rain dance

n. 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 boards, 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 ; see
also casting the runes.

