AlsaMixer's poetic error message from Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark"
When I mindlessly unplugged a USB audio card from my laptop while viewing its mixer settings in AlsaMixer, I was surprised by the following poetic error message: [1]
![In the midst of the word he was trying to say, In the midst of his laughter and glee, He had softly and suddenly vanished away— For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.](../../images/alsamixer-error-sound-device-unplugged-boojum.png)
These lines are actually the final verse of Lewis Carroll's whimsical poem The Hunting of the Snark:
In the midst of the word he was trying to say, In the midst of his laughter and glee, He had softly and suddenly vanished away— For the Snark was a Boojum, you see. -- Lewis Carroll, "The Hunting of the Snark"
Initially, I didn't even notice the bright red error message The sound device was unplugged. Press F6 to select another sound card. The poetic lines were enough to convey what had happened and they put a smile on my face.
Please, developers, keep putting a smile on my face when something unexpected happens.