[2455] in Depressing_Thoughts
no more magic
rlcarr@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (rlcarr@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Tue Oct 22 08:33:56 1991
_The New Hacker's Dictionary_ (a great book, btw) has
apparently left out one of my favorite definitions.
The 1st edition ('83) had, under "magic", a hilarious
story about a switch found connected to a PDP-10 (I think).
The swtich had two settings, labelled "magic" and "more magic."
It was set in the "more magic" position. Someone flipped the
switch. The machine crashed. They put it back and rebooted.
Flipped it. Crash. Return the swtich and reboot. This time
they traced the wires. Well wire, as they found that only one wire
was connected to the switch, asnd furthermore, that wire was connected
to chassis ground. Flicked the switch -- crash. They desoldered
the swtich and took the switch home, and of course, out of superstition
(or respect :-) the swtich was left on the "more magic" position even
when lying intertly on a workbench back at home.
This delightful little anecdote is *not* in the new book under
"magic". Am I misremembering what word it was actually under,
or have Raymond and Steele deleted the story? I hope not... :(
