tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post1134603571270842200..comments2024-03-29T06:29:15.928-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: Megan and The RecruiterOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-11588086554959392622021-07-21T18:23:25.371-07:002021-07-21T18:23:25.371-07:00Don McCollor)...Thanks for the mention Tom. Later ...Don McCollor)...Thanks for the mention Tom. Later on, I still preen myself on another one (privately). A client provided about 1 MB data files of x,y,z coordinates and variables from a proprietary CAD package (not provided). Youngsters forget that that there is never enough memory, that the screen is memory, and that the screen resolution is finite. Simple in BASIC. Do a coordinate transformation (easy). The nightmare of graphics is figuring out what is in front. Then sort between two data files from smallest to largest z with a bubble search (yes, I know there are faster ways, but it is simple). Then start (in BASIC) poking values for each data point starting from the back (smallest z). A nearer pixel overwrites what is behind it. The result is an isometric view (rather than perspective, but pretty close). Then do a screen grab of the image. When it worked, I turned it over to one of our tame code monkeys. Took him longer to understand what I was doing than to actually code it in C++ (spit)...Don McCollorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028324869570493102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-70916100416164759672021-07-21T06:31:24.360-07:002021-07-21T06:31:24.360-07:00That corner story always has a character named &qu...That corner story always has a character named "Sum Dood". I don't like those....STxARhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04588850178293194825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-49234914272150727782021-07-20T17:20:12.520-07:002021-07-20T17:20:12.520-07:00Don McCollor)...The 8I I worked with controlled an...Don McCollor)...The 8I I worked with controlled an x-ray diffractometer in graduate school (8 bit, 4k ferrite memory, later expanded to 8k). Programs were on paper tape fed through a ASR33 teletype. Results came back on paper tape and printout. It was back when computers had blinking lights and twelve switches on the faceplate. Machine coding was in BCD (binary coded decimal [actually octal]. Switch in address, press enter, switch in instruction, press enter. I am a chemist, not a programmer, but my proudest moment was when my advisor gave me a summer stipend to make the machine collect upper hemisphere data (crystal is normally at the bottom) along with an inch thick stack of scientific papers. One thing stood out. The difference was a minus sign for the bottom. Crossed my fingers and inserted a machine language NOP (no operation, ie skip this command to take out the minus sign) in an 8I Fortran routine. Worked!!!Don McCollorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028324869570493102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-65729181608367157912021-07-20T17:07:41.606-07:002021-07-20T17:07:41.606-07:00I was slammed yesterday and to day, hence the late...I was slammed yesterday and to day, hence the late post - sorry!<br />Glad the hand is better - hope it's even better now that a day or two has passed.<br />Great story about Megan - and a terrific reminder about how our conduct can influence others whether we know it or not - even if we never talk to them, but they see us do something or hear something we say to someone else... or write something in a blog :-)<br />As to computers, my 'career' in that started when I was in college, using Fortran on punch cards, where you submitted the card deck to the computer center, they ran it (on what was a CDC - Control Data Corp) mainframe, then of course had to correct programming or data cards and re-run ad nauseum until it finally worked. Then at my first job I started using BASIC (self taught like Don M above) on PDP-11 minicomputers to acquire data from lab instruments and then process/analyze the results. Got another job where I used a computer to take data from an X-Ray analysis instrument, process the results, then use those results to make changes in the raw material feeds to the production line - when we had some timing issues, I re-wrote some of the data acquisition code into Assembly Language to speed it up, which worked amazingly enough. Had a couple more programming and support jobs before moving to the dark side of sales and marketing. I sometimes think I would have been happier at times if I had stayed on the technical side... but it all worked out, I guess...<br />And I will again echo our friend STxAR about this community - it is very nice to hang out with folks of a similar mindset!Tom in NChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03576958446243001152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-37899496887335378052021-07-20T12:13:53.814-07:002021-07-20T12:13:53.814-07:00What a great story about 'Megan'! She will...What a great story about 'Megan'! She will be aces in her service, she just needed some indoc about the vitality of being on time and an introduction to accountability. Good job with the other youngers, too, Juvat.rickrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06958694594689562855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-32969875646197276862021-07-20T08:38:59.491-07:002021-07-20T08:38:59.491-07:00Good news about the surgery, now don't forget ...Good news about the surgery, now don't forget about the tumeric!virgil xenophonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14577165785872035948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-64791078195641581662021-07-19T19:53:38.078-07:002021-07-19T19:53:38.078-07:00Yes, she and her daughters plan to come down and h...Yes, she and her daughters plan to come down and hang out with me for a cuppla days.