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Russia's New Official Holiday — Programmer's Day

Posted by Soulskill on from the feel-free-to-take-sunday-off dept.

Glyn Moody writes "Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, has decreed a new holiday for his country: Programmer's Day. Appropriately enough, it will be celebrated on the 256th day of the year: September 13th (September 12th for a leap year). Do programmers deserve their own holiday ahead of other professions? Should the rest of the world follow suit?"

79 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. Yes. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Because without programmers we'd still be hurling stones and whacking each other over the head with bone clubs.

    1. Re:Yes. by lysergic.acid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      List of professions that I think are probably more deserving of their own holiday:

      • teachers
      • doctors & other medical professionals
      • social workers
      • scientists & mathematicians
      • mathematicians
      • firemen/coast guard/rescue workers
      • artists, musicians, and writers

      Of course, some of these are sorta already commemorated by labor day, and I would have also put farmers on the list if most weren't just corporate farms these days. I also thought about including inventors (it'd be nice for encouraging kids to be creative and laud ingenuity) but I'm not sure it's so much an occupation as it is a hobby/lifestyle.

    2. Re:Yes. by Nazlfrag · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Programmers are teachers, scientists, mathematicians and artists all in one. In that I've never met a programmer unwilling to share their insight and knowledge, hypothesize, construct a proof or make something cool appear on the screen.

    3. Re:Yes. by igny · · Score: 5, Interesting

      There are teachers', doctors' mathematicians' days in Russia. I am not sure about other but perhaps they exist too. A relevant story.

      A Russian grandpa is asked how often he drinks vodka. He replies "Not very often, only when it is a holiday or after a sauna. For example what holiday is it today?" It appeared that no one could recall any holiday today. The grandpa ponders "Hmm sounds like a good day to go to a sauna"

      --
      In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. - Yogi Berra
    4. Re:Yes. by lysergic.acid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, if you want to look at it like that, then almost anyone can be considered a teacher. Heck, I used to tutor other students after school at the library when I was in high school. Now, as part of my current web development job, it's my responsibility to teach our new high school intern the ins and outs of web development and graphic design. However, I don't think that puts me on the same level as a career teacher.

      Don't get me wrong, as a programmer myself and one who's learned immensely from other programmers, I have tremendous respect for the programming profession. In fact, I think the FOSS movement is a tremendous credit to the programming community. The concept of open source, which began in software development and spread out to other fields, is proof that programmers are ahead of the herd when it comes to public collaboration and sharing knowledge.

      That said, however, I think the academic community still has an edge on us in that regard. In fact, the FOSS movement has its roots partly in the academic ideals of free exchange of knowledge and information. And even though many professional programmers do "teach" in some small capacity, it's not quite the same as the computer programming professor who's dedicated his life to teaching. I mean, just because you give your child cold medicine when he's sick, or put a band-aid on his knee when he scrapes it, that doesn't make you a doctor or put you on the same level as medical professionals whose job it is to treat the sick and save lives.

    5. Re:Yes. by Jugalator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Right. I think I've met more teachers who are better at teaching, than programmers who wish to teach.

      I am a programmer, and I am usually quite reluctant to teaching people about e.g. programming, unless I'm paid for it. It is just too much work, much like the idea of helping out random people you barely know because "I know computers". Give me the money, and then we'll talk. And that, without any guarantees that I'm a good teacher, as, like MOST programmers out there, haven't been educated in pedagogy.

      I mean, sure, we're many programmers or IT folks here, that's even an understatement.

      But let's keep our feet on the ground for a while.

      I'm definitely not refuting that you've met programmers who're also good teachers, but this is not an inherent property of being a programmer IMNSHO.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  2. It is usually celebrated by... by John+Guilt · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...setting up a bot-net to send 20 phishing e-cards each to everyone _not_ a programmer.

    1. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by gracesdad · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was coming here to say the same thing, kudos sir! The last real program to come out of Russia was Tetris, hardly worthy of a holiday.

