You're not new here. If you point it out, it means you believe it. If you mention it, it means you support it.
"That person reminds me of Stalin." "So, you support killing millions of people in a purge?" "No, I didn't even say I liked Stalin." "So you're a fan of Khrushchev and Chairman Mao, I bet you stick a finger in your ass while you whack off about the Cultural Revolution." "What? No, Mao was just as much a monster." "Sure, I knew you were a Khmer Rouge follow. Fucking fascist!" "You got me, you're right." "Don't try to pretend it isn't true, we can fucking read what you wrote above."
Sadly, three of the responses will be moderated informative +5.
It's what we do. It's why my posts are often novellas. If there's a way to misinterpret what I write, it will be done. This is pretty much verbatim:
"No, I can't say as I'm going to vote for Obama." "Fucking racist."
"No, I think the ACA is stupid and a waste of money. I really support single payer." "Fucking racist."
"No, I think we should judge people by what they do and how well they do it." "Fucking racist."
Or conservative, or ultraconservative, or sexist, or fascist, or all sorts of things.
Like I said, it's what we do. Civil and reasoned discourse is long-since dead. I'm actually trying to work on that but it actually means novellas. So, instead, I'm working on a new set of sites. *sighs* I really would rather just rely on someone else's sites.
At some level, we all are - to a varied degree. It sucks to admit it but the damned thing is circular. It really is. At some point, it stops being yours.
If you pay the waitress a $10 tip and she buys a bag of weed, are you buying drugs? If the weed dealer makes enough so that he donates to the local food bank, are you donating food? If the food feeds a pedophile, are you a kiddy fucker? If the kid grows up to murder 100 people and run around in a graveyard at night while wearing their skins as a body suit, are you a freak? If he gets captured, put in an insane asylum, and is seen by a doctor, are you paying his salary by way of the $10 you paid the waitress or by the taxes you spend to keep the State mental hospital open?
You've sold back $200. But, is that *after* you've used what you've needed? If so then, you're paying it off quicker than you think. If your bill was $2000/year and now you're getting $2200 worth of electricity per year (no idea what the costs are there) then you'l have paid for it in less than ten years.
You might want to read that study and see what they're calling subsidies. Then, with solar panels, how about we discuss the materials and manufacturing methods as well as the material acquisition and the energy consumed in their production. Oh, lets limit those to just the ones in production - not the more esoteric ones slated to come a few years down the road that use even rarer materials that are even more difficult to mine and refine.
This is not an argument against solar. This is an argument for open and honest discussion.
I have solar and wind. I do not have them as a cost saver. I have them because I like electricity. My home is in NW, Maine. I am not shitting you when I say that my mains connection is a backup. Come winter, it's not usual to go as long as a week without power. There's nothing important past me and, even though I'm not far from the fat pipes of juice that come in from Canada, I'm pretty much out of luck until every other person gets their power back.
I was not in that specific area during the Ice Storm of 98 (January, I believe) but I've been there for two since. The longest was almost two weeks without power. During the 98 episode, they didn't have power for almost a month.
In fact, about six miles beyond my house is a guy who has still has no power. Of course, he's never had power. The lines go by his house and he still doesn't want power. He does have dial-up internet, I do believe. He was not interested in DSL. Curious sort of guy. Bad hygiene, I guess he was doing post-doc work when his brain kind of snapped, and he's been living off the grid in a cabin that his family owns since the early 1970s. Smart as all hell. He has some solar and a generator. Mostly survives off the land. Cuts a bit of my wood and hunts my deer and fishes my fishies. I'm quite okay with it. He's been over more than once - I've owned the new house since 2008. I was in for Christmas.
At any rate, I make more than enough electricity to push some into the grid. They only give credits for the power - not money. I can sell, trade, or gift the credits. I can donate them to a charitable organization or to a State organization (of some types) and get a reduction in tax burden. As it was just updated with extra panels and a second turbine, I'm going to wait a full year and then I'll donate the credits to the local elementary school. I like 'em. The kids call me Mr. David. As some of them are getting to be adults now, I find it rather amusing to hear the young adults call me Mr. David.
