Klarinet Archive - Posting 000043.txt from 2012/02

From: Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] IBM 1620
Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:11:09 -0500

Fred <vze2bsbs@-----.net> wrote:

> Wow! That is cool and way before my time. Say- does it seem that
> all programmers are also clarinet players? Or vica-versa?

Perhaps surprisingly, there is a fairly strong correlation between
engineering and music. There are 6 programmers in our community band,
which is 10% of the population. I have tried not to waste time on
regrets, but if I have any regret in my life, it is that I did not try
for a career as a pianist. On the other hand, Bill Gates has been very,
very good to me. Had I gone with music, I would probably not have the
nice house I have now. And I still have the opportunity to do what I
love in accompanying and in community theater -- perhaps the best of
both worlds.

I've certainly chewed up miles of paper tape and cases of punched cards
in my time. During the 1980s, I was one of the top Fortran programmers
at Control Data, a company that built its reputation on having the
fastest Fortran in the world. The computing world was different then.
Computers were MAGICAL, and we who knew how to wrangle them were
wizards. Today, they're just another tool. The magic is gone.

--
Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

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