40 Years ago today.

B

BeanieBots

Moderator
40 Years ago.
Not only did man land on the moon,
our very own Dippy landed on earth!
(not sure which planet he came from though)

Happy 40th.
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
Epistle to Dippy :)

appears on the album Donovan's Greatest Hits.

Mebbe he originated from the Rhododendron Forest where they had crystal spectacles (balls ? :confused:). See song lyrics if you like . . ..
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Thanks... I think :)

I always assumed that my Mum had phoned NASA to make sure that the Moon landing was done on my birthday. It wasn't until I was 26 that she confessed she was kidding.

40. Yuk. I'm officially a Grumpy Old Man now.
 
J

Jeremy Leach

Senior Member
Have a good one Dippy ... are you sure she didn't phone NASA to try to book you on the flight, but they left without you? ;)
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Haha, could be...

If I had gone I would certainly have had a word with Neil about putting a bit of extra fuel in the tank.
When you think about it, it was a fantastic event.
 
B

boriz

Senior Member
"When you think about it, it was a fantastic event."

Yep. And the moon landing was pretty good too. :)

Happy birthday.
 
V

ValueAdd

Senior Member
Happy Birthday Dippy.


A lot happened that year,

  • Man on the moon
  • Arrival of Dippy,
  • The birth of the computer age

  • Unix was developed in 1969, by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs.
  • In 1969 IBM made the momentous decision to "unbundle" software from hardware - to sell software separately, rather than throw it in as part of the total system.
  • In 1969 the US Defense Department initiated ARPAnet, which became the internet.
  • In 1969 IBM researcher Dr Ted Codd's invented what was to become known as the relational database, which underpins most commercial computer systems today.
 
W

Wrenow

Senior Member
Happy Birthday! 40 is not so bad, enjoy. Now when you hit 41, the warranty expires and it all goes to....:eek:

Never Mind, Enjoy! No Worries! Have a Great Birthday!

Birthday Cheers,

Wreno
 
L

lanternfish

Senior Member
Happy Birthday. Always good to read your replies to questions from us newbies.

I remember when I turned 40 ....... went to bed aged 39.99, fit, slim, keen to accept the challenges the world could throw at me. Woke up the next morning, 40, overweight, balding, and cynical as #@%*.
 
R

rigidigital

Senior Member
Happy Birthday Dippy

Happy 40th Dippy. Time for your midlife crisis :) Your a long way from that.. According to my join date I have been posting here since I was 4 years old,, I wish
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Thanks everyone. Very kind.
As the 'official' bash isn't until Friday I have a clear-ish head :)

I must lose half a stone and get a wig.
Ah well, back to the grind.

I hope you all have great birthdays when it is your go.
 
Peter M

Peter M

Senior Member
Happy Birthday ya young Wipper Snapper:D

Ya only as old as ya feel, so feel something a bit younger, nd alls good;)
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
I'll try.

With my new Tachyon Compiler.

Code: 
Goto Friday_Night:
Repeat
 Stagger_Forwards(ByRef Rapidly)
Until At_Bar
While
 Slurred_Speech = true
Wend
Ask_for_Beer
Repeat
 Speak("It's my birthday")
Until Landlord_pays_for_it (Fantasy Subroutine)
Pause 100
Drink(Function = Rapidly)
Fall_Over
Sleep 100000
If In_Police_Station = True then
 Call_Lawyer()
ElseIf On_Plane_to_Helmund = true then
 Call_Lawyer()
 Call_Priest()
Else
 SwitchOn_TV()
EndIf
Repeat
 Speak("I will never have another drink")
Until Convinced_Myself = true
GoTo Next_Friday_night
 
Peter M

Peter M

Senior Member
Rick - Perhaps you should've just masked the interupt with no selections
Or perhaps just a short interrupt routine with nill reset:rolleyes:

Dippy - Now we know that you got a new Tachyon Compiler for your birthday, we'll be able to ask all those cryptic questions again, without the need for any required information.:eek:

.
 
B

boriz

Senior Member
Code: 
Start:
Do
  Do
     Seek nearest alcohol provider
     Appropriate all possible alcohol
   Until no further drink is forthcoming
   Mix and nod to other people
Until all alcohol is gone
If NOT asleep then
  try to engage in sex with nearest other drunk person
else
  do
    snore and drool
    have marks drawn on face and other general humiliation
  until rudely woken
endif
do
  blink, blink
  yawn and complain about the lack of coffee
until coffee forthcoming OR you realise you are in the neighbours daughters bedroom
leave with as much dignity as possible
go home and drink a litre of fresh orange juice
collapse on nearest soft thing and remain comatose for two days...
do
  rest of life
until next party
goto start
 
D

D n T

Senior Member
play 0,0

Happy birthday,

Another thing that happened 40 years ago in 1969...

Dad was conscriped to Vietnam, he came back in one piece though, only now is the FITH coming out (F$%ked In The Head). I'm glad we don't conscript anymore.

Party on they say life begins at forty
Remember, forty is just 21 with 19 years experience, so you should be good at it by now, whatever IT is.
 
D

Dippy

Moderator
Thanks.

Yeah, but the bones ache more after excessive amounts of IT.
The head aches more after fewer beers.
The hairline starts slipping back (unless you are lucky or rich).
You have to breathe in more deeply to get those trousers on.
And you find Jeremy Clarkson more annoying than you did a couple of years before.
And you find yourself glancing more often at the hair dye on supermarket shelves.
 
R

Rickharris

Senior Member
D

Dippy

Moderator
And, of course, if the 'mission criticality' was being debated on Forum then the Apollo would still be waiting on the launch pad... :)
 
hippy

hippy

Ex-Staff (retired)
But conversely, Challenger may never have launched nor Columbia allowed to re-enter with their tragic consequences. Ultimately there are no absolute rights and wrongs, just risk assessments which turn out to be right or wrong and sometimes lucky or unlucky breaks.

With all the resources NASA has and a culture of dealing with mission critical and safety critical systems they still made mistakes which were perhaps obvious in hindsight, and not just those cases.

One can either err on the side of caution or not. This forum tends to rightly favour caution - Those who boldy go don't always make it or come back. Always make an infomed decision and know there are no guarantees.
 
Last edited:
D

Dippy

Moderator
Oh yes, no doubt in general.

Not sure if the NASA tragic disasters are too comparable here.
The former failed to consider an aspect and the latter was an awful chain of events.
But, all in all, NASA's achievements have been truly amazing - especially the Mercury to Apollo era.

I can just imagine PICAXE users designing the systems in the LEM.
Houston:"Eagle, you are GO for landing"
Armstrong: "Roger Houston, altitude 200 feet, computer reports Error 27"
Houston: "What's that?"
Armstrong: "15 cent Ebay relay failure. Chicken Shed overheating".
 
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