[nzlug] New term: tinkerer

[Andrew Errington]

On Tue, July 15, 2008 09:55, Craig Box wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 9:44 AM, Andrew Errington <
> a.errington at lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>> No, IMHO "hacker" is the right word.  I don't care if it's been
>> co-opted by the media.  I am a hacker.  I hack on stuff until it works.
>> Sometimes
>> I tinker with stuff, but to "tinker" implies no defined goal.  Hacking
>> is the process of making something, either from nothing, or from
>> something else.  Tinkering is just fiddling with something for the sake
>> of it, almost akin to "pottering".
>
>
> Then [don't] come up with a new word, and explain to the police (or your
Mum),
> who don't understand the difference, why you claim to be a 'hacker'.  And
> have a half hour "No, I don't really mean that" conversation.
>
> Or get a new word.

I didn't realise that the New World Order of Fascism had now reached NZ. 
Why exactly should I need to explain anything to the police?  Isn't it sad
that we even have to contemplate such a thing, even in jest?

A