From the latest Coding Horror linkbait on open-source software that has all sorts of panties in a knot:

Unfortunately “real programmers” are Martians on a totally different plane of existence from “real people”, for which usable GUIs are made. We are on the business of helping humans, not Martians, so you “real programmers” can go ahead and marry your console apps for all we care.

Hahahahahaha. That’s user Jon Limjap, if you’re following along at home.

Neat informative post on Coding Horror about the super-geek pastime of Core Wars, in which you write little autonomous programs in a modified assembly language to go out and kill other competing programs. Like bare-knuckle boxing or “drinking bingo”, last one standing is declared the winner.

The comments section is really great, as the nerds (full disclosure: I am a nerd) add their own recommendations of robotic mano a mano. Among the things I need to check out when I get a free week are:

AT-Robots
Grobots
RoboCom
RoboCode
DarwinBots

The home page for DarwinBots starts out by saying: “Darwinbots is an Artificial Life simulator that merges the gameplay of C-Robots type arena combat with adaptive asexual population dynamics.” I’ve been married for eight years, have two kids, and am a computer programmer, so I’m already well-versed in adaptive asexual population dynamics, thankyouverymuch. *zing*