And people wonder why there's so much insecure code out in the wild...

Very smart EE's are the relevant group I happen to have interacted with the most, so that was the example I used. This issue is certainly not specific to them - and not all of them have this particular blind spot, either. A number of our faculty know very well in which areas they are experts and in which areas it makes sense for them to rely on the expertise of others.

Hey, if you were on the undernet back in '96 - I think I know who you are!

Not true. I work with EE faculty, and a number of them can't seem to grasp the concept that the being a brilliant engineer doesn't automatically confer one with expertise in diverse other areas such as patent law, accounting, videography, etc.

This is in China, though, where they still have a bit of a "Wild West" attitude regarding human safety.

I don't believe this is an either/or situation.

I realize there is some translation going on here, and that can sometimes lead to misinterpretation - but in what context can this possibly make any sense? Collecting phone numbers from your address book to see if you're online? Seriously?

Hey now, it's been getting 33-35 miles to the gallon for as long as I've owned it (since around 2001).

My old beater is getting that mileage doing mostly short jaunts around town. The 85 Subaru I had before it performed similarly. You'd think technology should be improving gas mileage; but, as time marches on, I've had a harder and harder time finding similarly-sized newer cars that don't get significantly worse gas mileage. They are rated at about what I quote for highway, but then also get 8-10 mpg less in the city. It's ridiculous.

Oh, wait, this isn't Car Talk...

You sound like you're 85 years old.

But, in any case, you've got to be kidding me. First, that was a very long stretch to go for a vague anti-American rant. Second, the idea that ABS is somehow only necessary because people aren't driving properly is laughable. Third, antilock brakes were invented in Europe.

Finally - how on earth do you mentally link ABS, stability control, and driverless cars together? Did you briefly consider adding windshield wipers to the list? What about kids and their loud music, or giving women the right to vote?

Which automaker is that? I want to be sure to avoid them.

Is it an almost-2-pound tablet, or is it a small light laptop with a crummy keyboard? You decide!

(Yes I have used the keyboard)

It was a Twitter post - so I imagine he spent roughly one second thinking about it before typing that.

But I realize it's hard to not overreact or take stuff like that personally when there are only a half-dozen of you Blackberry users left in the world.

I don't believe this is correct - Major League Baseball is the only American sport with a broad antitrust exemption. Baseball's exemption is considered an "aberration".

The NFL is generally subject to antitrust law.

A lot of pharmacies nowadays use e-scripts, or another internet-based service. My doctor usually submits the prescription while he's still talking to me (person to person), and I can pick it up from the pharmacy on my way home.

I'm more worried about the rectal exam.