From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.1 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID, DKIM_VALID_AU,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 5654 invoked from network); 12 Jan 2022 03:39:46 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 12 Jan 2022 03:39:46 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id F05029CFFF; Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:39:42 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 46BD09CFCA; Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:39:20 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=dartmouth.edu header.i=@dartmouth.edu header.b="PrP86d3m"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 4F6739CFCA; Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:39:15 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-wr1-f44.google.com (mail-wr1-f44.google.com [209.85.221.44]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 61F439C78F for ; Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:39:14 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-wr1-f44.google.com with SMTP id v6so1742052wra.8 for ; Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:39:14 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=dartmouth.edu; s=google1; h=mime-version:from:date:message-id:subject:to; bh=Pl7DqSZ3iEgOXWtOKxgwxOwUzd6GClpYBOzUVtJreRI=; b=PrP86d3mRYL8NnZr1NWz4pdTNj2SnbPafZjcSjJzl990yLKmEqFgc+ixLuz7vN6wKx X3qTbn/jEAt/uTQHKHwYQ6VlqfMq7ug2NLZ/v+ZjS8QBVn2/DJG4DPwjdOAFwahjxDF3 Yj9CKsT94Gxcr3ar1//xavPnFoVejm/ZeMkTwHA4RWB3FaiGKlm5pQi3ZUgeQz9+04sR UfVYq+Imq10KGW8cMQB5zsyPR25KSJca/dunGPNyMIcN7PX4a/R6o6DCT3nE26aCFIeY KBGLP9Sk3CKzun+oS3bwGjp4yRWs829Mp+RhAhq5t8s97DJqopMrtBx4oQDwSp63AALf Hc3Q== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:from:date:message-id:subject:to; bh=Pl7DqSZ3iEgOXWtOKxgwxOwUzd6GClpYBOzUVtJreRI=; b=GsJSauYNlvkvl6nyOEWJZkWnZlOCzs1RfmMowCaXZ3iNdrB9rb2rMMjwf0b5UDdLS6 JQ6nUZMOYFk28mAO3DjCXkIf7sExCUdPERe7bq9GnC4c3aY5x4A7FqX62xrkdoMCeQJS AhOWDYhf6hFtm4jhdwFYVdk2/vXp0rtach/+2nWODHsWeKC1qzxe+odPzf5Jx9pjIPKJ mnXW8uYP4TLvQDqN+ttSala5x5bE/uaYVhpeaD8klfc92P6owaK1PhuTU9tWV9w9j2fh uYHRzCKMnUcgxoDmqd16DxI5vk8H441oIpZ0gG4jgvRxMdPSc0chGGOoq7DVBoSZwi8P ryJg== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM530LGqBkDXn9KBIY5tKJr3qXCzlK3bVp9Dgqn+dceyz3wdt3Phwt GEN16sG8WWeDfsHOGFFbiny93wRsVvhd43IcbLyK302ghNGuXQ== X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJwPZ9b7n9reTm7idlPQd17PE6JSGphEhyde2454RnVoDaSV5wmcl9PfAPTVQlHVGTCqO83FPCzwRw7qeWQNCJE= X-Received: by 2002:adf:f352:: with SMTP id e18mr6394835wrp.404.1641958752172; Tue, 11 Jan 2022 19:39:12 -0800 (PST) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Douglas McIlroy Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2022 22:38:56 -0500 Message-ID: To: TUHS main list Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Subject: [TUHS] Coastal cultures, collaboration, creativity and Sun vs DEC X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" > most, if not all of these things were after I arrived. That may indicate the youth of the narrator more than a lightening of the culture. Some practical jokes and counter-culture customs from an earlier day: When I joined the Labs, everyone talked about the escapades of Claude Shannon and Dave Hagelbarger--unicycle, outguessing machines, the finger-on-the-switch box, etc. When John Kelly became a department head he refused to have his office carpeted. That would have kept him from stubbing out cigarettes on the floor. Bill Baker may have worn a coat and tie, but he kept a jalopy in his VP parking space. Another employee had a rusty vehicle with weeds growing out of the fenders. As early as 1960 BESYS began appending fortune cookies to every printout. The counter where printouts were delivered got messed up by people pawing around to see others' fortunes. One day the audio monitor on the low bit of the 7090 accumulator stopped producing white noise (with an occasional screech for an infinite loop) and intoned in aTexas drawl, "Help, I'm caught in a loop. Help. I'm caught in a loop. Help ..." A pixelated nude mural appeared in Ed David's office. (Maybe this no longer counts as a prank. It is now regarded as a foundational event in computer art.) Ed Gilbert had a four-drawer filing cabinet labeled integers, rationals, reals, and balloon. The latter held the tattered remains of lunchtime hot-air experiments. He also had a chalkboard globe with a world map on it. It sometimes took several spins before a visitor realized that you really shouldn't be able to see all the continents at once--the map appeared twice around the circumference of the globe. CS had a Gilbert-and-Sullivan duo, Mike Lesk and Peter Neumann, who produced original entertainment for department parties. Doug