Ta - Da
(Drum Roll Please)

THE DPI
EDUCATION TASK FORCE

Repeating the announcement from the September 1977 Sales and Systems Newsletter:

• Marketing's Education Task Force (ETF, or "Easy-Tuffs") finally got underway in August, consisting of a handful of field creatures and headquarters types. The basic purpose of ETF is to pull together a nucleus of informed and energetic DPI personnel to create comprehensive systems and software training programs. Bill Hill (armed with a pump and a big stick) is acting as the main resource (and swampdrainer) by letting this informed and energetic group pick his brain of all available systems knowledge.
• Phase One of ETF is the "Information Gathering" stage. ETF members are assigned individual DCOS modules to investigate, learn, document and teach to other members of the group. Bill Hill will present basic concepts and provide guidance; however, most of the information will be self-taught or acquired through osmosis. The sessions are being recorded and transcribed to aid in pulling the information together.
• Once this three-month phase is complete, all but a few will return to their previous lives to apply their newly-acquired knowledge in true-to-life situations. A core group will then begin creating lesson plans for training programs and assembling complete documentation.
• ETF is being brought to you by a group of headquarters specialists. Bill Hill, of course, has been with DPI through thick and thin since 1965. He has been involved in the development of many hardware products as well as DCOS, interfaces, SQ's and a host of other projects. Brian Rumery, (Manager of CE Training) has tackled the job of ETF Administrative Manager in addition to being a technical working member. Thanks to Jim Reeder for his efforts in creating the original project plans and doing all the work to obtain and set up the recording capability.
• Claudia Porter, DPI's newest Special Projects Person is coordinating the recording and transcription of the sessions and maintaining the documentation library. She is also taking care of "mundane" tasks for the field creatures, such as time cards, expense reports, buying linen and furniture and completely outfitting the apartments for the out-of-towners and their families. (The field creatures add an extra "hip hip hooray" for Claudia for making them so Comfortable in their temporary homes.) Claudia's key function, however, is to lead Bill around and keep him from falling into chuckholes.
• In attendance for Phase One from headquarters (in the blue trunks) are Mickey Snider, Rich Richardson, Bob Spade, and Tom Thompson. Field creatures attending (in the red trunks) are Larry Hofmann (MA), Dave Duggan (NE), Greg Ewald (Western), Bill Harber (MA) and Randy Woost (Central).
• Considering the magnitude of the Education Task Force, DPI is fortunate to have so many creative, dedicated and knowledgeable people involved and to be receiving continued support from top management for programs of this type. We are looking forward to being able to provide our customers with far better service due to an overall increase in systems savvy.

Note from Bill:  I still have all those audio tapes if anyone wants to listen to them!!!  Along with a box of videos of other training sessions (all in BETA format though).

EDUCATION TASK FORCE - SPECIAL TERMINOLOGY

• BIT TWIDDLING - (1) Arithmetic operation done in a fog bank (or using white-cane approach); (2) Put data into a register (byte or word) and mix well to obtain result.
• BOUNCE PASS - Put a control block on another module's queue.
• BUZZ WORD - (1) Terminology used to baffle the customer if you can't dazzle him with your brilliance; (2) Similar to technical cattle flop.
• DCOS/AIDE CODE - (1) Transaction-oriented modularly-structured, multi-tasking, serially-reusable, more-or-less re-entrant, machine interpretable instructions; (2) B-A-N-A-N-A.
• DIDDLE - To patch code blindly.
• DIDDLEY-BOP - Sequentially stepping through data (i.e., diddleybop down a table looking for something).
• DO-LA-LE - (1) What's his name; (2) Human form of a thing-a-mabob; (3) The guy in the front row whose name slips everyone's mind.
• DUAL-PURPOSE PERIOD - A small zero (@) used for both zero and period.
• ETF - (1) Education Task Force; (2) Endless transmission of fuzz (see Fuzz Word).
• FINAGLE FACTOR - (1) A value which when multiplied by a value, gives the result you were looking for in the first place; (2) Similar to "Fudge Factor".
• FUZZ WORD - A buzz word before you know its meaning.
• HORRENDOUS - Cannot be understood and therefore cannot be followed or flowcharted.
• HUMUNGUS - (1) BIG; (2) A large amount (as in lots of core).
• KNIBBLE - (1) 4 bits; (2) 2 licks; (3) 1/2 byte; (4) 1/4 word.
• LICK - (1) 2 bits (not 25¢); (2) 1/2 knibble; (3) 1/4 byte; (4) 1/8 word.
• LOOP - Continuous thrashing from Point "A" to Point "B." and then back to Point "A" with no exit.
• MESSEY PROCESSING - (1) Message processing module; (2) See "Loop"
• OCTAL-TO-VERBAL CONVERTER - Sub-module explained by Bill Hill.
• ONE FELL SWOOP - Rapidly executed move of data.
• ONE SWELL FOOP - (1) All at once; (2) Immediately, if not sooner
• OUT-A-DA-MIDDLE - Removal of a control block from any place in a queue.
• PSEUDO IN-LINE CODE CONVENTION - Non flowchartable program (use to flowchart quasi re-entrant code).
• QUASI RE-ENTRANT - Re-enter code randomly.
• REIFY - "TELL 'M AGAIN"--Part of the military teaching method: tell 'm what you're going to teach, teach 'm, teach 'm again, tell 'm what you taught 'm.
• SPOOLED - Resources that are "bounce passed" to another module.
• THING-A-MA-BOB - Any piece of hardware
• THRASHING - (1) Humungus amount of bit twiddling; (2) Reduction of 1 bits to 0 bits (or vice versa) using maximum processing time.
• TRIBBLE - (1) 12 bits (not $1.50); (2) 3 knibbles (tripleknibble); (3) 1 1/2 bytes; (4) 3/4 word.
• WHITE-CANE APPROACH - To diddle until some measure of improvement is stumbled upon.
• WIZARD - Host computer (IBM).
• ZAP - Change a bit, word, knibble, etc.

THE ETF DINNER AND OTHER BLURRY RECOLLECTIONS

• The Northeast Region has finally shown its true colors........ask Dave Duggan......if you can wake him up on Bob Spade's front lawn.
• Is eating a carnation really a requirement to be an S.E. in the Western Region?
• Who owns the dirty yellow Porsche (with the dent in the hood covered by a black "what's it for" screen)?
• Who won the "Marie Osmond in the Farrah Fawcett wig" look-a-like contest?
• Randy Woost took a quack at some Duck.
• Rich Richardson hiding behind an imaginary wall with anybody's wife!
• Ask Bob Spade if Message Processing is worth the code its written on.
• What's "mmmmmmmm"?
• Does Bill "waiter" Hill moonlight as a maitre d' at Gervais?
• A forgotten toast: Lets toast the toasters who toasted the toastees.
• Available for Birthday Parties and Divorces: The Toast Chiming Sextet.
• A demonstration of Field Creature class: Arriving at an exclusive restaurant in a dirty pick-up truck with red-neck (cowboy) bumper stickers.

We had a wild, crazy, time, but I think we accomplished something.  Out of it came some field specialists and a Headquarters Applications Programmer Training program that also changed the career paths of quite a few people.  Comments anyone?

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