I'm no new-age fanboi and got beat plenty, myself, as a kid, but this is pretty much the approach I took with my son. If he wanted to do something that was gonna cause pain, I'd tell him he might not want to do that, and here's why. I might even set up a demonstration, a la Gallagher, with something that would splatter to provide context. At the same time, I held myself to the same standards: if I said he couldn't do something, I didn't turn right around and do it myself. And I didn't create some docile paper tiger: he was a sectional champion in wrestling, taking fourth in NY State - before they split into big/small schools. There's nothing wrong with treating your kids as humans - just smaller and less able, at first - rather than something lesser. The problem, however, is good parenting takes work, and too many parents half-ass it.

Well, pound of lead vs. pound of feathers applies, but burning off 1000 calories from running is better, if time is a factor.

So, I'm not gonna be able to simulate the brain on an ATTiny85, then, am I? Not even at 20 MHz?

slashdot needs a moderation for "I has a sad."

Think in terms of "How might this break?", and further, "What could possibly go wrong if it did break?" Then, plug those leaks before they happen. The problem is people - not just programmers - lack imagination to consider all the possible points of failure, or any points of failure, and just do shit based on the assumption that bad stuff will not happen. Do we have to consider solar flares flipping bits on a platter, causing incorrect reads? Maybe not for every step of the operation. But, dammit, when we have strnlen() available, for very little extra cost, don't use strlen() on the assumption that the input field won't be too long, anyway.

And I have never needed, used, or even been aware of any service provided to deaf people by Verizon. I honestly have no clue what they're talking about, and it's one of the lamest, skeeziest attempts to wheedle money I've seen in a while. Fuck you, Verizon.

Exactly this. Don't blame the tool: blame the atrocious misuse of it. Look at how many people have perfectly good functioning brains, yet act like shit throwing simians.

Two questions: 1. How long are you in town? And 2. How's the veal?

Exactly. Reading through all the other comments in this thread, I kept expecting lots of people to point out how any of this was different from Vi, or Emacs. And they've been around, if not as long as, almost as long as WordStar. Except lots of people still use them and you don't need ancient machines to get them to work. In fact, it's a little disappointing that no one has showed him how to use either (personally, I'm a vi man, but I don't wish to start that argument) so he can avoid the risk of a terminally unrepairable machine.

Actually, I did upgrade - and then downgraded almost immediately. The Freedom sound was horrible. My audiologist, who's been doing this for nearly 20 years and set up my Spectra, and I went over the programming from top to bottom - cost me $700 out of pocket - and it sounded no better. I like the Freedom form factor - less cabling to catch on things and yank the coil off my head - but it's not worth the loss of sound quality.

Nope, right ear only. However, if it were both, I'd just take a Sharpie and write on one. :-)

My Cochlear works pretty darned well for music. With my computer's sound system and speakers, I can hear the synth notes on the opening of Tom Sawyer almost as I remember them before I lost my hearing back in '84. I've had my implant since '97, still using the original processor and implant. I'm only using the right side, though. The left didn't respond all that well in initial tests.

I share some of Rush's symptoms, but not all. If I hear a song some time after the beginning, even if I know it, I don't always pick it up immediately. It may take me until I get to a common refrain before I'll say, "Oh, duh - it's such-and-such." In contrast, I've bought plenty of songs on iTunes that I've never heard before. I lost my hearing in '84, but A Perfect Circle is one of my new faves. Depending on the stereo and speakers, I can hear individual strings buzzing as intended by the artist. If it's a crap stereo and speakers, I won't get as much from it. However, the bottom line is that, much like his opinions, Rush's experience does not provide a universal benchmark.

What brand is that? My Cochlear doesn't have that.

They probably could restore "perfect" hearing, but the kids have no idea what that is in the first place, so they can't help their audiologist by saying, "Tweak it this way, or that" to produce a better map. It's like asking a blind man to describe Mt. Everest. My program makes things sound almost just like they were before I lost my hearing, but I had a foundation of sound patterns to begin with, so I was able to tell my audiologist when it sounded better or worse.