rain dance
1. Any ceremonial action taken to correct a hardware problem,
with the expectation that nothing will be accomplished. This
especially applies to reseating {printed circuit board}s,
reconnecting cables, etc. "I can't boot up the machine.
We'll have to wait for Greg to do his rain dance."
2. Any arcane sequence of actions performed with computers or
software in order to achieve some goal; the term is usually
restricted to rituals that include both an {incantation} or
two and physical activity or motion.
Compare {magic}, {voodoo programming}, {black art}, {cargo
cult programming}, {wave a dead chicken}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-02-09)