history was: PDP1

On 24 May 2006 10:29:15 -0700 in alt.folklore.computers,

I am certain that every engineer here has a case where "If the compebreastion knew this, it would set them back 20 years."

It's different in Canada vs. the US Brian. See below.

Single phone telephone systems make good sense. In the US, the part of the US Consbreastution which is used to justify all this is Article 1, Section 8, para. 8. This is what I get for hanging out with lawyers for the past 10 years.

Of course the USA ignored all this for the 1st 100 years of its existence like the PRC has done for the last few decades.

I know most of the science community would go for social good (to a point with weaponeers) and industry is hard to characterize because what the screw makers want is lots of purchasers, but the computer cabinet rack makers might want an end to their compebreastion (world domination). We have fewer huge monolith firms producing everything that you could want (like IBM).

1) Not many study history. Historians are a strange lot. Chronological order isn't necessarily best. Historical analysis is commonly poor. 2) History itself is in many case not clear. A nice ST Voyager episode on this, but also films (Rashomon) and number other shows. 3) This is why economics is called the dismal science. 4) People do not understand exponents. They bare do well with linear, and they really prefer binary. Of course with binary you really get criticized with black and white thinking. One can't win. 5) Automakers never had to pay off buggy whip makers. But I know a lot of blue collar people really peeed at white collar people, immigrants, other countries. Automation is a big problem. 6) No rule 6.

This is a theory about the US dating back to the late 1950s: That all our recent success is predicated on European emigres fleeing Hitler's Germany (the atomic scientists, where the US is more a Biff, hot rod, take your tech culture). German culture is something (that which survives).

I know that there is growing feeling among some in scientific and engineering circles to retire or flee to other countries. John Walker who founded Autodesk is one (amazing Swiss home and workshop). And I know others. The problem is that foreign languages appear to intimidate most US engineers I see considering this.

Costa Rica is cited by quite a few as a place to retire, but one scientist I know is observing changes and she thinks its going to implode with gringos and maybe go Castro and Venz. (Chavez). Similarly, China is out for many due to language (India? while English is common I think its still intimidating). Swiss neutrality does appeal to some, but they can only take so many in its small borders.

So many more turn to misc.survivalism. --