Do IT nerds have sense?
Feb 25th 2009, 8:46 am
#46
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Mordialloc, VIC
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Give the geeks a thread and they soon split down into Windows vs Everything else.
Ding ding, round 2.
Chicks dig Unix, fact.
Ding ding, round 2.
Chicks dig Unix, fact.
Feb 25th 2009, 9:50 am
#47
mmmmmm duff
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Feb 25th 2009, 10:07 am
#48
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Funnily enough, one of the initiatives that Thatcher's party introduced during the late '80s was based on exactly those lines. They encouraged arty A'level students to do degrees in computers and engineering in the misguided hope of breeding some super race of geeks who could express themselves. Such students were offered entry to the premier courses in the country with off-subject A'levels.
I used to test in-house software and write a lot of the user doc and release notes and got to really enjoy the writing part of the job. I had native and non-native English speakers from all over the world to try to communicate with - all about a very specialist area of science, but in English they can all understand.
I didn't use Windows until I retired!
Feb 25th 2009, 10:12 am
#49
mmmmmm duff
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Feb 25th 2009, 10:18 am
#50
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Funnily enough, one of the initiatives that Thatcher's party introduced during the late '80s was based on exactly those lines. They encouraged arty A'level students to do degrees in computers and engineering in the misguided hope of breeding some super race of geeks who could express themselves. Such students were offered entry to the premier courses in the country with off-subject A'levels.
And that's how, sucker that I am, I ended up starting a degree in computer science - complete with modules in degree level maths. Funnily enough I had no problem with the subject matter (despite getting my A'levels in arts-oriented English, Geography and Economics) but had an epiphany one day in a tutor group. I looked around the classroom at my fellow students and said to myself, 'Jesus H, if these are the people I'll be working with when I graduate, then I'm off'. And so I dropped out. And ended up working for HSBC on the currency trading floor where I had a similar epiphany and went back to college to do the English degree I should have done in the first place. Even funnier then, I suppose, that I ended up working in the geek industries anyway ...
And that's how, sucker that I am, I ended up starting a degree in computer science - complete with modules in degree level maths. Funnily enough I had no problem with the subject matter (despite getting my A'levels in arts-oriented English, Geography and Economics) but had an epiphany one day in a tutor group. I looked around the classroom at my fellow students and said to myself, 'Jesus H, if these are the people I'll be working with when I graduate, then I'm off'. And so I dropped out. And ended up working for HSBC on the currency trading floor where I had a similar epiphany and went back to college to do the English degree I should have done in the first place. Even funnier then, I suppose, that I ended up working in the geek industries anyway ...
I was OK at study until I discovered girls at 15 then I spent all my time trying to get into their knickers or hanging them from the roof of the gym lol. I dropped the arts at 16 as I hated essay writing by hand and in the late 80s PCs were expensive. I then switched back to the Arts at 17 when I decided, being lazy, that it was, after all, easier to read and have an opinion than have to be right with the Maths and the Physics...(now I am looking to get back in with the Physics and Maths after all......)
It was then a few years out on the ground doing an extremely physical hands on job and another 10 years before I went back in as a developer/consultant. I thank my lucky stars I don't do support or desktop...I can just about put up with developers as I find most of them polite, professional and can think for themselves and the days seem numbered when they were social rejects.
But I will never be truly one of them!
Feb 25th 2009, 11:37 am
#51
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Classic.
I was OK at study until I discovered girls at 15 then I spent all my time trying to get into their knickers or hanging them from the roof of the gym lol. I dropped the arts at 16 as I hated essay writing by hand and in the late 80s PCs were expensive. I then switched back to the Arts at 17 when I decided, being lazy, that it was, after all, easier to read and have an opinion than have to be right with the Maths and the Physics...(now I am looking to get back in with the Physics and Maths after all......)
It was then a few years out on the ground doing an extremely physical hands on job and another 10 years before I went back in as a developer/consultant. I thank my lucky stars I don't do support or desktop...I can just about put up with developers as I find most of them polite, professional and can think for themselves and the days seem numbered when they were social rejects.
But I will never be truly one of them!
I was OK at study until I discovered girls at 15 then I spent all my time trying to get into their knickers or hanging them from the roof of the gym lol. I dropped the arts at 16 as I hated essay writing by hand and in the late 80s PCs were expensive. I then switched back to the Arts at 17 when I decided, being lazy, that it was, after all, easier to read and have an opinion than have to be right with the Maths and the Physics...(now I am looking to get back in with the Physics and Maths after all......)
