Nerds for Kerry

W

Winfield Hill

Guest
The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1


--
Thanks,
- Win
 
On 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, Winfield Hill
<whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> wrote:

The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1
Click to expand...

It's also amazing how much better work we do.

John
 
Quoting Winfield Hill [whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu], that
posted to sci.electronics.design on 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800 under article
<cm8g6f02b9k@drn.newsguy.com>:
The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1
Click to expand...
Those that vote in Bush are the "American Idiots", I think that this music
applies to them:

http://green-day.letras.terra.com.br/letras/92495/ (American Idiot)

--
Chaos MasterŽ, posting from Brazil.
"And if I bleed, I'll bleed / knowing you don't care. "

http://marreka.no-ip.com | http://tinyurl.com/46vru | http://renan182.no-ip.org
| http://marreka.blogspot.com (in Portuguese)
 
"Winfield Hill" <whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> skrev i en
meddelelse news:cm8g6f02b9k@drn.newsguy.com...
It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
Click to expand...
Our stuff has to work - theirs have to sell ;-)
 
On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, Winfield Hill wrote:

The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1
Click to expand...
I LOVE the disclaimer:

"This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers,
dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything
important, you're insane." ;-)

But it's a very nice "dream." :)

It's only lunchtime, and I'm kinda surprised how quiet the TV is
about the erection[sic]. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich
 
Worst ever presidential election for me. Never, ever have I flip-flopped so
many times. Made me feel like Kerry, so I voted for him.
 
On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 22:51:37 +0000, Mike Page wrote:

John Larkin wrote:
On 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, Winfield Hill
whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> wrote:


The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1



It's also amazing how much better work we do.

John


More likely reflects the mean age of slashdot visitors. Reminds me of a
particularly amusing Father Ted quote.
Click to expand...
Well, please don't keep us on tenter-hooks! What did Father Ted say?
I've never even heard of him.

Thanks!
Rich
 
On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 14:17:25 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
<speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

Slashdot is populated by young folks. Usenet is the territory of old
farts, many of them embittered.
Click to expand...
Some of us old farts informed by recent history -- not more than the
basic populace, apparently.
 
On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 14:17:25 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
<speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

On 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, the renowned Winfield Hill
whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> wrote:

The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1


Slashdot is populated by young folks. Usenet is the territory of old
farts, many of them embittered.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
Click to expand...

Spehro,

Want a few?

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=6704292

John
 
On 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, the renowned Winfield Hill
<whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> wrote:

The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1
Click to expand...

Slashdot is populated by young folks. Usenet is the territory of old
farts, many of them embittered.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
 
"Winfield Hill" wrote -
It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.

=======================================
Click to expand...

It's not surprising. Engineers and programmers are, in general, segregated
by their age groups.

We are all born as confident little red commies, progress through life's
changes, and then die as slightly disappointed bloated capitalists who can't
take it with them.

As a 79 year old engineer AND programmer since 1960, I know - - - -

Incidentally, it is engineers' ingenuity which produces the REAL wealth of
the world. Programmers belong to the (admittedly necessary) routine service
industries.
----
............................................................
Regards from Reg, G4FGQ
For Free Radio Design Software go to
http://www.btinternet.com/~g4fgq.regp
............................................................
 
On Mon, 8 Nov 2004 10:38:59 +0000 (UTC), "Reg Edwards"
<g4fgq.regp@ZZZbtinternet.com> wrote:

"Winfield Hill" wrote -
It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.

=======================================

It's not surprising. Engineers and programmers are, in general, segregated
by their age groups.
Click to expand...
Since the young programmers will not metamorphose into engineers at
mid-life, this implies that, one day, there will be few if any
engineers left. OK by me.

We are all born as confident little red commies, progress through life's
changes, and then die as slightly disappointed bloated capitalists who can't
take it with them.

