Re: Tired of being called a geek?

From: Steve Long <steve-long_at_mediaone.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 01:36:29 GMT
Message-ID: <xCNw7.1115$Ry.6580_at_typhoon.jacksonville.mediaone.net>


brad,

i think you are acting like a nerdy geek. c'mon on already!

steve

"Brad McMillan" <mcmillan_at_viselect.com> wrote in message news:3BC2DDF9.4AA193E5_at_viselect.com...
> Hi:
>
> It's always pissed me off that the mainstream media refers to us as
> computer nerds and geeks and I've always wanted to do something about
> it.
>
> On the day after the WTC attacks I sent a letter to 22 major newspapers
> in the United States. In it, I made the point that if the air traffic
> control system had been designed properly it would have had a feature
> that would have allowed the air traffic controllers to over-ride the
> controls in the cockpit and fly the planes by remote control once they
> had determined that the planes had left their intended flight path.
>
> I then made the point that a lot of things in the US are not designed
> properly because technically savvy engineers are not given the respect
> they need in order to be the ones to make these sorts of decisions. And
> that this is due, in large part, to the false negative images of us
> created by the media.
>
> I can't be sure if the letter had an impact, but references to computer
> nerds and geeks in the two papers I read (The New York Times and the San
> Francisco Chronicle) seemed to drop off dramatically in the weeks after
> the attack. To my dismay, I've seen a couple of "computer nerd"
> references in the Times in the last couple of days.
>
> If you are tired of being called a geek and want to see it stopped
> please join me. My idea is to create a network of people that will
> identify those in the media that are responsible for creating these
> negative images, to let them know the impact it is having on our ability
> to see that things are designed properly, and to let them know that we
> don't appreciate it.
>
> I think we're at a unique point in time and that this network could be
> very effective in changing the image of our profession to one that
> engenders more respect.
>
> Please send me an email if you want to be a part of this.
>
> Regards,
> Brad McMillan
> mcmillan_at_viselect.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Wed Oct 10 2001 - 03:36:29 CEST

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