I'd prefer to be FTE, but RIFs happen. My wife is disabled and has some chronic ("pre-existing conditions") health problems so I need a good health-care program + long-term disability ins. Historically that's been through my employer. Currently through COBRA at $1150/mo, going to $1300/mo in 2014. ACA aka Obama-care may help - we're trying to find out but it is complex. I wonder what'll happen when all the technology workers who are tied to a job because of health coverage are no longer dependent on their employer for medical insurance? Retire to Costa-Rica? Join the Peace Corps? Become artists?

On this week's episode of "Drones Gone Bad": * Kim Khardashian mistakenly receives copy of Iyana Vanzant's "Forgiveness: 21 Days To Forgive Everyone For Everything". Says "Who reads this kind of catshi*?". * "I was running low but now I'm good for another week" says Catholic priest after wayward drone delivers 6 cases of sherry. * Slippery swap: Gay couple receives unscented lube; straight couple gets lavender scented lube. Partners accuse each other of fence-jumping.

Don't be stupid, new a smarty! Come and join the Nazi party! Deutscheland is happy and gay! (Mel Brooks from "The Producers")

+1 for challenging widely accepted beliefs.
-2 for not doing the math.

Only if the pesky aliens will text me the winning lottery number.

Not technically headphones, they do (like headphones) make it impossible to hear the mindless blather, personal attacks and odious office politics.

I think the gist of the article is that the current social norms will have to evolve if we want to integrate continuous data feed with real human interaction. Many of the judgmental reactions of other responders ("a-hole", "rude", "inconsiderate", etc) demonstrate our strong cultural bias for exclusivity in direct, inter-personal interaction and the resentment we feel when we perceive that our presence has suddenly, and without warning, been deprioritized by the other party. Nobody wants to think that they are less important that a slashdot RSS feed or a text msg, and to have another human imply that is, within the context of current social "rules", offensive. That's one of the attitudes that would need to evolve.

I had an overwhelming sense of dread when I read this (I never studied biology). Are we like like a bunch of five year olds playing with a loaded gun?

(excuse funky format. Slashdot fnorks up my Android kbd) For me... #1 is accurate time estimates. I can usually guess the time to write the code. What I fail to take into account is time for emails, meetings, documentation and training. New rule is best estimate +40%. #2 work/life balance. Putting in more than the basic 40/wk for any company is stoopid. The company *does* care if i work myself to death on their behalf -- it saves them the effort of RIFfing me. #3 juggling, aka task switching. all the studies indicate this is a time sink for jobs requiring concentration. I'm poster child (ok, poster geez) for multitasking deficiency syndrome.

Many corporations over-RIFed and continue to do so. What they discovered is that many of 'those who chose to remain with the company' (as my former employer put it after a 27% RIF) work more hours for the same salary. Problem solved! Bonuses for all execs!

If any old grandma in a Buick is able to take a wrong turn and wind up driving down a runway, that airport has bigger problems than an Apple maps glitch.

... snake-like lizards that are also living in some inhospitable-sounding places for wildlife: at a vacant lot in downtown Bakersfield, among oil derricks in the lower San Joaquin Valley...

• Inhospitable? Ha. Try....
• An NRA convention
• Detroit
• Mark Zuckerbert's backyard

Pingpong, handball, racket-ball and any FPS - i totally suck at anything that requires reaction time faster than "glacial". Put me on a bicycle though....

The BBC article goes all breathless about this great low-tech approach for poor third-world countries without mentioning the fact that the user has drilled a bunch of holes in their roof. Combine that with a rainy climate like the Philippines (mentioned in the article) and you've got a problem. The solution, apparently, is polyester resin. Excellent choice, and so widely available in third-world slums. No slam intended to the unfortunate residents who are also blessed with power tools.

Friggin' android/nexus quote marks.