    2. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yeah, and we all know that Tetris didn't do anything other than create an entire new market for games and changed the face of gaming by introducing portable gaming as a real means of gaming. Without Tetris we wouldn't have the DS or PSP.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    3. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, but it looks like they have a plenty of _real_ programmers. It's quite striking that MIT didn't win the ACM competition in at least 10 years:

      # 2009 - Saint Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Russia
      # 2008 - Saint Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Russia
      # 2007 - University of Warsaw, Poland
      # 2006 - Saratov State University, Russia
      # 2005 - Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
      # 2004 - Saint Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, Russia
      # 2003 - University of Warsaw, Poland
      # 2002 - Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
      # 2001 - St. Petersburg State University, Russia
      # 2000 - St. Petersburg State University, Russia
      # 1999 - University of Waterloo, Canada
      # 1998 - Charles University, Czech Republic

    4. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Whoever modded parent "troll" is a jackass. Tetris really was a profoundly important game; given its popularity and the market it spawned, it's probably up there with, say, Visicalc and Mosaic on the list of (so to speak) game-changing software -- programs that weren't just commercially successful, but created a market for a whole new type of computing. Given that today's cell phone games -- many of which are very Tetris-like -- use more processing power than what was generally available on the desktop when Tetris was first introduced, dismissing its importance because it was "just a game" is a mistake.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    5. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by nametaken · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ah Russia, Poland and China... where software is free.

    6. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by nacturation · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nice correlation. Now about that causation...

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    7. Re:It is usually celebrated by... by Bender0x7D1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I went to the ACM finals in 2000 as a backup team member/assistant coach and, after talking to people from various teams, I think there are 2 important reasons for their success.

      • First, they are far more organized in their training than those in the US. Daily programming problems, marathon sessions on the weekend, that sort of thing.
      • Second, they are able to get course credit for participating. While you might pull a few independent study credits at a major US college, you aren't going to replace an entire semester worth of credit through training for a programming competition. I'm not trying to say getting credit for the competition is a good thing or a bad thing. I'm just pointing out that not having to spend 6-10 hours a week studying econ or psychology does free up some extra time.
      --
      Reading code is like reading the dictionary - you have to read half of it before you can go back and understand it.
  3. In Soviet Russia, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Programming Celebrates You!

    1. Re:In Soviet Russia, by pha3r0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      had to scroll further then i expected to find this but good job getting it in here!

  4. Humm .. by PIBM · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would have had it on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 16th, 32th, 64th, 128th and 256th day of the year, if I was to choose ;)

    1. Re:Humm .. by value_added · · Score: 2, Informative

      Good thing you skipped the 0th day. I'd be expect the conversations with the folks in HR would be less than productive.

    2. Re:Humm .. by selven · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, the GP definitely has a 0th day posting vulnerability.

    3. Re:Humm .. by imtheguru · · Score: 3, Informative

      Good thing you skipped the 0th day.

      2^0 = 1

      --
      Yet Socrates himself is particularly missed.
      A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed.
    4. Re:Humm .. by imtheguru · · Score: 4, Funny

      32th?

      Yes, Thirty-tooth.

      Influenced by the dental profession.

      --
      Yet Socrates himself is particularly missed.
      A lovely little thinker but a bugger when he's pissed.
    5. Re:Humm .. by Ihmhi · · Score: 2, Funny

      I celebrate it on the 512th day too, but you other guys might have a hard time getting to Mars.

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
    6. Re:Humm .. by HyperQuantum · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Good thing you skipped the 0th day.

      2^0 = 1

      Actually, programmers usually start counting from zero. So the 0th day would be January 1st.

      --
      I am not really here right now.
    7. Re:Humm .. by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Good thing you skipped the 0th day. I'd be expect the conversations with the folks in HR would be less than productive.

      Is there ever any other kind of conversation with the folks in HR?

    8. Re:Humm .. by selven · · Score: 2, Funny

      You... don't know the 10th power of 2??? Hand in your geek card immediately.

    9. Re:Humm .. by kubrick · · Score: 3, Funny

      At 2:30?

      --
      deus does not exist but if he does
  5. In honor of Programmer's Day by presidenteloco · · Score: 3, Funny

    All programmers in Russia are permitted to work only a single 8 hour shift
    today instead of the usual 16 hour shift !

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
    1. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's ironic you make that joke, since one of the first reforms the Bolsheviks made during the October Revolution was reducing the working day to 8 hours.

    2. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by jorghis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Amazing how defenses of Bolshevik economics get modded up in spite of how truly horrible it was to actually live in an economy like that. I would rather work in a country where you can actually earn something for a full days work than one where the government comes in and mandates that noone is allowed to work more than 8 hours. I work probably 9-10 hours a day, but at least I get something out of it. And I would not have in the old 'Workers Paradise'.

    3. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Informative

      Where did I defend the Bolsheviks? They created a heinous regime. I simply commented on the irony of the OP portraying them as stern taskmasters, as one of the ways they initially won over the people of Russia was by reducing working hours.

