Funny

[John Sgammato]

By the time I was taking undergrad chemistry, most students had a TI-30
or one of those screwy HP calculators with the "reverse-Polish
notation". On a final exam, my calculator battery died, leaving only a
faint blinking red dot slowly walking across the LED. 
Fortunately I had brought a Johns-Manville circular slide rule (a
printed plastic circle riveted to a printed plastic panel) given to me
by my dad. It was more a lucky charm than anything else, but I did know
how to use it. I signaled the professor, showed him the dead calculator,
and asked about the slide rule. He said "If you can use it, then you can
use it."
So I used it. I aced the exam. I don't think he ever knew about the two
slide-out pages of chemistry and physics charts and tables inside the
main panel of the slide rule.  ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: framers-bounces+jsgammato=imprivata.com at lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces+jsgammato=imprivata.com at lists.frameusers.com] On
Behalf Of Joe Malin
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 2:51 PM
To: Gillian Flato; framers at FrameUsers.com
Subject: RE: Funny

What really *bugs* me (and I'm *much* older than 30) is how good science
students in college got it now.

I majored in Chemistry in undergrad. I had to type science papers on a
portable typewriter, make photocopies of instrument outputs or data
plots and then do a massive paste-up job. We had primitive calculators,
but also relied on slide rules. Need something from an instrument or a
test? Get up at 2 am and *walk to the source*. Ugh.

Did computer science in grad school. On a mainframe (double ugh). No
dial-up; had ride downtown to the computer lab to get on a terminal,
then hang around until 2 AM so turnaround on jobs was less than 20
minutes. Had to wait until *3 AM* to get access to the computer graphics
equipment.

I wouldn't wish any of it on a blind dog. I'm not "better" for having
done it the hard way, just probably more burned out and less educated.
What frustrates *me* is that a modern CS student gets to have an
ultra-powerful computer *plus* the Internet, and do so many *fun
things*!!! :( Boo-hoo. I wanna be a student again! Boy, if Doom 2 had
been around when I was a college student, I'd still be in school.


	 Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin at tuvox.com 
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.	

-----Original Message-----
From: framers-bounces+jmalin=tuvox.com at lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces+jmalin=tuvox.com at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf
Of Gillian Flato
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 11:22 AM
To: framers at FrameUsers.com
Subject: OT: Funny

Just thought you guys might enjoy this...
 
Hard Times related by a 30 year old.

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious
diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what
with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning... uphill BOTH
ways... through year 'round blizzards. Carrying their younger siblings
on their backs... to their one-room schoolhouse, where they maintained a
straight-A average, despite their full-time, after-school job at the
local textile mill... where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to
help keep their family from starving to death!

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