[1867] in Central_America
New quotes for Sun Oct 15
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Sun Oct 15 01:36:45 1989
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 89 01:37:58 EDT
From: root@CHARON.MIT.EDU (Initializer.SysDaemon)
To: ca-mtg@BLOOM-BEACON.MIT.EDU
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celine (Robert Fullmer):
When I die, I want them to burn the corpse - it's the only way to be sure.
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henry (Henry Hensch):
Mail in the soc.motss RiJen/Todd flamage runs 2:1 in favor of my
stated opinion. it's nice to know you're right at least some of the
time.
From jamescb@sco.COM Sat Oct 14 19:41:28 1989
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 89 13:51:47 BST
X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (6.5 4/17/89)
From: jamescb@sco.COM (James C. Bohem)
To: sco!garp.mit.edu!henry
Subject: Life 3.8
Prize for dishonorable mention of TECO in the modern era...
>From "Software News"; August 3, 1981
------------------------------------
COMPUTERS CONSUME HACKERS
Psychologists have warned that computers have spawned a group of
addicts, who often neglect nutrition, personal lives or anything
interfering with their activities in front of a computer console,
according to an article in "Science Digest Magazine".
Particularly acute among college and high school-age youths, the
computer addiction phenomenon is just another escape from social
adjustment in many cases.
"Everyone has problems socially to some degree, and the computer
can act as just another escape mechanism," said Ralph Gorin,
director of computer facilities at Stanford University.
"The youngster (or `hacker' as the addicts have been called)
feels like `I just can't stand it anymore' so he runs down to
the computer room. The computer doesn't care what time it is
or what you look like or what you may have been doing lately.
The computer doesn't scold you or talk back," he continued.
-- Carry Him Off ---
"I remember one hacker. We literally had to carry him off his
chair to feed him and put him to sleep. We really feared for
his health," an MIT computer science professor was quoted as
saying.
Although the typical hackers are attempting to create the
"ultimate program," they seldom make "desirable" programmers,
Joseph Weizenbaum, author and also MIT Computer Science
Professor, claimed in the article.
The so-called "hacker" makes the program so complex and esoteric,
others have difficulty understanding it, he said. Furthermore,
the hacker rarely keeps records, Weizenbaum added.
"Computers are attractive because, to a higher degree than any
other object, they are interesting and malleable," said Philip
Zimbardo, a Stanford professor of psychology. Like people, they
interact, and like people, they answer questions. However, they
answer more questions and respond to them more accurately, the
article pointed out.
-- Subtle --
"The youngsters can form as many subtle nuances and textured
relationships with the computers as they can with people," said
Sherry Turkle, a sociology professor at MIT.
Computers are becoming more and more "our world," the article
concludes, meaning these addicts are not just a freak phenomenon.
"So perhaps hackers are, after all, harbingers of the world to
come," the article concludes.
--------------------------------------------------
END OF ARTICLE
--------------------------------------------------
I wonder how Jack Webb might have handled this...
****** SCENE FROM "DRAGNET, 1981" ******
Hacker at console: Let's see, now. If I hit an escape in TECO,
I'll...
Sgt. Friday (bursting in and dragging kid from console): All
right, you, up against the wall. (Slams kid against
wall while handcuffing him.)
Hacker: Hey, what've I done? What is all this?
Friday: Just shut up, kid. You're hacking. It's antisocial,
unethical, and unsanitary. Also, you've got long
sideburns. I thought we got rid of all you hippies
back in the 70's. C'mon, we're going downtown...
[Downtown at "Parker Center"]
Friday: Got another one, Bill.
Bill Gannon (Friday's partner): My God, will they ever learn?
Friday: THIS one's going to.
Bill: Where you taking him?
Friday: The usual place, that big cell we reserve for murderers,
rapists, drug dealers, longhairs, suspected homosexuals,
and TECO users.
Bill: I'm sure he falls into several of those categories.
Friday: No doubt.
[ Woman bursts into office. She has "Motorcycle Mama" tattooed
on her left forearm ]
Woman: What have you done with my son?
Hacker: Uh, hi, mom!
Friday: This your son, lady?
Woman: He is indeed. What are you doing with him? What has he
done?
Friday: He has long sideburns.
Woman: I'll admit that's pretty bad. Anything else?
Friday: He's a hacker.
Woman: A HACKER?! What are you talking about?
Friday: We found him down at the University computer center,
working on TECO macros.
Woman: MY SON! I don't believe it. He's always told me he went
out at night to pick up girls for sadomasochistic sex
practices.
Friday: Nothing so innocent as that, I'm afraid. He may only be
a small-time hacker now, but that's only the start. We
see this sort of thing every day. They start on TECO.
Then they progress to display editors. Before you know
it, they're writing their own system calls, and there's
no stopping them!
Woman [sobbing]: Oh my God. My God.
Friday: He's not lost yet. We may be able to save him. We have
a special "reorientation" course for people like him.
While we're at it, we'll cut his sideburns.
Woman [clutching Friday's hand]: Oh thank you. Thank you.
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Plans for this month:
D OSF RFT for Distributed Computing Environment
* organising the PANSS tape (and thinking about off-site support)
! EDUCOM conference in Ann Arbor, MI
Depart BOS on Mon 16 Oct on NW 343 at 1020
Depart DTW on Thu 19 Oct on NW 42 at 1630
+ counting a non-specific number of bottles on the wall
* finding and retaining a man who can pass the "breakfast" test
+ waiting for my australian tax refund
! considering moving the rest of my furniture (and books,
and tapes, etc.) back into my apartment.
* workable solutions for qa problems with respect to courseware
and other materials developed by non-athena personnel
* AIDS Action Committee Dance-a-thon
legend: * = "in progress"
+ = "in 'bureaucratic-wait' state"
! = "a future problem"
D = "done"
so go away... come back at the end of october, and we'll talk.
--
<you'll find me here usually ... when i'm here, i'm on the staff of
<MIT's Project Athena ...
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srz (Stanley R Zanarotti):
One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do...
--- End of Central America ---
