msobkow's Journal: I'm a geriatric dinosaur of computing and proud of it

I've been feeling rather mournful since last night because I was moping about probably having to give up my Slashdot postings as well as general public postings.

But I realized after a discussion about database tuning that not only don't I have to give up posting to Slashdot, I SHOULDN'T give it up. The younger generation may snicker and think of me as a geriatric dinosaur, but we do have good discussions about issues like performance tuning, algorithms, and other such topics.

I may need to avoid posting on inflammatory issues like SOPA/PIPA in the future, but I can still share my experience with those who are breathing down my neck in search of their turn at the best jobs programming has to offer as a career.

I'm even PROUD to be called a "dinosaur." Like the my mainframe ancestors whom I teased in the '80s and '90s, I'm confident in my skills and experience, and MOST people show me the respect I've EARNED as long as I try to explain and to teach instead of to insult and berate.

Thank God.

I've got a Slashdot UID under 50,000. A five digit member, which means I've been there since the first year or two after the site was started. A literal ETERNITY in internet terms. Many far more popular sites have come and gone over those years, while Slashdot has continued to harbour the technocrati -- the programmers and technologists who "make things go" in the modern business world.

If you don't mind spending a lifetime learning and adapting, it's a fun career, and very challenging.