I did all of my phd work on an m6500 years ago, and thanks to having bought an extended fix-everything-on-site-no-matter-what warranty, it's still going strong.

I occasionally have the budget to buy a modern version of that laptop, but Dell continues to disappoint by offering only a 16:9 screen. Not sure why they keep on doing that; for coding I'd much rather have a taller screen, especially for that much money.

My only other beef is with the video cards. I really don't care about 3D. I don't want to spend the heat, battery life, or money on a fancy OpenGL card, especially since their Linux drivers often suck (I'm especially looking at you, AMD). So I'd be extra happy if they'd offer a version of the m6x00 that just used Intel's graphics. They're plenty good for what I want these days.

As though millions of divorce lawyers just orgasmed at once.

I see. Thanks for the correction. You're right, I did miss that detail.

Well that was my point about having very plastic brains. I'm not a neuroscientist, and I don't know how much details like (I have specifically four major appendages to control; two arms, two legs) are baked into the brain from day 0, vs. being just one of the configurations to which a very young brain can adapt.

I wonder what the limits of this are.

I.e., if we take a sufficiently young human with a very plastic brain, can we give them two additional arms, or a flagellum, or whatever, and have it all work out well?

Hanoi?

Bacterial concrete is ideal for constructing underground retainers for hazardous waste

Okay, so the bacteria are going to be in the walls, exposed to mutagens and/or radiation, and unobserved by humans for years at a time. I want movie rights!

Can you imagine the number of lawsuits this is going to bring against the people who installed it?

It was actually called "White Angel", until 2008 when Lucas decided it wasn't urban enough, and CG'd the titular character.

I don't think its the sunk money that matters to them. It's the heady feeling of autocracy and superpowers which they'll never give up. The NSA and CIA are significantly staffed by bad, treasonous, anti-democratic people.

The law may or may not be on the plaintiff's side.

Either way, the employer should be beaten with a tire iron, in my opinion.

> Does anyone actually use modern FORTRAN though?

Some physics models do.

Also, at least one of his cheating allegations was investigated and overturned by their university's administration. This sounds mostly like sour grapes.

Maybe. In a kind-of related note, though, I heard of one Brown CS professor who found pretty damning evidence that some students had cheated, and the University refused to do anything at all about it.

I can understand how a professor's patience would reach a limit.

That don't justify his particular response, I'm just saying I can see why he'd lose it.

I think two outcomes should have been upheld:

(1) Each student was graded according to his or her own merit.

(2) The prof. should perhaps have sued the school for a hostile workplace. And maybe the disruptive students arrested for disorderly conduct and/or suspended.

you wouldn't steal a policeman's hat!

Well, not before coming across Netflix's Jeeves and Wooster videos. Now I'm not so sure.