St. Habakkuk of the Abacus

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3 total messages Started by man... Mark Mandel Mon, 29 Jan 1990 16:54

#1143

Author: man... Mark Mandel
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1990 16:54

42 lines
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St. Habakkuk of the Abacus is the patron saint of software engineers.
He was a public scribe and money-changer (an honest one) in the late
Roman Empire, when all computation was performed on a kind of abacus
consisting of pebbles ("calculi") sliding in a grooved tabletop.  He
developed an improved method of multiplication, which enabled him to
carry out his clients' commissions much more quickly and efficiently
than any of his competitors.  His offer to teach them his system free
of charge (the first recorded instance of shareware) only inflamed
their rage, and they stoned him to death with the pebbles of his own
counting board: he was martyred, by calculation, on July 14, A.D. 559.
(This date was determined [on April 25, 1988] by a combination of
divine inspiration and the use of a machine that is descended from the
instruments of his martyrdom.)  

His feast day is celebrated every 256 days.  The following chart gives
the dates of his feast days from the end of 1987 through the end of
the twentieth century.  This Wednesday is the 2041st (decimal)
iteration of St. Habakkuk's Day.

2038 December 25, 1987
2039 September 6, 1988
2040 May 20, 1989
2041 January 31, 1990
2042 October 14, 1990
2043 June 27, 1991
2044 March 9, 1992
2045 November 20, 1992
2046 August 3, 1993
2047 April 16, 1994
2048 December 28, 1994
2049 September 10, 1995
2050 May 23, 1996
2051 February 3, 1997
2052 October 17, 1997
2053 June 30, 1998
2054 March 13, 1999
2055 November 24, 1999
-- 

	-- Mark Mandel          (InterNet: Man...@granite.cr.bull.com)

 /* My employer is not responsible for anything I say, do, think, or eat. */

Re: St. Habakkuk of the Abacus

#1144

Author: man... Mark Mandel
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1990 20:34

8 lines
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Further contributions to the hagiography (i.e., saintly biography) of
St. Habakkuk are invited.  Send them by email; I'll collate and post.

-- 

	-- Mark Mandel          (InterNet: Man...@granite.cr.bull.com)

 /* My employer is not responsible for anything I say, do, think, or eat. */

Re: St. Habakkuk of the Abacus

#1145

Author: man... Mark Mandel
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1990 03:59

10 lines
1139 bytes

On the Feast Day of St. Habakkuk it is traditional to consume foods 
reminiscent of calculi (counting-board pebbles).  Such are usually small,
hard and round.  Your grandmother's kreplach, ravioli, or wonton may
qualify.  Afterdinner mints can be used, and jellybeans are
especially popular.  Among software engineers aspirin are very common.
-- 

	-- Mark Mandel          (InterNet: Man...@granite.cr.bull.com)

 /* My employer is not responsible for anything I say, do, think, or eat. */

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