Michigan is next door to Minnesota? Check a map...

I don't think that your definition of "easy" is the same as mine. I've worked with all kinds of operating systems, hardware, software, and so on. I've read TLDP while deciding how I wanted to configure the multitudes of flags for a new kernel on my Slackware box (Pentium MMX FTW!). I'm not afraid of trying new stuff or reading documentation to get it done. I've used PGP(GPG) and I'd say it's far from easy. I understand PKI principles on a superficial level, but to use PGP hasn't ever been intuitive to me.

It's probably safe to say that a great number of people reading this post have had to field telephoned questions from relatives who didn't know how to download and install a Windows application. And you're telling me that PGP is easy? In the few cases I've used it, I've also had to give my colleagues or business partners tutorials on how to read or compose emails with it, because I'm the techie-guy, not them. And because of the high bar, there were very few people in personal or professional circles who could receive such a message.

HTTPS is relatively easy to implement for administrators and it's transparent to most users, requiring little additional knowledge. I really do welcome the day when a PGP-like product is that easy to use.

If you're conquering the challenge for the short-term, you're doing it for all the wrong reasons.

I think you're overlooking the fact that a coder who wins the contest gets something far more valuable: a demonstrable proof of one's mettle and a fairly admirable accomplishment that can only pay dividends for years to come when they're hired by a company who pays them what they're really worth.

From TFA:

I was pretty sure what I'd find in the comments here, and I wasn't disappointed.

Haters gonna hate....

I'd have thought a more relevant question would be "How old were you when you first got tired of people asking you about corners?"

It's offtopic, and all that, but... a friendly note to say that if you took some time to format your posts into paragraphs, it's much more likely that someone would read it.

A quick glance shows that you've put some time time and thought into your post, which everyone can appreciate. But at the present time, its composition looks a lot like the emails I get from my mother: one long stream of consciousness with no breaks or separation of thoughts/ideas.

Don't be hating, mods. Just trying to help a fellow out.

I refute the claims by Wickramasinghe due to the fact that his name is an anagram for Kiwi Ashcan Germ.

Q.E.D.

Maybe "Liberty" is the stage name of the TSA agent. Like a stripper named "Chastity".

Being a responsible parent and allowing a child some brief app time don't have to be mutually exclusive, does it? What if you want a simple tool to help you keep your child entertained for a brief amount of time?

Real-world example: the other day I had my 2yr old with me while we went Christmas shopping. I found myself in an unavoidably long line, with him in the cart. I pulled out my phone which had installed on it a simple drawing/painting app. Each new "touch" would choose a random color from a preset palette, and he could drag his finger on the screen to draw lines, circles, or whatever. I then took a photo of him, and he could draw on that as well. We played together on it for maybe 5 minutes, which was really all I needed so we both didn't drive each other a bit crazy while waiting in line.

I don't really see anything wrong with this, and I suspect you wouldn't either -- but I could be wrong. And maybe that's not what the original question was about, but just my $0.02USD.

Of course, there was some other distracting lyrics about another woman named Elvira, too.

(if you didn't have to see the video to get that joke, you're getting gray like me!)

As a USAian of midwestern extraction and mixed Scandinavian heritage, we enjoy our "Sven & Ole" (and sometimes Lena) jokes. I was most impressed by eldavojohn's shibboleth, "oofta" (though more usually spelled uff-da). eldavojohn, where are you from? Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan's U.P.? :)

On the other hand, if you want to really weird someone out, stare at one of their ears when speaking to them. They may start moving laterally to move their face to be centered on your gaze. Most amusing when done with people you already know, just to mess with them. ;)