That read like an XKCD What If? response.

You would need to get a little lucky and also have the chance to explain what's changed since your crimes. Find a smaller company where you can talk with someone who won't dismiss you because they have 200 other job candidates without your issue.

But remember that IT work generally revolves around security. And this makes it a job where trust is paramount. Convince an employer that your past was due to youthful exuberance and not a character flaw (you'll want to provide examples of other's trust in you), you will likely do fine.

I don't mean to undermine your arguments, but what in God's name or otherwise are you talking about? It's like everything you said had this demeanor of factuality when none of it is true. Very Colbert of you. Not sure whether to applaud an epic troll or kick myself for responding at all.

And there's a new generation of 7 year olds who will think that cross guard is the coolest thing ever.

Advertisers take this into account. There are researchers finding what percentage of people use adblock, record TV and skip commercials, etc. They use surveys as well as technical resources. A site showing ads hoping to recoup their costs may not have that research information handy (or bothered to look for it) and might blow their expectations of having their "Harp Lessons in G Minor" blog making them a small fortune. But I agree with the Anonymous Brave Guy. There's no law saying we need to watch ads; there's no crime against circumventing them. Are you not giving the site own money that they are expecting? Sure -- but there's no contract there the way a true sale has.

As for songs...musicians tour. Recording studios record. Depending on overhead (venue costs, stage effects, roadies) and fame (sometimes you pay to play, sometimes they pay you), touring can make musicians a good amount of money. Recording makes the studios a lot of money since they're doing most of the work (recording, advertising, contracts with radio stations, distribution, etc) and the artist just needs a couple days or weeks in the studio to make a decent record. Sure the label would have nothing without the talent of the artist, but the artist might have considerably less without the efforts of the label.

I sat through a lecture on the Higgs Boson. It explained why they were expecting it -- basically the final jigsaw puzzle piece to a long-time theory. If the theory was correct, they would be able to find the Higgs Boson at certain energy levels. If they didn't find it, then it's back to the drawing board to figure out what they missed. So no, they weren't necessarily doing basic "Let's ram particles together and see what we get" science -- we've been doing that for decades. This was more of a "If we ram these particles together at this velocity, this is what we should get". And we got it.

1) Why do teachers always rank as an all important metric? There are good teachers and bad teachers.. even lousy teachers, there's nothing that special about their profession compared to many others. They are not beneficent deities, shaping our future via our children

Yes. Yes, they are. I would argue that there are three groups of people who make the most difference in a child's future: their parents, their friends, and their teachers. If we spent more money on assuring only good teachers are in our schools, we'd be in better shape. $80K is a good salary, but it's not like that across the board.

It isn't how much we make, it's where we can make it and who can afford it. If something like this can be applied to areas where food is scarce to come by (by any method), good for all of us.

I'd searched on what kind of income it takes to afford a $40K+ car. There was a BMW forum asking the same question. Many of the replies were what you'd expect. Doctors, lawyers, investment bankers -- people who simply make not $100,000 per year, but hundreds of thousands if not millions per year. And then there were those who simply prioritize differently -- they rent their home for cheap (under $1000/month), have a moderate income ($50-$60K), and want a nice car and feel like they can pay the $800/month for the lease or loan. I'm with you though -- the Tesla Model S is sweet, but way beyond what I'd pay for a car unless I was making $20K/month or more. That's a lot more than you need, of course, but I'm not so excited about any automobile to blow $70-$100K on it.

The Model 3, should it ever arrive, at a predicted pricepoint of $35K-$50K...that's a possibility. Given that it's electric, I'd consider saving up. Otherwise I might look at the Audi S3.

One might even suspect that the media pushes (or is pushed) to put Christianity in the best light and any other religion in a poor light because most of the country's political donors are Christian. It strengthens your base.

Agreed. The intent, if I had to guess, was not to stop teaching the official Scientific Method (ask, research, hypothesize, test, analyze, share), but to draw focus away from discussions that would muddy the Method. "But Jesus says..." or "I don't think the FSM's tentacles could reach THAT far to anoint the ninjas and therefore cause a tsunami that overwhelmed the Pacific pirates..." As much as those are processes. So teach the scientific method, but leave out the part discussing how or why you're questioning this or that. That should be obvious: because it's there and we want to know how it works.

What they found, as I recall, was that there was no impact because people spend roughly the same amount on entertainment regardless of how much they pirate, it was simply that they were spending it in different areas. Someone who was pirating films, for instance, would still spend their entertainment budget but might do so on books or music or video games instead of films.

I might be misunderstanding, but unless you're talking about tax collection or those few corporations that have a hand in books,movies, and video games, I don't think that, as a movie producer, I'd be all that excited about someone watching my movie without paying, regardless if they paid for Diablo 3. That's kind of an odd argument to make.

I respect the fact that people work hard to make movies/music/games/books/paintings/etc and the best way to compensate them is with money. One could certainly argue that the amount someone gets paid to do certain things -- like Robert Downey making millions for one movie -- could be adjusted. However the "free market" seems to think it's fine -- if we didn't pay him millions, he couldn't afford that million dollar home on the coast that was so tragically lost to helicopter-borne missile fire....

Similar experience. Judge made it clear to everyone that your options were:

Guilty: feel free to explain.
Not Guilty: Choose a date for your court appearance and don't forget to bring witnesses, evidence, lawyer (or have on appointed), etc.

I was doing 80 MPH on an empty freeway but it was 15 MPH over the limit. Of course I was guilty. But it was on the way to the airport where I was out of the country for 2 months so when the fine came via mail, then the collection agencies got involved...well, when I got back to 10 letters and a dozen voice messages, I just paid the collection agency not knowing any better (Hint: Never pay the collection agency -- deal with the police). When I finally got to court I said I'm guilty and here's why I was late paying. The judge cut my ticket in half, had the collection agency pay me back. Still had points on my license.

Another thing about standing before a judge. Try not to be an asshat. People try to stare the bailiff and judge down, be surly, etc. The judge isn't an administrative form. While bound by laws, the sentence is up to him. Be polite, joke around, whatever -- but try not to be a jerk unless he gives you cause, as he's the guy who's deciding whether to say "Thanks for being clear and honest, fine reduced to $30" or "Plaintiff will pay full fee".

Personally I'm excellent at spelling but it often doesn't come through in my writing...

I know! This is why I'm on the national spelling bee competitive tour! You too?!

There are a few shows out but it's mostly post-apocalyptic stuff: Revolution's premise falls into that realm even if the writing is hit and miss. Hard science fiction a la Red Mars (book) is rare on TV. Warp drives and wormholes have some theory behind them but saying they are futuristic is a bit of a leap -- they still exist as fiction only.