making a run at the yak wall

Eric Wilhelm on 2008-05-25T18:59:08

Does "making a run at the ... wall" mean that you put your head down and run straight into it, or that you're attempting to somehow run up the wall?

I would think that the best way to get over a wall would be with a ladder, but the brain damage resulting from running into the wall with your head (or trying to run up it and falling on said head) could make that a difficult concept (particularly as a metaphor (especially when mixing metaphors with smelly, hairy things.))

Sigh. I'm just procrastinating on the creation of some fake XML data for an automated test, which will be fed through a fake http server (set via fake config) and stored in a fake data store, while broadcasting the event on a fake dbus. By the time all of the fakery is in place and tested, I'm almost sure to have lost all motivation due to the prolonged non-progress.

Thus, the "Wilhelm/Clarke Law":

Testing any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from yak shaving.


Bean's Law

mr_bean on 2008-05-30T00:46:28

I think yak-shaving is a legitimate area that software engineering theorists should be encouraged to work on.

Another law about yak shaving: The older your distribution, the hairier your yak.

I'm running Fedora Core 2.