Or maybe like a recipe. It's definitely a set of facts that exists. If you can't patent Coke a Cola...

I don't want to be the tin-foil hat guy, but... doesn't it seem convenient or maybe just more palatable, that the cyberwarfare villain in the movie is a rich psychopath rather than a powerful state. Makes you go hmm.

This thread is ridiculous. I just watched WWII in HD, an actual, modern historical account of a war - guess how many of the "characters" were women. I didn't crunch the numbers, but 1 in 5 is not even in the ball park.

As an experienced engineer, making at least 2x the salary of a fresh grad, am I worth it? Yes, in fact I'd sort of describe that as a killer deal. Turn the question around: could my company lay me off, take my salary, hire 2 interns and get as much or more done? Hell no. There is no number of interns that could replace me. Even if you could find 2 interns that could match my productivity in terms of lines of code, you'd still need a master-craftsman system designer, like myself, to manage them and actually get a cohesive product at the end. And on a fixed schedule, don't get me started...

Thanks. This the subject nobody's talking about. Our priorities are so fucked up. Why are we talking about going to Mars vs. Europa? We need to do all of it! And instead we're pissing away orders of magnitude more money on smart bombs and cruise missiles and replacement limbs for brave kids. WTF?

Although I don't see how a EULA is ever a contract. Where's the consideration?

Gnick, I don't think you and the GP are that far apart in your thinking. I think most rational, scientifically minded people will agree that the idea of bearded, robed, man-like god sitting on cloud with a sheppard's staff watching us is silly. I suspect that there are no gods. I find it highly unlikely that there is a god or gods. But I still don't know. To me agostism implies openness mindness in admitted ignorance, whereas strict atheism requires an unfounded sureness or confidence similar to strong faith in a deity.

The AC above is right, Apple expects serious hoop jumping, and wants to controls the content too tightly. That's why I'm putting my chips on Android devices eventually dominating the handset market. Being open source it'll be cheaper, more developer friendly and there won't be any limits on content. IE all the content about sex, drugs and violence, you know the fun stuff, will only come out for Android devices. Porn and cheapness and developer friendliness and freedom will prove an unstoppable combination against Apple's early market lead.

Completely agree. IMO, web development is exactly the right technology to teach in school. You've got freeness and ubiquity - as noted, you can start with nothing but a browser and a text editor. You've also got great motivation on the part of the kids - they all have online lives, so generating web content interesting to them. And you've got instant visual gratification. In only a few minutes you can have kids displaying graphics. If you put that together with an advanced class about PHP (another C-like syntax) and SQL, by the end of it you'd have semi-competent LAMP developers. Very useful general skills.

I don't know how fast DNA changes now, but 10 years from now, with advances in gene therapy and delivery techniques, I'd bet lots of people's DNA will change regularly.

Alright Causality, what the hell do you think "chronological" means? You said it twice. Chronological adults? What?

Uh, what's so insightful about that? Is there something going on that day I don't know about? Other than the winter solstice? That's not "rapture" talk is it? I can't think of anything (that isn't batshit crazy) that would make me abandon all my "plans", which extend well beyond 4 years into the future.