For me, I started with RedHat 6.2, dual-booting it with a Windows 98 machine... then tried other distros (including one called Caldera) before going with Mandrake. After a while, I got side-tracked... and then started to work on trying to set up an older home machine as a server, and worked with DSL and Zenwalk before getting side-tracked again... then when I got an older laptop from my father-in-law, started using Ubuntu, especially when it just worked without getting too bogged down with eye candy. That was followed up with Linux Mint, which now shares space on my laptop with Windows 7, while another laptop has version 1 of Peppermint Linux (it works, so what the hey?) and serves as a file server and alarm clock. I have different distros burned onto flash drives, and hope to have more soon. This is probably an indication that I am all over the map - so if you can find a pattern out of all of this, congratulations!

Well said. There are many who believe that "moderation is an admirable virtue - in other people."

Many of these people claim to be experts, and in some cases even "rockstars" and "coding ninjas".

I have yet to meet anyone who actually writes code for a living who refers to themselves in these terms. Usually, I hear it from body shop recruiters or dotcom promoters (e.g "we're looking for a rockstar")...

"Rock star" - someone who makes a lot of money by doing something brilliant in the limelight for two hours... and only every other day at that.

... that hopefully haven't already been done to death:

• "The Jigsaw Man" by Larry Niven
• The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner
• "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (from The Martian Chronicles)
• The White Plague by Frank Herbert

Now, now - I found it quite useful for balancing my washing machine.

I agree. When I went from a midwestern town to visit New York City, I discovered two ways to tell a visitor from a local: (1) If they actually pay attention to a traffic light, they're most likely visiting; and (2) if they're not rubbing their necks from looking up at the buildings, they're probably local...

Civil disobedience sends a message to the leadership, and is often a messy business involving personal sacrifice. I don't think the folks of anonymous have the stomach for that sort of commitment.

Well said, sir/madam! Additionally, if they are anonymous to prevent retaliation, then they can be anonymous for receiving plaudits. They can't have it both ways.

I find that hard rock, which I love to listen to in the car, tends to distract me more in the office... I have to fight the tendency to sing along. Then I discovered ambient music, and for those workplaces that have the bandwidth available for streaming music, I find that there are Shoutcast streams that work very nicely for me. And if not, I can always break out my Gregorian chant CD's.

Well, this was cyclic, but then it wasn't for a while....

... are just the thing for rabid technophiles!

Revocation of /. membership? Certainly loss of geek card.

Now, now - that's just mean.

I agree with this to a point. I consider it dirty politics and voter deception, but not necessarily fraud.

It does, however, smack of some of the more egregious examples of cybersquatting, which I dislike on general principles - politics or not.

The conclusion, though, follows - if this is your campaign's example of ethical behavior, then you've just given me an excellent example to vote for someone else.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but yes.

I mean, the science on many of the stories in this universe is a little sketchy at times, but I can only paraphrase Napoleon from Time Bandits: "That's what I like... big robots blowing up!"

Or read "The Mouse That Roared" by Leonard Wibberley.

Q: Why does PETA get more upset about fur than about leather?
A: Because little old ladies make safer targets than biker gangs.