![[COA v.3]](asr-coa3.gif)
![[COA v.2]](asr-coa2.gif)
Second iteration: "Sable, upon a bend sinister gules a wavy etherkiller or; riband of "Non ex transverso sed deorsum." This is a variation on the original by D. Joseph Creighton; IMHO it needed more sable and less azure. Colour of the bar sinister and the etherkiller is still quite debatable.
Third iteration: "Sable, upon a bend sinister argent a wavy etherkiller gules; riband of "Non ex transverso sed deorsum." This was done after the SCA Heraldry rules were explained to me by Thomas W. Strong Jr.[2]; evidently black next to red is a no-no, but either is good next to silver or gold. That's supposed to be silver there, BTW.
![[COA v.4]](asr-coa4.gif)
Fourth iteration: "Sable, upon a bend sinister argent a wavy etherkiller sable; riband of "Non ex transverso sed deorsum." The red etherkiller was maybe a bit gaudy (although having something in the international warning colour might have been a good idea). Here we have something close to the natural colours; at least in this shop, all the power and thinnet cables are black. Heraldry does allow for "an etherkiller proper", but silvery prongs and BNC connectors wouldn't show up against a light background.
![[COA v.5]](asr-coa5.gif)
Fifth iteration: "Sable, upon a bend sinister or a wavy etherkiller sable; riband of "Non ex transverso sed deorsum." D. Joseph Creighton suggested that the warning effect I wanted with the red etherkiller could better be conveyed by changing the bend to "police-tape yellow". I like it.
[1] Gzipped XCF files are provided for anyone who wants to tear this apart in The GIMP and recolourize or otherwise carry the idea further.
[2] He goes on to note that they're "recreating the middle ages wearing polyethelene armor and carrying swords that are wrapped in duct tape", so I'm not really in trouble for using store-bought 2x4s in my trebuchet.
This version by Anthony DeBoer.
I therefore invoke the sable hue, and charge it with all that is sysadminning: the hours, the moods, the black hearts of all involved (be they BOFH, PFY, PHB, cow orker, vendor, or customer), the black wool of the sacrificial goat, the black wax of the candles, the black ink of The Fscking Manual, the black sky of the soi-disant blue room, the blackness of mission-critical blinkylights, and the black substance of Guinness.