Explaining our Hobby to Non-Programmers

[earlz]

Of my entire family, only my father (who is also a programmer) knows about my OS/language. The rest of my family knows that programming is my hobby, but has no clue what I program. It isn't that they don't care, it is just that they don't understand. All they really need to understand is that I'm interested in and happy with my hobby, and that is what matters to them.

That's kinda the situation I'm in.. The only people I really know that know of my hobby are my friends in my programming class.. and they are too new to programming to really understand anything I program... and my parents know I program and think I'm a genious cause I can printf("hello world") and my girlfriend hates me programming cause half the time I'll be into it and forget to reply to a text message or call her and then she'll be like what you doing and I say programming and her going sometimes I hate your hobby

[nekros]

Of my entire family, only my father (who is also a programmer) knows about my OS/language. The rest of my family knows that programming is my hobby, but has no clue what I program. It isn't that they don't care, it is just that they don't understand. All they really need to understand is that I'm interested in and happy with my hobby, and that is what matters to them.

That's kinda the situation I'm in.. The only people I really know that know of my hobby are my friends in my programming class.. and they are too new to programming to really understand anything I program... and my parents know I program and think I'm a genious cause I can printf("hello world") and my girlfriend hates me programming cause half the time I'll be into it and forget to reply to a text message or call her and then she'll be like what you doing and I say programming and her going sometimes I hate your hobby

Thats exactly the situation I'm in, lol. My grandpa though(who has been a network administrator for years), doesn't understand most of what I do still, so I'm pretty much alone. I have one "friend" who can understand what I do, and he hates me because of it,lol(He's a jealous bastard).

[AndrewAPrice]

so I'm pretty much alone. I have one "friend" who can understand what I do, and he hates me because of it,lol(He's a jealous bastard).

That is how high-school felt. Until I went on to do further study 3000 km away (cities in Australia are spread out) and met up with people just like me and lecturers I could hold a good conversation with. They were the best years of my life (so far!).

[whowhatwhere]

I don't mention programming (or anything computer related) to anyone that I don't already know is in that field.

EDIT: Thou shalt not complain.

[earlz]

I don't mention programming (or anything computer related) to anyone that I don't already know is in that field.
I learned the hard way in school that if people know that you know your way around programming a computer (in any way manner or form) along with all the regular bullshit, they will go to the moronic technician and claim you hacked their accounts because their files are gone. (They neglect the to mention the fact that they never actually did the assignments in the first place.) So the technician starts to hate you because he doesn't want to actually do anything to earn his $100K pay check that he "earned" by going to school for two years and doesn't understand the bits and pieces of source code strewn throughout your home directory because "nobody teaches that at HIS college", (which he later claims are all virus material bent in shutting down the government school mainframe and causing mass havoc and destruction and fail, which it wasn't), and then it all cultivates into a huge **** up when you are then permanently banned from the entire province school district networks (including accessing the public website -- how the **** do you police that?) and threatened with police actions because the guy doesn't know anything and the administrators don't know **** either and just see this morons' technical jargon gibberish.

After you graduate from that hell hole, you realize that the only viable college or university opportunity you can afford logistically has no further options in any field except manual labour trades, and you should now fall in line with the rest of the mill workers, the friends you escaped high school with have fallen in with the local gangs because their parents failed at their jobs, and the drug addled FASD children of the natives are serving you juicy fat fucking burgers and french fries. It's about this point where you realize that computers never really were your forte, and nothing you programmed and published actually accomplished anything, and then you pick up a bottle of Jack Daniels and realize that nothing was ever actually your forte and that you've now the apex of insanity inside your own head. You go out, **** women promiscuously, get into fights, get arrested, and have yourself a good fucking time.

Welcome to neurosis. I hope you enjoy your stay.

I'm scared now. lol

[Troy Martin]

I'm scared now. lol

As am I.

[JackScott]

My life is ruined. I have no ambition anymore, no drive for anything. All my dreams have been crused.

[DeletedAccount]

Hey ,
what happened ?

[JackScott]

We were all busy over-reacting to syntropy's post.

[Ferrarius]

Wow, hope that never happens to me. Anyway, some of the people I go to school with know about Operating Systems, I'm way down from the best programmer there (except in assembly). I often have this discussion with friends:
- C is waaay better then assembly (I hate that, I like assembly)
- Discussions about design decisions.

But I have noticed talking about OS dev, or this one little overly brilliant function (that's actually not that great, but you just like the simplicity of the function) is the best way not to get a girlfriend. So I've learned to keep my mouth shut about it to them, and "ordinary" people.

[Troy Martin]

I've told a few people recently, and one of my friends thinks it's really kewl. So I think I must be in a different boat than y'all!

[PHPnerd]

My mother is the technician at my school (for ICT), and she does know what operating systems do. All technicians there know me, and they know I will never hack a PC there without there permission.

I have some OSdev friends all over the word I can talk with. And I told a real-life friend, but he is just doing like he does understand

I have always been a nerd. Since my 7th living year, 14 now

// PHPnerd

[Troy Martin]

Computer user since five months old, beat that (no, seriously. Mac Performa 580CD, I think it was.)

[ruisleipa]

Most of people I know do know what an operating system is. So everyone understands that I make operating systems for a hobby. But none understands the technical details so it really pisses me off as I can't discuss about my ideas with anyone.

Of course my friends have joked about the As and Bs on the screen when my OS runs. They say "I can do that too", and type lots of As and Bs to notepad

[PHPnerd]

yeah, because of the monopoly-fights of Microsoft are people seeing Microsoft is not the only software producer. They see that Windows is their product, and not binded to the PC.

When telling about technical parts, they are watching me like a am an idiot. And when we do some word-games in class, they always say: 'No computer things Jos!'

// PHPnerd