Topic: Tobacco Article (Read 8438 times)

LuciferSam · « **on:** February 07, 2006, 11:13:59 PM »

I'm going to make my first contribution (hello world!) based on smoking of all varietys, positive and negative, and the geekness inherent in it. One perspective I would like to cover would be how that factors into the computer geek world, and I know nothing about that area. So, please enlighten me!

What are your computer geek feelings towards smoking? Is it your fuel, combined with coffee? Do you avoid it at all costs? Have you recently or long ago given it up? Is it an addiction or occaisional pleasure for you? Pipe, cigar, ciggerette, chew, or snuff?

Thanks

MISTER MASSACRE · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2006, 11:30:26 PM »

Well, you said all varieties of smoking:

Pot makes computers difficult to use, but visualizations in Winamp are a lot better.

(other than my ILLEGAL DRUGS I'm a non-smoker, so I dunno.)

hackess · « **Reply #2 on:** February 08, 2006, 12:19:03 AM »

Despise smoking, in spite of being a former smoker. There's a city-wide smoking ban in bars -- except the club I frequent is technically in a township and therefore exempt.

LuciferSam · « **Reply #3 on:** February 08, 2006, 01:15:18 AM »

Quote from: Lacerda

Well, you said all varieties of smoking:

Pot makes computers difficult to use, but visualizations in Winamp are a lot better.

(other than my ILLEGAL DRUGS I'm a non-smoker, so I dunno.)

Then why the fuck were you smoking in my kitchen last night?

I know it was you.

MISTER MASSACRE · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2006, 02:09:30 AM »

Quote from: LuciferSam

Then why the fuck were you smoking in my kitchen last night?

I know it was you.

Ok fine, I enjoy the occasional cigar. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? HAPPY YOU MADE A GROWN MAN CRY?

LuciferSam · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2006, 02:44:32 AM »

Terribly happy. Please roll me a sanity point check on a d100 scale.

Phife · « **Reply #6 on:** February 08, 2006, 03:32:54 AM »

I smoke cigars. They combine with heady geekery quite well. But not the cheap ass ones. If it doesn't cost me at least 8 bucks, I don't smoke it!

Dark Shade · « **Reply #7 on:** February 08, 2006, 04:07:28 AM »

I refuse to smoke. Period. I just don't enjoy the idea.

Chris · « **Reply #8 on:** February 08, 2006, 04:16:44 AM »

Every geek knows that smoking near computers is a bad idea. After a while you have a build up of disgusting shit in the case, and it smells like shit.

Personally, I think it's a bad idea. But if someone wants to destroy their own bodies, why the hell not? They can go rent Battlefield Earth, or even The New Guy, so why not let them smoke? I believe this holds true so as long as I don't have to breathe in their smoke while in public places.

LuciferSam · « **Reply #9 on:** February 08, 2006, 06:49:42 AM »

Okay okay okay, so...

Lacerda: What are some of the specific effects of marijauna smoking and the internet. I haven't smoked any marijuana variety beyond hashish for 10 years, and 10 years ago I thought slide rules were the fucking tops, so lets get in depth on this.

Chris: Excellent... can you go more in depth into what this gunk does? It's properties? Also, what are some of the reasons you detest being in a smoked environ... can you tolerate pipes, cigars, or do all tobacco products move you to angst?

PHife: What are your brands? What appeals to you in terms of flavo(u)r?

reimero · « **Reply #10 on:** February 08, 2006, 08:05:49 AM »

I smoke the occasional (<6/year) cigar and the very occasional (maybe once a year) pipe. That's a tobacco pipe, not a pipe for "other" purposes.

Never smoked a cigarette in my life and I don't care to. Is it geeky? No. Do good cigars and single malt scotch go hand in hand? Gawds, yes!

TheJudge · « **Reply #11 on:** February 08, 2006, 08:44:33 AM »

There is no correlation with smoking and geekness. In fact, in today's world and with everything we know about smoking, a lot of people consider it a dumb act.

I have smoked for about 15 years. I started in highschool because it was the cool thing to do. Also, I remember telling people how I enjoyed the smell and the taste of cigarettes. I became addicted, and as with any addiction, your judgement tends to cease to exist when it comes to the topic of smoking. Yeah, it's normal to have to smoke outside in the cold winter because you're friends don't really like it if you smoke in their homes. After all, you're just being respectful to the non-smokers!

But why is it that they are bothered if you smoke in their homes or in their cars? Well because they don't smoke. Duh! But why is it that they don't smoke? It's fun! It smells great! The taste R0XX0RZ!! They must be losers!

