field circus

n. [a derogatory pun on field service ] The field service organization of
any hardware manufacturer, but originally DEC. There is an entire genre of
jokes about field circus engineers: Q:Howcanyourecognizeafieldcircusengineer
withaflattire? A:He'schangingonetireatatimetoseewhichoneisflat.
Q:Howcanyourecognizeafieldcircusengineer whoisoutofgas?
A:He'schangingonetireatatimetoseewhichoneisflat. Q:Howcanyoutellit's your
fieldcircusengineer? A:Thespareisflat,too. [See Easter egging for additional
insight on these jokes.] There is also the Field Circus Cheer (from the old
plan file for DEC on MIT-AI): Maynard!Maynard! Don'tmesswithus!
We'remeanandwe'retough! Ifyougetusconfused We'llscrewupyourstuff. (DEC's
service HQ, still extant under the HP regime, is located in Maynard,
Massachusetts.

