Are We Not Men? (& Women?)

From: Brett <danjo_at_xnet.com>
Date: Mon Jan 26 19:48:47 1998

On Mon, 26 Jan 1998, Steve J. Quest wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Jan 1998, Brett wrote:
>
> > Now - I have to state that I am in some agreement with Sam but I also
> > disagree. The drug culture predates computers (as discussed here) by
> > serveral centuries (certainly meets the 10 yr rule 8-) And the drug
> > culture (as discussed here) is an integral part of the early computer
> > culture (at least in the U.S.) Anyone who attempts to ignore that is
> > well - Stupid! For some, computers were the anti-drug program of the
> > day. For others, the other way around.
>
> It the early days of computers, when I used to hang out at the
> college computer lab (where my mom worked) to get a chance at the computer
> when someone who signed up for it, forgot to show up for their turn, I'd
> sit down and hack away. Back in those days (pre-micro days) all the
> computer enthusiasts had long hair in a pony tail and smoked pot
> regularly. Typically, we'd smoke pot BEFORE we'd start hacking. ;) It
> wasn't until I got my KIM-1 and started hanging around micro enthusiasts

I still have my KIM-1 8-)

> that I noticed a trend toward short hair, NON-drug use, and (for want of a
> better word) geeks. The long haired pot smoking hacker was more of a nerd
> while the micro hacker was more towards the geek. However, in those days,
> a geek was very bright, they had to be, you had to build most of your own
> stuff, while today it's all GUI and plug&play (tm) technology...........sq

And Steve that is the point - in a way. The 'High' I get from bringing
some poor beastie up from the grave or getting that bit-twiddle interface
to finally work right far exceeds any drugs I have ever done 8-) And when
I look at my PDP-11's - it brings an immediate flash back!

One thing that scares me though is how the 'users' of today are M O R E
braindead than the druggies of yesteryear! It must have been all that
T.V. they watched 8-)

They problem is loosing the 'Solving Process' mentality. It allows anyone
to hype something as a solution to your problem and make you pay for it.
And - Gee - just like drugs - it won't solve anything! Because you are
not Solving the Problem.

Well I have some Problems to Solve now so will let you all get back to
your regularly scheduled discussion 8-)

BC
Received on Mon Jan 26 1998 - 19:48:47 GMT