" The woman there just wanted to go to a technical conference and talk about technical things" Ugh, so tired of people speaking for "the women". I am a woman. I like technical conferences, I think about non-technical things at technical conferences and have gone to non-technical sessions at technical conferences. If they want to ban such sessions, they need to think about that beforehand. I for one would not support such a ban. Did anyone ask all the women attending the technical conference if they wanted the Ada Initiative to represent them? I would like to say that I do not want such a prudish and sexually compartmentalizing organization representing me. " It will make interactions between the men and women at the conference more awkward at best. " Really? How do you know this? As far as I know, people at conferences are still people and still think about sex no matter what.

If you work in a lightweight startup, as I do, you might actually finding higher ups doing these things. I'm a web developer/marketing director/trash collector :(

People are growing ginko in Wisconsin? Is it for export or are they selling to the local immigrant communities in the Midwest?

I loved living in Queens and I loved living in Brooklyn. Both places have a lot of culture and interesting things to do. I really miss the cocktails at Dutch Kills, seeing music at BAM, the 24-Korean grocery stores, the Brooklyn Flea, incredible Thai food whenever I wanted it, Little Tibet, my garden, the farmer's markets, PS1, The Secret Theater, and lots and lots of other enjoyable things. I probably would have been perfectly happy in each place if I didn't have to commute to Manhattan. But housing costs there were also rising and rising. I left Queens and have a two bedroom apartment where I can walk to work in Chicago for the same price.

There is driving and there is driving. There is the suburb where I grew up where nothing can be done unless you drive, so you are dependent on your parents until you are 16 to do anything and even later if they don't let you have a car. And you don't spend so much time driving as you do sitting in traffic. And then there are well-designed places where you can have a car and use it to go to places that make sense to have to drive to like the garden store. And you drive there and it takes very little time. And you drive back. Also, there are plenty of dangerous suburbs, like Waukegan, which is not far from Evanston, and far more dangerous than parts of the city proper like Lincoln Park.

What are people talking about? Rent in cities like SF or NYC is highway robbery. You can easily rent a house in the suburbs for the cost of sharing an apartment in SF. Cities are also very diverse. Chicago has areas where people have yards. I don't have a yard, but I never have any noise problems. My neighborhood is quiet and has lots of older people and families.

I agree. I left NYC because I was sick of paying most of my paycheck to share a shitty apartment with roommates and commute an hour each way to work. It was soul-crushing. I live in Chicago now and I like it much much better. I would like to see more tech activity in small college towns that already have some great urban amenities like concerts, great food culture, art, sports, etc. I see that a bit in Madison here. I've heard good things about Austin as well.

Everyone knows that Tea Partiers are Dunlendings, simple mountain folk experiencing economic hardship who are being manipulated by Saruman/Boehner.