22 Jul
2020
22 Jul
'20
3:59 a.m.
On Jul 20, 2020, at 9:42 AM, Doug McIlroy
<doug(a)cs.dartmouth.edu> wrote:
My most memorable personal
encounter was when I received from G. R. a receipt for paint for the
water-tower project (spinrooot.com/pico/pjw.html) as part of a request
for reimbursement. I passed the voucher up the chain of command to
our executive director, Vic Vyssotsky. Unfortunately for G. R., Vic,
despite his masterful ability to bypass bureaucratic obstacles,
declared he wasn't authorized to approve plant improvements.
I starting working for Vic right as he was starting up Digital’s
Cambridge Research Lab in the late 80s. The lab had a dedicated
smoking room, used almost exclusively by Vic. I discovered that
hanging out with him there was a great way to learn some things,
and he told a lot of stories about the Bell Labs.
In Vic's version, he told me that he returned the form as not being
the right one for reimbursements for physical plant expenses. Which
fits delightfully with bypassing bureaucratic obstacles, and using the
obstacles when it suited him.
He also told me that right after the painting happened, he went out
into a large central area of the offices (I have no idea what the layout
was) and loudly said something along the lines of “I’m sure they're never
going to find out who did this!”
- Win