Shorties: Links to All Things Interesting Interesting Anecdotes Interesting anecdotes from the computers and programming world. She coded before computers: meet Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) wrote what looks like the first program for Babbage’s Analytical Engine and had surprisingly modern ideas about machines and symbols. Decades on, the Ada programming language was named after her. www.britannica.com Ada Lovelace | Biography, Computer, & Facts | Britannica Ada Lovelace, English mathematician, an associate of Charles Babbage, for whose digital computer prototype, the Analytical Engine, she created a program in 1843. She has been called the first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace Day, the second Tuesday in October, honors women’s contributions to science and technology. Interesting Anecdotes Can Programming Get You Killed? Coding too much can literally kill you! That’s what almost happened to a programmer in Bristol in 2006. Read the strange story — and how to avoid the risks — in that article. www.theguardian.com Matt Keating: Question of the week Can you die of e-thrombosis sitting at your desk? Interesting Anecdotes