They use a piece of land that I own, it's an old and nonworking sandpit for their keg parties and for shooting. They police their brass. They even came and borrowed my truck, trailer, and tractor once year - they went out and cleaned up all the junk that people had left there over the years. They cleaned up old fridges, cars, burnt out cars, and (oddly) a giant (ocean going) lobster boat that was sans-trailer. I have no idea how the boat got there, it was there when I bought the place and nobody has fessed up yet.
At any rate, that's enough of a novella.;-) I didn't buy solar to make money back. I don't care that it isn't the cheapest. That I have turbines, and really good ones, you can guess that money was not the objective. I did it because it was the right choice for me to make. I like having electricity and the wind, so far as we know, has never quite stopped where the turbines are. It's all automated, I don't need to worry about a thing. You could say I did it to be green. Sort of? Not really... I just like having electricity. It's not even remotely uncommon to lose power there.
(I am not there. I will be there within the next month, probably.)
What are you calling subsidies for fossil fuels? Have you actually looked at the taxes paid by fossil fuels? Have you ever looked to see how much of what you pay at the pump goes to taxes (chances are pretty good that it is posted on/near the pump, actually).
Oil companies don't really get any special subsidies. They pay taxes on profit, not income, just like every other business. They closes thing they get to a subsidy is what the government buys from them for their own use, for the reserve, and what they give out to poor people to heat. Which of those subsidies would you like to see taken away?
And before you say externalities, I again encourage you to look at the taxes paid by the fossil fuel companies. It's not their fault that your government spends the money on bombers instead of cleaning up the environment.
Disclosure: I do own shares in a variety of petrol companies as well as shares in renewable energy companies. My home is powered by solar and wind. It does have a mains connection but I generate more than I use so it's there more as a backup than anything else. I push almost twice as much as I use into the grid - at the peak point of the year. The house is passive solar so I don't need to really use AC or even much heat.
I trust that was sarcasm and that you're not retarded. It looks like it might be sarcasm but it also looks like you might mean what you say. My sarcasm meter is bounding back and forth and I just got it calibrated the other day. It's even got new batteries in it.
But, assuming you are not being sarcastic... I carefully read the post you replied to, then I carefully reread your post, and I'm not actually sure what it is you're either trying to say or trying to prove. I sense you're trying to be witty and seem intelligent but I really don't see it. Enlighten us...
You bet your ass, I'd love to see it. I might rent an apartment nearby, use my blog as my excuse, and go watch it an an entity of the press.
I'm pretty sure that they're gonna kick me out on Day One. Probably for the overstuffed, giant, waving hand with the pointer finger pointing up and "#!" written on it.
Damn it... Now I'm gonna end up with contempt of court charges and languish in jail until they see fit to let me apologize and be on my way. Prior to this, you were trying to help get me shot. I gotta stop talking to you!;-)
> He does. We all do. It's statistically unlikely that one wouldn't.
I've a sibling who qualifies and I have to be *very* careful in what I pay for, else I'll be obligated for all of it. At risk of being too exposing, she's on her way out but currently costs the State a minimal of about $4900/day - and that's when she's home and only taking the regularly prescribed things and that's just her physical health-care. She has an in-home living assistant, not a nurse and is not capable/allowed to do medical things, and a bunch of other things so she's also got the State paying for that. They're in-home 48 hours a week. In addition, they cost me a whole lot of money - like you couldn't even believe. It's not unusual to cut a check or transfer sums that are more than most folks make in a month - more than some folks, technically, make in a year. And that happens every month. I'm used to it and I can afford it but I pretty much have to be kind of exacting with what I do or she'll lose that. I guess I could pay for all of it but I could not do so indefinitely. Then again, I doubt that she'll be living that much longer.
