My point is not about how case is meant to be used my point is that it is very easy to make a mistake that is difficult to spot. I think it makes a lot more sense to the case insensitive, and force different names to be used.

I feel the same way about programming languages. There is no way that “User” and “user” should refer to different variables. How many times has that screwed people up, especially in a weekly typed language?

One of the many things that I feel modern versions of Pascal got right.

I’ve been using this for about 3 months. I would estimate that my dog walks are now about twice as long as they used to be. I don’t really enjoy walking, but this gives me just enough incentive to do it everyday and, if I feel like taking a shortcut, taking the long way instead.

That’s right. If the debts take up all the money, then there is nothing left to inherit. And if there isn’t enough money to pay all the debts, then the debtors go away unsatisfied. In no case do the heirs have any responsibility for the debts.

I should emphasize that this is in countries governed by English common law: the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, etc. I have no idea if it is true in countries following the Napoleonic Code, or anywhere else.

Debts are discharged before heirs receive their inheritance.

I have the set of Infocom text adventure games. I think the earliest ones came out in about 1981 or 82. I still fire one up now and then for a nostalgia hit. I bought a few when they came out, but couldn’t afford more.

You can play some of them online, in your browser. Of course there are thousands of text adventure games (a.k.a. interactive fiction) available for free. Definitely worth checking out! And look at Inform, a language and IDE for creating these games by using more or less standard English.

To protect against piracy, most of these games required physical objects that were included in the game box. They are known as feelies. There are plenty of places on the web where you can find all the feelings you need.

There are estimated to be between 200,000 and 400,000 significant deviations (i.e. not just spelling mistakes) in the New Testament manuscripts we now have. Scholars make educated guesses about what the correct wording is, but those are still guesses.

You know the story of the adulteress who is going to be stoned? That was added at least 100 years after the rest of the Gospel of John was written.

The oldest surviving manuscripts of the Book of Luke, which was the first gospel written, ends with the women running away from the empty tomb and not telling anyone. It is believed that the resurrection story was added later.

Bart Ehrman does a very good job of explaining these issues on his YouTube channel.

I’ve been making a spreadsheet of my unused keys from humble bundles going right back to the very beginning. There are over a thousand of them.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to do. Give them way to friends and family?

I bought a book that had Yggdrasil in a CD that I used so I didn’t have to go into the university for the Unix labs.

I think that the entirety of the book, around 1,000 pages, was printed out man pages.

I agree. I would happily pay for a movie ticket to watch something that had the spirit and intelligence of Logan or Joker, but I doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon. I’m tired of having my intelligence insulted.

I think that singing English songs would be very, very helpful. It forces you to use the phrasing, pronunciation, and emphasis of a native English speaker.

Did you know that you can edit the title of your post? You should think about it!

My wife pointed out to me a couple of years ago that I was simultaneously the oldest person on our Dev team, and the youngest person in our church.

Also, the actor who played Boss Hogg had been in Army Intelligence during the Korean war, and spoke about 12 languages.

There was certainly a plug-in or something that made Reddit look like an Excel spreadsheet, so reading Reddit made you look like you were doing important calculations!

A nation of people so advanced that they decide their dictatorial ruler through a trial by combat.

In a sense, yes. If you are trying to get an international volunteer visa, most developing countries have no interest in more unskilled labor coming into their country. You need some kind of qualification, whether it’s a degree or a carpenter’s certification.

In the same way, to teach English in Japan you need a “Specialist in Humanities” visa. It’s easy to get one, as long as you have a university degree.

A lot of the education and engineering seems to be about the area you are studying, like chemistry or electronics or buildings. But in fact, the most valuable part of it is learning problem-solving skills in the middle of all of those courses. In that sense, I still use my engineering education all the time. But not the degree itself.

When I went into university to do chemical engineering, in 1981, I had never even touched a computer. I didn’t know until I got there that you could even do computers as a career.

I graduated, and then volunteered as a teacher in Africa for 3 years. I came back to Canada, and then taught English in Japan for 3 years.

But after my first year of university, my family got a computer (a Commodore Vic 20, with 3.5 kB of memory) and I was obsessed from that woman onward.

Leaving Japan, I went back to school and did a diploma in computer science. Unlike chemical engineering, where I dutifully learned things that I was told I needed to learn, I was delighted to have the chance to learn about software, operating systems, databases, graphics, etc. The difference was astonishing, and I found it easy to maintain a GPA just under 4.0.

I have been working as a programmer for more than 25 years, and although it has been stressful at times, the joy is still there. I’m not an artist by any means, but I do feel like a craftsman, and I enjoy the opportunity to continue learning everyday.

I have never, ever, in my life enjoyed running. I never got up to long distances, but used to be able to do about 5k without too much trouble. An hour of swimming? No problem. 30 minutes of high intensity rowing? Happy to do that. Cycling 50k? I’m all over that. But running just makes me feel bad.

I’m willing to bet that there are millions of teen parents who would have a different view of this. The problem is that teens often don’t have access to birth control, or are manipulated, or plain stupid because their brains haven’t finished developing yet.

I’m sure that some people would have regrets about not getting laid as teens. But it’s hardly a hard and fast rule.