First things first, his java skills are rusty. Here's how a real java programmer would write this. Does the exact same thing as his final java sample; it's just less than half the size:

 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Random;
 import java.util.Set;
 public class BDays {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		int people = Integer.parseInt(args[0]);
		int days = 365;
		int sampleSize = 1000;
		int total = 0;
		
		Random random = new Random();
		
		for ( int k = 0 ; k < sampleSize ; k++ ) {
			Set<Integer> s = new HashSet<Integer>();
			for ( int i = 0 ; i < people ; i++ ) s.add(random.nextInt(days));
			if ( s.size() < people ) total++;
		}
		
		System.out.println(total);
	}
 }

thirdly: To optimize this code, you could stop generating birthdays the moment there's an overlap. Doing this in the K example is more complicated than the java example, in java you'd change the line 's.add(Random.nextInt(days))' to:

  if ( !s.add(Random.nextInt(days)) ) break;

Between the cartoon swearing I actually like the java code better.

Java could certainly use more functional stuff and there are legitimate arguments to be made for adding something to your toolbox (I suggest Scala; compiles to JVM so you can mix and match java and scala at will). However, these trivial examples invariably have archaic java compared to state of the art $OTHER_LANGUAGE. These straw man comparisons are thus pointless exercises as no actual java programmer would ever be convinced by this kind of thing. They'd just blame to horrible quality of the java example.

Still more remarkable, I notice two other users (also created at the same time) upvoting the article from that same IP address. Must be getting crowded in front of that computer.

> Companies are having a hard time recruiting and retaining young talent, and as a result are accommodating what would have once been considered extreme demands. ....so many younger workers have gained the advantage when it comes to negotiating the terms of a new job.

and

> Today, however, economists and sociologists see such homecomings as a rational response to exorbitant housing prices in big cities, and entry-level wages that do not cover living expenses.

So which is it? Employers can't find employees, or the labor market is so oversaturated in big cities that entry level positions don't pay living wages?

My guess is that every company only wants to hire "the top 5% of graduates." So competition for the perceived best (ivy league, specialized skills) grows while Joe State and Cathy Community go chill with the folks and work at Walmart.

EDIT: how do you make block quotes?

 (def bdays (people)
   (count [no (iso _ (dedup _))] (n-of 1000 (n-of people (rand 365)))))

Note that this assumes that you're not indebted to the guy in any way-- that he is simply a source of money.

BTW, 3 years is a lot of money. It suggests to me that you're either raising too much or (more likely) underestimating your expenses.

I think this article refers to maybe 0.05% of new grads.

(!!!)

Wow. Depending on the circumstances, I would escort the iddle bitty baby right to the front door, or...

Explain that nepotism is absolutely forbidden.