As a 79 year old engineer AND programmer since 1960, I know - - - -

Incidentally, it is engineers' ingenuity which produces the REAL wealth of
the world. Programmers belong to the (admittedly necessary) routine service
industries.
Click to expand...
Now, if we could just train them to be as competent and professional
as, say, pizza delivery men... maybe we should offer bigger tips?

John
 
JeffM wrote:
In hardware work, you're always at risk of blowing up your last sample
of an expensive part. When you commit a design to production, it
usually can't be patched after the fact, so you'd better get it right
the first time. That's a job for a big-C Conservative.
John Miles

Which makes it all the stranger
that engineers would support the NeoCons and their faith-based nonsense
and their get-the-facts-wrong-and-charge-blindly-ahead techniques.
Click to expand...
Its because the economic conservatives (the traditional Republicans)
were in the minority. So they made a deal with the devil and invited a
small group of outcasts in to the party (the social conservatives).

Historically, following every 'win', the classic (economic)
conservatives have always dropped the religious right like a hot
potato(e). Its happening already. The Bush administration and Arlen
Spectre have already said that they won't necessarily nominate an 'anti
abortion' justice to the Supreme Court. The fundies are screaming and I
can almost hear Bush dropping trou' and telling them to 'smooch this'.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Your mouse has moved. Windows must be restarted for
the change to take effect. Reboot now? [OK]
 
Reg Edwards wrote:
"Winfield Hill" wrote -
It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.

=======================================

It's not surprising. Engineers and programmers are, in general, segregated
by their age groups.

We are all born as confident little red commies, progress through life's
changes, and then die as slightly disappointed bloated capitalists who can't
take it with them.

As a 79 year old engineer AND programmer since 1960, I know - - - -

Incidentally, it is engineers' ingenuity which produces the REAL wealth of
the world. Programmers belong to the (admittedly necessary) routine service
industries.
Click to expand...
Why is 'programming' even a separate discipline? Software is only a
tool. One that most people, from engineers to accountants need to master
to do their job effectively. One doesn't specialize in the use of a
particular tool in any other line of work. My local garage doesn't have
a guy that specializes in 'wrench' and doesn't have a clue about how an
engine works.

Computer science, as the study of the principles behind the software
tools, is a legitimate discipline. But just like a metallurgist, the
measure of its success is whether one can take the tools it produces and
get a job done without having their creator looking over your shoulder
while you work.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:paul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together?
A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home.
 
In article <cm8g6f02b9k@drn.newsguy.com>, whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-
harvard-dot.s-edu says...
The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1
Click to expand...
There are reasons for that.

Software R&D is generally free apart from the time it takes. There are
few enduring rules, and progress often comes from what would be
considered reckless behavior in other fields. Even if you're some kind
of nut, you're in good company. Respect for tradition (plus four bucks)
will get you a grande latte at Starbucks. Liberal thinking is
historically rewarded in an environment like this.

In hardware work, you're always at risk of blowing up your last sample
of an expensive part. When you commit a design to production, it
usually can't be patched after the fact, so you'd better get it right
the first time. That's a job for a big-C Conservative.

Most EE work bears a close resemblance to accounting, which is why I
didn't stick with it in college. (My projects all end up needing bigger
power supplies, which is a bad sign.) In a real EE job, you're always
reminded of the creative constraints imposed by the real world. Of
course, those constraints can be an inspiration all their own, but the
software guys are happier without so many of them.

In software work, you ostensibly attack a problem by modelling it, and
you shape the parameters of the model to make it fit the problem at
hand. What programmers often do, though, is reshape the problem to fit
the model they happen to be comfortable with. :) A few lucky EEs get to
do this, too -- mostly the ones in the academic world.

Not coincidentally, that's also how leftist economic theory works. If
you spend enough time reading Slashdot, the synergy becomes crystal-
clear, as well as a bit unnerving. It's not hard to imagine a crowd of
Slashdotters waving their torches in the Tsarist Russian snow, cursing
the system and itching for a chance to do it right this time.

