Why not automatically scan the printed document and email it to the person?

Good point, I better print the email reminder and place that in the three ring binder that sits behind my desk.

Apparently the information at MS is not very fluid, so this is a serious attempt at making that information much more fluider

This one suspiciously coincides with the legalization of pot in WA state

I think this is really a statement about facilities, there is a lot of wasted vertical space so most likely they will be installing something like those Japanese "drawer" hotels (where the person lays in what looks like a human sized drawer). They should be able to put a screen and keyboard in there so people can work laying down. I'm guessing they can get 3x more people in each building with this system.

"Sirs, I am happily to provide benefit of a unique opportunity. The Bank of Ursa Major has..."

There is too much momentum for what is being used today, it's almost impossible to dislodge a de facto standard.

How do you define best? Just because you've heard of someone doesn't mean they are the best. I programmed games back in the 80's and during that time I ran into like-minded people and within that group it's tough to tell, different people have different attributes, It certainly possible to tell who has natural talent, but I don't think "best" even makes sense.

"but these days they have been surpassed in most areas" - their last CPU outperformed rival phone CPUs.

They've been hiring CPU and GPU designers for the last few years and their last CPU was their own design and outperformed rival CPU's at the time.

from his new book "If Only God were as Smart as Me!"

That worm brain is well studied, but they still do not understand how it works. Whenever you see something about someone simulating a human brain, or a cat brain, or a rat brain, just remember that the people working on this stuff realize that even 302 neurons are still too many to understand currently.

Short answer: yes, different levels.

Longer answer: There is much complexity and the real answer would probably cover a few books. But a few highlights: neurons have their firing rate and their spike levels modulated by a variety of things in the brain. Glial cells (which are 10x more numerous than neurons) inhibit and disinhibit neurons, communicate with each other and are involved in computation. Some neuron communicate with a continuous flow of protons (inner ear, acceleration detection), some fire locally on their dendrite instead of the typical method of sending a signal down the axon. There have also been recent discoveries linking microtubule quantum vibrations to anesthesia effects (implying it is part of computation).

I can believe they have universities, the buildings at least, but I'm a little suspicious about the whole "student" thing.

I always wondered why that mission failed so badly and then I read up on our special forces. They had only been formed fairly recently before that mission (a few years?) and that mission was one of the first. I was surprised, I had assumed we had those types of special forces groups in the military for a long time.

or my 16oz latte is going to get cold and I will need to buy another one.

For me, coding/design/problem solving seems to be mostly 3d abstract visual with objects being represented by some abstract entity and interactions that I can "see" (in quotes because I'm not sure that's what's really going on) and manipulate.

Reading or writing code is a translation to/from the imagery which is the real "code". The imagery is the abstract representation of the solution and where the problem solving happens.