Donald Watts Davies, CBE FRS (7 June 1924 – 28 May 2000) was a Welsh computer scientist who was one of the inventors of packet switching computer networking, and originator of the term.
Davies was born in Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley, Wales. His father, a clerk at a coalmine, died a few months later, and his mother took Donald and his twin sister back to her home town of Portsmouth, where he went to school.
He received a BSc degree in physics (1943) at Imperial College London, and then joined the war effort working as an assistant to Klaus Fuchs. on the nuclear weapons Tube Alloys project at Birmingham University. He then returned to Imperial taking a first class degree in mathematics (1947); he was also awarded the Lubbock memorial Prize as the outstanding mathematician of his year.
In 1955, he married Diane Burton; they had a daughter and two sons.
From 1947, he worked at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) where Alan Turing was designing the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) computer. It is said that Davies spotted mistakes in Turing's seminal 1936 paper On Computable Numbers, much to Turing's annoyance. These were perhaps some of the first "programming" errors in existence, even if they were for a theoretical computer, the universal Turing machine. The ACE project was overambitious and foundered, leading to Turing's departure. Davies took the project over and concentrated on delivering the less ambitious Pilot ACE computer, which first worked in May 1950. A commercial spin-off, DEUCE was manufactured by English Electric Computers and became one of the best-selling machines of the 1950s.
[first lines]::Kara's Mom: Oh, we haven't much time, husband.::Kara's Dad: I'll keep it movin'.::Kara: I don't understand.::Kara's Dad: We have to move quickly, the dome won't hold much longer.::Kara: I don't understand. Why is there only room for one in the hatch?::Kara's Mom: Because only *you* are leaving, daughter. Our lives are ending. It's going to be up to you to keep Krypton alive.::Kara's Dad: Kara, look here and pay close attention. Years ago, when the rest of Krypton was destroyed, one child was sent to a distant planet, Earth. His name is Kal-El. He lives amongst the humans and watches over them because they can't protect themselves against the forces of evil. You can find Kal-El here at these coordinates.::Kara: But I can't leave you. How am *I* going to protect the alien race?::Kara's Mom: You must go. It will all become clear to you in time.::Kara's Dad: This is not goodbye. We'll see you again in the hereafter. And Krypton will live on for you and your deeds. God speed, my brave child.::Kara's Mom: Remember Krypton will live in you, and when Kal-El sees your suit, he'll know what it means.
Lois Lane: Come on. You never take a night off. Sometimes I wonder if you give so much to the city that at the end of the day there's just nothing left for me.::Superman: Lois, look at me. This city is only worth protecting because you're in it.
Supergirl: I am Kara Zor-El. I was sent here from Argo City to find you.::Superman: No, that's not possible.::Supergirl: It happened. I don't know how I survived crashing onto this planet, but I did, and here I am, the last Kryptonian in the universe.::Superman: No, I am. I'm the last Kryptonian in the universe.
Lois Lane: What the hell. Hey, kid, didn't you know this town has already got a super hero?
Superman: Look, here's the deal. Earth is a very special planet, especially to us Kryptonians. That's why the elders sent us here. Great temperatures, perfect balance of oxygen levels... the works. And the gravitation's one-tenth of what it was on Krypton. You do feel it, don't you?::Supergirl: Yeah, I feel... weightless, like I could leap over a building.::Lois Lane: In a *single* bound?::Superman: [to Lois] Really?
Superman: Before you learn how to fly, you're gonna have to learn how to blend in. That's the most important part.::Supergirl: Did you say I could fly?::Superman: Yes, pretty cool, huh?::Supergirl: Cool. Okay, so what do the humans do?::Superman: Well, girls at your age probably are ready to start college, right now.::Supergirl: What's that?::Lois Lane: It's where you learn how to hold your liquor and uh... experiment with being a lesbian.::Superman: Lois!
Superman: [after Lois bends a frying pan over Kara's head] What the f...?::Lois Lane: What? We have to make sure it's really her, right?
Barbara Gordon: Hi, I'm Barbara Gordon and you must be Linda, right?::Linda Lee: Uh huh.::Barbara Gordon: Are you nervous about starting school, too?::Linda Lee: Uh huh.::Barbara Gordon: Oh, there's nothing to be worried about. I mean, I don't really know anybody, but I'm really good at making friends. Oh, and it's my first time living away from home. It's gonna be gr-r-reat! I mean, have you seen the dining hall?::Linda Lee: Uh, it's nice to meet you.::Barbara Gordon: Sorry, I'm a chatterbox, sometimes. I should just shut up. [catching a glimpse of the Supergirl costume in her bag] Oh, cute PJ's.::Linda Lee: Oh, thank you. [pushing the costume back into her bag] Uh, thanks.::Barbara Gordon: So, do you have any plans? I'm rushing for Tri-Pi, and it's their first pledge meeting, tonight! Honestly, I'm a little bit skeptical about the usefulness of the Greek organization of twenty-eleven. But, my mom was a Tri-Pi, her sister, you know, it's a whole family thing. Why don't you come join?::Linda Lee: Yeah. Yeah.::Barbara Gordon: Yeah, yeah. Cool beans. Sisters.
Natasha Luthor: [addressing the new pledges] Alright, you fucking cunts, welcome to Hell. This ain't the fucking Girl Scouts. This is the worldwide sisterhood of Pi Pi Pi, a national organization with ties to Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Silicon Valley, and even the fucking White House. And if any of you fuck up this opportunity, you're going to regret it for the rest of your goddamn lives. And if you don't thing you can handle it, the door is right over there, but if you think you have something to contribute to our fine organization, you listen, conform, do as you're told, you should fit right in.
Natasha Luthor: You, I can smell your fuckin' rotten ham wallet from all the way over here. What's your name?::Linda Lee: Linda Lee.::Natasha Luthor: Ohh, that's really cute. Do you like to suck a lot of dick, Linda Lee?