Christ, I want to upmod you.

My wiring looks like this. And for the exact same reasons: No, we can't have the downtime to move any wiring around, no we can't take the time to pull those old cables, we don't have time/money to order cables, use the wrong length cause that's what's on hand, it needs to be in production today/it's unfunded, for cable management you can use all the zip ties and velcro that you can scrounge, and multiply it all by ten years. And now they want to use it as evidence that the guy is incompetent or even criminal? Because he hasn't had the backing to incur costs and downtimes for neatness? Because he lacked the pull to make them build buildings and buy new infrastructure?

And, knowing that he's getting unfairly accused on these counts makes me mistrust the remaining accusations as well.

For the 20 years of my life in the US, I have never seen a car burning on the side of the road.

I've seen a car catch fire after an accident. I also knew someone who burned to death after the car she was in caught on fire, she was wearing her seat belt which became jambed. For this very reason I hate mandatory seatbelt laws, if there's the possibility someone will burn to death they should have the choice as to whether or not they will wear a seatbelt. The only thing worse than burning to death is surviving having your body burned.

Falcon

Your super farseeing power were a little bit off, just 4 minutes late. Not so bad actually.

Orion:

Forgot one: Plone. It's OSS, runs on Linux (or Windows) and does everything WSS will do. Its indexing engine is based on Lucine so it's bloody fast.

The greenhouse effect as it applies to cars is that light (mainly visible but also IR as the sun has a lot of this as well and some of it gets through the glass) is transmitted into the car, absorbed by the seats etc, and then re-emitted as infrared, which is then internally reflected by the glass causing rapid thermal gain.

The energy transfer of an optical filter is completely characterized by its transmission, reflection and absorption. So there are three possible approaches to mitigating the problem: reflect the incoming energy you don't want (hard to do without compromising visibility also, and, evidently, radio signals etc), transmit the stuff you don't want better so that internal IR passes more readily *out* of the system (possible but hideously expensive, you need extended bandwidth anti-reflective coatings), and finally: absorb the frequencies you don't want and then take away the heat with another method, typically air convection. This last approach is readily available, its called heat absorbing glass.

I agree completely. I know many countries do exactly as you're saying -- testing early and trying to get people into the track most appropriate for them. Done properly, it's certainly a great idea.

At my high school, we had a very tight relationship with an area "Vo-Tech" (Vocational Technical) school. I'd estimate that about a quarter of the high school would go there during afternoons to take courses in refrigeration, mechanics, electronics repair, data entry, whatever. I have thought for a long time that this is the correct path for a certain type of person who just wants to get out of school and start making cash.

In fact, I think there are probably a lot of trades which are currently learned in universities that could be moved to schools like this instead. Basic programming would be one. All you really need is an apprenticeship and practice to do basic programming. Leave the hardcore R&D and experimental stuff to universities, and teach the basic stuff at vo-tech schools.

Speaking generally to the snobs among us who protest this type of programmer education, consider that many programmers are self-taught, and consider that this would at least formalize the process a bit for them without the expense and tedium of a full-blown university education. They could hire into companies as junior programmers and fight up the ladder like anyone else. If they wanted more than basic programming, they could get into and pay for university. (If you fix refrigerators, you go to Vo-Tech, if you design them, you go to University. Same idea.)

For the 20 years of my life in the US, I have never seen a car burning on the side of the road. I think you just got lucky. A lot of us drive imports anyway.

God, I wish I had points to mod this up. I've never ever seen it be about skills -- usually, in fact, the people doing the arbitrage don't even *know* what the relative skillsets are.

But the "right" to not be defamed is not defined in the constitution, so doesn't the right to free speech over-ride the "right" not to be defamed?

Of course. You have the right to say it. I have the right to recover money damages for the harm you've done me.