Google is just an extension of our memory nowadays - it's not worth it memorising stuff you know you can google, eventually if you google it often enough it'll stick. And googling will do you no good if you have no idea what you are doing.
Actually if you read that link carefully - complete (or even complex) nematode behavior has never been simulated. Different teams have simulated different traits of behavior such as reaction to pokes on the head, non-spontaneous sinusoidal locomotion (there are different kinds of nematode locomotion triggered by the viscosity of the environment). Nothing resembling a learning nematode, indistinguishable from the real thing in terms of behavior, has ever been achieved (unfortunately).
Speed is not the only benefit of Titanium. I recently submitted a phonegap app it was rejected on the basis that "It would be appropriate to add iOS specific UI and functionality". I am pretty pissed-off. You made the right choice.
"We're left, like the starving donkey equidistant between two bails of hay, unable to decide on what to celebrate" <-- the closest of these things is 20 light years :[
It really varies a lot in my personal experience - in the UK/ROI salaries are much higher than for senior roles, salary basically spans from 45-50K to 80-90K euros, but contracting you can easily make much more than that. In Switzerland you get good deals, but if you cross the border to Italy you go back to figures similar to the one you mention for Austria.
Nice one. Other than secret pools, it would be very interesting to have a global pool where people could indicate country, years of commercial experience and salary.
Even if it's true that from europe the impression is that ppl in the US have no holidays and do less in more time (here we go, appreciate the honesty pls), I think it's wrong to generalize based on a few examples, as a lot of it probably depends on size and philosophy of the company and, obviously, on how you measure productivity.
Need to have a grasp of basic grammar - after that it's all conversation, if you can't talk to real people watch tons of TV/Movies with subtitles (both movie and subs in original language of course).