    4. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think you have no idea how horrible things in Russia actually were before the Revolution. "Earn something for a full days work," bwahahaha. Yes, in retrospect Communism was a terrible mistake. But it didn't happen in a vacuum -- there was a reason people were willing to fight against the existing system.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
    5. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by jorghis · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sorry if my post came across as a 'Youre a commie!' type of comment. :)

      However, they were extremely stern taskmasters. What do you think happened to people who did not work, worked less, or decided they wanted to quite their job and do something different? I'll give you a hint: It was a hell of a lot worse than getting fired or making less money which is what happens when you skip work in the USA. When you completely remove incentives to excel the only way anything gets done is if you punish people who do not do what you tell them. Basically they treated workers like slaves.

      However, you are correct that they won over working class Russians in the beginning with wild promises that they could not possibly have kept.

    6. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by jorghis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No doubt things were bad in Russia, but the Bolsheviks were not the ones with the solutions. There were lots of pro-democracy and moderate socialists who on the rise before the Bolsheviks seized power. Those were the ones who could have turned Russia's industrial revolution into a good thing, but Lenin (and later Stalin) basically had them killed and exiled. To say that the Bolsheviks were the champions of workers welfare is just crazy. :)

    7. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by ivucica · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Communism is not perfect, and I like free market economy. But some things need to be said "NO" to.

      You: "I want to work for 10 hours!"

      Boss: "Oh, everyone! He can work for 10 hours, that means you can work for 10 hours!"

      or:

      Boss: "Look, that Other Company makes employees work 12 hours a day! That means we can do that too!"

      Worker: "But, that's not fair..."

      Boss: "Law doesn't agree!"

      Some things need to be mandated through legislation. Is maximum work hours something to be mandated? I don't know, it depends on situation. If bosses don't abuse their power, then sure, sometimes I'd love to be able to work extended hours. But if you live in 19th century and you're a coal miner or a factory worker...

      Would you allow child labor?

    8. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by jorghis · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The worker doesnt have to go along with whatever the boss wants. It is a free country. If my boss said that he was going to pay me half of what I make now and ask me to work 16 hours a day I would quit. Sure bosses will try to get as much as they can, but that doesnt mean the workers have to go along with it. Other companies have to compete for workers. That is part of what makes the economy viable.

      I am not a total free market ideologue, I do agree that some things need to be regulated. (particularly risk taking in the financial sector) But generally speaking I believe that workers and employers should be able to come to their own agreements with regards to compensation relative to amount of work done.

    9. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by Hurricane78 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, it's not all black and white here. The idea was to eliminate worker extortion. A concept you might know from not being able to quit when the working condition / pay ration becomes unbearable.
      Their attempt obviously failed. But the spirit was undoubtedly a good one. (As it usually is.)

      Their main faults were to think that "everyone is equal", while some still were "more equal" than others. Thereby again creating the old hierarchy, or "boss paradise".
      (Originally, those "more equal" were just there to manage the transition, and then dissolve. Which for reasons of basic human behavior never happened.)
      We must accept, that humans first think of themselves. Even when we give, we do so, because it feels good to us, and because we follow our goals. If your goal is to make someone else big, and that makes you happy, you still do it for yourself. So this does not mean it is bad. And as for being egoistic, being the opposite of altruistic sacrifice, I can just quote someone I do not like very much, but who is right:
      “It stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there’s someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there's someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.” — Ayn Rand

      So my solution (yes, I thought about this quite a bit) is very simple: In such a new "company", everyone can work for multiple people and let multiple people work for him. So it's not a hierarchy anymore, but a free graph. Which means that not only a boss can prefer one of his employees, but an employee can prefer one of his bosses. Or in proper non-biased terms: A service provider and a money provider, or two service providers, (two money providers would be strange, but thinkable), have equal freedoms. If one of your "bosses" offers a crappy deal, you can say no, and take a better one. Just as he can take a better one than you. You don't have to have any long-term contracts (although you can). You can simply work on a project basis.
      This would not have been possible, two decades ago. But with computers being ubiquitous, the whole contract-, "self-employment"- and tax management, can be automated. Even as a service.
      I'd try that. Even if just to see the flaws, and fix them.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    10. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by QuoteMstr · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem is that there is a huge disparity in power between employers and employees. You, as an employee, are expendable in the vast majority of circumstances. Some person more desperate than you will take your job. All your boss loses is the time he's put into training you. You, on the other hand, lose your shirt.