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-56349142109135040882021-07-19T19:19:37.345-07:002021-07-19T19:19:37.345-07:00Yeah, I was taught that early is fairly dangerous ...Yeah, I was taught that early is fairly dangerous as that is when the pre-strike suppression was going on. Late is bad because the good guys might be on the ground. So...plus or minus 2 seconds seemed reasonable to me. Little is gained by early, much is lost by late.<br /><br />So...It is written, so...It shall be. Yul Brynner<br /><br />Enjoy your time away! Gonna see LUSH?<br /><br />juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-9451068942960516482021-07-19T19:14:43.876-07:002021-07-19T19:14:43.876-07:00Twas not to be, Mr G. and, frankly, I am glad. A m...Twas not to be, Mr G. and, frankly, I am glad. A middle age of kissing you know what's would have been miserable. Things have worked out well and I am blessed by the the things that really matter in life. Wonderful Wife, Great Kids, Good Friends (both physical and virtual) and decent health. What more is there?juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-77464458796534935132021-07-19T19:11:01.353-07:002021-07-19T19:11:01.353-07:00TANS...learned that from (very)OldNFO. But import...TANS...learned that from (very)OldNFO. But important information nonetheless.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-1867799868100504072021-07-19T19:09:26.790-07:002021-07-19T19:09:26.790-07:00Don,
Well...I thought I was a computer language ge...Don,<br />Well...I thought I was a computer language genius....Haven't a clue about PDP-81. More research...Sigh!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-75604263656201561652021-07-19T19:06:36.951-07:002021-07-19T19:06:36.951-07:00No one I know...I hope!No one I know...I hope!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-43318452446221126272021-07-19T19:04:44.666-07:002021-07-19T19:04:44.666-07:00Glad to hear the surgery went well. I'm out he...Glad to hear the surgery went well. I'm out here in Sandy Eggo catching the ocean breeze on the helo deck and shooting the breeze down in Combat. Life is good.<br /><br />I was late to the programming game, learned a bunch of different languages on a bunch of different machines. Now I test that stuff, if there is a way to break it, I'll find it.<br /><br />I heard the "if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late" BS a lot from various shoe clerks in the Air Force. On time is on time, everything else is nonsense.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-6790244826948339462021-07-19T18:58:25.227-07:002021-07-19T18:58:25.227-07:00Yes, I've noticed that too, I go into HTML mor...Yes, I've noticed that too, I go into HTML more than I used to because it keeps inserting garbage code.<br /><br />Heh, kinda like some software people I know!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-15899541257223876362021-07-19T18:31:32.156-07:002021-07-19T18:31:32.156-07:00Hey Juvat;
"If you are early, you are on...Hey Juvat;<br /><br /> "If you are early, you are on time, if you are on time.....You are LATE" You know how many times I heard that growing up, and Yes I was an Army brat....and tardiness was a big pet peeve. Needless to say, even today....I ain't late. Excellent Story...although you would have made an excellent Chief of Staff.MrGarabaldihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05768774166065615995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-9865414758630433252021-07-19T16:35:27.384-07:002021-07-19T16:35:27.384-07:00And, of course, a sea story starts off "This ...And, of course, a sea story starts off "This ain't no shit...."<br />Tennessee BuddAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-16994489221935782452021-07-19T16:33:06.363-07:002021-07-19T16:33:06.363-07:00(Don McCollor)...I am at the opposite extreme for ...(Don McCollor)...I am at the opposite extreme for timeliness, especially for events with very fixed times (like school buses, trains, and airplanes). Early means you sit and wait. Late means you are left behind. Pays off sometimes. At a return flight, I was at least 1.5 hours early at a small regional WY airport. A very helpful ticket agent processed everything (couldn't get the self-service to work) and noticed that my connecting flight in Denver had been canceled, next one due to arrive after the next leg had departed MSP. She put me on standby on a different flight (with two openings). I was the first called in Denver (nobody else had requested standby for a 09:00 flight at 05:30 in the morning... [btw, programming in Basic was fun (self taught), FORTRAN was the language of the Gods, but nothing matched the sheer joy of toggling in addresses and machine language instructions on a PDP-8I (yes I am dated)...Don McCollorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028324869570493102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-44400507564107854562021-07-19T15:47:25.919-07:002021-07-19T15:47:25.919-07:00Thanks. Yes, I'm sure it does.
