The appropriate title for a male witch is a witch. Despite the historical association of the term "witch" with femininity, witchcraft is a gender-neutral practice. In contemporary use, the term "witch" can be applied to any person, regardless of their gender, who practices witchcraft or identifies with the label. It is important to recognize that gender does not dictate someone's ability or right to practice witchcraft. Just as women can be witches, so too can men. The term "warlock" is sometimes used as a male-specific counterpart to "witch," but it carries connotations of betrayal and is generally not favored within the modern witchcraft community.
The term "warlock" is sometimes used as a male-specific counterpart to "witch," but it carries connotations of betrayal and is generally not favored within the modern witchcraft community. Instead, embracing gender inclusivity and recognizing that anyone can be a witch regardless of their gender is the most appropriate approach. Witchcraft is a personal and spiritual practice that transcends gender, and the title "witch" can be embraced by all those who identify with it, regardless of their gender identity.
Magic word adventuge
Hidden XYZZY in printer firmware
I have worked with United Barcode Industries "UBI" programmable bar code printers for many years. UBI was bought by Intermec in the 1990's and Intermec was bought by Honeywell a few years ago.
These printers use a basic-like language called Fingerprint. It is interactive or interpreted.
There were "SYSTEM" commands of the form SYSTEM and a number in the interactive part and SYSTEM 1138 had some special meaning. I'm betting the 1138 came from THX 1138.
SYSTEM 0, SYSTEM 10, SYSTEM 20 and SYSTEM 40 did things like memory dumps, listing loaded modules, etc. None of this was documented for the developer community.
Intermec came out with what is known as the XP series of printers (no relation to Windows XP) which had faster processors and more memory. These were flash ROM-based machines whereas the UBI printers used ROM chips and battery backed RAM.
I had to see what commands survived in the XP platform and to my surprise in one of the SYSTEM commands I received the prompt "Enter Meta Guru password:"
Gee, were my Amiga days coming back?
One brief flash of lightning later I entered XYZZY and the printer responded with "Meta Guru mode ON."
After rebooting the printer I entered XYZZY in Fingerprint interactive mode and the printer responded with "Nothing happens."
It's still there to this day on the latest printers.
You find mentions of it everywhere. 'XYZZY' (along with other phrases from the game such as ". you are in a twisty maze of passageways, all alike") can be found in computer documentation, classroom discussions, and in many other surprising contexts.
Origins of XYZZY
But where did XYZZY come from? Is it totally a nonsense word, or was there some hidden meaning? There are two stories on its origins.
Bernie Cosell, a friend of Crowther's at the time Adventure was originally coded, says that he was unaware of any special meaning for the word:
"Will Crowther says he made up the term out of whole cloth when he was putting ADVENT together.
"As for 'out of whole cloth,' I meant just what the idiom means: he devised this little pseudo-puzzle and needed a magic word to make it happen, and he just made one up. It has no antecedent nor is it an acronym or anything like that."
XYZZY: a mathematics 'in-joke?'
But Ron Hunsinger believes there is a more meaningful origin to the 'XYZZY' word:
"'Cross products?' you ask.
"Indeed. The cross product of two three-dimensional vectors is the vector whose length is the area of the parallelogram with the two given vectors as adjacent sides, and direction perpendicular to the plane of that parallelogram.
"There is a 'simple' formula for the cross product. If A = B x C, where A, B, and C are the vectors (Ax, Ay, Az), (Bx, By, Bz), and (Cx, Cy, Cz), then:
Ax = By Cz - Bz Cy
Ay = Bz Cx - Bx Cz
Az = Bx Cy - By Cx
"Notice that the second and third equations can be obtained from the first by simply rotating the subscripts, x -> y -> z -> x. The problem, of course, is how to remember the first equation.
"You do that by remembering the 'magic word,' consisting of the subscripts, taken in order: xyzzy.
"And that, friends, is the origin of the magic word xyzzy. This use of the word was around long before Adventure (or Colossal Caves or whatever name you knew it by) was ever written.
"When I first played Adventure, finding 'xyzzy' in it was like finding an old friend in an unlikely place. Or an inside joke."
After rebooting the printer I entered XYZZY in Fingerprint interactive mode and the printer responded with "Nothing happens."
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Reviews for "Celebrating Male Magic: Finding an Appropriate Title for Male Practitioners"
- Samantha - ★☆☆☆☆
I did not enjoy "What is the appropriate title for a male witch" at all. The writing felt shallow and lacked any depth or originality. The author's attempt to address gender stereotypes fell flat, with predictable and cliché characters. The storyline was uninteresting and failed to hold my attention. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointing and forgettable read.
- Michael - ★★☆☆☆
I had high hopes for "What is the appropriate title for a male witch," but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The concept had potential, but the execution was lacking. The protagonist was one-dimensional, and the supporting characters felt underdeveloped. The plotline was predictable and followed a formulaic structure. While the writing style was decent, it wasn't enough to redeem the weaknesses of the book. Overall, this was a mediocre read that failed to engage me.
- Jennifer - ★☆☆☆☆
I found "What is the appropriate title for a male witch" to be highly disappointing. The dialogue was stilted, and the characters lacked depth and complexity. The plot felt disjointed and poorly paced, making it difficult to invest in the story. Additionally, the attempts at humor consistently fell flat, leaving me cringing rather than laughing. Overall, I was left with a sense of wasted potential and would not recommend this book to others.
- David - ★☆☆☆☆
"What is the appropriate title for a male witch" was a book that failed to captivate me. The writing felt amateurish and lacked polish. The characters felt flat and lacked any real development. The dialogue was often forced and unrealistic, making it difficult to connect with the story. The plotline meandered aimlessly without any clear direction. Overall, this book was a disappointment and not worth the time or investment.