Re: Grace Hopper (Was - impersonating a technical writer)

[Harry Hager <hhager -at- dttus -dot- com>]

     Yes, it is a quote from Grace Hopper. If I remember correctly, I heard 
     her say it at one of her presentations Newport News, Virginia, more 
     than a few years back. I even got one of her nanoseconds but lost it 
     somewhere along the way. (Her nanosecond was a 11+ inch of wire 
     indicating the distance an electron can tavel in one nanosecond. She 
     was in the habit of giving these out when she gave a presentation.)
     
     I don't remember the exact quote (I'm sure it's out there on the Web 
     somewhere) but I think it's more correct to say it goes something like 
     this.
     
     "Don't wait for permission. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it 
     is to ask for permission."
     
     BTW, Grace Hopper was on (chaired?) the US Navy committee (board, 
     joint committe, whatever) that defined the standard (ANSI standard?) 
     for COBOL. Even as late as 1977, she headed the US Navy efforts on 
     standards for COBOL. (This is no plug for the US Navy. When I attended 
     her persentation, I was in the US Air Force.) 
     
     Jim Hager
     hhager -at- dttus -dot- com



<snip> ...
" Don't wait for permission; "it is easier to
get forgiven than it is to get permission."  (I'd love to cite the 
originator of that saying, but I haven't a clue.  It remains one of my 
favorites.)"
     
I think this is attributed to Grace Hopper, an Admiral in the USN who 
worked on the ENIAC team and was on the Board of Directors of Digital 
Equipment Corporation for many years.
     
The wording is not quite right but the sense of it is on the mark.
     
Ward
     <snip>