Doesn't FOX News "reinvent" the news every day?

I've been to a handful of science museums both here in North America and in Europe. I've rarely been as impressed as I have with my home Toronto's own Ontario Science Centre. Forget what people say about it being great mostly for kids. It's great for everyone, not everything is targeted at the younger ones. There's a significant amount of hands-on exhibits, active and animated ones, in quite a variety. I highly recommend it.

I did my undergrad in Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto. I had a strong interest in architectures and compilers, but undegrad left me woefully underqualified for jobs involving either. I could have gone into the workforce, but I don't think I would have gotten a great job. After two years, I don't think I would have had the opportunities I wanted.

I did my Master's in Computer Engineering on parallel architectures and pipeline multithreading. It was a great experience, got to co-author a paper (free trip to Europe) and author another coming up soon. I learned a lot from the courses but mostly from thesis work. You get to explore a lot of interesting ideas that you may not have time for when working, but will enhance your job. And you aren't rushed as much as you might be in the workplace. A lot will depend on a thesis topic and your supervisor, though.

I finished my degree recently and am now a Java JIT compiler developer at IBM. It's a great job and I'm definitely being tapped for some of the specialized and cutting-edge knowledge I got while doing my thesis. I didn't actually apply for this job, but since there was a relationship with my research group and this department, I just got a phonecall from my current manager asking me if I would like to come in for an interview.

I slacked of a lot in my master's program, and I regret not putting more into it. However, on the other side of completion, I am definitely glad I did it. I have only been in this department a few months, but already people come to me for help with processor architecture questions. I am treated as an expert, and feel quite happy about that.

I always have a PhD in the back of my head, but I don't think it is something I really want to do. It is a much longer investment, and the return on investment is actually worse from what I hear from my PhD friends.

Don't forget to mention how friendly and welcoming Australia is to foreigners.

I was looking for a reference, and though the wikipedia entry still needs citations, I still find it funny that in an article on xenophopia Australia is used as the first example.

Nobody said they always succeed. Besides, the Middle East conflict is thought by many to be a territorial dispute that was sublimated into a religious conflict. As a religious mindset wasn't really the root cause here, I'm not sure the conflict relates to GP's comment.