[rfk-dev] Getting this train moving

[Eric S. Raymond]

Harry J Mason <hjm03r at ecs.soton.ac.uk>:
> On Wed, 31 Oct 2012, Eric S. Raymond wrote:
> 
> > I just implemented a compression/expansion behavior, with the robot
> > able to explore the new space after expansion.  If, while the resize
> > handler is trying to compress the playfield, an object lands on
> > another, the following message is omitted:
> >
> > 	 You crushed the simulation. And the robot. And the kitten
> >
> > Then the program exits.
> 
> I've always liked the quirk that robot and kitten are referred to without
> an article.

This is a significant point, and I almost changed it to do that just
now.

But when I spoke the two variants aloud to myself, I found that I like
the metrical effect of the extra unstressed syllables. It somehow
contributes to the desired feeling of tragedy and inexorable doom - I
think it might be the grinding quality of the triple parallel
construction that does this.

When I read the above line to my wife, her reaction was (and I quote):

"Nooooooooooooo!"
-- 
		<a href="http://www.catb.org/~esr/">Eric S. Raymond</a>