We made nitrogen triiodide and copper acetylide...both very explosive, both very fun to play with. No one got hurt, no one got arrested either. Science now in schools is so watered down that they don't even have chemistry lab anymore in most public schools...instead, students watch the teacher do the lab and then write about it. Hardly a robust science education...and everyone wonders why we can't get more students involved in science?

...a Larry Page channel so I can filter this shit out? How many more articles about Larry Page will be shoved down our collective throats before the week (month? year?) is out?

...if I have voluntary given up my personal info to have a passport and driver's license, yet act incensed about all this?

In principle, the very act of collecting data on us goes against every moral fiber in my body. Yet if I think about it, I've already given in by securing a passport and DL. I am sure there are pockets of people in this country who want to remain "off the grid," and I respect that and even support their right to do so. But realistically, discounting this very small minority, is there really anything left to fight for given that most of us have voluntarily given up this information to the government in the first place?

...that AV apps not tested (such as avast!) are immune from this problem, and the authors only chose to report on those AV programs that failed their tests?

That's how you end up being PHP. Python 3 fixes core mistakes made in earlier versions of the language, and makes it harder to write bad code. That's a good thing, and the last thing you want is a language full of 20 ways to do something, 18 of which are deprecated. Removing backwards compatibility for the 3.x line was a good idea.

And this is the very reason why I abhor Python: Every update seems to break legacy code, to the point where it becomes rather painful to even bother upgrading.

I bought two Pi B's from Allied just before Christmas. Am enjoying both of them right now. What, exactly, is the point of this story?

...I flew to Australia recently. DFW TSA was not a hassle. I got chewed out by an Auzzie customs officer for filling out my declaration in purple ink. Then, another irate officer got pissed at us stupid Americans for following the signs to the line that was indicated...he waltzed over, picked up the sign and plopped it down in the ez-pass lanes and said "You guys need to go here." Looking over at all the Auzzies and Kiwis standing in line to get into their own country (well, not the Kiwis' country, obviously, but they had to stand in line too). Then got pulled out of line, made to stand on a red line for about 15 minutes while no more than 3 dogs sniffed at our luggage, multiple passes.

Flew into LAX on stopover, no problem with TSA there either. The mm wave scanner was broken, so they just told us to pass through the metal detector. I forgot about a bottle of water in my carry-on, no big deal.

All in all, I got more grief from the Auzzies than the Americans.

One thing I did notice: People are stupid. The TSA repeatedly told us to remove EVERYTHING from our pockets. I can't tell you how many people tried to pass through without doing that, then held the fucking line up while they were put through again. I posit that there are individuals who just make trouble for themselves by not following simple directions. Yeah, I know about rebellion. Standing in line at the airport isn't the place to be rebellious.

...does not prove anything.

he claimed that students at Galileo Academy had difficulty with the HTML image tag

OK, repeat after me: Computer science is not about programming/scripting languages. It is about the methodology and theory of developing programs, applications, and computational systems. To tell you the truth, I don't cover HTML in my computer science curriculum (and yes, Texas has a full-blown CS curriculum), mainly because CS isn't web development.

If gambling is already illegal...why do they need another law? Perhaps they need to fix their gambling statute instead.

The same reason why gun laws prohibit felons from owning guns, etc...yet the need is seen to pass more laws. They don't need to fix the statute, they need to enforce the laws that are already on the books.

I use it for all my Windows encryption stuff. Not tied to hardware, can encrypt partitions as files or partitions in situ, you can even make hidden encrypted volumes for plausible deniability's sake. Oh, and it's open source. Enough said.

Really, does it take 4 (or is it 5 now!) years to train people to be file clerks?

That's not the point. High school diplomas have become so watered down now (IAAT) that they really serve no purpose: Teachers are coming under increased pressure to pass students, administrators side with parents of failing students, and even state legislators lower the bar of standardized testing to the point where the tests themselves are meaningless as a measuring stick of success.

Businesses are starting to recognize that a high school diploma is really a meaningless piece of paper, and that public schools are churning out young people without good work ethics, perseverence, sense of self-worth, or intrinsic motivation. Not only do I teach, but I'm a business owner as well, and see what the schools are producing on both sides.

I submit to you that despite the insinuation in TFA that recruiters and HR types are basically lazy, they have raised the bar on prospective employees by requiring a degree that shows at least some level of perseverence and the ability to focus on something for more than five minutes at a time without demanding or requiring instant gratification.

You want to fix this problem? Then fix the education system. I'm doing the best I can, but I need some help here, as I can only fix it 180 students at a time.

He believes the LAPD ruined his life, because he accused his trainer of beating up a civilian while he was doing his first week mentorship, and those charges were dropped after an investigation revealed that they were false. The "ruining his life" part comes because the LAPD then dismissed him for making a false charge: they felt he was a risk to have on the force.

He should have just applied for a job with Dallas PD.

As to your last comment, Really? PHP has a host of problems - mainly due to the way they update the language without removing old stuff, and add features haphazardly. This leaves you with twenty different ways to access a database, etc..., etc... Python, on the other hand, has specifically avoided this. 3.x has gone back and fixed core language problems where they existed, and made the experience much more consistent. This is a sign the language is being curated and nurtured, not hacked on like JavaScript or PHP.

If anything, Python is just the opposite: Every upgrade of Python to a new version will invariably break things that once seemed to work. Maybe this has changed in the last few years (I will admit to getting so turned off by having Python apps break after a version update that I tossed Python aside several years ago), but I really can't see how an organization suddenly fixes the inability to remain backwards-compatible with previous releases.

...is the decision to go with MW. Seriously. Look at WikiEmacs, then at EmacsWiki. The main problem with WikiEmacs (the MW version) is that you are forced to read the content in order to find what it is you need. Compare that to EmacsWiki: Links are clearly defined, not embedded in a lot of cruft, and describe exactly what it is that the link points to.

I've said this before: MW is overbloated and has a horrible UI, to the point where navigating most MW sites are excruciatingly painful. Anyone who thinks that MW is actually a user-friendly experience that promotes quick and easy navigation and drill-down is obviously a glutton for punishment and knows nothing about proper UI design.

Bruce Schneier knew about the universe before it was cool.

FTFY.