I was trying to find the rest set of libraries and tools to handle a Java web services project, I swear! DropWizard looked like the right stack – Jersey 2.0, Jetty HTTP server, documentation showing bundling as a fat jar, means to readily log and get timing information, examples for integration of authentication…  the tipping point of awesomeness was when they proposed adding a banner.txt into a particular folder.  “Normal” projects would list things like version information for the service, who to contact for support, etc.  THIS project suggested including ASCII art and then gave a link to an ASCII art generator.

Here are a couple of examples I enjoyed:

* tattoo idea for a software geek who enjoys weightlifting

* fun faces leaving a message for my kids

* an incantation to defeat a software error

I think every day, I’d need the banner.txt to built out from some random message, just to see who noticed….