This thread has been an enlightening read. I previously thought under-commented code (and comment-free code more so) was purely down to laziness.

But seeing people describing why they don't write comments on code, now I know better. It isn't always laziness, it's sometimes an egotistical and delusional belief in their own godlike programming abilities, coupled with a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of programming.

Programming isn't 'just to make the machine do something'. The purpose is to produce code that allows yourself AND FUTURE OTHERS to make the machine do something - not necessarily exactly what you first intended it to do.
Given that in any code of real-world size and complexity there are _always_ degrees of subtlety that are not immediately apparent on reading the raw code, thinking it's acceptable to leave out documentation of INTENT is just delusional.

One thing such a 'comments are pointless' outlook reveals, is that the person is too young to have ever had to go back and deal with large amounts of their own complex code from a decade or more ago.

Exactly! Comments are to explain motivations, overviews, summaries, and generally the thinking behind the code. Also notes about why code was changed and when, bugs found and not-yet found, things remaining to be done, and so on. I once ported the old 3Dfx 3D drivers (Glide) from a PC platform to a MIPS processor embedded platform. The Glide source code we received was a CD full. Hundreds of files, a ghastly complicated build tree, huge dependency mash... There wasn't one single line of comment anywhere in the entire code or build set. And I was just learning about 3D techniques. Got it working, but Oh! The cursing! I could see what it was doing, but whyyyyy?!

It's amazing, how doggedly the existing 'outgassing icy comets' paradigm hangs on despite so much contrary evidence.

How can anyone look at those pictures, and NOT recognize corona point discharges? Sigh. I suppose most people have never worked with high voltage systems, especially in vacuum, so they have an excuse. But still, NASA... it's really sad.

If you have no idea what this is about, google 'Electric Universe'.

After five more bionic arm patients die in exactly the same way in about the same spot, they'll figure it out. That's just out of range of the last cell phone tower on that road, and his mobile tried to poll for a new tower, at max RF power output. Which glitched his arms. Brrrpt brrr brrrt brrt brrtbrtbrt your dead... Or.... he was driving a Toyota Prius, and there was a software interfacing problem.

This! Skimming through n pages of superficial joking and poor reasoning abilities, regarding one of the potentially most critical environmental problems today, and this was the ONLY comment pointing out the blinding obvious. Finding the virus and fungal types present in the dead bees does NOT prove they were the cause of death. It just proves sick bees get sicker. One bee keeper also points out that CCD is likely a result of multiple factors, from the set of hive maltreatment, GM crops producing pesticides (and/or all the other subtly off metabolites typical of GM organisms), radio spectrum pollution, infection with foreign parasites, monoculture diets, etc. Meanwhile all you supposedly smart tech types are making fart jokes - metaphorically speaking. So it turns out persons involved in this study (that makes no mention of control groups) have links to the companies producing pesticides? What a surprise. The only thing that does surprise me, is that we haven't yet seen studies demonstrating that 911 truthers, marijuana, and illegal music downloads are causing CCD. Enjoy your future food rationing.

A web interface, a sensible OS, scriptable application code, and a few security holes. Endless potential for laughs. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for a back scratching AI. Never mind chatting through a terminal Mr Turing, when I can't tell if it's a machine or human giving me a back scratch, I'll accept that AI is really here.

Absolutely! When I was about 12 I made myself a 'scope' from an old valve TV set. Sweep speed was either the TV line or vertical rate, and an op-amp on veroboard provided the single input drive to the other deflection coil. Can't recall if it was a 709 or the newfangled 741. Worked fine. Of course triggering was a bit iffy (well non-existant really), and I don't think I could even spell caliba... calibrak... er, that at the time. Did you know that a CRT electron beam could bore a hole in the glass, if you left it in one spot? It's these little details that separate the real EEs from the wannabees. But seriously, on scopes, the answer is 'it depends what you really need'. Just a few comments: * First starting out, why buy new when you can get great used test gear for very little cost on ebay and surplus shops? * For old analog scopes, I love the Tek 7000 modular range of mainframes and plugins. So flexible, and the ergonomics of the controls is beautiful. * The best thing about Tek & HP gear of that vintage, is you can get the full op & service manuals (including theory of operation and calibration proceedures) in either original paper (beautiful foldout schematics!) or on CD. Try getting full schematics for contemporary test gear - good luck! Having a real service manual, and dirt cheap 'spares units' available means you can fix the things yourself, ie not for untenable costs from HP/Tek service centers. This goes for all sorts of test gear, not just scopes. * Otoh, nothing old is going to be able to interface to PCs, for storing waveforms, etc. Consequently, one also needs some newer digital scope. But still 2nd hand/ebay, etc. Doesn't hurt to have several scopes anyway. Especially when you need to fix one scope. I've a simple old Trio 100MHz and a HP 54121T 50GHz DSO/TDR on my workbench, one Tek 7000 series rackmounted scope in each of several equipment racks, a Tek 465 on a trolley, and an assortment of others shelved. * One thing about LCD screen DSOs, I don't think anyone else here has mentioned. Beware the EMI from the LCD backlight inverter and fluro tube. This really surprised me when I discovered it with a Tek DSO at work. Can't recall what model it was, but was brand new around 2004-ish. Working on a circuit with millivolt signals, noticed an excessive amount of noise being picked up from somewhere. Turned out the scope itself was radiating! Holding a bare probe tip near the edge of the screen or plastic case nearby, was worse than the flyback EMI from a glass CRT - but at the backlight inverter frequency. Note to self - never use a backlit LCD scope with a plastic case.