Felix Bearden & Associates, Inc.

Consumer Products, Industrial & Biomedical
Computer Applications

A special hello to you who have found the FBAI home page. As of June 2010 FBAI has ceased to operate and the stockholders wish to thank all the customers we have had over the last 30 years. We decided to shut down the operation because of the economic conditions, ours, at the time. We are maintaining the site because of the history there. If you need to contact us refer to the telephone numbers and addresses above. And, of course, enjoy a little humor found below.

Ten Reasons to Hire a 72 Year Old Programmer

• He has already made most of the mistakes a programmer can make. Sometimes more than once. He will share this knowledge with junior members of the team.
• He has learned to read, at least Windows, Unix, C++, Modula-2, Pascal, C, ... along with a sprinkling of English.
• He is confident enough in his ability to avoid the NIH (not invented here) syndrome.
• He is less likely to spend his off-hour with extra-curricular activities that affect his ability to do his job during his on-hours. (Just allocate an afternoon nap time).
• He has learned to write English, in addition to C++, Modula-2, Pascal, C, Perl, BASH ...
• He is more concerned about getting the job done than politicking for a management position.
• Because he is forgetful, he is more likely to write very understandable code or heavily document that which is obscure (in the name of optimization) for himself. (and possibly the one who has to read his code later).
• He is more likely to ask questions, or do research, than "fake it".
• He has been through the "Modular Programming", "Structured Programming", and is applying the "Object Oriented" paradigms but still recognizes that "Hard Work" is the one that ultimately pays off.
• He loves to write working programs (lifecycle of some of his programs: 15+ years), else why would he still be doing it?

1 This document may be copied either photographically or electronically and distributed in any numbers except for profit 
and as long as the authors name is referenced.