The Nerd Herd: General Board Edition

[ryan8558]

My daughter's phone probably has more computing power than those old IBM's had, and they were huge!


Then again, I was kinda small...

Most definitely. The first computer I worked on was a 32kb Ibm 360/30. Was a big deal when it upgraded to 64kb.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

I miss the huge green printout paper and COBAL coding...

*sniff*

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Most definitely. The first computer I worked on was a 32kb Ibm 360/30. Was a big deal when it upgraded to 64kb.

I had a IIe, IIGS and one of the first toasters...



I'd write billing software for professional offices. Insert disk A, insert disk C, disk label 8-89a-f...,

... listening to Glenn Miller play...

 

[ryan8558]

I miss the huge green printout paper and COBAL coding...

*sniff*

Still code in COBOL.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Still code in COBOL.

My last programming was all dBase based...



... some SQL.

Then my hobby became my business and my business became my hobby.

 

[ryan8558]

My last programming was all dBase based...



... some SQL.

Then my hobby became my business and my business became my hobby.

Mainframe programmer for life, COBOL and ALC.

Programming for 45 years. Hope to go at least another 5. Can't just sit around and do nothing.

Regardless of what Jen tells me.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Mainframe programmer for life, COBOL and ALC.

Programming for 45 years. Hope to go at least another 5. Can't just sit around and do nothing.

You can't get time off for good behavior?

 

[ryan8558]

You can't get time off for good behavior?

What can I say? With good results, you keep getting assignments.

Staying busy and getting paid, what's not to like???

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

What can I say? With good results, you keep getting assignments.

Staying busy and getting paid, what's not to like???

The one thing that I learned about the business was that I hated client's secretaries...



The client would always like the product and features, but the secretary hated any change in her comfy cushy routine and was always good for a ration of shit and displeasure during the training phase.

It doesn't work like my Selectric!

Why am I filling in these fields? What's a template? Why can't I just type it?

WHAT OF I DON'T WANT THE COMPUTER TO DO IT FOR ME???

 

[RobDownSouth]

My last programming was all dBase based...



... some SQL.

Then my hobby became my business and my business became my hobby.

Hey Chief, you want a job?
I've got a Visual dBase system that needs to be ported to MS SQL 2012.
$20 an hour. Probably take you 3 weeks to port.

 

[ryan8558]

The one thing that I learned about the business was that I hated client's secretaries...



The client would always like the product and features, but the secretary hated any change in her comfy cushy routine and was always good for a ration of shit and displeasure during the training phase.

It doesn't work like my Selectric!

Why am I filling in these fields? What's a template? Why can't I just type it?

WHAT OF I DON'T WANT THE COMPUTER TO DO IT FOR ME???

Could have asked her the following,

Have you ever heard of downsizing?

Do you want the other secretary filling out the template or filing for unemployment?

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Could have asked her the following,

Have you ever heard of downsizing?

Do you want the other secretary filling out the template or filing for unemployment?

Oh you cannot do that!



They have ways of poisoning the client relationship. You have to kiss their chair-bound fat, middle-aged know-it-all Haus Frau asses.

 

[ryan8558]

Oh you cannot do that!



They have ways of poisoning the client relationship. You have to kiss their chair-bound fat, middle-aged know-it-all Haus Frau asses.

One of the reasons why I am not around too many clients.

Our business analysts and managers have most all of the client contact. The techs usually only have client contact in the design phase.

 

[RobDownSouth]

One of the reasons why I am not around too many clients.

Our business analysts and managers have most all of the client contact. The techs usually only have client contact in the design phase.

I've made a small fortune in my career exploiting this niche.

My talent is translating nerd-speak to the sweaty masses, and creating viable technical specs from clueless business analysts.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Still code in COBOL.

I bet you use GOTO statements.

*ducking*

 

[Noor]

There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover

If they have, it's someone I have on ignore....so it doesn't count. Either that or the thread has "noor syndrome" (i.e. a completely non-descriptive thread title).

ha ha

 

[Hard_Rom]

My dad was technician for NCR. In 1972 he brought home a Royal Bank computer. It did simple math +,-,X, % and =. It had a tape that went back and forth and flashing lights. Weighed about 100 lbs. That thing was a sci-fi play prop to end all. He wanted the table it sat on to make a table saw.

First comp I touched was a TRS-80 by Radio Shack. That was in college. We wrote games in just plain Basic. Ah, yes! The day I found out about "If inkey$=inkey$ then".

 

[ryan8558]

I bet you use GOTO statements.

*ducking*

Sometimes those can get you into trouble.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

My dad was technician for NCR. In 1972 he brought home a Royal Bank computer. It did simple math +,-,X, % and =. It had a tape that went back and forth and flashing lights. Weighed about 100 lbs. That thing was a sci-fi play prop to end all. He wanted the table it sat on to make a table saw.

First comp I touched was a TRS-80 by Radio Shack. That was in college. We wrote games in just plain Basic. Ah, yes! The day I found out about "If inkey$=inkey$ then".

Polish notation?

 

[RjThoughts]

10 PRINT " Hello, I am a ghost, Boo ";
20 GOTO 10


Oh in mall Radio Shacks in the 70s were awesome!

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Were you typing in programese?


Yes, they were...

 

[Noor]

First apartment computer was a sinclair Z80 (?)

One of my siblings had a pdp11 in their bedroom

 

[RobDownSouth]

Sometimes those can get you into trouble.

I had a job interview for a Cobol programming position in the 1980s.

First question: What does the GOTO statement signify?

My answer: Unless you're going to an ABEND routine, it signifies you don't know a thing about structured programming.

Them: end of interview, you have the job.

 

[RjThoughts]

I had a job interview for a Cobol programming position in the 1980s.

First question: What does the GOTO statement signify?

My answer: Unless you're going to an ABEND routine, it signifies you don't know a thing about structured programming.

Them: end of interview, you have the job.

I had someone ask me at work, "What's COBOL?"

*head hit desk*
Some colleges don't teach it any longer

 

[Noor]

I might crawl back into my hole because this is making me miss Byron too much. He would love this thread. He was a firmware designer and a maverick like me. Neither one of us would touch COBOL

We could talk about the good old days of no computer law to speak of