I'd have to know. It'd drive me bonkers. Besides she might be cute. If she's cute, I definitely have to ask. I can't date or whatnot, 'cause I already am stuck to someone, but that doesn't mean I can't go have a closer look - so long as I don't go touching.
I agree in that if it's hidden or obfuscated then that's shitty. But, at the same time, we need to be realistic. Did they just keep clicking or did they actually take a quick second to scan? If they took a second or two to scan, understand, and elected to opt out - then it's not okay. It does mean the user should read (at least skim the damned thing) before clicking.
However, it shouldn't be something that requires more than skimming. If you have to stop, research, and it's confusing or hidden? They need to die in a fire.
Depending on your version and what you're willing to do with it, you can do the same thing with Windows. Note that it is a dedicated box on a nearly dedicated connection.
You might have missed it but it was not a joke when I said you should use what works best for you.
I think anyone who really cares knows the advances being made and is excited. We humans, we'll be fine. So far, so good. So, I can see why you'd think it disconcerting but I don't see it that way. I see it as awesome. Wait until it won't even remotely be a novelty to have gone to space.
Far too many people understand the value of following directions. There's a time and a place to not do so. That's a rarity. Usually, you're far better off by following the directions.
The user interface, the lack of security, the lack of choice, the inability (unwillingness) to make mobile apps functional, etc etc etc... Yes, I expect preferences.
Nah, you pull the handle - not the lock mechanism. I've owned, and own, a lot of cars. Every single one of them opens the door when you pull the interior latch. There are a couple without an interior latch but they're extreme edge cases and I can assure you that you do not own one. Also, doors may be welded shut. The doors *always* open up when you pull the interior handle - no matter how electronic they are - with only two exceptions that I can think of an you don't own any of those, you don't have the money to own any of those. Those too probably have a latch somewhere - I do not know where it is.
When you are unwilling to stand behind your words, your beliefs, and accept the full consequences of them then yes, yes you are cowardly. Those are not then beliefs, they are conveniences. My moniker is attached to me. I will answer to it in real life. I've met people, in person, from this site - and have recently done so again. I've met many.
I am fully cognizant that my speech, which is an action, has consequences. I am grateful for that - it makes me express and hold the beliefs I have up to scrutiny and thus be willing to change them when new information comes to light. I pride myself on reason and I am beholden to nobody other than myself. I will say what I feel needs to be said and accept the consequences of those actions.
If you can not stand behind what you say, then you don't really believe it. You don't believe it because you're unwilling to accept the consequences. You're free to do so. In fact, in my country, you have a right to do so. Just because I do not use that right, does not mean I don't appreciate that right. Rights are often there to protect cowards, inept, and those who can not do for themselves and need permission, protection, or assistance from the government. I'm glad that you have every right you have.
Speaking of rights, I'll use my right to tell you that you're a coward. In fact, it says so right in your moniker. That's okay - you have a right to be. Not everyone can just accept the consequences of their beliefs. They don't really believe them, they're idealists of one type or another (usually) and quite frequently below-average intelligence. That's okay. Not everyone can have an intellect much higher than an ape. I support an AC's right to be vocal and unintelligent. I appreciate that you have that right.
I just mostly choose to ignore you. I doubt anyone pays attention but I've been slowly reducing the number of ACs I respond to. I even go so far as to just never even open the replies. That goes back to holding yourself accountable for beliefs. See, I once believed that it was worth responding to ACs, as a general rule, because they sometimes had insightful, witty, amusing, or curious responses.
Sadly, I appear to have been wrong. It's true that they do. They just do not do so often enough that it is worth my time and effort to read and respond. Why should I? I'm going to try to have a rational, civil, honest, discussion - with an exchange of knowledge, with someone who doesn't even have the courage to stand up for the things they think are right? It really has been a colossal effort, and a futile effort, to weed the gems from the garbage.
Think about that. Really, think about it.
I still read ACs as I go through. I just keep a few mental notes and I'll generally be able to remember the thread and title so that way I can check if that AC replied but I'm sure I miss some. That's unfortunate - some of them had interesting things to say. The SNR is too low to bother trying to pick out the signal. That and I've got that dumb post limit. I have all the karma in the world and there's still a limit to my posts. AC responses were the first to go and rightfully so.
