Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!think.com!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!stanford.edu!CAMIS.STANFORD.EDU!lane
From: lane@CAMIS.STANFORD.EDU (Christopher Lane)
Subject: re: NeXT humor
Message-ID: <MailManager.677803376.9952.lane@ssrg-next-1>
Sender: Christopher Lane <lane@ssrg-next-1.stanford.edu>
Organization: Internet-USENET Gateway at Stanford University
References: <1991Jun22.192542.9767@neon.Stanford.EDU>
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1991 21:42:56 GMT
Lines: 23

On Sat, 22 Jun 1991 19:25:42 GMT, grd@ccrma.stanford.edu wrote:
> Ever wonder if the mach magic number, 0xfeedface, is coincidental,
> or was someone displaying their humor?  On a similar note,
> when running gdb, I frequently find that stale pointers show
> up with the address 0xdeadbeef. Hmm.

Of course, using grep -e '^[a-f]*$' on the word files in /usr/dict you can
come up with all sorts of possibilities for MAGIC pointers:

    0xdadacafe (dada, a movement in art, & cafe)
    0xbeadbabe (bead babe)
    0xadeadace (a dead ace)
    0xabacaaba (abaca, banana fiber, & aba, sleeveless outer garment)

Using the 'x' as part of the phrase is even trickier:

    0xebecface (xebec, 3-masted sailing ship, & face -- aka 'figurehead')

With a little more work, and a lot more wasted time, you can probably even
come up with one that's a palindrome too!  (Or an anagram--or both! ;-)

- Christopher