Why Q7?

Well, why not? Actually Q7 was my favorite variable when coding in BASIC. After I stopped using BASIC I kept using Q7 for variables, file names, hosts, etc. When it came time for me to come up with a name for my consulting business, Q7 was the obvious choice. No one else would be using it, it was distinct, and I came up with a "neat" logo for it.

A while back I rediscovered where I had picked up the Q7 variable, and why it became so prevalent in my life. In high school I read a book named "The Solar Cat Book" that discussed the various solar properties of cats and contained a formula to calculate the solar cat evaluation number (SCEN) for a given cat. This was also the beginning of the computer age, so the author included a BASIC program to perform the calculation. In that program was a variable named Q7 that somehow summed up the "basic" essence of BASIC programming to me. The name had no meaning, it was used in a tortured logic flow, and given some cleanup it wasn't even necessary. But, the program did work and we all know that's the most important thing :-). If you like, you can calculate your cat's SCEN.

So, that is the story of Q7. I'm sure I'll live to regret it some day...