When I finally managed to quit, I realized that it didn't smell so good after all. I'd been smoke free for a few months and walked in the office building, and passed a group of smokers. I took on breath and the stench was unbeleivable! I thought that was a good smell? Wow! It's amazing how your brain will reprogram itself to come up with all kinds of reasons to do it when logically, you know there's better reasons not to. That is the sign of addiction. That, and guilt.

Today, I can't help but notice a trend I hadn't noticed before. It seems to me that there is a certain group that is more prone to smoking. When I'm in the mall, or walking around in town and I see people outside having a smoke, I can't help but noticed they seem to be in the less educated/poor group. I'm not saying it applies to everyone, but the majority of people I see smoke tend to fall in this group.

I was parked in front of a hospital the other day. I see things like women dressed in salvation army clothing getting out of their car, with the baby in one arm, and the smok ein the other, sucking on that thing like there was no tomorow, because they have to put it out before entering the Hospital. I'm sorry, but that is just stupid. You know she had been smoking in the car just before, with a 1 year old child aboard. That just pisses me off. But if you go talk to that women, she'll have a eprfectly rational explanation for why that is OK. When you're addicted, the facts don't matter. You make up your own facts and disregard reality. That's how it works and that's one of the reaosns it's so hard to quit. Above fighting your physical symptons of nicotine withdrawal, and above loosing the best friend your had in the whole world for many many years, you also need to reprogram your brain. And from the day you finnaly stop, it will take your body 15 years to fully clean up and reach the point of a non smoker body. Why put yourself, and others, through this? Remember the people you live with! The none smoking spouse, the child, the room mate. You are affecting their lives too, and they have no say what so ever! What can possibly justify such actions? Pleasure? Pleasure is a myth in this case and I will prove it.

I remember the very 1st time I tried smoking. You light up that sucker, inhale and... choke! Yeah! That's fun! All the coughing and shit! WOOOT!

No... There was pelasure indeed, but it wasn't related to smoking. It was pleasure because you were doing something you knew you shouldn't do. That's what gave you your high. And it was pleasure because you were part of the gang. The pleasure was not realted to smoking after all. It was more about the need for a sense of belonging, defiance, and perhaps related to low self-esteem.

The bottom line is that people can choose to smoke if they want to, but once they become addicted, they tend to become irrational about it. It doesn't matter if you are a geek or not, you end up in the same pattern.

LuciferSam · « **Reply #12 on:** February 08, 2006, 09:48:29 AM »

HAI I SED I WONTED TO RITE THE ARTRICKLE YOU MEANIE!

Thanks for the input (lots of it) Judgie

Reimero: You deny yourself the pleasure of a tobacco pipe 364 days a year?! I'm going to go 'out of article' as it were for a moment, and e-slap you.

Okay, that was satisfying.

Just waiting for Ivan to get 'ere now.

MISTER MASSACRE · « **Reply #13 on:** February 08, 2006, 11:20:39 PM »

Quote from: LuciferSam

Okay okay okay, so...

Lacerda: What are some of the specific effects of marijauna smoking and the internet. I haven't smoked any marijuana variety beyond hashish for 10 years, and 10 years ago I thought slide rules were the fucking tops, so lets get in depth on this.

A lot of the internet is very scary, and there are some places I just wont go when high; FYAD being one of them. Howasbout I get back to you on this one - I'm kind of dry at the moment.

Chris · « **Reply #14 on:** February 08, 2006, 11:25:46 PM »

This might be slightly related to the "internet and weed" topic. Many years ago when Hacker Network was still young and not full of too many script kiddies, Crazy Greek FTPed into the HN server while drunk and accidently deleted all of the files used to display the forum's database.

Needless to say, he quickly learned not to mix the two elements again.

hackess · « **Reply #15 on:** February 08, 2006, 11:27:33 PM »

Ah, the Great Drunken Database Incident of 2001.

LuciferSam · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2006, 01:04:17 AM »

I'll be polling people downtown tomorrow afternoon for part two - Smoking and the Common Man. I will attempt to cast a light on why kids these days seem so infatuated with little white sticks they are told from age 5 kill them.

I will also return to the lair of the Tobacco Fiend and confront him with his own logic, and hopefully unravel the mystery of the Tobacco Geek. This will enable me to move on to Geeks who use Tobacco in the third round.

Keep your feed back and experience coming, and someone please find Ivan and get him to post a big rambling something in here.

