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."

Takes a while to get enough states to ratify a Constitutional amendment.

Especially Beltway bandits. They consider adding PhDs to the pile of CVs for proposals as a +5 modifier to their award rolls.

I have a PhD in computer science ... along with about 15 years of prior software engineering experience. Moreover, I maintained my programming chops through grad school; I developed a couple toolkits and coded up all the programs, scripts, and makefiles I used to run my experiments while there. If anything, being an experienced programmer gave me a tremendous boost to my productivity while pursuing my degree. So, yes, I'm qualified as a software engineer --- among the many other things for which I'm now qualified thanks to my education.

Alas, times are tough, so I could easily see vying for a software engineering job should my current academic job hunt fail to bear fruit before my postdoc funding is exhausted.

Right. This is attempt #3 for a reply. If this doesn't go through without /. eating it, I'm giving up. :P

The Delaware property is old farmland now managed by the Delaware Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club. There's plenty of room for the 1200 folks that show up, and it's in very rural area, so few neighbors. (However, there are one or two problem neighbors, hence the sound is dialed down after 2200.)

And regularly occurring events makes for easier planning and logistics. Kinda nice to plan ahead, especially if you have complex art pieces or little vacation time. Besides, you get a folks that show up each year, and it's kinda nice to have familiar faces. I doubt you'd get that for spontaneous events.

Irish pipes? Uilleann? FSM, those look impossible. Jeebus, looks like you need a PhD and a pilot's license to operate one of those.

I've got a set of big pipes, but also have some shuttles that I love love love to play. Unfortunately they're too quiet, if you can believe it. So I have on order a set of Scottish smallpipes which have the perfect volume for pubs. Loud enough to hear, but not overwhelming. That, and being cauld wind instruments might (hopefully) mitigate some of the dryness issues of Burning Man. (No worries about PDF as it's fairly humid.)

Nothing wrong with going to just observe. And it sounded like he adapted and found ways to contribute and make friends.

Though there is drug use at burns, that's not the point of those events. It's a collaborative space for makers and artists. I've been to several burns and the only "drug" I've consumed is alcohol, most of which was in the cooler I brought with me. And I didn't drink too much because that would otherwise interfere with playing music, which was one of the main reasons I went in the first place. :P

If you find Burning Man too expensive or inconvenient, but you're still interested in checking it out, then you might want to consider a local burn, instead. They're generally much, much smaller and more intimate.

Here's a list to get you started:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regional_Burning_Man_events