It was then a few years out on the ground doing an extremely physical hands on job and another 10 years before I went back in as a developer/consultant. I thank my lucky stars I don't do support or desktop...I can just about put up with developers as I find most of them polite, professional and can think for themselves and the days seem numbered when they were social rejects.
But I will never be truly one of them!
Feb 25th 2009, 9:09 pm
#53
...giving optimism a go?!
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane (leafy, hilly western suburbs)
Posts: 2,202
Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Sorry for the delay (and being way off-topic) but the REASON I switched to a MS home server recently was the motherboard I purchased unfortunately doesnt have working linux drivers for the SPDIF audio out - and that is an absolute essential for a media server - so I figured I'd give vista a go and see what its like...
Oddly enough - despite being told that vista would be much easier to set up the MythTv, I've found it just as quirky and spend just as long forum hopping and tweaking various registry settings etc etc as I would have using Linux - so my advice for anyone thinking of building a Media centre? - Try MythTv first - if your hardware is all supported then the reliability makes it a winner.... Dont be sucked in to the 'windows is easier' crowd. If you want your media server set up correctly its a pain whichever OS you use!!
Oddly enough - despite being told that vista would be much easier to set up the MythTv, I've found it just as quirky and spend just as long forum hopping and tweaking various registry settings etc etc as I would have using Linux - so my advice for anyone thinking of building a Media centre? - Try MythTv first - if your hardware is all supported then the reliability makes it a winner.... Dont be sucked in to the 'windows is easier' crowd. If you want your media server set up correctly its a pain whichever OS you use!!
Feb 25th 2009, 9:14 pm
#54
...giving optimism a go?!
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Brisbane (leafy, hilly western suburbs)
Posts: 2,202
Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
I specialised in Maths, Maths & Physics for my A levels, but at uni soon discovered that Physics was dull and hard. I switched and ended up with a Music and Politics degree (4 years of sex, drugs, rock'n'roll
)... Of course when came to needing some kind of a job the only thing I could find was IT work and years later here I am still doing it....Funny how Australians get a real confused look on their face when they find out I didnt do an IT degree - the concept of a general non-vocational education is often completely beyond their grasp.
Feb 25th 2009, 9:22 pm
#55
mmmmmm duff
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
so I figured I'd give vista a go and see what its like.
Let us know how you are getting on with Vista.
I specialised in Maths, Maths & Physics for my A levels, but at uni soon discovered that Physics was dull and hard.
Feb 25th 2009, 9:22 pm
#56
Capt Hilts
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Sunny Adelaide :)
Posts: 1,573
Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Perhaps we have a thread full of generalists here?
I specialised in Maths, Maths & Physics for my A levels, but at uni soon discovered that Physics was dull and hard. I switched and ended up with a Music and Politics degree (4 years of sex, drugs, rock'n'roll)... Of course when came to needing some kind of a job the only thing I could find was IT work and years later here I am still doing it....
Funny how Australians get a real confused look on their face when they find out I didnt do an IT degree - the concept of a general non-vocational education is often completely beyond their grasp.
I specialised in Maths, Maths & Physics for my A levels, but at uni soon discovered that Physics was dull and hard. I switched and ended up with a Music and Politics degree (4 years of sex, drugs, rock'n'roll
)... Of course when came to needing some kind of a job the only thing I could find was IT work and years later here I am still doing it....Funny how Australians get a real confused look on their face when they find out I didnt do an IT degree - the concept of a general non-vocational education is often completely beyond their grasp.
Cooler
Feb 26th 2009, 10:14 am
#57
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Snap. I ended up doing an extra year to include Prehistoric Archaeology and Industrial Relations (it took in accounting, law, psychology etc) and finished getting a degree in geophysics - a subject I hadn't even heard of when I went to uni. The bonus there was the field trips, Scottish islands, Lake District with free hotels and food.
Feb 26th 2009, 11:22 am
#58
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Re: Do IT nerds have sense?
Snap. 3 years of Mech Eng was enough for me. Well, technically about 2 years was enough, but I pulled through anyway.
Feb 26th 2009, 11:36 am
#59
And YOU'RE paying for it!
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Feb 26th 2009, 11:53 am
#60
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