Slashdot Mirror
October 5: National Techies Day
Over the last few weeks, probably thirty million people have submitted the story that Oct. 5 is National Techies Day. Well, the day is here, and I'm still waiting for the parade to come by my door. *grin* Seriously, the point is supposed to be celebrate what "technology professionals" contribute to the world at large.
Well, here at Fedex, we are going to local schools and talking for a few hours to children. I think its a great day. I wish someone would have told me about the wonderful world of technology earlier. It sure would have made CS at the university level easier.
No further comment necessary.
Just because most managers and directors push paper and do nothing else doesn't mean that that is the only way things can be.
As a *technical* director or manager, there is no reason why you cannot delegate much of your paper-pushing to pure admin staff, effectively your personal assistants, so that the usual pyramid of paper-pushers-on-top is inverted under you. There will always remain a residue of paperwork that you have to do yourself, like reading others peoples' proposals and laying out your own, but then that's something that techies often do anyway within their own teams.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
This is cool, all hail me! ;-) No, really, I think this is a trick by all the greeting card companies! They just want you to buy more cards! In any case, if secretaries can have their own day why not us?
rbf, who is happily using a Alpha running Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 with kernel 2.2.12.
LONG LIVE ALPHA!
Who cares? My appreciation comes in my mailbox every week. It's called a paycheck. I couldn't care less if I'm appreciated or not. And why should I be appreciated? Billions of people every day do their jobs without being "appreciated". Why are "techies" special? I say they're not. This is just silly. I proclaim tomorrow to be NAtional Appreciate-My-Ass Day.
It looks like the "PANIC" button is a replacement for the "windows" button.
What is it? It is a promotional tool of techies.com!!! Wake up
You can now express your appreciation to your favorite techie by sending them an all-singing, all-dancing animated greeting card from Blue Mountain Arts.
Trouble is, most techies I know shoot those things on sight.
i took a couple out today...
oh well, to me, every day is "nail a spammer day"!
at least i have something to look forward to doing tomorrow.
icq:=22921393;
Here is a flyer I made to annoy my fellow office inhabitants.
You can get the flyer at the NOLUG site.
It prints out at just under 8.5x11
spam away.
National Techie Day: A good reason to get drunk, as if you really needed a reason.
---
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
If I don't get the day off, then im not bloody interested. If it allows me an extra day off to go down the pub then I might be interested. So do really important people like ambulance drivers and doctors etc get one of these days? Brad
National Hookers Day?... mmmm... "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."
So far as I know, none of the people described by that term call themselves 'Techies'. Geeks maybe (for those of us who consider that a badge of honor). But Techie? I guess they didn't want to call it National 'Be a Geek' Day. I wonder if we are supposed to have a party where we eat Chinese food, have Twinkies for dessert, drink Jolt cola and wear propeller beanies?
I also noticed there was a letter on the web site from V.P. Gore congratulating the 'Techies' of the world. Considering Gore thinks he 'invented' the Internet, perhaps the man believes he can win over the Geek vote in the coming election? If so, he had better rethink his stance on encryption policy.
Maybe someone should clue in GW Bush, let him know that he needs to get on the bandwagon quick. Bush could hold a press conference wearing a white button shirt with a pocket protector and do sound bytes containing the words 'Bandwidth' and 'Pipelined Architecture'. Of course Gore would probably retaliate by claiming he invented the microprocessor...
Jack
- -
Are you an SF Fan? Are you a Tru-Fan?
National Techies Day - Send your favorite nerd some (chocolate) chips!
But some of us refuse cookies from many sites ;-)
...end of transmission...
How does one celebrate national hooker day?
Some laughs for national geek day
DOWN is my friend :) They LUV it when I send that command.
"Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash
We get recogniton after the server/system is back up. Fow at least 400ms.
Every day is a techie day in my household!
I can see it now... next to the 'Get Well Soon' section and the Grandparents' Day cards - an aisle of 'Happy Techies Day' greeting cards with all sorts of cute cartoon circuit diagrams and algorithms. ;)
~Ramses
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh ...
Then why do we have Mother's Day? Wouldn't all the women who are infertile for some reason or another and were wanting to have children resent that ?? Would'nt the men in that relationship resent Father's Day ?? I mean, don't brag it, but don't sweep it under the closet, it's there to be had !!
