YakShaving

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YakShaving v. intr. [MIT AI Lab, after 2000: orig. probably from a Ren &
Stimpy episode.] Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually
necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several
levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you're working on.

I expect that I will use this space to detail aspects of the Yaks I
shave. Exciting times.