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It's old (my copy is from 1995), but I just came across it again in my files, and thought it should be shared with DU, since it's very funny.
Enjoy!
PSHIFT(1) USER COMMANDS PSHIFT(1)
NAME pshift - paradigm shift utility
SYNOPSIS pshift <-zzeitgeist> <-rragelev> <-v> <-c> <-wn> <+|-n>
DESCRIPTION The pshift operator performs a paradigm shift on its input stream within the context of the current or specified zeitgeist.
OPTIONS -z Specify the zeitgeist context. May be specified here or from the environment variable $ZEITGEIST.
Supported values of zeitgeist are judeo_christian (default), postcommunist, new_age, and when_god_was_a_woman.
-r Specify rage level. Acceptable values of ragelev are ennui (default), deep_seated, and consuming.
-v Set to verbose mode. Normally pshift operates silently; in verbose mode it publishes a 500+ page bestseller entitled "Rethinking in the Age", and then begins soliciting honoraria until the operator types ctrl-c. On some systems it runs for Congress.
-c Set to collective IO. Normally pshift takes its input from stdin and outputs to stdout; in collective mode it takes its input from the Collective Unconscious and writes to the Body Politic.
-wn Specify first, second, third or fourth wave. Acceptable values for n are 0,1,2 or 3, with 2 (third wave) being the default.
physical waves 0,1,2,3; see Sun Technical Manual for details.]
+|-n Specifies the number of times to prepend 'post' to the zeitgeist context, if positive, or 'pre' if negative. The default is 11.
EXAMPLES
source $DEITY | pshift -zpostcommunist -rdeep_seated -v +1
On most systems, the above command will output a hardcover volume called "Rethinking God in the Post-Postcommunist Era", in which the irrelevence of erstwhile religious concepts is seen to have triggered a global, deep-seated rage vis-a-vis traditional sociopolitical norms leading to a premature breakdown of emerging postsoviet infrastructure.
pshift -znew_age -rennui
The above command produces no output, but privately processes a vague discontent which it will share if its space is honored. May be redirected to /dev/null.
pshift -c -w3 -1
Taking its input from the collective unconscious, the above command rejects the failed socioeconomic policies of the last thirty years and replaces them with a futurist, fourth wave polemic of traditional values, the two-parent family, and the supremacy of the private sector that was the foundation of the American utopia of the 1950s. Use a prepend value of -2 to restore the American utopia of the early Industrial Age, a value of -3 to restore the European utopia of the Enlightenment, -4 for catholic hegemony, etc. (note: Requires grass root permission. In verbose mode, it may also require a $4 million advance.)
SEE ALSO backlash(1)
BUGS You must have root permission to use consuming rage.
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