=) d
"Bastard Operators From Hell" is an anagram for "Shatterproof Armored Balls". =)
Is it the #1 politician pass-time to name years, months and days. It's really useless. What's next: October 6, the national hookers day!!!
Only in America. Thankfully.
I don't think I'll be advising the Postal service to lay on any extra staff to deal with the flood of cards... :)
Anybody else notice that the only times us techies get recognition is when there is a server or system down ?
You all know what to do....
Strong data typing is for those with weak minds.
How about it? National slashdottian day ... either that, or National CmdrTaco Day (or National Rob Malda Day, whichever) ...
Bet M$ would jump in first and get a monopoly on it though *grin*
"Bastard Operators From Hell" is an anagram for "Shatterproof Armored Balls". =)
Celebrate myself? The arrogance detector just blew a fuse.
:)
For those of you who live a nice sheltered existence among other
`techies', here's a clue; National Techies day may as well be National
Wealthy Persons day, or National Smarter-Than-You day. Don't go
around bragging about National Techie's day to your non-techie
associates because deep down they resent their ignorance and your
competence.
The majority of non-techies have occupations that suck the soul dry.
They do not, like you, hang out at the SlashDot equivalent for
whatever trade they practice happens to have simply because they can't
get enough of it. They don't like what they have to do and they
really don't like people who enjoy their work. They would rather you
hate your work and strive, as they do, to have maximal `fun' whenever
you can get away with it.
OTOH, life is short and they were born to be unhappy. Screw'em
!! National Techies Day !!
Lurking at the bottom of the gravity well, getting old
If Hallmark is behind it, they're *really* stupid. Think about it: how would you say thank-you to a techie? Mail them a *card* via USPS? Yeah right! People who really want to say thank-you will email their favorite techie with a plain-text message, headers that conform to RFC 822, a three-line-or-less signature, and a heartfelt message: "Thanks for fixing the broken stuff. We'd be lost without you."
That said, I have to agree with the other posters: this is a pretty silly holiday.
-- I can't think of anything witty to put here. Sorry.
How is this different from all the other "Sure glad my employees aren't going postal days"?
National Secretary Day
National Librarian Day
etc.
Is this about encouraging young people to be intersted in technical careers, or is it about sending e-greeting cards (presumably with targetted banner advertisements) to technical proffessionals?
Why not just call it "National Spam a Techie Day" and at least be honest about it.
This is all well and good, but we'll have alot better chance of getting the day off if it's some obscure religious holiday. I proclaim October 6th Hoomaliyali, an ancient Burmese day of fasting.
Maybe yes, maybe no
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
According to the press release the "founders" are CNET and techies.com... hmm, sounds like CNET and and CNET to me. This is just a scam to get lots of hits on a new .com site. Hmm. Save your hits for sites that deserve it.
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
The whole idea behind having a National [insert occupation here] Day is to appreciate people that are traditionally under-appreciated, such as teachers and secretaries. Or to heighten awareness, such as National [insert disorder here] Day, Week, or Month.
Although there are so many National X Days around now that no-one takes a blind bit of notice. (I was rather amused a while back, however, to discover that it was National Incontinence Week.. My immediate thought was "Show your support! Piss your pants!")
>Maybe yes, maybe no
Rocky Rococo: Do you know what this is?
Nick Danger: That's a brown paper bag.
Rocky Rococo: That's correct. Now, look inside.
Nick Danger: Why that's easy. That's a pickle.
Rocky Rococo: Good. Now I think you're ready for *this!*
(Firesign Theater, anybody?)
It is important to note that the vast majority of Microsofr's donations are software. While most other software companies assess value of donations as either cost or wholesale value, Microsoft assesses all of their donations at _retail_value_. Any comparisons between Microsoft and other software companies in this field are irrelevant.
... in this thread
+&x
Heh, where I work, upper management and HR are having a dress-up contest as to who can look the most like a "techie". The global email says and I quote "Dig deep in your closets and find those pocket protectors, suspenders, white oxfords, and polyester pants." Another global email on the topic has a subject line of "GO PROPELLERHEADS GO!!!" and in the body "We would not be able to run without these wonderful 'propeller heads'."
I keep telling all the salespeople that this is their one day that they can show up for work in jeans, faded t-shirts, and combat boots, without shaving.
The inside joke is that this is our one chance to show up at work in our underwear. (Just out of curiosity do women hack in their underwear?)
So far, participation seems to have been rather minimal, but if the c|net e-greetings start flowing in there'll be hell to pay.
