Marketing-speak to English translation: The market is full of highly experienced and expensive talent. We're looking for cheap talent, and nobody wants to work for what we're paying.

See also: Teacher Shortage; Pilot Shortage; Nurse Shortage; [________] Shortage.

I was going to cast my vote for River Raid or Zaxxon.

True, "Year of our Lord" does not constitute "replete with references to God". That'd be a stretch. However, the U.S. Constitution wouldn't exist if the Declaration of Independence hadn't been successful. That document does mention God, and even more frightening, it mentions a "Creator" quite explicitly.

And, I'm just curious, how is it that there could be an Office of the Chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives. I hope you didn't miss the Jummah (at the Capitol) or the Torah study (in the Senate Office building) this week. And what's worse, prayer has been a fixture of congress since the Continental Congress first gathered.

Tell 'em your neighbor's a devil worshiper, but is in such denial that (s)he is unable to admit it.

My telephone. It's weird and antiquated, but it works fabulously.

For the record, I dumped Facebook about a month ago. Cold turkey. I basically figured out that:

1. People love drama.
2. I am apparently supposed to give a damn about where [you] ate last night.
3. and everyone loves a voyeur.

I had hidden so many people that I realized Facebook was worse than real life. Real life is like the school teacher who can send her kids home every night to their parents. Facebook is like being stuck in kindergarten 24/7.

We know that silver does this. I've always wondered what gold would do.

If the sentient being is not a consumer. Does not the sentient being cease to be?

then encrypt it with TrueCrypt.

"Fix it 'til it's broke", that's how we do it.

Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoNVCqUMW4A

Am I the only one who expected the final link of the summary to take me to video of the mishap and not some crap about the Ft. Hood shooting?

You must be from Detroit.

I can only speak for myself. In the U.S. (Michigan, specifically), I've had the opportunity to accept or decline health coverage from all of my employers since I was first employed with such benefits since 1994.

One employer gave us a fixed sum each year to pay for all benefits. If anything was left, it showed up in my paycheck. If I wanted better coverage costing more than I was provided, it was deducted from my paycheck. My current employer does not do it this way, which makes me very sad.

So, about two years ago, I researched going out on my own with health/dental/vision coverage. To get the same level of coverage would cost much more than my employer+myself were paying, so I stuck with my employer-sponsored plan. Going on your own means you lose two thing (to varying degrees):

• The tax incentive provided to employers only. (for a company it's a pre-tax deduction, for an individual, it's post-tax and may or may not be deductible depending on the percentage of health care costs vs. your income)
• Group rates.

You can shop around for individual policies, but premiums are generally higher than what you could get through your employer, and the part that I really hate, health insurance premiums vary outrageously based on the state in which you reside.