Get some computers with Notepad++ installed on them and a file that has some various lines of text. Teach them about pattern matching and regular expressions. It doesn't really require any previous knowledge, and it makes you kind of think like a programmer. It's very useful even if you only have a basic knowledge of it, especially when tearing through log files with grep. Some of the students might not find it interesting at all, but I think you'll find that regardless of what you do.

We are calling out every day with both omnidirectional broadcasts and high intensity beams that are aimed at satellites.

How would an alien decode the .jpeg, .bmp, or whatever else we send them. I think we should send a message like in contact. Groups of pulses arranged in prime number sequences. It's distinct, it's easy to decode, and it would be near impossible to be natural.

100 octane. If I ever had a rally car (modified AWD turbo) avgas would be perfect!

Hmm... That is rather interesting. Can you illegally circumvent a digital lock through inaction? By not running this script, or if we remember back to the Sony fiasco, by not running the autoplay root-kit, is that criminal?

Are you supposed to wrap yourself in the chains that bind you?

Shatner, is that you?

I hope i'm not being wooshed here....

Firstly, HTML and javascript are seperate. To use a car analogy, think of a gas can. You have a gas can, and then you have the gas in it. The HTML is just a delivery mechanism and container for the javascript. Both HTML and javascript are based on standards, and there is nothing in either of the standards trying to screw the user out of copy/pasting text.

Go to maps.google.com. Right Click on the map. See how it presents you with a few options? Now, instead of presenting that menu, display nothing, and pop up a ransom box. Delselect text, and bam! done! Do the same for ctrl+c, and you have defeated 95% of the public.

So, this is not a javascript problem or an HTML problem. If this is a problem (I personally don't know), then it it a management being greedy problem.

I also went to a technical college (public). I also did not get laid.

I didn't really learn a whole lot, but it wasn't too expensive. I think it was about 2k per semester. I would bet money that most of the people in that class are not in the field today. They just weren't IT people.

I got super lucky and landed an entry level Help Desk job at a great company. I made 28.5k, plus a 1k non-guaranteed annual bonus. I was 21 and it was way more then I had ever made before, so I was thrilled. Two years later, we were outsourced. Most people lost their job, but I was kept and upgraded to application support. From there, I thought I would become a networking guy, so I got my CCNA. I didn't get into networking.

I stayed there for a bit, and 3 years later the company wanted to replace the application that i was supporting. I knew the most about it, so I became part of the project team. We chose the vender and I started making it all work (with the help of others). Now, it looks like I might become a developer. I now, with the same company, make almost 3 times what I did when I started.

Back to the school. I could not have got my job without the piece of paper. I don't even know where my diploma is now though. The paper may get your foot in the door, but you are on your own from there.

I love my job. I am very fortunate. This is what I do:

Be positive. No one likes a negative nancy.
Be willing. Don't be lazy.
Don't get taken advantage of. Don't be a shit disturber either. Be positive.
Don't blame other people. Just fix problems.
And most importantly, fix problems.

Why did I say that most of my class didn't make it in IT? They weren't problem solvers. Either you are or you aren't. It drives me crazy when I don't 'get' a problem. I obsess over it until either I solve it, or something else makes me forget.

Businesses want someone that 'gets shit done'. Usually, solving problems fits into that category.

You sound motivated, and smart enough to dive in to the details to understand a system. That is what will make or break your career. Get the paper, find an entry level job, fix shit, be positive. It worked for me.

Failure comes as passion goes. Remember that.

There might be one more probe on Mars if you had converted to Metric. Also, many companies like to have measurements in Metric, so that sometimes cases duplicate work.

There are real world costs.

But 240 hp with awd in the snow is freaking awesome!

I am interested in WP8. I'm also interested in what RIM releases for their new phone, eventually.

Why? I don't like Apple because they like to tell me how to use my stuff. Android allows the carriers too much say (updates are delayed or non-existant) and has fragmentation issues. So, I'm really interested to see what MS and RIM can bring to the table.

As for the fashion comment... I doubt many here know what is cool and what is not. We don't care. We like functionality above coolness.

I see what you are saying, and that could definitely work. It's still after the fact though. What could you do with the data once you have it? You could flag the account, but then what? Make the bus driver confront them next time they try board a bus. Wait until a fare inspector wanders across them and then catch them? All for a $200 fine(or whatever it is)?

They decided to cheap out and not have every device network enabled. That was a business decision. I would hope that the possibility of ticket fraud was discussed, and the risk of that was weighed against the cost of network enabling every ticket taker thing.

No problem at all. You have a real card that has a positive balance. The fare inspector would read the card, the card would return information (presumably UID, Balance, Time of last use, and location of last use). All this information would be valid and would appear no different.

I believe that you use the NFC chip on the phone to program the card. The story speaks of efuses that aren't being used, so that would support that the phone programs the card.

It's not the data processing, it's the data collection. How are you going to collect the data from presumably non-networked devices in a timely enough manner that you can use that data for card authentication?