My condolences.

Actually, that isn't necessarily true. Look up "regression to the mean" if you don't believe me.

Hey Multics, I'm really happy for ya, and imma let you finish, but UNIX is the best multiuser operating system of ALL TIME. OF. ALL. TIME.

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To bring this more on-topic: if I were a JotP, I would refuse to perform marriages for gay couples. I don't believe the State need recognize any rights for a union that cannot create a biological family, even in theory. (I know that not all heterosexual couples can or even want to have children, but the law is not about individual cases.)

So I would assume that you are also against marriages involving post-menopausal women? How about men who have had vasectomies?

I can see the bumperstickers now:

MARRIAGE = 1 (UNSNIPPED) MAN + 1 (FERTILE) WOMAN

Freedom of speech means that you have the right to express your beliefs secure in the knowledge that the government will not persecute you for your opinions.

It does not mean that you will be protected from being ostracized by the rest of society, however. Decisions have consequences, and if you decide that your beliefs require you to endorse state-sanctioned bigotry, then when that endorsement is made public, AS IT SHOULD BE, then you are going to have to face the consequences of your decision. If that means you lose business, or that your workplace becomes less welcoming, or that your picture shows up on a website, then maybe you should consider keeping your bigoted opinions to yourself.

No matter what your pastor says, gay rights ARE civil rights. Period.

People need to learn that being a SHITCOCK Internet Fuckwad is unacceptable. People also need to grow thicker skin, but when it truly hurts someone it's time to stop.

Perhaps you could start us on the return trip to civility by eliminating homophobic nonsense like "SHITCOCK" from your own vocabulary.

You negotiate up front. If you think something is outside the scope of your job and you deserve to be paid more for it, then you ask for additional compensation when the duties are assigned. Just because management feels that they need to dedicate a FTE to this now and have taken it off your plate doesn't mean that you can say, "Oh, since you're paying him for that, here's the bill for when I was doing it."

Asking for money now will get you laughed at, fired, or both.

you should change schools ASAP. Computer Science is a great subject, but you can't consider yourself well-rounded if you don't have at least a cursory understanding of how the world of money operates. No matter what you decide this semester, you should plan to take at least two Econ classes (micro and macro) while you're in school.

It creates an expectation that you will provide your own tools in every circumstance, and you shouldn't be subsidizing your company in any case. Create a line between your personal and business life or you will find that your personal life will erode away. That isn't fair to you or those in your personal life. No matter how much you love your job, it's still just a job at the end of the day. Don't be a sucker.

I just don't get why Science even needs to prove or disprove a God. Can't we just leave it in a box with Schrodinger's cat?

It is literally impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God. See Russell's Teapot if you don't understand this.

What science attempts to do is provide explanations for the workings of the universe. Religion purports to have already answered these questions. The only problem is that religion provides only one answer: "Goddidit!" That sort of thinking discourages rational inquiry, and is ultimately harmful, because it impedes real progress. Religion (at least, the monotheistic versions I am familiar with) offers a "go along, get along" view of the world - if you follow our rules for your whole life, we'll all be happy, and our invisible friend will be really good to you after you die. Science, on the other hand, searches for truth without regard to how it makes you feel, and that is uncomfortable for many religious types. Science's explanations for natural phenomena leave less and less room for the "Goddidit" view of things, and that threatens a large group of people who make their living off "Goddidit".

There is no way that you are being paid enough working first level support at night in a NOC to justify a three hour daily commute. I know the economy is in the shitter right now, but you are simply abusing yourself. Your question doesn't say what your personal situation is like (do you have a spouse/significant other, what does she do, etc...), but your first priority needs to be to relocate as close to work as possible, or, alternatively, to find a job in the same zip code where you currently live. That three hour commute is essentially three hours a day of unpaid work. Over the course of a year of 4 day weeks, that is almost an entire extra man-month dedicated to your job, for free. Don't be a sucker.

Universities are typically more interested in simply getting your tuition, and if you qualify, and are above 30 years old, they'll typically be more than willing to take your money and still sell your seat in the class to another applicant. Universities generally don;t like putting highly expereinced business people in classrooms where their woried the student actually trumps the professor in knowledge. Many professors who recognize this where the university doesn't will simply give you the 4.0 for the promise you don't show up to class... Some universities will simply give you a masters in BA simply for having worked in management that long (and for a generous donation to the university of $30-50K).

Stupidity like this is why the diploma mill industry thrives.

First, there is not a single reputable school in the world that awards credit for life experience without some way to document that experience - be it through coursework, publication, or the preparation of a portfolio. You can't get a real degree by a generous donation, either. You might score an honorary degree, but good luck using one of those in the workforce (unless you are in the conservative protestant clergy - they love folks with honorary degrees for some reason).

Second, any college professor worth learning from is not only not going to be scared of a student challenging him/her in class, he/she is going to expect it and welcome it, especially at the graduate level. In many graduate classes, you learn as much from your fellow students as you do from the professor or the text. Your idea of the professor who gives an experienced student a 4.0 to stay away from class is an ignorant fantasy.

Finally, your sig is great advice. You should try following it.

Beers and wines have yeasts in them that react with sugars remaining from the liquid's previous life as wort / fruit juice. "Aging" in these products refer to flavor changes resulting from the actions of these yeasts. Hard liquor has been distilled, possibly filtered, and the alcohol content is high enough to kill the hardiest yeast. Whiskey is "aged" by storing in charred casks and allowing tannins from the wood to impart flavors to the liquor - the longer the whiskey is in the wood, the more tannins. Put the whiskey into glass bottles, and the aging stops. I stand by my original comment.