Our culture is changing, just like cultures always have, and always will. Among other things, there are more people, and a corresponding increase in the absolute numbers of violent events. I am not at all convinced that the actual rate of violence is rising, as measured in an individual's likelihood of experiencing violence.

The perceptions of the prevalence of bad events is no doubt increased by the readily available information about such events, and the rush to report first, regardless of accuracy, as well as a tendency to focus on the negative. This is normal human behavior, magnified by new and more efficient means of distributing information.

All things considered, I suspect life is getting better, on average, for humans, as measured by health, longevity, and ability to enjoy activities beyond simply surviving.

Today's events are horrific, and evoke painful emotions. The sky is not falling, though.

I doubt that the sample size of mass shooters is large enough for a meaningful correlation.

I'm also skeptical of the effectiveness of these institutions in preventing this sort of event. I'm not arguing against mental health care, at all, just wondering if the increased availability of institutions would have any effect on the sort of context that leads an individual to this type of action. Other sorts of mental health intervention might be more effective, perhaps beginning with simply treating mental illness as a disease instead of a bogey man.

(Are you listening, health insurance plans with mental health care exclusions?)

I agree with your sentiment, wholeheartedly. I just came home early from work and hugged my ten year old daughter, giving thanks yet again that she attends school online from home.

Nonetheless, it bears saying that the shooter is already dead - at whose hands I have not yet heard.

I'm also skeptical of the effectiveness of capital punishment for a type of crime that often includes the suicide of the perpetrator. Why would the potential of death be a deterrent? Not that it isn't deserved, but I could hardly care less about what such a person deserves, as compared with how to prevent such madness in the first place.

I have no answers, only questions and doubts.

Please find a new meme. That is all.

Live on less than the annual increase, reinvest the surplus, make sure you stay equal to or ahead of inflation. It doesn't have to balance that way every year, but should probably balance on a 5 or so year rolling basis. 5 million is plenty.

http://www.barackobama.com/
http://www.mittromney.com/

There, now you can have both sets of propaganda, and be almost exactly as well informed as you were before you read any of it.

As a U.S. citizen I share the sentiment, but the fact is we have lots of political parties. I just wish more of them were strong enough to play a significant role in the political discourse. As it is, my concern is that if either of the two big ones collapsed due to internal issues, the remaining "superpower" party would tilt the political tables so far in their own direction that we'd end up with effectively a single party tyranny. They've both shown historical tendencies to act that way.

Isn't that the same line the pusher on the corner uses?

I'm a happy customer of Baen. I purchase ebooks directly from their website, where they are available in a variety of formats without DRM, and once I have purchased can go back and download again in the future if I lose my local files. Other online retail outlets may have lower prices, or may not (Baen's pricing is very reasonable) but Baen's terms and conditions are worth a great deal to me.

Because of Baen's policies, I am not even tempted to obtain illegal copies of any of their publications, and have not and will not do so.

How's that for piracy prevention?

Hi, I'm not afraid to look like an ass, having survived it on many occasions, so I'll take up that gauntlet in lieu of our anonymous friend.

You have displayed a remarkable grasp of the obvious, and your initial post appears to have missed the intended irony or sarcasm of the one it criticized. However, it could be that your post was an even more subtle commentary, perhaps designed to elicit just such a "whoosh" response, for your own amusement or to demonstrate the predictability of the conversations on slashdot.

But I doubt it.

I'm running Mint 13 with MATE. I'm happier with that than with any other recent OS release, on any platform.

Be aware though, my nerd quotient may not qualify as "real", depending on your prejudices. YMMV, etc.

Interestingly enough, yes, I do think those mandatory ethics courses make a difference. Do they inspire perfect ethics throughout every individual in an industry? Don't be ridiculous. But "a little bit better" is an improvement over "not any better".

Justice is a pipe dream, and you wouldn't really like it if you saw it.

I'll take mercy, and the rule of law, imperfect though it be, over the justice of the mob. Thanks anyway.

You make a good point. As a corollary, I posit that you wouldn't believe how many inebriated rapists think "no" is foreplay.

I suspect I was reacting to the tone of "all they do in their free time is...". The implication is that "boating" or by extension any other non-job-related activity is less worthwhile than pursuing job related hobbies or activities.

I am very glad that you have a career and hobbies that align so neatly, and respect your choices. I regret, slightly, my tone when I said "I'll take a life instead." That simply reflects my own situation, in which I have several activities that I personally value more than programming - which is my day job too, by the way.

So, if for you, programming and more programming is what fulfills your needs and aspirations, awesome, I salute you. For me, programming is a somewhat enjoyable and reasonably lucrative way of financing other things that are more important to me.