"MajorPower
-
Meeting at Midnight"
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Copyright
© 1999 - 2010
E. J. Guertin
&
Pioneer Magnetics, Inc.
[with apologies to Edgar Allan Poe]
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Once
at
midnight, scoping power
Needed by the day and hour,
A lonely, tired engineer looked just outside his office door.
Down the hallway, toward him striding,
Came a figure that was hiding
Strange components clearly fashioned by some long forgotten lore.
Odd
Design Work — To Be Sure.
Hiding
them
in ways intentional,
But his body almost two-dimensional,
All the parts he tried to carry were transparent to the core.
Some said "heat sink," some "transistor,"
Here and there a spare resistor.
His arms and legs, though strong, looked just like sticks upon
the shore.
Sticks
And Sinews — Nothing More.
The
Engineer, his
limbs all shaking,
Concerned about the system breaking,
Saw in this oddly human figure a ray of hope upon that score.
On his body, carved with great care,
MajorPower was inscribed there.
This could be, thought the engineer, the solution I’ve
looked for.
A
Little Time — A Major Score.
Stepping
through
his office doorway
Into the dark, deserted hallway,
He decided to meet MajorPower face-to-face upon the floor.
"Tell me, you elongated figure,
Though I’ve tested it with rigor,
Is my system doomed to fail? Is it reliable to the core?"
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "Nevermore".
"Ambiguity
is
not appropriate!"
Said the engineer, his voice irate.
"All I want is just a plain and simple answer – nothing more.
Suppose I factor in some power,
Then boost the amperes by the hour,
And set a price that is affordable by every user rich and poor?"
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "Nevermore".
"Tell
me,
then,
O haunted being,
What it is that I’m not seeing,
Why have you come to visit me, at midnight, near my office door?
What missing piece to this odd puzzle
Has brought you here upon the double,
Your glowing eyes, intense and focused, burning into my heart’s
core?"
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "Something More".
"From
those
weird, obscure components,
Which, if any, makes some sense?
Give me, please, I’m begging you, the key I’m searching for."
With no delay, and almost smiling,
In a manner most beguiling,
MajorPower chose a part that never was in view before.
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "Less Is More".
Reaching
out his
hand, so tired,
Thinking he would soon be fired,
The engineer decided that he couldn’t do much more.
MajorPower , like giving alms,
Placed the part in his sweaty palms,
And with a friendly nod and wink, walked quickly past the door.
A
Spectral Presence — Nothing More.
The
Words "Hot
Plug" described it well:
Black and bold and sound as a bell.
The engineer then realized his system he could now restore.
His hand, the Hot Plug safe inside,
Waved goodbye, as in mid-stride
MajorPower turned to him, a ghostly shadow on the floor.
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "You’ve Won
the War".
"Thanks,
mysterious
friend, for bringing
This to me, my heart is singing;
And now, just one more question, tell me truly, I implore.
Will my system still be working,
Despite the duties I’ve been shirking?
Are failure and the dreaded downtime waiting just
outside my door?"
Quoth
MajorPowerÔ: "Nevermore".
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Thank
you for taking time to read about Major Power's Halloween
exploits. Keep in mind, however, that he is
a totally benign spirit.
Let's
say you are as stouthearted as the development engineer
in the poem. Are you ready to meet Major Power's
evil twin, the System Shutdown demon?
And are you prepared for what his inexorable will
could do to your brain?
If you are, then...

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