be careful talking about Unix

Christoph · 10-27-03, 04:53 AM

It was my grandpa's 90th birthday on the 25th, and I was talking with a non-nerdy aunt when she asked me what I was interested in. I asked her if she'd heard of Unix, and she said yes. That didn't set off any alarm bells, since she'd lived through most of its history and probably picked up something.
So I started telling her that I enjoyed reading about Unix programming techniques and design philosophy. I told her I liked the simplicity and elegance of its design and about how it powers popular websites like Amazon.com and Google. (Linux is Unix, just not genetically.) After about a minute, she asked me "Isn't that what they used to keep the men from... you know..."
It turned out that she thought I was talking about eunuchs. I tried to explain, but the conversation wasn't salvageable after that point.
It's nice to see my relatives, but I'm glad it doesn't happen more often.

Malpine Walis · 10-27-03, 07:18 AM

/me puts his teeth back in his mouth...

shiyan · 10-27-03, 01:05 PM

that's quite funny.

searching for what eunuchs meant helped broaden my horizons.

poor eunuchs, imagine losing all your bits...

Illah · 10-27-03, 01:19 PM

Heh, eunichs powering amazon.com and google...Imagine what she thinks now! A bunch of neutered guys packing books into boxes and quickly flipping through the internet directory info

And now she thinks you're all into them guys

--Illah

Sterculus · 10-27-03, 10:42 PM

There was a Dilbert comic along these lines at one point.
That is the essence of the reason why I don't talk talk tech to people who I know aren't geeky.

Breadfan · 10-28-03, 08:55 AM

Heheh, that must be why I'm single right now. Everytime I go to the bar and talk to a girl, I'm like "Hey you should go out with me, becuase chicks really dig UNIX and I'm all about that."

That's about when they leave....

j/k of course, but I've seen similar misunderstandings about the term UNIX, I tend to now say "UNIX the operating system" just incase.

ArBiTaL 24 · 10-29-03, 07:32 PM

Says a lot for public domain operating systems, if that's the symbol they give it

Never had this problem myself, although I am usually talking about linux, not UNIX as a whole. Sooo......

modenaf1 · 10-29-03, 08:29 PM

whats an eununch? i whent googling and is that where they cut off hrrmmmmm?

ArBiTaL 24 · 10-29-03, 08:42 PM

yea, basically

Think, "worker ants"

Great first impression of UNIX, I think not

shiyan · 10-29-03, 08:53 PM

they are guys with their testes cut off, sometimes even the wee wee cut off.

in China they were used to guard the emperor's concubines

they were also used in other places for similar functions.

Italy and Russia had some of these people, but only with testes cut off before puberty, so they had nice singing voices.

The procedure in China was pretty horrific. All the bits were cut off in one go with a small curved knife, the wound was then sealed using hot tar or a red hot poker... and the poor individual was not allowed to drink for severall days, so the wound heals. Then he was given huge amounts of water to drink, so that the pressure is enough to punch a hole through the wound. (was this too much info?)

fatality rate was around 90%.

Christoph · 10-29-03, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shiyan
(was this too much info?)

That was the definition of "too much info."

ArBiTaL 24 · 10-29-03, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shiyan
(was this too much info?)

EWWWWWW understatement of the centuary

shiyan · 10-29-03, 09:41 PM

just realised I missed the hot tar or red hot poker part.

must add that.
LMAO

the last Chinese eununch got turned into one a few days before the last empire was overthrown.

that must have sucked. all that pain and loss for nothing - didn't even get a lifelong job of looking at hot bitches and sexual frustration out of it. lol

Top Hat Theater · 10-29-03, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shiyan
Italy and Russia had some of these people, but only with testes cut off before puberty, so they had nice singing voices.

They weren't eunuchs; they were castrati.

~THT

Jeff Bolton · 10-29-03, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shiyan
The procedure in China was pretty horrific. All the bits were cut off in one go with a small curved knife, the wound was then sealed using hot tar or a red hot poker... and the poor individual was not allowed to drink for severall days, so the wound heals. Then he was given huge amounts of water to drink, so that the pressure is enough to punch a hole through the wound. (was this too much info?)

fatality rate was around 90%.

is that chinese water torture?

Frodo Baggins · 10-30-03, 12:24 AM

Quote:

The procedure in China was pretty horrific. All the bits were cut off in one go with a small curved knife, the wound was then sealed using hot tar or a red hot poker... and the poor individual was not allowed to drink for severall days, so the wound heals. Then he was given huge amounts of water to drink, so that the pressure is enough to punch a hole through the wound. (was this too much info?)

Congratulations, you just made my list for "most disgusting anecdote ever uttered by a living being"

mbentley · 11-01-03, 11:32 PM

lol that is so awful to just think about... makes me want to hide in fear! where in the world did you learn that info shiyan? i can only imagine the pain & suffering...

shiyan · 11-01-03, 11:39 PM

I googled it when I saw this thread.

I had no idea what was meant by that word, so I had to look it up.

If you really want, I could probably find that page with the info again....