There have always been repercussions for expressing distasteful ideas. Your mother tried to teach this to you when she said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." Saying disrespectful, distasteful, and socially unacceptable things has consequences. The freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. It never did.
It also matters, a great deal, how you say them. Saying distasteful things in a civil manner is a skill folks should really learn.
I am, fortunately, able to say this... I don't give a shit what they think and if they dislike something I said five years ago and want to penalize me for it then I really don't want to work for them.
Of course, that's easy for me to say. I'm retired. However, I'd like to think I've never let anyone influence what I had to say.
Compound that with the fact that I really do stand behind the vast majority of what I say (sometimes I'm just telling bad jokes) and it makes me care even less. I don't really say anything that would bother anyone I'd be willing to work for. Oh, I say some pretty rough stuff but I'm still positive that I'd not want to work with a boss that can't hand open, honest, and reasoned debate.
If a boss can't handle that I'm going to politely say the things I feel need saying, without malice, without anger, without threats, and based on well reasoned conclusions then I really don't want to work for them. Not at all.
I'll try to make this brief. I've not really coded much of anything since the early 2000s - and nothing on the web since 2007 or so.
I keep saying "No to Java." Because, well, that's what I keep hearing but, at the same time, it looks like it's not bad if it's done right and I'll be damned if there isn't a library to help me find the ripest blueberries - that I can load onto my toaster. (I have a plan, damn it.)
I did get a giant ego boost when I was looking at some server logs. Someone in Germany, someone I do not know, called me a "great old one" and linked to the site and said that I was coming back. That made me feel good - and then made me realize that I've got a damned reputation to keep so I'll actually have to be attentive and all that...
At any rate, I keep going back to Java and looking at it. It sure as hell has changed since my last experience with it - circa 2000. There are libraries for EVERYTHING. Hell, even JavaScript is amazing now. Holy crap!
PHP? Still huge. HTML5? Getting there. CSS3? WTF? I'm not even sure I got CSS1 as anything other than to skip adding it all manually - I could just chuck it into a side-loaded site.css, header.css, footer.css, logged_in.css, etc... They're using CSS to position stuff now. But I still see tables being used.
I got Visual Source Code installed on my Linux box. I felt dirty but it's actually quite nice. I've got to check a few more features but I might default to it as I really prefer to program in plain text. Your OOP, SOAP, XAML, and XML confuses me! And that was back then!
So, yeah, I look at what's got the ecosystem and I keep coming back to Java. I'm going to end up letting a lot of people down if I go Java instead of C/C++. Fortunately, I have forgotten all of C/C++ (I could probably get the includes right and then pull the variables and make me a fancy Hello World - in a couple of weeks.)
I bought a ton of stuff on Python. I'm gonna give that shit away. I bought video, DVDs, lessons, books, and I started and I realized how much the language made no sense to me.
I'm gonna be stuck with Java.
Oh, it gets worse. I *like* PHP. No, really, I do. It *is* my go-to web language. I gotta figure out this AJAX-y stuff. I hate JavaScript with a passion. It's almost as much chicken scratch as Perl and, honestly, Perl holds a near and dear place in my heart.
However, things are moving forwards. URL to suffer the humiliating wrath is available. The framework is there and I'm a ass so I'm purposely laying it down on WordPress. Yup. I've got a point to prove. The framework is awful but I think I might be able to tighten it up some. I have no idea how well they'll respond to pushing up stream by someone who really doesn't actually give too shit.
Sorry to rant but, it might be nearly impossible for anyone here to relate. Depending on how you measure, I'm coming in from an ~16 year to ~9 year hiatus. So much has changed. So much.
Slashdot Mirror
You're not new here. If you point it out, it means you believe it. If you mention it, it means you support it.
"That person reminds me of Stalin."
"So, you support killing millions of people in a purge?"
