I think golf can count as redneck when the Masters was won by a man called "Bubba" :)

Or just one of you is left handed...

At the Masters, the winner gets to choose the meal for the champion's dinner the following year. Does that count?

I actually like watching golf, it's almost hypnotically boring (and I mean that in a good way!). I do count it as a sport - it might not be as physical as some sports (you don't get out of breath), but skill and strength are required. A top player couldn't drive without getting worse injuries than they currently do without good physical conditioning.

There are other reasons they're more expensive than purely artistic. They cost more to make for a start, but also give you benefits such as a brighter viewfinder and the ability to take pictures in lower light. The last is less relevant now, because high ISO performance is modern DSLRs is so good, but even so, more light getting in helps the camera focus in low light.

Funnily enough, I upgraded to an LED TV from a CRT just last week. My old TV was 14 years old, still a good picture and the sound was better than the new one (would need a soundbar to match it). I only did it because I was getting fed up with watching streaming stuff on the PC, and was finding that subtitles, scores etc are now displayed so small that they were hard to read (broadcasters expect you to have a bigger TV now, obviously).

I could have upgraded much sooner. I buy toys when I want them. There's nothing for me to save for, really. Interest rates are so low you're almost losing money by saving. I have a house, and the jump to upgrade that by moving would be too great (and bring too little benefit). So I agree, in the main - might as well have what I want when I want it.

And in context of this article, I'm an android user. Just prefer the interface. I prefer having live widgets on the home screen, and there are some useful apps that don't exist in the iOS world due to the sandboxing of applications. I like the auto backup of SMS to email, for example, and don't think an equivalent is possible in iOS (may be wrong, but couldn't find anything).

Since he's already said he's in the UK, is it that much of a stretch to just assume that over here we call them brake pipes? A quick google search will confirm that, with UK based retailers selling brake pipes.

But if you have a dumb phone, WhatsApp isn't an alternative anyway, so you're stuck.

I never saw the attraction anyway. I've been using email on my phone for the same function - push email works well enough that it's more or less instant, you can attach pictures (straight from camera with most modern phones) and it's automatically archived for reference. I can't really see the point in using WhatsApp.

From the first entry in their FAQ, "What is CentOS Linux?":

They don't use the branding, but they are completely open about building from Redhat provided sources.

It may be true that good engineers don't have to become managers because they get the benefits (usually financial) while being able to remain technical.

However, bad engineers don't make bad managers. The best boss I ever had worked his way up from programming. He was a completely hopeless programmer, but he recognised good talent and was a fantastic man manager. He sought out a quality team to work for him, and insulated us completely from the politics coming down from above. If anyone in the team cocked up, he'd never place blame in public, just discuss it one to one. He trusted the team, and we trusted him.

Management is just such a different skill set it can't really be compared.

There was a land bridge at the time - in fact until quite recently.

Hinduism? Shinto?

And what about Windows? Is that Scientology?

The transit is a van. Equivalent to the Econoline in the US, as far as I can tell, with both passenger and cargo versions.

Interesting point. So far it's not a problem - he's 70 next year and physically stronger than me (that's the IT lifestyle for you!) and doesn't have trouble with fine motor action. My grandfather did computer courses at the local library in his late 80s, maybe 90, and he did suffer from arthritis but still managed.

At this point I'm more worried about the software limitations. He may decide he wants to write a letter, and a tablet would be a pain for that (and printing - again, any cheap printer will do with a PC but there's more to consider for tablet compatibility). I just don't want to hit a point where he's frustrated at having spent his money on a tablet that can't do what a laptop would do for around the same sort of money.

I'm in the same situation with my dad. He's finally decided that there are too many things that really need internet access, such as shopping and booking holidays. After much discussion, we've decided that a laptop would be better for him. Tablets are great for browsing, but as soon as you need to do things a proper keyboard wins. OK, that's partly my preference as well, but I don't want him to hit a limitation.

He may also want to do some basic photo editing. He likes photography, and has been getting by with a printer that has a card slot for his SD cards. The ability to do basic edits and back up his photos will be useful.

And yes, I'm going Windows for him. I can't justify the cost of a Mac, and his peers all have Windows so they can swap advice. For someone who hasn't used it before, Windows 8 is fine - he won't have that learning curve of everything being different.