I spoke with a programmer and said that I wanted to learn C++ and she told me just to learn Java as that is what most stuff is made in anyway. She said that C++ was much harder to learn and much more cumbersome. That's why I thought Java was the best to learn. I don't ever expect to make a career out of it, I just like to learn stuff and programming is something that I find interesting and would very much like to be able to create my own programs.

I am assuming that those are books that you are talking about? Do you know if you can get free online copies?

And that's awesome that you taught yourself these things. How long did it take you to learn?

Yeah, they're books, and unfortunately I don't know how to get them online. I mean, there are always "options" if you know what I mean.

Java is definitely easier, and you don't have to worry about much when using it. If you want to play around, I think it's a good recommendation. C++ you can try to learn the easy way, but you'll just be memorizing and not understanding (which I think will hurt you in the long run much more than taking 100 to 200 hours and getting a solid background that lets you grasp the concepts).

How long, well, gotta go, but I started at 12 and probably was 19 before I'd consider myself competent, though I still have plenty more to learn.

Any of you guys hear about the Atheist Experience? It's a pretty cool show, they get theists to call in and discuss beliefs.

I watched a bunch of them. The host is smart and good at explanations, but the callers are real lame ducks. It is entertaining though.

Steve McNair

So, its like televised RGT.

The live stream has a bunch of old episodes saved, and they air every sunday. They have had some decent theistic callers, Matt is a great host though and I tend to agree with most of what he says.

I got a 10 on my third actuarial exam!

For those of you who don't know what that is, it means I studied too much.

Prior to now, this was my only exposure to the word actuarial:



gg.

for some reason i just remembered this from years ago
http://rumandmonkey.com/popstory/ind...ead;ident=1819

Little Habib was poor and starving. He lived in a teeny country whose name nobody could pronounce and his parents didn't have enough to buy him a shiny red toy sailboat or even his very own pickle. One day the Pope made a visit to his village to spread joy and Catholic cheer. The people lined up along the main road, shouting and milling about. As the Pope rode by in the Popemobile, waving to the crowd, little Habib turned to his mama and said "Mummy, why does Senor Pope have robotic arms?"

Just then... POPE SMASH!!!!!!!

Anyone here read Anne Coulter's book Godless?

I was eating dinner w/ my mother in law last night and she asked me to read the chapter on evolution so she could get a scientists take on its accuracy.

Oh

my

****ing

god

Ha! I have no interest in reading that book, but now I wanna stop by the bookstore and read that chapter just for the lulz.

This might be the funniest gimmick account I have ever seen!!!

That good huh? Post some stuff here.

Starts like this

And because I like my mother in-law, I have to read ~40 pages of this garbage.

Now I am certainly not a Evolution fanboy, but comparing it to Scientology is just absurd. This kinda stuff really bothers me. This is just an ad hominem that has no place in christian publications.

I mean, LOL. And it's not even ad hominem, it's patently false. There is plenty of proof in the fossil record, but even if the fossil record didn't exist at all there is as much biomolecular evidence for evolution as there is for current theory on gravitation, relativity, germ theory, etc. The above paragraph is my favorite so far, because she's saying "of course the fittest survive." I bet we could easily get here to say "of course the survivors reproduce the most." Probably also "of course reproduction occurs through egg fertilization and genetic recombination."

Variation, mutation, selection.

ann coulter isn't a christian writer, she is an inflammatory writer. everything she writes is designed to be as ridiculous as possible because it gets her interviews and more book deals.

Oh i wouldn't worry, Coulter is simply an idiot. Any belief system or opinion is going to be held by a few idiots, and some of those idiots will always be loud.

that is the thing, she is very smart, a neighbour of mine knows her and apparently it is all an act. she has found an endless flow of cash. when was the last time anyone made this much money on books this poorly written? well, besides dan brown that is.

Ok then she's good at pretending to be an idiot. I don't find that implausible at all, especially since she supposedly passed law school and writes like someone I'd bet against getting a High School diploma.

Still, even if she was 100% honest I don't think anyone with a brain is going to think she speaks for any group of people with a mean IQ >50

lol, she doesn't seem to understand what a circular argument is, she also seems to not understand what "fittest" means. Of all of the things to attack, why on earth would she attack the one thing that absolutely everyone agrees on. Both creationist and evolutionist.

Does she talk about genetic mutation at all?

You forget that people like to read stuff they agree with. If someone wanted to believe that evolution was complete bunk, then after reading this book they could say to themselves "see even this woman with a law degree agrees with me." and "I recently read in a book that said evolution is as proven as Scientology"

i think even more powerful is that people love to read stuff that makes them feel good about themselves. anyone feels well informed and intelligent when reading ann coulter. hell, when i see one of her books in a bookstore i can't help but pick it up. i wouldn't be surprised if >10% of sales were from gag gifts.

Confession. I sometimes listen to Christian talk radio. Great self-esteem booster.