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Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas?

Path csiph.com!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com>
Newsgroups comp.lang.c, comp.lang.c++
Subject Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas?
Date Sat, 01 Nov 2025 14:28:05 -0700
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Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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Bill Davy <Bill@XchelSys.co.uk> writes:
> On 01/11/2025 17:05, Mike Terry wrote:
>> On 01/11/2025 04:31, Kaz Kylheku wrote:
>>> On 2025-11-01, Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas?
>>>>
>>>> Because 31 OCT = 25 DEC
>>>
>>> It's not that programmer confuse them; rather, the above is the key to
>>> the mystical link between the two. It's the underpinning for why Tim
>>> Burton's _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ makes sense.
>>>
>>> I went trick-or-treating today with the kids; there was someone in
>>> a Santa suit!
>>>
>> I bet you he had a long beard.  I knew it! - one of those "octal
>> beardies", an old-time UNIX programmer for sure!  He probably
>> started on a PDP-11.  :)
>> Mike.
>
> Never understood PDP11 using octal.  16 bits / 3?  Old habits die hard.

A word on a PDP-11 is 16 bits, but it's often logically divided into
3-bit chunks.  CPU instructions have 3-bit fields to denote one of the 8
registers, and 3-bit fields to denote a mode.

> Now, the PDP9 (18 bits / 3).  Fortran compiler "G 2 544237" (or
> something like that).

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

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Thread

Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2025-10-31 22:58 -0500
  Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Kaz Kylheku <643-408-1753@kylheku.com> - 2025-11-01 04:31 +0000
    Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-11-01 03:47 -0700
    Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Mike Terry <news.dead.person.stones@darjeeling.plus.com> - 2025-11-01 17:05 +0000
      Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2025-11-01 17:43 +0000
      Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Bill Davy <Bill@XchelSys.co.uk> - 2025-11-01 18:36 +0000
        Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> - 2025-11-01 19:51 +0100
        Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-11-01 14:28 -0700
        Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-11-02 07:18 +0000
      Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> - 2025-11-01 19:53 +0000
        Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2025-11-03 16:50 +0000
          Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2025-11-03 17:16 +0000
    Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? "Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> - 2025-11-01 12:59 -0700
  Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2025-11-01 09:22 +0000
  Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Tristan Wibberley <tristan.wibberley+netnews2@alumni.manchester.ac.uk> - 2025-11-01 18:20 +0000
  Re: Why do programmers confuse Halloween with Christmas? Tristan Wibberley <tristan.wibberley+netnews2@alumni.manchester.ac.uk> - 2025-11-01 22:40 +0000

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