"No, I didn't even say I liked Stalin."
"So you're a fan of Khrushchev and Chairman Mao, I bet you stick a finger in your ass while you whack off about the Cultural Revolution."
"What? No, Mao was just as much a monster."
"Sure, I knew you were a Khmer Rouge follow. Fucking fascist!"
"You got me, you're right."
"Don't try to pretend it isn't true, we can fucking read what you wrote above."
Sadly, three of the responses will be moderated informative +5.
It's what we do. It's why my posts are often novellas. If there's a way to misinterpret what I write, it will be done. This is pretty much verbatim:
"No, I can't say as I'm going to vote for Obama."
"Fucking racist."
"No, I think the ACA is stupid and a waste of money. I really support single payer."
"Fucking racist."
"No, I think we should judge people by what they do and how well they do it."
"Fucking racist."
Or conservative, or ultraconservative, or sexist, or fascist, or all sorts of things.
Like I said, it's what we do. Civil and reasoned discourse is long-since dead. I'm actually trying to work on that but it actually means novellas. So, instead, I'm working on a new set of sites. *sighs* I really would rather just rely on someone else's sites.
At some level, we all are - to a varied degree. It sucks to admit it but the damned thing is circular. It really is. At some point, it stops being yours.
If you pay the waitress a $10 tip and she buys a bag of weed, are you buying drugs? If the weed dealer makes enough so that he donates to the local food bank, are you donating food? If the food feeds a pedophile, are you a kiddy fucker? If the kid grows up to murder 100 people and run around in a graveyard at night while wearing their skins as a body suit, are you a freak? If he gets captured, put in an insane asylum, and is seen by a doctor, are you paying his salary by way of the $10 you paid the waitress or by the taxes you spend to keep the State mental hospital open?
Wait, what?
You've sold back $200. But, is that *after* you've used what you've needed? If so then, you're paying it off quicker than you think. If your bill was $2000/year and now you're getting $2200 worth of electricity per year (no idea what the costs are there) then you'l have paid for it in less than ten years.
You might want to read that study and see what they're calling subsidies. Then, with solar panels, how about we discuss the materials and manufacturing methods as well as the material acquisition and the energy consumed in their production. Oh, lets limit those to just the ones in production - not the more esoteric ones slated to come a few years down the road that use even rarer materials that are even more difficult to mine and refine.
This is not an argument against solar. This is an argument for open and honest discussion.
I have solar and wind. I do not have them as a cost saver. I have them because I like electricity. My home is in NW, Maine. I am not shitting you when I say that my mains connection is a backup. Come winter, it's not usual to go as long as a week without power. There's nothing important past me and, even though I'm not far from the fat pipes of juice that come in from Canada, I'm pretty much out of luck until every other person gets their power back.
I was not in that specific area during the Ice Storm of 98 (January, I believe) but I've been there for two since. The longest was almost two weeks without power. During the 98 episode, they didn't have power for almost a month.
In fact, about six miles beyond my house is a guy who has still has no power. Of course, he's never had power. The lines go by his house and he still doesn't want power. He does have dial-up internet, I do believe. He was not interested in DSL. Curious sort of guy. Bad hygiene, I guess he was doing post-doc work when his brain kind of snapped, and he's been living off the grid in a cabin that his family owns since the early 1970s. Smart as all hell. He has some solar and a generator. Mostly survives off the land. Cuts a bit of my wood and hunts my deer and fishes my fishies. I'm quite okay with it. He's been over more than once - I've owned the new house since 2008. I was in for Christmas.
At any rate, I make more than enough electricity to push some into the grid. They only give credits for the power - not money. I can sell, trade, or gift the credits. I can donate them to a charitable organization or to a State organization (of some types) and get a reduction in tax burden. As it was just updated with extra panels and a second turbine, I'm going to wait a full year and then I'll donate the credits to the local elementary school. I like 'em. The kids call me Mr. David. As some of them are getting to be adults now, I find it rather amusing to hear the young adults call me Mr. David.
