yoyo mode

yoyo mode n.  The state in which the system is said to be
   when it rapidly alternates several times between being up and being
   down.  Interestingly (and perhaps not by coincidence), many
   hardware vendors give out free yoyos at Usenix exhibits.

   Sun Microsystems gave out logoized yoyos at SIGPLAN '88.  Tourists
   staying at one of Atlanta's most respectable hotels were
   subsequently treated to the sight of 200 of the country's top
   computer scientists testing yo-yo algorithms in the lobby.