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Show Computing is still a mystical art the editor's column "Did you byte off more than you could chew?" reads the whimsical ad that hangs above Joann's desk. "Is a down computer getting you down? "Just call Magical Marc -available weekends, too." A wizard is pictured in front of a computer terminal, snapping his fingers - a software sorcerer, if you win; i I created the flyer in a moment of madness after another computer crisis had been met and overcome -one of several that have plagued the newspaper ever since we entered the automated office era. Actually, there is no magic involved. in-volved. I don't think there is, anyway. But I can't explain what there is, either. I have felt an affinity for these marvelous machines every since they became affordable. I started by working on a computerized typesetter that doubled as a word processor. Processing words was something I could relate to, and that came pretty easily. Then I started playing with an Apple that was available at odd hours. But the machines were mysterious and incomprehensible. I still don't understand how they do what they do. I tried to learn programming, and found computers and I don't communicate com-municate in the same language -even when I understand there. Kind of like my kids. I love to be around them but find their reasons it really is. I wouldn't have to anything difficult. dif-ficult. There were still bugs in our programs, still some report forms to be created and occasional adjustments ad-justments in our data base that I would be expected to carry out. All of this with machines that I loved to manipulate but couldn't understand at all. Then I found out, just by chance, something which still amazes me. I can make these things do what I want without understanding anything about how its done. At first I thought it was intuition, that marvelous skill of knowing something without having to reason it out. "Help!" the cry would come "Why is the screen going crazy and talking in a foreign language to me?" And I would sit down at the terminal, ter-minal, type a few keys, and everything would be all right again. I hadn't the slightest idea what I had done to bring about that great change, but I was sure glad things were working like they should again so I could get back to work. This happened time after time, until I decided it wasn't really intuition in-tuition at all. Not only were my repairs illogical, they were just plain lucky. It was serendipity, the aptitude for making fortunate discoveries completely by accident. As each crisis arose, I would place myself in front of the computer do whatever came to mind, and soon things would be running smoothly -all purely by chance. What a marvelous power - to be able to chance onto the solution to important problems. It increased my esteem in the office considerably. People started talking nicely to me, because with computers you never know when something will happen that is completely without explanation. Who better to repair it than someone who knows absolutely nothing about what they are doing. As a result, computers and I have been getting along fine. They act up, I do something that makes no sense whatsoever to me, and the machine calms down and gets busy working again. Oh, I haven't let anyone else kno that it's luck. I act like I know wha' is happening, and use big words W "discombobulator argofibrulator" and make like t big shot - as long as no one ww knows anything about computers" around. . I figure if anyone finds out wMi really happening here, they'll & the computers away from me, a then where will I be? fe The problem is, this only wore with computers. I have never perienced this ability in any otn facet of my life. So I plan on keeping my shut, my fingers on the keyWJj and my serendipity in tact - long as my luck holds. By MARC HADDOCK for doing things incomprehensible. Computers are the same. These machines require a certain , kind of logic that is simply incompatible in-compatible with my brain. I can't think like they do, and I certainly can't talk like they do. When I write a program and try to run it, I get nasty messages back. Anyway, I think their nasty. I can't understand them, so I'm not sure. So I was concerned when well over two years ago, we decided to automate our office. It was decided (by those who make such decisions) that I would become the office computer expert. That sounds more important than |