They use a piece of land that I own, it's an old and nonworking sandpit for their keg parties and for shooting. They police their brass. They even came and borrowed my truck, trailer, and tractor once year - they went out and cleaned up all the junk that people had left there over the years. They cleaned up old fridges, cars, burnt out cars, and (oddly) a giant (ocean going) lobster boat that was sans-trailer. I have no idea how the boat got there, it was there when I bought the place and nobody has fessed up yet.
At any rate, that's enough of a novella. ;-) I didn't buy solar to make money back. I don't care that it isn't the cheapest. That I have turbines, and really good ones, you can guess that money was not the objective. I did it because it was the right choice for me to make. I like having electricity and the wind, so far as we know, has never quite stopped where the turbines are. It's all automated, I don't need to worry about a thing. You could say I did it to be green. Sort of? Not really... I just like having electricity. It's not even remotely uncommon to lose power there.
(I am not there. I will be there within the next month, probably.)
What are you calling subsidies for fossil fuels? Have you actually looked at the taxes paid by fossil fuels? Have you ever looked to see how much of what you pay at the pump goes to taxes (chances are pretty good that it is posted on/near the pump, actually).
Oil companies don't really get any special subsidies. They pay taxes on profit, not income, just like every other business. They closes thing they get to a subsidy is what the government buys from them for their own use, for the reserve, and what they give out to poor people to heat. Which of those subsidies would you like to see taken away?
And before you say externalities, I again encourage you to look at the taxes paid by the fossil fuel companies. It's not their fault that your government spends the money on bombers instead of cleaning up the environment.
Disclosure: I do own shares in a variety of petrol companies as well as shares in renewable energy companies. My home is powered by solar and wind. It does have a mains connection but I generate more than I use so it's there more as a backup than anything else. I push almost twice as much as I use into the grid - at the peak point of the year. The house is passive solar so I don't need to really use AC or even much heat.
Well, MD... At least you remembered to tick the box to post as an AC. So, there's that.
I trust that was sarcasm and that you're not retarded. It looks like it might be sarcasm but it also looks like you might mean what you say. My sarcasm meter is bounding back and forth and I just got it calibrated the other day. It's even got new batteries in it.
But, assuming you are not being sarcastic... I carefully read the post you replied to, then I carefully reread your post, and I'm not actually sure what it is you're either trying to say or trying to prove. I sense you're trying to be witty and seem intelligent but I really don't see it. Enlighten us...
You bet your ass, I'd love to see it. I might rent an apartment nearby, use my blog as my excuse, and go watch it an an entity of the press.
I'm pretty sure that they're gonna kick me out on Day One. Probably for the overstuffed, giant, waving hand with the pointer finger pointing up and "#!" written on it.
Damn it... Now I'm gonna end up with contempt of court charges and languish in jail until they see fit to let me apologize and be on my way. Prior to this, you were trying to help get me shot. I gotta stop talking to you! ;-)
Well, that's kind of a given, Transmission or not. ;-)
> He does. We all do. It's statistically unlikely that one wouldn't.
I've a sibling who qualifies and I have to be *very* careful in what I pay for, else I'll be obligated for all of it. At risk of being too exposing, she's on her way out but currently costs the State a minimal of about $4900/day - and that's when she's home and only taking the regularly prescribed things and that's just her physical health-care. She has an in-home living assistant, not a nurse and is not capable/allowed to do medical things, and a bunch of other things so she's also got the State paying for that. They're in-home 48 hours a week. In addition, they cost me a whole lot of money - like you couldn't even believe. It's not unusual to cut a check or transfer sums that are more than most folks make in a month - more than some folks, technically, make in a year. And that happens every month. I'm used to it and I can afford it but I pretty much have to be kind of exacting with what I do or she'll lose that. I guess I could pay for all of it but I could not do so indefinitely. Then again, I doubt that she'll be living that much longer.
