You hit it right on.

I think many admins are ok with the "reboot fix" technique, because they don't work in high-stakes environments. If Bob in Accounting's windows desktop goes down twice this week due to the same issue, who cares (just reboot it again). The same goes with most non-mission-critical services (and those without strict SLA). The same can sometimes also apply in vastly-redundant heterogeneous environments, where having one application instance go down is not a big deal since you have 1000s more identical instances (e.g. content delivery networks, etc; unless the bug ends up taking down everything!).

That approach can't be applied to high-stakes environments, where peoples' lives or money depends on bug-free operation. Try explaining to management why markets have been halted several times this week due to a problem that could've been fixed the first time with a little bit of investigation.

Sweeping important problems under the rug is a great way to drive customers to your competitors.

I have a KRK set (2x Rokit 5" G1 + 1x 10S G2) which is awesome but pricey.

However I also have a pair of M-Audio BX5a, which are $200 for a PAIR, and sound extremely good for the price (way better than other M-Audio gear I've tried -- I was very surprised). They don't have as flat frequency response as the KRKs, however they nonetheless sound very good for just listening (not necessarily for audio mixing, though). I like them so much that I use them as my main system on my computer desk (the KRKs are a bit too big and powerful for being 2ft from my head!)

Of course the BX5a lack the extreme low frequency range, so a subwoofer (preferably with built in crossover) is definitely recommended. I have mine paired with a KRK 10s G2, which is overkill but sounds great. If I could find a smaller sub, I would've gotten it. However it seems like all the studio monitor subs are 10", and the M-Audio & Behringer subs are just as pricey as the KRK (so there's no competition -- the KRK is the best deal by far).

Studies suggest that there is a potential correlation between brain-body size ratio and intelligence. While this link is not definite, it's certainly is somewhat meaningful

The wikipedia page is a decent place to start for a general overview.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-to-body_mass_ratio

The article itself points out that the conclusion is NOT that lizards are smarter than birds, but rather that this particular lizard is extremely smart:

This study shows that anole lizards are particularly quick learners when it comes to this type of test (quickly learning under which cap the food is located).

I don't think that speed of learning is necessarily definitely correlated to capacity for learning; it's possible that a parrot might learn more slowly than this lizard, but might still eventually be able to achieve more extensive and higher levels of cognitive processing.

Certain birds (parrots in particular) actually have the capability to count; have object permanence (understanding that an object still exists even when it is out of range of senses such as sight/smell/etc); have self-awareness (understanding that a mirror is showing an image of themselves, not another animal); construct and utilize tools in indirect arrangements (e.g. use one tool to obtain another tool, which is then used to complete a task); learn by observation; and organize in complex social structures with intricate communication. These are all cognitive abilities that are found in early human childhood development.

That said, this lizard is pretty cool! I kinda want one now...

There are some decent-looking hosted alternatives to dropbox which do client-side encryption. I've looked into this a bit, but I haven't tried any of these yet, so YMMV...

One particularly interesting one is TarSnap. The best part is the client is OSS, so you can verify that encryption is done properly (strong & client-side). You could even reverse the protocol and design your own server software, if you want.
http://www.tarsnap.com/

Another interesting one is SpiderOak. However their client is not OSS, so you have to trust that they're doing the encryption properly
https://spideroak.com/

Here are some other potential hosts, but I'm not sure exactly how proper the encryption is:
http://www.boxcryptor.com/
http://syncplicity.com/products/

No, and it doesn't have to by whitelisted for other things to work. Obviously you most likely want to include things like Gmail, Gtalk, and a few other odd system-related users. It'd be great to narrow it down even further, but you do what you can...

I don't really think smartphones make very good web browsers anyways.

Obviously there is no failsafe protection -- the best you can do is add some more layers and diversify enough that you're not part of a huge group of easy targets.

My phone has too much sensitive data to allow just any random program connect to the internet. So, my default iptables policy is to drop all outbound packets except those matching a whitelist of apps (set by the app's userid). This includes not allowing uid=0 outbound access, in case malicious apps escalate to root.

DroidWall gives a convenient interface to manage the iptables rules (requires a rooted phone).

Yes, this is overkill for a regular user, and it cuts out a lot of the convenience of a smartphone (being able to run many internet-using apps). But for me it's less of a toy and more of a personal communication device (email, and yes, occasionally phone :) as well as a personal assistant (data storage, GPS mapping, etc). I wouldn't give a random Windows desktop access to all that data, and Android is becoming very similar to any random Windows desktop (high marketshare of devices; many apps; apps are easy to install; apps can abuse their privileges or often request too many privileges; user base is willing to run any app they see on a whim => exploiters have motive and means to attack)

On the other hand, the fact that very few "regular users" use iptables on their phone, means that exploiters have no reason to try to target and bypass it. ;) sometimes it's good to be different

Combining a strict firewall with some prudence in which apps are downloaded/run results in a pretty secure platform.

