump on the boat for that one. but it's quite clear at this point where Oracle is attempting to assault.

from corporations is free speech? this country gets more messed more by the millisecond.

Well, if you watch enough George Carlin, you'll begin to realize that both parties really are one and the same. Politicians are politicians and they get up into power because they lie. Keep the masses believing in something, keep dangling carrots but make sure you change out the carrot to different flavored cakes to keep them guessing and hoping. The important choices are never given to us. We only get to choose between paper or plastic. And even that part is becoming slowly taken away. The whole system is rigged with untraceable and endless lines of red tape that prop up such a frail thing that manages to work for these crooks. In turn, they keep us fighting over petty issues while they run to the bank and use the money to provide more laws that protect them.

it makes you wonder if Orwell was a prophet or someone attempting to describe what to do for future rulers rather than warning them.

my company, which is a start up, has a nice blend of experienced and young engineers. i think it's a good thing having multiple viewpoints. the experience guys provide the structure and warn of potential problems while the hungry younger programmers take up the hard tasks to push the envelop. i've been in this industry for 13 years and i get emails on a daily basis, sometimes from top ranked firms.
the other thing is that just knowing the latest and greatest tech toys isn't enough, imo. those are just fancy names that recruiters and companies looking to shine like to brag about or capture attention. it's always more important to have a fundamental understanding of software engineering and problem solving. if you have enough fundamentals and are good at solving problems (doesn't have to be abstract even), you can find work anywhere because people will eventually recognize your efforts.

also, attitude really counts for imo 60% of the job. there are two jr level guys we hired at my company. one guy i wanted to give a chance to while the other guy didn't know PHP. the difference was dramatic in that the guy who didn't know PHP (and some other database concepts) took the ball we gave to him and just ran with it while the other guy continually goofs around. more than likely in a few years that guy who was motivated is going to be mentoring his own set of junior engineers because he listens, learns and is constantly trying to improve himself. not to mention he has his fundamentals. but again, it's all about attitude.

i think this isn't totally correct. there's always going to be room for supporting legacy applications that require knowledge of older languages and technologies. that field may narrow as time goes on, but a lot of companies feel the risk of completely replacing core systems is just too high for an easy switch over. not to mention that many of these companies have some non-technological oriented management who do not want to be outshined by some upstart kid (been there, done that). i think software engineering (i.e. coding) will only be a dead-end career for those who choose not to expand their skills. i've met some people who enjoy learning new technologies despite their age. the problem isn't really with their technologies but the attitudes of engineers who become too comfortable with their jobs. i do agree with some posts here where people argue for moving towards management. that's something engineers should ultimately strive for, at least if you have no desire to push your skills. the other thing is that i think that plain old coders are not what's valuable these days. anyone can write some crappy if/else statements that are nested a hundred times. but what really makes a difference is the combination of understanding the limitations and potentials of technology and having a general creative side with a touch of business savvy which can make software engineering a not-so-dead-end career. bottom line is that no matter what, you can just expect to stay employed because you can code and have a long resume. you gotta constantly be hungry (and foolish) to stay on top. decadence is what'll destroy any good thing.

Don't forget that the mythos around Robin Hood was stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

screw youtube. time to look for a non-US affiliated video sharing site run by people again.

because i'll go back to Sprint and get rid of my crappy Android and even crappier AT&T service. don't ever say shit about your customers!

someone should shoot him between the eyes. seriously. die already. no one wants your molecules in existence.

Actually, this is pretty ironic considering that Zuckerberg wants everything to be public. Now, we know the guy has limits.

i don't like the idea of such a tremendous waste of physical space. i think one of the great things about shopping online is not having to deal with rude customers, kids, thrashed up products, parking, etc. also, i just think that these huge warehouse-like stores use up valuable space that could be used for other things.