Xref: utzoo rec.humor:18832 rec.humor.d:1620 comp.misc:5079
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!cuuxb!dlm
From: dlm@cuuxb.ATT.COM (Auntie Dion)
Newsgroups: rec.humor,rec.humor.d,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Message-ID: <2487@cuuxb.ATT.COM>
Date: 11 Feb 89 07:03:32 GMT
References: <6504@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Reply-To: dlm@cuuxb.UUCP (Dennis L. Mumaugh)
Followup-To: rec.humor
Organization: ATT Data Systems Group, Lisle, Ill.
Lines: 29

In article <6504@boulder.Colorado.EDU> cdash@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Charles Shub) writes:
>can anybody who was at Maryland in the 1965 time frame recount the
>broken 1401s, alfred e. neumann, and the board of education story?

The 1401 I can't help you with unless it is part of the following
real story:

I was at UoM from 1967-1975 so ...

The operating system was derived from the University of Michigan
and had the pecuilarity that every job required output, both
printer and punch.  This was even if the job bombed completely.
An ABEND was okay as it gave a core dump, but a bad set of cards
wouldn't result in anything, so ....  The systems people arranged
for in this circumstance to insert a computer picture of Alfred
E.  Neumann with the caption "What me worry" into the output
stream.  Also, each compilation that didn't succeed resulted in a
card placed in the punch stream with "FAILED" in block letters.

The day came when the Board of Regents toured the computer center
with its several million dollar computer.  As a Regent was
looking at the printer it just so happened that a bunch of jobs
in a row all failed, leaving the line printer printer about 20
pictures of Alfred for the Regents to view.

The FAILED cards we'd collect and paper our offices with.
-- 
=Dennis L. Mumaugh
 Lisle, IL       ...!{att,lll-crg}!cuuxb!dlm  OR cuuxb!dlm@arpa.att.com