I'm more interested in some of the back end stuff they put together to make this happen. We know that Alibaba is based on php, presumably 7.x. They're probably on an A3 bucket or some kind of containerization and load balancing. I would love to know more about this, so I could nerd out on their specs.

Office is written almost entirely in .net these days. There would probably be some work to get it ported over, but it's probably not a deal breaker. I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already done it in their downtime. What strategic objective does a Microsoft Linux accomplish though?

You know, I'm glad that the ongoing coup and correction at Microsoft is going swimmingly, but some things never seem to change about this company. For example, the whole idea that anyone wants to use their re-purposed version of Chrome to begin with. I mean, don't get me wrong. Edge is a very capable browser. When I install a windows system, it's the only thing I trust to download Chrome and Firefox. Then, unless it's by accident, I never really think about it again. And the only reason that makes any sense at all is because there isn't a package manager for windows to speak of. Even now, at the end of 2019.

We've known pretty much from the beginning that this whole campaign was designed to spur regulation on e-cigarettes, prompting bans, promoting false or unproven arguments about flavored liquids and children. And I think that will continue. The perverse incentives here on the part of government and advocacy groups is just too much for it not to end. But I wonder how you spin this particular report and set of findings in a way that'll keep boomers consuming traditional tobacco products that are clinically proven to be a lot more dangerous. Guess we'll find out.

You know, I get the feeling that you're quite satisfied about how novel you think that joke was.

It takes a lot to be professional gamer, and it's not the kind of thing everybody's meant to do. If my kid is going to tournaments, and winning, I'll support her in it. For my kid, it's not a great leap of the imagination that she would try to do such a thing eventually. I don't think my plans would change a lot. As it is, I'm trying to guide her into a technical engineering career. She's got the head and artistic sense for it. If gaming is what she wants to do, and she's any good at it, yeah. I'll be a good supportive mom. But my hope is that she would also end up with other useful skills, like coding and computational theory. Life is funny that way. You can never know too much.

Way to show off the toxic masculinity.

I've run into a few. They're almost always narcissists. I'm talented at getting on their good sides, but it's just not possible to keep that kind of thing up forever. Considering the sheer number of jobs and places I've worked over the years, I think only running into a handful of bullies is good.

If I can't buy my cocaine there, what's the point?

Why do we need this? There are already digital currencies out there. From Bitcoin to Dingodollars, the 'you need to look at this seriously before people use something like to avoid sanctions' ship has sailed. If that's the objective, they're about 10 years too late.

Fantastic rant, sir. This is a great example of why respecting someone's chosen pronouns is important.

Awesome. As a stackoverflow user, I really appreciate that you're doing this voluntarily. Stack Overflow is no place for fascists, bigots, or white supremacists. Good luck on your travels.

Using the correct pronouns for people is not unreasonable, it's not negotiable, and our friends at stackoverflow are wise for banning mods that want to pick and choose what pronouns they're comfortable with. If you misgender someone's dog, you circle back and correct yourself quickly the moment you're made aware of your mistake. But with people, it's a debate. Something talk about. No, it's not. All anyone's asking for here, is to be as considerate of other human beings as you would be of someone's pets. This shouldn't be a debate. Even talking about this as though it's somehow optional is demeaning.

I think it all depends on you see the world and your place within it. I see the world as chaotic and myself as an agent of change. Control is nice to have, but wholly unnecessary. At least for me.

Not disputing the concept of a social credit system being in the works. But, the examples noted in this piece don't really point in that direction. There's a huge difference between being banned on whatsapp for being a nuisance, and being denied the ability to step on an airplane because of your political views and sympathies.

Then, making the additional step saying that it'll be used as an extrajudicial tool, in America, while terrifying, is pure conjecture. Again, even if all of the examples were proof of something, there's no evidence at all that any of it is tied together.

Now if we could prove that you can't get a room on Airbnb because you spread nazi propaganda on Whatsapp, or that it's all tied into your social media and financial history, that's an entirely different thing.

We're just not there.