The whole idea behind having a National [insert occupation here] Day is to appreciate people that are traditionally under-appreciated, such as teachers and secretaries. Or to heighten awareness, such as National [insert disorder here] Day, Week, or Month.
Are we under-appreciated? Cripes, most techies in the US are *way* above the poverty line, some are millionaires, and many are overpaid (probably including myself). How many of these Silicon Valley millionaires and 3-digit income geeks have been supporting charities with their new-found wealth? (answer: very few!) How many teachers have become millionaires by teaching, yet use their own paycheck to buy classroom supplies?
This is a stunt I'd expect to see from Microsoft/IBM/Sun/Netscape--push a self-important, over-hyped agenda for the sole purpose of inflating the ego. I for one don't plan to participate, and I'd urge others in the community to nip this idiocy in the bud before it gets any bigger.
down here in new zealand it was (as of a minute ago) national animal day...
--
faxgrrl@hotmail.com
Although many teccies are doing well, especially those that have taken the step of going freelance/contracting (the main benefit is not money but having a peer relationship with the people who pay you), there is still a long way to go before our role in industry is properly appreciated.
The proportion of major companies in which there is no career progression to board level if "all" you do is provide technical infrastructure is still huge, and permanent technical staff are usually regarded as low-level grunts well below paper-pushing middlemen in most industries. This is usually even the case where the company's entire existence is founded on the technology, like in almost all the national PTTs.
There's a long way to go still.
"The question of whether machines can think is no more interesting than [] whether submarines can swim" - Dijkstra
Is it just coincidence it's also my bitrhday ! (Well.. the date might also have been chosen after me !)
resilience is futile
HeHeHe... ok...now THAT's a holiday I can enjoy.
"The majority of the stupid is invincible and guaranteed for all time. The terror of their tyranny, however, is allev
"Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash
And here I thought all this fuss was over my 21st birthday. Now I'm all disillusioned and stuff.
In regards to celebrating techies, there doesn't seem to be any more of a celebratory atmosphere at work today than there ever is.
There are flower bouquets and card for Secretaries' Day... shouldn't there be, I don't know, special Linux distributions or something available for Techies' Day?
-----
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth fro
Why not just call it "National Spam a Techie Day" and at least be honest about it.
Then you'd have people with thoughts of "National Spam Day".. only instead, we'd really make a "National Spam-The-Spammers Day," and
Vengeance is ours!
Insert mind here.
Ever wonder why there arent any national "CEO" or "Multi-Millionair" days?? Because these people dont need some stupid holiday to feel better about what they do everyday...
"Forget world peace. Visualize using your turn signals" - seen on the net somewhere
Well the first techie appreciation day is almost over, and by all counts it was a great success.
We heard speeches about the difficulties of holding onto jobs, the instability in a techies life and the isolation caused by it all.
The fact that these problems are caused by massive salaries, a huge job market and owning houses so big that we can't find the front door anymore was not mentioned.
Look in the employment section of any newspaper; techie appreciation day is everyday.
Hotnutz.com
From the site:
...Buy a techie friend a sandwich.
Um, that's pretty lame. Unless of course it's a really BIG sandwich...
on the other hand, I have not had Sushi in a long time...
System halted
I take a moment to express gratitude for the machines in my life that help it run so effortlessly. Thank you, computer, refrigerator, stove, microwave oven, telephone, fax machine, and everything else!
I keep that page taped to my monitor at work.
So when do I get to unwrap my gift :)
:)
yeah yeah I know, OBVIOUS TROLL
So pay the money you damn goat and get over my bridge
-- Life: Hate the Game... Love the cereal
nly instead, we'd really make a "National Spam-The-Spammers Day," and
For Spammer's Day, let's support them in a nationwide effort to locate them and show our support in person at their doorsteps. Imagine a spammer answering his door and receiving the gift of a free clue bat !
it's mine, too :-)
;)
So, at least, we got an excuse for parading in front of the Empire Slashdot Builing(TM)
And BTW: congratulations to you!
kampi
-- a blessed +42 regexp of confusion (weapon in hand) You hit. The format string crumbles and turns to dust
Since ou were asking... The Man with the Sign of the Beast just gave 1 billion dollars to charities in the U.S.
And he has repeatedly spoken about his plans of philanthropy in the future.
No matter what you think of him... that is very respectable.