Easter Eggs --- what are yours?

[KB1GNI]

Not mine, but we used to have an injection molding press with a TI 520C and a 2-line vacuum fluorescent canned message display. At seemingly random times, and not very often, the screen would begin flashing "Help, Mr. Wizard!" for a few seconds, then begin working normally again. I never did figure out what triggered that message to be called up - it was before I got into the programming end of things.

 

[rpoet]

Just thought of another one:

I had to operate a PC-based stage automation system for about a year, and when an axis would error when commanded to move (quite often), it would throw an "AUX error." That told the operator (me) precisely nothing. Complaints to the vendor to give us more info went nowhere.

One day, while digging though the computer, I found the .txt file that listed the errors the software would show in the "Info" window. I changed "AUX error" to "PC LOAD LETTER." Anyone who's seen the movie Office Space will understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QQdNbvSGok

To my knowledge, that .txt file is still there, several years later.


-rpoet

 

[Goody]

A fuse for a water valve would randomly blow. Weeks would often pass, then it would blow again. Everything checked out fine and after replacing it, it would be ok for a few more weeks.
The only trouble was, it often liked to blow in the middle of the night and I was dragged out of my bed to repair the fault.
So, I wired an input to the plc from the fuse and programmed a screen on the HMI to tell them which fuse had blown. I decided that this was sparse information - so I filled the screen with a full procedure of what to do. This included telling them where the spare fuses were kept. ie spare fuses can be found in the maintenance stores, shelf 6B.

I never heard another thing about it for a few years until one day........

I was altering the plc program and an operative came wandering in and was marveling at the technology, the laptop, the HMI the plc etc.
He said 'These things are brilliant, I am constantly amazed how far modern science has come'
I nodded in agreement
He continued ' Do you know, the other day the alarm went off and I came in here to see what it was and the screen said a fuse had blown for the water valve.
I continued to nod in agreement.
he said 'but listen to this, not only did it tell me which fuse had blown, it told me whereabouts exactly in the stores the spares were kept'

He wandered back out saying 'bloody marvelous things them'