10-27-03, 04:53 AM	Thread Starter #1
Christoph JAPH Senior Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Redmond, WA	be careful talking about Unix It was my grandpa's 90th birthday on the 25th, and I was talking with a non-nerdy aunt when she asked me what I was interested in. I asked her if she'd heard of Unix, and she said yes. That didn't set off any alarm bells, since she'd lived through most of its history and probably picked up something. So I started telling her that I enjoyed reading about Unix programming techniques and design philosophy. I told her I liked the simplicity and elegance of its design and about how it powers popular websites like Amazon.com and Google. (Linux is Unix, just not genetically.) After about a minute, she asked me "Isn't that what they used to keep the men from... you know..." It turned out that she thought I was talking about eunuchs. I tried to explain, but the conversation wasn't salvageable after that point. It's nice to see my relatives, but I'm glad it doesn't happen more often. __________________ FoldSig \| Heatware \| Alt OS FAQWiki \| JAPH \| ADO "Coming onto the forums after you've had a concussion is prolly not a good idea, but I'm doin' it anyways!" -dark_15
	QUOTE Thanks

10-27-03, 07:18 AM	#2
Malpine Walis Disabled Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Banned Camp	/me puts his teeth back in his mouth...
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10-27-03, 01:05 PM	#3
shiyan Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: behind the wheel	that's quite funny. searching for what eunuchs meant helped broaden my horizons. poor eunuchs, imagine losing all your bits...
	QUOTE Thanks

10-27-03, 01:19 PM	#4
Illah Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco	Heh, eunichs powering amazon.com and google...Imagine what she thinks now! A bunch of neutered guys packing books into boxes and quickly flipping through the internet directory info And now she thinks you're all into them guys --Illah
	QUOTE Thanks

10-27-03, 10:42 PM	#5
Sterculus Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Seattle	There was a Dilbert comic along these lines at one point. That is the essence of the reason why I don't talk talk tech to people who I know aren't geeky.
	QUOTE Thanks

be careful talking about Unix

Internet Services

Website Development

Tech Hardware

10-28-03, 08:55 AM	#6
Breadfan Inactive Moderator Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Northern VA	Heheh, that must be why I'm single right now. Everytime I go to the bar and talk to a girl, I'm like "Hey you should go out with me, becuase chicks really dig UNIX and I'm all about that." That's about when they leave.... j/k of course, but I've seen similar misunderstandings about the term UNIX, I tend to now say "UNIX the operating system" just incase. __________________ System: Epox 8R3DA Pro/2500Barton@3200+/1024mb Patriot RAM/ATi (BBA) 9800Pro 256mb/ 250GB Seagate HDD/Home-modded case (Not pre modded!) - Running Ubuntu Linux 8.04 Heatware -=:=- View my car projects "It must be said that genuine compassion is not like pity or a feeling that others are somehow lower than you. Rather, with genuine compassion you view others as more important than yourself." -- Dalai Lama
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10-29-03, 07:32 PM	#7
ArBiTaL 24 There is no spoon Join Date: Aug 2002	Says a lot for public domain operating systems, if that's the symbol they give it Never had this problem myself, although I am usually talking about linux, not UNIX as a whole. Sooo......
	QUOTE Thanks

10-29-03, 08:29 PM	#8
modenaf1 Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: the terran system	whats an eununch? i whent googling and is that where they cut off hrrmmmmm?
	QUOTE Thanks

10-29-03, 08:42 PM	#9
ArBiTaL 24 There is no spoon Join Date: Aug 2002	yea, basically Think, "worker ants" Great first impression of UNIX, I think not
	QUOTE Thanks

10-29-03, 08:53 PM	#10
shiyan Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: behind the wheel	they are guys with their testes cut off, sometimes even the wee wee cut off. in China they were used to guard the emperor's concubines they were also used in other places for similar functions. Italy and Russia had some of these people, but only with testes cut off before puberty, so they had nice singing voices. The procedure in China was pretty horrific. All the bits were cut off in one go with a small curved knife, the wound was then sealed using hot tar or a red hot poker... and the poor individual was not allowed to drink for severall days, so the wound heals. Then he was given huge amounts of water to drink, so that the pressure is enough to punch a hole through the wound. (was this too much info?) fatality rate was around 90%. Last edited by shiyan; 10-29-03 at 09:41 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

10-29-03, 09:41 PM	#13
shiyan Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: behind the wheel	just realised I missed the hot tar or red hot poker part. must add that. LMAO the last Chinese eununch got turned into one a few days before the last empire was overthrown. that must have sucked. all that pain and loss for nothing - didn't even get a lifelong job of looking at hot bitches and sexual frustration out of it. lol
	QUOTE Thanks

11-01-03, 11:32 PM	#17
mbentley Gloriously Lead Overclockix Chief Architect Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: indianapolis, indiana	lol that is so awful to just think about... makes me want to hide in fear! where in the world did you learn that info shiyan? i can only imagine the pain & suffering... __________________ intel i5-750 -- msi p55-gd65 -- 4 x 4096mb ddr3 1600 -- msi gtx550 ti cyclone oc 1gb -- antec p182 -- ocz fatal1ty 750w -- win8 x64 intel i5-3330 -- msi z77a-gd65 -- 4 x 8gb ddr3 1600 -- intel hd graphics 2500 -- chieftec bravo ba-01b-b-b -- debian wheezy amd64 forum rules \| overclockix \| overclockers geforce survey \| mbentley.net
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11-01-03, 11:39 PM	#18
shiyan Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: behind the wheel	I googled it when I saw this thread. I had no idea what was meant by that word, so I had to look it up. If you really want, I could probably find that page with the info again....
	QUOTE Thanks