Java apps tend to be slow because a lot of 'standard practices' (which could be more accurately called 'n00b practices') encourage inefficient constructs.

If you know what the heck you're doing, you can write very snappy programs in Java. Otherwise your apps are going to suck regardless.

* Build a JAR file
* Anyone with Java installed can run it

Is why. And the JVM is a pretty solid platform. I'm not a huge fan of the language itself, but no other platform comes close in terms of simplicity of development and deployment.

I needed more reasons to quit AT&T; maybe now I finally will (we have some other, crappy-in-different-ways competitors here in Madison, WI).

Hmm, I've often thought that while OO is good for encapsulating low-level operations, relational database tables and SQL were a much more natural way to model and query data. I just started reading, but his table-oriented-programming page hints at this problem under 'No Ceilings'. I'm not yet sold on his idea of Control Tables, but then I haven't read that part, yet. Maybe he's onto something.

Most of us would prefer something more subtle.

or some other vegetable else that grows easily in your neighborhood. As an added bonus you'll be healthier.

We have plenty of resources. What we lack is the ability (or will) to use our resources in ways that aren't completely retarded. Making better food choices and cutting population growth (primarily by providing better education to women in developing countries) will suffice in keeping us fed. The last thing we need is excuses to give more money and power to companies like Monsanto.

Yeah, I seem to remember this exact story (or at least one about burn patients playing 'a snow game', if not this exact one) from several years ago, maybe around 2004.

I thought he was making fun of reporters when they try to talk about computers.

Indeed. "What the hell" summarizes US politics pretty well.

As of next January that will be true, but at the moment we have two parties: The Republicrats and Russ Feingold.

Threw the baby out with the bathwater, we did.

if you're relying on the GC to prevent memory leaks, you're using it wrong.

How else would one use a garbage collector?

Hell yes. Someone with points +1 this plz.

This one too, while you're at it :) http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1491360&cid=30573884

What system do you use to manage your home directories, and how have they worked for you for managing small files (e.g. dot configs) and large (gigabyte binaries of data) together?

I don't know that managing them *together* is all that useful. What I have been doing (and what I think is a more flexible way to manage stuff), is to divide the stuff in your home directory into independent 'projects' (e.g. financial documents, stuff for work, source code of my website, project X, project Y, my photo collection...) and manage each project separately in a way that lends itself well to the kind of file being stored. For a directory of small files that are frequently updated, Git is a great way to go. For synchronizing and backing up large collections of large files (like an MP3 or photo collection) you might try something like ContentCouch (disclaimer: I wrote this tool).