I've never been to one. They look like pure marketing to me. Local users groups on the other hand are fantastic! I've gone to groups in Portland revolving around Python programming and Selenium web automation and met lots of awesome people who are my peers in the industry. Great way to find out about jobs.

My state shows a 98.7% chance* of voting Obama, and I don't like Obama**, so I took the opportunity to vote 3rd party for the first time in my life.

* http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/

** Failed to close Guantanamo, increased raids on MJ dispensaries, watered-down healthcare act... he makes Clinton look liberal!

Look, I'm about as technologically inclined as it gets. I'm posting this from my current generation Android, I work in software, I read tech blogs daily. But I also hike and do Zen meditation and zone out at my desk at work. It's not an either / or proposition. You can have both.

I'm on my second Saitek keyboard. I would still be on the first one, but I spilled soda on it. They're great -- rubber base for minimal slippage; LED lights for night time gaming if you wish; solid key response, not mushy; slim and very few bullshit media buttons. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175012

All modern desktops are more or less equivalent. What matters more is software compatibility (can I run app Y and game X on my OS?), hardware compatibility, and support/user experience (bring your Mac into the Apple Store and get a replacement the same day). Even if you made the Holy Grail of desktop UI/UX perfection, no one would care, because your Linux OS won't run Call of Duty 5 (or whatever they're up to now) and doesn't have an associated store in the mall.

The best organizations use a blend of methods; they don't fall into the trap of forcing everyone to work the exact same way at all times.

I'm left-handed and of course have always bought ambidextrous / neutral mice. What puzzles me is why anyone would *want* to use a mouse that was permanently shaped for one hand. I mean, I switch off my mouse hand sometimes when I start to feel tendinitis (such as after a marathon gaming session on the weekend). I can't imagine using the same mouse hand *always*.

You can't rest on your laurels and think you can keep making the same profits you used to in the "beige box" era of PCs. The only PC maker I can think of that's actually interesting is the one I bought my last system from: iBUYPOWER. But they're specialized, making gaming systems for a specific type of user.

Secret Santa this year. But the thought of donating to Wikipedia never entered my mind, despite that I use it daily. Why? Because I've never seen the deletionism issue seriously addressed by the organization. I have a fundamental disagreement with how the site is run.

As well, I don't believe Wikipedia is all that unique. While it may have been (one of?) the first wiki encyclopedia, and obviously now it has a huge amount of content, there's nothing inherent in Wikipedia that couldn't be recreated if necessary. I don't think the Internet would implode if Wikipedia vanished tomorrow. Would I be inconvenienced? Yes. Would it take years to build a new Wikipedia? Yes. But it's not so vital to the Internet. Whereas if Google had never existed, I think the Internet would be far different.

20 hours!? So why didn't you charge them? Sounds like they have good reason to ignore the costs if they get free help.

Just like a user won't start backing up files until they feel the pain of file loss...

For awhile now, Google has been using location awareness (via IP?) to deliver search results that are tailored to your region. So, for example, I am in Portland and I type "beer", one of the search suggestions is "beer festivals portland". Pretty cool, if slightly creepy.

a story about Facebook is posted. Does that count?

One of the coworker types that's most destructive to an office is the secret keeper / information hoarder. While it does increase their job security, since they are the only ones who know the deep complexities and innards of the software, there are several downsides:

• It builds resentment
• If they ever leave the company, take a long vacation, etc. things can grind to a halt because the knowledge locked up in their head is inaccessible
• It slows down work, because the secretive person documents nothing and the other employees have to constantly pester the person for information to get the job done

While freely sharing information about the software/processes may seem like it makes you more vulnerable to losing your job, it pays dividends:

• The coworkers who like and respect you for sharing and helping them
• The boss and people in other departments who love having documentation to refer to
• You even help yourself when you don't have to stop your work to explain something to a new employee because you wrote up a wiki page already answering the question.

For those reading the criticisms of this book and looking for an alternative... I have been working my way through this book. It is excellent. It's the book I wished I'd had when I tried CS years ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Python-Programming-Introduction-Computer-Science/dp/1887902996

I've never understood those who argue that I should feel guilty for blocking. It boils down to: 1) "If everyone were to block ads, then sites that rely on advertising would disappear!" My response: So what? The implicit premise that makes their argument so ridiculous is: 2) "If I put some work into making a website, I *deserve* and demand to make a profit, and you have to help me by viewing ads!" My response: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!