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Recliner[_2_] · December 14th 13, 02:34 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On Sat, 14 Dec 2013 12:52:28 GMT, d wrote:

On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 16:36:10 -0600
Recliner wrote:
Eric wrote:
Thrilling? Yes, it can be. At any age. Actually that line says more
about your personality than about anything else.

Yes, perhaps. I moved on from programming a long time ago. For me, it was
never more than a means to an end, and I was happy to switch to code-free

And that says even more about you - ie no good at programming, should never
have gone into it in the first place and you didn't have the balls to look
elsewhere for a job - you took the easy option. You'd have probably been happy
as a retail manager in a tesco or something similar.

If you could read better than you write, you'd also have noticed that
I never was a programmer. I occasionally wrote code as needed in other
jobs (I actually spent more time specifying languages than using
them). My degrees were in engineering, not programming, so writing
code was always a means to the end. Programmers were people I
employed. My coding skills were OK, but I hope the pros were much
better.

environments once they could do what I wanted. I certainly didn't want to
make my living from it, and never did, despite writing programs that could
tie up the then world's largest computer for 20 minutes when I was doing my
thesis.

This is priceless )

Anyone could tie up a single threaded computer for all eternity just by
sticking it in an endless loop you dimwit. 20 mins, FFS ...

Oh dear. Running large mesh finite element programs is computationally
intensive, especially if it's iteratively simulating thermal creep.
But you probably only know about the other sort of creep.

The last 3GL code I wrote was probably around 30 years ago (very much as a
part-time activity), and 4GL 15+ years ago. Even programming fancy Excel
formulas or macros doesn't turn me on any more. Once I knew I could do it,

I hate to break the news to you, but writing Excel macros is only "programming"
if you're a complete beginner. I expect you think writing HTML is programming
too hmm?

As I said, even basic programming like Excel macros, let alone the
hard-core stuff, bores me to tears.

I didn't get any thrills from doing it year after year. There were new
challenges to turn me on, and programming seemed like an activity best
reserved for younger, cheaper people. I know what code can do, but it
doesn't have to be me doing it, any more than I would want to wash my car
myself.

Obviously you have zero imagination to boot.

I do appreciate that some people enjoy washing their own cars, and others
continue to enjoy programming. But there are better ways to make a living
for those who can.

Poor analogy. The programmer/engineer is the person who built the car, the
one washing it is the person who uses it on a daily basis. Eg , the pointy
haired manager who uses Powerpoint for example.

I preferred being the person who commissioned the project to build the
car, hiring cheaper, junior grunts to actually do the stress analysis.
Unfortunately, a few were like you, but most were bright and willing.

Face it - you have no clue about what you're talking about, you were a failure
as a progammer who jumped before he was pushed and you could be Exhibit A
from the Dilbert Principle.

I wasn't ever a programmer, as I keep pointing out. It might have been
your highest aspiration; it was never mine. I just wrote code as
needed, and preferably not very often, and certainly not once I could
hire others to do it.