> It proves that if you can give a corporation tax breaks and throw off the shackles of regulation, they will do better and want to hire more people. Oh...wait.

I was actually doing an Excel thingy the other day, simply looking at how company profits actually relate to employment. This information is freely available from companies' annual reports. For example:

Woolworths Limited (annual reports) graph: http://i.imgur.com/iNagiLN.gif

For companies like Woolworths, whose operations are fairly labour-intensive, profits do relate to employment though, as you can see, profits rise far more quickly than employment does.

Then take Comm Bank (I'm Australian): (annual Reports) graph: http://i.imgur.com/w6orwfi.gif

For Comm Bank, profits rise confidently, however the effect on employment is comparatively modest. Employment even drops for a period. Over the long term, the relationship between profit and employment is minor.

From the few I looked at, profits of major companies rise far more sharply than does employment, and sometimes there is little relation at all. I imagine there is a closer relationship between profit and employment in small to medium businesses. IMO, large companies should be more highly regulated (also so they can't off-shore their tax) while small-medium businesses are the ones who should be encouraged more.

True. I bought a HP 8510p, 5 years ago, and it's still my main work laptop. As a web developer, I use Visual Studio, Photoshop, etc. and have SQL Server, IIS and a bunch of dev tools running continually. It also plays Dishonored and Metro Last Light reasonably well. Amazing little machine, easy to open up and maintain. Not a single dead pixel, not single failed part. The only down-side is a limit of 4GB RAM, but even that's not too much of an issue.. on XP. :)

It was probably one of the first "good enough" laptops that didn't need to be discarded for something faster, but it also happened to never break down (crazily easy to open up and de-dust). My deep satisfaction, however, doesn't make a computer manufacturer any money. Which is another reason for pushing tablets and "laptop-replacements" like the Surface Pro - they're an emerging tech, which means the good-old, lucrative "upgrade cycle" starts all over again for these companies.

You forgot to mention the ever so popular UI changes to Visual Studio 2012/13. An utter UI train-wreck from MS, far worse in implication than Metro, as it is serious productivity s/ware used by Windows developers. And they haven't even backed down from using all-CAPS in the menus.

But none of the people who see you in the pub are the same who see you in a shop and the same who see you walking down any other street every day. There's a BIG difference between being "in public" - where nobody knows you beyond the immediate space - and your life "being public knowledge", which is what it would be if everyone knew all your movements throughout the city.

Comparing public surveillance to "being in public" is a false equivalence. They're nothing like each other.

I thought his/her point was valid - they are all government. If someone says "I mistrust government", do you expect them to make an exception for certain departments? If so, then they wouldn't just say "I don't trust government". His/her point was that many people in the US distrust government. So whether it's NASA or the IRS, *they don't trust government*.

It's a fair enough statement, because, you know, it's true. There are lots of people out there like that.

I turned into a freelance developer, as I really enjoy this part. Communicating ideas - the exchange between a client's broad scope ideas and my down-on-the-ground detail never fails to: a) enlighten us both about the other's domain of thought, b) give rise to new ideas - things they hadn't considered, and things I hadn't considered.

The I go away and code, but what keeps the satisfaction up on both sides is a constant level of communication. The more you update the client, even if it's little things, the more they appreciate the work you're doing. I feel that something is lost when the client and the developer are two separate silos, neither really understanding the other. In my experience, the client always gets something out of my technical approach, as I do from seeing my stuff help them do what they want to do.

Greetings friend, I'm from Australia. Please, tell me more about this distant land where people can buy a house - an actual house, you say? - for just $400k, and where electronic devices, digital media and movie tickets are available at reasonable prices. :(

Looking at a slightly larger picture - if your head injury treatment and rehabilitation is covered by public health care, you also have a social responsibility to minimise the chance of being an unnecessary burden on the public system. Which means, among other things, wearing a helmet while cycling.

Agreed, however he didn't mean don't kill - he just suggested taking a moment first. Maybe a cup of tea and a quiet sit down somewhere nice, and smile when someone walks by, it's good for the soul.

"Crucifixion? Very good; one cross each, line on the left."

You're not alone. I'd recommend PaleMoon, it's based on Firefox but the devs seem more sane. It even has a 64-bit version. Better than SeaMonkey IMO. I've used FF since v1, this is the first time I'm seriously moving to something else, in this case PaleMoon, because they seem to be focussed on what users originally came to Firefox for in the first place.

As are many others, you're not alone. I'd recommend PaleMoon then, it's based on Firefox but the devs seem more sane. It even has a 64-bit version. Better than SeaMonkey IMO.

Give PaleMoon a try, it's based on Firefox but the devs seem more sane. It even has a 64-bit version. Better than SeaMonkey IMO.

Yes it can.. update to PaleMoon. :) It's based on Firefox, but the devs seem more sane. It even has a 64-bit version.

As opposed to OpenSSL you mean?

I think that describes the entirely of modern capitalism in a nutshell.