I'm 52, and still programming. Not planning on stopping any time soon.
Keeping up with current trends is a must. My strengths are knowledge of C++, system programming, and the ability to work in large complex systems.
There are a lot of things I've learned, that are valuable, and not taught anymore.

A be reason for the age issue is younger workers in general tend to be cheaper. But then again, sometimes you get what you pay for ...

I use the same system. Every "computer" in the house has a battery. Laptops, table, smart phones.
Much simpler than trying to manage a UPS.

I'm a contract programmer. I got my current position through an agency. They got the contract, do the negotiating, and take a cut. Where I work there's no way in without going through an agency. It's part of the business, and the cost of doing business.
I've looked into 10x. This isn't the first / post about them. They were swamped for a year from the last one. Likely to happen again.
They manage to stay in the press. Free advertizing can't hurt.
Not a bad business model to have more business than you can handle, and do as much as you can.

You need to learn to pack light.
Don't bring what can be acquired locally.
Concentrate on getting a GF while you're there.

might be more fun ....

Hybrids have been around officially for over 200 years, unofficially 5000.
It's called selective breeding. It's been going on since man discovered agriculture.
Hybrids loosing effectiveness in subsequent generations, is a well known problem. It's not something engineered in by man. Mother nature is a bitch,

This isn't Monsanto enforcing a patent for their GMO seeds, that do spread that gene.
These are hybrid seeds, with no GMO genes. They've just been carefully selected.
Many hybrids are mules. Look at seedless grapes. The desired hybrid can't reproduce.

The post is a bit skewed, the text for the link to the story tells the story. The author has an agenda.

nice post, now if you had logged in more than a handful would see it
I mod often, and read at score:-1. posting not logged in gets you a score:0, the default, and many don't know how to change it is 1.
/. skews to those willing to own their comments.
Original reposted below the fold:
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The feds sure seem to be leaking a lot of things in the run up to the elections on Tuesday.
Ferguson.
George Zimmerman going to a fed grand jury [orlandosentinel.com], where a witness has suddenly "remembered" something:
>Following Zimmerman's acquittal on a murder charge, Taaffe has reversed his position and now says that he believes Zimmerman was motivated by race the night he followed then shot Trayvon in 2012.
>Taaffe cites a phone conversation he had with Zimmerman in the days following the shooting but before Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
>When originally interviewed by federal investigators in the weeks following the shooting, Taaffe did not tell them about the phone call...

The lawyers.
nope.

the whole system has become shit.
We need a better septic system.

A boat load of federal crimes (maybe a helicopter load). A lot of people (police and local officials) deserve to go to jail.
There are too many he said she said. Unconfirmable statements, only muddy it further. Unless an insider blows the whistle, the guilty will walk.
A really nasty federal grand jury could put the screws on those who deserve to be punished. They might have to dig into their retirement fund to pay for legal advice. Some pain, less than what most of them deserve. The ones simply following orders don't need a lawyer. The truth, my boss told me to do this and I believed him/her, should protect them. They didn't commit a crime. Don't kill the messenger.
Perhaps the idiot at the FAA that accepted this may pay. Probably not fired, but at least enough damage to make someone else think twice before accepting a sack of bull$#1t.

I should have looked it up. Given the naivete of the sheriff I assumed it was a rural county.
Having looked it up. Joe Arpaio is likely to have a difficult time when it comes to re-election, if he runs. He has a lot of problems.

The former County Lawyer has been disbarred.
That jackass is financial road kill.
There is no insurance for this kind of judgement. The county is on the hook. They are worse than broke, since this judgement spans bankruptcy.
That county is dead. The residence of the county are legally responsible for the debt.
Their home values are in the dumpster, and paying for the privilege.
Nice to see the legal system work.
I'm not being sarcastic, the people that have the most to loose are paying, as it should be, for a change.

will anyone learn?

The fools are yelling for an Ebola Czar.
Perhaps filling the position of Surgeon General would be simpler. Controlling the spread of disease is one of the functions of that office.
But, approving the the candidate for the office would require the Senate to actually do something.

Old news. 15 years ago Philadelphia was trying to build out public WiFi.
Comcast, Time Warner, and AT&T had nothing to do with ensuring it failed.
Verizon is far more evil than Comcast or Time Warner. They've been at it longer and are more entrenched and subtle. They're the phone company after all.

Everyone loves to hate the cable company. The phone company is so good at fucking you over, most have no idea how badly they've been screwed.
I'll take Comcast any day over Verizon. I caught Verizon padding my bill, it took far too much of my time to force them to drop a little over $100 in charges.
The PUC investigator admitted he wished there was a way to more severely punish the phone company.

40, 50, + years ago Bose did original research in speaker design. It changed things.
They patented it.
If physical patents were treated the same way as intellectual property patents are now, Bose would rule audio.
Is Bose over priced? yes. I won't pay for a name, but some will. At least it works.
All Beats has is a good marketing director.

Win, lose, or something in between. Once Bose sued Apple they were going to be out.
Apple has it's nice walled garden. Only good little boys and girls are allowed to play.
By suing, Bose became a bad boy. They would be ejected from Apple's garden.
At this point Apple can't stop Bose from selling Apple compatible products. They just won't sell them in their store.

Bose has been around longer than Apple. This wasn't their first patent fight. I suspect there was no surprise in Bose' boardroom when this was announced. I have a feeling that Bose' CFO is not happy but not unhappy. It's business.

there's much to be said for college chicks.