Praxis: Difference between revisions

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1974 is the actual start because that's when I took training at the schools Control Data was running and actually did first programming, but I went back for a 4 year degree majoring in Math and CS and only had Operator jobs before 1980. I did have a DP course at a community college before CDC in '73 which pushes it back to my teens. The Control Data Institute I went to btw, was in the building shown on the Bob Newhart Show at that time on Michigan Avenue as being where he had his office.
1974 is the actual start because that's when I took training at the schools Control Data was running and actually did first programming, but I went back for a 4 year degree majoring in Math and CS and only had Operator jobs before 1980. I did have a DP course at a community college before CDC in '73 which pushes it back to my teens. The Control Data Institute I went to btw, was in the building shown on the Bob Newhart Show at that time on Michigan Avenue as being where he had his office.


As an aside to &sect; d, <i>Mainframe Heritage</i> of the 2 page brochure, the Burroughs systems programmer job at Daytona Beach Community College '83-85, was a transition in two senses, it was the first time I was actually carrying a real development responsibility and the first time I would have control of the computer other than the personal ones I had at that time which were considered toys still. The shift after that to work on PC based systems, first with Methods/Digitalk Smalltalk at EER then contracts at IBM Boca, mostly OS/2 related, completed that transition to a mature doer. It's kind of amazing to think the first couple of years in those days you might not actually have a coding responsibility which is unthinkable now but in the last of the mainframe days not so much. DBCC ran on a 6800 but a few months in the Burroughs FE found a 6700 on a state of FL scrap heap and it was brought in and used by the ~10 person programming staff as a development machine which I controlled from my office. So that was how I became hands on.
As an aside to &sect; d, <i>Mainframe Heritage</i> of the 2 page brochure, the Burroughs systems programmer job at Daytona Beach Community College '83-85, was a transition in two senses, it was the first time I was actually carrying a real development responsibility and the first time I would have control of the computer other than the personal ones I had at that time which were considered toys still. The shift after that to work on PC based systems, first with Methods/Digitalk Smalltalk at EER then contracts at IBM Boca, mostly OS/2 related, completed that transition to a mature doer. It's kind of amazing to think the first couple of years in those days you might not actually have a coding responsibility which is unthinkable now but in the last of the mainframe days not so much. DBCC ran on a 6800 but a few months in the Burroughs FE found a 6700 on a state of FL scrap heap and it was brought in and used by the ~10 person programming staff as a development machine which I controlled from my office. So that was how I became hands on. I did modify COLLEGEMCS, put PRINTERMCS into service for the app staff, and made a trivial MCS to operate a very troublesome OCR test forms reader. In a real MCP shop the systems programmer would compile the OS and components manage them at source level.


From the late nineties I mostly worked remote, but did work on-site in Buffalo in '14/15, and from the late 80s most jobs were on a contractor basis, Givaudan being the longest employee role, from the turn of the century largely independent of 3rd parties. I would say the GMRV job conclusively ended this stage of work life. The last paid gig was Sep '23 and while it wasn actually a PWYWG, I'm designating as the first such as it was charged at a few days of my thrift rate. It had a mutually happy outcome, the kind I've generally been able to limit myself to for some time. Pauca sed bona. I am an Ayn Rand communist which you can find out more about from the &#x5DE5; &#x738B; link.
From the late nineties I mostly worked remote, but did work on-site in Buffalo in '14/15, and from the late 80s most jobs were on a contractor basis, Givaudan being the longest employee role, from the turn of the century largely independent of 3rd parties. I would say the GMRV job conclusively ended this stage of work life. The last paid gig was Sep '23 and while it wasn actually a PWYWG, I'm designating as the first such as it was charged at a few days of my thrift rate. It had a mutually happy outcome, the kind I've generally been able to limit myself to for some time. Pauca sed bona. I am an Ayn Rand communist which you can find out more about from the &#x5DE5; &#x738B; link.

Revision as of 03:27, 3 January 2024