I have a degree in CS and have been working with computers for almost 30 years. We are "knowledge workers." We are valued because we have specific skills and knowledge that not many people possess. The most important thing in our field is to be an autodidact. My job is almost completely different than it was 5 years ago. I don't know what my job will look like 5 years from now but I suspect it will change more in the next 5 years than it has in the last 5. You need to keep learning whatever is valuable to know or you will soon be obsolete. If you enjoy systems work get a job based on your system administration skill set and keep learning. The current trend is from virtual machines on local clusters to the cloud. That is the skill set to know now and the next few years.

There are a lot of things going on in the US. The Electoral College built a small state advantage into presidential elections. A voter in Wyoming has about 3.5 times as much influence as a California voter. Since small states are mostly conservative, Republicans have received a boost. Two of the last five presidential elections Democrats won the most votes but Republicans won the White House. In the late 1990's Republicans pushed to capture as many State governorships as possible. After the 2000 census Republican governors were able to gerrymander electoral boundaries to divide Democratic voters and consolidate Republican voters. This is why Michigan which is one of the bluest states has mostly Republican state legislators. Republican appointed US supreme court justices struck down the Voting Rights Act which required voting changes to be reviewed to be sure they don't disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters so Republicans pretty much have a free hand to cut early voting, require government IDs and reduce the hours and number of polling places in whatever way causes fewer minorities to vote. Disenfranchising convicts is another way to target black voters. Police enforcement is often concentrated on blacks targeting "lifestyle crimes" like drug possession. Even though blacks and whites use drugs at similar rates blacks are more likely to be arrested. Blacks in Iowa and DC are over 8 times more likely to be arrested for drug possession than whites. About 7.7% of black adults are disenfranchised because of convictions compared to only 1.8% of the non-black population. Americans are becoming more diverse. Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas are "minority majority" states where whites are no longer the majority and eventually our entire country will be this way. Republicans are trying to move toward minority rule where whites retain most political power after they are no longer the majority.

My first and only serious encounter with law was when I went through my divorce. I pretty much memorized my state's family code and was sure that I stood on firm legal ground. It turns out that there is a lot more to it. The courts have decided that certain actions are Prima Facie evidence of other things. That is, if you do X you are automatically guilty of Z unless you can beyond a shadow of doubt prove that you aren't guilty of Z. So the courts add to the laws by interpreting X as Z but they also simply ignore parts of the family code they don't want to apply or enforce. My state's family code is short but there are several volumes of law books dealing with how the courts interpret and apply the laws. Yes, it is very easy to loose your rights. For example, if law enforcement starts to conduct an illegal search and you don't object than you will have no grounds to have any evidence excluded. Your silence is considered tacit approval if you are able to object but don't. Likewise, if you don't state that you are exercising your 5th amendment right against self-incrimination than law enforcement can keep working on you. One of the things that is obscene to me is law enforcement can read a suspect his Miranda rights than interrogate him for 12 hours telling him the opposite and if the suspect incriminates himself they can use it. Also, a suspect lying to law enforcement can have the lie used against them but law enforcement can lie about anything to get a suspect to incriminate themselves. If you are in trouble with the law you need a lawyer before doing anything. What you think you know about the law isn't enough when you are under arrest or suspicion.

My understanding is that when they shorten the yellow light on these cameras they do increase the amount of time they are red in all directions. At least this is the way it was explained to me when they started shortening the yellow signal here in Texas to enhance revenue.

One thing I've been saying for a long time is that we will never literally run out of oil. What we will run out of is cheap oil. As I understand it there is much more oil in tar sands and oil shale than liquid crude. The liquid crude we are discovering and developing now is far more difficult and expensive to recover than the oil we enjoyed 50 years ago. 50 years from now will fossil fuels still be cheap enough for many people to be able to drive a 6000 lb SUV 100 miles to work and back every day? I don't know. Will they be able to afford to heat and cool a 6000 ft^2 home? I don't know that either. Our high standard of living is fueled by cheap fossil fuels. As the price of energy rises our standard of living drops. Without incentives or a carbon tax I don't see renewables being a bigger energy source in the near future. Unfortunately a carbon tax by making energy more expensive would lower our standard of living which few Americans would tolerate.