I'd have to know. It'd drive me bonkers. Besides she might be cute. If she's cute, I definitely have to ask. I can't date or whatnot, 'cause I already am stuck to someone, but that doesn't mean I can't go have a closer look - so long as I don't go touching.
I agree in that if it's hidden or obfuscated then that's shitty. But, at the same time, we need to be realistic. Did they just keep clicking or did they actually take a quick second to scan? If they took a second or two to scan, understand, and elected to opt out - then it's not okay. It does mean the user should read (at least skim the damned thing) before clicking.
However, it shouldn't be something that requires more than skimming. If you have to stop, research, and it's confusing or hidden? They need to die in a fire.
So long as there's a mechanical indoor handle, you should be all set.
F-droid might have something.
Depending on your version and what you're willing to do with it, you can do the same thing with Windows. Note that it is a dedicated box on a nearly dedicated connection.
You might have missed it but it was not a joke when I said you should use what works best for you.
I think anyone who really cares knows the advances being made and is excited. We humans, we'll be fine. So far, so good. So, I can see why you'd think it disconcerting but I don't see it that way. I see it as awesome. Wait until it won't even remotely be a novelty to have gone to space.
Far too many people understand the value of following directions. There's a time and a place to not do so. That's a rarity. Usually, you're far better off by following the directions.
The user interface, the lack of security, the lack of choice, the inability (unwillingness) to make mobile apps functional, etc etc etc... Yes, I expect preferences.
Counter-suit perhaps?
Nah, you pull the handle - not the lock mechanism. I've owned, and own, a lot of cars. Every single one of them opens the door when you pull the interior latch. There are a couple without an interior latch but they're extreme edge cases and I can assure you that you do not own one. Also, doors may be welded shut. The doors *always* open up when you pull the interior handle - no matter how electronic they are - with only two exceptions that I can think of an you don't own any of those, you don't have the money to own any of those. Those too probably have a latch somewhere - I do not know where it is.
As an aside; I do carry a window breaker.
When you are unwilling to stand behind your words, your beliefs, and accept the full consequences of them then yes, yes you are cowardly. Those are not then beliefs, they are conveniences. My moniker is attached to me. I will answer to it in real life. I've met people, in person, from this site - and have recently done so again. I've met many.
I am fully cognizant that my speech, which is an action, has consequences. I am grateful for that - it makes me express and hold the beliefs I have up to scrutiny and thus be willing to change them when new information comes to light. I pride myself on reason and I am beholden to nobody other than myself. I will say what I feel needs to be said and accept the consequences of those actions.
If you can not stand behind what you say, then you don't really believe it. You don't believe it because you're unwilling to accept the consequences. You're free to do so. In fact, in my country, you have a right to do so. Just because I do not use that right, does not mean I don't appreciate that right. Rights are often there to protect cowards, inept, and those who can not do for themselves and need permission, protection, or assistance from the government. I'm glad that you have every right you have.
Speaking of rights, I'll use my right to tell you that you're a coward. In fact, it says so right in your moniker. That's okay - you have a right to be. Not everyone can just accept the consequences of their beliefs. They don't really believe them, they're idealists of one type or another (usually) and quite frequently below-average intelligence. That's okay. Not everyone can have an intellect much higher than an ape. I support an AC's right to be vocal and unintelligent. I appreciate that you have that right.
I just mostly choose to ignore you. I doubt anyone pays attention but I've been slowly reducing the number of ACs I respond to. I even go so far as to just never even open the replies. That goes back to holding yourself accountable for beliefs. See, I once believed that it was worth responding to ACs, as a general rule, because they sometimes had insightful, witty, amusing, or curious responses.
Sadly, I appear to have been wrong. It's true that they do. They just do not do so often enough that it is worth my time and effort to read and respond. Why should I? I'm going to try to have a rational, civil, honest, discussion - with an exchange of knowledge, with someone who doesn't even have the courage to stand up for the things they think are right? It really has been a colossal effort, and a futile effort, to weed the gems from the garbage.
Think about that. Really, think about it.
