[penguicon-general] A couple of thoughts about programming

[Rob Landley]

On Thursday 26 April 2007 10:21 pm, Catherine Olanich Raymond wrote:

> > Off the top of my head, things we didn't have this year 
> > (and NOT mentioning computer stuff, which would be cheating for me):
> 
> Go ahead and cheat! We need more computer stuff!  But I'm not the one to 
come 
> up with it!

Well, a few more nuts-n-bolts panels would be nice, we've been a bit light on 
that.  Let's see, stuff that I could do with less than 15 minutes prep time:

Why to program in C.

Modern programming languages (based on Eric's theory about dynamic memory 
management and dynamic typing).

Writing secure software.

A guided tour of the Linux kernel.  (A dozen major subsystems, and the theory 
behind each.  VFS, block layer, hotplug, networking, scheduler, syscalls, 
etc.)

Linux walkthrough: from power on to shell prompt.

Fun with a hex editor.  (What's the actual on-disk layout of partitions, the 
ext2 on-disk format, ELF executables and shared libraries...)

User Mode Linux.  (Wouldn't it be easier to understand how the kernel works if 
you could stick printfs into the thing?  Well, NOW YOU CAN!)

> > Fun with Whipped Cream
> 
> Kinda agree with the people who think this should be a private activity.  
> Unless you have ideas about how to have fun with whipped cream *with* your 
> clothes on?

Well, the panel does have the advantage that people would probably show up to 
see what we were doing...

> > But wait, there's more: managing expectations in XXX.
> 
> Meaning?????

To be honest, I forget.  But possibly I meant something like "Marketing for 
geeks"  (Telling the world how cool your obsession really is without turning 
them off.)  Most geeks don't even understand the difference between marketing 
and sales, let alone how to get the word out about how cool something really 
is.  Marketing's only evil when you're lying.

> > Punch and Pi.
> 
>  What?  Who?  

Bring some mathematicians together, provide lots of beverages (ala south 
park), and bring in 3 pies plus a small slice for the panelists to eat and 
distribute to the audience.  Talk about complicated math for an hour.

This one would work particularly well if we could get Fabrice Bellard as a 
GoH.

> > Serial storytelling.
> 
> Missed a chance to have this when the Looney Labs folk were here.  They have 
a 
> form of it; they call it "Nanofictionary."

And both Howard Tayler and Randy Milholland call it "writing webcomics".

Roger Zelazny's Amber series was originally published serially, in a magazine.  
Charles Dickens did rather a lot of that too.  These days Diane Duane's doing 
it with her newest cat wizards book, and various authors blog their latest 
installments.  There's plenty of material here, and maybe we can tempt the 
Looneys back. :)

> > "Just what the doctor ordered": Find an actual ER doctor, give them beer,
> > and have them tell us the strangest things they've seen.
> 
> I'll stay away, thanks, but the horror fans among us would probably enjoy 
> it.  :-)

Something similar was really cool year 4.  And there were pictures.

> > Anybody suggested inviting Aardman yet?
> 
> Who is he?

The guy who did Wallace and Grommit.  (And chicken run, and flushed away.)

Rob