"They're" should say "Their". I'm usually careful about this sort of thing. D'oh!

Most corporations don't care about GPA, especially once you've got a few years of experience under your belt. Although I did send a CV for a research programmer position at a scientific research company on the east coast. They're first contact with me was to send me a form asking for everything going back to my high school GPA, SAT scores, activities, and college transcripts (undergrad and graduate). This happened about 4-5 years AFTER I received my PHD, with several years of post-graduate research experience. Of course, the initial job ad said they were looking for, "outstanding scientists with world class credentials", so I should've interpreted the use of that language to mean that they were a tad pretentious.

Just hire the computer whiz kid with nothing but a GED and a couple of certs! I'm sure everything will turn out fine!

Better yet, tell them that we need to go to Mars to find Marvin's Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. After all, it is a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) capable of destroying the Earth merely because it's obstructing Marvin's view of Venus.

I think this is clearly a sign that the old "Big Box" stores of the 90s and 00s are on the way out. Best Buy is slowly realizing that they'll never be able to compete with Amazon on price, and they don't want to serve as Amazon's showroom, where customers check out the products and head online to actually buy it. But they realize this trend, and how Apple can have a showroom in their Apple stores, and not care if someone ultimately buys it in the Apple store or on Apple.com (or even an Apple product in Best Buy) -- Apple gets paid either way. So by teaming with Microsoft to get them to put a store inside their store, they get to charge them rent, and Microsoft gets paid whether the customer buys the Microsoft product in the store or later on online. I'd almost expect Best Buy to do this with other companies, like having a Sony Store inside, which would ultimately effectively make Best Buy a "mini-mall" of electronics instead of a stand-alone store competing against amazon and walmart (two companies that are difficult to compete against). Microsoft could be a guinea pig here.

I find that Civ V runs just fine on my MacBook Pro. In fact, I bought Civ V originally on Windows, and Steam let me download the OS X version at no extra cost.

that this could be the work of the GNAA?

I thought we already built a supercomputing replica of a human brain. Unfortunately, the model we used was Sarah Palin's brain. We ended up with an abacus. ;-)

Let's not forget that in Europe, most of the population tends to live in the urban areas. And most European cities have very good public transportation options. Compare that to most major American cities, with a more spread out population and little decent public transportation outside of New York & New England. I'd be very interested to see DUI statistics compared between cities like New York & Boston versus a city without those kinds of subway and bus options.

Not so fast. Said $25 breathalyzers are notorious for being wildly unpredictable and inaccurate. That's what you get for $25. Expect to spend a MINIMUM of $100 for a halfway decent breathalyzer (more like $300 if you want to get closer to "police-grade"). Probably just cheaper not to drink and drive in the first place.

Most states have implied consent laws. This means that by accepting the privilege of driving on their state's roadways, it is implied that you give consent to being tested for alcohol or drugs if a cop asks you to. Yes, you can still refuse. But if you do so, it's an automatic suspension of your license (in Tennessee, it's one year).

What? You mean, that the paper we just submitted to the Journal of Universal Rejection isn't for a real journal? I'm shocked! :-)

I'll still give it a shot, given the fact that the origins of production are getting away from the typical mainstream model that Sci-Fi (excuse me, Syfy) follows. But when I saw "souls hunted", my first thought was, "OMG! More Ghost Hunters garbage!"

Obligatory: "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf**king snakes on this motherf**king plane!"

Seriously, for real. I learned to code on the Apple ][ back in grade school in the early 80s! What in hell are kids learning in school today if we're STILL seeing news stories about kids needing to learn more computer programming?! I mean, this is supposed to be the future, and in two years, Marty McFly is going to be here from 1985 expecting hoverboards and Mr. Fusion!