I still read ACs as I go through. I just keep a few mental notes and I'll generally be able to remember the thread and title so that way I can check if that AC replied but I'm sure I miss some. That's unfortunate - some of them had interesting things to say. The SNR is too low to bother trying to pick out the signal. That and I've got that dumb post limit. I have all the karma in the world and there's still a limit to my posts. AC responses were the first to go and rightfully so.
There have always been repercussions for expressing distasteful ideas. Your mother tried to teach this to you when she said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." Saying disrespectful, distasteful, and socially unacceptable things has consequences. The freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. It never did.
It also matters, a great deal, how you say them. Saying distasteful things in a civil manner is a skill folks should really learn.
I am, fortunately, able to say this... I don't give a shit what they think and if they dislike something I said five years ago and want to penalize me for it then I really don't want to work for them.
Of course, that's easy for me to say. I'm retired. However, I'd like to think I've never let anyone influence what I had to say.
Compound that with the fact that I really do stand behind the vast majority of what I say (sometimes I'm just telling bad jokes) and it makes me care even less. I don't really say anything that would bother anyone I'd be willing to work for. Oh, I say some pretty rough stuff but I'm still positive that I'd not want to work with a boss that can't hand open, honest, and reasoned debate.
If a boss can't handle that I'm going to politely say the things I feel need saying, without malice, without anger, without threats, and based on well reasoned conclusions then I really don't want to work for them. Not at all.
I'll try to make this brief. I've not really coded much of anything since the early 2000s - and nothing on the web since 2007 or so.
I keep saying "No to Java." Because, well, that's what I keep hearing but, at the same time, it looks like it's not bad if it's done right and I'll be damned if there isn't a library to help me find the ripest blueberries - that I can load onto my toaster. (I have a plan, damn it.)
I did get a giant ego boost when I was looking at some server logs. Someone in Germany, someone I do not know, called me a "great old one" and linked to the site and said that I was coming back. That made me feel good - and then made me realize that I've got a damned reputation to keep so I'll actually have to be attentive and all that...
At any rate, I keep going back to Java and looking at it. It sure as hell has changed since my last experience with it - circa 2000. There are libraries for EVERYTHING. Hell, even JavaScript is amazing now. Holy crap!
PHP? Still huge. HTML5? Getting there. CSS3? WTF? I'm not even sure I got CSS1 as anything other than to skip adding it all manually - I could just chuck it into a side-loaded site.css, header.css, footer.css, logged_in.css, etc... They're using CSS to position stuff now. But I still see tables being used.
I got Visual Source Code installed on my Linux box. I felt dirty but it's actually quite nice. I've got to check a few more features but I might default to it as I really prefer to program in plain text. Your OOP, SOAP, XAML, and XML confuses me! And that was back then!
So, yeah, I look at what's got the ecosystem and I keep coming back to Java. I'm going to end up letting a lot of people down if I go Java instead of C/C++. Fortunately, I have forgotten all of C/C++ (I could probably get the includes right and then pull the variables and make me a fancy Hello World - in a couple of weeks.)
I bought a ton of stuff on Python. I'm gonna give that shit away. I bought video, DVDs, lessons, books, and I started and I realized how much the language made no sense to me.
I'm gonna be stuck with Java.
Oh, it gets worse. I *like* PHP. No, really, I do. It *is* my go-to web language. I gotta figure out this AJAX-y stuff. I hate JavaScript with a passion. It's almost as much chicken scratch as Perl and, honestly, Perl holds a near and dear place in my heart.
However, things are moving forwards. URL to suffer the humiliating wrath is available. The framework is there and I'm a ass so I'm purposely laying it down on WordPress. Yup. I've got a point to prove. The framework is awful but I think I might be able to tighten it up some. I have no idea how well they'll respond to pushing up stream by someone who really doesn't actually give too shit.
Sorry to rant but, it might be nearly impossible for anyone here to relate. Depending on how you measure, I'm coming in from an ~16 year to ~9 year hiatus. So much has changed. So much.