I had planned a game night with friends I had not seen in a while, last Friday night. I was looking forward to seeing them and even talked about it with one of those friends two days before the game night. But on the evening in question I was programming so obsessively that I completely forgot it. Only remembered the next Saturday morning. So I guess I am a passionate programmer. Still not happy about it.

In some more than in others. ;)

In some more than in others.

And they will use a proxy, and everything will be as it was. Just as with non-international television streaming and just as with the nationwide piratebay-block.

Make sure not to mistake 'technologies' for 'programming languages'. For now, I would say programming on mobile devices. Now that many people have mobile phones with apps and all that, and tablets becoming fairly popular. Learn what has to be taken into account with mobile device architectures, and learn the languages used to program on them.

Perhaps you are aware that the kama sutra is mainly a guide on how men and women should live together and how their roles in a marriage should be. Only a minor (although admittedly popular) part considers bed sport.

Usually, governments trying to automate such things, find out it is more expensive, in stead of a money saver. Support and maintenance are always more expensive than budgeted, because a realistic budget would prevent the project from being started, hence losing prestige. In the Netherlands, government IT projects fail as a rule, by costing at least several times the budget, taking several times the planned time to create, and never being able to perform to specifications. By the time the project is so far finished that is no longer useless, the laws have been changed and the project is still useless. I hope Finland is careful and reluctant in the adoption this X-road thing, and applies a realistic view on the matter.

Does that mean that internet traffic is dominated by porn no longer? Its the end of the world as we know it! ;)

When I want to drink alcohol, I can. If I do not want to drink it, I do not. When I want to smoke weed. I can. If I do not want to smoke it, I do not. When I want to breed poisonous plants. I can. If I do not want to breed them, I do not. How about letting the fat issue also be a choice of the individual? When I want to devour trans fat. I can. If I do not want to eat it, I do not. Solution costs nothing, and everybody happy.

Now here we have another fine example of the Godwin argument of computer security.

Apart from any ethical consideration, at least it creates jobs for many scientists and engineers and as such stimulates the economy.

I am supposed to do science next to a construction pit, with big yellow engines moving sand about. Fortunately the machine drilling in the foundation poles has left... I have headphones with anti-sound, which is actually quite good. The thirty meter tall foundation pole driller, standing literally five meters from my window sounded about as strong as an electrical disc saw. It only made my chair shake ;) The headphones were worth every bit I paid for it.

I would prefer a job (and I have such a job at the moment) that enables users to do things, that increases their possibilities. Not one to take possibilities away, and to restrict users.

When a car has an... as you say... infotainment system, that would be enough reason for me *not* to buy it, even all the rest was according to my wishes. I, too, hav my standards, you know. There is already enough distraction nonsense in cars.

To be honest, that what is marketed as 'AAA'-games is all like Wolfenstein. Walk through a maze and shoot bad guys. The humble bundle games feature original gameplay. This is so much more fun than 'the same game, requiring an even tougher graphics card' I am having a lot more fun with Cookie Clicker than I have with all the battlefield AAA-nonsense together.