Thanks for the ticketing changes USF

[John Lewis]

2 minutes ago, mj796 said:

John, I really hope there has been enough positive response on the STM box this year. I get no hard tickets and eventually no card, but opening the box was like Christmas. It was really special and I hope it continues to be done so well. 

There has a been a tremendously positive response to the boxes.

It's going to be difficult to top the presentation this year, but we will try.

[Gismo]

38 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

Yep, it's tough to keep up especially if you are retired and not required to do so because of a job.  I really make an effort but there is so much new stuff that comes up so quickly.  I started a Twitter account a few years ago and have been passed by with all the newer stuff.  No real need for it so eventually you say WTF and don't learn it.

My close friend worked in advertising and now in tech and it’s clear even some whole companies are being left behind because they haven’t been keeping up with changes in technology and how it’s used. Lots of traditional advertisers using old tools, old ways to do things, and companies using newer tools run by younger people are growing and passing by those with the traditional focus. 

5 years ago machine learning and AI for example were not as widely adopted. These are now becoming common college majors that didn’t exist before. Now it’s everywhere and and big data is being adopted all over so businesses need to understand how they can use, and others need to learn how to provide and execute it. Another item is blockchain. Blockchain has lots of uses and it’s something companies and therefore the employees should be exploring or keeping up on. 

I started to realize there are kids exiting high school that are publishing and coding their own apps and software doing all sorts of things that just did not exist when even millennials were in high school, so I’ve been teaching myself some more coding on the side, even though I’ve done some as an engineer, it seems with gen Z it’s more ubiquitous and may become one of those expected STEM skills. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Gismo

[MikeG]

yep--- this fast paced change in tech has been going on for a VERY long time. I remember this cartoon from before 2000. I thought COBOL was in the dust of the old mainframe computing-- but it still pokes its head out every now and then.

By the way--- the pining I was doing for the old school tickets was just that-- I am fine that the world is moving forward to better, more robust systems. No more "oh no-- I left the tickets in the kitchen-- turn around!"

[CousinRicky]

1 hour ago, MikeG said:

yep--- this fast paced change in tech has been going on for a VERY long time. I remember this cartoon from before 2000. I thought COBOL was in the dust of the old mainframe computing-- but it still pokes its head out every now and then.

By the way--- the pining I was doing for the old school tickets was just that-- I am fine that the world is moving forward to better, more robust systems. No more "oh no-- I left the tickets in the kitchen-- turn around!"

Hell, my wife and I started our computer learning doing punch cards.  Early 70's maybe.

[NewEnglandBull]

1 hour ago, CousinRicky said:

Hell, my wife and I started our computer learning doing punch cards.  Early 70's maybe.

I did not have to take the math requirement at USF...instead I substituted for an intro to mini computers program class using C programming. Somehow I bet kids have  to take a math class today. 

[MikeG]

1 hour ago, CousinRicky said:

Hell, my wife and I started our computer learning doing punch cards.  Early 70's maybe.

I never had to work with punch cards (thankfully-- I remember my brother used them in HS). But I've worked with some really old tech over the years (stuff that booted off 8 inch floppies, mounted tape drives, used old school languages like Assembler, and a myriad of other dusty stuff - mostly in the mid 1990s). Hell-- I still have the first computer I bought from a store called CompuAdd that was across the street from University Mall -- lol -- an 8088 PC with a whopping 20 megabyte hard drive, 6 mega hertz processor that you could bump up to 10 mega hertz with the control plus command and both 3.5 and 5 1/4 floppy drives. It still runs and prints to a dot matrix printer. Amazing what 1800 bucks could get you in 1989. Not sure why I hang on to it-- not like I need to boot up my old Lotus 123 version 2.2 and review my financials.

I'm sure I am not alone on that journey.

[MikeG]

13 minutes ago, NewEnglandBull said:

I did not have to take the math requirement at USF...instead I substituted for an intro to mini computers program class using C programming. Somehow I bet kids have  to take a math class today. 

Did you graduate before the Gordon Rule came into play? Think that was in the late 1980s. Pretty sure that had a math element along with english and sciences. Those classes were so easy-- like stepping back into HS again.

Edited August 22, 2019 by MikeG

[NewEnglandBull]

14 minutes ago, MikeG said:

Did you graduate before the Gordon Rule came into play? Think that was in the late 1980s. Pretty sure that had a math element along with english and sciences. Those classes were so easy-- like stepping back into HS again.

It must have been right before as I graduated in 1986. I was there for the first year of the CLAST exams (I think that is the correct acronym) which started out very low so it was easy to pass...I understand that it got more difficult over time (not sure if they still give that exam or not). 

[MikeG]

1 minute ago, NewEnglandBull said:

It must have been right before as I graduated in 1986. I was there for the first year of the CLAST exams (I think that is the correct acronym) which started out very low so it was easy to pass...I understand that it got more difficult over time (not sure if they still give that exam or not). 

sounds right for the timing of the CLAST (acronym confirmed) -- it was an easy test. What I didn't anticipate was the essay portion, which was painful to write with an extreme hangover.

[MikeG]

23 hours ago, MikeG said:

 

yep-- total garbage-- who needs this stuff -- so wasteful

hey @T-Man -- after I posted this, I realized that 5th Wheel Doug and his wife were standing next to your bride in the picture. Not sure how I missed that until now. GOOD TIMES!