That takes me back to my Intro to Programming course in college, which was taught using CF Pascal: it had all of the BDSM gear you would expect from Pascal -- capitalization, syntax, rigid type-checking, etc. -- but did it with only two types: characters and files, hence the name.
Want to store state? Great: assign a letter (or other character) for each one. Want to store an array of values? Great: put them in a file. Want to add two integers? Sure thing, just as soon as you figure out how to do it with characters and files.

I like to use that example as well. AC's comment about fitness, above, boils down to "a marine needs to be strong; the average man is stronger than the average woman; therefore, this specific woman right here should not be permitted to try to be a marine".
And by the same logic, "a fighter pilot needs to be short, to fit in a small cockpit. The average woman is shorter than the average man. Therefore, this specific man right here should not be allowed to try to be a fighter pilot."
Now, I'm sure that a lot of people in the military are uncomfortable with LGBT people of various types. I'm sure a gay soldier has it harder than a straight soldier, and being trans is no cakewalk at the best of times. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do the right thing.

GLENDOWER
        I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

HOTSPUR
        Why, so can I, or so can any man;
        But will they come when you do call for them?

-- William Shakespeare, "Henry IV, part 1", Act 3, scene 1.

I can't help but wonder: what makes an experiment "very unique" as opposed to merely unique? "Unique" already means "one of a kind". How do you get more one-of-a-kind than that?

If they want to become unionized implies that they're currently ionized. That can't be healthy.

If only there were some kind of mechanism by which employers and employees (or their representatives) could sit down and hammer out a deal that's fair to all sides.

I get the nostalgia and novelty value of using old media. I even understand liking LPs because at least they had decent-sized art and liner notes. But cassettes? --ing cassettes?
I've written about this before, but basically, cassettes combine the worst aspects of LPs and CDs.

Last week, Drake dropped two new singles off his upcoming album Views from the 6. The tracks are currently only available on Apple Music.

It took me a second reading to realize that this didn't mean "Drake removed two tracks from his new album, and the only place where tracks 9 and 10 can still be found is Apple Music."

Gotta give a shout out to Ed Yong, who writes Not Exactly Rocket Science. He has a knack for summarizing research papers and show why they're cool.

Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy is also good at sharing his enthusiasm for astronomy. And the Astronomy Picture of the Day has pretty pictures.