    11. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by jorghis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I suppose that a lot of that has to do with what industry you work in, but in general I would disagree. For example programmers (I choose it because it is the original topic of this thread) :) are hugely expensive to replace. For some complex software products it can take years to get to know all the ins and outs.

      What do you really lose by quitting your job? Assuming you can find a comparable new one I do not see any real loss.

      I agree that the model breaks down somewhat in eras of extremely high unemployment where other work is totally unavailable and people who want your job are desperate. But I think that the logical conclusion of this is that the government should be focused on maintaining a stable and relatively low (ie 5-6%) unemployment rate, not on legislating worker-employer agreements. And currently, this is what the government does in the USA. Eras of high unemployment tend to be relatively short in the grand scheme of things in the United States. (and frankly, the USA standard of high unemployment and hardship is far different from virtually every other country in the world)

    12. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by ivucica · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Programmers in small companies, as well as architects and core team may be indispensable. Let's call them Developers; they are key to the product.

        However, in large corporations (those who, from my observations, care about their employees much less) most programmers are much more easily replaceable, too. Let's call them Programmers.

      Developers know the ins-and-outs of the product, they know exactly where to put the next piece of the puzzle. But sometimes (or often?) you deal with Programmers; they may privately be excellent designers, but at work they still do just the dirty work. They create simple modules designed by the Architect, with suggestions from the Developers.

      Those Programmers are certainly easily replaceable. What about Developers? Developers are most certainly capable of quickly learning their way around, or else the product would end up nowhere. Lay off a Programmer -- you lose someone you can replace with a fresh-out-of-college guy. Lay off a Developer -- you lose someone you can replace with another developer... who will relatively quickly find his way around, but will accept an authority figure much better than the one you laid off.

      Soon the new Developer can be bossed around quite easily, Initech style.

      In other words, a bit more difficult to handle than with regular workers, but still quite practicable. Especially when the Manager in the big corporation has no idea why it's such a big deal to lay off the Developer.

    13. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by Cyberax · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Have you ever wondered WHY Bolsheviks had won?

      Workers in Tsarist Russia were forced to work 16-18 hours six of seven days a week to be able just to feed themselves. For them there were no paid vacations, no pensions, no healthcare, no nothing. Do you think that anybody in their right mind would agree to work additional 8 hours in a coal mine just for fun?

      "I work probably 9-10 hours a day, but at least I get something out of it" - that's because workers' movements had won in the USA and other Western countries. You were lucky that it had happened just before the advent of Communism.

    14. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by Cyberax · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Maybe you should learn some Soviet history?

      Criminal punishments for skipped workdays were in effect from 1940 to 1946 - essentially during the WWII.

      Later, there were punishments for 'social parasitism' if you were unemployed for more than 4 consecutive months (not counting vacations, medical leaves, full-time education, etc.). And the Soviet government guaranteed employment for everyone.

      So stop telling fictional horror stories. There were enough real horror stories about the Soviet regime.

    15. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by Cyberax · · Score: 2, Informative

      "There were lots of pro-democracy and moderate socialists who on the rise before the Bolsheviks seized power."

      Read about the February Revolution ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution ).

      In short, democrats and moderate socialists were given power when the Tsar had been deposed. But they squandered it. And were deposed in turn next year during the October Revolution.

    16. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by 4D6963 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It also benefits employment, which was the main argument for the 35 hour week in France (unfortunately it was very poorly implemented). In sectors where you need a certain number of man-hours to get something done (not programming, think, manufacturing), if you need 840 man-hours a week, and that you can make your workers work 40 hours, then you'll have 21 workers. But if you can only make your workers work 35 hours, you'll need to hire 3 more workers because you need 24 of them now.

      This being said, that's one of those things that improve everybody's quality of life too, finishing work one hour earlier every evening is pretty nice, gives you more time to do whatever you have/want to do, and thus reduces stress. Besides I'm pretty sure that by reducing your work by 1/8th your productivity drop would be less than 1/8th. At least in cubicle jobs where people get bored and spend two hours on facebook and playing flash games.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    17. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by dunkelfalke · · Score: 2, Informative

      It even gets worse. As they saw them losing the civil war, they fleed to another countries and left more or less scorched earth behind them - they were ok with Russian people starving as long as the reds don't get any working industry.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    18. Re:In honor of Programmer's Day by 4D6963 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you're that easily replacible, then sure.

      Yes, but it's not about the precious unique snowflake that (you may believe) you are, it's about most workers, most of which are indeed replaceable. You know, the larger picture.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
  6. Seems odd... by AlastairLynn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As much as programmers do often work hard and produce nifty things, why this rather than, say, surgeons' day, or police officers' day?

    1. Re:Seems odd... by Anonymous+Cowar · · Score: 4, Funny

      because surgeons or police officers are less likely to create a website on a whim to promote a holiday.

    2. Re:Seems odd... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well, in Russia, police officers, medical workers, and every other profession actually have their own "days" as well.

    3. Re:Seems odd... by kmike · · Score: 2, Informative

      > Well, in Russia, police officers, medical workers, and every other profession actually have their own "days" as well.
      ^^^^^^
      That, and also there seems to be a misunderstanding here, aka lost in translation. It's not a holiday in a sense that the whole country has a day off. It's just an official nifty name for this particular day. Also a good occasion to praise the work of your friendly programmer in the next cubicle.

  7. At least... by amightywind · · Score: 2, Insightful

    At least it doesn't interfere with Obama's Day of Service to our Government masters on September 11.

    --
    an ill wind that blows no good
    1. Re:At least... by sayfawa · · Score: 5, Informative

      I really wish I could laugh at your ignorance. Patriot Day started well before Obama came along.

      --
      Free the Quark 3 from asymptotic confinement! Bring your charm! Don't get down! All colours and flavours welcome!
    2. Re:At least... by Boronx · · Score: 5, Interesting

      By calling it "national service" day, rather than "terrorists kicked our ass and now we have to act like idiots" day, we take the day back in some small way.

      --
      Play Command HQ online
    3. Re:At least... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I really wish I could laugh at your ignorance. Patriot Day started well before Obama came along.

      YOU LIE!!!!

    4. Re:At least... by ProfM · · Score: 3, Informative

      I really wish I could laugh at your ignorance.

      What the OP is talking about is Obama's Speech at the Pentagon. Watch at about 4:00 minutes in, and listen to what the President is saying ... "On this first National Day of Service and Remembrance, we can summon once more that ordinary goodness of America to serve our communities ..."

    5. Re:At least... by dubbayu_d_40 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Two bananas were standing on the river bank in the dead of winter. A turd floats by and says 'come on in, the water's great!' One banana says to the other, 'you believe that shit?'

    6. Re:At least... by akadruid · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I thought we were drumming up support for another try....

      --
      "Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything." (attrib. Joseph Stalin)
    7. Re:At least... by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Armed, combat trained and battle tested right wing leaning organization = Patriotic citizens!!
      Left leaning college students delivering food to seniors and reading to school kids = Paramilitary revolutionary force!!! OH NOEZ!

  8. Wetware Not Software by mindbrane · · Score: 4, Insightful
    In Russia the programmers program you!

    I think, in what is fast becoming a fascist state of one part gangsterism and one part corporatism, the programmers they're talking about aren't the programmers you're thinking about.

    --
    ideopath @ play
    1. Re:Wetware Not Software by Hurricane78 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As far as I know, they are the worldwide providers of cracks and rips for all our software and movie needs. Then the Chinese distribute it.
      I, for one, am thankful for that service. ^^

      Oh, and my sig unintentionally fits your subject nicely: (copied into the comment for long-term archiving)

      --
      Real hackers hack brains! Real tinkerers tune their body! Computers are for n00bs. ;)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  9. Probably not ahead of scientists/math./engineers by rolfwind · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Do programmers deserve their own holiday ahead of other professions?

    Probably not ahead of scientists/mathematicians/enginneers. But still, pretty cool.

    And can't but think it will be yet another forgotten day - secretary's day, siblings day, etc. All exist, all forgotten. Every day is proclaimed something and the novelty wore off or never caught on. Probably the only novel thing would be to have a "regular" day where nothing is officially remembered/celebrated/commerated/pissed_on/whatever.

  10. answer by nomadic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Do programmers deserve their own holiday ahead of other professions?

    No.

    Should the rest of the world follow suit?

    No.

  11. Re:Probably not ahead of scientists/math./engineer by sjames · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not to mention mattress sale^w^wpresidents day.

  12. Only REAL Programmers! by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 2, Funny

    People who do web sites are not programmers, unless you write it in C,FORTRAN, or assembler!

    Be a real programmer.

    http://www.sorehands.com/humor/real1.htm

    --
    Fight Spammers!
  13. Oldest Profession by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but the "worlds oldest profession" probably needs its own holiday too.

    It is a holiday that has been a long time in coming.

