[OFF-TOPIC] How do I find a mentor when no one I work with knows what they are doing?

[Larry Hudson]

On 04/08/2014 08:02 AM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 12:28 AM, Larry Martell <larry.martell at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I've worked at places where:
>
> Add to that list:
>
> - Some of the programmers really aren't programmers, but the boss just
> hasn't figured it out yet.
>
> That was my last job, until said non-programmer decided to quit.
>
> ChrisA
>

This reminds me of one of the stories on the Computer Stupidities website.  (The site says these 
anecdotes are public domain, so I can copy it here.)

<quote>
Since I teach nights at a local community college, I get a lot of professional programmers in my 
classes upgrading their education. One student, who was one such person, attended every lecture 
and smiled and nodded and took notes. But he only turned in his first assignment. The results of 
his first test were horrid. Out of curiosity, I asked my wife, who barely knew how to turn a 
computer on much less program one, to take the test (which was mostly true/false and multiple 
choice questions). My wife scored higher than this guy.

The semester's end came, and he flubbed his final, too. A few weeks later, I got a call from him 
complaining about his 'F'. I pointed out he hadn't turned in any of his assignments, and those 
counted 75% of the grade.

"Did you hear me say something besides what the other students heard?" I asked.

"Well, I thought my test grades would carry me," he replied.

It had turned out his company had paid for him to take the course. Since he failed, it suddenly 
came to the attention of his employer that he didn't know how to program, and now his job was in 
jeopardy. As I hung up the phone, I mused that his company shouldn't fire him. It was a perfect 
match: a programmer who couldn't program and a company that couldn't figure out sooner that he 
couldn't.
</quote>

If you have some leisure time, this site is well worth at least a quick skim--lots of hilarious 
stories and of course some just so-so (like broken cup holders).  And I suspect some are 
apocryphal, but a lot of fun stuff.  The home page is http://rinkworks.com/stupid/  This story 
is in the Miscellaneous Dumbness section.

      -=- Larry -=-