MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Merry XMas ya basts <nt>

> 'Twas The Night Before MAME
> or: A Visit From St. Nicola (Mickola?)
> by Stiletto
> ---------------------------
>
> 'Twas the night before a MAME upload, and all through the list;
> Not a member was posting, not even Mish!
> The sourcecode was sent to Github with care,
> In hopes that St. Nicola soon would be there;
>
> The "emu-newzboys" were holed up all snug with their sites,
> While visions of chip decaps lit their messageboards with lights!
> And I, Stiletto, in my torn jeans and cap
> Had been researching tech stuff, and talking to hap;
>
> When out in the 'Net, there arose such a clatter
> I sprang to my desk to see what was the matter.
> Away into Windows I flew, acting rash,
> Opening the browser, and disabling Flash.
>
> The URL on my homepage that was as white as snow
> Linked to MAMEDEV's Git, as fast as it could go,
> To that repo, where what to my eyes should appear,
> But a cool speedy Vespa with the MAMEDEV team (and beer),
>
> With a slick little driver so lively and quick
> I knew in a moment it must be St. Nic'!
> More rapid than eagles, his fingers they flew,
> And he chanted and cursed til' his face had turned blue;
>
> "Now, Olivier! Now, Micko! Now Vas, Robbbert and Osso!
> On, 'Belmont! On, Duke! On, Moogle and Angelo!
> From the top of the server and its firewall,
> Now code away, type away, hack away all!"
>
> As Cheetos that into their hungry mouths fly,
> When finding encryption, they blew it out of the sky.
> So onto the server the C++ code it flew,
> With a zip-file of toys and St. Nicola too.
>
> And then, at a speed that was really quite keen,
> Those coders and hackers arrived on the scene.
> As I moved the mouse with my hand and began scrolling down,
> Onto the webpage St. Nicola leapt with a bound.
>
> He was dressed all in khakis, from his head to his feet,
> And their tattered appearance made him look rather beat.
> A bundle of arcade PCBs he had flung on his back,
> And he looked like he'd taken more than one hit of "smack."
>
> His eyes -- how they twinkled! His pimples, how merry!
> His cheeks were like ashes, and his knuckles were hairy!
> His droll little mouth had drawn up in a bow,
> And the beard on his chin looked like it needed a mow.
>
> The stump of a hash pipe he held tight in his teeth,
> And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
> He had a broad face and a little beer belly,
> And his breath reeked as if he had eaten something smelly.
>
> He was skinny as a rail and looked pleased with himself,
> And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
> But a look at my wristwatch, since I felt somewhat dead,
> Let me know that at 3:30 AM I should be in bed.
>
> He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
> And compiled the source code; then turned with a jerk,
> Then uploading the MAME build before I began to doze,
> And giving a nod, off the repo they rose;
>
> He sprang to his scooter, to the MAMEDEV team gave a whistle,
> And away they all left with the speed of a missile.
> But I heard him exclaim, ere they drove out of sight,
> "ENJOY THE NEW MAME, GUYS, AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT!"
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> - Stiletto
>
> Almost forgot! It's been that kind of year...
>
> Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus and Happy
> December 25th... in other words, Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night!