PPIG Workshop: 2009
To complement the end results of PPIG Limerick for Limerick competition, I must to share an abridged version of the competition rules. Many thanks to Dermot Shinners-Kennedy for composing this fine opus.
To participate you must try writing verse for a while
Adhering to a special type of rhythm and rhyming style
Because of these tricks
The verses are called limericks
And really good ones can make people break into a smile
The PPIG community has people with all sorts of degrees
And maybe some of them can pen limericks with ease
But by way of example
We offer this little sample
As a guide, or for some maybe a tease
Technically speaking these sample verses are not right
They rhyme correct but have rhythm errors that are slight
So write just for fun
Five rhyming lines of pun
And we promise to keep verse-pedants well out of sight
It would be great if from every attendee
We received works we could call literary
So we invite you to submit
Stylish verses with some wit
About the 21st psychology of programming jamboree
To “PPIG things” the verse should try to make reference
Well to begin with that is definitely our preference
But we will not inhibit
A literary exhibit
Which to our guidelines shows a degree of indifference
For example, when listening to an inspired paper or keynote
It may trigger recollection of an amusing anecdote
Just jot down five lines
With appropriate rhymes
If people like it you have our permission to gloat
Or maybe you are a conference paper presenter
With the insight of a creative inventor
In your presentation implant
A rhyming five-line rant
That encapsulates what your presentation has as its centre
There is no limit to the number of entries you can submit
But try to keep them all amusing and if possible literate
For tenure they won’t count
But depending on the amount
You may discover you have a compulsive verse writing habit
Rewarding the best entries is a problem that arises
And for this the conference organisers are offering two prizes
One for verse in presentations
The other for gestalt observations
The best wordsmiths can look forward to some little surprises
It’s the judge’s decision that will finally end it
And unfortunately some entrants may be offended
If you need to whinge or moan
Please try to do it when alone
Because we want to make sure the prize-winners feel totally splendid
So whilst in Limerick indulging your favourite research antic
Having travelled across or towards the Atlantic
Use all your common sense
Exploit real or artificial intelligence
And let’s make the number of verse submissions absolutely gigantic