    --
    Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
    1. Re:Oldest Profession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I guess someone paid a lot to make it a long time coming.

    2. Re:Oldest Profession by jonbryce · · Score: 4, Funny

      Isn't that the 14th of February?

  14. Re:new battlefront by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The occasion might lack some emotive force when the only casualties are sufferers of carpal tunnel syndrome...

  15. Yes, more holidays please by Adrian+Lopez · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Do programmers deserve their own holiday ahead of other professions? Should the rest of the world follow suit?"

    Yes. Every conceivable profession should have its own holiday, on its own day, and each of these holidays should apply to all workers alike.

    "Stevens! Where have you been? I'm still waiting on that documentation!"

    "Oh? I'm just here to pick up my mail. Don't you know? Today is Auto Mechanics Day."

    "I want that documentation by tomorrow!"

    "Oh boy. I'm so sorry, but tomorrow is Plumber's Day!"

    --
    "In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
  16. hold your horses by slonik · · Score: 5, Informative

    In Russia a "professional holiday" is NOT a real holiday and it is NOT a day off. It is a mere sign of appreciation for a certain professional activity. You might hear nice words about your buddies on TV and Radio and you have one more reason to have some drinks that day. Most of "important" professions in Russia have their professional days -- from teachers, doctors all way to police and steel-mill workers. It is no surprise whatsoever that IT workers (aka programmers) get their professional day too.

  17. Frontpage? by AmigaHeretic · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you're saying I should remove "Frontpage" as a programming language from my resume?

  18. Re:Abosolutely! by Mr.+Flibble · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but the "worlds oldest profession" probably needs its own holiday too.

    It is a holiday that has been a long time in coming.

    Bakers? Why not! Without bakers, we wouldn't have bread which led to beer!

    Let's hear it for Mr. Flibble for sticking up for the bakers!!

    I was referring to a profession involving a different kind of yeast.

    --
    Try to hack my 31337 firewall!
  19. Re:Abosolutely! by NoYob · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but the "worlds oldest profession" probably needs its own holiday too.

    It is a holiday that has been a long time in coming.

    Bakers? Why not! Without bakers, we wouldn't have bread which led to beer!

    Let's hear it for Mr. Flibble for sticking up for the bakers!!

    I was referring to a profession involving a different kind of yeast.

    Ohhhhhhhhhh, a vintner! Yes, wine makers do use a different kind of yeast.

    --
    It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
  20. Programmer's X-Mas by skurken · · Score: 2, Funny

    We already have Programmer's X-Mas, which of course is on Oct 31.

  21. But Mr. President.. by dumael · · Score: 2, Funny

    But Mr. President.. we must not allow a holiday gap!

    1. Re:But Mr. President.. by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      But Mr. President.. we must not allow a holiday gap!

      "America will fight back with Outsource Day!"

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  22. Programming IS The Oldest Profession by Chemisor · · Score: 5, Funny

    "God performed surgery when he removed Adam's rib, so my profession is indeed the oldest" said the doctor. "But before that God performed feats of engineering to create the Earth from void and chaos, so my profession must be the oldest" countered the engineer. The programmer looked at them contemptuously and replied: "gee, where do you think void and chaos came from?"

  23. Heard that with lawyers by KingAlanI · · Score: 2, Funny

    They seem to make even more sense as progenitors of chaos. :P

    --
    I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
  24. Russia already has most of these. by ghjm · · Score: 3, Informative

    Why is the parent rated troll?

    You're looking at this from the US perspective. In Russia, most of your list already exists:

    Teachers Day: October 5
    Medial Workers Day: Third Sunday of June
    Social Workers Day: Second Sunday of June
    Russian Science Day: February 8
    Firemen's Day: April 30

    In addition, Russia has commemorative days for public prosecutors, printed media, mass media, students, men, women, youth, mothers, tourists, elderly people, salesmen and service workers, police, geologists, cosmonauts, chemical industry workers, librarians, border guards, light industry workers, inventors, fishermen, postal workers, metallurgists, children's books, Slavic literature and culture, railroad workers, aviators, construction workers, miners, oil and gas workers, forestry workers, machinists and equipment workers, farmers, customs workers, automotive workers, security service workers, rescuers, power engineering specialists, and every concievable type of military workers.

    Adding a Programmer's Day to this list is not particularly jarring or surprising.

    -Graham

  25. Re:Err, what? by PIBM · · Score: 2, Insightful

    255 is the 256th value on the counter, thus that's why you chose the 256th day, no matter which exact date it is.