The part that's missing is the murder trial before sentencing.

If the only metric you use is LOC, you have already lost.

I'm too old to know everything.

Citation needed.

Inventions of all kinds occurred before the patent system was created. Additionally, we currently have a free software movement devoid of profit motive which actively avoids patents. To get even more specific to your point, gzip is patent-free, and it was specifically created to side-step patented compression algorithms.

"Road Closed" and "No Left Turn" work just as well, and those signs have existed for longer than most of us here have. You don't have to worry about hacking, they're sturdy against most impact damage, and you don't need electricity keep them going..

Privacy and free speech apply to government entities, not to ex girlfriends and basketball associations.

Privacy means that what you do with another person should remain between you two, so long as both of you keep it as such

. All bets are off when one of the individuals involved in the private activity decide to disclose what happened. The moral here is to better choose who you decide to associate with in private.

Free speech doesn't mean that you can say anything you want without consequence - it means that the government cannot be the one to bring about those consequences. Public shaming and ostracization are perfectly OK. In this case, it also happens that the statements ran afoul of NBA policy, which Sterling agreed to when be purchased the team in the first place.

Sterling isn't serving any jail time, and he's getting a giant return on investment. I don't see why the right is to up in arms over the outcome. Sterling probably got more money for the sale of the team now (due to the expediency everyone else felt to buy the team out from under him) than he probably would have putting it up for sale on his own before the controversy.

You may take note that the lasers pictured in that article are a far cry from the 5mw laser pointers which are most commonly available. Instead, those look like the 100mW-1W lasers you get off a site like wickedlasers.

The fear mongering is that the FBI is not making any distinction between 5mW lasers, which are too low power to damage eyesight easily, and higher-powered lasers, which will not only damage eyesight, but can also be used to pop balloons and burn through things like black electrical tape.

It's not really pro- or anti-patent, unless you believe the absence of patents would cause most companies to resort to trade secrets, in which case, it's a pro-patent notion.

One of the main purposes of the patent system (aside from royalties) is to document innovations for the public benefit. Of course, this holds more value for things like a schematic to build a steam engine versus more trivial things like design patents.

It is more difficult to stand on the shoulders of giants if none of them come out in public.

On the other hand, if you believe that many modern technologies and standards would be open anyways, the statement is patent-neutral.

No, the situation we are in is the result of a House and Senate with a 90%+ re-election rate despite a 13% approval rating.

The message sent by this is that congressmen can do whatever they like, as they're going to get re-elected no matter how much they work against the public's interests.. It also makes bribery (via gifts, campaign contributions, and lucrative jobs upon leaving office) quite affordable.

No. As opposed to Alex Miller, Eduardo Hamilton, or Carlo Poliak

I must say, though, it was quite amusing that "None of these" got 10% of the vote.

That's only if "people" mean George, Abraham, Alexander, Andrew, Ulysses, and Benjamin.

It's interesting you brought that up, because I think a similar analogy is necessary.

While most people do not (and should not) ever try to do advanced mechanic tasks like change out a transmission on their car, it is useful for people to understand basics like rotating tires and changing oil. Similarly with programming, I would not expect most people to pick up programming to the point where they can code up an OS, compiler, or even a typical SOA system. However, giving someone the tools to fiddle around with basic programming like static web pages with a little javascript or simple command-line applications to handle input from a user or a data file and spit out usable information can enhance their hobbies or even non-IT work.

Many people who became programmers after starting in some other field (either in school or the workplace) can recall situations where they used programming to aid in some aspect of their pre-IT life. There's no reason to shut the door for anyone else to do so.