Heath Long

I am sorry if this is this has been posted already. I think it is probably old news on this board. Imperial College London has found that two networks of genes determine whether people are intelligent or not so bright. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12061787/Intelligence-genes-discovered-by-scientists.html

I donate to School Sucks, Freedomain, Peace Revolution, and The Corbett Report. I love them all. It seems like I found them all at once. I need to start donating to Gnostic Media as well. Aside from Gnostic Media and the pre 2013 Freedomain Radio, I have listened to every episode from each provider.

I bet he would be so bold without the armed thugs holding the victim down. What a pig. It is the truth, if one wishes to see it. Come and get my tax "contribution" without your thugs John McCain, Hilary Clinton, Harry Reid...Pigs, every one of them.

I am going to throw something out there. Please do not take this as advice, but just something to consider. I might start looking for other jobs. If there are perceived "failures" as a part if your work catalogue there, then move on. Development failures are rarely the fault of an individual developer. If you are not in the right role, that is not entirely your fault, but shitty higher-ups will readily place all blame on you. I have several developers reporting to me, and the most important part of keeping them productive is understanding what it is that they like to do. Sometimes, I push them outside their comfort zone, but I think long and hard about the benefit to their career first, and explain it to them prior to putting them in a role. Some employers are like this. Many just fill seats. We all have messes to clean up as a part of being human in 2014. I grew up with the "do what I say or else" parents, grandparents, school, city, state and country. But understand that the "or else" in a project is usually another project that you might like better and that might be the basis for a career. Things could be so much worse! You have a giant brain that someone is paying you to use. Right now they are getting a portion. When you find your spot, you will be able to give it all and that's when good things happen. Again, just something to think about. If you are certain that it is not them, but you...then keep doing the best you can while working out the issues that are holding you back. From my experience, one's environment can make all of the difference though.

I do not know where the pain originates, but I felt my own pain reading your story. I have been in dev shops like the one you described, and I hated it to the point of physical manifestations of pain. It was not acute, like you described; it was more like severe anxiety. I did not want to fail, but I also did not want to be there. What I found is that not every dev position is like this. From my experience, it seems like you are not doing something that you like. Is this possible? The world is big, and software development is broad in its range of project types and roles. I jumped around a bit and found a place the suited me. I tried other languages and various work models (consultant from home for a while) until I found the right mix of projects and responsibilities for me. What do you think? Is it the work itself, the environment, or something else?

Iowan living in AZ here. Welcome! My wife's maternal family is all from Madison, so we go there often. Ah, the upper Midwest socialist. A delightful breed. The will never identify as socialist, definitions be damned. Iowa is the same way.

I get what you are saying power, but running through the dealers that I know...they have all moved on to pretty good positions; at least the ones who did not get clipped too drastically by the hypocrisy of the law in their states at the time. I have a buddy who is still on probation in CO, for a crime that no longer exists in that state. One of the smartest people I know, and he did many years for selling what can now be legally purchased anywhere in CO. Bullshit. The dealers that I know were not bad people. They could see beyond the nonsense. My first lesson on money came from my friend who I referred to above, when he asked me, "do you know what money is?". He went on to explain the federal reserve and our monetary system. More than 99/100 people could do in 1993. Wow did I get off topic.

Back to the OP and in the spirit of the first few posts: a few very simple rules can spawn incredibly complex systems. Wolfram stated in his giant ass book that the universe could have started with a handful of rules...like enough to count on one hand, spawning the universe we observe today. I like this, because I live it. First principles.

So the question is: bad job history vs. no job history. You could say something like, "I made the mistake of not being particular about taking employment. I compromised, and it backfired. I have learned that an employee chooses an employer as much as the employer chooses and employee, and I will not make the same compromises in the future." This shows that you can grow from mistakes and it also is somewhat flattering to the employer, should you take a position.

Wow. Thanks everyone. I will check this stuff out. I started by purchasing a book by Dr. Laura Markham, and I am happy to see that, so far, it is very much in line with what I hear from Steph on the subject. Thanks again for the responses.

I am looking for a good book on parenting. We have a 2.5 year old child that is wonderful until bed time, when she starts jumping on the bed and completely ignores her parents. We are just looking for some insight on where we are falling short, and to learn something about an appropriate course of action. Her communication is not yet advanced enough to get a complete picture by talking to our daughter. We would greatly appreciate some book suggestions. Thanks in advance.

We have the same setup. We use Apple TV, which includes Netflix and many other apps. Our 2.5 year old daughter likes to watch Pingu and Curious George, and she joins us when we watch shows that are appropriate. I am with you when you say that the marketing part of television is something to avoid, and it makes up a big portion of why we do not have a cable or satellite subscription. One may be able to limit marketing exposure by using a DVR as well. Honestly, I think my wife and I have watched 2 movies in their entirety in 2.5 years, so not having immediate access just makes sense for us. I do not think that television in itself is a bad thing. It is about how one uses the device. I sometimes have my daughter sit with me and I put on a show about dinosaurs or other animals before a trip to the zoo. She also has an iPad on which she can pull up a show on netflix if she chooses, and we have not found her to over use the privilege. We got the iPad because we can see that it will be an important device in her education. When I first got my iPad, I downloaded wolfram alpha and I had a lightbulb over the head moment. This is the new reference library, and my daughter will have access to vast repositories of human knowledge! When I was a child, my access was an encyclopedia from 20 years before I was born....this is better.

I am curious as to how one leads a team of developers without having development experience. I would hate that. Perhaps using that tiny bit of perspective can help you. Maybe it will be a fine challenge. Have you ready any books on the black art of software estimation?

