I think what makes many older programmers obsolete is that they stick with the familiar. If the familiar is Java and some newish framework, then you're probably set for life (if you're any good at it). If you've spent decades programming in C or RPG or Cobol, your career options will be more limited unless you're one of the best.

Went from 4GL to C to C++ to Java to Javascript. Longest term of unemployment was 2 months during the dot com bust, not long enough to burn through severance pay. I'm 54.

I'm not as good a Javascript programmer as I was in C++ or Java (I'm not bad, just don't query me on Javascript's baroque scoping rules), but my experience has taught me that proper implementation is more about architecture-in-the-small than it is about mastering language arcanery.

Currently tearing down a monolithic PHP application into something with proper separation of areas of concern. It will keep me busy for quite some time yet.

There are more facets to Mr. Poopypants than I imagined..

Just hit 57 and working on node/express + html5 + jquery + couchdb on top of legacy PHP/MySQL backend. Planning to start rewriting the backend in grails, hopefully soon.

What I've learned: solve the immediate problems at hand, deliver early and often, and don't worry about potential issues that may not manifest themselves or might be lower priority by the time you confront them.

The biggest problem I've seen is that projects kill themselves through overengineering by ambitious young folks with big dreams. The fact is, boring old analysis and dreaded working with the customer are the keys to success. Solving the day-to-day problems of a business is essential, not transformative solutions that take years to develop and are a crapshoot at best.

Also, there are a lot of small, established companies that have interesting problems to solve, and if you're good, you can help choose the technologies that will be used to tackle them. There's a lot of satisfaction in that.

Strong typing was meant to curb errors, but the types of errors strong typing catches are a minority of bugs. Most bugs are logic bugs, followed by performance bugs. The rise in importance of a thorough test suite has made many software projects better.

I'm not talking test-driven development, but ANY test framework that can be easily written and maintained, either by developers themselves, or by a competent QA department.

let's see, what am I?

Linux, Express-js, Couch, Javascript

LECJ?

and launched it from a giant bottle, they wouldn't have this problem.

The summary is a complete fail. Here in Seattle we have recyclable waste containers specifically for compostables. The fine is for not sorting your compostables (which are 'recyclable') from the true garbage that goes in a landfill. You can waste all the food you want, up to what your sizable compost bin will hold.

... meaning, do you also provide input on some of the pop-culture in the show (e.g., Star Trek, Star Wars, comic books, Dr Who, etc.)?

Saltzberg: Sad to say, I am not. I am so out of it that for a long time

This is telling. In the show, the scientist characters are always playing games, going to comic book stores, seeing movies, and appear to work 9 to 5. These are not how scientists live. You just don't have a lot of spare time after doing the day's research or grant proposals. BBT is just a show about societal misfits in settings most people can relate to in some way. But it's not reflective of scientists.

You can't control the robots if they're so intelligent you can't understand what it is that they are doing. And so fast...

I once shared an office with two foreign workers from Eastern Europe. One was being paid $1000/mo., the other $500/mo. Don't know how the company got away with it, but they did.

A good programmer
1) recognizes patterns that have occurred before
2) tries to hone his craft by following best practice
3) avoids novelty
4) looks for code online to apply to the problem at hand, rather than write it from scratch
5) values simplicity over cleverness
6) optimizes last
7) knows how to see past stated requirements to find the real business need
8) says "no" rarely, but when he/she does, they mean it
9) pays attention to words such as "always", "unique", "never", "required", "only one", "many" during analysis
10) doesn't grab a hammer, then start looking at every problem like it's a nail.
11) respects others! Not everybody may be the hotshot you are, but almost everybody in one situation or another can contribute insight or grind away on problems you'd find dull.

Which means it isn't equivalent. The point of this: $gt; if(firstName == null || firstName.equals("")) Is to check to see if the string is null or empty.

Nope.

if(firstName == null || firstName.equals(""))

says "I don't care which", whereas

if(firstName == null) {
}
else if (firstName.equals("")) {
}

actually checks if the string is null or empty

If you find stacked ternary operators confusing, how the hell would you manage to untangle a complex SQL query?

A robot is going to (or will eventually) react much faster to a threat or other adverse conditions than a human can. If you've got a hypersonic missile heading toward a carrier, are you put a human in the loop? Nope.

There are simply going to be many many situations where a robot will neutralize a threat faster than a human can, and those situations will increase if fighting against another autonomous army.

Is this a good thing? No, it's like atomic weapons. We're heading toward another arms race that will lead us to the brink or over. We barely survived the MAD era.

Nice to know the fracking 1% will be getting theirs. And nice to know Oklahomans will feel the trickle-down effects, also.