PicoBlog

Ask a majority of computer nerds, “Who was the first computer programmer?” and you’re likely to get one answer more than all others: Lady Ada Lovelace. But was Ada Lovelace truly the first computer programmer? Or is that idea based on a bad understanding of both history and computers? Let’s dive in and figure this out. During the 1800’s a book series entitled “Scientific Memoirs” was published. An 1843 edition of that series included an English translation — of a French publication — of a lecture given by Charles Babbage on his theoretical, mechanical computing machine: The Analytical Engine.

While compiling the results of the first-ever reader survey in the history of The Stein Line, I realized that I wished I had phrased one of the questions differently. Instead of just asking respondents to write in a selection of their favorite NBA player, I think it would have been better to ask everyone to register their own choice for Best Player on the Planet. Why rely on ESPN’s or anyone else’s player rankings?

If you’re a regular reader having just read this title, I’m sure you have an answer on the tip of your tongue—JJ. And I know you’d have the same answer for who is the funniest, warmest, boldest, sincerest, succinctest, and humblest in this room, too. But please stop, we’re not here to let you drone on about me. Today, we’re trying to discover who is the craziest person in this room.

Over the last 100 years BYU has seen 159 players drafted into the NFL. That works out to about 1.5 draft picks every year: a fairly decent rate for a non-Power 5 program. However, this rate used to be much, much higher (e.g. BYU Football 1981 and 1986, when 7 Cougars were drafted). One hundred and fifty-nine young men playing a game they love and—assumingly—getting paid millions to do so. What a dream!

Harold Hughes answered an after-hours call at the front door of the governor's mansion wearing a light yellow bathrobe, holding a cigarette in his hand. The year must have been 1966 or 1967. Hughes looked at the assorted teenagers 'playing' various musical instruments, including a big base drum, and laughed nonstop as the youngsters 'serenaded' him. Hughes was a big man. His stature was enormous. His voice was big and deep.

February 26, 2024 I don’t want to write about this. In fact, when I wrote my editor at The Bollard earlier today to ask if I wasn’t, by my calculations, already two days behind on my deadline, and he responded that yes, I was,  but that he “could use the extra room,” meaning that I’d be doing him a favor by NOT writing my column, I was given a full pass to settle down beside my honey and watch Succession.

If Wayne Gretzky never scored a goal, he’d still be the National Hockey League’s all-time leader in points. This the ur-sports-fact -- a universe in a grain of sand. You get a point for a goal and a point for an assist, and Gretzky has the most of each. He scored 894 times; no else has more than 801 goals. He assisted on 1,963; next best is all the way down at 1,249.

Next week I’ll be releasing an episode on noted gunman Johnny Ringo and his mysterious death. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Johnny participated in the Hoodoo War in Texas before aligning himself with the Cochise County Cowboys in Arizona. We’ll go over all the gritty details on the podcast, but I thought I’d share a photo with you. Ringo’s lifeless body was found on a flat rock that had been placed in the bough of a large tree.

In a recent episode of the long-running public radio show turned podcast “Sound Opinions,” hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot discussed their favorite songs with titles in the form of a question. It’s a rather broad topic as there are hundreds if not thousands of songs in the rock and pop canon that meet this criteria. Jimi Hendrix’ “Are You Experienced?” was the first that came to mind. Greg chose the second song I thought of with The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?