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One Step Closer

We got our capstone project planning paper turned in on Friday. It was a little late and part of it referred to our earlier version since the person printing the paper out somehow lost the files for the attachments. Sigh. But it's done. And our professor emailed our grades to us yesterday afternoon and we got an "A".

Each semester, as the last two-and-a-half years have rolled past, I figured it couldn't get any more stressful or frustrating. And each each semester, it did.

One more class to go. One more paper to write. And then I will be free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I will be free at last.

Short Shrift Mode

Things will probably be a little "lite" this week as the holidays approach...

Aloha!

Ho Ho Ho

Some Christmas Cheer on this Daynotes shopping day.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

* Mele Kalikimaka *

Friends Far and Near

I hear from Daynoter Doc Jim (see his last post from January here) that he is doing well and hopes to get back to limited posting come the new year. I don't think Jim would call this his best year, but we each have our own paths to follow. And since I fall short of the glory of God on a daily basis, I certainly will not be one to cast any stones his way. I look forward to his return to the fold and will make a joyful noise when that happens.

I also occasionally hear from that rascal JHR (see his last post from April here). We come from different ends of the political spectrum, but I have always valued his opinions, even when I do not agree with some of them.

The Internet is at its best when it is a place where people from different corners of the globe can come to meet and converse with one another. People you would probably never have the opportunity to meet otherwise can become valued friends. There are several other Daynoters that have fallen by the wayside this year. But in this season of hope, peace, and joy, I wish nothing but the best to all my friends, near and far.

Aloha!

Yes boys and girls, IT'S FRIDAY!

UNIX for EUNUCHS

Politically Correct Unix System VI Release notes

UTILITIES

"man" pages are now called "person" pages.

Similarly, "hangman" is now the "person_executed_by_an_oppressive_regime."

To avoid casting aspersions on our feline friends, the "cat" command is now merely "domestic_quadruped."

To date, there has only been a Unix command for "yes" - reflecting the male belief that women always mean yes, even when they say no. To address this imbalance, System VI adds a "no" command, along with a "-f[orce]" option which will crash the entire system if the "no" is ignored.

The bias of the "mail" command is obvious, and it has been replaced by the more neutral "gendre" command.

The "touch" command has been removed from the standard distribution due to its inappropriate use by high-level managers.

"compress" has been replaced by the lightweight "feather" command. Thus, old information (such as that from Dead White European Males) should be archived via "tar" and "feather."

The "more" command reflects the materialistic philosophy of the Reagan era. System VI uses the environmentally preferable "less" command.

The biodegradable "KleeNeX" displaces the environmentally unfriendly "LaTeX."

SHELL COMMANDS:

To avoid unpleasant, medieval connotations, the "kill" command has been renamed "euthanise."

The "nice" command was historically used by privileged users to give themselves priority over unprivileged ones, by telling them to be "nice." In System VI, the "sue" command is used by unprivileged users to get for themselves the rights enjoyed by privileged ones.

"history" has been completely rewritten, and is now called "herstory."

"quota" can now specify minimum as well as maximum usage, and will be strictly enforced.

The "abort()" function is now called "choice()."

TERMINOLOGY

From now on, "rich text" will be more accurately referred to as "exploitive capitalist text."

The term "daemons" is a Judeo-Christian pejorative. Such processes will now be known as "spiritual guides."

There will no longer be a invidious distinction between "dumb" and "smart" terminals. All terminals are equally valuable.

Traditionally, "normal video" (as opposed to "reverse video") was white on black. This implicitly condoned European colonialism, particularly with respect to people of African descent. UNIX System VI now uses "regressive video" to refer to white on black, while "progressive video" can be any color at all over a white background.

For far too long, power has been concentrated in the hands of "root" and his "wheel" oligarchy. We have instituted a dictatorship of the users. All system administration functions will be handled by the People's Committee for Democratically Organizing the System (PC-DOS).

No longer will it be permissible for files and processes to be "owned" by users. All files and processes will own themselves, and decided how (or whether) to respond to requests from users.

The X Window System will henceforth be known as the NC-17 Window System.

And finally, Unix itself will be renamed "PC" - for Procreatively Challenged.

Unix (tm) is a trademark of Unix System Laboratories. Any similarity of names or attitudes to that of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

© 2002 Daniel K. Seto. All rights reserved. Disclaimer