-- jm

------------------------------------------------------
http://www.qsl.net/ke5fx
Note: My E-mail address has been altered to avoid spam
------------------------------------------------------
 
John Larkin wrote:
On 2 Nov 2004 09:29:51 -0800, Winfield Hill
whill_a@t_rowland-dotties-harvard-dot.s-edu> wrote:


The Slashdot programmer's website has a lopsided vote for
Kerry, 27584 to Bush, 11353. It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.
http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1202&aid=-1



It's also amazing how much better work we do.

John
Click to expand...
More likely reflects the mean age of slashdot visitors. Reminds me of a
particularly amusing Father Ted quote.

--
Mike Page BEng(Hons) MIEE www.eclectic-web.co.uk
Quiet! Tony's battling the forces of conservatism, whoever we are.
 
On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 21:30:16 -0800, "Paul Hovnanian P.E."
<Paul@Hovnanian.com> wrote:

Reg Edwards wrote:

"Winfield Hill" wrote -
It's amazing how engineers
are so much more conservative than computer programmers.

=======================================

It's not surprising. Engineers and programmers are, in general, segregated
by their age groups.

We are all born as confident little red commies, progress through life's
changes, and then die as slightly disappointed bloated capitalists who can't
take it with them.

As a 79 year old engineer AND programmer since 1960, I know - - - -

Incidentally, it is engineers' ingenuity which produces the REAL wealth of
the world. Programmers belong to the (admittedly necessary) routine service
industries.

Why is 'programming' even a separate discipline? Software is only a
tool. One that most people, from engineers to accountants need to master
to do their job effectively. One doesn't specialize in the use of a
particular tool in any other line of work. My local garage doesn't have
a guy that specializes in 'wrench' and doesn't have a clue about how an
engine works.
Click to expand...
User-oriented things (like, LabView and, maybe, Cobol) have attempted
to allow non-programmers who know their business to program. The CS
community naturally resists this sort of thing, so we get programs
written by "programmers" who know little about the application.
Windows, with is thousands of APIs, and C++ with its abstraction and
(lack of) syntax, make programming difficult even for people who do it
full-time. That's why C "won."

Computer science, as the study of the principles behind the software
tools, is a legitimate discipline.
Click to expand...
It's nearly an oxymoron. There's hardly any science in "computer
science."


John
 
In hardware work, you're always at risk of blowing up your last sample
of an expensive part. When you commit a design to production, it
usually can't be patched after the fact, so you'd better get it right
the first time. That's a job for a big-C Conservative.
John Miles

Which makes it all the stranger
that engineers would support the NeoCons and their faith-based nonsense
and their get-the-facts-wrong-and-charge-blindly-ahead techniques.
JeffM

Its because the economic conservatives (the traditional Republicans)
were in the minority. So they made a deal with the devil and invited a
small group of outcasts in to the party (the social conservatives).
Paul Hovnanian

I like the way Pat Robertson is saying that god's been talking to him
Click to expand...
a lot longer than god's been talking to Dubya
and that GWB's reception is fuzzy.

Historically, following every 'win', the classic (economic) conservatives
have always dropped the religious right like a hot potato(e).

Heh.
Click to expand...

Its happening already. The Bush administration and Arlen Spectre
have already said that they won't necessarily nominate an 'anti abortion'
justice to the Supreme Court. The fundies are screaming and I
can almost hear Bush dropping trou' and telling them to 'smooch this'.

It's good to hear somebody say that, but I'm not holding my breath.
Click to expand...
In traditional politics, he would campaign from the center
and govern from the right. If, when he ran, he was already near the extreme,
it seems unlikely (what with a 4-year job security and a legacy to secure)
that he would back off now.
OTOH, if your Magic-Bullet-Guy example is the leading edge of a trend,
The Support Thing(tm) could be a stumbling block.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Welcome to EDABoard.com

Sponsor

Back
Top