Message-ID: <36ADDBB8.7EC3@gazonk.del> Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:14:00 -0500 From: "Foobar T. Clown" Organization: Blurp X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01 (WinNT; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Tour Directors References: <788lql$n31@netaxs.com> <36AB3C2B.D5FB2512@fast.net> <78hsn2$fo6$2@ligarius.ultra.net> <36aca6fb.0@192.168.0.20> <78icvl$9mn$2@teabag.demon.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 198.133.110.49 X-Trace: 26 Jan 1999 10:14:07 -0500, 198.133.110.49 Lines: 36 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news-nyc.telia.net!dca1-hub1.news.digex.net!digex!netnews.com!ix.netcom.com!zeus.nomos.com!198.133.110.49 Mike Swaim wrote: > > The last place I worked at ... would randomly give clients and > potental clients tours, ... "And here's our CAD group, working on a > new unit." (Points at cad operators engaged in an after hours > deathmatch.) "And over there's the CAD file server." (Points at > refrigerator.) -Taken from a real tour. Long ago, when I was employed by the computer science department of a university that shall remain nameless, I wrote a little eye-candy program that ran on some graphic workstations. It filled the monitor with an animation of fifteen basketballs, perpetually bouncing off of the "floor," the "walls," and each other, with a night sky in the background. The workstations were underutilized, and it was my habit to run the basketball program at all of the empty seats whenever I was working in the room. No shit! There I was... ...preparing to go out for pancakes at the end of an all-night hack session one morning, when the director of said university's "robotics institute" led a bunch of suits into the lab. I tried to act like part of the furniture while I listened to him explain about the project I had been working on. As they reached the center of the room, they came face to face with a row of workstations running my basketballs program. The director did not even pause. His monologue simply flowed from the project he'd been talking about to a graduate student who'd leveraged that project's technology for his thesis which had yielded new, sophisticated techniques for real-time simulation of mechanical systems. I had to turn, face the wall, and bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud. The guy didn't stop. He had a name for the student, he told them how the technology wasn't ready to be licensed, but how it was an example of the kinds of research that the university could commercialize. He talked about it for maybe a full two minutes, and as far as I know, it was all improvised on the spot. ###### From: jmfbahciv@aol.com Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Tour Directors Date: Thu, 28 Jan 99 13:18:53 GMT Organization: UltraNet Communications, Inc. Lines: 46 Message-ID: <78pptk$7mr$3@ligarius.ultra.net> References: <788lql$n31@netaxs.com> <36AB3C2B.D5FB2512@fast.net> <78hsn2$fo6$2@ligarius.ultra.net> <36aca6fb.0@192.168.0.20> <78icvl$9mn$2@teabag.demon.co.uk> <36ADDBB8.7EC3@gazonk.del> NNTP-Posting-Host: d16.dial-15.mbo.ma.ultra.net X-Complaints-To: abuse@ultra.net X-Ultra-Time: 28 Jan 1999 13:49:40 GMT X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.belnet.be!news.tvd.be!remarQ-easT!supernews.com!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!news.ultranet.com!d16 In article <36ADDBB8.7EC3@gazonk.del>, "Foobar T. Clown" wrote: >Mike Swaim wrote: >> >> The last place I worked at ... would randomly give clients and >> potental clients tours, ... "And here's our CAD group, working on a >> new unit." (Points at cad operators engaged in an after hours >> deathmatch.) "And over there's the CAD file server." (Points at >> refrigerator.) -Taken from a real tour. > >Long ago, when I was employed by the computer science department of a >university that shall remain nameless, I wrote a little eye-candy >program that ran on some graphic workstations. It filled the monitor >with an animation of fifteen basketballs, perpetually bouncing off of >the "floor," the "walls," and each other, with a night sky in the >background. The workstations were underutilized, and it was my habit to >run the basketball program at all of the empty seats whenever I was >working in the room. > >No shit! There I was... > >....preparing to go out for pancakes at the end of an all-night hack >session one morning, when the director of said university's "robotics >institute" led a bunch of suits into the lab. I tried to act like part >of the furniture while I listened to him explain about the project I had >been working on. As they reached the center of the room, they came face >to face with a row of workstations running my basketballs program. The >director did not even pause. His monologue simply flowed from the >project he'd been talking about to a graduate student who'd leveraged >that project's technology for his thesis which had yielded new, >sophisticated techniques for real-time simulation of mechanical systems. > >I had to turn, face the wall, and bite my tongue to keep from laughing >out loud. The guy didn't stop. He had a name for the student, he told >them how the technology wasn't ready to be licensed, but how it was an >example of the kinds of research that the university could >commercialize. He talked about it for maybe a full two minutes, and as >far as I know, it was all improvised on the spot. Funny. That's exactly how our salesmen talked. Three months later, we would find out....after the fit hit the shan, of course, when the customer started asking for his money back. /BAH Subtract a hundred and four for e-mail. ###### From: das@picknowl.com.au (David Simpson) Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Tour Directors Message-ID: <36afa79d.1156006@news.picknowl.com.au> References: <788lql$n31@netaxs.com> <36AB3C2B.D5FB2512@fast.net> <78hsn2$fo6$2@ligarius.ultra.net> <36aca6fb.0@192.168.0.20> <78icvl$9mn$2@teabag.demon.co.uk> <36ADDBB8.7EC3@gazonk.del> X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.5/16.451 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 44 Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 07:25:41 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 203.38.162.77 X-Complaints-To: abuse@telstra.net X-Trace: nsw.nnrp.telstra.net 917591154 203.38.162.77 (Fri, 29 Jan 1999 17:25:54 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 17:25:54 EST Organization: Telstra Big Pond Direct Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!newsfeed-zh.ip-plus.net!news.ip-plus.net!news-nyc.telia.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!intgwpad.nntp.telstra.net!nsw.nnrp.telstra.net!not-for-mail On Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:14:00 -0500, "Foobar T. Clown" wrote: >Mike Swaim wrote: >> >> The last place I worked at ... would randomly give clients and >> potential clients tours, ... "And here's our CAD group, working on a >> new unit." (Points at cad operators engaged in an after hours >> deathmatch.) "And over there's the CAD file server." (Points at >> refrigerator.) -Taken from a real tour. > >Long ago, when I was employed by the computer science department of a >university that shall remain nameless, I wrote a little eye-candy >program that ran on some graphic workstations. It filled the monitor >with an animation of fifteen basketballs, perpetually bouncing off of >the "floor," the "walls," and each other, with a night sky in the >background. The workstations were underutilized, and it was my habit to >run the basketball program at all of the empty seats whenever I was >working in the room. > >No shit! There I was... > >...preparing to go out for pancakes at the end of an all-night hack >session one morning, when the director of said university's "robotics >institute" led a bunch of suits into the lab. I tried to act like part >of the furniture while I listened to him explain about the project I had >been working on. As they reached the center of the room, they came face >to face with a row of workstations running my basketballs program. The >director did not even pause. His monologue simply flowed from the >project he'd been talking about to a graduate student who'd leveraged >that project's technology for his thesis which had yielded new, >sophisticated techniques for real-time simulation of mechanical systems. > >I had to turn, face the wall, and bite my tongue to keep from laughing >out loud. The guy didn't stop. He had a name for the student, he told >them how the technology wasn't ready to be licensed, but how it was an >example of the kinds of research that the university could >commercialise. He talked about it for maybe a full two minutes, and as >far as I know, it was all improvised on the spot. Sounds to me as if he deserved a raise. David Simpson das@picknowl.com.au =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Anatomy: Something that everybody has, but it looks better on a girl.