Linux Definitions: 568 of 1105 |
MAFIA, n:
[Acronym for Mechanized Applications in Forced Insurance
Accounting.] An extensive network with many on-line and offshore
subsystems running under OS, DOS, and IOS. MAFIA documentation is
rather scanty, and the MAFIA sales office exhibits that testy
reluctance to bona fide inquiries which is the hallmark of so many DP
operations. From the little that has seeped out, it would appear that
MAFIA operates under a non-standard protocol, OMERTA, a tight-lipped
variant of SNA, in which extended handshakes also perform complex
security functions. The known timesharing aspects of MAFIA point to a
more than usually autocratic operating system. Screen prompts carry an
imperative, nonrefusable weighting (most menus offer simple YES/YES
options, defaulting to YES) that precludes indifference or delay.
Uniquely, all editing under MAFIA is performed centrally, using a
powerful rubout feature capable of erasing files, filors, filees, and
entire nodal aggravations.
-- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary"
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Linux Definitions: 569 of 1105 |
Magary's Principle:
When there is a public outcry to cut deadwood and fat from any
government bureaucracy, it is the deadwood and the fat that do
the cutting, and the public's services are cut.
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Linux Definitions: 570 of 1105 |
Magnet, n.:
Something acted upon by magnetism.
Magnetism, n.:
Something acting upon a magnet.
The two definition immediately foregoing are condensed from the works of
one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject with
a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human knowledge.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
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Linux Definitions: 571 of 1105 |
Magnocartic, adj.:
Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping carts.
-- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends"
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Linux Definitions: 572 of 1105 |
Magpie, n.:
A bird whose theivish disposition suggested to someone that it
might be taught to talk.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
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Linux Definitions: 573 of 1105 |
Maier's Law:
If the facts do not conform to the theory, they must be disposed of.
-- N.R. Maier, "American Psychologist", March 1960
Corollaries:
(1) The bigger the theory, the better.
(2) The experiment may be considered a success if no more than
50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to
obtain a correspondence with the theory.
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Linux Definitions: 574 of 1105 |
Main's Law:
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
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Linux Definitions: 575 of 1105 |
Maintainer's Motto:
If we can't fix it, it ain't broke.
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Linux Definitions: 576 of 1105 |
Major premise:
Sixty men can do sixty times as much work as one man.
Minor premise:
A man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds.
Conclusion:
Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"
Secondary Conclusion:
Do you realize how many holes there would be if people
would just take the time to take the dirt out of them?
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Linux Definitions: 577 of 1105 |
Majority, n.:
That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law.
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