I've seen some other brick laying robots, one that built prefab segments where fine distance and rotation of the bricks made a complicated pattern. And there is also those robots that lay brick roads.

Later years I have begun to see and appreciate the handcraft gone into masonry. The results are very decorative and the material used is very modular. You buy standard size bricks (but sometimes cut them). I would love to see 3d-printing include bricks in the process. And then advance them so much that the machines can build arches. This is just my idea. I think architects that are less interested in the 3D-printing technology and more interested in amazing architecture need to be involved and use it as a component in construction.

Using the telephone as an entertainment device on long commutes doesnt explain it all though. I think there is a small part status symbol in screen size, and the fact that korean phone makers have few other ideas in what to improve in their next top of the line model.

    import static java.util.Objects.equals;

    if(equals(myString, "foobar")) { ... }

In Stockholm you can get your taxi fare paid for up to 400 SEK (~40 EUR) if you are running more than 20 minutes late because of schedule problems. (Details might have changed, was a long time ago since I used it.) You submit the bill and have your own money on the line until/if it is reimbursed.

Monitoring a bus by having a "tamper proof" GPS logger on the bus seem more reasonable than having points where punctionality is measured. The local operator themselves would obviously not be the ones verifying reimbursement requests against these GPS logs.

I can not connect my problems to bad ergonomics, because the way I was sitting in front of my computer all the way up until university years, those were far from ergonomic positions. But if you are relaxed and have fun, you automatically vary your posture and position.

Ergonomic chairs and keyboards are only one way to make you be able to endure your stressful work condition a bit longer when you sit there stressed trying to meet deadlines and whatever problems you fight with. The pains will show up, only later.

Myself, I often try to wake up from the work, feel my body and if I'm actually stressed. Take a deep breath, see if I can let my arms hang loose and relaxed. If I feel that I'm actually sweaty and have a high pulse, then I need to go for a walk. A good manager that I can bring this up with helps.

Also a bit of a fuck-off attitude also helps: My health is so much more valuable than the job and its compensation.

What we found very useful is to do a pre-review of the existing code to discuss how it works, but this after everyone have done their own one-hour self-study of the code (actually, self-study time tends to be until one guy interrupts saying he grok it and can describe it). Then we discuss the approach for implementation, but only one guy go ahead and implement it. The other developers have similar reviews on their areas.

Afterwards, when it has been implemented, we all come together and look at the implemented solution, again first with self study of the commits, then review sitting in front of the developers desk.

By only being involved as a reviewer, you get a very good understanding of the implementation. You understand not only how it works, but why it was implemented that way. It also leads to more "talk about the code" in the team. Everybody gets a common understanding of some area, you can talk about code improvements.

I think that the most valuable thing I have is that I'm enthusiastic about programming. These guys could do what I do, but they wouldn't want to make a career out of it.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/761194/interface-vs-abstr...

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/479142/when-to-use-an-int...

More discussions can be found in Related questions.

(while sleep 1; do jstack PID; done) | grep -A 10 THREADNAMEPATTERN

Could it be that the decline of the hat came with the office culture? Most people I see outdoor working actually wear something on their heads.