[Novalug] Tutorials

Ross Patterson RossPatterson@Comcast.Net
Tue Dec 19 18:52:16 EST 2006


At 14:11 12/16/2006, gregory pryzby wrote:
>Did you know that RMS suffers from carpal tunnel? Any idea why?

OOH!  OOH!  MISTER KOT-TAIR!  OOH!  OOH!

         From: Patrick Sobalvarro <pgs@pa.dec.com>
         Subject: RSI epidemic
         Date: Sunday, August 13, 1995 1:26PM

         Friday I was talking to my friend Johnson from the CDC, who 
told me that the
         CDC had been doing an epidemiological study of clustered RSI 
cases among
         computer scientists. He said that they've been waiting to 
act until their
         internal review process is completed, but it seems that 
there is indeed an
         infectious agent causing RSI. But it's not a biological 
agent. It's software.

         "In particular," Johnson told me, "the significant vector 
among academics is
         Emacs."

         "Emacs?" I gasped.

         "Oh yes," he continued; "Didn't you ever notice that two of 
the first people
         in the computer science community around MIT who suffered 
from RSI were
         Richard Stallman and Bernie Greenberg? What were those 
people implementing
         fifteen or twenty years ago? That's what tipped us off."

         We were having lunch at the cafeteria at Moffett Field. 
Johnson watched my
         hands throughout the meal. "Hey buddy. You're still doing 
okay anyway,
         aren't you? It's good to see that. Really good." He smiled, 
then looked at
         his watch and asked, "Walk me to the terminal, will you?"

         I accompanied him to the little facility where crew-cut 
young men in uniform
         and their dependents, trailer-park girls with squawling 
babies, sat around
         waiting for MAC flights to other military facilities. A 
black helicopter,
         curiously silent, was waiting on the tarmac outside, its 
rotors turning
         lazily in the sunlight. "Ah, that'd be my flight," said 
Johnson. "Old Uncle
         Sam always sends you first-class, ha ha."

         We shook hands. A little anxiously, I asked, "But what will 
you do about it?
         About the epidemic?"

         Johnson paused before answering. He looked outside at the 
black helicopter.
         The pilot had seen him now; in his helmet and visor he 
appeared strangely
         insectile as he regarded Johnson patiently. I noticed the 
booms extending
         from the sides of the helicopter, where standardized weapons 
pods could be
         attached. "Patrick, old buddy," said Johnson playfully, 
"Back in high school
         people said you were smart, but I never thought you had an 
ounce of sense in
         your head. Listen: our charter is to protect the people of 
the United States
         of America by containing epidemics and eliminating disease. 
We have many...
         tools... at our disposal. Why don't you take a break for a while? Go
         someplace where people don't use Emacs. Where they never 
heard of Emacs.
         Don't take it with you. Go to Hawaii -- better yet - -- go 
to Redmond.
         Okay?" He punched my shoulder, smiling. I winced.

         Then he strode out onto the tarmac, giving a thumbs-up to 
the pilot, who
         spun up the turbines. There was almost no noise. I didn't 
wait to watch them
         take off.

:-)

Ross 




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