use haskell;

We get about 300 days of sun a year in the Bay Area. If you choose Stanford there is a non-negligible chance that you will become significantly less interested in algorithms, and much more interested in things like hiking, cycling, partying, etc. Stanford has a much greater "normal person" component (athletes, dumb rich kids) than MIT. Consequently, you will wind up a little more normal as well. Based on the people I know who went to MIT, if you choose that route almost the exact opposite will occur. You will exit a significantly better engineer at the expense of learning social niceties and basic grooming. Both skills (engineering & people) can take you far in life. You can't neglect either.

BTW, something tells me you know your USACO score by heart. :-)

Yeah, I have to say I was pretty on the fence between MIT and Walla Walla Community College (go Warriors!). But this has really sealed the deal.

Anybody who is nerdy enough to write in to Slashdot bemoaning the probable demise of these shows is going to have no problem clearing up their busy Friday night social schedule in order to watch them.

Who's objecting? There's a difference between naysaying and simply pointing out the downsides, as well as the upsides, of some potential solutions.

Ignorance is what got us into this predicament in the first place, sheesh.