Had a really long break from IRC, but it actually is better than anything else (unless you're addicted to embedded videoclips about kittens)

It's really not that uncommon, especially with people working in the entertainment industry. The field IS changing towards a more substance free environment, but on some festival gigs the older techs could chug down more than a case of beer (in my location that's 24x0.33l) in one day, and no-one even noticed. This usually happened during a hot day with more than 16 work hours put in. Still especially during the summer, it was a common occurrence for me and a few fellows to chug a few beers for breakfast and continue drinking a beer every two hours.

Good advice, but due to acid reflux I simply cannot eat nicotine gum. Vaping products are also semi legal, so no luck there. I can actually go without smoking for a full day if I don't have to do anything. Personal MUST smoke triggers are coffee and alcohol. A couple of my friends have completely stopped smoking with medicine like Champix. Gotta give it a try.

That's actually wrong. In RMS's version the people aren't free to do "whatever they like" with your software, that's what the BSD license grants. I count being able to modify and distribute without disclosing modifications as part of "whatever they like"

You seem to make the assumption that all that code would be written anyway, regardless of any earning potential as free code for everyone. I guess that's the reason GPL software is the best in every category...

Just as a side thought, how exactly were they supposed to make money on that? Why should Microsoft care whose free browser is gonna be run on their platform?

I agree with this. The only thing Google is running on is advertisement revenue. The second someone decides another search engine is better, google is pretty much dead. Apple is a fad that's dying slowly. Hipsters loved Apple, and people followed. But now it's becoming outdated. Apple kept floating through the bad times because people in specialized professional environments preferred them. But now there's a lot of bad sounds about them cause they've crippled some of the most popular software packages for professionals, and windows versions are actually catching up or even better than the Apple ones. (Mainly video and audio software.) Plus the fact that a lot of people are sick and tired of their Apple gear breaking so easily. I can understand if a sub 800 dollar Acer laptop breaks, but a macbook pro should take a lot more abuse just for the price. I work in a place which used to prefer Apple. Now everytime a machine breaks, we get a PC as a replamecement, cause only 1 person in the whole place thinks Macs are great.

Mainly because no one would be using it

Actually I Think you're joking. Most software programming projects that actually succeed don't need someone who's the most skilled in programming. They need someone who can solve problems. And that is not dependent on their programming background.

The problem is, people don't seem to see the difference between "gender equality" compared to "gender specific rights". Equality means, women are not allowed to be offended by things that men are not offended by. And vice versa. That's equality. If men are riled up by things women think are okay, it's not equality. Equality means women are held to the same standard that men are. And vice versa. The worst offender is the "parent" card. If you're not up to the task, don't do it. Who gives a flying "insert non offending word". If you're not up to the task, you're not. If you have a kid, it doesn't change the way your competence is measured (atleast it shouldn't). The last part means a child is not supposed to be considered a plus for you if you underperform. (and performance is compared to your workmates, not some general statistic. And this goes both for males and females. You getting fired should not have anything to do with your personal breeding) I know there's a history of preferring men over women. This still doesn't you make entitled to demands. If you want EQUALITY you take the jokes, and fire them back. (hint, if males are not offended and you are, it's not an EQUALITY problem) If you want gender specific rights, stop talking about equality. For example, breast feeding has nothing to do with equality. The first time i see an actual man (born as one) able to do that, i'll bow down and kiss the sky.

Yes and no. Equalizer use is dictated by the equipment and space. It is not just used for flaws in signal handling, but eliminating or elevating frequencies that are causing trouble or not being played back loud enough in the room, Different speakers also have different characteristics on certain frequencies and volumes. In some spaces the sound might be just fine, in others you have to eliminate frequencies that cause resonation with elements in the chosen space. Most highend systems do hidden EQ changes that are not configurable to compensate for the actual speakers and amplifiers. If you have a decent soundsystem, the EQ can be the difference between a really shitty playback compared to a really good one. Atleast if you play music really loudly OR silently. And i omitted all the live playback situations (monitor speaker/microphone feedback etc)

The whole setting needs just one technician hauling a wheeled case full of explosives to the arena, And yeah, tell me the DHS or any other agencies know enough about moving lights and pyrotechnics to be able to tell the difference betweeen a dangerous explosive vs part of the show equipment.

Agree with you, works every time. Sometimes I have to explain what i'm doing, but usually nobody bothers me going in fast with a bundle of cables. I admit, usually I am working at the venue but the bouncers don't know that. At one point I worked for a company that did most of the night club A/V installations and maintenance in the region. Usually it was enough to mention the company name, and they would let you in to sections of the restaurant that weren't open at that hour, alone. And when you walked out with insanely expensive equipment, you just had to tell them it was for regular maintenance. No questions asked. And no, the staff didn't know me.

If you don't comply with the police, pretty much. Personally i've broken too many laws to be a saint. But still not complying with police is about the dumbest thing you can do , if you're not sure you can get away with it. Even if you're totally innocent, noncompliance means guilt or atleast something worthy of investifgation

So you think it's better that they endanger themselves and others when some lunatic resists arrest, rather than taze them? Resisting arrest is a decision made by the individual. It isn't about right or wrong. That can be sorted out later. But if you decide to physically resist an arrest, you're pretty much fucked. Even if you otherwise didn't commit a crime, you did so in resisting