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Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

1109.0. "Alice/Through the Looking-Glass/Humpty Dumpty" by SLBLUZ::BROCKUS (I'm the NRA!) Tue Aug 02 1994 15:34

I was having a discussion with a co-worker, and I quoted Humpty Dumpty.  I
wanted to get it right, so I reached up to my bookshelf and thumbed to the
passage:

    "When *I* use a word," Humpty Dumpty said,
in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I
choose it to mean--neither more nor less."

My co-worker commented that I must be the only software engineer in the
world who had "Through the Looking-Glass" on his bookshelf.  I assured him
that was not the case; in fact, I suspect there are more just inside
Digital, let alone the industry as a whole.

This note is an appeal (but not a solicitation).  If you are so inclined,
and it's true, I would appreciate a mail message or reply to this note
saying "I, too, keep a copy in my office."

We don't need to drag this out; one or two replies would do, and then this
note could be done (or develop into some rathole which might be interesting
for its own sake, like lists of less-than-obvious books you keep in your
office).

Thanks,


JPB
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
1109.1PASTIS::MONAHANhumanity is a trojan horseWed Aug 03 1994 03:5313
    	The original sources for the RT-11 operating system were full of
    Alice quotations, so I am sure one of the authors must have had a copy
    handy, or a phenomenal memory.
    
    	It depends a bit what you mean by your "office". Because of lack of
    space in this DEC building I have moved almost anything of interest
    home where I have a terminal, and work there when I can. There I was
    able to place "Tandu" which was the code name for an ethernet
    encryption chip project that was cancelled, if you want a rather esoteric
    example.
    
    	At one time I was playing in a competing quotation game with
    colleagues in BONNET::VALBONNE note 3630....
1109.2SEND::PARODIJohn H. Parodi DTN 381-1640Wed Aug 03 1994 07:019
    
    I used to have the complete works of Lewis Carroll on my bookshelf but
    I think I lent it to a software engineer.
    
    While Alice and the Looking Glass are great, I found many more software
    engineering insights and metaphors in "The Hunting of the Snark, An
    Agony in Eight Fits."
    
    JP
1109.3OKFINE::KENAHEvery old sock meets an old shoe...Wed Aug 03 1994 09:086
    Until my last move, I had copies of both Alice books in my office.
    I brought them home, in anticipation of a final clear-out of my office.
    
    I still have a complete works of Shakespeare.
    
    					andrew
1109.4SLBLUZ::BROCKUSI'm the NRA!Wed Aug 03 1994 10:4811
>>    I still have a complete works of Shakespeare.
    
>>    					andrew


Well, of course!  Doesn't everyone?

JPB

(Actually, "Alice", the Shakespeare, and my atlas are the only non-obvious
books on my shelf.)
1109.5WHOS01::BOWERSDave Bowers @WHOWed Aug 03 1994 12:071
    Next to my desk at home.
1109.6Me tooAUSSIE::WHORLOWBushies do it for FREE!Thu Aug 04 1994 02:0311
    G'day,
    
    
    My office has periodic visitations by 'Alice'... and a number of books
    including the book with my favourite title...
    
    'A Cunning Linguist' - Author's name overshadowed by the book title and
    forgotten
    
    
    derek
1109.7Not on my bookshelf, on my .decw$bookshelfFORTY2::KNOWLESRoad-kill on the Info SuperhighwayMon Aug 08 1994 06:453
    There _is_ a Bookreader[RIP] version, you know.
    
    b