RE: porch pirates aren't so common. While I don't have empirical data, I've never had a package stolen from off my porch until this year. In my neighborhood, we've had a rash of car break-ins and missing deliveries. The thing is, I live in a relatively nice neighborhood. And I've heard of more porch pirates this year than in years past. It was bound to happen with more online shopping occurring. And it is common enough that USPS, UPS, and Amazon all provide temporary boxes for concerned customers to come pick up their packages.

you jest... but, currently, that's the way people act when their favorite political candidate fails to win the primary in the US. "That candidate doesn't agree with me 100%!!! I'm going to let the other guy who I disagree with completely win!"

That's not the point. The point is everyone uses the same 4-digit pin for the bank card, CC, or practically anything else that requires a 4-digit number. Passwords are much the same way.

A deer in my path while I have my car fully braked at a stop light is of no concern to me. The deer will likely move before I do, even if my light turns green.

No they don't. MSNBC has a horrific record of presenting its news in a biased and sometimes offensive manner.

I'm not saying FoxNews doesn't have its problems. I saw a graphic today that shows the problem very distinctly:
[image of Obama with a Pepsi]
1. CNN: President Obama appeals to Pepsi drinkers
2. FoxNews: President Obama declares war on Coca-Cola drinkers
3. MSNBC: In a few minutes, we'll cut to the President drinking the acceptable drink. Anyone who disagrees is racist!
4. BBC: The US has fired a drone missile on Pakistan.

Okay, did anyone else think of the one or two episodes where Data was trying to be funny and do stand-up? This story reminded me of that. So did the jokes.

That's where context comes into play. The soundbite generation misses a lot of context due to that context being located in the rest of a paragraph or in preceding or proceeding paragraphs. But saying "tried to conclusion" means that it is over (unlike the SCO case, apparently). I suppose he could have stated tried to conclusion and won, but it would be repeating himself based on the context of the entire statement.

If you can't argue both sides of a point, you will likely lose the argument. Along with that, don't ever ask a question to which you don't already know the answer. Doing so puts you in a position of weakness that will cause you to lose the argument.

Yep, stats is important. But stats isn't diff. eq. Once you understand differential equations, they're really cool! Unfortunately, I'm in the same boat as the author of the question, I was a B- at very best on the advanced maths. Linear Algebra was also very cool. I can completely see where it applies to computer calculation optimization, geometric calculations and a bunch of other things. But, again, I couldn't follow the process very well while in the class and certainly not now.

But stats... no matter what field you get into, even if it isn't an engineering (or pseudo-engineering), stats will come up.

And there you have the problem with most home owners. (of which group I obviously fall into)

It's pretty bad. You go to install Windows XP. Which edition do you have?
Home OEM?
Home Retail?
MCE 2005?
MCE?
Pro?
Was it made by Dell? Those codes don't work anymore with the other ISOs (at least the ones I have saved), not even the OEM version.
Of course, there is Vista and 7, but which edition? Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Family Pack or Pro? Are these OEM versions or retail versions? Which OEM?
All I really need to know is: Ubuntu Desktop or CentOS Server? (Though, I like Slitaz for my thumb drive bootups.)

Surprise! Testers, or Software QA, *are* paid like developers. Well, unless you work for a small business or a company that does not respect the development process and thinks that "If it works on the Dev's machine, it must work for everyone!" QA is part of the process as much as defining the requirements, building to the requirements and releasing the product to the customer. QA is there to make sure the expense of fixing a screw-up is minimal and taken care of before release, than very expensive and, depending on the industry, lawfully uncompliant.

As a person who can do all that, and a lot more involving computer maintenance, business analysis and tech writing, I chose being in the Software QA environment. Why? It's an easy job. I don't get burned out on dev or tech support (which I do after hours on other projects). I get to utilize my creativity in trying to break software in unexpected ways. I utilize my understanding of computer systems from a user's standpoint to analyze the system and can relate the results to a developer or a business analyst in their own terms.

Granted, being a tester makes me weak on dev practices and experience or in business analysis, but I do need to concentrate what I am expected to do at the moment for my employer. It doesn't mean I can't understand and communicate with those across the wall.

They get the insurance because law states they must, or it was a requirement for the loan. They don't understand anything about the insurance, what it covers, make assumptions about what it does or does not cover and their own costs in the coverage. For example, an assumption could be made that, like auto insurance, when you use it, the premiums will increase. And if you do use it, you still have a deductible to meet. So if you make a claim that doesn't meet the deductible, you now get dinged for making the report and getting a higher rate the next year. Is that how it works? I don't know. I fall into that category where I have insurance because it is required as part of the loan and I assume it is for catastrophic events, not for the broken AC unit or water heater.

While not to the same level, I remember that it was mandatory for me to take a drivers ed class. They were also toying with a driving simulator at the time (early 90s). I don't see why, in this nanny state, we can't mandate all 16 year olds to take a drivers ed class, which includes simulator training.