Re: courses....Thanks. Yes, I'm sure it does. <br />Re: courses. I had a couple of teacher's in HS that used similar methods (although the courses weren't even remotely computer based, more abacus based.) And UPT we spent an awful lot of time behind the scenes before we even got to look at an airplane, so it wasn't that big of a stretch for me to use a similar instruction method. Besides, the look of satisfaction they got on the face when they figured out what was wrong was worth it.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-37657580873967367102021-07-19T11:50:13.171-07:002021-07-19T11:50:13.171-07:00Ah yes, 'motivation'... courtesy of the DI...Ah yes, 'motivation'... courtesy of the DI 'will' get a young person's attention... Personally, I think your approach was the better of the two re training the kids.Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-51654873921507291822021-07-19T10:09:52.240-07:002021-07-19T10:09:52.240-07:00I hear ya' on the "My time is valuable......I hear ya' on the "My time is valuable..." Drives me nuts not to be walking in the door at the agreed time. I'm more flexible with Doctors because fortunately I'm in pretty good health. I figure if he's running late it's because somebody else has a greater need for his time than I do. Course if I find out he's out on the links with Judge Smails....<br /><br />I'm pretty fluent in BASIC, used to be in Fortran and COBOL, been refreshing myself lately on SQL and starting to learn Python. <br /><br />All that having been said, there are days when I have no clue how to do something on my iPhone. Ask my daughter to show me how. She does. Ask her again to do it one tap at a time on her phone, then wait until I make a similar tap on mine etc. She typically says her memory doesn't send the processing sequence at dinosaur speed.<br /><br />Kids!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-24296928220522373672021-07-19T09:48:15.031-07:002021-07-19T09:48:15.031-07:00Amen!Amen!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-91236091785534957442021-07-19T09:33:47.629-07:002021-07-19T09:33:47.629-07:00My dad was cured of showing up early by the, I gue...My dad was cured of showing up early by the, I guess, HQ sergeant (or officer, not sure...) when he reported to whatever flying school he went to for primary jet training. Showed up early, the sergeant (or officer, not sure...) asked him what he was doing there, dad responded "Hanging around until X time to report in" and the sergeant made him hang, by hanging from the doorway, until time to report.<br /><br />After that, well, the Beans family didn't ever show up too early, and never late. Even in the days before cell phones, if it looked like any of us would miss a start-time for anything, phone attempt was made to report to the other party that whomever may be/will be arriving late (by 5, 10, 15 minutes) and does the incident requiring arrival at X time need to be rescheduled.<br /><br />None of that "if you are early by 15 minutes you are on time" garbage. It was all "time to target" time. Precision arrival.<br /><br />I can't stand, to this day, dealing with groups of friends with a liquid concept of 'time' or arriving at an appointment only to have to wait 15 to 30 minutes to even an hour. Grrrrr.... Dammit, my time is valuable, too.<br /><br />And if I suspect someone is playing the 'make them wait' game (where they knowingly schedule the appointment start time way early in order to score points by making the arriver wait) then I will, if at all possible, find a new supplier of whatever that person is providing, from cars to service to doctors.<br /><br />As to code, well, my experience is even the Linux people are using too much garbage code, and don't even start with Microsoft coding. All I can say is the stuff works, but my programming teachers would have given everyone involved a solid 'F' for excessive and useless codes. Of course, the two classes I had in programming were BASIC on a PDP 11-34 (and it kinda made sense) and a Fortran class on some VAX system (which I failed, miserably, due to inability to grok the concepts (I should not have been in college, head was in wrong place)) and both were on timesharing systems that punished excessive coding.<br /><br />Now? I want to open up magic box, start pushing magic buttons and not have to worry too much about magic outcome (other than grammar and punctuation...) I am a User, not a Coder.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-52243990713160248472021-07-19T09:21:19.020-07:002021-07-19T09:21:19.020-07:00I never got the chance to read Lex in the original...I never got the chance to read Lex in the original but I keep running into people on the webs who were inspired by him. So, well, trickle-down effect or something. Which I am reaping the rewards of.<br /><br />To Lex, the once and future blogfather of so many out there!Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-30081309812714027712021-07-19T09:08:17.071-07:002021-07-19T09:08:17.071-07:00I suspect she's a "reformed" person ...I suspect she's a "reformed" person vis a vis timeliness now. <br /><br />Thanks, as I mentioned above, once I'm able to massage the area, things should get better.<br /><br />I still go into the pure HTML window of blogger, usually to fix something. My impression is there's an AWFUL lot of unnecessary HTML being generated. Which also means I need to tread lightly in the fix. Typically, before I go there, I copy the post's text into a notepad and save that. Then if I screw it up, I delete all the HTML, go back to the compose window and paste the text back in. Not pretty, but it works.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-74144500564254105642021-07-19T09:02:40.598-07:002021-07-19T09:02:40.598-07:00Thanks STxAR, I agree. I'm glad folks like Sar...Thanks STxAR, I agree. I'm glad folks like Sarge and OldNFO, as well as a lot of other guys on their sidebars, still publish. Rarely does a day go by without a walkthrough by me, frequently several.<br /><br />The hand is getting better. Changed bandages yesterday and the wound looks pretty good. I'm going to give it a couple more days and if it still looks good, I'm going to start massaging the area. That really helped the recovery on the other hand a lot.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.com