I took a computer programming class in college, circa 1976. PL/1 using the PL/C compiler. Punch cards, keypunch machines, greenbar paper, onery operators, conte

I took a computer programming class in college, circa 1976. PL/1 using the PL/C compiler. Punch cards, keypunch machines, greenbar paper, onery operators, contempt for first-time users, the whole bit. Wasn't that difficult actually, but the so-called "big iron" culture was more than off-putting. Never took another programming class in college after that. Dug Stats instead. Got a job teaching at a high school that had a PDP-11/34 running RSTS/E. Asked for a key to the lab and sat down with the manuals. It was quiet, deliberate, personal and non-judgemental. No distractions, just the din of the cooling fans and the air-conditioning. Hours and hours iterating through failed and successful BASIC programs. Just to see if I could. The whole thing 'til now is a celebration of human intelligence.