LuciferSam · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2006, 01:05:02 AM »

Preferably about smoking and his history with it, but if he wants to post something about his current ballet rehersal or whatever instead, I guess thats fine...

reimero · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2006, 08:11:40 AM »

Quote from: LuciferSam

HAI I SED I WONTED TO RITE THE ARTRICKLE YOU MEANIE!

Thanks for the input (lots of it) Judgie

Reimero: You deny yourself the pleasure of a tobacco pipe 364 days a year?! I'm going to go 'out of article' as it were for a moment, and e-slap you.

Okay, that was satisfying.

Just waiting for Ivan to get 'ere now.

In my own defense, I've got a housemate who can't abide smoke (it's murder on his lungs) so I have to choose my battles on that front. And stale pipe tobacco... yuck!

Phife · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2006, 03:27:00 PM »

Quote from: LuciferSam

Okay okay okay, so...
PHife: What are your brands? What appeals to you in terms of flavo(u)r?

I like Arturo Vicente's the best, particularly with dark leaf wrappers.

The bad thing about it is that no matter what you do the night that you smoke a cigar, your mouth will smelly like a cat box in the morning. You can brush, use Listerine, brush, chew gun, brush, and put two bottles of Sweet Breath on your tongue...and it still won't defeat the stink!

ivan · « **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2006, 03:38:40 PM »

My first career path on this soil was newspaper production. I had jobs doing old-school paste-up -- cutting a galley with a utility knife free-hand with no straight edge, running it through the waxer, rolling it onto the paste-up sheet perfectly straight the first time, zipping on border tape faster than you can draw a line and making a perfect mitre with a single self-assured swoop of the blade... All with a smoldering Camel non-filtered stuck to the lower lip. Manly stuff. Even the chicks were manly. The only thing we couldn't do was drink our coffee while we worked. One spilled cup could put production hopelessly behind, not to mention the damage to one's reputation. So coffee was drunk in the break room.

That's actually how I got into computers -- hacking the old Compugraphic phototypesetters. It started with swapping boards and progressed to messing with dip-switches to get around glitches.

Most of you weren't even born when I was messing with these beauties. With a smoldering Camel non-filtered stuck to the lower lip.

From there I went into the mainframe world, and worked for a couple of years in a room with a raised floor, a dust curtain, banks of 6-foot-tall tape drives, and removable hard drives that looked like giant hat boxes, cost around $75,000 each, and stored an astounding 100 MB of data.

The paradigm, vis-a-vis stimulants and depressants, shifted on a dime. And I use the term "dime" advisedly. Although smoking and drinking of any kind was absolutely prohibited in the computer room -- one spilled Pepsi could put the company out of business, and one errant plume of smoke could wreak havoc on thousands of tax returns -- there was the "tape library" room, which had its own exhaust vent, where the "computer guys" ingested and inhaled substances of such varied and dubious origin that to this day science has not found a name for most of them. It was the 70s, and I was working the graveyard shift. It is a miracle I ever saw the 80s. Also, the Camel non-filtered had to go: every self-respecting computer guy smoked Parliament 100s, because the pack looked cool stuck in a white shirt pocket. Don't ask me why, it just did.

Since then, with the advent of second-hand-smoke legislation and random urine tests, the on-the-job substance of choice gradually devolved to a simple 0.5 liter plastic bottle of water. As a result, I may live to see my grand-children.

Anyway.

What was the question?

ivan · « **Reply #21 on:** February 09, 2006, 03:50:38 PM »

I forgot to mention that I smoked my last cigarrette at 3:20 pm, February 27, 2001. It was a Shermans Natural.

ivan · « **Reply #22 on:** February 09, 2006, 04:01:40 PM »

Dang! I also forgot to mention that my internet name -- Ivan Davidoff -- is a name I borrowed from a character of a story I wrote. I needed a Russian name, so "Ivan" was a given. As for the surname, at the time I was smoking these:

So really, the whole smoking thing... I'd say it's not really a part of the current geek culture, mainly because of the combination of youth and brains. And propaganda, of course. However, I'd say it's very much linked to a subset of geeks: the man-of-letters geek, puffing on his pipe or cigar, recounting the glory days of computerized typesetting machines.

If I could smoke, I would.

ivan · « **Reply #23 on:** February 09, 2006, 05:00:11 PM »

I didn't realize this is all a done deal already. You can disregard my posts.

pbsaurus · « **Reply #24 on:** February 09, 2006, 05:34:21 PM »

Too late, I already read, and archived it.

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Author Topic: Tobacco Article (Read 8438 times)

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