rofl

#!/bin/bash
# An animated helicopter that carries a crate with the label of your choice.
# Usage: rofl [label]
#
# Helicopter image used without permission from
# http://xcski.com/~ptomblin/planes.txt (I did edit it to point right instead
# of left and to add the box.)
#############################################################################

# Some useful variables:
########################
# The rotor at rest
A0="    _________"
# The rotor in motion, part 1
A1="    ----_____"
# The rotor in motion, part 2
A2="    _____----"
# The current rotor
A=A0
# How many lines to move the cursor up or down to get to/from the rotor
OFF=8
# The duration in seconds between frames
D=0.1
# The label on the crate (pad or truncate as needed to fit the crate)
N=$(printf "%9.9s" $1)
# Spaces, so it can move to the right.
S=""

# The next section uses some control characters:
# \x1b[nA   Move the cursor up n lines
# \x1b[nB   Move the cursor down n lines
# \r        Move the cursor to the beginning of the line

for i in `seq 1 10`; do
if [ "$A" == "$A1" ]; then A=$A2; else A=$A1; fi
S="${S} "

# The copter!
cat<<ROFL
$S$A
$S()____.-'-,  
$S """--.____) 
$S      -'--'- 
$S     ____|____
$S    |         |
$S    |$N|
$S    |_________|
ROFL
# Move the cursor up to the line with the rotor
echo -en "\x1b[${OFF}A"
sleep $D    
done

# Set the rotor at rest.
echo -en "\r$S$A0"

# Move the cursor back to the bottom left, and add a newline
# because I think it looks nicer.
echo -en "\x1b[${OFF}B\r\n"