A Poem

[olddataman]

This is posted wih apologies and acknowledgements to Ms.Lou Ellen Davis, who had it published in Datqmatioin magazine if the summer of 1962 or thereabouts.

DATAMATRON
Gung Ho, automation!
And dinner gets cold
While daddy's debugging
And mommie grows old.

Alone with our offspring
And memories proficient
Of times when "by hand"
Was considered sufficient.

I too have a memory
With stored information
On years of togetherness
Pre-automaation.

A girl from the office
I'd know how to fight
But that's not where daddy
Is spending the night.

I've lost and I know it.
He thinks that it's fun
Hey, how do you poison
An Osbone 1?

The punch line was originally "A 1401?" I just brought it up to date when I first used in my computer store newsletter. I assume all you vintage compute buffs would know what an Osborne 1 is.
I still have the original clipping from Datamation, but it is getting kind of yellowed with age.
My wife claims hat this was obviously written for her. Notice that it is still appropriate, which is one of those things that makes the computer industry so fascinatiing to me. Everything changes constantly, yet it doesn't!
Ray

[vic user]

Thatès really cool!


I was thinking the same thing, when reading it, how it is still current

Chris

[CP/M User]

"olddataman" wrote:

> This is posted wih apologies and
> acknowledgements to Ms.Lou
> Ellen Davis, who had it published
> in Datqmatioin magazine if the
> summer of 1962 or thereabouts.

> I've lost and I know it.
> He thinks that it's fun
> Hey, how do you poison
> An Osbone 1?

> The punch line was originally "A 1401?"
> I just brought it up to date when I first
> used in my computer store newsletter.

I'll say, my first impression was how
could a poem from 1962 know about an
Osbourne 1?

I don't know if Ms. Lou Ellen Davis will be
impressed! ;-)

> I assume all you vintage compute buffs
> would know what an Osborne 1 is.

Errr?! ;-)

CP/M User.

[Terry Yager]

Oh, KEWL! A poetry thread. Here's one of my favorites, written by Richard Brautigan:

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (1967)

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

(submitted by) --T

[Terry Yager]

Hey, how do you poison
An Osbone 1?

Ray

Why, with DDT, of course! (Really...)

--T

[vic user]

Another sweet poem!

Chris

[Terry Yager]

Here's a link to more samples of brautigan's poetry...

http://empirezine.com/spotlight/brautigan/brau-writing-index.htm

--T

[olddataman]

Olddataman wrote:
>How do you poison an Osborne-1?
and Terry responded with:
>Why with DDT of course,
It occurs to me that some things do change. Terry is obviously right, and asking the questioin at all is simply ignorant! However, that answer would not have applied back in 1401 days because I am pretty sure that DDT didn't exist for the 1401.
Ray

[Terry Yager]

Actually, I found a different way to poison *my* Osborne 1...by storing it in a damp basement for several years. (Now my disk drives don't work.)
This method would probably work for a 1401 as well.

--T

[carlsson]

In Sweden there once was a computerized alteration of the Lord's Prayer (Our Father in Heaven...). Translated back into English, it would be something like:

Our Father in the Computer,
let your Holy Screen be known,
let your Keyboard come,
and your will be done,
in Memory as on the Printer.

Give us today the Lists that we need,
and forgive us our Bugs,
despite we're not forgiving those who screwed up.

Do not lead us into long Response time,
and save us from Dumps.
Thy the company is Yours,
and the Power and the Staff, in Eternity.

ENTER

[CP/M User]

"Terry Yager" wrote:

> Oh, KEWL! A poetry thread. Here's one of my
> favorites, written by Richard Brautigan:

> "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving
> Grace" (1967)

> I like to think (and
> the sooner the better!)
> of a cybernetic meadow
> where mammals and computers
> live together in mutually
> programming harmony
> like pure water
> touching clear sky.

> I like to think
> (right now, please!)
> of a cybernetic forest
> filled with pines and electronics
> where deer stroll peacefully
> past computers
> as if they were flowers
> with spinning blossoms.

> I like to think
> (it has to be!)
> of a cybernetic ecology
> where we are free of our labors
> and joined back to nature,
> returned to our mammal
> brothers and sisters,
> and all watched over
> by machines of loving grace.

Well I don't think it's very
funny! ;-)

Cheers,
CP/M User.