I am sure that they do spy. But I do not think this particular test proves much. I can see how their anti spam systems might trigger a positive for this test. Not saying that their servers are not tied into the NSA or vice versa, but this test does not really say much. Snowden's release is enough for me to say with certainty that theses companies, while perhaps not spying themselves, are a part of a spy apparatus on the web.

Is it not true that evolution has made it so our evolution is self driven? We can learn of our past from these studies, but nature has selected us to our current state, and we are now able to evolve while being conscience of our own evolution. I am not sure that any other life form on this planet has this luxury. I am certain that most are not consciencly aware that this is true...or not aware enough to care. We are at a tipping point. We will either evolve or devolve. The numbers show devolve, unfortunately. Those who are conscience of our role in evolution are not reproducing. These are the numbers as they are today...perhaps something will change.

Welcome Sasha. I hope you enjoy the community.

It is the only show I watch. I think it is the best show that has ever been on television.

You make skillful and peaceful arguements. However, as I mentioned, I could not be less interested in this show. I watch only 2 shows out of all that are offered: Mad Men and Arrested Development. I am not going to add My Little Pony to the mix. I am sure that at some point I will see it first hand as my daughter has me watching all sorts of stuff. I watched Finding Nemo last night for the love of Pete. Thanks for stating your case so well. I appreciate the conversation. I will keep my mind open, and I ask that you do the same if you love your community. I am not making up my perception out of the clear blue sea. You had the same perception yourself initially, as you stated. This does not happen by accident, and some of your community members do you no favors with their behavior.

What could possibly make me uncomfortable with grown men acting like babies talking about the magic of friendship? Being a libertarian, I am all for grown men doing whatever they please, within the confines of the NAP. However, I do not have to like all behaviors. I do not have to live as if all behaviors are equal. All behaviors are free to be expressed, but the existence of a behavior does not make that behavior worthy of praise. Christians are free live according to faith, but I do not have to say that Christianity is wonderful even while knowing that living according to faith vs. living according to reason and reality is superior when truth is a value. Let's not pretend there is not a pedophile element with Bronies. I am not saying it is a majority but I am saying that it is disproportionately high, and there is plenty of evidence found in a rudimentary Internet search. This does not make you one, or your friends for that matter, and I do not intend to imply guilt by association. I am just asking you to not be blind to your own community like a Catholic might be. I have never said the show is bad. I do not care. If Steph himself was a writer on the show, I would probably still not watch, although I might encourage my 2 year old daughter. I simply could not be less interested in magical ponies. i have noticed that y'all Bronies are pretty fierce defenders of the community. Good for you. Please do not forget that we can agree about your freedom of expression without endorsing or condoning what is expressed.

Daisy, you can speak from a female's point of view. I am certain that you do not speak for all females. I think there is a distinction between a Brony and someone who finds the cartoon to have value. I can appreciate a Georgia O'Keeffe painting without feeling uncomfortable...bad example. Identifying quality is one thing. Making a lifestyle around My Little Pony or GI Joe or Barbie might be cause for self examination. I am not saying it is bad, but it might be a clue that something deeper is present.

I just checked with my wife, and it turns out that she would leave me if I became a Bronie. So would my daughter. I am making a joke...kind of. What my wife thinks is of no importance to anyone but me, but as a very small female sample, she was turned off instantly. Of course, a younger female might feel differently in today's climate. Maybe a Bronie man is an attractive alternative to today's pornified male? Maybe the Bronie is an outcome of the modern feminization of the male. Maybe it represents the final product of the feminist ideal? I am throwing out ideas. As an aside, there appears to be a rather ugly pedofile subculture in the Bronie community. This is according to the comments section I articles I read this morning on the topic.

Are you all young? How do the females in your lives feel about this? I am sure my wife, if I chose to watch this show, would not leave me...but had I been a Bronie when we met, I am not sure we would have children together today. I am not trying to be a prick, but being a Bronie and courting females seem to be at odds. Of course, you could not care at this point, which is perfectly fine. I may be in the minority when I say, I was always courting someone when in my youth and still want my wife to find me attractive. You do not have to be a dumb jock, smashing beer bottles on your head. And maybe something has changed about girls in recent years that I do not know. But I think that as a male, you may be limiting your potential female companions to a precariously low fraction of the population as a Bronie. Again, I may be missing something, and it is more likely that you do not care...but if you do...

This is what I did: I found a job that was in the field that I liked. It paid shit, but I did it well. So well in fact, that I they paid me to learn to do it better, which led to projects which helped the company and gave me a career. My field is programming. I was hired to write HTML to update websites and I figured out how to generate the code from a database back in 1999, which changed my life and the business I worked for simultaneously. Now, I run a development team and I continue to grow as a professional. I never stop writing code because managers who do not write code are easily fired and lose their edge. I have seen a ton of 50 year old guys who used to write code and who went into management where they promptly stopped coding and lost their worth. They are now job seeking with their last coding being the outdated tech that I did in 1999. My advice is, find a jr. development position, even if it pays shit, and run with the opportunity. Never stop growing. I hired a dude recently who is in his 50's and went the management route, but he never stopped coding. He will never be looking for a job for long because he keeps his skills up to date. Find today's technology and make it obsolete. Rinse. Repeat.

Love the art work. I am glad I took a minute to look. Roses has a very sad tone. Just my feeling.

Why? If it is so great for you, why not label it and move on? If it so healthy, the label should read, "now with asptertame!". Why would the FDA not ask these questions? I really hate these people. I hate the cartels like the Dairy Association and I hate the corrupt regulators. This is not hate for the organizations, but for the individuals that comprise them. if I see asptertame on a label, I will not buy. I must be an exception, because it is in virtually everything. I tried to buy a pack of gum the other day, and left the store with empty hands and kickin breath. There was not a single option for me. My sister was on the diet coke and it was killing her health. She quit and her symptoms disappeared. She actually had withdrawal though.