Agreed. I've been writing software for 32 years, and "We've completely changed your requirements, but that shouldn't affect your schedule or your budget any!" happens all the time. The point is, you have to push back. Tell them exactly what every change is going to cost (padded heavily). Unless they agree to add time and money to the project, then just deliver the originally agreed to project. Don't let people make unilateral changes in the contract after it is signed, unless you actually like working on money-losing projects!

You can automate backing up to the cloud. Much more difficult to automate rotating media through a safe deposit box. Unless you're driving to the bank every day for deposits anyway, I suspect the safe deposit box is not going to get refreshed as often as it should.

He meant that they are commonly referred to as "safe deposit box", not "safety deposit box". However, since we all know what he is talking about, who cares?

it makes sense for everyone to try to develop a better battery. societies are trying to and wants to switch from chemical power generation to solar generation which currently has the issue of needing costly batteries. if nothing else, it's a growth market.

How long does the tape media last until it deteriorates to the point where it becomes unreadable?

String theory probably is incorrect, the question is, is it _provably_ incorrect? Come up with a proof that the math is flawed, and you will have greatly advanced the state of the art of physics. Come out with an unsubstantiated rant like the above, and you've accomplished nothing.

who would work for the government if they didn't have to work at all?

governments/TPTB are becoming increasingly concerned that the average citizen could get pissed off and instead of being powerless (as they have been for centuries), they may actually be capable of doing something. In this case it's criminals getting guns with nefarious intent but honestly, this is the tip of the iceberg. We are nearing the tipping point between the people being dependant on governments and companies for things like food and electricity and being self-sufficient. The prospect of "we don't need you anymore" should scare them too because it's when the current social organizational system will start breaking down. It might take a few decades but thanks to affordable automation and openly shared progress, people will start dropping off the grid in droves, not because they can but because it's easy.

Lower prices at what cost? It appears their business model is based on not paying taxes licensing fees and not paying for commercial insurance. Lower cost due to an unfair competitive advantage gained by being scofflaws... is that the kind of business model we want to encourage?

If they accept cash, they're pretty much guaranteed the uber "drivers" are going to lie about the actual distance and short them on their percentage, so it's not much of a revenue stream. I'll bet they are amazed how many of the rides they arrange only travel a single block...

Because it's a bad language that teaches people bad habits. On the bright side, you used to be able to write programs in it on a $99 Timex Sinclair, which was a pretty low barrier to entry.

I haven't used this personally, but: http://sourceforge.net/project...

nobody cares about what one guy does.

Question 1) are you taking them for granted? --> Yes - oh no, they are leaving soon!
  |
No - goto Question 1

No, valuing gender above talent is by definition discrimination. The whole point is to be gender-blind in valuing talent. You don't do that by eliminating negotiation, you do that by figuring out WHY women don't to as well in negotiation, then restructuring the negotiation process to eliminate that disadvantage.