(and yes, the data is encrypted/protected against physical loss and communication interception)

Or you can convert an existing pair of gloves into touchscreen-capable gloves by using a needle a little bit of conductive thread:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-A-Glove-Work-With-A-Touch-Screen/

I hate to point you elsewhere rather than provide an answer, but the GeekHack forum is a very rich source of information and reviews from people who know what to look for in a keyboard (or any input device), and they've probably reviewed every keyboard out there (and modified them). I don't use ergonomic keyboards, but I am very adamant about mechanical-switch keyboards that have just the right amount of tension and tactile/audible response.

Check out the forum here:
http://geekhack.org/forumdisplay.php?f=31

There are also some interesting vertical keyboards like the SafeType and the Kinesis Freestyle Ascent, but they're kinda expensive and might take a bit of relearning.
Here's a survey of ergonomic keyboards: http://nsx.underbase.org/db/kbd/keyboard-survey.htm

Personally I use a DSI ASK-6600 and a Scorpius M10, and I like them both very much. The DSI keys need a bit more force to push, and it has the large "Enter" key I like from old Keytronix keyboards (as opposed to a large Backspace key and a repositioned backslash character, like the Scorpius and Model M have).

These two keyboards probably don't appeal to you because they're not curved/natural keyboards. I avoid wrist problems while using a regular (straight) keyboard because I have a custom typing style, wherein my wrists are not angled when they rest on my "home row" (e.g. index fingers rest on V and N instead of F and J). This limits my upper bound of typing a bit (under 100wpm), but fast continuous typing will only get you so far in programming and sysadmin work, whereas wrists that don't hurt are quite nice... I also remap my CapsLock key to be another Ctrl, for easy one-handed reach to Ctrl+F1-F5/etc.

While you're at it -- upgrade your mouse too! I found all my wrist problems went away when I moved to a Logitech Cordless Trackman (wish it was corded, but whatever). This has a finger-operated trackball and a thumb-operated left-click, which I find MUCH more accurate and comfortable than a thumb-operated trackball (e.g. most trackball mice on the market now). Trackball mice are usually considered to be more accurate than regular mice anyways. One of the big benefits here is the fact that your wrist isn't as twisted as with a regular mouse... if that's your main goal, there are also some expensive ergonomic vertical mice that might be comfortable.

First off -- I applaud your use of open-note exams. That is the ONLY real-world way to learn and demonstrate knowledge. There is almost never a situation in the professional world where one must solve a problem with absolutely no references (and it would be stupid to do so on a production system -- when solving a critical problem, why risk everything based on what you *think* is right, when you can verify against documentation; at least if something breaks, you can point to the incorrect docs...)

Some people can simply memorize anything they look at, while others struggle at this. A proper exam should be designed to test one's ability to demonstrate processes: exams should give you all the information you need, but the questions should be designed such that only someone who has invested prior effort in practice and learning will be able to solve the questions in the allotted time.

For less-concrete subjects such as the arts, I'm not so sure how this can be accomplished. However this is a trivial design decision for exams in maths, sciences, programming, and engineering.

Furthermore, I think any physics or math exam that requires a complex calculator really has a wrong approach. Assuming everyone at this level has already demonstrated their ability to perform arithmetic several times over, the calculator should only be there to free them from making mistakes on the menial number crunching (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, squares, squareroots, proper value of e,Pi, etc...). The exam should test for core concepts: ideas where you simply must understand the knowledge through prior practice and learning.

Sadly, I think many professors fall back on rote-memorization exams just because they can't be bothered to design proper exams each semester. These types often teach straight from the textbook-provided lesson plans, and then wonder why students cheat...

But honestly -- an exam is but one facet of demonstrating proficiency in a subject. Personally, I think projects & labs the best way: sure one can cheat, but it's easy to determine who has spent time polishing a proper unique lab report. In this respect, open-ended projects are the best, as the room for creativity limits the possibility for undetectable cheating, and lets the students show their enthusiasm for the subject. If you're really worried about cheating, a lab-practical may even be a legitimate tool: it's pretty damn hard to make stuff up as you go while you've got a one-person audience of the professor.

Short answer: let them use basic scientific calculators, the textbook, their notes, and a dictionary; design your tests so that students have all the resources they need, but don't have enough time to learn-as-they-go during the exam.

"Never memorize something that you can look up." --Albert Einstein