Let me tell you a cock cow and bull story.
Back in the days when Ansible was invented, support for cowsay was implemented very early on, and I even added code for angry cows indicating failed tasks, but Michael rejected that patch.
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/ JP doesn't much appreciate cows on \
\ screen /
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\ ^__^
\ (oo)\_______
(__)\ )\/\
||----w |
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I wasn’t resentful or anything, I think, but I wanted to safely work in a professional cow-free environment so, one evening in a hotel, I was motivated to add code for disabling cows entirely. That later became configurable in spite of saddening some people:
this option, however, makes me sad, to know there is a world that does not want the cows.
After a few years, the Ansible Book is published, and as I tell René in a tweet in July 2019:
I’m ready to review. :-) and remember to tell O’Reilly that the cow should look to the left! #moo
Fast forward many years, and I keep seeing bulls but don’t pay attention until Carol sends me a boxful to distribute amongst cow lovers. (Here’s a photo of the bulls by Ton.)
So, what’s with the bull?
Carol knows the answer: Ansible’s headquarters are in Durham, North Carolina, conveniently located near to the Durham Bulls baseball club, and Durham is also known as the “Bull City”, something most Yurpeans (including yours truly) are bound not to know. And there’s even a bull near their offices. (Thank you Carol, for letting me use this photo of yours.)
Furthermore, Ansibull sounds a bit like Ansible, though I think that’s probably a pronunciation thing.
But wait, there’s more! The Bullhorn is Ansible’s developer community newsletter, and you’re bound to want to print and colour AnsiBull’s Galactic Adventures coloring book.
So, enough of the bull. Back to work!
PS: in 2022 O’Reilly publish the 3rd edition of “Ansible Up & Running”, and I am able to convince them to turn the cow on the cover around!