Who says making fracked oil in the U.S. unprofitable is a negative consequence? Fracking has had a negative impact on the environment, and I'd just rather say good riddance.

You're obviously not a Java developer. We're a Java shop where I work, and we make heavy use of Apache: Apache Commons (org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils.isNotBlank, anyone?), Struts, XMLBeans, Axis2, and of course ant for our build scripts.

In Java land, we've been waiting for lambda functions for a long time.

Has Microsoft made any strides in developer friendliness since Microsoft Programmers' Workbench, released c. 1993?

So you're wondering what hot young thing you want to get to know this summer? Is she going to be JSON, MongoDB, WebGL, or maybe Node.js? The reality is The Business doesn't care. The Business only cares about one thing and one thing only: that you're driving value-add moving forward. Getting to know Clojure is only so much developer indulgence; The Business doesn't care, and they only see that it will make you more valuable to some other employer instead of them. You are better served learning all the intricacies of the ancient information system that's mission critical. Learn all the contradictory layers and business rules that have accumulated over the years. Learn what keeps it happy. You should be a SME, a go-to guy The Business can call on when it has questions. Then learn about Gantt charts and a bit of project management. The all-coveted tower of Lead is found on a path through these. You will code less and sit in meetings and on bridges more. You may even add a process of your own to the bureaucratic machine.

Look to your elders. How did they become Leads and architects? It wasn't by learning new technologies, APIs, and languages; it was by understanding The Business, respecting the chain of command, following process, and paying their dues. Just play your role as a well-greased cog in the corporate machine and grind on and on.

IANAL: Nintendo holds the copyright on its video games, obviously. A walkthrough may fall under the category of "derivative work." When a user uploads a video to YouTube, presumably they agree to YouTube's terms and conditions: a license to use the uploaded work. YouTube in turn has agreements of its own with other copyright holders like Nintendo. Presumably Nintendo could try to make the case that the walkthrough violates their copyright and/or trade dress protections. Instead, they "settle" with the walkthrough creator by taking their ad money. :) Maybe the content uploaders can be given the option to have the video taken down instead of the ad revenue going elsewhere.

So let me get this straight: You want the business to spend millions of dollars so the secretary can jerk around on Tweeter and Face-In-a-Book? Sure, for a "hip" startup of a few twentysomethings who sit around and play with Nerf darts all day and grow out their beards, upgrading to The New Shiny isn't a big deal, but real businesses get work done. We don't care if you're some alpha geek badass who knows all the latest functional programming fooey and open-source Lunix whatever; we want you to obey: do what we say, do it efficiently, and do it cheaply. We just want what worked yesterday to work tomorrow and keep raking in the dough.

We still use Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Office 2003 where I work. I think some machines have been upgraded to Windows 7 and a newer version of Office, but at least we developers are still on XP.

I'm a left-hander, so I'd put the glove on my right hand and throw with my left; right-handers typically throw with their right and catch with their left. The dominant hand is preferred for the action that requires finer coordination.

I use my left hand for writing, using eating utensils, etc.; for sports, I tend to use the left-handed stance. The main exception is computer mice since most computer workstations are configured for right-handers, so that's the way I learned. Also, a left-handed friend suggested I learn to play the guitar the right-handed way, so that's the way I've been learning.

Hate to say it, but the House Republicans take the majority of the blame for this one. Some on the Right see crippling the government as a good thing.

It's set ridiculously low. A person couldn't keep a roof over their head working full time for minimum wage.

Yes, your employer cares about your productivity and the value you bring to the bottom line, but they also care about exerting control. In the Middle Ages, the lord of the manor had a vested interest in exerting control over his serfs. Much of corporate policy is based on no more than this: everything from dress codes to dictating the tools you can use for the job. The executive class is fed conceits like they are the almighty job creators, and freedom is their right to grind the worker's nose into the grindstone, grind it bloody and raw. Why do you think they dictate everything from whether you can grow facial hair to having to wear a tie to sit in a cubicle interacting with almost no one?

I work in an office with that extreme quiet, too, and it's definitely a morale killer. Put on a tie, do the commute, and then sit for nine hours as everyone eats lunch at their desk, and then drive back home to take the tie off. I just assume the managers must be brain dead.

Everyone's different. For me, too much quiet and inactivity around me actually wrecks my concentration. I like a certain level of activity, interaction, and dynamism to keep me feeling engaged. Unfortunately, I work in an office where it's almost always very quiet, and people diligently sit in their cubicles. The end result is that my brain is mush by the afternoon; in comparison to that, working from home is more productivity because at least I can be more relaxed, move around, etc. We do have our team scattered across a few offices to begin with, so almost everything requires screen sharing and conference calls anyway.