You may have heard me speak the quote "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission" But have you ever wondered where it originated or why I use it?

Way back when I was a wee pup still in CIS 101 at JJC we did a case study of the Harvard Mark 1, which was programed by Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. Just look at the name of that computer Harvard Mark 1 it’s got to be old, like really really old, try 1944 OLD!

So wait... if it’s from the 40’s your telling me not only did this chick program this thing but she was a SHE?!?! That’s crazy talk, Woman can’t program computers! Not only did she program, she developed the first computer compiler and was one of the lead developers for the programing language COBOL. When told she should leave the work to the men, she would often just complete the work and when confronted say "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission"

Even today we use some of the terms she originated - like "debugging." When fixing the Mark II, she removed a dead moth from the system. When asked what the holdup was she replied with I’m "debugging" the system.

This amazing person fought in WWII, programed one of the first supercomputers, created a programming language and was instrumental in creating a set of standards for all computers and components.

This woman this amazing woman has balls of steel and they are bigger than yours.