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Comment Do the Math (Score 1) 225

Performing the sum of the "affirmative" responses shows a nearly 2 to 1 ratio of those who check vs. those who do not. Of course this assumes the "just when I'm looking for a job" counts as a "yes" because most slashdotters are constantly looking for a job.

Comment Barely air conditioned office (Score 1) 525

Just read my user name. I do a lot of miles on both fixed gear and multi-speed bikes. For me, hot happens the moment I roll out the door. Holding near 20 mph, I make my own breeze and rely on the wind to pull off the water. When it is too cold to ride outside (northeast US winters) I use a fan to cool off. Some days my face chaps from the dried sweat. How hard do I ride? My typical caloric output is at least 800/hr. In season I will easily do over 1,000/hr for 2 or more hours. I am NOT your average week-end casual rider. Office hot is just unpleasant.

Comment Re:Good programmers aren't easily ruined (Score 1) 548

My programming class, the only one I ever took, was BASIC. I was a senior in HS in 1970. Programs were stored on paper tape. The school had a total of 16KB disk space. Since then, every single job has been computer-based. My first out-of-college job, I was lead programmer for the data acquisition system testing large centrifugal compressors. Six months into the job, my boss complimented me on my programming skill. When I told my boss about THE class, she said, "Shut Up. Tell no one, and continue doing a great job." Next job I did CAD, FEA -- wrote my own pre-processors, and QA (statistics). Later I used an early flavor of XML and an emacs editor to create over 12,000 page of compiler docs in one year. Other jobs were with CAD and FEA firms, where coding (or a deep understanding) were necessary to effectively use the product. To this day I hand code web pages. And all this started with a single class in BASIC.

Comment Re:W.A.G. (Score 1) 483

Minor correction, Scientific WAG. Sounds better. I do remember one programmer who was accurate. He was called ARP (for Anal Retentive Programmer). He was fired because he could did not change his estimates when asked to compromise. Let us review. He was accurate, when done his code required no fixes, therefore he was fired for not playing the game. Better game players promised on reduced time, but when all the fixes and reworks were added in, the project took way longer than the correct estimate of ARP. Conclusion, when accurate estimates and good code are devalued, let the games begin and good luck to the poor slob forced to use the bad code.

Comment Lines of computer code (Score 1) 395

I blur the lines between coding and documentation. My first doc job was for a compiler vendor using an early flavor of XML. The edits (the program had a CSS and allowed variables, so one set of 'docs' was applicable to a 1/2 dozen products) were done with emacs. I issued 12,000 pages that year. I then 'translated' WordPerfect docs into FrameMaker and did 3,500 pages one year. About 500 were 'original' but that word has a slew of meanings. At other firm, one 3 day project took a 350 page Word manual and converted that into Frame. I used keystroke commands to do the formatting (mouse is too slow for large projects). At the same CAD company, I did multiple revisions of 1,500 to 2,000 page manuals. As I also did the production work including making the graphics right, I have produced at least 36,000 pages. Let me see, 50 lines/page, 36,000 pages, that is 1.8E6 lines. OK I guess I made the top group.

Comment Re:"Where do you live?" (Score 1) 920

In Toronto I had the "Norwegian" pizza, smoked salmon and marscapone cheese, a bit of seasoning, served cold on a nice crust. Yum. The server told me I was the only American to have NOT sent it back as inedible. A few years later I had the same in Blois (upper Loire valley). Equally good but of course you have to allow for local variation.

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Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. - Kahlil Gibran

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