I've used Java for roughly as long and before that I used C++.

One thing that I've noticed is that there is a lot of reflexive hate for the language. I don't necessarily fault people for it because it was marketed as a panacea in the beginning and early version of Java fell far short of expectations. If there's one thing I've noticed about Java, it's that it's really kept up with the times. Just look at Java 8. Is its implementation of Lambdas perfect? No, it's a little ugly, but I really credit Oracle for recognizing that Java would ignore functional programming at its peril.

I would never say that Java is always the optimal solution to every problem in computing, but I would say that Java is nearly always an adequate solution. To ignore Java is to ignore a very useful toolset that can be used almost anywhere.

I haven't seen any stories that said that the knife was legal in Baltimore, but in the context of determining if the arrest was legal, the legality of the knife isn't the main driver.

If you're arrested for something and are later found not guilty, that doesn't retroactively make the original arrest illegal. Police arrest based on probable cause, not absolute guilt or even reasonable doubt. The question we need to answer to determine if the arrest was legal is: Would a reasonable police officer (not the arresting officer--a reasonable one!) have thought that the knife was probably illegal to carry?

In this case, proving that probable cause was lacking is going to be a seriously uphill battle. If you look at the stories coming out about the knife, a police investigation has determined that the knife was illegal. Don't waste your breath, I realize that a court would have to determine that if Gray were still alive and facing charges over the knife, but the important thing is that in the comfort of a police station (rather than out in a field), a group of officers found the knife to be illegal. That means that the officers out in the field who also determined that it was probably illegal almost certainly were reasonable in that determination. It will be unlikely that the prosecution will be able to show the absence of probable cause.

Now, the officers still should have treated Gray like a human being, so they probably are guilty of something, but they are going to get a lot more latitude since the arrest was legal.

The prosecutor has to allege that the arrest was illegal, because if it were legal, then the officers have a much stronger case. Everything that I've read, by the way, suggests that the arrest was legal. Probable cause for carrying a knife that was illegal under Baltimore city statute was almost certainly established.

And then ran. The cops aren't going to chase you down, snap your spine, and toss you into a paddy wagon like a sack of meat just for looking at them.

That can only be determined in a court of law, but the knife almost certainly was illegal by Baltimore city statue, which is the statute that he was alleged to have violated.

It is not illegal to run from the police unless you have been given a lawful order to stop.

One thing that all of those shootings have in common is that the deceased has either run from the officer, physically attacked the officer, or both.

Running from the police is a bad idea unless you know that you will be in trouble if caught, and also you are certain that you can evade them successfully. Physically attacking an officer is always a bad idea.

That's not what is alleged.

The allegation is that he looked at the police, and then took off running away from them. So they chased him down, found what was probably an illegal weapon on him, and arrested him for it.

For what it's worth, I don't think that they killed Gary on purpose. But I do think that the officers were negligent in not getting Gray medial attention when he was clearly hurt badly. Had they called an ambulance instead of tossing him into the paddy wagon like a bag of meat, he'd probably at least be alive today.

The officers definitely fucked up, but I don't think it's quite as bad a picture as you're painting, that's all.

You know, it's funny. A few years back, I googled my fraternity to see if our secrets were published online. Results: I found some stuff. Some was correct; some was not. Oh well.

So what did I do about it? Absolutely nothing. Why? Two reasons: 1. Streisand Effect, and 2. nobody outside of our fraternity gives a shit.

Tesla's website claims at 92% round trip efficiency for the battery wall. What does lead acid get?

Also, flooded lead acid batteries require maintenance. That's a bummer for lazy people like me.

Sorry for the confusion, but I was referring to two different scenarios. When I said 2kW could power a home at night, that was in response to another comment that said it couldn't. I really think that it could, in theory.

My comment about it paying for itself in 5 years was more to my personal situation. I'd charge the battery array at night and use the stored electricity during the day during peak rates. I don't know how much installation would cost, but if I could use 10kWh during the day at off-peak rates instead of peak, I'd probably save $75/mo or $4500 over 5 years, assuming rates stay constant. Figuring $1000 for inverter and installation (not panels, just wiring it into my electrical panel) + $3500 for the battery array.

It might be enough to power a home at night.

If you have enough solar generation to power your home through the day and just use the batteries at night while you sleep, you've just got a fridge and some heat. 2kW won't power a large furnace, but if you live in a decently mild climate, you could power some space heaters or electric blankets.

Also, let's not forget that some of us have natural gas service, so our furnaces, stoves, and dryers don't need much electricity (just need enough to power the blower, ignition, drum, etc.). I'm not ready to go totally off-grid, but I would consider one of these battery packs to move some of my daytime electricity usage to night time and take advantage of better rates. Payback would be in about 5 years. Also, the battery bank could get me through most power outages since most power outages where I live are only for a few hours tops.

I'm going to do some research, but this could be a really good idea for me!

Exactly. I drove 3 kids to their baseball game yesterday (2 of them were not my kids). If I hadn't, it would have been 3 cars on the road instead of 1, and I was the only licensed driver.

They don't give a shit. When I told them that I was considering switching to cable modem, they told me to go for it. So I did.

I'm not an engineer, but this does not appear to me to accurately model a house fire. I think that there is going to be a difference between being engulfed in 1000+ degree heat vs being over a 1000+ degree heat source.

By way of example, let's say that you have a 22 quart canning pot filled with water and you were to suspend it over a Bunsen burner. That burner can reach a temperature of 2000+ degrees F at the tip of its inner cone, but how long do you think it will take that 2000+ degree burner to boil 10 quarts of water? Perhaps it will never boil?

I think that a house fire would transfer significantly more heat to the bucket of water than a gas stove would. I frankly have no idea how long it would take for water in a bucket to boil off in a house fire, but I am confident that it would be faster than sticking a pot of boiling water on a gas range.

Another issue with the "disk in a bucket" plan is that in dry climates, much care must be taken to maintain the water level of the bucket, because significant water loss would be expected via evaporation.

As always, the best way to keep data safe during a fire is for the data not to be in the fire.

If your vacuum sucks... is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Now look you went and made my brain hurt!

I KNEW IT! I always knew that Emacs sucks ass! Long live vim! Death to the infidels!

But who will register .sucks.sucks?

Absolutely not. But it will be very expensive to replace me.

If I were to separate from my client, it would not affect doctors, mortgages, or finding work. I am not an employee, so I don't not obtain my health insurance through my client. My mortgage payment is will within my means, and I have never had difficulty finding work. I'm not the worlds foremost expert in my field or anything like that, but I'm good enough at what I do that I'm not concerned.

As a consultant, I've been let go many times before and really, I'm telling you, it's not a big deal. It's not a catastrophe--it's just how the business goes. I'm not supposed to be a permanent fixture, although it's kind of become that lately.

My client could not trash my lifestyle if they tried, and I have precisely zero interest in behaving unprofessionally. I certainly have zero interest in trying to "take the business down"! I'm here to be helpful, and if I'm no longer adding value, then it only makes sense for me to move on to some other organization.

I understand that many people don't have the luxury of not worrying about their job. But with proper expense management and a bit of good fortune, it's definitely possible to position yourself so that a job loss is a "no big deal" type of event.