Philip Greenspun used sarcasm. He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and satire.
Apropos: Monty Python's "Piranha Brothers" sketch, specifically, @ 1:35 of part 2 (but watch it all):
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64aVHzoSdaI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aihjThGabYY
(Or you can just read it: