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1.1 ! root 1: !07/11 PDP a ni deppart m'I !pleH ! 2: %% ! 3: (1) Alexander the Great was a great general. ! 4: (2) Great generals are forewarned. ! 5: (3) Forewarned is forearmed. ! 6: (4) Four is an even number. ! 7: (5) Four is certainly an odd number of arms for a man to have. ! 8: (6) The only number that is both even and odd is infinity. ! 9: ! 10: Therefore, Alexander the Great had an infinite number of arms. ! 11: %% ! 12: (1) Everything depends. ! 13: (2) Nothing is always. ! 14: (3) Everything is sometimes. ! 15: %% ! 16: $100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at ! 17: which time it will be worth absolutely nothing. ! 18: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 19: %% ! 20: 101 USES FOR A DEAD MICROPROCESSOR ! 21: (1) Scarecrow for centipedes ! 22: (2) Dead cat brush ! 23: (3) Hair barrettes ! 24: (4) Cleats ! 25: (5) Self-piercing earrings ! 26: (6) Fungus trellis ! 27: (7) False eyelashes ! 28: (8) Prosthetic dog claws ! 29: . ! 30: . ! 31: . ! 32: (99) Window garden harrow (pulled behind Tonka tractors) ! 33: (100) Killer velcro ! 34: 101. Currency ! 35: %% ! 36: 186,282 miles per second: ! 37: ! 38: It isn't just a good idea, it's the law! ! 39: %% ! 40: $3,000,000 ! 41: %% ! 42: 355/113 -- Not the famous irrational number PI, but an incredible ! 43: simulation! ! 44: %% ! 45: 43rd Law of Computing: ! 46: Anything that can go wr ! 47: fortune: Segmentation violation -- Core dumped ! 48: %% ! 49: 77. HO HUM -- The Redundant ! 50: ! 51: ------- (7) This hexagram refers to a situation of extreme ! 52: --- --- (8) boredom. Your programs always bomb off. Your wife ! 53: ------- (7) smells bad. Your children have hives. You are working ! 54: ---O--- (6) on an accounting system, when you want to develop ! 55: ---X--- (9) the GREAT AMERICAN COMPILER. You give up hot dates ! 56: --- --- (8) to nurse sick computers. What you need now is sex. ! 57: ! 58: Nine in the second place means: ! 59: The yellow bird approaches the malt shop. Misfortune. ! 60: ! 61: Six in the third place means: ! 62: In former times men built altars to honor the Internal ! 63: Revenue Service. Great Dragons! Are you in trouble! ! 64: %% ! 65: 99 blocks of crud on the disk, ! 66: 99 blocks of crud! ! 67: You patch a bug, and dump it again: ! 68: 100 blocks of crud on the disk! ! 69: ! 70: 100 blocks of crud on the disk, ! 71: 100 blocks of crud! ! 72: You patch a bug, and dump it again: ! 73: 101 blocks of crud on the disk! ... ! 74: %% ! 75: A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no ! 76: responsibility at the other. ! 77: %% ! 78: A bachelor is a selfish, undeserving guy who has cheated some woman ! 79: out of a divorce. ! 80: -- Don Quinn ! 81: %% ! 82: A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining ! 83: and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. ! 84: -- Mark Twain ! 85: %% ! 86: A billion here, a couple of billion there -- first thing you know it ! 87: adds up to be real money. ! 88: -- Everett McKinley Dirksen ! 89: %% ! 90: A bird in the bush usually has a friend in there with him. ! 91: %% ! 92: A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring. ! 93: %% ! 94: A bore is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have ! 95: enlightened him with ours. ! 96: %% ! 97: A budget is just a method of worrying before you spend money, as well ! 98: as afterward. ! 99: %% ! 100: A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the ! 101: poor to protect them from each other. ! 102: %% ! 103: A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness. ! 104: %% ! 105: A chubby man with a white beard and a red suit will approach you soon. ! 106: Avoid him. He's a Commie. ! 107: %% ! 108: A city is a large community where people are lonesome together ! 109: -- Herbert Prochnow ! 110: %% ! 111: A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody ! 112: wants to read. ! 113: -- Mark Twain ! 114: %% ! 115: A closed mouth gathers no foot. ! 116: %% ! 117: A computer, to print out a fact, ! 118: Will divide, multiply, and subtract. ! 119: But this output can be ! 120: No more than debris, ! 121: If the input was short of exact. ! 122: -- Gigo ! 123: %% ! 124: A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking. ! 125: %% ! 126: A CONS is an object which cares. ! 127: -- Bernie Greenberg. ! 128: %% ! 129: A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. ! 130: -- Ben Franklin ! 131: %% ! 132: A crusader's wife slipped from the garrison ! 133: And had an affair with a Saracen. ! 134: She was not oversexed, ! 135: Or jealous or vexed, ! 136: She just wanted to make a comparison. ! 137: %% ! 138: A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it? ! 139: %% ! 140: A day without sunshine is like night. ! 141: %% ! 142: A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a ! 143: fur coat. ! 144: %% ! 145: A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that ! 146: you will look forward to the trip. ! 147: %% ! 148: A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was ! 149: eating his morning meal. "I would like to give you this personality ! 150: test", said the outsider, "because I want you to be happy." ! 151: Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into ! 152: the toaster -- "I wish the toaster to be happy too". ! 153: %% ! 154: A diva who specializes in risqu'e arias is an off-coloratura soprano ... ! 155: %% ! 156: A doctor, an architect, and a computer scientist were arguing ! 157: about whose profession was the oldest. In the course of their ! 158: arguments, they got all the way back to the Garden of Eden, whereupon ! 159: the doctor said, "The medical profession is clearly the oldest, because ! 160: Eve was made from Adam's rib, as the story goes, and that was a simply ! 161: incredible surgical feat." ! 162: The architect did not agree. He said, "But if you look at the ! 163: Garden itself, in the beginning there was chaos and void, and out of ! 164: that, the Garden and the world were created. So God must have been an ! 165: architect." ! 166: The computer scientist, who had listened to all of this said, ! 167: "Yes, but where do you think the chaos came from?" ! 168: %% ! 169: A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. ! 170: -- Ogden Nash ! 171: %% ! 172: A dozen, a gross, and a score, ! 173: Plus three times the square root of four, ! 174: Divided by seven, ! 175: Plus five time eleven, ! 176: Equals nine squared plus zero, no more. ! 177: %% ! 178: A famous Lisp Hacker noticed an Undergraduate sitting in front of a ! 179: Xerox 1108, trying to edit a complex Klone network via a browser. ! 180: Wanting to help, the Hacker clicked one of the nodes in the network ! 181: with the mouse, and asked "what do you see?" Very earnestly, the ! 182: Undergraduate replied "I see a cursor." The Hacker then quickly pressed ! 183: the boot toggle at the back of the keyboard, while simultaneously ! 184: hitting the Undergraduate over the head with a thick Interlisp Manual. ! 185: The Undergraduate was then Enlightened. ! 186: %% ! 187: A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the ! 188: subject. ! 189: -- Winston Churchill ! 190: %% ! 191: A fool must now and then be right by chance. ! 192: %% ! 193: A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into ! 194: superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education. ! 195: -- G. B. Shaw ! 196: %% ! 197: A fool-proof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block ! 198: of marble; then you chip away everything that doesn't look like an ! 199: elephant. ! 200: %% ! 201: A formal parsing algorithm should not always be used. ! 202: -- D. Gries ! 203: %% ! 204: A gleekzorp without a tornpee is like a quop without a fertsneet (sort ! 205: of). ! 206: %% ! 207: A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely ! 208: rearranging their prejudices. ! 209: -- William James ! 210: %% ! 211: A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. ! 212: %% ! 213: A lady with one of her ears applied ! 214: To an open keyhole heard, inside, ! 215: Two female gossips in converse free -- ! 216: The subject engaging them was she. ! 217: "I think", said one, "and my husband thinks ! 218: That she's a prying, inquisitive minx!" ! 219: As soon as no more of it she could hear ! 220: The lady, indignant, removed her ear. ! 221: "I will not stay," she said with a pout, ! 222: "To hear my character lied about!" ! 223: -- Gopete Sherany ! 224: %% ! 225: A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is ! 226: not worth knowing. ! 227: %% ! 228: A language that doesn't have everything is actually easier to program ! 229: in than some that do. ! 230: -- Dennis M. Ritchie ! 231: %% ! 232: A large number of installed systems work by fiat. That is, they work ! 233: by being declared to work. ! 234: -- Anatol Holt ! 235: %% ! 236: A Law of Computer Programming: ! 237: Make it possible for programmers to write in English and you ! 238: will find the programmers cannot write in English. ! 239: %% ! 240: A limerick packs laughs anatomical ! 241: Into space that is quite economical. ! 242: But the good ones I've seen ! 243: So seldom are clean, ! 244: And the clean ones so seldom are comical. ! 245: %% ! 246: A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of ! 247: nothing. ! 248: %% ! 249: A long-forgotten loved one will appear soon. Buy the negatives at any ! 250: price. ! 251: %% ! 252: A lot of people I know believe in positive thinking, and so do I. I ! 253: believe everything positively stinks. ! 254: -- Lew Col ! 255: %% ! 256: A man goes to a tailor to try on a new custom-made suit. The ! 257: first thing he notices is that the arms are too long. ! 258: "No problem," says the tailor. "Just bend them at the elbow ! 259: and hold them out in front of you. See, now it's fine." ! 260: "But the collar is up around my ears!" ! 261: "It's nothing. Just hunch your back up a little ... no, a ! 262: little more ... that's it." ! 263: "But I'm stepping on my cuffs!" the man cries in desperation. ! 264: "Nu, bend you knees a little to take up the slack. There you ! 265: go. Look in the mirror -- the suit fits perfectly." ! 266: So, twisted like a pretzel, the man lurches out onto the ! 267: street. Reba and Florence see him go by. ! 268: "Oh, look," says Reba, "that poor man!" ! 269: "Yes," says Florence, "but what a beautiful suit." ! 270: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 271: %% ! 272: A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!" ! 273: ! 274: "However," replied the Universe, "the fact has not created in me a ! 275: sense of obligation." ! 276: -- Stephen Crane ! 277: %% ! 278: A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. ! 279: %% ! 280: A mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theorems. ! 281: %% ! 282: A musician of more ambition than talent composed an elegy at ! 283: the death of composer Edward MacDowell. She played the elegy for the ! 284: pianist Josef Hoffman, then asked his opinion. "Well, it's quite ! 285: nice," he replied, but don't you think it would be better if ..." ! 286: "If what?" asked the composer. ! 287: "If ... if you had died and MacDowell had written the elegy?" ! 288: %% ! 289: A new dramatist of the absurd ! 290: Has a voice that will shortly be heard. ! 291: I learn from my spies ! 292: He's about to devise ! 293: An unprintable three-letter word. ! 294: %% ! 295: A new koan: ! 296: ! 297: If you have some ice cream, I will give it to you. ! 298: ! 299: If you have no ice cream, I will take it away from you. ! 300: ! 301: It is an ice cream koan. ! 302: %% ! 303: A new supply of round tuits has arrived and are available from Mary. ! 304: Anyone who has been putting off work until they got a "round tuit" now ! 305: has no excuse for further procrastination. ! 306: %% ! 307: A nuclear war can ruin your whole day. ! 308: %% ! 309: A penny saved is ridiculous. ! 310: %% ! 311: A person is just about as big as the things that make them angry. ! 312: %% ! 313: A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms. ! 314: -- George Wald ! 315: %% ! 316: A pig is a jolly companion, ! 317: Boar, sow, barrow, or gilt -- ! 318: A pig is a pal, who'll boost your morale, ! 319: Though mountains may topple and tilt. ! 320: When they've blackballed, bamboozled, and burned you, ! 321: When they've turned on you, Tory and Whig, ! 322: Though you may be thrown over by Tabby and Rover, ! 323: You'll never go wrong with a pig, a pig, ! 324: You'll never go wrong with a pig! ! 325: -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" ! 326: %% ! 327: A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling ! 328: by Mark Twain ! 329: ! 330: For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped ! 331: to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer ! 332: be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained ! 333: would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 ! 334: might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the ! 335: same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with ! 336: "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all. ! 337: Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear ! 338: with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 ! 339: or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. ! 340: Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ! 341: ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ! 342: ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli. ! 343: Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud ! 344: hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. ! 345: %% ! 346: A priest asked: What is Fate, Master? ! 347: ! 348: And he answered: ! 349: ! 350: It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence. ! 351: ! 352: It is that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs. ! 353: ! 354: It is that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City ! 355: upon which carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come ! 356: to be built to stave off Hunger, Thirst and Weariness. ! 357: ! 358: And that is Fate? said the priest. ! 359: ! 360: Fate ... I thought you said Freight, responded the Master. ! 361: ! 362: That's all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was ! 363: too. ! 364: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 365: %% ! 366: A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came ! 367: upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. ! 368: "That's what I like to see", said the priest, "A man helping his fellow ! 369: man". ! 370: As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, "Well, ! 371: he sure doesn't know the first thing about shark fishing." ! 372: %% ! 373: A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep. ! 374: %% ! 375: "A programmer is a person who passes as an exacting expert on the basis ! 376: of being able to turn out, after innumerable punching, an infinite ! 377: series of incomprehensive answers calculated with micrometric ! 378: precisions from vague assumptions based on debatable figures taken from ! 379: inconclusive documents and carried out on instruments of problematical ! 380: accuracy by persons of dubious reliability and questionable mentality ! 381: for the avowed purpose of annoying and confounding a hopelessly ! 382: defenseless department that was unfortunate enough to ask for the ! 383: information in the first place." ! 384: -- IEEE Grid newsmagazine ! 385: %% ! 386: A psychiatrist is a person who will give you expensive answers that ! 387: your wife will give you for free. ! 388: %% ! 389: A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices ! 390: that the system works. ! 391: %% ! 392: A real person has two reasons for doing anything ... a good reason and ! 393: the real reason. ! 394: %% ! 395: A recent study has found that concentrating on difficult off-screen ! 396: objects, such as the faces of loved ones, causes eye strain in computer ! 397: scientists. Researchers into the phenomenon cite the added ! 398: concentration needed to "make sense" of such unnatural three ! 399: dimensional objects ... ! 400: %% ! 401: A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man ! 402: contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. ! 403: -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery ! 404: %% ! 405: A Severe Strain on the Credulity ! 406: ! 407: As a method of sending a missile to the higher, and even to the highest ! 408: parts of the earth's atmospheric envelope, Professor Goddard's rocket ! 409: is a practicable and therefore promising device. It is when one ! 410: considers the multiple-charge rocket as a traveler to the moon that one ! 411: begins to doubt ... for after the rocket quits our air and really ! 412: starts on its journey, its flight would be neither accelerated nor ! 413: maintained by the explosion of the charges it then might have left. ! 414: Professor Goddard, with his "chair" in Clark College and countenancing ! 415: of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action to ! 416: re-action, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum ! 417: against which to react ... Of course he only seems to lack the ! 418: knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. ! 419: -- New York Times Editorial, 1920 ! 420: %% ! 421: A sine curve goes off to infinity or at least the end of the blackboard ! 422: -- Prof. Steiner ! 423: %% ! 424: A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he was ! 425: waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity. ! 426: -- Mark Twain ! 427: %% ! 428: A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. ! 429: -- O'Henry ! 430: %% ! 431: A student who changes the course of history is probably taking an ! 432: exam. ! 433: %% ! 434: A successful tool is one that was used to do something undreamed of by ! 435: its author. ! 436: -- S. C. Johnson ! 437: %% ! 438: A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, ! 439: and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others. ! 440: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 441: %% ! 442: A transistor protected by a fast-acting fuse will protect the fuse by ! 443: blowing first. ! 444: %% ! 445: A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. ! 446: %% ! 447: A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest ! 448: in students. ! 449: -- John Ciardi ! 450: %% ! 451: A UNIX saleslady, Lenore, ! 452: Enjoys work, but she likes the beach more. ! 453: She found a good way ! 454: To combine work and play: ! 455: She sells C shells by the seashore. ! 456: %% ! 457: A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature ! 458: replaces it with. ! 459: -- Tenessee Williams ! 460: %% ! 461: A very intelligent turtle ! 462: Found programming UNIX a hurdle ! 463: The system, you see, ! 464: Ran as slow as did he, ! 465: And that's not saying much for the turtle. ! 466: %% ! 467: A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without ! 468: getting nervous. ! 469: %% ! 470: "A witty saying proves nothing." ! 471: -- Voltaire ! 472: %% ! 473: A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe ! 474: in God. ! 475: %% ! 476: A.A.A.A.A.: ! 477: An organization for drunks who drive ! 478: %% ! 479: AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!!!!!!!!! ! 480: You brute! Knock before entering a ladies room! ! 481: %% ! 482: Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy. ! 483: %% ! 484: About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ! 485: ends. ! 486: -- Herbert Hoover ! 487: %% ! 488: Absence makes the heart go wander. ! 489: %% ! 490: Absent, adj.: ! 491: Exposed to the attacks of friends and acquaintances; defamed; ! 492: slandered. ! 493: %% ! 494: Absentee, n.: ! 495: A person with an income who has had the forethought to remove ! 496: himself from the sphere of exaction. ! 497: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 498: %% ! 499: Abstainer, n.: ! 500: A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a ! 501: pleasure. ! 502: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 503: %% ! 504: Absurdity, n.: ! 505: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own ! 506: opinion. ! 507: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 508: %% ! 509: Accident, n.: ! 510: A condition in which presence of mind is good, but absence of ! 511: body is better. ! 512: %% ! 513: Accidents cause History. ! 514: ! 515: If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyler, the ! 516: Peasant's Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not ! 517: have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil ! 518: could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and ! 519: the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd. ! 520: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 521: %% ! 522: According to my best recollection, I don't remember. ! 523: -- Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo ! 524: %% ! 525: According to the latest official figures, 43% of all statistics are ! 526: totally worthless. ! 527: %% ! 528: Accordion, n.: ! 529: A bagpipe with pleats. ! 530: %% ! 531: Accuracy, n.: ! 532: The vice of being right ! 533: %% ! 534: Acid -- better living through chemistry. ! 535: %% ! 536: Acid absorbs 47 times it's weight in excess Reality. ! 537: %% ! 538: Acquaintance, n.: ! 539: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well ! 540: enough to lend to. ! 541: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 542: %% ! 543: "Acting is an art which consists of keeping the audience from ! 544: coughing." ! 545: %% ! 546: Actor: "I'm a smash hit. Why, yesterday during the last act, I had ! 547: everyone glued in their seats!" ! 548: Oliver Herford: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Clever of you to think of ! 549: it!" ! 550: %% ! 551: Actor: So what do you do for a living? ! 552: Doris: I work for a company that makes deceptively shallow serving ! 553: dishes for Chinese restaurants. ! 554: -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" ! 555: %% ! 556: ADA, n.: ! 557: Something you need only know the name of to be an Expert in ! 558: Computing. Useful in sentences like, "We had better develop an ADA ! 559: awareness." ! 560: %% ! 561: Admiration, n.: ! 562: Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves. ! 563: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 564: %% ! 565: Adolescence, n.: ! 566: The stage between puberty and adultery. ! 567: %% ! 568: "Adopted kids are such a pain -- you have to teach them how to look ! 569: like you ..." ! 570: --- Gilda Radner ! 571: %% ! 572: Adore, v.: ! 573: To venerate expectantly. ! 574: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 575: %% ! 576: Adult, n.: ! 577: One old enough to know better. ! 578: %% ! 579: After [Benjamin] Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose ! 580: names have become part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary ! 581: Louise Amp, James Watt, Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted ! 582: many important electrical experiments. For example, in 1780 Luigi ! 583: Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when he attached two ! 584: different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical current ! 585: developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer ! 586: attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led ! 587: to enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, ! 588: skilled veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously ! 589: injured or killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it ! 590: hop back into the pond just like a normal frog, except for the fact ! 591: that it sinks like a stone. ! 592: -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" ! 593: %% ! 594: After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known ! 595: quotations. ! 596: -- H. L. Mencken, on Shakespeare ! 597: %% ! 598: After all, what is your hosts' purpose in having a party? Surely not ! 599: for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have ! 600: simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi. ! 601: -- P. J. O'Rourke ! 602: %% ! 603: After an instrument has been assembled, extra components will be found ! 604: on the bench. ! 605: %% ! 606: After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from ! 607: Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, ! 608: and turned to God and said, "A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon ! 609: to be created." ! 610: "This is true," He replied. ! 611: "He will need laws," said the Demon slyly. ! 612: "What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the ! 613: right to make his laws?" ! 614: "Oh, no!" Satan replied, "I ask only that he be allowed to make ! 615: his own." ! 616: It was so granted. ! 617: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 618: %% ! 619: After I run your program, let's make love like crazed weasels, OK? ! 620: %% ! 621: After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access ! 622: cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been ! 623: removed. ! 624: %% ! 625: Afternoon very favorable for romance. Try a single person for a ! 626: change. ! 627: %% ! 628: Afternoon, n.: ! 629: That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted the ! 630: morning. ! 631: %% ! 632: Air is water with holes in it ! 633: %% ! 634: Alas, I am dying beyond my means. ! 635: -- Oscar Wilde, as he sipped champagne on his deathbed ! 636: %% ! 637: Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied: "You see, wire ! 638: telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New ! 639: York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? ! 640: And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they ! 641: receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." ! 642: %% ! 643: Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall, ! 644: Aleph-null bottles of beer, ! 645: You take one down, and pass it around, ! 646: Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall. ! 647: %% ! 648: Alex Haley was adopted! ! 649: %% ! 650: Alexander Graham Bell is alive and well in New York, and still waiting ! 651: for a dial tone. ! 652: %% ! 653: Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of ! 654: them keeps paying for it. ! 655: -- Peggy Joyce ! 656: %% ! 657: "All flesh is grass" ! 658: -- Isiah ! 659: Smoke a friend today. ! 660: %% ! 661: All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. ! 662: %% ! 663: All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. ! 664: %% ! 665: All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own ! 666: importance. ! 667: %% ! 668: "All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us ! 669: sane." ! 670: %% ! 671: All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors. ! 672: %% ! 673: All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of ! 674: every organism to live beyond its income. ! 675: -- Samuel Butler ! 676: %% ! 677: All science is either physics or stamp collecting. ! 678: -- E. Rutherford ! 679: %% ! 680: All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, ! 681: too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you ! 682: subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you ! 683: can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. ! 684: Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax ! 685: decision: "Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What ! 686: if it rains?" ! 687: -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" ! 688: %% ! 689: "... all the modern inconveniences ..." ! 690: -- Mark Twain ! 691: %% ! 692: All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. ! 693: -- Sean O'Casey ! 694: %% ! 695: All the world's a VAX, ! 696: And all the coders merely butchers; ! 697: They have their exits and their entrails; ! 698: And one int in his time plays many widths, ! 699: His sizeof being N bytes. At first the infant, ! 700: Mewling and puking in the Regent's arms. ! 701: And then the whining schoolboy, with his Sun, ! 702: And shining morning face, creeping like slug ! 703: Unwillingly to school. ! 704: -- A Very Annoyed PDP-11 ! 705: %% ! 706: All things are possible except skiing thru a revolving door. ! 707: %% ! 708: All true wisdom is found on T-shirts. ! 709: %% ! 710: All you have to do to see the accuracy of my thesis is look around ! 711: you. Look, in particular, at the people who, like you, are making ! 712: average incomes for doing average jobs -- bank vice presidents, ! 713: insurance salesman, auditors, secretaries of defense -- and you'll ! 714: realize they all dress the same way, essentially the way the mannequins ! 715: in the Sears menswear department dress. Now look at the real ! 716: successes, the people who make a lot more money than you -- Elton John, ! 717: Captain Kangaroo, anybody from Saudi Arabia, Big Bird, and so on. They ! 718: all dress funny -- and they all succeed. Are you catching on? ! 719: -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" ! 720: %% ! 721: Alliance, n.: ! 722: In international politics, the union of two thieves who have ! 723: their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot ! 724: separately plunder a third. ! 725: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 726: %% ! 727: Alone, adj.: ! 728: In bad company. ! 729: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 730: %% ! 731: Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, ! 732: mixers, etc., for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have ! 733: any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place ! 734: to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, ! 735: Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a ! 736: serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the ! 737: same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely ! 738: that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as "A ! 739: penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job ! 740: running the post office. ! 741: -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" ! 742: %% ! 743: Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid ! 744: back. ! 745: %% ! 746: AMAZING BUT TRUE ... ! 747: ! 748: If all the salmon caught in Canada in one year were laid end to end ! 749: across the Sahara Desert, the smell would be absolutely awful. ! 750: %% ! 751: AMAZING BUT TRUE ... ! 752: ! 753: There is so much sand in Northern Africa that if it were spread out it ! 754: would completely cover the Sahara Desert. ! 755: %% ! 756: Ambidextrous, adj.: ! 757: Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. ! 758: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 759: %% ! 760: Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. ! 761: -- Charlie McCarthy ! 762: %% ! 763: America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism ! 764: to decadence without touching civilization. ! 765: -- John O'Hara ! 766: %% ! 767: America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, ! 768: until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and ! 769: changed its name to "America". ! 770: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 771: %% ! 772: Amnesia used to be my favorite word, but then I forgot it. ! 773: %% ! 774: An American's a person who isn't afraid to criticize the President but ! 775: is always polite to traffic cops. ! 776: %% ! 777: An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible. ! 778: %% ! 779: An elephant is a mouse with an operating system. ! 780: %% ! 781: An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose. ! 782: -- A. P. Herbert ! 783: %% ! 784: An excellence-oriented '80s male does not wear a regular watch He wears ! 785: a Rolex watch, because it weighs nearly six pounds and is advertised ! 786: only in excellence-oriented publications such as Fortune and Rich ! 787: Protestant Golfer Magazine. The advertisements are written in ! 788: incomplete sentences, which is how advertising copywriters denote ! 789: excellence: ! 790: ! 791: "The Rolex Hyperion. An elegant new standard in quality excellence and ! 792: discriminating handcraftsmanship. For the individual who is truly able ! 793: to discriminate with regard to excellent quality standards of crafting ! 794: things by hand. Fabricated of 100 percent 24-karat gold. No watch ! 795: parts or anything. Just a great big chunk on your wrist. Truly a ! 796: timeless statement. For the individual who is very secure. Who ! 797: doesn't need to be reminded all the time that he is very successful. ! 798: Much more successful than the people who laughed at him in high ! 799: school. Because of his acne. People who are probably nowhere near as ! 800: successful as he is now. Maybe he'll go to his 20th reunion, and ! 801: they'll see his Rolex Hyperion. Hahahahahahahahaha." ! 802: -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" ! 803: %% ! 804: "... an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often ! 805: picturesque liar." ! 806: -- Mark Twain ! 807: %% ! 808: An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. ! 809: %% ! 810: An old Jewish man reads about Einstein's theory of relativity ! 811: in the newspaper and asks his scientist grandson to explain it to him. ! 812: "Well, zayda, it's sort of like this. Einstein says that if ! 813: you're having your teeth drilled without Novocain, a minute seems like ! 814: an hour. But if you're sitting with a beautiful woman on your lap, an ! 815: hour seems like a minute." ! 816: The old man considers this profound bit of thinking for a ! 817: moment and says, "And from this he makes a living?" ! 818: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 819: %% ! 820: Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it's better than no ! 821: government at all. ! 822: %% ! 823: ... And malt does more than Milton can ! 824: To justify God's ways to man ! 825: -- A. E. Housman ! 826: %% ! 827: And on the seventh day, He exited from append mode. ! 828: %% ! 829: And this is a table ma'am. What in essence it consists of is a ! 830: horizontal rectilinear plane surface maintained by four vertical ! 831: columnar supports, which we call legs. The tables in this laboratory, ! 832: ma'am, are as advanced in design as one will find anywhere in the ! 833: world. ! 834: -- Michael Frayn, "The Tin Men" ! 835: %% ! 836: "And what will you do when you grow up to be as big as me?" ! 837: asked the father of his little son. ! 838: "Diet." ! 839: %% ! 840: Angels we have heard on High ! 841: Tell us to go out and Buy. ! 842: -- Tom Leher ! 843: %% ! 844: Ankh if you love Isis. ! 845: %% ! 846: Anoint, v.: ! 847: To grease a king or other great functionary already ! 848: sufficiently slippery. ! 849: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 850: %% ! 851: Another Glitch in the Call ! 852: ------- ------ -- --- ---- ! 853: (Sung to the tune of a recent Pink Floyd song.) ! 854: ! 855: We don't need no indirection ! 856: We don't need no flow control ! 857: No data typing or declarations ! 858: Did you leave the lists alone? ! 859: ! 860: Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone! ! 861: ! 862: Chorus: ! 863: All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. ! 864: All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. ! 865: %% ! 866: Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree. ! 867: %% ! 868: Answers to Last Fortune's Questions: ! 869: ! 870: 1. None. (Moses didn't have an ark). ! 871: 2. Your mother, by the pigeonhole principle. ! 872: 3. I don't know. ! 873: 4. Who cares? ! 874: 5. 6 (or maybe 4, or else 3). Mr. Alfred J. Duncan of Podunk, ! 875: Montana, submitted an interesting solution to Problem 5. ! 876: 6. There is an interesting solution to this problem on page 1029 of my ! 877: book, which you can pick up for $23.95 at finer bookstores and ! 878: bathroom supply outlets (or 99 cents at the table in front of ! 879: Papyrus Books). ! 880: %% ! 881: Anthony's Law of Force: ! 882: Don't force it; get a larger hammer. ! 883: %% ! 884: Anthony's Law of the Workshop: ! 885: Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible ! 886: corner of the workshop. ! 887: ! 888: Corollary: ! 889: On the way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike ! 890: your toes. ! 891: %% ! 892: Antonym, n.: ! 893: The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. ! 894: %% ! 895: Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art. ! 896: -- Charles McCabe ! 897: %% ! 898: Any excuse will serve a tyrant. ! 899: -- Aesop ! 900: %% ! 901: Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to ! 902: sell it. ! 903: %% ! 904: ... Any resemblance between the above views and those of my employer, ! 905: my terminal, or the view out my window are purely coincidental. Any ! 906: resemblance between the above and my own views is non-deterministic. ! 907: The question of the existence of views in the absence of anyone to hold ! 908: them is left as an exercise for the reader. The question of the ! 909: existence of the reader is left as an exercise for the second god ! 910: coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, non-integral polytheism ! 911: is beyond the scope of this article.) ! 912: %% ! 913: Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a ! 914: larger object. ! 915: %% ! 916: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged ! 917: demo. ! 918: %% ! 919: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. ! 920: -- Arthur C. Clarke ! 921: %% ! 922: Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours. ! 923: -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. ! 924: %% ! 925: Any woman is a volume if one knows how to read her. ! 926: %% ! 927: Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry. ! 928: %% ! 929: Anybody who doesn't cut his speed at the sight of a police car is ! 930: probably parked. ! 931: %% ! 932: Anybody with money to burn will easily find someone to tend the fire. ! 933: %% ! 934: Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. ! 935: -- Publilius Syrus ! 936: %% ! 937: Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he ! 938: is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not ! 939: make messes in the house. ! 940: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 941: %% ! 942: Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. ! 943: -- Samuel Goldwyn ! 944: %% ! 945: Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. ! 946: -- W. C. Fields ! 947: %% ! 948: Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no ! 949: account be allowed to do the job. ! 950: -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 951: %% ! 952: Anything free is worth what you pay for it. ! 953: %% ! 954: Anything is good and useful if it's made of chocolate. ! 955: %% ! 956: Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. ! 957: %% ! 958: Anything labeled "NEW" and/or "IMPROVED" isn't. The label means the ! 959: price went up. The label "ALL NEW", "COMPLETELY NEW", or "GREAT NEW" ! 960: means the price went way up. ! 961: %% ! 962: Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate. ! 963: %% ! 964: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing ! 965: %% ! 966: Anytime things appear to be going better, you have overlooked ! 967: something. ! 968: %% ! 969: Aquadextrous, adj.: ! 970: Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off ! 971: with your toes. ! 972: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 973: %% ! 974: AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) ! 975: You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. You lie ! 976: a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to be careless and ! 977: impractical, causing you to make the same mistakes over and over ! 978: again. People think you are stupid. ! 979: %% ! 980: "Arguments with furniture are rarely productive." ! 981: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 982: %% ! 983: ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) ! 984: You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You are ! 985: quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are not very ! 986: nice. ! 987: %% ! 988: Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your ! 989: shoes. ! 990: -- Mickey Mouse ! 991: %% ! 992: Armadillo: ! 993: To provide weapons to a Spanish pickle ! 994: %% ! 995: Arnold's Laws of Documentation: ! 996: (1) If it should exist, it doesn't. ! 997: (2) If it does exist, it's out of date. ! 998: (3) Only documentation for useless programs transcends the ! 999: first two laws. ! 1000: %% ! 1001: Arthur's Laws of Love: ! 1002: (1) People to whom you are attracted invariably think you ! 1003: remind them of someone else. ! 1004: (2) The love letter you finally got the courage to send will ! 1005: be delayed in the mail long enough for you to make a fool ! 1006: of yourself in person. ! 1007: %% ! 1008: Artistic ventures highlighted. Rob a museum. ! 1009: %% ! 1010: As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not ! 1011: certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. ! 1012: -- Albert Einstein ! 1013: %% ! 1014: As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error. ! 1015: -- Weisert ! 1016: %% ! 1017: As I was passing Project MAC, ! 1018: I met a Quux with seven hacks. ! 1019: Every hack had seven bugs; ! 1020: Every bug had seven manifestations; ! 1021: Every manifestation had seven symptoms. ! 1022: Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and hacks, ! 1023: How many losses at Project MAC? ! 1024: %% ! 1025: As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its ! 1026: fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be ! 1027: popular. ! 1028: -- Oscar Wilde ! 1029: %% ! 1030: As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. ! 1031: %% ! 1032: "As part of the conversion, computer specialists rewrote 1,500 ! 1033: programs -- a process that traditionally requires some debugging." ! 1034: --- USA Today, referring to the IRS switchover to a new ! 1035: computer system. ! 1036: %% ! 1037: As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it ! 1038: wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had ! 1039: to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized ! 1040: that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in ! 1041: finding mistakes in my own programs. ! 1042: -- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949 ! 1043: %% ! 1044: As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" -- probably because it's ! 1045: so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. ! 1046: -- Woody Allen ! 1047: %% ! 1048: As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there ! 1049: is always a future in Computer Maintenance. ! 1050: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 1051: %% ! 1052: As Will Rogers would have said, "There is no such things as a free ! 1053: variable." ! 1054: %% ! 1055: As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple ! 1056: memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time ! 1057: to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, ! 1058: E, or U is the proper time for chocolate. ! 1059: -- Sandra Boynton, "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" ! 1060: %% ! 1061: As Zeus said to Narcissus, "Watch yourself." ! 1062: %% ! 1063: Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the ! 1064: Station-to-Station rate. ! 1065: %% ! 1066: Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls ... if thou art in the ! 1067: bathtub, it tolls for thee. ! 1068: %% ! 1069: Ask your boss to reconsider -- it's so difficult to take "Go to hell" ! 1070: for an answer. ! 1071: %% ! 1072: Ass, n.: ! 1073: The masculine of "lass". ! 1074: %% ! 1075: At a recent meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, a participant from Los ! 1076: Angeles fainted from hyperoxygenation, and we had to hold his head ! 1077: under the exhaust of a bus until he revived. ! 1078: %% ! 1079: At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial ! 1080: challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. ! 1081: -- The Washington Post Magazine, June 9, 1985 ! 1082: %% ! 1083: ... at least I thought I was dancing, 'til somebody stepped on my hand. ! 1084: -- J. B. White ! 1085: %% ! 1086: At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will ! 1087: find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on ! 1088: the computer. ! 1089: %% ! 1090: Atlee is a very modest man. And with reason. ! 1091: -- Winston Churchill ! 1092: %% ! 1093: Automobile, n.: ! 1094: A four-wheeled vehicle that runs up hills and down ! 1095: pedestrians. ! 1096: %% ! 1097: Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep. ! 1098: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 1099: %% ! 1100: Avoid reality at all costs. ! 1101: %% ! 1102: Bacchus, n.: ! 1103: A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for ! 1104: getting drunk. ! 1105: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1106: %% ! 1107: Bagdikian's Observation: ! 1108: Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American ! 1109: newspaper is like trying to play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" ! 1110: on a ukelele. ! 1111: %% ! 1112: Baker's First Law of Federal Geometry: ! 1113: A block grant is a solid mass of money surrounded on all sides ! 1114: by governors. ! 1115: %% ! 1116: Ban the bomb. Save the world for conventional warfare. ! 1117: %% ! 1118: Bank error in your favor. Collect $200. ! 1119: %% ! 1120: Barach's Rule: ! 1121: An alcoholic is a person who drinks more than his own ! 1122: physician. ! 1123: %% ! 1124: Barometer, n.: ! 1125: An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we ! 1126: are having. ! 1127: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1128: %% ! 1129: Barth's Distinction: ! 1130: There are two types of people: those who divide people into two ! 1131: types, and those who don't. ! 1132: %% ! 1133: Baruch's Observation: ! 1134: If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. ! 1135: %% ! 1136: Basic, n.: ! 1137: A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in ! 1138: that those who have it will not admit it in polite company. ! 1139: %% ! 1140: Be a better psychiatrist and the world will beat a psychopath to your ! 1141: door. ! 1142: %% ! 1143: BE ALERT!!!! (The world needs more lerts ...) ! 1144: %% ! 1145: Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most Souls would scarcely ! 1146: get your Feet wet. Fall not in Love, therefore: it will stick to your ! 1147: face. ! 1148: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 1149: %% ! 1150: Be careful of reading health books, you might die of a misprint. ! 1151: -- Mark Twain ! 1152: %% ! 1153: Be different: conform. ! 1154: %% ! 1155: Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so ! 1156: get used to it. ! 1157: %% ! 1158: Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and ! 1159: miss ! 1160: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 1161: %% ! 1162: Behold the warranty ... the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh ! 1163: away. ! 1164: %% ! 1165: Beifeld's Principle: ! 1166: The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and ! 1167: receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression when ! 1168: he is already in the company of: (1) a date, (2) his wife, (3) ! 1169: a better looking and richer male friend. ! 1170: %% ! 1171: Bell Labs Unix -- Reach out and grep someone. ! 1172: %% ! 1173: "Benson, you are so free of the ravages of intelligence" ! 1174: -- Time Bandits ! 1175: %% ! 1176: Besides the device, the box should contain: ! 1177: ! 1178: * Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING" ! 1179: ! 1180: * A plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and two ! 1181: club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns. ! 1182: ! 1183: YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram ! 1184: cable. ! 1185: ! 1186: IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should turn to your ! 1187: spouse and say: "Margaret, you know why this country can't make a car ! 1188: that can get all the way through the drive-through at Burger King ! 1189: without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody cares, that's ! 1190: why." ! 1191: ! 1192: WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret. ! 1193: -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" ! 1194: %% ! 1195: better !pout !cry ! 1196: better watchout ! 1197: lpr why ! 1198: santa claus <north pole >town ! 1199: ! 1200: cat /etc/passwd >list ! 1201: ncheck list ! 1202: ncheck list ! 1203: cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist ! 1204: cat list | grep nice >giftlist ! 1205: santa claus <north pole > town ! 1206: ! 1207: who | grep sleeping ! 1208: who | grep awake ! 1209: who | egrep 'bad|good' ! 1210: for (goodness sake) { ! 1211: be good ! 1212: } ! 1213: %% ! 1214: "Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not ! 1215: tried it." ! 1216: -- Donald Knuth ! 1217: %% ! 1218: Beware of low-flying butterflies. ! 1219: %% ! 1220: Beware of Programmers who carry screwdrivers. ! 1221: -- Leonard Brandwein ! 1222: %% ! 1223: "Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and ! 1224: finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of ! 1225: murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by ! 1226: their ignorance the hard way." ! 1227: -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle" ! 1228: %% ! 1229: Beware of the Turing Tar-pit in which everything is possible but ! 1230: nothing of interest is easy. ! 1231: %% ! 1232: Binary, adj.: ! 1233: Possessing the ability to have friends of both sexes. ! 1234: %% ! 1235: Bipolar, adj.: ! 1236: Refers to someone who has homes in Nome, Alaska, and Buffalo, ! 1237: New York ! 1238: %% ! 1239: Birth, n.: ! 1240: The first and direst of all disasters. ! 1241: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1242: %% ! 1243: Bizarreness is the essence of the exotic ! 1244: %% ! 1245: Blessed are they who Go Around in Circles, for they Shall be Known ! 1246: as Wheels. ! 1247: %% ! 1248: BLISS is ignorance ! 1249: %% ! 1250: Blood is thicker than water, and much tastier. ! 1251: %% ! 1252: Board the windows, up your car insurance, and don't leave any booze in ! 1253: plain sight. It's St. Patrick's day in Chicago again. The legend has ! 1254: it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. In fact, he was ! 1255: arrested for drunk driving. The snakes left because people kept ! 1256: throwing up on them. ! 1257: %% ! 1258: Boling's postulate: ! 1259: If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. ! 1260: %% ! 1261: Bolub's Fourth Law of Computerdom: ! 1262: Project teams detest weekly progress reporting because it so ! 1263: vividly manifests their lack of progress. ! 1264: %% ! 1265: Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: ! 1266: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. ! 1267: %% ! 1268: Boob's Law: ! 1269: You always find something in the last place you look. ! 1270: %% ! 1271: Bore, n.: ! 1272: A person who talks when you wish him to listen. ! 1273: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1274: %% ! 1275: Boren's Laws: ! 1276: (1) When in charge, ponder. ! 1277: (2) When in trouble, delegate. ! 1278: (3) When in doubt, mumble. ! 1279: %% ! 1280: Boss, n.: ! 1281: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the Middle Ages ! 1282: the words "boss" and "botch" were largely synonymous, except that boss, ! 1283: in addition to meaning "a supervisor of workers" also meant "an ! 1284: ornamental stud." ! 1285: %% ! 1286: Boston, n.: ! 1287: Ludwig van Beethoven being jeered by 50,000 sports fans for ! 1288: finishing second in the Irish jig competition. ! 1289: %% ! 1290: Boy, n.: ! 1291: A noise with dirt on it. ! 1292: %% ! 1293: Bradley's Bromide: ! 1294: If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a ! 1295: committee -- that will do them in. ! 1296: %% ! 1297: Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: ! 1298: When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more ! 1299: easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone ! 1300: Ranger have handled this?" ! 1301: %% ! 1302: Brain fried -- Core dumped ! 1303: %% ! 1304: Brain, n.: ! 1305: The apparatus with which we think that we think. ! 1306: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1307: %% ! 1308: Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: ! 1309: To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of ! 1310: error in an opponent. ! 1311: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1312: %% ! 1313: Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, ! 1314: since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. ! 1315: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 1316: %% ! 1317: Bride, n.: ! 1318: A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. ! 1319: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1320: %% ! 1321: Bringing computers into the home won't change either one, but may ! 1322: revitalize the corner saloon. ! 1323: %% ! 1324: British Israelites: ! 1325: The British Israelites believe the white Anglo-Saxons of ! 1326: Britain to be descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel deported by ! 1327: Sargon of Assyria on the fall of Sumeria in 721 B.C. ... They further ! 1328: believe that the future can be foretold by the measurements of the ! 1329: Great Pyramid, which probably means it will be big and yellow and in ! 1330: the hand of the Arabs. They also believe that if you sleep with your ! 1331: head under the pillow a fairy will come and take all your teeth. ! 1332: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 1333: %% ! 1334: Broad-mindedness, n.: ! 1335: The result of flattening high-mindedness out. ! 1336: %% ! 1337: Brook's Law: ! 1338: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later ! 1339: %% ! 1340: Brook's Law: ! 1341: Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. ! 1342: %% ! 1343: Brooke's Law: ! 1344: Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool ! 1345: discovers something which either abolishes the system or ! 1346: expands it beyond recognition. ! 1347: %% ! 1348: Bubble Memory, n.: ! 1349: A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's ! 1350: intelligence. See also "vacuum tube". ! 1351: %% ! 1352: Bucy's Law: ! 1353: Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. ! 1354: %% ! 1355: Bug, n.: ! 1356: An aspect of a computer program which exists because the ! 1357: PROGRAMMER was thinking about Jumbo Jacks or stock options when s/he ! 1358: wrote the program. ! 1359: ! 1360: Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed. ! 1361: -- Ray Simard ! 1362: %% ! 1363: Bug: ! 1364: Small living things that small living boys throw on small ! 1365: living girls. ! 1366: %% ! 1367: BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the ! 1368: outfit." ! 1369: GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" ! 1370: BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive..." ! 1371: -- Jay Ward ! 1372: %% ! 1373: Bumper sticker: ! 1374: ! 1375: "All the parts falling off this car are of the very finest British ! 1376: manufacture" ! 1377: %% ! 1378: Bureaucrat, n.: ! 1379: A politician who has tenure. ! 1380: %% ! 1381: ... But as records of courts and justice are admissible, it can ! 1382: easily be proved that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed ! 1383: and were a scourge to mankind. The evidence (including confession) ! 1384: upon which certain women were convicted of witchcraft and executed was ! 1385: without a flaw; it is still unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based ! 1386: on it were sound in logic and in law. Nothing in any existing court ! 1387: was ever more thoroughly proved than the charges of witchcraft and ! 1388: sorcery for which so many suffered death. If there were no witches, ! 1389: human testimony and human reason are alike destitute of value. ! 1390: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1391: %% ! 1392: ... But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human ! 1393: intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as ! 1394: we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues ! 1395: that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding ! 1396: of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard ! 1397: example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- ! 1398: makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing ! 1399: whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a ! 1400: finite or an infinite number. ! 1401: -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" ! 1402: %% ! 1403: But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the ! 1404: system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, ! 1405: analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses. ! 1406: -- Bruce Leverett, "Register Allocation in Optimizing ! 1407: Compilers" ! 1408: %% ! 1409: But scientists, who ought to know ! 1410: Assure us that it must be so. ! 1411: Oh, let us never, never doubt ! 1412: What nobody is sure about. ! 1413: -- Hilaire Belloc ! 1414: %% ! 1415: But soft you, the fair Ophelia: ! 1416: Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, ! 1417: But get thee to a nunnery -- go! ! 1418: -- Mark "The Bard" Twain ! 1419: %% ! 1420: But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who ! 1421: was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal ! 1422: education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in ! 1423: 1877, was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of ! 1424: American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was ! 1425: invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879, when he ! 1426: invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant ! 1427: adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends ! 1428: electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the ! 1429: electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant ! 1430: part) sends it right back to the customer again. ! 1431: ! 1432: This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch ! 1433: of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since ! 1434: very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. ! 1435: In fact the last year any new electricity was generated in the United ! 1436: States was 1937; the electric companies have been merely re-selling it ! 1437: ever since, which is why they have so much free time to apply for rate ! 1438: increases. ! 1439: -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" ! 1440: %% ! 1441: "But this has taken us far afield from interface, which is not a bad ! 1442: place to be, since I particularly want to move ahead to the kludge. ! 1443: Why do people have so much trouble understanding the kludge? What is a ! 1444: kludge, after all, but not enough Ks, not enough ROMs, not enough RAMs, ! 1445: poor quality interface and too few bytes to go around? Have I ! 1446: explained yet about the bytes?" ! 1447: %% ! 1448: "But what we need to know is, do people want nasally-insertable ! 1449: computers?" ! 1450: %% ! 1451: Buzz off, Banana Nose; Relieve mine eyes ! 1452: Of hateful soreness, purge mine ears of corn; ! 1453: Less dear than army ants in apple pies ! 1454: Art thou, old prune-face, with thy chestnuts worn, ! 1455: Dropt from thy peeling lips like lousy fruit; ! 1456: Like honeybees upon the perfum'd rose ! 1457: They suck, and like the double-breasted suit ! 1458: Are out of date; therefore, Banana Nose, ! 1459: Go fly a kite, thy welcome's overstayed; ! 1460: And stem the produce of thy waspish wits: ! 1461: Thy logick, like thy locks, is disarrayed; ! 1462: Thy cheer, like thy complexion, is the pits. ! 1463: Be off, I say; go bug somebody new, ! 1464: Scram, beat it, get thee hence, and nuts to you. ! 1465: %% ! 1466: By doing just a little every day, you can gradually let the task ! 1467: completely overwhelm you. ! 1468: %% ! 1469: "By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, ! 1470: it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to ! 1471: invent. (R. Emerson)" ! 1472: -- Quoted from a fortune cookie program ! 1473: (whose author claims, "Actually, stealing IS easier.") ! 1474: [to which I reply, "You think it's easy for me to ! 1475: misconstrue all these misquotations?!?"] ! 1476: %% ! 1477: Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to ! 1478: point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very ! 1479: fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are ! 1480: often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people ! 1481: from point B are so keen to get there and what's so great about point B ! 1482: that so many people from point A are so keen to get _____there. They often ! 1483: wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell ! 1484: they wanted to be. ! 1485: -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 1486: %% ! 1487: C, n.: ! 1488: A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more ! 1489: like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or ! 1490: anything else. It is either the best language available to the art ! 1491: today, or it isn't. ! 1492: -- Ray Simard ! 1493: %% ! 1494: Cabbage, n.: ! 1495: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as ! 1496: a man's head. ! 1497: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1498: %% ! 1499: Cahn's Axiom: ! 1500: When all else fails, read the instructions. ! 1501: %% ! 1502: California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange. ! 1503: -- Fred Allen ! 1504: %% ! 1505: California, n.: ! 1506: From Latin "calor", meaning "heat" (as in English "calorie" or ! 1507: Spanish "caliente"); and "fornia'" for "sexual intercourse" or ! 1508: "fornication." Hence: Tierra de California, "the land of hot sex." ! 1509: -- Ed Moran ! 1510: %% ! 1511: Call on God, but row away from the rocks. ! 1512: -- Indian proverb ! 1513: %% ! 1514: "Calling J-Man Kink. Calling J-Man Kink. Hash missle sighted, target ! 1515: Los Angeles. Disregard personal feelings about city and intercept." ! 1516: %% ! 1517: "Calvin Coolidge looks as if he had been weaned on a pickle." ! 1518: -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth ! 1519: %% ! 1520: "Calvin Coolidge was the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth ! 1521: Corner, Vermont." ! 1522: -- Clarence Darrow ! 1523: %% ! 1524: Canada Bill Jone's Motto: ! 1525: It's morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money. ! 1526: ! 1527: Supplement: ! 1528: A .44 magnum beats four aces. ! 1529: %% ! 1530: Canada Post doesn't really charge 32 cents for a stamp. It's 2 cents ! 1531: for postage and 30 cents for storage. ! 1532: -- Gerald Regan, Cabinet Minister, 12/31/83 Financial ! 1533: Post ! 1534: %% ! 1535: Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain? ! 1536: Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes, ! 1537: A root or two, a torus and a node: ! 1538: The inverse of my verse, a null domain. ! 1539: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 1540: %% ! 1541: CANCER (June 21 - July 22) ! 1542: You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's problems. They ! 1543: think you are a sucker. You are always putting things off. That's why ! 1544: you'll never make anything of yourself. Most welfare recipients are ! 1545: Cancer people. ! 1546: %% ! 1547: CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19) ! 1548: You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do much of ! 1549: anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any ! 1550: importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as ! 1551: they take root and become trees. ! 1552: %% ! 1553: Captain Penny's Law: ! 1554: You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of ! 1555: the people all of the time, but you Can't Fool Mom. ! 1556: %% ! 1557: Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than ! 1558: expected. Carefully planned projects take four times longer to ! 1559: complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their ! 1560: planning to reduce the time it takes. ! 1561: %% ! 1562: Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun), n.: ! 1563: The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a ! 1564: dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then ! 1565: putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. ! 1566: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 1567: %% ! 1568: Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education. ! 1569: -- Mark Twain ! 1570: %% ! 1571: Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. ! 1572: %% ! 1573: CChheecckk yyoouurr dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh.. ! 1574: %% ! 1575: Celebrate Hannibal Day this year. Take an elephant to lunch. ! 1576: %% ! 1577: Census Taker to Housewife: Did you ever have the measles, and, if so, ! 1578: how many? ! 1579: %% ! 1580: Cerebus: I'd love to lick apricot brandy out of your navel. ! 1581: Jaka: Look, Cerebus-- Jaka has to tell you ... something ! 1582: Cerebus: If Cerebus had a navel, would you lick apricot brandy ! 1583: out of it? ! 1584: Jaka: Ugh! ! 1585: Cerebus: You don't like apricot brandy? ! 1586: -- Cerebus #6, "The Secret" ! 1587: %% ! 1588: Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long ! 1589: walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They ! 1590: then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy ! 1591: health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, ! 1592: not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find ! 1593: only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the ! 1594: others who have tried it. ! 1595: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1596: %% ! 1597: Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, but it's very funny-- ! 1598: Did you ever try buying then without money? ! 1599: -- Ogden Nash ! 1600: %% ! 1601: Character Density: the number of very weird people in the office. ! 1602: %% ! 1603: Chemicals, n.: ! 1604: Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. ! 1605: %% ! 1606: Chicago, n.: ! 1607: Where the dead still vote ... early and often! ! 1608: %% ! 1609: Chicken Little was right. ! 1610: %% ! 1611: Chicken Soup, n.: ! 1612: An ancient miracle drug containing equal parts of aureomycin, ! 1613: cocaine, interferon, and TLC. The only ailment chicken soup can't cure ! 1614: is neurotic dependence on one's mother. ! 1615: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 1616: %% ! 1617: Children are natural mimic who act like their parents despite every ! 1618: effort to teach them good manners. ! 1619: %% ! 1620: Children aren't happy without something to ignore, ! 1621: And that's what parents were created for. ! 1622: -- Ogden Nash ! 1623: %% ! 1624: Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for ! 1625: word what you shouldn't have said. ! 1626: %% ! 1627: Chism's Law of Completion: ! 1628: The amount of time required to complete a government project is ! 1629: precisely equal to the length of time already spent on it. ! 1630: %% ! 1631: Chisolm's First Corollary to Murphy's Second Law: ! 1632: When things just can't possibly get any worse, they will. ! 1633: %% ! 1634: Christ: ! 1635: A man who was born at least 5,000 years ahead of his time. ! 1636: %% ! 1637: Churchill's Commentary on Man: ! 1638: Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the ! 1639: time he will pick himself up and continue on. ! 1640: %% ! 1641: Cigarette, n.: ! 1642: A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in ! 1643: between. ! 1644: %% ! 1645: Cinemuck, n.: ! 1646: The combination of popcorn, soda, and melted chocolate which ! 1647: covers the floors of movie theaters. ! 1648: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 1649: %% ! 1650: Cleanliness is next to impossible. ! 1651: %% ! 1652: Cleveland still lives. God ____must be dead. ! 1653: %% ! 1654: "Cleveland? Yes, I spent a week there one day." ! 1655: %% ! 1656: Cloning is the sincerest form of flattery. ! 1657: %% ! 1658: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on ! 1659: society. ! 1660: -- Mark Twain ! 1661: %% ! 1662: Cocaine -- the thinking man's Dristan. ! 1663: %% ! 1664: Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- ! 1665: "I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." ! 1666: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1667: %% ! 1668: Cold, adj.: ! 1669: When the local flashers are handing out written descriptions. ! 1670: %% ! 1671: Cold, adj.: ! 1672: When the politicians walk around with their hands in their own ! 1673: pockets. ! 1674: %% ! 1675: Collaboration, n.: ! 1676: A literary partnership based on the false assumption that the ! 1677: other fellow can spell. ! 1678: %% ! 1679: College football is a game which would be much more interesting if the ! 1680: faculty played instead of the students, and even more interesting if ! 1681: the trustees played. There would be a great increase in broken arms, ! 1682: legs, and necks, and simultaneously an appreciable diminution in the ! 1683: loss to humanity. ! 1684: -- H. L. Mencken ! 1685: %% ! 1686: Colvard's Logical Premises: ! 1687: All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or ! 1688: it won't. ! 1689: Colvard's Unconscionable Commentary: ! 1690: This is especially true when dealing with someone you're ! 1691: attracted to. ! 1692: Grelb's Commentary ! 1693: Likelihoods, however, are 90% against you. ! 1694: %% ! 1695: Come, every frustum longs to be a cone, ! 1696: And every vector dreams of matrices. ! 1697: Hark to the gentle gradient of the breeze: ! 1698: It whispers of a more ergodic zone. ! 1699: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 1700: %% ! 1701: Come, let us hasten to a higher plane, ! 1702: Where dyads tread the fairy fields of Venn, ! 1703: Their indices bedecked from one to _n, ! 1704: Commingled in an endless Markov chain! ! 1705: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 1706: %% ! 1707: Command, n.: ! 1708: Statement presented by a human and accepted by a computer in ! 1709: such a manner as to make the human feel as if he is in control. ! 1710: %% ! 1711: COMMENT ! 1712: ! 1713: Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, ! 1714: A medley of extemporanea; ! 1715: And love is thing that can never go wrong; ! 1716: And I am Marie of Roumania. ! 1717: -- Dorothy Parker ! 1718: %% ! 1719: Commitment, n.: ! 1720: Commitment can be illustrated by a breakfast of ham and eggs. ! 1721: The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. ! 1722: %% ! 1723: Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. ! 1724: -- Albert Einstein ! 1725: %% ! 1726: Computer programmers do it byte by byte ! 1727: %% ! 1728: Computer Science is merely the post-Turing decline in formal systems ! 1729: theory. ! 1730: %% ! 1731: Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. ! 1732: %% ! 1733: Conceit causes more conversation than wit. ! 1734: -- LaRouchefoucauld ! 1735: %% ! 1736: Concept, n.: ! 1737: Any "idea" for which an outside consultant billed you more than ! 1738: $25,000. ! 1739: %% ! 1740: Condense soup, not books! ! 1741: %% ! 1742: Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is ! 1743: good for dandruff. ! 1744: -- Peter de Vries ! 1745: %% ! 1746: Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. ! 1747: %% ! 1748: Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that ! 1749: would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that ! 1750: you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer ! 1751: maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS ! 1752: OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY ! 1753: UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED ! 1754: IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD ! 1755: WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDED AND ! 1756: SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH HE KNOBS, ! 1757: RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, ! 1758: RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE ! 1759: FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? ! 1760: -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" ! 1761: %% ! 1762: Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking ! 1763: -- H. L. Mencken ! 1764: %% ! 1765: Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. ! 1766: %% ! 1767: Consultants are mystical people who ask a company for a number and then ! 1768: give it back to them. ! 1769: %% ! 1770: "Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and ! 1771: if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" ! 1772: -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 1773: %% ! 1774: Conversation, n.: ! 1775: A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath ! 1776: is called the listener. ! 1777: %% ! 1778: Conway's Law: ! 1779: In any organization there will always be one person who knows ! 1780: what is going on. ! 1781: ! 1782: This person must be fired. ! 1783: %% ! 1784: Coronation, n.: ! 1785: The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outward and ! 1786: visible signs of his divine right to be blown skyhigh with a dynamite ! 1787: bomb. ! 1788: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1789: %% ! 1790: Corrupt, adj.: ! 1791: In politics, holding an office of trust or profit. ! 1792: %% ! 1793: Corruption is not the #1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job ! 1794: is to enforce the law and fight crime. ! 1795: -- P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan ! 1796: %% ! 1797: Coward, n.: ! 1798: One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. ! 1799: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1800: %% ! 1801: Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with ! 1802: nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month. ! 1803: -- Wernher von Braun ! 1804: %% ! 1805: Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. ! 1806: -- A. E. Newman ! 1807: %% ! 1808: Critic, n.: ! 1809: A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries ! 1810: to please him. ! 1811: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1812: %% ! 1813: Cynic, n.: ! 1814: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not ! 1815: as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking ! 1816: out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. ! 1817: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1818: %% ! 1819: Cynic, n.: ! 1820: One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced ! 1821: eye. ! 1822: %% ! 1823: Darth Vader sleeps with a Teddywookie. ! 1824: %% ! 1825: Dawn, n.: ! 1826: The time when men of reason go to bed. ! 1827: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1828: %% ! 1829: Day of inquiry. You will be subpoenaed. ! 1830: %% ! 1831: Dealing with failure is easy: work hard to improve. Success is also ! 1832: easy to handle: you've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to ! 1833: improve. ! 1834: %% ! 1835: Dear Lord: ! 1836: I just want *___one* one-armed manager so I never have to hear "On ! 1837: the other hand", again. ! 1838: %% ! 1839: Dear Miss Manners: ! 1840: My home economics teacher says that one must never place one's ! 1841: elbows on the table. However, I have read that one elbow, in between ! 1842: courses, is all right. Which is correct? ! 1843: ! 1844: Gentle Reader: ! 1845: For the purpose of answering examinations in your home ! 1846: economics class, your teacher is correct. Catching on to this ! 1847: principle of education may be of even greater importance to you now ! 1848: than learning correct current table manners, vital as Miss Manners ! 1849: believes that is. ! 1850: %% ! 1851: Dear Miss Manners: ! 1852: Please list some tactful ways of removing a man's saliva from ! 1853: your face. ! 1854: ! 1855: Gentle Reader: ! 1856: Please list some decent ways of acquiring a man's saliva on ! 1857: your face ... ! 1858: %% ! 1859: Death is God's way of telling you not to be such a wise guy. ! 1860: %% ! 1861: Death is life's way of telling you you've been fired. ! 1862: -- R. Geis ! 1863: %% ! 1864: Death is Nature's way of recycling human beings. ! 1865: %% ! 1866: Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down ! 1867: %% ! 1868: Decisionmaker, n.: ! 1869: The person in your office who was unable to form a task force ! 1870: before the music stopped. ! 1871: %% ! 1872: Decisions of the judges will be final unless shouted down by a really ! 1873: overwhelming majority of the crowd present. Abusive and obscene ! 1874: language may not be used by contestants when addressing members of the ! 1875: judging panel, or, conversely, by members of the judging panel when ! 1876: addressing contestants (unless struck by a boomerang). ! 1877: -- Mudgeeraba Creek Emu-Riding and Boomerang-Throwing ! 1878: Assoc. ! 1879: %% ! 1880: Deck Us All With Boston Charlie ! 1881: ! 1882: Deck us all with Boston Charlie, ! 1883: Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! ! 1884: Nora's freezin' on the trolley, ! 1885: Swaller dollar cauliflower, alleygaroo! ! 1886: ! 1887: Don't we know archaic barrel, ! 1888: Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou. ! 1889: Trolley Molly don't love Harold, ! 1890: Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo! ! 1891: -- Walt Kelly ! 1892: %% ! 1893: "Deep" is a word like "theory" or "semantic" -- it implies all ! 1894: sorts of marvelous things. It's one thing to be able to say "I've got ! 1895: a theory", quite another to say "I've got a semantic theory", but, ah, ! 1896: those who can claim "I've got a deep semantic theory", they are truly ! 1897: blessed. ! 1898: -- Randy Davis ! 1899: %% ! 1900: DELETE A FORTUNE! ! 1901: ! 1902: Don't some of these fortunes just drive you nuts?! Wouldn't you like ! 1903: to see some of them deleted from the system? You can! Just mail to ! 1904: "fortune" with the fortune you hate most, and we MIGHT make sure it ! 1905: gets expunged. ! 1906: %% ! 1907: Deliberation, n.: ! 1908: The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is ! 1909: buttered on. ! 1910: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1911: %% ! 1912: "Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow." ! 1913: %% ! 1914: Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder ! 1915: aloud what the country could do under first-class management. ! 1916: -- Senator Soaper ! 1917: %% ! 1918: Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the ! 1919: incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. ! 1920: -- G. B. Shaw ! 1921: %% ! 1922: Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by ! 1923: Jackasses. ! 1924: -- H. L. Mencken ! 1925: %% ! 1926: Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people ! 1927: are right more than half of the time. ! 1928: -- E. B. White ! 1929: %% ! 1930: Dentist, n.: ! 1931: A Prestidigitator who, putting metal in one's mouth, pulls ! 1932: coins out of one's pockets. ! 1933: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1934: %% ! 1935: DETERIORATA ! 1936: ! 1937: Go placidly amid the noise and waste, ! 1938: And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. ! 1939: Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. ! 1940: Rotate your tires. ! 1941: Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, ! 1942: And heed well their advice -- even though they be turkeys. ! 1943: Know what to kiss -- and when. ! 1944: Remember that two wrongs never make a right, ! 1945: But that three do. ! 1946: Wherever possible, put people on "HOLD". ! 1947: Be comforted, that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment, ! 1948: And despite the changing fortunes of time, ! 1949: There is always a big future in computer maintenance. ! 1950: ! 1951: You are a fluke of the universe ... ! 1952: You have no right to be here. ! 1953: Whether you can hear it or not, the universe ! 1954: Is laughing behind your back. ! 1955: -- National Lampoon ! 1956: %% ! 1957: DeVries's Dilemma: ! 1958: If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want ! 1959: hits the paper. ! 1960: %% ! 1961: Did you know ... ! 1962: ! 1963: That no-one ever reads these things? ! 1964: %% ! 1965: Did you know that clones never use mirrors? ! 1966: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1967: %% ! 1968: Die, v.: ! 1969: To stop sinning suddenly. ! 1970: -- Elbert Hubbard ! 1971: %% ! 1972: "Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a ! 1973: conventional thing to happen to him." ! 1974: -- John Barrymore's dying words ! 1975: %% ! 1976: Different all twisty a of in maze are you, passages little. ! 1977: %% ! 1978: Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable term. ! 1979: Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. ! 1980: %% ! 1981: Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. ! 1982: %% ! 1983: Disc space -- the final frontier! ! 1984: %% ! 1985: Disco is to music what Etch-A-Sketch is to art. ! 1986: %% ! 1987: Distress, n.: ! 1988: A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. ! 1989: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 1990: %% ! 1991: Do infants have as much fun in infancy as adults do in adultery? ! 1992: %% ! 1993: Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? ! 1994: %% ! 1995: Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. ! 1996: %% ! 1997: Do not drink coffee in early A.M. It will keep you awake until noon. ! 1998: %% ! 1999: Do not meddle in the affairs of troff, for it is subtle and quick to ! 2000: anger. ! 2001: %% ! 2002: Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. ! 2003: Violators will be prosecuted. ! 2004: (Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.)) ! 2005: %% ! 2006: Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight. ! 2007: %% ! 2008: Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to dread each ! 2009: day as it comes. ! 2010: -- Donald Kaul ! 2011: %% ! 2012: Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. ! 2013: %% ! 2014: Do what comes naturally now. Seethe and fume and throw a tantrum. ! 2015: %% ! 2016: Do you realize how many holes there could be if people would just take ! 2017: the time to take the dirt out of them? ! 2018: %% ! 2019: "Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" ! 2020: "Of course it's wrong! It's illegal!" ! 2021: "I've never done anything illegal before." ! 2022: "I thought you said you were an accountant!" ! 2023: %% ! 2024: Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and ! 2025: when it is bad, it is better than nothing. ! 2026: -- Dick Brandon ! 2027: %% ! 2028: Documentation is the castor oil of programming. Managers know it must ! 2029: be good because the programmers hate it so much. ! 2030: %% ! 2031: Don't abandon hope: your Tom Mix decoder ring arrives tomorrow. ! 2032: %% ! 2033: Don't be humble, you're not that great. ! 2034: -- Golda Meir ! 2035: %% ! 2036: Don't believe everything you hear or anything you say. ! 2037: %% ! 2038: Don't cook tonight -- starve a rat today! ! 2039: %% ! 2040: Don't feed the bats tonight. ! 2041: %% ! 2042: Don't get suckered in by the comments -- they can be terribly ! 2043: misleading. Debug only code. ! 2044: -- Dave Storer ! 2045: %% ! 2046: Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you ! 2047: nothing. It was here first. ! 2048: -- Mark Twain ! 2049: %% ! 2050: Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while. ! 2051: %% ! 2052: Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon. ! 2053: %% ! 2054: Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today. ! 2055: %% ! 2056: Don't knock President Fillmore. He kept us out of Vietnam. ! 2057: %% ! 2058: Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking ! 2059: distance. ! 2060: %% ! 2061: Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you. ! 2062: %% ! 2063: Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy ! 2064: it today you can do it again tomorrow. ! 2065: %% ! 2066: "Don't say yes until I finish talking." ! 2067: -- Darryl F. Zanuck ! 2068: %% ! 2069: Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out if it alive. ! 2070: %% ! 2071: Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective. ! 2072: %% ! 2073: "Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends -- tell me where to ! 2074: get more wax!!" ! 2075: %% ! 2076: Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already ! 2077: tomorrow in Australia. ! 2078: -- Charles Schultz ! 2079: %% ! 2080: Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too ! 2081: busy worrying over what you are thinking about them. ! 2082: %% ! 2083: Don't you feel more like you do now than you did when you came in? ! 2084: %% ! 2085: Don: I didn't know you had a cousin Penelope, Bill! Was she ! 2086: pretty? ! 2087: W. C.: Well, her face was so wrinkled it looked like seven miles of ! 2088: bad road. She had so many gold teeth, Don, she use to have to ! 2089: sleep with her head in a safe. She died in Bolivia. ! 2090: Don: Oh Bill, it must be hard to lose a relative. ! 2091: W. C.: It's almost impossible. ! 2092: -- W. C. Fields, from "The Further Adventures of Larson ! 2093: E. Whipsnade and other Tarradiddles" ! 2094: %% ! 2095: Down with categorical imperative! ! 2096: %% ! 2097: "Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing." ! 2098: %% ! 2099: Drew's Law of Highway Biology: ! 2100: The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front ! 2101: of your eyes. ! 2102: %% ! 2103: Drive defensively. Buy a tank. ! 2104: %% ! 2105: Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic ! 2106: route! ! 2107: %% ! 2108: Ducharm's Axiom: ! 2109: If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize ! 2110: yourself as part of the problem. ! 2111: %% ! 2112: Ducharme's Precept: ! 2113: Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. ! 2114: %% ! 2115: Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and ! 2116: it holds the universe together ... ! 2117: -- Carl Zwanzig ! 2118: %% ! 2119: Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders ! 2120: has been discontinued. ! 2121: %% ! 2122: Due to circumstances beyond your control, you are master of your fate ! 2123: and captain of your soul. ! 2124: %% ! 2125: During a grouse hunt in North Carolina two intrepid sportsmen ! 2126: were blasting away at a clump of trees near a stone wall. Suddenly a ! 2127: red-faced country squire popped his head over the wall and shouted, ! 2128: "Hey, you almost hit my wife." ! 2129: "Did I?" cried the hunter, aghast. "Terribly sorry. Have a ! 2130: shot at mine, over there." ! 2131: %% ! 2132: During the next two hours, the VAX will be going up and down several ! 2133: times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4k**n~po_~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o ! 2134: %% ! 2135: Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to ! 2136: have nothing whatever to do with it. ! 2137: -- W. Somerset Maughm ! 2138: %% ! 2139: E Pluribus Unix ! 2140: %% ! 2141: Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends ! 2142: %% ! 2143: Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends. ! 2144: %% ! 2145: /Earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. ! 2146: %% ! 2147: /earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. ! 2148: %% ! 2149: "Earth is a great, big funhouse without the fun." ! 2150: -- Jeff Berner ! 2151: %% ! 2152: Easiest Color to Solve on a Rubik's Cube: ! 2153: Black. Simply remove all the little colored stickers on the ! 2154: cube, and each of side of the cube will now be the original color of ! 2155: the plastic underneath -- black. According to the instructions, this ! 2156: means the puzzle is solved. ! 2157: -- Steve Rubenstein ! 2158: %% ! 2159: Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. ! 2160: -- John Kenneth Galbraith ! 2161: %% ! 2162: Economics, n.: ! 2163: Economics is the study of the value and meaning of J. K. ! 2164: Galbraith ... ! 2165: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 2166: %% ! 2167: Eggheads unite! You have nothing to lose but your yolks. ! 2168: -- Adlai Stevenson ! 2169: %% ! 2170: Eggnog is a traditional holiday drink invented by the English. Many ! 2171: people wonder where the word "eggnog" comes from. The first syllable ! 2172: comes from the English word "egg", meaning "egg". I don't know where ! 2173: the "nog" comes from. ! 2174: ! 2175: To make eggnog, you'll need rum, whiskey, wine gin and, if they are in ! 2176: season, eggs... ! 2177: %% ! 2178: Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain ! 2179: of being a damned fool. ! 2180: -- Bellamy Brooks ! 2181: %% ! 2182: Egotist, n.: ! 2183: A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. ! 2184: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 2185: %% ! 2186: Ehrman's Commentary: ! 2187: 1. Things will get worse before they get better. ! 2188: 2. Who said things would get better? ! 2189: %% ! 2190: Eighty percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees. ! 2191: -- Ronald Reagan, famous movie star ! 2192: %% ! 2193: Eisenhower was very nice, ! 2194: Nixon was his only vice. ! 2195: -- C. Degen ! 2196: %% ! 2197: Eleanor Rigby ! 2198: Sits at the keyboard ! 2199: And waits for a line on the screen ! 2200: Lives in a dream ! 2201: Waits for a signal ! 2202: Finding some code ! 2203: That will make the machine do some more. ! 2204: What is it for? ! 2205: ! 2206: All the lonely users, where do they all come from? ! 2207: All the lonely users, why does it take so long? ! 2208: %% ! 2209: Electrical Engineers do it with less resistance. ! 2210: %% ! 2211: Electrocution, n.: ! 2212: Burning at the stake with all the modern improvements. ! 2213: %% ! 2214: Elevators smell different to midgets ! 2215: %% ! 2216: Emersons' Law of Contrariness: ! 2217: Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we ! 2218: can. Having found them, we shall then hate them for it. ! 2219: %% ! 2220: Encyclopedia Salesmen: ! 2221: Invite them all in. Nip out the back door. Phone the police ! 2222: and tell them your house is being burgled. ! 2223: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 2224: %% ! 2225: Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless. ! 2226: Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop. ! 2227: -- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary ! 2228: %% ! 2229: Entropy isn't what it used to be. ! 2230: %% ! 2231: Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which ! 2232: otherwise require harder thinking. ! 2233: -- Jerome Lettvin ! 2234: %% ! 2235: Equal bytes for women. ! 2236: %% ! 2237: Es brilig war. Die schlichte Toven ! 2238: Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben; ! 2239: Und aller-m"umsige Burggoven ! 2240: Dir mohmen R"ath ausgraben. ! 2241: -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 2242: %% ! 2243: Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. ! 2244: -- Woody Allen ! 2245: %% ! 2246: Etymology, n.: ! 2247: Some early etymological scholars come up with derivations that ! 2248: were hard for the public to believe. The term "etymology" was formed ! 2249: from the Latin "etus" ("eaten"), the root "mal" ("bad"), and "logy" ! 2250: ("study of"). It meant "the study of things that are hard to swallow." ! 2251: -- Mike Kellen ! 2252: %% ! 2253: Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to ! 2254: speak it to? ! 2255: -- Clarence Darrow ! 2256: %% ! 2257: "Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral." ! 2258: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 2259: %% ! 2260: Even though they raised the rate for first class mail in the United ! 2261: States we really shouldn't complain -- it's still only 2 cents a day. ! 2262: %% ! 2263: Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you ! 2264: just how busy they are. ! 2265: %% ! 2266: Every 4 seconds a woman has a baby. Our problem is to find this woman ! 2267: and stop her. ! 2268: %% ! 2269: Every absurdity has a champion who will defend it. ! 2270: %% ! 2271: Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to punt. ! 2272: %% ! 2273: Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired ! 2274: signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not ! 2275: fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not ! 2276: spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the ! 2277: genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way ! 2278: of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is ! 2279: humanity hanging on a cross of iron. ! 2280: -- Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953 ! 2281: %% ! 2282: Every Horse has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation): ! 2283: ! 2284: Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs, and in ! 2285: front they have fore-legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an ! 2286: odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both even ! 2287: and odd is infinity. Therefore, horses have an infinite number of ! 2288: legs. Now to show this for the general case, suppose that somewhere, ! 2289: there is a horse that has a finite number of legs. But that is a horse ! 2290: of another color, and by the [above] lemma ["All horses are the same ! 2291: color"], that does not exist. ! 2292: %% ! 2293: Every little picofarad has a nanohenry all its own. ! 2294: -- Don Vonada ! 2295: %% ! 2296: Every man is as God made him, ay, and often worse. ! 2297: -- Miguel de Cervantes ! 2298: %% ! 2299: Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one ! 2300: instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every ! 2301: program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work. ! 2302: %% ! 2303: Every program has two purposes -- ! 2304: written and another for which it wasn't. ! 2305: %% ! 2306: Every program is a part of some other program, and rarely fits. ! 2307: %% ! 2308: Every solution breeds new problems. ! 2309: %% ! 2310: Every successful person has had failures but repeated failure is no ! 2311: guarantee of eventual success. ! 2312: %% ! 2313: "Every time I think I know where it's at, they move it." ! 2314: %% ! 2315: Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness. ! 2316: -- Beckett ! 2317: %% ! 2318: Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. ! 2319: -- Dykstra ! 2320: %% ! 2321: Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. ! 2322: %% ! 2323: Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be ! 2324: taught how ___not to. So it is with the great programmers. ! 2325: %% ! 2326: Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic ! 2327: formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the ! 2328: scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact ! 2329: wholly unconcerned with what ____does exist. Indeed, the banality of ! 2330: existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to ! 2331: discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the ! 2332: problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the ! 2333: mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, ! 2334: one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely ! 2335: different way ... ! 2336: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 2337: %% ! 2338: Everyone talks about apathy, but no one ____does anything about it. ! 2339: %% ! 2340: Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, ! 2341: no one we know belongs. ! 2342: %% ! 2343: Everything you know is wrong! ! 2344: %% ! 2345: Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less ! 2346: obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no ! 2347: solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. ! 2348: There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no ! 2349: straight lines. ! 2350: -- R. Buckminster Fuller ! 2351: %% ! 2352: Everyting should be built top-down, except the first time. ! 2353: %% ! 2354: Excellence is THE trend of the '80s. Walk into any shopping ! 2355: mall bookstore, go to the rack where they keep the best-sellers such as ! 2356: "Garfield Gets Spayed", and you'll see a half-dozen books telling you ! 2357: how to be excellent: "In Search of Excellence", "Finding Excellence", ! 2358: "Grasping Hold of Excellence", "Where to Hide Your Excellence at Night ! 2359: So the Cleaning Personnel Don't Steal It", etc. ! 2360: -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" ! 2361: %% ! 2362: Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike office water cooler. ! 2363: %% ! 2364: Excellent day to have a rotten day. ! 2365: %% ! 2366: Excellent time to become a missing person. ! 2367: %% ! 2368: Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from ! 2369: acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ! 2370: -- W. Somerset Maugham ! 2371: %% ! 2372: Excessive login or logout messages are a sure sign of senility. ! 2373: %% ! 2374: Expect the worst, it's the least you can do. ! 2375: %% ! 2376: Expense Accounts, n.: ! 2377: Corporate food stamps. ! 2378: %% ! 2379: Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. ! 2380: -- Olivier ! 2381: %% ! 2382: Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a ! 2383: mistake when you make it again. ! 2384: -- F. P. Jones ! 2385: %% ! 2386: Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and ! 2387: the instruction afterward. ! 2388: %% ! 2389: Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old ! 2390: ones. ! 2391: %% ! 2392: Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. ! 2393: %% ! 2394: Experience varies directly with equipment ruined. ! 2395: %% ! 2396: F u cn rd ths u cnt spl wrth a dm! ! 2397: %% ! 2398: f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd. ! 2399: %% ! 2400: f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng. ! 2401: %% ! 2402: Fairy Tale, n.: ! 2403: A horror story to prepare children for the newspapers. ! 2404: %% ! 2405: Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic ! 2406: without looking to see whether the seeds move. ! 2407: %% ! 2408: Faith, n: ! 2409: That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be ! 2410: untrue. ! 2411: %% ! 2412: Fakir, n: ! 2413: A psychologist whose charismatic data have inspired almost ! 2414: religious devotion in his followers, even though the sources seem to ! 2415: have shinnied up a rope and vanished. ! 2416: %% ! 2417: Familiarity breeds attempt ! 2418: %% ! 2419: Families, when a child is born ! 2420: Want it to be intelligent. ! 2421: I, through intelligence, ! 2422: Having wrecked my whole life, ! 2423: Only hope the baby will prove ! 2424: Ignorant and stupid. ! 2425: Then he will crown a tranquil life ! 2426: By becoming a Cabinet Minister ! 2427: -- Su Tung-p'o ! 2428: %% ! 2429: Famous last words: ! 2430: %% ! 2431: Famous last words: ! 2432: 1) "Don't worry, I can handle it." ! 2433: 2) "You and what army?" ! 2434: 3) "If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be ! 2435: a cop." ! 2436: %% ! 2437: Famous last words: ! 2438: 1. Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix. ! 2439: 2. Let's take the shortcut, he can't see us from there. ! 2440: 3. What happens if you touch these two wires tog-- ! 2441: 4. We won't need reservations. ! 2442: 5. It's always sunny there this time of the year. ! 2443: 6. Don't worry, it's not loaded. ! 2444: 7. They'd never (be stupid enough to) make him a manager. ! 2445: %% ! 2446: Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the ! 2447: Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. ! 2448: Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an ! 2449: utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life ! 2450: forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches ! 2451: are a pretty neat idea ... ! 2452: -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 2453: %% ! 2454: Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it ! 2455: every six months. ! 2456: -- Oscar Wilde ! 2457: %% ! 2458: Fats Loves Madelyn ! 2459: %% ! 2460: Feel disillusioned? I've got some great new illusions ... ! 2461: %% ! 2462: Fertility is hereditary. If your parents didn't have any children, ! 2463: neither will you. ! 2464: %% ! 2465: Festivity Level 1: Your guests are chatting amiably with each ! 2466: other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around ! 2467: the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling hors ! 2468: d'oeuvres. ! 2469: Festivity Level 2: Your guests are talking loudly -- sometimes ! 2470: to each other, and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your ! 2471: Christmas-tree ornaments, singing "I Gotta Be Me" around the upright ! 2472: piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d'oeuvres. ! 2473: Festivity Level 3: Your guests are arguing violently with ! 2474: inanimate objects, singing "I can't get no satisfaction," gulping down ! 2475: other peoples' drinks, wolfing down Christmas tree ornaments and ! 2476: placing hors d'oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when ! 2477: the little hammers strike. ! 2478: Festivity Level 4: Your guests, hors d'oeuvres smeared all over ! 2479: their naked bodies are performing a ritual dance around the burning ! 2480: Christmas tree. The piano is missing. ! 2481: ! 2482: You want to keep your party somewhere around level 3, unless ! 2483: you rent your home and own Firearms, in which case you can go to level ! 2484: 4. The best way to get to level 3 is egg-nog. ! 2485: %% ! 2486: Fifth Law of Applied Terror: ! 2487: If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. ! 2488: Corollary: ! 2489: If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you ! 2490: live. ! 2491: %% ! 2492: Fifth Law of Procrastination: ! 2493: Procrastination avoids boredom; one never has the feeling that ! 2494: there is nothing important to do. ! 2495: %% ! 2496: FIGHTING WORDS ! 2497: ! 2498: Say my love is easy had, ! 2499: Say I'm bitten raw with pride, ! 2500: Say I am too often sad -- ! 2501: Still behold me at your side. ! 2502: ! 2503: Say I'm neither brave nor young, ! 2504: Say I woo and coddle care, ! 2505: Say the devil touched my tongue -- ! 2506: Still you have my heart to wear. ! 2507: ! 2508: But say my verses do not scan, ! 2509: And I get me another man! ! 2510: -- Dorothy Parker ! 2511: %% ! 2512: Finagle's Creed: ! 2513: Science is true. Don't be misled by facts. ! 2514: %% ! 2515: Finagle's First Law: ! 2516: If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. ! 2517: %% ! 2518: Finagle's fourth Law: ! 2519: Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only ! 2520: makes it worse. ! 2521: %% ! 2522: Finagle's Second Law: ! 2523: No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be ! 2524: someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) ! 2525: believe it happened according to his own pet theory. ! 2526: %% ! 2527: Finagle's Third Law: ! 2528: In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct, ! 2529: beyond all need of checking, is the mistake ! 2530: ! 2531: Corollaries: ! 2532: 1. Nobody whom you ask for help will see it. ! 2533: 2. The first person who stops by, whose advice you really ! 2534: don't want to hear, will see it immediately. ! 2535: %% ! 2536: Fine day to throw a party. Throw him as far as you can. ! 2537: %% ! 2538: Fine day to work off excess energy. Steal something heavy. ! 2539: %% ! 2540: First Law of Bicycling: ! 2541: No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the ! 2542: wind. ! 2543: %% ! 2544: First Law of Procrastination: ! 2545: Procrastination shortens the job and places the responsibility ! 2546: for its termination on someone else (i.e., the authority who ! 2547: imposed the deadline). ! 2548: %% ! 2549: First Law of Socio-Genetics: ! 2550: Celibacy is not hereditary. ! 2551: %% ! 2552: First Rule of History: ! 2553: History doesn't repeat itself -- historians merely repeat each ! 2554: other. ! 2555: %% ! 2556: Flappity, floppity, flip ! 2557: The mouse on the m"obius strip; ! 2558: The strip revolved, ! 2559: The mouse dissolved ! 2560: In a chronodimensional skip. ! 2561: %% ! 2562: FLASH! Intelligence of mankind decreasing. Details at ... uh, when ! 2563: the little hand is on the .... ! 2564: %% ! 2565: Flon's Law: ! 2566: There is not now, and never will be, a language in which it is ! 2567: the least bit difficult to write bad programs. ! 2568: %% ! 2569: Flugg's Law: ! 2570: When you need to knock on wood is when you realize that the ! 2571: world is composed of vinyl, naugahyde and aluminum. ! 2572: %% ! 2573: For a good time, call (415) 642-9483 ! 2574: %% ! 2575: For an idea to be fashionable is ominous, since it must afterwards be ! 2576: always old-fashioned. ! 2577: %% ! 2578: For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, ! 2579: and wrong. ! 2580: -- H. L. Mencken ! 2581: %% ! 2582: For every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill. ! 2583: -- R. Clopton ! 2584: %% ! 2585: "For I perceive that behind this seemingly unrelated sequence ! 2586: of events, there lurks a singular, sinister attitude of mind." ! 2587: ! 2588: "Whose?" ! 2589: ! 2590: "MINE! HA-HA!" ! 2591: %% ! 2592: For some reason a glaze passes over people's faces when you say ! 2593: "Canada". Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something. ! 2594: -- Sandra Gotlieb, wife of the Canadian ambassador to ! 2595: the U.S. ! 2596: %% ! 2597: For some reason, this fortune reminds everyone of Marvin Zelkowitz. ! 2598: %% ! 2599: "For that matter, compare your pocket computer with the massive jobs of ! 2600: a thousand years ago. Why not, then, the last step of doing away with ! 2601: computers altogether?" ! 2602: -- Jehan Shuman ! 2603: %% ! 2604: For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they ! 2605: like. ! 2606: -- Abraham Lincoln ! 2607: %% ! 2608: For years a secret shame destroyed my peace -- ! 2609: I'd not read Eliot, Auden or MacNiece. ! 2610: But now I think a thought that brings me hope: ! 2611: Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope. ! 2612: -- Justin Richardson. ! 2613: %% ! 2614: Forgetfulness, n.: ! 2615: A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their ! 2616: destitution of conscience. ! 2617: %% ! 2618: Fortune's graffito of the week (or maybe even month): ! 2619: ! 2620: Don't Write On Walls! ! 2621: ! 2622: (and underneath) ! 2623: ! 2624: You want I should type? ! 2625: %% ! 2626: Fortune's nomination for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful ! 2627: Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an ! 2628: impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to "expand oyster and ! 2629: clam research," a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following ! 2630: exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan. ! 2631: ! 2632: DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are ! 2633: having to artificially propagate oysters and clams. ! 2634: HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature's oysters? ! 2635: DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter ! 2636: is that female oysters through their living habits cast out ! 2637: large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large ! 2638: amounts of fertilization. ! 2639: HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many ! 2640: teenagers who read The Congressional Record. ! 2641: %% ! 2642: FORTUNE'S PARTY TIPS #14 ! 2643: ! 2644: Tired of finding that other people are helping themselves to your good ! 2645: liquor at BYOB parties? Take along a candle, which you insert and ! 2646: light after you've opened the bottle. No one ever expects anything ! 2647: drinkable to be in a bottle which has a candle stuck in its neck. ! 2648: %% ! 2649: Fourth Law of Applied Terror: ! 2650: The night before the English History mid-term, your Biology ! 2651: instructor will assign 200 pages on planaria. ! 2652: Corollary: ! 2653: Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do ! 2654: except study for that instructor's course. ! 2655: %% ! 2656: Fourth Law of Revision: ! 2657: It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about ! 2658: interferences -- if you have none, someone will make one for ! 2659: you. ! 2660: %% ! 2661: Fresco's Discovery: ! 2662: If you knew what you were doing you'd probably be bored. ! 2663: %% ! 2664: Friends, Romans, Hipsters, ! 2665: Let me clue you in; ! 2666: I come to put down Caeser, not to groove him. ! 2667: The square kicks some cats are on stay with them; ! 2668: The hip bits, like, go down under; so let it lay with Caeser. The cool Brutus ! 2669: Gave you the message: Caeser had big eyes; ! 2670: If that's the sound, someone's copping a plea, ! 2671: And, like, old Caeser really set them straight. ! 2672: Here, copacetic with Brutus and the studs, -- for Brutus is a real cool cat; ! 2673: So are they all, all cool cats, -- ! 2674: Come I to make this gig at Caeser's laying down. ! 2675: %% ! 2676: Frisbeetarianism, n.: ! 2677: The belief that when you die, your soul goes up the on roof and ! 2678: gets stuck. ! 2679: %% ! 2680: Frobnicate, v.: ! 2681: To manipulate or adjust, to tweak. Derived from FROBNITZ. ! 2682: Usually abbreviated to FROB. Thus one has the saying "to frob a ! 2683: frob". See TWEAK and TWIDDLE. Usage: FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK ! 2684: sometimes connote points along a continuum. FROB connotes aimless ! 2685: manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse ! 2686: search for a proper setting; TWEAK connotes fine-tuning. If someone is ! 2687: turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it ! 2688: he is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the ! 2689: screen he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because ! 2690: turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. ! 2691: %% ! 2692: From too much love of living, ! 2693: From hope and fear set free, ! 2694: We thank with brief thanksgiving, ! 2695: Whatever gods may be, ! 2696: That no life lives forever, ! 2697: That dead men rise up never, ! 2698: That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea. ! 2699: -- Swinburne ! 2700: %% ! 2701: Fudd's First Law of Opposition: ! 2702: Push something hard enough and it will fall over. ! 2703: %% ! 2704: Furbling, v.: ! 2705: Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank ! 2706: even when you are the only person in line. ! 2707: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 2708: %% ! 2709: Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. ! 2710: -- H. H. Williams ! 2711: %% ! 2712: Future looks spotty. You will spill soup in late evening. ! 2713: %% ! 2714: G. B. Shaw to William Douglas Home: "Go on writing plays, my boy. One ! 2715: of these days a London producer will go into his office and say to his ! 2716: secretary, `Is there a play from Shaw this morning?' and when she says ! 2717: `No,' he will say, `Well, then we'll have to start on the rubbish.' ! 2718: And that's your chance, my boy." ! 2719: %% ! 2720: Garbage In -- Gospel Out. ! 2721: %% ! 2722: Garter, n.: ! 2723: An elastic band intended to keep a woman from coming out of her ! 2724: stockings and desolating the country. ! 2725: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 2726: %% ! 2727: Gauls! We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall ! 2728: on our heads tomorrow. But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!! ! 2729: -- Adventures of Asterix. ! 2730: %% ! 2731: Gay shlafen: Yiddish for "go to sleep". ! 2732: ! 2733: Now doesn't "gay shlafen" have a softer, more soothing sound ! 2734: than the harsh, staccato "go to sleep"? Listen to the difference: ! 2735: "Go to sleep, you little wretch!" ... "Gay shlafen, darling." ! 2736: Obvious, isn't it? ! 2737: Clearly the best thing you can do for you children is to start ! 2738: speaking Yiddish right now and never speak another word of English as ! 2739: long as you live. This will, of course, entail teaching Yiddish to all ! 2740: your friends, business associates, the people at the supermarket, and ! 2741: so on, but that's just the point. It has to start with committed ! 2742: individuals and then grow ... ! 2743: Some minor adjustments will have to be made, of course: those ! 2744: signs written in what look like Yiddish letters won't be funny when ! 2745: everything is written in Yiddish. And we'll have to start driving on ! 2746: the left side of the road so we won't be reading the street signs ! 2747: backwards. But is that too high a price to pay for world peace? I ! 2748: think not, my friend, I think not. ! 2749: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 2750: %% ! 2751: "Gee, Mudhead, everyone at Morse Science High has an ! 2752: extracurricular activity except you." ! 2753: "Well, gee, doesn't Louise count?" ! 2754: "Only to ten, Mudhead." ! 2755: ! 2756: -- Firesign Theater ! 2757: %% ! 2758: GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) ! 2759: You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you because you ! 2760: are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much for too ! 2761: little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for committing ! 2762: incest. ! 2763: %% ! 2764: GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20) ! 2765: Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while ! 2766: you can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy ! 2767: praise and respect from those around you; everybody loves a ! 2768: sucker. A short trip is in the stars, possibly to the men's ! 2769: room. ! 2770: %% ! 2771: Genderplex, n.: ! 2772: The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to ! 2773: determine his or her designated restroom (e.g., turtles and ! 2774: tortoises). ! 2775: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 2776: %% ! 2777: Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why ! 2778: you should. ! 2779: %% ! 2780: Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus ! 2781: handicapped. ! 2782: -- Elbert Hubbard ! 2783: %% ! 2784: Genius, n.: ! 2785: A chemist who discovers a laundry additive that rhymes with ! 2786: "bright". ! 2787: %% ! 2788: George Orwell was an optimist. ! 2789: %% ! 2790: Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics: ! 2791: 1. An object in motion will always be headed in the wrong ! 2792: direction. ! 2793: 2. An object at rest will always be in the wrong place. ! 2794: 3. The energy required to change either one of these states ! 2795: will always be more than you wish to expend, but never so ! 2796: much as to make the task totally impossible. ! 2797: %% ! 2798: Get forgiveness now -- tomorrow you may no longer feel guilty. ! 2799: %% ! 2800: Get Revenge! Live long enough to be a problem for your children! ! 2801: %% ! 2802: -- Gifts for Children -- ! 2803: ! 2804: This is easy. You never have to figure out what to get for children, ! 2805: because they will tell you exactly what they want. They spend months ! 2806: and months researching these kinds of things by watching Saturday- ! 2807: morning cartoon-show advertisements. Make sure you get your children ! 2808: exactly what they ask for, even if you disapprove of their choices. If ! 2809: your child thinks he wants Murderous Bob, the Doll with the Face You ! 2810: Can Rip Right Off, you'd better get it. You may be worried that it ! 2811: might help to encourage your child's antisocial tendencies, but believe ! 2812: me, you have not seen antisocial tendencies until you've seen a child ! 2813: who is convinced that he or she did not get the right gift. ! 2814: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 2815: %% ! 2816: -- Gifts for Men -- ! 2817: ! 2818: Men are amused by almost any idiot thing -- that is why professional ! 2819: ice hockey is so popular -- so buying gifts for them is easy. But you ! 2820: should never buy them clothes. Men believe they already have all the ! 2821: clothes they will ever need, and new ones make them nervous. For ! 2822: example, your average man has 84 ties, but he wears, at most, only ! 2823: three of them. He has learned, through humiliating trial and error, ! 2824: that if he wears any of the other 81 ties, his wife will probably laugh ! 2825: at him ("You're not going to wear THAT tie with that suit, are you?"). ! 2826: So he has narrowed it down to three safe ties, and has gone several ! 2827: years without being laughed at. If you give him a new tie, he will ! 2828: pretend to like it, but deep inside he will hate you. ! 2829: ! 2830: If you want to give a man something practical, consider tires. More ! 2831: than once, I would have gladly traded all the gifts I got for a new set ! 2832: of tires. ! 2833: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 2834: %% ! 2835: Gimmie That Old Time Religion ! 2836: We will follow Zarathustra, We will worship like the Druids, ! 2837: Zarathustra like we use to, Dancing naked in the woods, ! 2838: I'm a Zarathustra booster, Drinking strange fermented fluids, ! 2839: And he's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! ! 2840: (chorus) (chorus) ! 2841: ! 2842: In the church of Aphrodite, ! 2843: The priestess wears a see through nightie, ! 2844: She's a mighty righteous sightie, ! 2845: And she's good enough for me! ! 2846: (chorus) ! 2847: ! 2848: CHORUS: Give me that old time religion, ! 2849: Give me that old time religion, ! 2850: Give me that old time religion, ! 2851: 'Cause it's good enough for me! ! 2852: %% ! 2853: Ginsberg's Theorem: ! 2854: 1. You can't win. ! 2855: 2. You can't break even. ! 2856: 3. You can't even quit the game. ! 2857: ! 2858: Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem: ! 2859: ! 2860: Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem ! 2861: meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's ! 2862: Theorem. To wit: ! 2863: ! 2864: 1. Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win. ! 2865: 2. Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break ! 2866: even. ! 2867: 3. Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the ! 2868: game. ! 2869: %% ! 2870: Give me a Plumber's friend the size of the Pittsburgh dome, and a place ! 2871: to stand, and I will drain the world. ! 2872: %% ! 2873: Give me the Luxuries, and the Hell with the Necessities! ! 2874: %% ! 2875: Give thought to your reputation. Consider changing name and moving to ! 2876: a new town. ! 2877: %% ! 2878: Give your child mental blocks for Christmas. ! 2879: %% ! 2880: Glib's Fourth Law of Unreliability: ! 2881: Investment in reliability will increase until it exceeds the ! 2882: probable cost of errors, or until someone insists on getting ! 2883: some useful work done. ! 2884: %% ! 2885: Go 'way! You're bothering me! ! 2886: %% ! 2887: Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what value there may ! 2888: be in owning a piece thereof. ! 2889: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 2890: %% ! 2891: //GO.SYSIN DD *, DOODAH, DOODAH ! 2892: %% ! 2893: God did not create the world in 7 days; he screwed around for 6 days ! 2894: and then pulled an all-nighter. ! 2895: %% ! 2896: "God gives burdens; also shoulders" ! 2897: ! 2898: Jimmy Carter cited this Jewish saying in his concession speech ! 2899: at the end of the 1980 election. At least he said it was a Jewish ! 2900: saying; I can't find it anywhere. I'm sure he's telling the truth ! 2901: though; why would he lie about a thing like that? ! 2902: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 2903: %% ! 2904: God has intended the great to be great and the little to be little ... ! 2905: The trade unions, under the European system, destroy liberty ... I do ! 2906: not mean to say that a dollar a day is enough to support a workingman ! 2907: ... not enough to support a man and five children if he insists on ! 2908: smoking and drinking beer. But the man who cannot live on bread and ! 2909: water is not fit to live! A family may live on good bread and water in ! 2910: the morning, water and bread at midday, and good bread and water at ! 2911: night! ! 2912: -- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher ! 2913: %% ! 2914: God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh ! 2915: %% ! 2916: God is a polythiest ! 2917: %% ! 2918: God is Dead ! 2919: -- Nietzsche ! 2920: Nietzsche is Dead ! 2921: -- God ! 2922: Nietzsche is God ! 2923: -- The Dead ! 2924: %% ! 2925: God is not dead! He's alive and autographing bibles at Cody's ! 2926: %% ! 2927: God is real, unless declared integer. ! 2928: %% ! 2929: God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the ! 2930: elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying ! 2931: other things. ! 2932: -- Pablo Picasso ! 2933: %% ! 2934: God is the tangential point between zero and infinity. ! 2935: -- Alfred Jarry ! 2936: %% ! 2937: God isn't dead, he just couldn't find a parking place. ! 2938: %% ! 2939: God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man. ! 2940: %% ! 2941: God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board ! 2942: -- Mark Twain ! 2943: %% ! 2944: God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. ! 2945: -- Kronecker ! 2946: %% ! 2947: God made the world in six days, and was arrested on the seventh. ! 2948: %% ! 2949: God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean. ! 2950: -- Albert Einstein ! 2951: %% ! 2952: God must love the Common Man; He made so many of them. ! 2953: %% ! 2954: God rest ye CS students now, ! 2955: Let nothing you dismay. ! 2956: The VAX is down and won't be up, ! 2957: Until the first of May. ! 2958: The program that was due this morn, ! 2959: Won't be postponed, they say. ! 2960: ! 2961: Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, ! 2962: Comfort and joy, ! 2963: Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. ! 2964: ! 2965: The bearings on the drum are gone, ! 2966: The disk is wobbling, too. ! 2967: We've found a bug in Lisp, and Algol ! 2968: Can't tell false from true. ! 2969: And now we find that we can't get ! 2970: At Berkeley's 4.2. ! 2971: ! 2972: (chorus) ! 2973: %% ! 2974: Going to church does not make a person religious, nor does going to ! 2975: school make a person educated, any more than going to a garage makes a ! 2976: person a car. ! 2977: %% ! 2978: Gold, n.: ! 2979: A soft malleable metal relatively scarce in distribution. It ! 2980: is mined deep in the earth by poor men who then give it to rich men who ! 2981: immediately bury it back in the earth in great prisons, although gold ! 2982: hasn't done anything to them. ! 2983: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 2984: %% ! 2985: Goldenstern's Rules: ! 2986: 1. Always hire a rich attorney ! 2987: 2. Never buy from a rich salesman. ! 2988: %% ! 2989: Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad ! 2990: example. ! 2991: -- La Rouchefoucauld ! 2992: %% ! 2993: Good day for a change of scene. Repaper the bedroom wall. ! 2994: %% ! 2995: Good day for overcoming obstacles. Try a steeplechase. ! 2996: %% ! 2997: Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to school. ! 2998: %% ! 2999: Good day to let down old friends who need help. ! 3000: %% ! 3001: Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed. ! 3002: %% ! 3003: Good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance. ! 3004: %% ! 3005: Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. ! 3006: %% ! 3007: Good night to spend with family, but avoid arguments with your mate's ! 3008: new lover. ! 3009: %% ! 3010: Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored. ! 3011: -- George Saunders' dying words ! 3012: %% ! 3013: Got Mole problems? ! 3014: Call Avogardo 6.02 x 10^23 ! 3015: %% ! 3016: Goto, n.: ! 3017: A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers ! 3018: to complain about unstructured programmers. ! 3019: -- Ray Simard ! 3020: %% ! 3021: Goy: ... The distinction between Jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, ! 3022: as the following quote from Lenny Bruce illustrates: ! 3023: ! 3024: "I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. ! 3025: Eddie Cantor's goyish. The B'nai Brith is goyish. The Hadassah is ! 3026: Jewish. Marine Corps -- heavy goyish, dangerous. ! 3027: "Kool-Aid is goyish. All Drake's Cakes are goyish. ! 3028: Pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. ! 3029: Instant potatoes -- goyish. Black cherry soda's very Jewish. ! 3030: Macaroons are ____very Jewish. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime Jell-O is ! 3031: goyish. Lime soda is ____very goyish. Trailer parks are so goyish that ! 3032: Jews won't go near them ..." ! 3033: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 3034: %% ! 3035: Grabel's Law: ! 3036: 2 is not equal to 3 -- not even for large values of 2. ! 3037: %% ! 3038: Graduate life -- it's not just a job, it's an indenture. ! 3039: %% ! 3040: Grandpa Charnock's Law: ! 3041: You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. ! 3042: %% ! 3043: Gravity is a myth, the Earth sucks. ! 3044: %% ! 3045: Gray's Law of Programming: ! 3046: `_n+1' trivial tasks are expected to be accomplished in the same ! 3047: time as `_n' tasks. ! 3048: ! 3049: Logg's Rebuttal to Gray's Law: ! 3050: `_n+1' trivial tasks take twice as long as `_n' trivial tasks. ! 3051: %% ! 3052: GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY (#21) -- July 30, 1917 ! 3053: ! 3054: On this day, New York City hotel detectives burst in and caught then- ! 3055: Senator Warren G. Harding in bed with an underage girl. He bought them ! 3056: off with a $20 bribe, and later remarked thankfully, "I thought I ! 3057: wouldn't get out of that under $1000!" Always one to learn from his ! 3058: mistakes, in later years President Harding carried on his affairs in a ! 3059: tiny closet in the White House Cabinet Room while Secret Service men ! 3060: stood lookout. ! 3061: %% ! 3062: Green light in A.M. for new projects. Red light in P.M. for traffic ! 3063: tickets. ! 3064: %% ! 3065: Greener's Law: ! 3066: Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel. ! 3067: %% ! 3068: Grelb's Reminder: ! 3069: Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above ! 3070: average drivers. ! 3071: %% ! 3072: "Grub first, then ethics." ! 3073: -- Bertolt Brecht ! 3074: %% ! 3075: Gyroscope, n.: ! 3076: A wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also ! 3077: free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each ! 3078: other and the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two ! 3079: mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the ! 3080: other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus ! 3081: offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any ! 3082: torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin. ! 3083: -- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary ! 3084: %% ! 3085: H. L. Mencken's Law: ! 3086: Those who can -- do. ! 3087: Those who can't -- teach. ! 3088: ! 3089: Martin's Extension: ! 3090: Those who cannot teach -- administrate. ! 3091: %% ! 3092: Hacker's Law: ! 3093: The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir ! 3094: a nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. ! 3095: %% ! 3096: Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge. ! 3097: %% ! 3098: ... Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, ! 3099: and you would not have been informed. ! 3100: %% ! 3101: Hail to the sun god ! 3102: He sure is a fun god ! 3103: Ra! Ra! Ra! ! 3104: %% ! 3105: Half Moon tonight. (At least it's better than no Moon at all.) ! 3106: %% ! 3107: Half-done: This is the best way to eat a kosher dill -- when it's still ! 3108: crunchy, light green, yet full of garlic flavor. The difference ! 3109: between this and the typical soggy dark green cucumber corpse is like ! 3110: the the difference between life and death. ! 3111: You may find it difficult to find a good half-done kosher dill ! 3112: there in Seattle, so what you should do is take a cab out to the ! 3113: airport, fly to New York, take the JFK Express to Jay Street-Borough ! 3114: Hall, transfer to an uptown F, get off at East Broadway, walk north on ! 3115: Essex (along the park), make your first left onto Hester Street, walk ! 3116: about fifteen steps, turn ninety degrees left, and stop. Say to the ! 3117: man, "Let me have a nice half-done." ! 3118: Worth the trouble, wasn't it? ! 3119: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 3120: %% ! 3121: Hall's Laws of Politics: ! 3122: (1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending. ! 3123: (2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something ! 3124: fixed. ! 3125: (3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend ! 3126: military spending, and conservatives social spending in ! 3127: their own districts). ! 3128: %% ! 3129: Hand, n.: ! 3130: A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and ! 3131: commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. ! 3132: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3133: %% ! 3134: Hanlon's Razor: ! 3135: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by ! 3136: stupidity. ! 3137: %% ! 3138: Hanson's Treatment of Time: ! 3139: There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days ! 3140: before Saturday. ! 3141: %% ! 3142: Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. ! 3143: -- Ogden Nash ! 3144: %% ! 3145: Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. ! 3146: -- Oscar Levant ! 3147: %% ! 3148: Happiness, n.: ! 3149: An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of ! 3150: another. ! 3151: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3152: %% ! 3153: Hardware, n.: ! 3154: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked. ! 3155: %% ! 3156: Hark, Hark, the dogs do bark ! 3157: The Duke is fond of kittens ! 3158: He likes to take their insides out ! 3159: And use them for his mittens ! 3160: From "The Thirteen Clocks" ! 3161: %% ! 3162: Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, ! 3163: Advertising wondrous things. ! 3164: -- Tom Leher ! 3165: %% ! 3166: Harris's Lament: ! 3167: All the good ones are taken. ! 3168: %% ! 3169: Harrisberger's Fourth Law of the Lab: ! 3170: Experience is directly proportional to the amount of ! 3171: equipment ruined. ! 3172: %% ! 3173: Harry is heavily into camping, and every year in the late fall, he ! 3174: makes us all go to Assateague, which is an island on the Atlantic Ocean ! 3175: famous for its wild horses. I realize that the concept of wild horses ! 3176: probably stirs romantic notions in many of you, but this is because you ! 3177: have never met any wild horses in person. In person, they are like ! 3178: enormous hooved rats. They amble up to your camp site, and their ! 3179: attitude is: "We're wild horses. We're going to eat your food, knock ! 3180: down your tent and poop on your shoes. We're protected by federal law, ! 3181: just like Richard Nixon." ! 3182: -- Dave Barry, "Tenting Grandpa Bob" ! 3183: %% ! 3184: Hartley's First Law: ! 3185: You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float ! 3186: on his back, you've got something. ! 3187: %% ! 3188: Hartley's Second Law: ! 3189: Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. ! 3190: %% ! 3191: Harvard Law: ! 3192: Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, ! 3193: temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables, the ! 3194: organism will do as it damn well pleases. ! 3195: %% ! 3196: Has everyone noticed that all the letters of the word "database" are ! 3197: typed with the left hand? Now the layout of the QWERTYUIOP typewriter ! 3198: keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the even use ! 3199: of both hands. It follows, therefore, that writing about databases is ! 3200: not only unnatural, but a lot harder than it appears. ! 3201: %% ! 3202: Has your family tried 'em? ! 3203: ! 3204: POWDERMILK BISCUITS ! 3205: ! 3206: Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious! ! 3207: ! 3208: They're made from whole wheat, to give shy persons ! 3209: the strength to get up and do what needs to be done. ! 3210: ! 3211: POWDERMILK BISCUITS ! 3212: ! 3213: Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of ! 3214: the biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark ! 3215: stains that indicate freshness. ! 3216: %% ! 3217: Hatred, n.: ! 3218: A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's ! 3219: superiority. ! 3220: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3221: %% ! 3222: Have you ever noticed that the people who are always trying to tell ! 3223: you, "There's a time for work and a time for play," never find the time ! 3224: for play? ! 3225: %% ! 3226: Have you noticed that all you need to grow healthy, vigorous grass is a ! 3227: crack in your sidewalk? ! 3228: %% ! 3229: He had that rare weird electricity about him -- that extremely wild and ! 3230: heavy presence that you only see in a person who has abandoned all hope ! 3231: of ever behaving "normally." ! 3232: -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing '72" ! 3233: %% ! 3234: He hadn't a single redeeming vice. ! 3235: -- Oscar Wilde ! 3236: %% ! 3237: "He is now rising from affluence to poverty." ! 3238: -- Mark Twain ! 3239: %% ! 3240: He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered. ! 3241: %% ! 3242: He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. ! 3243: -- John Mason Brown, drama critic ! 3244: %% ! 3245: He thought he saw an albatross ! 3246: That fluttered 'round the lamp. ! 3247: He looked again and saw it was ! 3248: A penny postage stamp. ! 3249: "You'd best be getting home," he said, ! 3250: "The nights are rather damp." ! 3251: %% ! 3252: "He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both ! 3253: eyes ..." ! 3254: %% ! 3255: He who attacks the fundamentals of the American broadcasting industry ! 3256: attacks democracy itself. ! 3257: -- William S. Paley, chairman of CBS ! 3258: %% ! 3259: He who Laughs, Lasts. ! 3260: %% ! 3261: "He's just a politician trying to save both his faces ..." ! 3262: %% ! 3263: He's the kind of guy, that, well, if you were ever in a jam he'd be ! 3264: there ... with two slices of bread and some chunky peanut butter. ! 3265: %% ! 3266: "He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is ..." ! 3267: %% ! 3268: HE: Let's end it all, bequeathin' our brains to science. ! 3269: SHE: What?!? Science got enough trouble with their OWN brains. ! 3270: -- Walt Kelley ! 3271: %% ! 3272: Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. ! 3273: %% ! 3274: Heaven, n.: ! 3275: A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of ! 3276: their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you ! 3277: expound your own. ! 3278: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3279: %% ! 3280: Heavy, adj.: ! 3281: Seduced by the chocolate side of the force. ! 3282: %% ! 3283: "Heisenberg may have slept here" ! 3284: %% ! 3285: Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. ! 3286: -- Milton Friedman ! 3287: %% ! 3288: Heller's Law: ! 3289: The first myth of management is that it exists. ! 3290: ! 3291: Johnson's Corollary: ! 3292: Nobody really knows what is going on anywhere within the ! 3293: organization. ! 3294: %% ! 3295: Help a swallow land at Capistrano. ! 3296: %% ! 3297: Help! I'm trapped in a PDP 11/70! ! 3298: %% ! 3299: Her locks an ancient lady gave ! 3300: Her loving husband's life to save; ! 3301: And men -- they honored so the dame -- ! 3302: Upon some stars bestowed her name. ! 3303: ! 3304: But to our modern married fair, ! 3305: Who'd give their lords to save their hair, ! 3306: No stellar recognition's given. ! 3307: There are not stars enough in heaven. ! 3308: %% ! 3309: "Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from ! 3310: Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth ..." ! 3311: %% ! 3312: Here I sit, broken-hearted, ! 3313: All logged in, but work unstarted. ! 3314: First net.this and net.that, ! 3315: And a hot buttered bun for net.fat. ! 3316: ! 3317: The boss comes by, and I play the game, ! 3318: Then I turn back to net.flame. ! 3319: Is there a cure (I need your views), ! 3320: For someone trapped in net.news? ! 3321: ! 3322: I need your help, I say 'tween sobs, ! 3323: 'Cause I'll soon be listed in net.jobs. ! 3324: %% ! 3325: Here in my heart, I am Helen; ! 3326: I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least. ! 3327: I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Sta"el; ! 3328: I'm Salome, moon of the East. ! 3329: ! 3330: Here in my soul I am Sappho; ! 3331: Lady Hamilton am I, as well. ! 3332: In me R'ecamier vies with Kitty O'Shea, ! 3333: With Dido, and Eve, and poor nell. ! 3334: ! 3335: I'm all of the glamorous ladies ! 3336: At whose beckoning history shook. ! 3337: But you are a man, and see only my pan, ! 3338: So I stay at home with a book. ! 3339: -- Dorothy Parker ! 3340: %% ! 3341: Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical ! 3342: lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach ! 3343: your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. ! 3344: Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in ! 3345: pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, ! 3346: but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an ! 3347: important electrical lesson. ! 3348: ! 3349: It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed ! 3350: your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small ! 3351: objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpets so they will ! 3352: attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and ! 3353: collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your ! 3354: friend's filling, then travels down to his feet and back into the ! 3355: carpet, thus completing the circuit. ! 3356: ! 3357: Amazing Electronic Fact: If you scuffed your feet long enough without ! 3358: touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your ! 3359: finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you ! 3360: have carpeting. ! 3361: -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" ! 3362: %% ! 3363: Here is the fact of the week, maybe even the fact of the ! 3364: month. According to probably reliable sources, the Coca-Cola people ! 3365: are experiencing severe marketing anxiety in China. ! 3366: The words "Coca-Cola" translate into Chinese as either ! 3367: (depending on the inflection) "wax-fattened mare" or "bite the wax ! 3368: tadpole". ! 3369: Bite the wax tadpole. ! 3370: There is a sort of rough justice, is there not? ! 3371: The trouble with this fact, as lovely as it is, is that it's ! 3372: hard to get a whole column out of it. I'd like to teach the world to ! 3373: bite a wax tadpole. Coke -- it's the real wax-fattened mare. Not bad, ! 3374: but broad satiric vistas do not open up. ! 3375: -- John Carrol, San Francisco Chronicle ! 3376: %% ! 3377: Heuristics are bug ridden by definition. If they didn't have bugs, ! 3378: then they'd be algorithms. ! 3379: %% ! 3380: "Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??!" ! 3381: -- W. C. Fields ! 3382: %% ! 3383: Hi there! This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person ! 3384: reading this note, that I can't think up any more famous quotes, jokes, ! 3385: nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home. ! 3386: %% ! 3387: Higgeldy Piggeldy, ! 3388: Hamlet of Elsinore ! 3389: Ruffled the critics by ! 3390: Dropping this bomb: ! 3391: "Phooey on Freud and his ! 3392: Psychoanalysis -- ! 3393: Oedipus, Shmoedipus, ! 3394: I just loved Mom." ! 3395: %% ! 3396: Hindsight is an exact science. ! 3397: %% ! 3398: Hippogriff, n.: ! 3399: An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. ! 3400: The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. ! 3401: The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one quarter eagle, which ! 3402: is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full ! 3403: of surprises. ! 3404: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3405: %% ! 3406: Hire the morally handicapped. ! 3407: %% ! 3408: "His mind is like a steel trap -- full of mice" ! 3409: -- Foghorn Leghorn ! 3410: %% ! 3411: "His super power is to turn into a scotch terrier." ! 3412: %% ! 3413: History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history. ! 3414: %% ! 3415: Hlade's Law: ! 3416: If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- they ! 3417: will find an easier way to do it. ! 3418: %% ! 3419: Hoare's Law of Large Problems: ! 3420: Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get ! 3421: out. ! 3422: %% ! 3423: Hofstadter's Law: ! 3424: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take ! 3425: Hofstadter's Law into account. ! 3426: %% ! 3427: Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness you send out for it. ! 3428: -- Rex Reed ! 3429: %% ! 3430: "Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense" ! 3431: %% ! 3432: Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people. ! 3433: -- F. M. Hubbard ! 3434: %% ! 3435: Honk if you hate bumper stickers that say "Honk if ..." ! 3436: %% ! 3437: Honk if you love peace and quiet. ! 3438: %% ! 3439: Honorable, adj.: ! 3440: Afflicted with an impediment in one's reach. In legislative ! 3441: bodies, it is customary to mention all members as honorable; as, "the ! 3442: honorable gentleman is a scurvy cur." ! 3443: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3444: %% ! 3445: Horngren's Observation: ! 3446: Among economists, the real world is often a special case. ! 3447: %% ! 3448: Horngren's Observation: ! 3449: Among economists, the real world is often a special case. ! 3450: %% ! 3451: Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on ! 3452: people. ! 3453: -- W. C. Fields ! 3454: %% ! 3455: How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all? ! 3456: %% ! 3457: How come only your friends step on your new white sneakers? ! 3458: %% ! 3459: How come wrong numbers are never busy? ! 3460: %% ! 3461: How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? ! 3462: -- Elliot, "E.T." ! 3463: %% ! 3464: How doth the little crocodile ! 3465: Improve his shining tail, ! 3466: And pour the waters of the Nile ! 3467: On every golden scale! ! 3468: ! 3469: How cheerfully he seems to grin, ! 3470: How neatly spreads his claws, ! 3471: And welcomes little fishes in, ! 3472: With gently smiling jaws! ! 3473: -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" ! 3474: %% ! 3475: How doth the VAX's C compiler ! 3476: Improve its object code. ! 3477: And even as we speak does it ! 3478: Increase the system load. ! 3479: ! 3480: How patiently it seems to run ! 3481: And spit out error flags, ! 3482: While users, with frustration, all ! 3483: Tear their clothes to rags. ! 3484: %% ! 3485: How doth the VAX's C-compiler ! 3486: Improve its object code. ! 3487: And even as we speak does it ! 3488: Increase the system load. ! 3489: ! 3490: How patiently it seems to run ! 3491: And spit out error flags, ! 3492: While users, with frustration, all ! 3493: Tear all their clothes to rags. ! 3494: %% ! 3495: How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're ! 3496: on. ! 3497: %% ! 3498: How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? ! 3499: None: "We'll fix it in software." ! 3500: ! 3501: How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? ! 3502: None: "We'll document it in the manual." ! 3503: ! 3504: How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb? ! 3505: None: "The user can work it out." ! 3506: %% ! 3507: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light bulb? ! 3508: ! 3509: None. The Universe spines the bulb, and the Zen master stays out of ! 3510: the way. ! 3511: %% ! 3512: How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to ! 3513: Dayton? ! 3514: -- Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey ! 3515: %% ! 3516: How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. ! 3517: %% ! 3518: Howe's Law: ! 3519: Everyone has a scheme that will not work. ! 3520: %% ! 3521: However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity in my traditional ! 3522: manner ... sulking and nausea. ! 3523: -- Tom K. Ryan ! 3524: %% ! 3525: Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill. ! 3526: %% ! 3527: Human cardiac catheterization was introduced by Werner Forssman in ! 3528: 1929. Ignoring his department chief, and tying his assistant to an ! 3529: operating table to prevent his interference, he placed a uretheral ! 3530: catheter into a vein in his arm, advanced it to the right atrium [of ! 3531: his heart], and walked upstairs to the x-ray department where he took ! 3532: the confirmatory x-ray film. In 1956, Dr. Forssman was awarded the ! 3533: Nobel Prize. ! 3534: %% ! 3535: Hummingbirds never remember the words to songs. ! 3536: %% ! 3537: "Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse." ! 3538: -- William Gilbert ! 3539: %% ! 3540: Hurewitz's Memory Principle: ! 3541: The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional ! 3542: to ..... to ........ uh .............. ! 3543: %% ! 3544: I am changing my name to Crysler ! 3545: I am going down to Washington, D.C. ! 3546: I will tell some power broker ! 3547: What they did for Iacocca ! 3548: Will be perfectly acceptable to me! ! 3549: I am changing my name to Chrysler, ! 3550: I am heading for that great receiving line. ! 3551: When they hand a million grand out, ! 3552: I'll be standing with my hand out, ! 3553: Yessir, I'll get mine! ! 3554: %% ! 3555: "I am not an Economist. I am an honest man!" ! 3556: -- Paul McCracken ! 3557: %% ! 3558: I am not now, and never have been, a girl friend of Henry Kissinger. ! 3559: -- Gloria Steinem ! 3560: %% ! 3561: "I am not sure what this is, but an `F' would only dignify it." ! 3562: -- English Professor ! 3563: %% ! 3564: I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ! 3565: great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. ! 3566: -- Winston Churchill ! 3567: %% ! 3568: "I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone ! 3569: has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top." ! 3570: --English Professor, Ohio University ! 3571: %% ! 3572: I am the mother of all things, and all things should wear a sweater. ! 3573: %% ! 3574: I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, of ! 3575: pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell ! 3576: you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial ! 3577: atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something ! 3578: inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering. ! 3579: -- Pooh-Bah, "The Mikado", Gilbert & Sullivan ! 3580: %% ! 3581: I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean. ! 3582: -- G. K. Chesterton ! 3583: %% ! 3584: I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat. ! 3585: -- Will Rogers ! 3586: %% ! 3587: I bet the human brain is a kludge. ! 3588: -- Marvin Minsky ! 3589: %% ! 3590: I can resist anything but temptation. ! 3591: %% ! 3592: I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. ! 3593: -- Joe Walsh ! 3594: %% ! 3595: I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions. ! 3596: -- Lillian Hellman ! 3597: %% ! 3598: I cannot overemphasize the importance of good grammar. ! 3599: ! 3600: What a crock. I could easily overemphasize the importance of good ! 3601: grammar. For example, I could say: "Bad grammar is the leading cause ! 3602: of slow, painful death in North America," or "Without good grammar, the ! 3603: United States would have lost World War II." ! 3604: -- Dave Barry, "An Utterly Absurd Look at Grammar" ! 3605: %% ! 3606: "I cannot read the fiery letters," said Frodo in a quavering ! 3607: voice. ! 3608: "No," Said Gandalf, "but I can. The letters are Elvish, of ! 3609: course, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which ! 3610: I will not utter here. They are lines of a verse long known in ! 3611: Elven-lore: ! 3612: ! 3613: "This Ring, no other, is made by the elves, ! 3614: Who'd pawn their own mother to grab it themselves. ! 3615: Ruler of creeper, mortal, and scallop, ! 3616: This is a sleeper that packs quite a wallop. ! 3617: The Power almighty rests in this Lone Ring. ! 3618: The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing. ! 3619: If broken or busted, it cannot be remade. ! 3620: If found, send to Sorhed (with postage prepaid)." ! 3621: %% ! 3622: I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. ! 3623: -- Isaac Asimov ! 3624: %% ! 3625: I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us ! 3626: with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. ! 3627: -- Galileo Galilei ! 3628: %% ! 3629: I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should. ! 3630: -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ! 3631: %% ! 3632: I don't believe in astrology. But then I'm an Aquarius, and Aquarians ! 3633: don't believe in astrology. ! 3634: -- James R. F. Quirk ! 3635: %% ! 3636: "I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the ! 3637: nominating" ! 3638: -- Boss Tweed ! 3639: %% ! 3640: "I don't have any solution but I certainly admire the problem." ! 3641: -- Ashleigh Brilliant ! 3642: %% ! 3643: I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I've got hundreds of people ! 3644: waiting to abuse me. ! 3645: --Bill Murray, "Ghostbusters" ! 3646: %% ! 3647: "I don't know what you mean by `glory,'" Alice said ! 3648: Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't-- ! 3649: till I tell you. I meant `there's a nice knock-down argument for ! 3650: you!'" ! 3651: "But glory doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice ! 3652: objected. ! 3653: "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful ! 3654: tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor ! 3655: less." ! 3656: "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean ! 3657: so many different things." ! 3658: "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-- ! 3659: that's all." ! 3660: -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 3661: %% ! 3662: I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd ! 3663: eat it, and I just hate it. ! 3664: -- Clarence Darrow ! 3665: %% ! 3666: I don't object to sex before marriage, but two minutes before?!? ! 3667: %% ! 3668: I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business ! 3669: on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment ! 3670: he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual ! 3671: becoming, with a goal in front and not behind. ! 3672: -- George Bernard Shaw ! 3673: %% ! 3674: "I drink to make other people interesting." ! 3675: -- George Jean Nathan ! 3676: %% ! 3677: I for one cannot protest the recent M. T. A. fare hike and the ! 3678: accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For ! 3679: the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that ! 3680: can't be measured in monetary terms. ! 3681: ! 3682: Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have ! 3683: that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by ! 3684: subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should ! 3685: someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly ! 3686: understand his long delay. ! 3687: %% ! 3688: I for one cannot protest the recent M.T.A. fare hike and the ! 3689: accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For ! 3690: the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that ! 3691: can't be measured in monetary terms. ! 3692: ! 3693: Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have ! 3694: that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by ! 3695: subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should ! 3696: someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly ! 3697: understand his long delay. ! 3698: %% ! 3699: I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it. ! 3700: -- Mae West ! 3701: %% ! 3702: I get up each morning, gather my wits. ! 3703: Pick up the paper, read the obits. ! 3704: If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. ! 3705: So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. ! 3706: ! 3707: Oh, how do I know my youth is all spent? ! 3708: My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. ! 3709: But in spite of it all, I'm able to grin, ! 3710: And think of the places my get-up has been. ! 3711: -- Pete Seeger ! 3712: %% ! 3713: I hate quotations. ! 3714: -- Ralph Waldo Emerson ! 3715: %% ! 3716: I have a simple philosophy: ! 3717: ! 3718: Fill what's empty. ! 3719: Empty what's full. ! 3720: Scratch where it itches. ! 3721: -- A. R. Longworth ! 3722: %% ! 3723: I have learned ! 3724: To spell hors d'oeuvres ! 3725: Which still grates on ! 3726: Some people's n'oeuvres. ! 3727: -- Warren Knox ! 3728: %% ! 3729: I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming that ! 3730: I have never made one. ! 3731: -- James Gordon Bennett ! 3732: %% ! 3733: I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to ! 3734: make it shorter. ! 3735: -- Blaise Pascal ! 3736: %% ! 3737: I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer. ! 3738: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 3739: %% ! 3740: I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. ! 3741: -- Oscar Wilde ! 3742: %% ! 3743: I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere. ! 3744: %% ! 3745: I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where I left it. ! 3746: %% ! 3747: "I just need enough to tide me over until I need more." ! 3748: -- Bill Hoest ! 3749: %% ! 3750: "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but ! 3751: World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." ! 3752: -- Albert Einstein ! 3753: %% ! 3754: I like being single. I'm always there when I need me. ! 3755: -- Art Leo ! 3756: %% ! 3757: I like work ... ! 3758: I can sit and watch it for hours. ! 3759: %% ! 3760: I like your game but we have to change the rules. ! 3761: %% ! 3762: "I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent." ! 3763: -- Ashleigh Brilliant ! 3764: %% ! 3765: "I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a ! 3766: week sometimes to make it up." ! 3767: -- Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" ! 3768: %% ! 3769: I must have slipped a disk -- my pack hurts ! 3770: %% ! 3771: I never fail to convince an audience that the best thing they could do ! 3772: was to go away. ! 3773: %% ! 3774: I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like. ! 3775: %% ! 3776: I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral ! 3777: slob. ! 3778: -- William F. Buckley ! 3779: %% ! 3780: "I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of ! 3781: that is -- `Be what you would seem to be' -- or, if you'd like it put ! 3782: more simply -- `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it ! 3783: might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not ! 3784: otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be ! 3785: otherwise.'" ! 3786: -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" ! 3787: %% ! 3788: I really hate this damned machine ! 3789: I wish that they would sell it. ! 3790: It never does quite what I want ! 3791: But only what I tell it. ! 3792: %% ! 3793: "I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person." ! 3794: %% ! 3795: I see the eigenvalue in thine eye, ! 3796: I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh. ! 3797: Bernoulli would have been content to die ! 3798: Had he but known such _a-squared cos 2(phi)! ! 3799: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 3800: %% ! 3801: I sent a letter to the fish, ! 3802: I told them, "This is what I wish." ! 3803: The little fishes of the sea, ! 3804: They sent an answer back to me. ! 3805: The little fishes' answer was ! 3806: "We cannot do it, sir, because ..." ! 3807: I sent a letter back to say ! 3808: It would be better to obey. ! 3809: But someone came to me and said ! 3810: "The little fishes are in bed." ! 3811: I said to him, and I said it plain ! 3812: "Then you must wake them up again." ! 3813: I said it very loud and clear, ! 3814: I went and shouted in his ear. ! 3815: But he was very stiff and proud, ! 3816: He said "You needn't shout so loud." ! 3817: And he was very proud and stiff, ! 3818: He said "I'll go and wake them if ..." ! 3819: I took a kettle from the shelf, ! 3820: I went to wake them up myself. ! 3821: But when I found the door was locked ! 3822: I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked, ! 3823: And when I found the door was shut, ! 3824: I tried to turn the handle, But ... ! 3825: ! 3826: "Is that all?" asked Alice. ! 3827: "That is all." said Humpty Dumpty. "Goodbye." ! 3828: -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 3829: %% ! 3830: I think that I shall never see ! 3831: A billboard lovely as a tree. ! 3832: Perhaps, unless the billboards fall ! 3833: I'll never see a tree at all. ! 3834: -- Ogden Nash ! 3835: %% ! 3836: I used to get high on life but lately I've built up a resistance. ! 3837: %% ! 3838: I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. ! 3839: %% ! 3840: "I want to buy a husband who, every week when I sit down to watch `St. ! 3841: Elsewhere', won't scream, `FORGET IT, BLANCHE ... IT'S TIME FOR "HEE ! 3842: HAW"!!'" ! 3843: -- Berke Breathed, "Bloom County" ! 3844: %% ! 3845: I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I ! 3846: didn't know. ! 3847: -- Mark Twain ! 3848: %% ! 3849: I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained ! 3850: it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass ! 3851: stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold. ! 3852: I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be ! 3853: absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had ! 3854: developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case. ! 3855: Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's ! 3856: temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I ! 3857: chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to ! 3858: the point where it would not run at all. ! 3859: -- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black ! 3860: Holes and the Fate of Stars" ! 3861: %% ! 3862: I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There's ! 3863: a knob called "brightness", but it doesn't work. ! 3864: -- Gallagher ! 3865: %% ! 3866: I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've ! 3867: always worked for me. ! 3868: -- Hunter S. Thompson ! 3869: %% ! 3870: I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. ! 3871: %% ! 3872: "I'd love to go out with you, but I did my own thing and now I've got ! 3873: to undo it." ! 3874: %% ! 3875: "I'd love to go out with you, but I have to floss my cat." ! 3876: %% ! 3877: "I'd love to go out with you, but I have to stay home and see if I ! 3878: snore." ! 3879: %% ! 3880: "I'd love to go out with you, but I never go out on days that end in ! 3881: `Y.'" ! 3882: %% ! 3883: "I'd love to go out with you, but I want to spend more time with my ! 3884: blender." ! 3885: %% ! 3886: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm attending the opening of my ! 3887: garage door." ! 3888: %% ! 3889: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm converting my calendar watch from ! 3890: Julian to Gregorian." ! 3891: %% ! 3892: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm doing door-to-door collecting for ! 3893: static cling." ! 3894: %% ! 3895: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm having all my plants neutered." ! 3896: %% ! 3897: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm staying home to work on my ! 3898: cottage cheese sculpture." ! 3899: %% ! 3900: "I'd love to go out with you, but I'm taking punk totem pole carving." ! 3901: %% ! 3902: "I'd love to go out with you, but I've been scheduled for a karma ! 3903: transplant." ! 3904: %% ! 3905: "I'd love to go out with you, but it's my parakeet's bowling night." ! 3906: %% ! 3907: "I'd love to go out with you, but my favorite commercial is on TV." ! 3908: %% ! 3909: "I'd love to go out with you, but the last time I went out, I never ! 3910: came back." ! 3911: %% ! 3912: "I'd love to go out with you, but the man on television told me to say ! 3913: tuned." ! 3914: %% ! 3915: "I'd love to go out with you, but there are important world issues that ! 3916: need worrying about." ! 3917: %% ! 3918: I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. ! 3919: %% ! 3920: I'll grant the random access to my heart, ! 3921: Thoul't tell me all the constants of thy love; ! 3922: And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove ! 3923: And in our bound partition never part. ! 3924: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 3925: %% ! 3926: I'm a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from ! 3927: man. ! 3928: %% ! 3929: I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my ! 3930: sister. ! 3931: %% ! 3932: I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to ! 3933: die in. ! 3934: -- George McGovern ! 3935: %% ! 3936: I'm in Pittsburgh. Why am I here? ! 3937: -- Harold Urey, Nobel Laureate ! 3938: %% ! 3939: I'm N-ary the tree, I am, ! 3940: N-ary the tree, I am, I am. ! 3941: I'm getting traversed by the parser next door, ! 3942: She's traversed me seven times before. ! 3943: And ev'ry time it was an N-ary (N-ary!) ! 3944: Never wouldn't ever do a binary. (No sir!) ! 3945: I'm 'er eighth tree that was N-ary. ! 3946: N-ary the tree I am, I am, ! 3947: N-ary the tree I am. ! 3948: %% ! 3949: I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. ! 3950: It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get. ! 3951: %% ! 3952: I'm prepared for all emergencies but totally unprepared for everyday ! 3953: life. ! 3954: %% ! 3955: I'm really enjoying not talking to you ... Let's not talk again ____REAL ! 3956: soon ... ! 3957: %% ! 3958: I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, ! 3959: I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; ! 3960: In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, ! 3961: I am the very model of a modern Major-General. ! 3962: -- Gilbert & Sullivan, "Pirates of Penzance" ! 3963: %% ! 3964: IBM had a PL/I, ! 3965: Its syntax worse than JOSS; ! 3966: And everywhere this language went, ! 3967: It was a total loss. ! 3968: %% ! 3969: Idiot Box, n.: ! 3970: The part of the envelope that tells a person where to place the ! 3971: stamp when they can't quite figure it out for themselves. ! 3972: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 3973: %% ! 3974: Idiot, n.: ! 3975: A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human ! 3976: affairs has always been dominant and controlling. ! 3977: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 3978: %% ! 3979: If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law. ! 3980: -- Roy Santoro ! 3981: %% ! 3982: If a group of _N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be _N-1 ! 3983: passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. ! 3984: -- T. Cheatham ! 3985: %% ! 3986: If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake ! 3987: him up. ! 3988: %% ! 3989: If a President doesn't do it to his wife, he'll do it to his country. ! 3990: %% ! 3991: If all be true that I do think, ! 3992: There be Five Reasons why one should Drink; ! 3993: Good friends, good wine, or being dry, ! 3994: Or lest we should be by-and-by, ! 3995: Or any other reason why. ! 3996: %% ! 3997: If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular ! 3998: error. ! 3999: -- John Kenneth Galbraith ! 4000: %% ! 4001: If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door. ! 4002: -- Paul Beatty ! 4003: %% ! 4004: If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a ! 4005: conclusion. ! 4006: -- William Baumol ! 4007: %% ! 4008: If an S and an I and an O and a U ! 4009: With an X at the end spell Su; ! 4010: And an E and a Y and an E spell I, ! 4011: Pray what is a speller to do? ! 4012: Then, if also an S and an I and a G ! 4013: And an HED spell side, ! 4014: There's nothing much left for a speller to do ! 4015: But to go commit siouxeyesighed. ! 4016: -- Charles Follen Adams, "An Orthographic Lament" ! 4017: %% ! 4018: If anything can go wrong, it will. ! 4019: %% ! 4020: If at first you don't succeed, give up, no use being a damn fool. ! 4021: %% ! 4022: If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. ! 4023: %% ! 4024: If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four ! 4025: tellers? ! 4026: %% ! 4027: "If dolphins are so smart, why did Flipper work for television?" ! 4028: %% ! 4029: If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from? ! 4030: %% ! 4031: If everything is coming your way then you're in the wrong lane. ! 4032: %% ! 4033: ... if forced to travel on an airplane, try and get in the cabin with ! 4034: the Captain, so you can keep an eye on him and nudge him if he falls ! 4035: asleep or point out any mountains looming up ahead ... ! 4036: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 4037: %% ! 4038: If God had intended Man to Smoke, He would have set him on Fire. ! 4039: %% ! 4040: If God had intended Man to Walk, He would have given him Feet. ! 4041: %% ! 4042: If God had intended Man to Watch TV, He would have given him Rabbit ! 4043: Ears. ! 4044: %% ! 4045: If God had intended Men to Smoke, He would have put Chimneys in their ! 4046: Heads. ! 4047: %% ! 4048: If God had meant for us to be in the Army, we would have been born with ! 4049: green, baggy skin. ! 4050: %% ! 4051: If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way. ! 4052: %% ! 4053: If God had not given us sticky tape, it would have been necessary to ! 4054: invent it. ! 4055: %% ! 4056: If God had wanted you to go around nude, He would have given you bigger ! 4057: hands. ! 4058: %% ! 4059: If God is perfect, why did He create discontinuous functions? ! 4060: %% ! 4061: "If God lived on Earth, people would knock out all His windows." ! 4062: -- Yiddish saying ! 4063: %% ! 4064: If I don't drive around the park, ! 4065: I'm pretty sure to make my mark. ! 4066: If I'm in bed each night by ten, ! 4067: I may get back my looks again. ! 4068: If I abstain from fun and such, ! 4069: I'll probably amount to much; ! 4070: But I shall stay the way I am, ! 4071: Because I do not give a damn. ! 4072: -- Dorothy Parker ! 4073: %% ! 4074: If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I'd sell the ! 4075: plantation and go home. ! 4076: -- Eugene P. Gallagher ! 4077: %% ! 4078: If I had any humility I would be perfect. ! 4079: -- Ted Turner ! 4080: %% ! 4081: "If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith." ! 4082: -- Albert Einstein ! 4083: %% ! 4084: If I kiss you, that is a psychological interaction. ! 4085: ! 4086: On the other hand, if I hit you over the head with a brick, that is ! 4087: also a psychological interaction. ! 4088: ! 4089: The difference is that one is friendly and the other is not so ! 4090: friendly. ! 4091: ! 4092: The crucial point is if you can tell which is which. ! 4093: -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" ! 4094: %% ! 4095: If I traveled to the end of the rainbow ! 4096: As Dame Fortune did intend, ! 4097: Murphy would be there to tell me ! 4098: The pot's at the other end. ! 4099: -- Bert Whitney ! 4100: %% ! 4101: If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people? ! 4102: %% ! 4103: If it's Tuesday, this must be someone else's fortune. ! 4104: %% ! 4105: If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. ! 4106: They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun ! 4107: of it. ! 4108: -- Thomas Carlyle ! 4109: %% ! 4110: If life is a stage, I want some better lighting. ! 4111: %% ! 4112: If little green men land in your back yard, hide any little green women ! 4113: you've got in the house. ! 4114: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 4115: %% ! 4116: If mathematically you end up with the wrong answer, try multiplying by ! 4117: the page number. ! 4118: %% ! 4119: If money can't buy happiness, I guess you'll just have to rent it. ! 4120: %% ! 4121: If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit ! 4122: in my name at a Swiss bank. ! 4123: -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" ! 4124: %% ! 4125: If only I could be respected without having to be respectable. ! 4126: %% ! 4127: If only one could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment without ! 4128: having to accomplish anything. ! 4129: %% ! 4130: If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of ! 4131: arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the ! 4132: physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker ! 4133: entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. ! 4134: -- Vannevar Bush ! 4135: %% ! 4136: If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied ! 4137: harder. ! 4138: -- Pope John Paul I ! 4139: %% ! 4140: If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong. ! 4141: -- Norm Schryer ! 4142: %% ! 4143: If the colleges were better, if they really had it, you would need to ! 4144: get the police at the gates to keep order in the inrushing multitude. ! 4145: See in college how we thwart the natural love of learning by leaving ! 4146: the natural method of teaching what each wishes to learn, and insisting ! 4147: that you shall learn what you have no taste or capacity for. The ! 4148: college, which should be a place of delightful labor, is made odious ! 4149: and unhealthy, and the young men are tempted to frivolous amusements to ! 4150: rally their jaded spirits. I would have the studies elective. ! 4151: Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure ! 4152: interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by ! 4153: opening to his pupils precisely the attractions the study has for ! 4154: himself. The marking is a system for schools, not for the college; for ! 4155: boys, not for men; and it is an ungracious work to put on a professor. ! 4156: -- Ralph Waldo Emerson ! 4157: %% ! 4158: "If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for ! 4159: me!" ! 4160: -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa 1920) ! 4161: %% ! 4162: If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances ! 4163: are 50-50 it will. ! 4164: %% ! 4165: If the weather is extremely bad, church attendance will be down. If ! 4166: the weather is extremely good, church attendance will be down. If the ! 4167: bulletin covers are in short supply, however, church attendance will ! 4168: exceed all expectations. ! 4169: -- Reverend Chichester ! 4170: %% ! 4171: If there are epigrams, there must be meta-epigrams. ! 4172: %% ! 4173: If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that ! 4174: will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. ! 4175: %% ! 4176: If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? ! 4177: -- Art Hoppe ! 4178: %% ! 4179: If this fortune didn't exist, somebody would have invented it. ! 4180: %% ! 4181: If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? ! 4182: %% ! 4183: If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is ! 4184: doing the thinking. ! 4185: -- Lyndon Baines Johnson ! 4186: %% ! 4187: If we do not change our direction we are likely to end up where we are ! 4188: headed. ! 4189: %% ! 4190: If while you are in school, there is a shortage of qualified personnel ! 4191: in a particular field, then by the time you graduate with the necessary ! 4192: qualifications, that field's employment market is glutted. ! 4193: -- Marguerite Emmons ! 4194: %% ! 4195: "If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." ! 4196: -- J. Paul Getty ! 4197: %% ! 4198: If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse. ! 4199: %% ! 4200: If you can survive death, you can probably survive anything. ! 4201: %% ! 4202: If you can't be good, be careful. If you can't be careful, give me a ! 4203: call. ! 4204: %% ! 4205: If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly. ! 4206: %% ! 4207: If you cannot convince them, confuse them. ! 4208: -- Harry S Truman ! 4209: %% ! 4210: If you didn't get caught, did you really do it? ! 4211: %% ! 4212: If you don't care where you are, then you ain't lost. ! 4213: %% ! 4214: If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody ! 4215: will. ! 4216: %% ! 4217: If you give Congress a chance to vote on both sides of an issue, it ! 4218: will always do it. ! 4219: -- Les Aspin, D., Wisconsin ! 4220: %% ! 4221: "If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is ! 4222: make the rubble bounce" ! 4223: -- Winston Churchill ! 4224: %% ! 4225: If you had any brains, you'd be dangerous. ! 4226: %% ! 4227: If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some. ! 4228: %% ! 4229: "If you have to hate, hate gently" ! 4230: %% ! 4231: If you live in a country run by committee, be on the committee. ! 4232: -- Graham Summer ! 4233: %% ! 4234: If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you ! 4235: really make them think they'll hate you. ! 4236: %% ! 4237: If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. ! 4238: -- Maslow ! 4239: %% ! 4240: If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure ! 4241: can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly ! 4242: develop. ! 4243: %% ! 4244: If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite ! 4245: you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. ! 4246: -- Mark Twain ! 4247: %% ! 4248: If you push the "extra ice" button on the soft drink vending machine, ! 4249: you won't get any ice. If you push the "no ice" button, you'll get ! 4250: ice, but no cup. ! 4251: %% ! 4252: If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But ! 4253: this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is ! 4254: somehow enobled and none dare criticize it. ! 4255: %% ! 4256: If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. ! 4257: -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard ! 4258: %% ! 4259: If you think last Tuesday was a drag, wait till you see what happens ! 4260: tomorrow! ! 4261: %% ! 4262: If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car ! 4263: payments. ! 4264: -- Earl Wilson ! 4265: %% ! 4266: If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest ! 4267: shopping center in the world? ! 4268: -- Richard M. Nixon ! 4269: %% ! 4270: If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest ! 4271: shopping center in the world? ! 4272: -- Richard Nixon ! 4273: %% ! 4274: If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would ! 4275: be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call ! 4276: you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw ! 4277: another party next year. ! 4278: ! 4279: What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up ! 4280: several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've ! 4281: been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to ! 4282: avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning ! 4283: parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from ! 4284: having another one ... ! 4285: ! 4286: If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless ! 4287: your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas ! 4288: through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure ! 4289: that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting ! 4290: someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you ... ! 4291: %% ! 4292: If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every ! 4293: word you say, talk in your sleep. ! 4294: %% ! 4295: "If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some ! 4296: memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' ! 4297: it, even if they don't know what it means." ! 4298: -- Walt Kelly, "The Pogo Party" ! 4299: %% ! 4300: If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for ! 4301: tomorrow morning, sleep late. ! 4302: -- Henny Youngman ! 4303: %% ! 4304: If you're happy, you're successful. ! 4305: %% ! 4306: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. ! 4307: %% ! 4308: If you're not very clever you should be conciliatory. ! 4309: -- Benjamin Disraeli ! 4310: %% ! 4311: If you've done six impossible things before breakfast, why not round it ! 4312: off with dinner at Milliway's, the restaurant at the end of the ! 4313: universe? ! 4314: %% ! 4315: If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all. ! 4316: -- Ronald Reagan ! 4317: %% ! 4318: Il brilgue: les t^oves libricilleux ! 4319: Se gyrent et frillant dans le guave, ! 4320: Enm^im'es sont les gougebosquex, ! 4321: Et le m^omerade horgrave. ! 4322: -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 4323: %% ! 4324: Illinois isn't exactly the land that God forgot -- it's more like the ! 4325: land He's trying to ignore. ! 4326: %% ! 4327: Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. ! 4328: -- Jules de Gaultier ! 4329: %% ! 4330: Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has ! 4331: a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk ! 4332: storage, a screen resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels, relies entirely on ! 4333: voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300. ! 4334: What's the first question that the computer community asks? ! 4335: ! 4336: "Is it PC compatible?" ! 4337: %% ! 4338: Immortality -- a fate worse than death. ! 4339: -- Edgar A. Shoaff ! 4340: %% ! 4341: Impartial, adj.: ! 4342: Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from ! 4343: espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two ! 4344: conflicting opinions. ! 4345: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4346: %% ! 4347: Important letters which contain no errors will develop errors in the ! 4348: mail. Corresponding errors will show up in the duplicate while the ! 4349: Boss is reading it. ! 4350: %% ! 4351: In a five year period we can get one superb programming language. Only ! 4352: we can't control when the five year period will begin. ! 4353: %% ! 4354: In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi, ! 4355: junior, what are you up to?" ! 4356: "I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the ! 4357: rabbit. ! 4358: "Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!" ! 4359: "Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the ! 4360: rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied ! 4361: expression on his face. ! 4362: Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?" ! 4363: "I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits ! 4364: devour wolves." ! 4365: "Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?" ! 4366: "Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes ! 4367: out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw. ! 4368: Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody ! 4369: should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting ! 4370: next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox. ! 4371: ! 4372: The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important -- ! 4373: it's your PhD advisor that really counts. ! 4374: %% ! 4375: In America, any boy may become president and I suppose that's just one ! 4376: of the risks he takes. ! 4377: -- Adlai Stevenson ! 4378: %% ! 4379: In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own ! 4380: incompetency ! 4381: -- The Peter Principle ! 4382: %% ! 4383: In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) ! 4384: are to be treated as variables. ! 4385: %% ! 4386: In case of atomic attack, the federal ruling against prayer in schools ! 4387: will be temporarily canceled. ! 4388: %% ! 4389: In case of injury notify your superior immediately. He'll kiss it and ! 4390: make it better. ! 4391: %% ! 4392: "In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable." ! 4393: -- Winston Curchill, of Montgomery ! 4394: %% ! 4395: In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last ! 4396: resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but ! 4397: inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first. ! 4398: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4399: %% ! 4400: In English, every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our ! 4401: programming languages. ! 4402: %% ! 4403: In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come ! 4404: into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish ! 4405: between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which ! 4406: will only make it mushy. ! 4407: -- Mark Twain ! 4408: %% ! 4409: In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, ! 4410: intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption ! 4411: from the cares of office. ! 4412: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4413: %% ! 4414: In Riemann, Hilbert or in Banach space ! 4415: Let superscripts and subscripts go their ways. ! 4416: Our symptotes no longer out of phase, ! 4417: We shall encounter, counting, face to face. ! 4418: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 4419: %% ! 4420: "In short, _N is Richardian if, and only if, _N is not Richardian." ! 4421: %% ! 4422: [In the 60's] there was madness in any direction, at any hour ... You ! 4423: could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense ! 4424: that whatever we were doing was `right', that we were winning ... ! 4425: ! 4426: And that, I think, was the handle -- the sense of inevitable victory ! 4427: over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we ! 4428: didn't need that. Our energy would simply `prevail'. There was no ! 4429: point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; ! 4430: we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave .... ! 4431: ! 4432: So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in ! 4433: Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost ! 4434: ___see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and ! 4435: rolled back. ! 4436: -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" ! 4437: %% ! 4438: In the force if Yoda's so strong, construct a sentence with words in ! 4439: the proper order then why can't he? ! 4440: %% ! 4441: In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful ! 4442: Dead. ! 4443: -- Egyptian Book of the Dead ! 4444: %% ! 4445: In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. ! 4446: -- Alan Perlis ! 4447: %% ! 4448: In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or ! 4449: a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole a loaf of bread and gave it ! 4450: to you, you would only be tried for receiving, a crime punishable by ! 4451: forty lashes with the cat or the dog, whichever was handy. If you ! 4452: stole a dog and were caught, you were punished with twelve rabbit ! 4453: punches, although it was hard to find rabbits big enough or strong ! 4454: enough to punch you. ! 4455: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 4456: %% ! 4457: In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to ! 4458: drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at ! 4459: discotheques. ! 4460: -- Art Linkletter ! 4461: %% ! 4462: Incumbent, n.: ! 4463: Person of liveliest interest to the outcumbents. ! 4464: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4465: %% ! 4466: Information Center, n.: ! 4467: A room staffed by professional computer people whose job it is ! 4468: to tell you why you cannot have the information you require. ! 4469: %% ! 4470: Ingrate, n.: ! 4471: A man who bites the hand that feeds him, and then complains of ! 4472: indigestion. ! 4473: %% ! 4474: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. ! 4475: -- Martin Luther King, Jr. ! 4476: %% ! 4477: Ink, n.: ! 4478: A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic, and ! 4479: water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote ! 4480: intellectual crime. ! 4481: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4482: %% ! 4483: Innovation is hard to schedule. ! 4484: -- Dan Fylstra ! 4485: %% ! 4486: Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. ! 4487: %% ! 4488: Insanity is the final defense ... It's hard to get a refund when the ! 4489: salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon. ! 4490: %% ! 4491: Interpreter, n.: ! 4492: One who enables two persons of different languages to ! 4493: understand each other by repeating to each what it would have been to ! 4494: the interpreter's advantage for the other to have said. ! 4495: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4496: %% ! 4497: INVENTORY ! 4498: Four be the things I am wiser to know: ! 4499: Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. ! 4500: ! 4501: Four be the things I'd been better without: ! 4502: Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. ! 4503: ! 4504: Three be the things I shall never attain: ! 4505: Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. ! 4506: ! 4507: Three be the things I shall have till I die: ! 4508: Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye. ! 4509: %% ! 4510: Iron Law of Distribution: ! 4511: Them that has, gets. ! 4512: %% ! 4513: Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is ! 4514: meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a ! 4515: soap bubble? ! 4516: %% ! 4517: Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the ! 4518: beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get ! 4519: out, and such as are out wish to get in? ! 4520: -- Ralph Emerson ! 4521: %% ! 4522: Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! ! 4523: %% ! 4524: Isn't it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune ! 4525: tellers take economists seriously? ! 4526: %% ! 4527: Issawi's Laws of Progress: ! 4528: ! 4529: The Course of Progress: ! 4530: Most things get steadily worse. ! 4531: ! 4532: The Path of Progress: ! 4533: A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. ! 4534: %% ! 4535: It has been observed that one's nose is never so happy as when it is ! 4536: thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have ! 4537: drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell. ! 4538: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4539: %% ! 4540: It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats. ! 4541: %% ! 4542: It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to ! 4543: program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in ! 4544: organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be ! 4545: self-critical? ! 4546: -- Alan Perlis ! 4547: %% ! 4548: It is always preferable to visit home with a friend. Your ! 4549: parents will not be pleased with this plan, because they want you all ! 4550: to themselves and because in the presence of your friend, they will ! 4551: have to act like mature human beings ... ! 4552: -- Playboy, January 1983 ! 4553: %% ! 4554: It is amusing that a virtue is made of the vice of chastity; and it's a ! 4555: pretty odd sort of chastity at that, which leads men straight into the ! 4556: sin of Onan, and girls to the waning of their color. ! 4557: -- Voltaire ! 4558: %% ! 4559: It is better to kiss an avocado than to get in a fight with an aardvark ! 4560: %% ! 4561: It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three ! 4562: benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never ! 4563: to use either. ! 4564: -- Mark Twain ! 4565: %% ! 4566: It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both ! 4567: incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by ! 4568: twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. ! 4569: -- R. Serling ! 4570: %% ! 4571: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is ! 4572: lightly greased." ! 4573: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 4574: %% ! 4575: It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice ! 4576: versa. ! 4577: %% ! 4578: It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. ! 4579: %% ! 4580: It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct ! 4581: one. ! 4582: %% ! 4583: It is generally agreed that "Hello" is an appropriate greeting because ! 4584: if you entered a room and said "Goodbye," it could confuse a lot of ! 4585: people. ! 4586: -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" ! 4587: %% ! 4588: It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ! 4589: ingenious. ! 4590: %% ! 4591: It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not ! 4592: desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. ! 4593: -- Woody Allen ! 4594: %% ! 4595: It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the ! 4596: problem. ! 4597: %% ! 4598: It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. ! 4599: -- Gore Vidal ! 4600: %% ! 4601: It is not true that life is one damn thing after another -- it's one ! 4602: damn thing over and over. ! 4603: -- Edna St. Vincent Millay ! 4604: %% ! 4605: It is now 10 p.m. Do you know where Henry Kissinger is? ! 4606: -- Elizabeth Carpenter ! 4607: %% ! 4608: It is now pitch dark. If you proceed, you will likely fall into a ! 4609: pit. ! 4610: %% ! 4611: It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that ! 4612: virginity could be a virtue. ! 4613: -- Voltaire ! 4614: %% ! 4615: It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the ! 4616: lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as ! 4617: high as the eagle? ! 4618: %% ! 4619: It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a ! 4620: statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more ! 4621: glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through ! 4622: which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the ! 4623: day, that is the highest of arts. ! 4624: -- Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Live" ! 4625: %% ! 4626: It is the business of little minds to shrink. ! 4627: -- Carl Sandburg ! 4628: %% ! 4629: It is the business of the future to be dangerous. ! 4630: -- Hawkwind ! 4631: %% ! 4632: It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. ! 4633: %% ! 4634: It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a ! 4635: warning to others. ! 4636: %% ! 4637: It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the ! 4638: flag. ! 4639: %% ! 4640: "It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, ! 4641: but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous." ! 4642: %% ! 4643: It was a book to kill time for those who liked it better dead. ! 4644: %% ! 4645: "It was pleasant to me to get a letter from you the other day. Perhaps ! 4646: I should have found it pleasanter if I had been able to decipher it. I ! 4647: don't think that I mastered anything beyond the date (which I knew) and ! 4648: the signature (which I guessed at). There's a singular and a perpetual ! 4649: charm in a letter of yours; it never grows old, it never loses its ! 4650: novelty .... Other letters are read and thrown away and forgotten, but ! 4651: yours are kept forever -- unread. One of them will last a reasonable ! 4652: man a lifetime." ! 4653: -- Thomas Aldrich ! 4654: %% ! 4655: It was the next morning that the armies of Twodor marched east ! 4656: laden with long lances, sharp swords, and death-dealing hangovers. The ! 4657: thousands were led by Arrowroot, who sat limply in his sidesaddle, ! 4658: nursing a whopper. Goodgulf, Gimlet, and the rest rode by him, praying ! 4659: for their fate to be quick, painless, and if possible, someone else's. ! 4660: Many an hour the armies forged ahead, the war-merinos bleating ! 4661: under their heavy burdens and the soldiers bleating under their melting ! 4662: icepacks. ! 4663: -- The Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" ! 4664: %% ! 4665: It will be advantageous to cross the great stream ... the Dragon is on ! 4666: the wing in the Sky ... the Great Man rouses himself to his Work. ! 4667: %% ! 4668: It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. ! 4669: -- Andrew Jackson ! 4670: %% ! 4671: "It's bad luck to be superstitious." ! 4672: -- Andrew W. Mathis ! 4673: %% ! 4674: "It's easier said than done." ! 4675: ! 4676: ... and if you don't believe it, try proving that it's easier done than ! 4677: said, and you'll see that "it's easier said that `it's easier done than ! 4678: said' than it is done", which really proves that "it's easier said than ! 4679: done". ! 4680: %% ! 4681: It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. ! 4682: %% ! 4683: It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than forgiveness for ! 4684: being right. ! 4685: %% ! 4686: "It's Fabulous! We haven't seen anything like it in the last half an ! 4687: hour!" ! 4688: -- Macy's ! 4689: %% ! 4690: It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it ! 4691: is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It ! 4692: isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. ! 4693: -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News ! 4694: %% ! 4695: It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong ! 4696: direction. ! 4697: %% ! 4698: It's not an optical illusion, it just looks like one. ! 4699: -- Phil White ! 4700: %% ! 4701: "It's not Camelot, but it's not Cleveland, either." ! 4702: -- Kevin White, mayor of Boston ! 4703: %% ! 4704: It's not enough to be Hungarian; you must have talent too. ! 4705: -- Alexander Korda ! 4706: %% ! 4707: It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it ! 4708: happens. ! 4709: -- Woody Allen ! 4710: %% ! 4711: It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles. ! 4712: %% ! 4713: JACK AND THE BEANSTACK ! 4714: by Mark Isaak ! 4715: ! 4716: Long ago, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL ! 4717: character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their ! 4718: hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices ! 4719: are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some ! 4720: BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it ! 4721: to him. ! 4722: So Jack set out. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, ! 4723: he met the traveling salesman. ! 4724: "Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman ! 4725: in high-level language. ! 4726: "I'm going to the market to exchange this RAM for some chips ! 4727: and Apples," commented Jack. ! 4728: "I have a much better algorithm. You needn't join a queue ! 4729: there; I will swap your RAM for these magic kernels now." ! 4730: Jack made the trade, then backtracked to his house. But when ! 4731: he told his busy-waiting parent of the deal, she became so angry she ! 4732: started thrashing. ! 4733: "Don't you even have any artificial intelligence? All these ! 4734: kernels together hardly make up one byte," and she popped them out the ! 4735: window ... ! 4736: %% ! 4737: Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Government: ! 4738: No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the ! 4739: legislature is in session. ! 4740: %% ! 4741: Jenkinson's Law: ! 4742: It won't work. ! 4743: %% ! 4744: Jesus Saves, ! 4745: Moses Invests, ! 4746: But only Buddha pays Dividends. ! 4747: %% ! 4748: Joe's sister puts spaghetti in her shoes! ! 4749: %% ! 4750: Johnson's First Law: ! 4751: When any mechanical contrivance fails, it will do so at the ! 4752: most inconvenient possible time. ! 4753: %% ! 4754: Jone's Law: ! 4755: The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone ! 4756: to blame it on. ! 4757: %% ! 4758: Jone's Motto: ! 4759: Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. ! 4760: %% ! 4761: Jones's First Law: ! 4762: Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of ! 4763: endeavor, and stays in that field long enough, becomes an ! 4764: obstruction to its progress -- in direct proportion to the ! 4765: importance of their original contribution. ! 4766: %% ! 4767: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. ! 4768: %% ! 4769: Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn't mean he ! 4770: knows what it is. ! 4771: %% ! 4772: "Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't ! 4773: immune to bullets" ! 4774: -- The Brigader, "Dr. Who" ! 4775: %% ! 4776: Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to ! 4777: twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! ! 4778: %% ! 4779: Justice is incidental to law and order. ! 4780: -- J. Edgar Hoover ! 4781: %% ! 4782: Justice is incidental to law and order. ! 4783: -- J. Edgar Hoover ! 4784: %% ! 4785: Justice, n.: ! 4786: A decision in your favor. ! 4787: %% ! 4788: Katz' Law: ! 4789: Man and nations will act rationally when all other ! 4790: possibilities have been exhausted. ! 4791: %% ! 4792: Keep America beautiful. Swallow your beer cans. ! 4793: %% ! 4794: Keep emotionally active. Cater to your favorite neurosis. ! 4795: %% ! 4796: Keep grandma off the streets -- legalize bingo. ! 4797: %% ! 4798: Keep in mind always the two constant Laws of Frisbee: ! 4799: 1. The most powerful force in the world is that of a disc ! 4800: straining to land under a car, just out of reach (this ! 4801: force is technically termed "car suck"). ! 4802: 2. Never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive ! 4803: than "Watch this!" ! 4804: %% ! 4805: Keep you Eye on the Ball, ! 4806: Your Shoulder to the Wheel, ! 4807: Your Nose to the Grindstone, ! 4808: Your Feet on the Ground, ! 4809: Your Head on your Shoulders. ! 4810: Now ... try to get something DONE! ! 4811: %% ! 4812: Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most ! 4813: automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the ! 4814: numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the ! 4815: driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the ! 4816: dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know ! 4817: what's wrong." ! 4818: %% ! 4819: Kerr's Three Rules for a Successful College: ! 4820: Have plenty of football for the alumni, sex for the students, ! 4821: and parking for the faculty. ! 4822: %% ! 4823: Kin, n.: ! 4824: An affliction of the blood ! 4825: %% ! 4826: Kinkler's First Law: ! 4827: Responsibility always exceeds authority. ! 4828: ! 4829: Kinkler's Second Law: ! 4830: All the easy problems have been solved. ! 4831: %% ! 4832: "Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack." ! 4833: %% ! 4834: Kiss me twice. I'm schizophrenic. ! 4835: %% ! 4836: Kiss your keyboard goodbye! ! 4837: %% ! 4838: Klein bottle for rent -- inquire within. ! 4839: %% ! 4840: Klein bottle for sale ... inquire within. ! 4841: %% ! 4842: Kleptomaniac, n.: ! 4843: A rich thief. ! 4844: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4845: %% ! 4846: Know thyself. If you need help, call the C.I.A. ! 4847: %% ! 4848: Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. ! 4849: -- Henry N. Camp ! 4850: %% ! 4851: Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr): ! 4852: The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards. ! 4853: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 4854: %% ! 4855: Labor, n.: ! 4856: One of the processes by which A acquires property for B. ! 4857: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4858: %% ! 4859: Lackland's Laws: ! 4860: 1. Never be first. ! 4861: 2. Never be last. ! 4862: 3. Never volunteer for anything ! 4863: %% ! 4864: Lactomangulation, n.: ! 4865: Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly ! 4866: that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side. ! 4867: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 4868: %% ! 4869: Laetrile is the pits ! 4870: %% ! 4871: Langsam's Laws: ! 4872: 1) Everything depends. ! 4873: 2) Nothing is always. ! 4874: 3) Everything is sometimes. ! 4875: %% ! 4876: Larkinson's Law: ! 4877: All laws are basically false. ! 4878: %% ! 4879: Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she ! 4880: lived with was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always ! 4881: getting pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to ! 4882: the farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their ! 4883: sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do ! 4884: you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? ! 4885: What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead ! 4886: of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under ! 4887: the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops ! 4888: whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which ! 4889: Lassie filed the applications for. ! 4890: -- Dave Barry ! 4891: %% ! 4892: Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. ! 4893: %% ! 4894: "Laughter is the closest distance between two people." ! 4895: -- Victor Borge ! 4896: %% ! 4897: Law of Communications: ! 4898: The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications ! 4899: between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased ! 4900: area of misunderstanding. ! 4901: %% ! 4902: Law of Probable Dispersal: ! 4903: Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly ! 4904: distributed. ! 4905: %% ! 4906: Law of Selective Gravity: ! 4907: An object will fall so as to do the most damage. ! 4908: ! 4909: Jenning's Corollary: ! 4910: The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is ! 4911: directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. ! 4912: %% ! 4913: Law of the Perversity of Nature: ! 4914: You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the ! 4915: bread to butter. ! 4916: %% ! 4917: Laws of Serendipity: ! 4918: ! 4919: 1. In order to discover anything, you must be looking for ! 4920: something. ! 4921: 2. If you wish to make an improved product, you must already ! 4922: be engaged in making an inferior one. ! 4923: %% ! 4924: Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: ! 4925: No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats -- ! 4926: approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less. ! 4927: %% ! 4928: Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. ! 4929: %% ! 4930: Leibowitz's Rule: ! 4931: When hammering a nail, you will never hit your finger if you ! 4932: hold the hammer with both hands. ! 4933: %% ! 4934: LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) ! 4935: Your determination and sense of humor will come to the fore. ! 4936: Your ability to laugh at adversity will be a blessing because ! 4937: you've got a day coming you wouldn't believe. As a matter of ! 4938: fact, if you can laugh at what happens to you today, you've got ! 4939: a sick sense of humor. ! 4940: %% ! 4941: LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) ! 4942: You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are pushy. Most ! 4943: Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike honest criticism. ! 4944: Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people are thieves. ! 4945: %% ! 4946: Let He who taketh the Plunge Remember to return it by Tuesday. ! 4947: %% ! 4948: Let us live!!! ! 4949: Let us love!!! ! 4950: Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!! ! 4951: ! 4952: You first. ! 4953: %% ! 4954: Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often ! 4955: overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of dollars: ! 4956: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your tax return ! 4957: around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to spend hours ! 4958: poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe money, you ! 4959: can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will probably give it ! 4960: to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? It's not his ! 4961: money. ! 4962: -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" ! 4963: %% ! 4964: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Times of London) ! 4965: ! 4966: Dear Sir, ! 4967: ! 4968: I am firmly opposed to the spread of microchips either to the home or ! 4969: to the office. We have more than enough of them foisted upon us in ! 4970: public places. They are a disgusting Americanism, and can only result ! 4971: in the farmers being forced to grow smaller potatoes, which in turn ! 4972: will cause massive unemployment in the already severely depressed ! 4973: agricultural industry. ! 4974: ! 4975: Yours faithfully, ! 4976: Capt. Quinton D'Arcy, J. P. ! 4977: Sevenoaks ! 4978: %% ! 4979: Lewis's Law of Travel: ! 4980: The first piece of luggage out of the chute doesn't belong to ! 4981: anyone, ever. ! 4982: %% ! 4983: Liar, n.: ! 4984: A lawyer with a roving commission. ! 4985: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 4986: %% ! 4987: LIBRA (Sep. 23 to Oct. 22) ! 4988: Your desire for justice and truth will be overshadowed by your ! 4989: desire for filthy lucre and a decent meal. Be gracious and ! 4990: polite. Someone is watching you, so stop staring like that. ! 4991: %% ! 4992: LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22) ! 4993: You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with reality. If ! 4994: you are a man, you are more than likely gay. Chances for employment ! 4995: and monetary gains are excellent. Most Libra women are prostitutes. ! 4996: All Libra people die of Venereal disease. ! 4997: %% ! 4998: Lie, n.: ! 4999: A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one ! 5000: discovered to date. ! 5001: %% ! 5002: Lieberman's Law: ! 5003: Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens. ! 5004: %% ! 5005: Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while. ! 5006: %% ! 5007: Life is a yo-yo, and mankind ties knots in the string. ! 5008: %% ! 5009: Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, then you find ! 5010: there is nothing in it. ! 5011: %% ! 5012: "Life may have no meaning -- or even worse, it may have a meaning of ! 5013: which I disapprove." ! 5014: %% ! 5015: Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made ! 5016: sense from things she found in gift shops. ! 5017: -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. ! 5018: %% ! 5019: Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking ! 5020: for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem. ! 5021: -- Alan McKay ! 5022: %% ! 5023: Limericks are art forms complex, ! 5024: Their topics run chiefly to sex. ! 5025: They usually have virgins, ! 5026: And masculine urgin's, ! 5027: And other erotic effects. ! 5028: %% ! 5029: Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations. ! 5030: %% ! 5031: Linus: I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe ! 5032: we should think only about today. ! 5033: Charlie Brown: ! 5034: No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get ! 5035: better. ! 5036: %% ! 5037: Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip ! 5038: around the Sun. ! 5039: %% ! 5040: Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted ! 5041: before. ! 5042: %% ! 5043: Lizzie Borden took an axe, ! 5044: And plunged it deep into the VAX; ! 5045: Don't you envy people who ! 5046: Do all the things ___YOU want to do? ! 5047: %% ! 5048: Lockwood's Long Shot: ! 5049: The chances of getting eaten up by a lion on Main Street aren't ! 5050: one in a million, but once would be enough. ! 5051: %% ! 5052: Look out! Behind you! ! 5053: %% ! 5054: Losing your drivers' license is just God's way of saying "BOOGA, BOOGA!" ! 5055: %% ! 5056: Love at first sight is one of the greatest labor-saving devices the ! 5057: world has ever seen. ! 5058: %% ! 5059: Love is a word that is constantly heard, ! 5060: Hate is a word that is not. ! 5061: Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. ! 5062: Love, I have read, is hot. ! 5063: But hate is the verb that to me is superb, ! 5064: And Love but a drug on the mart. ! 5065: Any kiddie in school can love like a fool, ! 5066: But Hating, my boy, is an Art. ! 5067: -- Ogden Nash ! 5068: %% ! 5069: Love is sentimental measles. ! 5070: %% ! 5071: Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. ! 5072: -- H. L. Mencken ! 5073: %% ! 5074: Love your enemies: they'll go crazy trying to figure out what you're up ! 5075: to. ! 5076: %% ! 5077: Love's Drug ! 5078: ! 5079: My love is like an iron wand ! 5080: That conks me on the head, ! 5081: My love is like the valium ! 5082: That I take before me bed, ! 5083: My love is like the pint of scotch ! 5084: That I drink when i be dry; ! 5085: And I shall love thee still my dear, ! 5086: Until my wife is wise. ! 5087: %% ! 5088: Lowery's Law: ! 5089: If it jams -- force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing ! 5090: anyway. ! 5091: %% ! 5092: LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand. ! 5093: %% ! 5094: Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: ! 5095: There's always one more bug. ! 5096: %% ! 5097: Lunatic Asylum, n.: ! 5098: The place where optimism most flourishes. ! 5099: %% ! 5100: Lysistrata had a good idea. ! 5101: %% ! 5102: "MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into ! 5103: the smallest amount of thoughts." ! 5104: -- Winston Churchill ! 5105: %% ! 5106: Mad, adj.: ! 5107: Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence ... ! 5108: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5109: %% ! 5110: Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child -- if you parboil them ! 5111: first for seven hours, they always come out tender. ! 5112: -- W. C. Fields ! 5113: %% ! 5114: Magnet, n.: Something acted upon by magnetism ! 5115: ! 5116: Magnetism, n.: Something acting upon a magnet. ! 5117: ! 5118: The two definition immediately foregoing are condensed from the works ! 5119: of one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject ! 5120: with a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human ! 5121: knowledge. ! 5122: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5123: %% ! 5124: Magnocartic, adj.: ! 5125: Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping ! 5126: carts. ! 5127: -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" ! 5128: %% ! 5129: Magpie, n.: ! 5130: A bird whose theivish disposition suggested to someone that it ! 5131: might be taught to talk. ! 5132: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5133: %% ! 5134: Maier's Law: ! 5135: If the facts do not conform to the theory, they must be ! 5136: disposed of. ! 5137: ! 5138: Corollaries: ! 5139: 1. The bigger the theory, the better. ! 5140: 2. The experiment may be considered a success if no more than ! 5141: 50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to ! 5142: obtain a correspondence with the theory. ! 5143: %% ! 5144: Main's Law: ! 5145: For every action there is an equal and opposite government ! 5146: program. ! 5147: %% ! 5148: Maintainer's Motto: ! 5149: If we can't fix it, it ain't broke. ! 5150: %% ! 5151: Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly ! 5152: as one man. ! 5153: ! 5154: Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds. ! 5155: ! 5156: Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. ! 5157: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5158: %% ! 5159: Majority, n.: ! 5160: That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law. ! 5161: %% ! 5162: Making files is easy under the UNIX operating system. Therefore, users ! 5163: tend to create numerous files using large amounts of file space. It ! 5164: has been said that the only standard thing about all UNIX systems is ! 5165: the message-of-the-day telling users to clean up their files. ! 5166: -- System V.2 administrator's guide ! 5167: %% ! 5168: Malek's Law: ! 5169: Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way. ! 5170: %% ! 5171: "Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." ! 5172: -- Lily Tomlin ! 5173: %% ! 5174: Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called ! 5175: upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. ! 5176: -- Oscar Wilde ! 5177: %% ! 5178: Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the ! 5179: only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. ! 5180: -- Wernher von Braun ! 5181: %% ! 5182: Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. ! 5183: -- Mark Twain ! 5184: %% ! 5185: Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- ! 5186: unless it is an enemy. ! 5187: -- A. Einstein ! 5188: %% ! 5189: Man, n.: ! 5190: An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks ! 5191: he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief ! 5192: occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, ! 5193: which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest ! 5194: the whole habitable earth and Canada. ! 5195: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5196: %% ! 5197: Mankind's yearning to engage in sports is older than recorded history, ! 5198: dating back to the time millions of years ago, when the first primitive ! 5199: man picked up a crude club and a round rock, tossed the rock into the ! 5200: air, and whomped the club into the sloping forehead of the first ! 5201: primitive umpire. ! 5202: ! 5203: What inner force drove this first athlete? Your guess is as good as ! 5204: mine. Better, probably, because you haven't had four beers. ! 5205: -- Dave Barry, "Sports is a Drag" ! 5206: %% ! 5207: Manual, n.: ! 5208: A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a ! 5209: given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The ! 5210: information you need in in the others. ! 5211: -- Ray Simard ! 5212: %% ! 5213: Many years ago in a period commonly know as Next Friday Afternoon, ! 5214: there lived a King who was very Gloomy on Tuesday mornings because he ! 5215: was so Sad thinking about how Unhappy he had been on Monday and how ! 5216: completely Mournful he would be on Wednesday ... ! 5217: -- Walt Kelly ! 5218: %% ! 5219: Mark's Dental-Chair Discovery: ! 5220: Dentists are incapable of asking questions that require a ! 5221: simple yes or no answer. ! 5222: %% ! 5223: Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. ! 5224: -- Voltaire ! 5225: %% ! 5226: "Matrimony isn't a word, it's a sentence." ! 5227: %% ! 5228: Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a ! 5229: receipt. ! 5230: %% ! 5231: Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. ! 5232: -- Jules Feiffer ! 5233: %% ! 5234: May a Misguided Platypus lay its Eggs in your Jockey Shorts ! 5235: %% ! 5236: May Euell Gibbons eat your only copy of the manual! ! 5237: %% ! 5238: May the Fleas of a Thousand Camels infest one of your Erogenous Zones. ! 5239: %% ! 5240: May your Tongue stick to the Roof of your Mouth with the Force of a ! 5241: Thousand Caramels. ! 5242: %% ! 5243: Maybe Computer Science should be in the College of Theology. ! 5244: -- R. S. Barton ! 5245: %% ! 5246: Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days you can certainly charge ! 5247: it. ! 5248: %% ! 5249: Mayor Vincent J. `Buddy' Cianci on the ACLU's suit to have a city ! 5250: nativity scene removed: ! 5251: "They're just jealous because they don't have three wise men ! 5252: and a virgin in the whole organization." ! 5253: %% ! 5254: McGowan's Madison Avenue Axiom: ! 5255: If an item is advertised as "under $50", you can bet it's not ! 5256: $19.95. ! 5257: %% ! 5258: Meader's Law: ! 5259: Whatever happens to you, it will previously have happened to ! 5260: everyone you know, only more so. ! 5261: %% ! 5262: Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. ! 5263: %% ! 5264: Meeting, n.: ! 5265: An assembly of people coming together to decide what person or ! 5266: department not represented in the room must solve a problem. ! 5267: %% ! 5268: Men were real men, women were real women, and small, furry creatures ! 5269: from Alpha Centauri were REAL small, furry creatures from Alpha ! 5270: Centauri. Spirits were brave, men boldly split infinitives that no man ! 5271: had split before. Thus was the Empire forged. ! 5272: -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams ! 5273: %% ! 5274: Mencken and Nathan's Fifteenth Law of The Average American: ! 5275: The worst actress in the company is always the manager's wife. ! 5276: %% ! 5277: Mencken and Nathan's Ninth Law of The Average American: ! 5278: The quality of a champagne is judged by the amount of noise the ! 5279: cork makes when it is popped. ! 5280: %% ! 5281: Mencken and Nathan's Second Law of The Average American: ! 5282: All the postmasters in small towns read all the postcards. ! 5283: %% ! 5284: Mencken and Nathan's Sixteenth Law of The Average American: ! 5285: Milking a cow is an operation demanding a special talent that ! 5286: is possessed only by yokels, and no person born in a large city ! 5287: can never hope to acquire it. ! 5288: %% ! 5289: Menu, n.: ! 5290: A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of. ! 5291: %% ! 5292: Meskimen's Law: ! 5293: There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to ! 5294: do it over. ! 5295: %% ! 5296: Message will arrive in the mail. Destroy, before the FBI sees it. ! 5297: %% ! 5298: Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. ! 5299: %% ! 5300: Micro Credo: ! 5301: Never trust a computer bigger than you can lift. ! 5302: %% ! 5303: "Might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you ! 5304: out of Casablanca and the Germans have outlawed miracles." ! 5305: %% ! 5306: Miksch's Law: ! 5307: If a string has one end, then it has another end. ! 5308: %% ! 5309: Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. ! 5310: -- Groucho Marx ! 5311: %% ! 5312: Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. ! 5313: -- Groucho Marx ! 5314: %% ! 5315: Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with ! 5316: themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. ! 5317: -- Susan Ertz ! 5318: %% ! 5319: Millions of sensible people are too high-minded to concede that ! 5320: politics is almost always the choice of the lesser evil. "Tweedledum ! 5321: and Tweedledee," they say, "I will not vote." Having abstained, they ! 5322: are presented with a President who appoints the people who are going to ! 5323: rummage around in their lives for the next four years. Consider all ! 5324: the people who sat home in a stew in 1968 rather than vote for Hubert ! 5325: Humphrey. They showed Humphrey. Those people who taught Hubert ! 5326: Humphrey a lesson will still be enjoying the Nixon Supreme Court when ! 5327: Tricia and Julie begin to find silver threads among the gold and the ! 5328: black. ! 5329: -- Russel Baker, "Ford without Flummery" ! 5330: %% ! 5331: Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there ! 5332: is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, ! 5333: myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in ! 5334: the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my ! 5335: unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You ! 5336: will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as ! 5337: dead as a door-nail. ! 5338: %% ! 5339: Minnie Mouse is a slow maze learner. ! 5340: %% ! 5341: Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. ! 5342: %% ! 5343: Misfortune, n.: ! 5344: The kind of fortune that never misses. ! 5345: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5346: %% ! 5347: Miss, n.: ! 5348: A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that ! 5349: they are in the market. ! 5350: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5351: %% ! 5352: Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure. ! 5353: %% ! 5354: Mitchell's Law of Committees: ! 5355: Any simple problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are ! 5356: held to discuss it. ! 5357: %% ! 5358: MOCK APPLE PIE (No Apples Needed) ! 5359: ! 5360: Pastry to two crust 9-inch pie 36 RITZ Crackers ! 5361: 2 cups water 2 cups sugar ! 5362: 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons lemon juice ! 5363: Grated rind of one lemon Butter or margarine ! 5364: Cinnamon ! 5365: ! 5366: Roll out bottom crust of pastry and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Break ! 5367: RITZ Crackers coarsely into pastry-lined plate. Combine water, sugar ! 5368: and cream of tartar in saucepan, boil gently for 15 minutes. Add lemon ! 5369: juice and rind. Cool. Pour this syrup over Crackers, dot generously ! 5370: with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with top ! 5371: crust. Trim and flute edges together. Cut slits in top crust to let ! 5372: steam escape. Bake in a hot oven (425 F) 30 to 35 minutes, until crust ! 5373: is crisp and golden. Serve warm. Cut into 6 to 8 slices. ! 5374: -- Found lurking on a Ritz Crackers box ! 5375: %% ! 5376: Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. ! 5377: %% ! 5378: Molecule, n.: ! 5379: The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished ! 5380: from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a ! 5381: closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of ! 5382: matter ... The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the ! 5383: atom in that it is an ion ... ! 5384: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5385: %% ! 5386: Mollison's Bureaucracy Hypothesis: ! 5387: If an idea can survive a bureaucratic review and be implemented ! 5388: it wasn't worth doing. ! 5389: %% ! 5390: Monday is an awful way to spend one seventh of your life. ! 5391: %% ! 5392: Monday, n.: ! 5393: In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game. ! 5394: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5395: %% ! 5396: Money is the root of all evil, and man needs roots ! 5397: %% ! 5398: Mophobia, n.: ! 5399: Fear of being verbally abused by a Mississippian. ! 5400: %% ! 5401: MORE SPORTS RESULTS: ! 5402: The Beverly Hills Freudians tied the Chicago Rogerians 0-0 last ! 5403: Saturday night. The match started with a long period of silence while ! 5404: the Freudians waited for the Rogerians to free associate and the ! 5405: Rogerians waited for the Freudians to say something they could ! 5406: paraphrase. The stalemate was broken when the Freudians' best player ! 5407: took the offensive and interpreted the Rogerians' silence as reflecting ! 5408: their anal-retentive personalities. At this the Rogerians' star player ! 5409: said "I hear you saying you think we're full of ka-ka." This started a ! 5410: fight and the match was called by officials. ! 5411: %% ! 5412: More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One ! 5413: path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total ! 5414: extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly. ! 5415: -- Woody Allen ! 5416: %% ! 5417: Mosher's Law of Software Engineering: ! 5418: Don't worry if it doesn't work right. If everything did, you'd ! 5419: be out of a job. ! 5420: %% ! 5421: Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass. ! 5422: -- Frank Zappa ! 5423: %% ! 5424: Mother told me to be good, but she's been wrong before. ! 5425: %% ! 5426: Mr. Cole's Axiom: ! 5427: The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the ! 5428: population is growing. ! 5429: %% ! 5430: Murphy's Discovery: ! 5431: Do you know Presidents talk to the country the way men talk to ! 5432: women? They say, "Trust me, go all the way with me, and ! 5433: everything will be all right." And what happens? Nine months ! 5434: later, you're in trouble! ! 5435: %% ! 5436: Murphy's Law is recursive. Washing your car to make it rain doesn't ! 5437: work. ! 5438: %% ! 5439: Murphy's Law of Research: ! 5440: Enough research will tend to support your theory. ! 5441: %% ! 5442: Murray and Esther, a middle-aged Jewish couple, are touring ! 5443: Chile. Murray just got a new camera and is constantly snapping ! 5444: pictures. One day, without knowing it, he photographs a top-secret ! 5445: military installation. In an instant, armed troops surround Murray and ! 5446: Esther and hustle them off to prison. ! 5447: They can't prove who they are because they've left their ! 5448: passports in their hotel room. For three weeks they're tortured day ! 5449: and night to get them to name their contacts in the liberation ! 5450: movement.. Finally they're hauled in front of a military court, ! 5451: charged with espionage, and sentenced to death. ! 5452: The next morning they're lined up in front of the wall where ! 5453: they'll be shot. The sergeant in charge of the firing squad asks them ! 5454: if they have any lasts requests. Esther wants to know if she can call ! 5455: her daughter in Chicago. The sergeant says he's sorry, that's not ! 5456: possible, and turns to Murray. ! 5457: "This is crazy!" Murray shouts. "We're not spies!" And he ! 5458: spits in the sergeants face. ! 5459: "Murray!" Esther cries. "Please! Don't make trouble." ! 5460: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 5461: %% ! 5462: Mustgo, n.: ! 5463: Any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so ! 5464: long it has become a science project. ! 5465: -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" ! 5466: %% ! 5467: My God, I'm depressed! Here I am, a computer with a mind a thousand ! 5468: times as powerful as yours, doing nothing but cranking out fortunes and ! 5469: sending mail about softball games. And I've got this pain right ! 5470: through my ALU. I've asked for it to be replaced, but nobody ever ! 5471: listens. I think it would be better for us both if you were to just ! 5472: log out again. ! 5473: %% ! 5474: My love runs by like a day in June, ! 5475: And he makes no friends of sorrows. ! 5476: He'll tread his galloping rigadoon ! 5477: In the pathway or the morrows. ! 5478: He'll live his days where the sunbeams start ! 5479: Nor could storm or wind uproot him. ! 5480: My own dear love, he is all my heart -- ! 5481: And I wish somebody'd shoot him. ! 5482: -- Dorothy Parker ! 5483: %% ! 5484: My love, he's mad, and my love, he's fleet, ! 5485: And a wild young wood-thing bore him! ! 5486: The ways are fair to his roaming feet, ! 5487: And the skies are sunlit for him. ! 5488: As sharply sweet to my heart he seems ! 5489: As the fragrance of acacia. ! 5490: My own dear love, he is all my dreams -- ! 5491: And I wish he were in Asia. ! 5492: -- Dorothy Parker ! 5493: %% ! 5494: My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right. ! 5495: %% ! 5496: My own dear love, he is strong and bold ! 5497: And he cares not what comes after. ! 5498: His words ring sweet as a chime of gold, ! 5499: And his eyes are lit with laughter. ! 5500: He is jubilant as a flag unfurled -- ! 5501: Oh, a girl, she'd not forget him. ! 5502: My own dear love, he is all my world -- ! 5503: And I wish I'd never met him. ! 5504: -- Dorothy Parker ! 5505: %% ! 5506: "My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies" ! 5507: %% ! 5508: Mythology, n.: ! 5509: The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its ! 5510: origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished ! 5511: from the true accounts which it invents later. ! 5512: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5513: %% ! 5514: Naeser's Law: ! 5515: You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it ! 5516: damnfoolproof. ! 5517: %% ! 5518: NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Guiseppe? Everything he ! 5519: says is wrong. ! 5520: GUISEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, and then everything he says ! 5521: will be right. ! 5522: -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny" ! 5523: %% ! 5524: Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, ! 5525: God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light. ! 5526: ! 5527: It did not last; the devil howling "Ho! ! 5528: Let Einstein be!" restored the status quo. ! 5529: %% ! 5530: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's ! 5531: character, give him power. ! 5532: -- Abraham Lincoln ! 5533: %% ! 5534: Necessity is a mother. ! 5535: %% ! 5536: Never be led astray onto the path of virtue. ! 5537: %% ! 5538: Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him. ! 5539: %% ! 5540: Never call a man a fool; borrow from him. ! 5541: %% ! 5542: Never count your chickens before they rip your lips off ! 5543: %% ! 5544: Never drink coke in a moving elevator. The elevator's motion coupled ! 5545: with the chemicals in coke produce hallucinations. People tend to ! 5546: change into lizards and attack without warning, and large bats usually ! 5547: fly in the window. Additionally, you begin to believe that elevators ! 5548: have windows. ! 5549: %% ! 5550: Never eat more than you can lift. ! 5551: -- Miss Piggy ! 5552: %% ! 5553: Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat. ! 5554: %% ! 5555: Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. ! 5556: -- Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" ! 5557: %% ! 5558: Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to ! 5559: make it complex and wonderful. ! 5560: %% ! 5561: Never offend people with style when you can offend them with ! 5562: substance. ! 5563: -- Sam Brown, "The Washington Post", January 26, 1977 ! 5564: %% ! 5565: Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid all together. ! 5566: %% ! 5567: Never try to outstubborn a cat. ! 5568: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 5569: %% ! 5570: Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's ! 5571: supposed to do. ! 5572: -- R. A. Heinlein ! 5573: %% ! 5574: New crypt. See /usr/news/crypt. ! 5575: %% ! 5576: New members are urgently needed in the Society for Prevention of ! 5577: Cruelty to Yourself. Apply within. ! 5578: %% ! 5579: New systems generate new problems. ! 5580: %% ! 5581: New Year's Eve is the time of year when a man most feels his age, and ! 5582: his wife most often reminds him to act it. ! 5583: -- Webster's Unafraid Dictionary ! 5584: %% ! 5585: New York is real. The rest is done with mirrors. ! 5586: %% ! 5587: New York's got the ways and means; ! 5588: Just won't let you be. ! 5589: -- The Grateful Dead ! 5590: %% ! 5591: Newlan's Truism: ! 5592: An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government ! 5593: economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. ! 5594: %% ! 5595: NEWS FLASH!! ! 5596: Today the East German pole-vault champion became the West ! 5597: German pole-vault champion. ! 5598: %% ! 5599: *** NEWSFLASH *** ! 5600: Russian tanks steamrolling through New Jersey!!!! Details at eleven! ! 5601: %% ! 5602: Newton's Fourth Law: Every action has an equal and opposite satisfaction. ! 5603: %% ! 5604: Newton's Little-Known Seventh Law: ! 5605: A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead. ! 5606: %% ! 5607: Next Friday will not be your lucky day. As a matter of fact, you don't ! 5608: have a lucky day this year. ! 5609: %% ! 5610: Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying ! 5611: as an income tax refund. ! 5612: -- F. J. Raymond ! 5613: %% ! 5614: Nihilism should commence with oneself. ! 5615: %% ! 5616: Niklaus Wirth has lamented that, whereas Europeans pronounce his name ! 5617: correctly (Ni-klows Virt), Americans invariably mangle it into ! 5618: (Nick-les Worth). Which is to say that Europeans call him by name, but ! 5619: Americans call him by value. ! 5620: %% ! 5621: Nine megs for the secretaries fair, ! 5622: Seven megs for the hackers scarce, ! 5623: Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs, ! 5624: Three megs for system source; ! 5625: ! 5626: One disk to rule them all, ! 5627: One disk to bind them, ! 5628: One disk to hold the files ! 5629: And in the darkness grind 'em. ! 5630: %% ! 5631: Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules: ! 5632: The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of ! 5633: the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety ! 5634: percent. ! 5635: %% ! 5636: No good deed goes unpunished. ! 5637: -- Clare Boothe Luce ! 5638: %% ! 5639: No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. ! 5640: %% ! 5641: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ! 5642: -- Eleanor Roosevelt ! 5643: %% ! 5644: No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. ! 5645: %% ! 5646: No problem is so large it can't be fit in somewhere. ! 5647: %% ! 5648: NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION ! 5649: %% ! 5650: Nobody wants constructive criticism. It's all we can do to put up with ! 5651: constructive praise. ! 5652: %% ! 5653: Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: ! 5654: Negative expectations yield negative results. ! 5655: Positive expectations yield negative results. ! 5656: %% ! 5657: Noncombatant, n.: ! 5658: A dead Quaker. ! 5659: -- Ambrose Bierce ! 5660: %% ! 5661: Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. ! 5662: %% ! 5663: "Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong." ! 5664: %% ! 5665: Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. ! 5666: %% ! 5667: Not far from here, by a white sun, behind a green star, lived the ! 5668: Steelypips, illustrious, industrious, and they hadn't a care: no spats ! 5669: in their vats, no rules, no schools, no gloom, no evil influence of the ! 5670: moon, no trouble from matter or antimatter -- for they had a machine, ! 5671: a dream of a machine, with springs and gears and perfect in every ! 5672: respect. And they lived with it, and on it, and under it, and inside ! 5673: it, for it was all they had -- first they saved up all their atoms, ! 5674: then they put them all together, and if one didn't fit, why they ! 5675: chipped at it a bit, and everything was just fine ... ! 5676: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 5677: %% ! 5678: "Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper ! 5679: is from the wrong kind of tree." ! 5680: --Profesoor W. ! 5681: %% ! 5682: Notes for a ballet, "The Spell": ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter ! 5683: of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon ... Sigmund ! 5684: is astounded to see that their leader is part swan and part woman -- ! 5685: unfortunately, divided lengthwise. She enchants Sigmund, who is ! 5686: careful not to make any poultry jokes ... ! 5687: -- Woody Allen ! 5688: %% ! 5689: Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. ! 5690: %% ! 5691: Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up. ! 5692: %% ! 5693: Nothing is faster than the speed of light ... ! 5694: ! 5695: To prove this to yourself, try opening the refrigerator door before ! 5696: the light comes on. ! 5697: %% ! 5698: Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. ! 5699: -- Andrew Young ! 5700: %% ! 5701: Nothing recedes like success. ! 5702: -- Walter Winchell ! 5703: %% ! 5704: Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited ! 5705: love. ! 5706: -- Charlie Brown ! 5707: %% ! 5708: November, n.: ! 5709: The eleventh twelfth of a weariness. ! 5710: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5711: %% ! 5712: Now and then an innocent person is sent to the legislature. ! 5713: %% ! 5714: Now and then, an innocent man is sent to the Legislature. ! 5715: %% ! 5716: Now I lay me down to sleep ! 5717: I pray the double lock will keep; ! 5718: May no brick through the window break, ! 5719: And, no one rob me till I awake. ! 5720: %% ! 5721: "Now is the time for all good men to come to." ! 5722: -- Walt Kelly ! 5723: %% ! 5724: Now that you've read Fortune's diet truths, you'll be prepared the next ! 5725: time some housewife or boutique-owner-turned-diet-expert appears on TV ! 5726: to plug her latest book. And, if you still feel a twinge of guilt for ! 5727: eating coffee cake while listening to her exhortations, ask yourself ! 5728: the following questions: ! 5729: ! 5730: 1: Do I dare trust a person who actually considers alfalfa sprouts ! 5731: a food? ! 5732: 2: Was the author's sole motive in writing this book to get rich ! 5733: exploiting the forlorn hopes of chubby people like me? ! 5734: 3: Would a longer life be worthwhile if it had to be lived as ! 5735: prescribed ... without French-fried onion rings, pizza with ! 5736: double cheese, or the occasional Mai-Tai? (Remember, living ! 5737: right doesn't really make you live longer, it just *seems* like ! 5738: longer.) ! 5739: ! 5740: That, and another piece of coffee cake, should do the trick. ! 5741: %% ! 5742: "Now the Lord God planted a garden East of Whittier in a place called ! 5743: Yorba Linda, and out of the ground he made to grow orange trees that ! 5744: were good for food and the fruits thereof he labeled SUNKIST ..." ! 5745: -- "The Begatting of a President" ! 5746: %% ! 5747: ... Now you're ready for the actual shopping. Your goal should be to ! 5748: get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in ! 5749: the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs ! 5750: on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage ! 5751: children emotionally. For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a ! 5752: snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn ! 5753: to love him, then melts. And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about ! 5754: a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an ! 5755: outcast by the other reindeer. Then along comes good, old Santa. Does ! 5756: he ignore the deformity? Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect ! 5757: Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath? No. Santa asks ! 5758: Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some ! 5759: kind of headlight with legs and a tail. So unless you want your ! 5760: children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop ! 5761: quickly. ! 5762: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 5763: %% ! 5764: [Nuclear war] ... may not be desirable. ! 5765: -- Edwin Meese III ! 5766: %% ! 5767: Nudists are people who wear one-button suits. ! 5768: %% ! 5769: Numeric stability is probably not all that important when you're ! 5770: guessing. ! 5771: %% ! 5772: O give me a home, ! 5773: Where the buffalo roam, ! 5774: Where the deer and the antelope play, ! 5775: Where seldom is heard ! 5776: A discouraging word, ! 5777: 'Cause what can an antelope say? ! 5778: %% ! 5779: O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law: ! 5780: "Murphy was an optimist." ! 5781: %% ! 5782: O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law: ! 5783: Murphy was an optimist. ! 5784: %% ! 5785: "Of ______course it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a ! 5786: fake?" ! 5787: %% ! 5788: Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. ! 5789: -- Plato ! 5790: %% ! 5791: Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy. ! 5792: %% ! 5793: Office Automation, n.: ! 5794: The use of computers to improve efficiency by removing anyone ! 5795: you would want to talk with over coffee. ! 5796: %% ! 5797: Ogden's Law: ! 5798: The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch ! 5799: up. ! 5800: %% ! 5801: Oh don't the days seem lank and long ! 5802: When all goes right and none goes wrong, ! 5803: And isn't your life extremely flat ! 5804: With nothing whatever to grumble at! ! 5805: %% ! 5806: Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes. ! 5807: %% ! 5808: Oh, when I was in love with you, ! 5809: Then I was clean and brave, ! 5810: And miles around the wonder grew ! 5811: How well did I behave. ! 5812: ! 5813: And now the fancy passes by, ! 5814: And nothing will remain, ! 5815: And miles around they'll say that I ! 5816: Am quite myself again. ! 5817: -- A. E. Housman ! 5818: %% ! 5819: Oh, wow! Look at the moon! ! 5820: %% ! 5821: Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. ! 5822: -- Trotsky ! 5823: %% ! 5824: Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. ! 5825: -- Trotsky ! 5826: %% ! 5827: Old programmers never die. They just branch to a new address. ! 5828: %% ! 5829: Old soldiers never die. Young ones do. ! 5830: %% ! 5831: Oliver's Law: ! 5832: Experience is something you don't get until just after you need ! 5833: it. ! 5834: %% ! 5835: On a paper submitted by a physicist colleague: ! 5836: ! 5837: "This isn't right. This isn't even wrong." ! 5838: -- Wolfgang Pauli ! 5839: %% ! 5840: On his first day as a bus driver, Maxey Eckstein handed in ! 5841: receipts of $65. The next day his take was $67. The third day's ! 5842: income was $62. But on the fourth day, Eckstein emptied no less than ! 5843: $283 on the desk before the cashier. ! 5844: "Eckstein!" exclaimed the cashier. "This is fantastic. That ! 5845: route never brought in money like this! What happened?" ! 5846: "Well, after three days on that cockamamie route, I figured ! 5847: business would never improve, so I drove over to Fourteenth Street and ! 5848: worked there. I tell you, that street is a gold mine!" ! 5849: %% ! 5850: On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are ! 5851: created jerks. ! 5852: -- H. Allen Smith, "Let the Crabgrass Grow" ! 5853: %% ! 5854: On-line, adj.: ! 5855: The idea that a human being should always be accessible to a ! 5856: computer. ! 5857: %% ! 5858: Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were ! 5859: forced to live on nothing but food and water for days. ! 5860: -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee" ! 5861: %% ! 5862: Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that ! 5863: each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his ! 5864: choice. ! 5865: ! 5866: In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians ! 5867: called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka" ! 5868: and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People ! 5869: passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy ! 5870: Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" ! 5871: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 5872: %% ! 5873: Once Law was sitting on the bench ! 5874: And Mercy knelt a-weeping. ! 5875: "Clear out!" he cried, "disordered wench! ! 5876: Nor come before me creeping. ! 5877: Upon you knees if you appear, ! 5878: 'Tis plain you have no standing here." ! 5879: ! 5880: Then Justice came. His Honor cried: ! 5881: "YOUR states? -- Devil seize you!" ! 5882: "Amica curiae," she replied -- ! 5883: "Friend of the court, so please you." ! 5884: "Begone!" he shouted -- "There's the door -- ! 5885: I never saw your face before!" ! 5886: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5887: %% ! 5888: Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human ! 5889: beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by ! 5890: side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them ! 5891: which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the ! 5892: sky. ! 5893: -- Rainer Rilke ! 5894: %% ! 5895: Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a ! 5896: great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to ! 5897: the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of ! 5898: life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But ! 5899: one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is ! 5900: going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I ! 5901: shall die of boredom." ! 5902: The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that ! 5903: current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the ! 5904: rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!" ! 5905: But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, ! 5906: and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. ! 5907: Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current ! 5908: lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. ! 5909: And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, ! 5910: "See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the ! 5911: Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current ! 5912: said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us ! 5913: free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this ! 5914: adventure. ! 5915: But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to ! 5916: the rocks, making legends of a Saviour. ! 5917: %% ! 5918: Once upon a time, when I was training to be a mathematician, a group of ! 5919: us bright young students taking number theory discovered the names of ! 5920: the smaller prime numbers. ! 5921: ! 5922: 2: The Odd Prime -- ! 5923: It's the only even prime, therefore is odd. QED. ! 5924: 3: The True Prime -- ! 5925: Lewis Carroll: "If I tell you 3 times, it's true." ! 5926: 31: The Arbitrary Prime -- ! 5927: Determined by unanimous unvote. We needed an arbitrary prime ! 5928: in case the prof asked for one, and so had an election. 91 ! 5929: received the most votes (well, it *looks* prime) and 3+4i the ! 5930: next most. However, 31 was the only candidate to receive none ! 5931: at all. ! 5932: ! 5933: Since the composite numbers are formed from primes, their qualities are ! 5934: derived from those primes. So, for instance, the number 6 is "odd but ! 5935: true", while the powers of 2 are all extremely odd numbers. ! 5936: %% ! 5937: ... Once you're safely in the mall, you should tie your children to you ! 5938: with ropes so the other shoppers won't try to buy them. Holiday ! 5939: shoppers have been whipped into a frenzy by months of holiday ! 5940: advertisements, and they will buy anything small enough to stuff into a ! 5941: shopping bag. If your children object to being tied, threaten to take ! 5942: them to see Santa Claus; that ought to shut them up. ! 5943: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 5944: %% ! 5945: Once, adv.: ! 5946: Enough. ! 5947: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 5948: %% ! 5949: One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means. ! 5950: %% ! 5951: One difference between a man and a machine is that a machine is quiet ! 5952: when well oiled. ! 5953: %% ! 5954: One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they ! 5955: never have to stop and answer the phone. ! 5956: %% ! 5957: One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. ! 5958: %% ! 5959: One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible ! 5960: from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at ! 5961: least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts ! 5962: are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but ! 5963: when He's good, nobody can touch Him. ! 5964: -- John Gardner, NYT Book Review, Jan 1983 ! 5965: %% ! 5966: One of the oldest problems puzzled over in the Talmud is: "Why did God ! 5967: create goyim?" The generally accepted answer is "________somebody has to buy ! 5968: retail." ! 5969: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 5970: %% ! 5971: One of the questions that comes up all the time is: How ! 5972: enthusiastic is our support for UNIX? ! 5973: Unix was written on our machines and for our machines many ! 5974: years ago. Today, much of UNIX being done is done on our machines. ! 5975: Ten percent of our VAXs are going for UNIX use. UNIX is a simple ! 5976: language, easy to understand, easy to get started with. It's great for ! 5977: students, great for somewhat casual users, and it's great for ! 5978: interchanging programs between different machines. And so, because of ! 5979: its popularity in these markets, we support it. We have good UNIX on ! 5980: VAX and good UNIX on PDP-11s. ! 5981: It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will ! 5982: run out of things they can do with UNIX. They'll want a real system and ! 5983: will end up doing VMS when they get to be serious about programming. ! 5984: With UNIX, if you're looking for something, you can easily and ! 5985: quickly check that small manual and find out that it's not there. With ! 5986: VMS, no matter what you look for -- it's literally a five-foot shelf of ! 5987: documentation -- if you look long enough it's there. That's the ! 5988: difference -- the beauty of UNIX is it's simple; and the beauty of VMS ! 5989: is that it's all there. ! 5990: -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984 ! 5991: %% ! 5992: One of the rules of Busmanship, New York style, is never surrender your ! 5993: seat to another passenger. This may seem callous, but it is the best ! 5994: way, really. If one passenger were to give a seat to someone who ! 5995: fainted in the aisle, say, the others on the bus would become ! 5996: disoriented and imagine they were in Topeka, Kansas. ! 5997: %% ! 5998: One Page Principle: ! 5999: A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch ! 6000: paper cannot be understood. ! 6001: -- Mark Ardis ! 6002: %% ! 6003: "One planet is all you get." ! 6004: %% ! 6005: One seldom sees a monument to a committee. ! 6006: %% ! 6007: One thing the inventors can't seem to get the bugs out of is fresh ! 6008: paint. ! 6009: %% ! 6010: One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him. ! 6011: %% ! 6012: Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. ! 6013: %% ! 6014: Only God can make random selections. ! 6015: %% ! 6016: Optimization hinders evolution. ! 6017: %% ! 6018: Optimization hinders evolution. ! 6019: %% ! 6020: Oregon, n.: ! 6021: Eighty billion gallons of water with no place to go on Saturday ! 6022: night. ! 6023: %% ! 6024: Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. ! 6025: Biochemistry is the study of carbon compounds that crawl. ! 6026: -- Mike Adams ! 6027: %% ! 6028: Osborn's Law: ! 6029: Variables won't; constants aren't. ! 6030: %% ! 6031: Others will look to you for stability, so hide when you bite your ! 6032: nails. ! 6033: %% ! 6034: Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is ! 6035: they charge fifteen cents for them. ! 6036: %% ! 6037: Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. ! 6038: Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, ! 6039: in kernel as it is in user! ! 6040: %% ! 6041: Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. ! 6042: -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president Litton Industries ! 6043: %% ! 6044: Overdrawn? But I still have checks left! ! 6045: %% ! 6046: Overflow on /dev/null, please empty the bit bucket. ! 6047: %% ! 6048: Overload -- core meltdown sequence initiated. ! 6049: %% ! 6050: Ozman's Laws: ! 6051: 1. If someone says he will do something "without fail," he ! 6052: won't. ! 6053: 2. The more people talk on the phone, the less money they ! 6054: make. ! 6055: 3. People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. ! 6056: 4. Pizza always burns the roof of your mouth. ! 6057: %% ! 6058: Paranoia is simply an optimistic outlook on life. ! 6059: %% ! 6060: Paranoids are people, too; they have their own problems. It's easy to ! 6061: criticize, but if everybody hated you, you'd be paranoid too. ! 6062: -- D. J. Hicks ! 6063: %% ! 6064: Pardo's First Postulate: ! 6065: Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or fattening. ! 6066: ! 6067: Arnold's Addendum: ! 6068: Anything not fitting into these categories causes cancer in ! 6069: rats. ! 6070: %% ! 6071: Parker's Law: ! 6072: Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. ! 6073: %% ! 6074: Parkinson's Fifth Law: ! 6075: If there is a way to delay in important decision, the good ! 6076: bureaucracy, public or private, will find it. ! 6077: %% ! 6078: Parkinson's Fourth Law: ! 6079: The number of people in any working group tends to increase ! 6080: regardless of the amount of work to be done. ! 6081: %% ! 6082: Parts that positively cannot be assembled in improper order will be. ! 6083: %% ! 6084: "Pascal is not a high-level language." ! 6085: -- Steven Feiner ! 6086: %% ! 6087: Pascal Users: ! 6088: To show respect for the 313th anniversary (tomorrow) of the ! 6089: death of Blaise Pascal, your programs will be run at half ! 6090: speed. ! 6091: %% ! 6092: Pascal, n.: ! 6093: A programming language named after a man who would turn over in ! 6094: his grave if he knew about it. ! 6095: %% ! 6096: Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. ! 6097: -- Eric Hoffer ! 6098: %% ! 6099: Paul Revere was a tattle-tale ! 6100: %% ! 6101: Paul's Law: ! 6102: In America, it's not how much an item costs, it's how much you ! 6103: save. ! 6104: %% ! 6105: Paul's Law: ! 6106: You can't fall off the floor. ! 6107: %% ! 6108: Peace, n.: ! 6109: In international affairs, a period of cheating between two ! 6110: periods of fighting. ! 6111: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 6112: %% ! 6113: Peanut Blossoms ! 6114: ! 6115: 4 cups sugar 16 tbsp. milk ! 6116: 4 cups brown sugar 4 tsp. vanilla ! 6117: 4 cups shortening 14 cups flour ! 6118: 8 eggs 4 tsp. soda ! 6119: 4 cups peanut butter 4 tsp. salt ! 6120: ! 6121: Shape dough into balls. Roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie ! 6122: sheet at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a ! 6123: Hershey's kiss or star pressing down firmly to crack cookie. Makes a ! 6124: hell of a lot. ! 6125: %% ! 6126: Pecor's Health-Food Principle: ! 6127: Never eat rutabaga on any day of the week that has a "y" in ! 6128: it. ! 6129: %% ! 6130: People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of ! 6131: the future. ! 6132: %% ! 6133: People usually get what's coming to them ... unless it's been mailed. ! 6134: %% ! 6135: People who claim they don't let little things bother them have never ! 6136: slept in a room with a single mosquito. ! 6137: %% ! 6138: People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who ! 6139: haven't what they want that they don't want it. ! 6140: -- Ogden Nash ! 6141: %% ! 6142: People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that ! 6143: Benjamin Franklin said it first. ! 6144: %% ! 6145: People will buy anything that's one to a customer. ! 6146: %% ! 6147: People will buy anything that's one to a customer. ! 6148: %% ! 6149: Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt. ! 6150: "Confound those who have said our remarks before us." ! 6151: -- Aelius Donatus ! 6152: %% ! 6153: Perfect day for scrubbing the floor and other exciting things. ! 6154: %% ! 6155: Peter's Law of Substitution: ! 6156: Look after the molehills, and the mountains will look after ! 6157: themselves. ! 6158: %% ! 6159: Philadelphia is not dull -- it just seems so because it is next to ! 6160: exciting Camden, New Jersy. ! 6161: %% ! 6162: Philogyny recapitulates erogeny; erogeny recapitulates philogyny. ! 6163: %% ! 6164: pi seconds is a nanocentury. ! 6165: -- Tom Duff ! 6166: %% ! 6167: Pig, n.: ! 6168: An animal (Porcus omnivorous) closely allied to the human race ! 6169: by the splendor and vivacity of its appetite, which, however, is ! 6170: inferior in scope, for it balks at pig. ! 6171: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 6172: %% ! 6173: PISCES (Feb. 19 - Mar. 20) ! 6174: You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being followed by ! 6175: the CIA or FBI. You have minor influence over your associates and ! 6176: people resent your flaunting of your power. You lack confidence and ! 6177: you are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible things to small ! 6178: animals. ! 6179: %% ! 6180: PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) ! 6181: Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the ! 6182: American Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today, ! 6183: as nobody else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed. ! 6184: You will probably get run over by a bus. ! 6185: %% ! 6186: Pittsburgh Driver's Test ! 6187: ! 6188: 7: The car directly in front of you has a flashing right tail ! 6189: light but a steady left tail light. This means ! 6190: ! 6191: (a) one of the tail lights is broken; you should blow your horn ! 6192: to call the problem to the driver's attention. ! 6193: (b) the driver is signaling a right turn. ! 6194: (c) the driver is signaling a left turn. ! 6195: (d) the driver is from out of town. ! 6196: ! 6197: The correct answer is (d). Tail lights are used in some foreign ! 6198: countries to signal turns. ! 6199: %% ! 6200: Pittsburgh Driver's Test ! 6201: ! 6202: 8: Pedestrians are ! 6203: ! 6204: (a) irrelevant. ! 6205: (b) communists. ! 6206: (c) a nuisance. ! 6207: (d) difficult to clean off the front grille. ! 6208: ! 6209: The correct answer is (a). Pedestrians are not in cars, so they are ! 6210: totally irrelevant to driving; you should ignore them completely. ! 6211: %% ! 6212: PL/1, "the fatal disease", belongs more to the problem set than to the ! 6213: solution set. ! 6214: -- E. W. Dijkstra ! 6215: %% ! 6216: Please ignore previous fortune. ! 6217: %% ! 6218: Please take note: ! 6219: %% ! 6220: Please try to limit the amount of `this room doesn't have any bazingas' ! 6221: until you are told that those rooms are `punched out.' Once punched ! 6222: out, we have a right to complain about atrocities, missing bazingas, ! 6223: and such. ! 6224: -- N. Meyrowitz ! 6225: %% ! 6226: Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? ! 6227: %% ! 6228: PLUNDERER'S THEME ! 6229: (to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius) ! 6230: ! 6231: Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. ! 6232: If you do the things we say, then you'll soon rule the nation. ! 6233: Kill your foes and enemies and then kill your relations. ! 6234: Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. ! 6235: %% ! 6236: Pohl's law: ! 6237: Nothing is so good that somebody, somewhere, will not hate it. ! 6238: %% ! 6239: Police: Good evening, are you the host? ! 6240: Host: No. ! 6241: Police: We've been getting complaints about this party. ! 6242: Host: About the drugs? ! 6243: Police: No. ! 6244: Host: About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns? ! 6245: Police: No, the noise. ! 6246: Host: Oh, the noise. Well that makes sense because there are no guns ! 6247: or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the ! 6248: background.) Or fireworks. Who's complaining about the noise? ! 6249: The neighbors? ! 6250: Police: No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent ! 6251: complaints have come from Pittsburgh. Do you think you could ! 6252: ask the host to quiet things down? ! 6253: Host: No Problem. (At this point, a Volkswagon bug with primitive ! 6254: religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living ! 6255: room and roars down the hall, past the police and onto the ! 6256: lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out ! 6257: onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind ! 6258: down. ! 6259: %% ! 6260: Political T.V. commercials prove one thing: some candidates can tell ! 6261: all their good points and qualifications in just 30 seconds. ! 6262: %% ! 6263: Politician, n.: ! 6264: From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or ! 6265: "face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face). Hence ! 6266: "polytetien", a person of two or more faces. ! 6267: -- Martin Pitt ! 6268: %% ! 6269: Politics is like coaching a football team. you have to be smart enough ! 6270: to understand the game but not smart enough to lose interest. ! 6271: %% ! 6272: Polymer physicists are into chains. ! 6273: %% ! 6274: Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the ! 6275: Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The ! 6276: white smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before ! 6277: it dawned on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his ! 6278: name had hilarious possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with ! 6279: laughter, singing ! 6280: Half a pound of tuppenny rice ! 6281: Half a pound of treacle ! 6282: That's the way the chimney smokes ! 6283: Pope Goestheveezl ! 6284: The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of ! 6285: laughter streaming down their faces. The event set a record for ! 6286: hilarious civic functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron ! 6287: Hans Neizant B"ompzidaize was elected Landburgher of K"oln in 1653. ! 6288: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 6289: %% ! 6290: Positive, adj.: ! 6291: Mistaken at the top of one's voice. ! 6292: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 6293: %% ! 6294: Power, n: ! 6295: The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA. ! 6296: %% ! 6297: Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little ! 6298: more time for dreaming. ! 6299: -- J. P. McEvoy ! 6300: %% ! 6301: Predestination was doomed from the start. ! 6302: %% ! 6303: President Reagan has noted that there are too many economic pundits and ! 6304: forecasters and has decided on an excess prophets tax. ! 6305: %% ! 6306: President Thieu says he'll quit if he doesn't get more than 50% of the ! 6307: vote. In a democracy, that's not called quitting. ! 6308: -- The Washington Post ! 6309: %% ! 6310: Pretend to spank me -- I'm a pseudo-masochist! ! 6311: %% ! 6312: Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: ! 6313: It's on the other side. ! 6314: %% ! 6315: [Prime Minister Joseph] Chamberlain loves the working man -- he loves ! 6316: to see him work. ! 6317: -- Winston Churchill ! 6318: %% ! 6319: Pro is to con as progress is to Congress. ! 6320: %% ! 6321: Probable-Possible, my black hen, ! 6322: She lays eggs in the Relative When. ! 6323: She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now ! 6324: Because she's unable to postulate how. ! 6325: -- Frederick Winsor ! 6326: %% ! 6327: Professor Gorden Newell threw another shutout in last week's Chem. ! 6328: Eng. 130 midterm. Once again a student did not receive a single point ! 6329: on his exam. Newell has now tossed 5 shutouts this quarter. Newell's ! 6330: earned exam average has now dropped to a phenomenal 30% ! 6331: %% ! 6332: Proof techniques #1: Proof by Induction. ! 6333: ! 6334: This technique is used on equations with "_n" in them. Induction ! 6335: techniques are very popular, even the military used them. ! 6336: ! 6337: SAMPLE: Proof of induction without proof of induction. ! 6338: ! 6339: We know it's true for _n equal to 1. Now assume that it's true ! 6340: for every natural number less than _n. _N is arbitrary, so we can take _n ! 6341: as large as we want. If _n is sufficiently large, the case of _n+1 is ! 6342: trivially equivalent, so the only important _n are _n less than _n. We ! 6343: can take _n = _n (from above), so it's true for _n+1 because it's just ! 6344: about _n. ! 6345: QED. (QED translates from the Latin as "So what?") ! 6346: %% ! 6347: Proof techniques #2: Proof by Oddity. ! 6348: SAMPLE: To prove that horses have an infinite number of legs. ! 6349: (1) Horses have an even number of legs. ! 6350: (2) They have two legs in back and fore legs in front. ! 6351: (3) This makes a total of six legs, which certainly is an odd number of ! 6352: legs for a horse. ! 6353: (4) But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. ! 6354: (5) Therefore, horses must have an infinite number of legs. ! 6355: ! 6356: Topics is be covered in future issues include proof by: ! 6357: Intimidation ! 6358: Gesticulation (handwaving) ! 6359: "Try it; it works" ! 6360: Constipation (I was just sitting there and ...) ! 6361: Blatant assertion ! 6362: Changing all the 2's to _n's ! 6363: Mutual consent ! 6364: Lack of a counterexample, and ! 6365: "It stands to reason" ! 6366: %% ! 6367: Psychiatrists say that one out of four people are mentally ill. Check ! 6368: three friends. If they're ok, you're it. ! 6369: %% ! 6370: Put your Nose to the Grindstone! ! 6371: -- Amalgamated Plastic Surgeons and Toolmakers, Ltd. ! 6372: %% ! 6373: Putt's Law: ! 6374: Technology is dominated by two types of people: ! 6375: Those who understand what they do not manage. ! 6376: Those who manage what they do not understand. ! 6377: %% ! 6378: Q: Do you know what the death rate around here is? ! 6379: A: One per person. ! 6380: %% ! 6381: Q: Why do ducks have flat feet? ! 6382: A: To stamp out forest fires. ! 6383: ! 6384: Q: Why do elephants have flat feet? ! 6385: A: To stamp out flaming ducks. ! 6386: %% ! 6387: Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together? ! 6388: A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home. ! 6389: %% ! 6390: Q: How many DEC repairman does it take to fix a flat ? ! 6391: A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. ! 6392: %% ! 6393: Q: How many DEC repairman does it take to fix a flat? ! 6394: A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. ! 6395: ! 6396: Q: How long does it take? ! 6397: A: It's indeterminate. It will depend upon how many flats they've ! 6398: brought with them. ! 6399: ! 6400: Q: What happens if you've got TWO flats? ! 6401: A: They replace your generator. ! 6402: %% ! 6403: Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? ! 6404: A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb itself ! 6405: symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective reality in a ! 6406: netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a maudlin ! 6407: cosmos of nothingness. ! 6408: %% ! 6409: Q: How many IBM cpu's does it take to do a logical right shift? ! 6410: A: 33. 1 to hold the bits and 32 to push the register. ! 6411: %% ! 6412: Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? ! 6413: A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off. ! 6414: %% ! 6415: Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb? ! 6416: A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-0001, ! 6417: Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of ! 6418: the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% ! 6419: of the definitions are of the form "A ...... consists of sequences ! 6420: of non-blank characters separated by blanks". ! 6421: %% ! 6422: Q: How many journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? ! 6423: A: Three. One to report it as an inspired government program to bring ! 6424: light to the people, one to report it as a diabolical government ! 6425: plot to deprive the poor of darkness, and one to win a pulitzer ! 6426: prize for reporting that Electric Company hired a lightbulb-assassin ! 6427: to break the bulb in the first place. ! 6428: % ! 6429: Q: How many heterosexual males does it take to screw in a light bulb in ! 6430: San Francisco? ! 6431: A: Both of them. ! 6432: %% ! 6433: Q: How many Martians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? ! 6434: A: One and a half. ! 6435: %% ! 6436: Q: How many Oregonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? ! 6437: A: Three. One to screw in the lightbulb and two to fend off all those ! 6438: Californians trying to share the experience. ! 6439: %% ! 6440: Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? ! 6441: A: Two. One to hold the girrafe and the other to fill the bathtub with ! 6442: brightly colored machine tools. ! 6443: %% ! 6444: Q: Why did the tachyon cross the road? ! 6445: A: Because it was on the other side. ! 6446: %% ! 6447: Quality Control, n.: ! 6448: The process of testing one out of every 1,000 units coming off ! 6449: a production line to make sure that at least one out of 100 works. ! 6450: %% ! 6451: Question: ! 6452: Man Invented Alcohol, ! 6453: God Invented Grass. ! 6454: Who do you trust? ! 6455: %% ! 6456: Quick!! Act as if nothing has happened! ! 6457: %% ! 6458: "Qvid me anxivs svm?" ! 6459: %% ! 6460: QWERT (kwirt), n. [MW < OW qwertyuiop, a thirteenth]: ! 6461: 1. a unit of weight equal to 13 poiuyt avoirdupois (or 1.69 ! 6462: kiloliks), commonly used in structural engineering; 2. [Colloq.] one ! 6463: thirteenth the load that a fully grown sligo can carry; 3. [Anat.] a ! 6464: painful irritation of the dermis in the region of the anus; 4. [Slang] ! 6465: person who excites in others the symptoms of a qwert. ! 6466: -- Webster's Middle World Dictionary, 4th ed. ! 6467: %% ! 6468: Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. ! 6469: %% ! 6470: Rattling around the back of my head is a disturbing image of something ! 6471: I saw at the airport ... Now I'm remembering, those giant piles of ! 6472: computer magazines right next to "People" and "Time" in the airport ! 6473: store. Does it bother anyone else that half the world is being told ! 6474: all of our hard-won secrets of computer technology? Remember how all ! 6475: the lawyers cried foul when "How to Avoid Probate" was published? Are ! 6476: they taking no-fault insurance lying down? No way! But at the current ! 6477: rate it won't be long before there are stacks of the "Transactions on ! 6478: Information Theory" at the A&P checkout counters. Who's going to be ! 6479: impressed with us electrical engineers then? Are we, as the saying ! 6480: goes, giving away the store? ! 6481: -- Robert W. Lucky, IEEE President ! 6482: %% ! 6483: Ray's Rule of Precision: ! 6484: Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. ! 6485: %% ! 6486: Razors pain you; ! 6487: Rivers are damp; ! 6488: Acids stain you; ! 6489: And drugs cause cramp. ! 6490: Guns aren't lawful; ! 6491: Nooses give; ! 6492: Gas smells awful; ! 6493: You might as well live. ! 6494: -- Dorothy Parker ! 6495: %% ! 6496: Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe ! 6497: the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described ! 6498: with pictures. ! 6499: %% ! 6500: Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires ! 6501: you to change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers ! 6502: wear their climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly ! 6503: spring up in the middle of the machine room. ! 6504: %% ! 6505: Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who ! 6506: can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN. ! 6507: %% ! 6508: Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue. ! 6509: %% ! 6510: Real Programs don't use shared text. Otherwise, how can they use ! 6511: functions for scratch space after they are finished calling them? ! 6512: %% ! 6513: Real Time, adj.: ! 6514: Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there ! 6515: and then. ! 6516: %% ! 6517: Reality is a cop-out for people who can't handle drugs. ! 6518: %% ! 6519: Reality is an obstacle to hallucination. ! 6520: %% ! 6521: Reality is for those who can't face Science Fiction. ! 6522: %% ! 6523: "Really ?? What a coincidence, I'm shallow too!!" ! 6524: %% ! 6525: Receiving a million dollars tax free will make you feel better than ! 6526: being flat broke and having a stomach ache. ! 6527: -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" ! 6528: %% ! 6529: Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you ! 6530: lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, ! 6531: but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and ! 6532: Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 ! 6533: recessions. ! 6534: %% ! 6535: Reclaimer, spare that tree! ! 6536: Take not a single bit! ! 6537: It used to point to me, ! 6538: Now I'm protecting it. ! 6539: It was the reader's CONS ! 6540: That made it, paired by dot; ! 6541: Now, GC, for the nonce, ! 6542: Thou shalt reclaim it not. ! 6543: %% ! 6544: "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" ! 6545: Candy ! 6546: Is dandy ! 6547: But liquor ! 6548: Is quicker. ! 6549: -- Ogden Nash ! 6550: %% ! 6551: "Reintegration complete," ZORAC advised. "We're back in the universe ! 6552: again ..." An unusually long pause followed, "... but I don't know ! 6553: which part. We seem to have changed our position in space." A ! 6554: spherical display in the middle of the floor illuminated to show the ! 6555: starfield surrounding the ship. ! 6556: ! 6557: "Several large, artificial constructions are approaching us," ZORAC ! 6558: announced after a short pause. "The designs are not familiar, but they ! 6559: are obviously the products of intelligence. Implications: we have been ! 6560: intercepted deliberately by a means unknown, for a purpose unknown, and ! 6561: transferred to a place unknown by a form of intelligence unknown. ! 6562: Apart from the unknowns, everything is obvious." ! 6563: -- James P. Hogan, "Giants Star" ! 6564: %% ! 6565: Reisner's Rule of Conceptual Inertia: ! 6566: If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it. ! 6567: %% ! 6568: Remember that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be ! 6569: worse in Cleveland. ! 6570: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 6571: %% ! 6572: Remember, even if you win the rat race -- you're still a rat. ! 6573: %% ! 6574: Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. ! 6575: %% ! 6576: Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): Mr Gandhi, what do you think of ! 6577: Western Civilization? ! 6578: Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. ! 6579: %% ! 6580: Reporter, n.: ! 6581: A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a ! 6582: tempest of words. ! 6583: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 6584: %% ! 6585: Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. ! 6586: -- Wernher von Braun ! 6587: %% ! 6588: Resisting temptation is easier when you think you'll probably get ! 6589: another chance later on. ! 6590: %% ! 6591: Review Questions ! 6592: ! 6593: 1: If Nerd on the planet Nutley starts out in his spaceship at 20 ! 6594: KPH, and his speed doubles every 3.2 seconds, how long will it ! 6595: be before he exceeds the speed of light? How long will it be ! 6596: before the Galactic Patrol picks up the pieces of his ! 6597: spaceship? ! 6598: ! 6599: 2: If Roger Rowdy wrecks his car every week, and each week he ! 6600: breaks twice as many bones as before, how long will it be ! 6601: before he breaks every bone in his body? How long will it be ! 6602: before they cut off his insurance? Where does he get a new car ! 6603: every week? ! 6604: ! 6605: 3: If Johnson drinks one beer the first hour (slow start), four ! 6606: beers the next hour, nine beers the next, etc., and stacks the ! 6607: cans in a pyramid, how soon will Johnson's pyramid be larger ! 6608: than King Tut's? When will it fall on him? Will he notice? ! 6609: %% ! 6610: Rhode's Law: ! 6611: When any principle, law, tenet, probability, happening, ! 6612: circumstance, or result can in no way be directly, indirectly, ! 6613: empirically, or circuitously proven, derived, implied, ! 6614: inferred, induced, deducted, estimated, or scientifically ! 6615: guessed, it will always for the purpose of convenience, ! 6616: expediency, political advantage, material gain, or personal ! 6617: comfort, or any combination of the above, or none of the above, ! 6618: be unilaterally and unequivocally assumed, proclaimed, and ! 6619: adhered to as absolute truth to be undeniably, universally, ! 6620: immutably, and infinitely so, until such time as it becomes ! 6621: advantageous to assume otherwise, maybe. ! 6622: %% ! 6623: Rocky's Lemma of Innovation Prevention ! 6624: Unless the results are known in advance, funding agencies will ! 6625: reject the proposal. ! 6626: %% ! 6627: ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. ! 6628: MERCUTIO: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church- ! 6629: door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. ! 6630: %% ! 6631: Rudin's Law: ! 6632: If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will ! 6633: do it every time. ! 6634: %% ! 6635: Rule 46, Oxford Union Society, London: ! 6636: Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall ! 6637: be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind ! 6638: person shall be deemed to be a cat. ! 6639: %% ! 6640: Rule of Creative Research: ! 6641: 1) Never draw what you can copy. ! 6642: 2) Never copy what you can trace. ! 6643: 3) Never trace what you can cut out and paste down. ! 6644: %% ! 6645: Rule of Defactualization: ! 6646: Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies. ! 6647: %% ! 6648: Rule of Feline Frustration: ! 6649: When your cat has fallen asleep on your lap and looks utterly ! 6650: content and adorable, you will suddenly have to go to the ! 6651: bathroom. ! 6652: %% ! 6653: Rule of the Great: ! 6654: When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep ! 6655: thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch. ! 6656: %% ! 6657: Rules for driving in New York: ! 6658: 1) Anything done while honking your horn is legal. ! 6659: 2) You may park anywhere if you turn your four-way flashers ! 6660: on. ! 6661: 3) A red light means the next six cars may go through the ! 6662: intersection. ! 6663: %% ! 6664: RULES OF EATING -- THE BRONX DIETER'S CREED ! 6665: 1. Never eat on an empty stomach. ! 6666: 2. Never leave the table hungry. ! 6667: 3. When traveling, never leave a country hungry. ! 6668: 4. Enjoy your food. ! 6669: 5. Enjoy your companion's food. ! 6670: 6. Really taste your food. It may take several portions to ! 6671: accomplish this, especially if subtly seasoned. ! 6672: 7. Really feel your food. Texture is important. Compare, for ! 6673: example, the texture of a turnip to that of a brownie. ! 6674: Which feels better against your cheeks? ! 6675: 8. Never eat between snacks, unless it's a meal. ! 6676: 9. Don't feel you must finish everything on your plate. You ! 6677: can always eat it later. ! 6678: 10. Avoid any wine with a childproof cap. ! 6679: 11. Avoid blue food. ! 6680: -- Richard Smit, "The Bronx Diet" ! 6681: %% ! 6682: Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence ! 6683: Tip #1: How to tell when you are dead. ! 6684: ! 6685: 1. Little things start bothering you: little things like ! 6686: worms, bugs, ants. ! 6687: 2. Something is missing in your personal relationships. ! 6688: 3. Your dog becomes overly affectionate. ! 6689: 4. You have a hard time getting a waiter. ! 6690: 5. Exotic birds flock around you. ! 6691: 6. People ignore you at parties. ! 6692: 7. You have a hard time getting up in the morning. ! 6693: 8. You no longer get off on cocaine. ! 6694: %% ! 6695: Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence ! 6696: 1. Never use an elevator in a building that has been hit by a nuclear ! 6697: bomb; use the stairs. ! 6698: 2. When you're flying through the air, remember to roll when you hit ! 6699: the ground. ! 6700: 3. If you're on fire, avoid gasoline and other flammable materials. ! 6701: 4. Don't attempt communication with dead people; it will only lead to ! 6702: psychological problems. ! 6703: 5. Food will be scarce; you will have to scavenge. Learn to recognize ! 6704: foods that will be available after the bomb: mashed potatoes, ! 6705: shredded wheat, tossed salad, ground beef, etc. ! 6706: 6. Put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze; internal organs will ! 6707: be scarce in the post-nuclear age. ! 6708: 7. Try to be neat; fall only in designated piles. ! 6709: 8. Drive carefully in "Heavy Fallout" areas; people could be ! 6710: staggering illegally. ! 6711: 9. Nutritionally, hundred dollar bills are equal to ones, but more ! 6712: sanitary due to limited circulation. ! 6713: 10. Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on ! 6714: D-Day. ! 6715: %% ! 6716: SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21) ! 6717: You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless tendency to ! 6718: rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority of Sagittarians are ! 6719: drunks or dope fiends or both. People laugh at you a great deal. ! 6720: %% ! 6721: San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was. ! 6722: -- Herb Caen ! 6723: %% ! 6724: San Francisco, n.: ! 6725: Marcel Proust editing an issue of Penthouse. ! 6726: %% ! 6727: Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, ! 6728: He must be a communist. ! 6729: And a beard and long hair, ! 6730: Must be a pacifist. ! 6731: ! 6732: What's in that pipe that he's smoking? ! 6733: -- Arlo Guthrie ! 6734: %% ! 6735: Satellite Safety Tip #14: ! 6736: If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck. ! 6737: %% ! 6738: Sattinger's Law: ! 6739: It works better if you plug it in. ! 6740: %% ! 6741: Saturday night in Toledo Ohio, ! 6742: Is like being nowhere at all, ! 6743: All through the day how the hours rush by, ! 6744: You sit in the park and you watch the grass die. ! 6745: -- John Denver, "Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio" ! 6746: %% ! 6747: Save energy: be apathetic. ! 6748: %% ! 6749: Save the whales. Collect the whole set. ! 6750: %% ! 6751: SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out! ! 6752: -- Ken Thompson ! 6753: %% ! 6754: Schapiro's Explanation: ! 6755: The grass is always greener on the other side -- but that's ! 6756: because they use more manure. ! 6757: %% ! 6758: Schizophrenia beats being alone. ! 6759: %% ! 6760: Science is what happens when preconception meets verification. ! 6761: %% ! 6762: SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21) ! 6763: You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will achieve the ! 6764: pinnacle of success because of your total lack of ethics. Most Scorpio ! 6765: people are murdered. ! 6766: %% ! 6767: Scott's first Law: ! 6768: No matter what goes wrong, it will probably look right. ! 6769: %% ! 6770: Scott's second Law: ! 6771: When an error has been detected and corrected, it will be found ! 6772: to have been wrong in the first place. ! 6773: Corollary: ! 6774: After the correction has been found in error, it will be ! 6775: impossible to fit the original quantity back into the ! 6776: equation. ! 6777: %% ! 6778: Scotty: Captain, we din' can reference it! ! 6779: Kirk: Analysis, Mr. Spock? ! 6780: Spock: Captain, it doesn't appear in the symbol table. ! 6781: Kirk: Then it's of external origin? ! 6782: Spock: Affirmative. ! 6783: Kirk: Mr. Sulu, go to pass two. ! 6784: Sulu: Aye aye, sir, going to pass two. ! 6785: %% ! 6786: Screw up your courage! You've screwed up everything else. ! 6787: %% ! 6788: Second Law of Business Meetings: ! 6789: If there are two possible ways to spell a person's name, you ! 6790: will pick the wrong one. ! 6791: ! 6792: Corollary: ! 6793: If there is only one way to spell a name, you will spell it ! 6794: wrong, anyway. ! 6795: %% ! 6796: Security check: INTRUDER ALERT! ! 6797: %% ! 6798: Seduced, shaggy Samson snored. ! 6799: She scissored short. Sorely shorn, ! 6800: Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed, ! 6801: Silently scheming, ! 6802: Sightlessly seeking ! 6803: Some savage, spectacular suicide. ! 6804: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 6805: %% ! 6806: Self Test for Paranoia: ! 6807: You know you have it when you can't think of anything that's ! 6808: your own fault. ! 6809: %% ! 6810: Seminars, n.: ! 6811: From "semi" and "arse", hence, any half-assed discussion. ! 6812: %% ! 6813: Serocki's Stricture: ! 6814: Marriage is always a bachelor's last option. ! 6815: %% ! 6816: Serving coffee on aircraft causes turbulence. ! 6817: %% ! 6818: "Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated ! 6819: thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked MY ! 6820: advice, I'd have said `Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now." ! 6821: "I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly. ! 6822: "Too proud?" the other enquired. ! 6823: Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," ! 6824: she said, "that one can't help growing older." ! 6825: "ONE can't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but TWO can. With ! 6826: proper assistance, you might have left off at seven." ! 6827: -- Lewis Carroll ! 6828: %% ! 6829: Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer. ! 6830: -- Swami X ! 6831: %% ! 6832: Sex is the mathematics urge sublimated. ! 6833: -- M. C. Reed. ! 6834: %% ! 6835: Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, ! 6836: it's one of the best. ! 6837: -- Woody Allen ! 6838: %% ! 6839: Shamus, n.: ! 6840: A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the ! 6841: temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. ! 6842: A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagog ! 6843: functionaries, and there's a joke about that: ! 6844: A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the ! 6845: middle of a service, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" The cantor, not to be ! 6846: bested, also cries out, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" ! 6847: The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, "Oh, Lord, I ! 6848: am nobody!" The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, "Look who thinks ! 6849: he's nobody!" ! 6850: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 6851: %% ! 6852: Shaw's Principle: ! 6853: Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will ! 6854: want to use it. ! 6855: %% ! 6856: "She is descended from a long line that her mother listened to." ! 6857: -- Gypsy Rose Lee ! 6858: %% ! 6859: She is not refined. She is not unrefined. She keeps a parrot. ! 6860: -- Mark Twain ! 6861: %% ! 6862: She missed an invaluable opportunity to give him a look that you could ! 6863: have poured on a waffle ... ! 6864: %% ! 6865: She's genuinely bogus. ! 6866: %% ! 6867: "Sherry [Thomas Sheridan] is dull, naturally dull; but it must have ! 6868: taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an ! 6869: excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature." ! 6870: -- Samuel Johnson ! 6871: %% ! 6872: SHIFT TO THE LEFT! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT! ! 6873: POP UP, PUSH DOWN, BYTE, BYTE, BYTE! ! 6874: %% ! 6875: Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is ! 6876: playing golf with his boss. ! 6877: %% ! 6878: Show respect for age. Drink good Scotch for a change. ! 6879: %% ! 6880: Signs of crime: screaming or cries for help. ! 6881: -- from the Brown Security Crime Prevention Pamphlet ! 6882: %% ! 6883: Silverman's Law: ! 6884: If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will. ! 6885: %% ! 6886: Simon's Law: ! 6887: Everything put together falls apart sooner or later. ! 6888: %% ! 6889: Since I hurt my pendulum ! 6890: My life is all erratic. ! 6891: My parrot, who was cordial, ! 6892: Is now transmitting static. ! 6893: The carpet died, a palm collapsed, ! 6894: The cat keeps doing poo. ! 6895: The only thing that keeps me sane ! 6896: Is talking to my shoe. ! 6897: -- My Shoe ! 6898: %% ! 6899: Since we're all here, we must not be all there. ! 6900: -- Bob "Mountain" Beck ! 6901: %% ! 6902: [Sir Stafford Cripps] has all the virtues I dislike and none of the ! 6903: vices I admire. ! 6904: -- Winston Churchill ! 6905: %% ! 6906: Sixtus V, Pope from 1585 to 1590 authorized a printing of the Vulgate ! 6907: Bible. Taking no chances, the pope issued a papal bull automatically ! 6908: excommunicating any printer who might make an alteration in the text. ! 6909: This he ordered printed at the beginning of the Bible. He personally ! 6910: examined every sheet as it came off the press. Yet the published ! 6911: Vulgate Bible contained so many errors that corrected scraps had to be ! 6912: printed and pasted over them in every copy. The result provoked wry ! 6913: comments on the rather patchy papal infallibility, and Pope Sixtus had ! 6914: no recourse but to order the return and destruction of every copy. ! 6915: %% ! 6916: Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor): ! 6917: That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, ! 6918: or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you ! 6919: should have gotten. ! 6920: %% ! 6921: Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and goes ! 6922: to work. ! 6923: %% ! 6924: Slick's Three Laws of the Universe: ! 6925: 1. Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad ! 6926: check. ! 6927: 2. A quarter-ounce of chocolate = four pounds of fat. ! 6928: 3. There are two types of dirt: the dark kind, which is ! 6929: attracted to light objects, and the light kind, which is ! 6930: attracted to dark objects. ! 6931: %% ! 6932: Slurm, n.: ! 6933: The slime that accumulates on the underside of a soap bar when ! 6934: it sits in the dish too long. ! 6935: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 6936: %% ! 6937: Snacktrek, n.: ! 6938: The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly ! 6939: returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have ! 6940: materialized. ! 6941: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 6942: %% ! 6943: So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in ! 6944: praise of intelligence. ! 6945: -- Bertrand Russell ! 6946: %% ! 6947: "So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple ! 6948: pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street pops ! 6949: its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very ! 6950: imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, ! 6951: and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, ! 6952: and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the ! 6953: gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots." ! 6954: -- Samuel Foote ! 6955: %% ! 6956: Sodd's Second Law: ! 6957: Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is ! 6958: bound to occur. ! 6959: %% ! 6960: SOFTWARE -- formal evening attire for female computer analysts. ! 6961: %% ! 6962: Some of you ... may have decided that, this year, you're going to ! 6963: celebrate it the old-fashioned way, with your family sitting around ! 6964: stringing cranberries and exchanging humble, handmade gifts, like on ! 6965: "The Waltons". Well, you can forget it. If everybody pulled that kind ! 6966: of subversive stunt, the economy would collapse overnight. The ! 6967: government would have to intervene: it would form a cabinet-level ! 6968: Department of Holiday Gift-Giving, which would spend billions and ! 6969: billions of tax dollars to buy Barbie dolls and electronic games, which ! 6970: it would drop on the populace from Air Force jets, killing and maiming ! 6971: thousands. So, for the good of the nation, you should go along with ! 6972: the Holiday Program. This means you should get a large sum of money ! 6973: and go to a mall. ! 6974: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 6975: %% ! 6976: Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some ! 6977: people have mediocrity thrust upon them. ! 6978: -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" ! 6979: %% ! 6980: Some people in this department wouldn't recognize subtlety if it hit ! 6981: them on the head. ! 6982: %% ! 6983: Some points to remember [about animals]: ! 6984: ! 6985: 1. Don't go to sleep under big animals, e.g., elephants, ! 6986: rhinoceri, hippopotamuses; ! 6987: 2. Don't put animals with sharp teeth or poisonous fangs down the ! 6988: front of your clothes; ! 6989: 3. Don't pat certain animals, e.g., crocodiles and scorpions or ! 6990: dogs you have just kicked. ! 6991: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 6992: %% ! 6993: Somebody ought to cross ball point pens with coat hangers so that the ! 6994: pens will multiply instead of disappear. ! 6995: %% ! 6996: Someone will try to honk your nose today. ! 6997: %% ! 6998: "Sometimes I simply feel that the whole world is a cigarette and I'm ! 6999: the only ashtray." ! 7000: %% ! 7001: Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world. ! 7002: -- Lily Tomlin ! 7003: %% ! 7004: "Somewhere", said Father Vittorini, "did Blake not speak of the ! 7005: Machineries of Joy? That is, did not God promote environments, then ! 7006: intimidate these Natures by provoking the existence of flesh, toy men ! 7007: and women, such as are we all? And thus happily sent forth, at our ! 7008: best, with good grace and fine wit, on calm noons, in fair climes, are ! 7009: we not God's Machineries of Joy?" ! 7010: ! 7011: "If Blake said that", said Father Brian, "he never lived in Dublin." ! 7012: -- R. Bradbury, "The Machineries of Joy" ! 7013: %% ! 7014: Sooner or later you must pay for your sins. (Those who have already ! 7015: paid may disregard this fortune). ! 7016: %% ! 7017: Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- ! 7018: bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the ! 7019: road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. ! 7020: -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 7021: %% ! 7022: Spark's Sixth Rule for Managers: ! 7023: If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as ! 7024: if he had lost his senses. When he looks down, paraphrase the ! 7025: question back at him. ! 7026: %% ! 7027: Speak roughly to your little boy, ! 7028: And beat him when he sneezes: ! 7029: He only does it to annoy ! 7030: Because he knows it teases. ! 7031: ! 7032: Wow! wow! wow! ! 7033: ! 7034: I speak severely to my boy, ! 7035: And beat him when he sneezes: ! 7036: For he can thoroughly enjoy ! 7037: The pepper when he pleases! ! 7038: ! 7039: Wow! wow! wow! ! 7040: -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" ! 7041: %% ! 7042: Speak roughly to your little VAX, ! 7043: And boot it when it crashes; ! 7044: It knows that one cannot relax ! 7045: Because the paging thrashes! ! 7046: ! 7047: Wow! Wow! Wow! ! 7048: ! 7049: I speak severely to my VAX, ! 7050: And boot it when it crashes; ! 7051: In spite of all my favorite hacks ! 7052: My jobs it always thrashes! ! 7053: ! 7054: Wow! Wow! Wow! ! 7055: %% ! 7056: Speak softly and carry a +6 two-handed sword. ! 7057: %% ! 7058: Speaking as someone who has delved into the intricacies of PL/I, I am ! 7059: sure that only Real Men could have written such a machine-hogging, ! 7060: cycle-grabbing, all-encompassing monster. Allocate an array and free ! 7061: the middle third? Sure! Why not? Multiply a character string times a ! 7062: bit string and assign the result to a float decimal? Go ahead! Free a ! 7063: controlled variable procedure parameter and reallocate it before ! 7064: passing it back? Overlay three different types of variable on the same ! 7065: memory location? Anything you say! Write a recursive macro? Well, ! 7066: no, but Real Men use rescan. How could a language so obviously ! 7067: designed and written by Real Men not be intended for Real Man use? ! 7068: %% ! 7069: Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently ! 7070: these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people ! 7071: to communicate with the people they love; Husbands and wives who can't ! 7072: communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so ! 7073: on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on (and in real ! 7074: life, I might add) spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't ! 7075: communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very _____least ! 7076: he can do is to Shut Up! ! 7077: -- Tom Lehrer, "That Was the Year that Was" ! 7078: %% ! 7079: Spend extra time on hobby. Get plenty of rolling papers. ! 7080: %% ! 7081: Spirtle, n.: ! 7082: The fine stream from a grapefruit that always lands right in ! 7083: your eye. ! 7084: -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" ! 7085: %% ! 7086: Spouse, n.: ! 7087: Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you ! 7088: wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. ! 7089: %% ! 7090: Stay away from flying saucers today. ! 7091: %% ! 7092: Stay away from hurricanes for a while. ! 7093: %% ! 7094: "Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly." ! 7095: %% ! 7096: Steele's Plagiarism of Somebody's Philosophy: ! 7097: Everybody should believe in something -- I believe I'll have ! 7098: another drink. ! 7099: %% ! 7100: Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming ! 7101: Never test for an error condition you don't know how to ! 7102: handle. ! 7103: %% ! 7104: Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. ! 7105: %% ! 7106: Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. Now, if they'd only ! 7107: take a bath ... ! 7108: %% ! 7109: Stult's Report: ! 7110: Our problems are mostly behind us. What we have to do now is ! 7111: fight the solutions. ! 7112: %% ! 7113: Stupid, n.: ! 7114: Losing $25 on the game and $25 on the instant replay. ! 7115: %% ! 7116: Sturgeon's Law: ! 7117: 90% of everything is crud. ! 7118: %% ! 7119: Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your ! 7120: editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ! 7121: -- Mark Twain ! 7122: %% ! 7123: Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring. ! 7124: %% ! 7125: (Sung to the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA) ! 7126: ! 7127: To code the impossible code, ! 7128: To bring up a virgin machine, ! 7129: To pop out of endless recursion, ! 7130: To grok what appears on the screen, ! 7131: ! 7132: To right the unrightable bug, ! 7133: To endlessly twiddle and thrash, ! 7134: To mount the unmountable magtape, ! 7135: To stop the unstoppable crash! ! 7136: %% ! 7137: Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have! ! 7138: %% ! 7139: Surprise due today. Also the rent. ! 7140: %% ! 7141: Surprise your boss. Get to work on time. ! 7142: %% ! 7143: Surprise! You are the lucky winner of random I.R.S. Audit! Just type ! 7144: in your name and social security number. Please remember that leaving ! 7145: the room is punishable under law: ! 7146: ! 7147: Name # ! 7148: %% ! 7149: Sweater, n.: ! 7150: A garment worn by a child when its mother feels chilly. ! 7151: %% ! 7152: Swipple's Rule of Order: ! 7153: He who shouts the loudest has the floor. ! 7154: %% ! 7155: System/3! System/3! ! 7156: See how it runs! See how it runs! ! 7157: Its monitor loses so totally! ! 7158: It runs all its programs in RPG! ! 7159: It's made by our favorite monopoly! ! 7160: System/3! ! 7161: %% ! 7162: Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a ! 7163: hole in his head. ! 7164: %% ! 7165: Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a ! 7166: hole in his head. ! 7167: %% ! 7168: Tact, n.: ! 7169: The unsaid part of what you're thinking. ! 7170: %% ! 7171: Take everything in stride. Trample anyone who gets in your way. ! 7172: %% ! 7173: Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting ! 7174: enough cheese ! 7175: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 7176: %% ! 7177: Take it easy, we're in a hurry. ! 7178: %% ! 7179: Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it ! 7180: needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. ! 7181: -- Kipling ! 7182: %% ! 7183: Take the folks at Coca-Cola. For many years, they were content ! 7184: to sit back and make the same old carbonated beverage. It was a good ! 7185: beverage, no question about it; generations of people had grown up ! 7186: drinking it and doing the experiment in sixth grade where you put a ! 7187: nail into a glass of Coke and after a couple of days the nail dissolves ! 7188: and the teacher says: "Imagine what it does to your TEETH!" So ! 7189: Coca-Cola was solidly entrenched in the market, and the management saw ! 7190: no need to improve ... ! 7191: -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" ! 7192: %% ! 7193: Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to ! 7194: your execution is not generally understood by less advanced life forms, ! 7195: and they'll call you crazy. ! 7196: -- "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul" ! 7197: %% ! 7198: Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to ! 7199: your execution is not generally understood by less-advanced life-forms, ! 7200: and they'll call you crazy. ! 7201: -- Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul ! 7202: %% ! 7203: Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. ! 7204: -- Euripides ! 7205: %% ! 7206: Talkers are no good doers. ! 7207: -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI" ! 7208: %% ! 7209: Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. ! 7210: -- Friedrich Nietzsche ! 7211: %% ! 7212: TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) ! 7213: You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged determination and ! 7214: work like hell. Most people think you are stubborn and bull headed. ! 7215: You are a Communist. ! 7216: %% ! 7217: Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind ! 7218: the tree." ! 7219: -- Russell Long ! 7220: %% ! 7221: Taxes, n.: ! 7222: Of life's two certainties, the only one for which you can get ! 7223: an extension. ! 7224: %% ! 7225: Teach children to be polite and courteous in the home, and, when he ! 7226: grows up, he will never be able to edge his car onto a freeway. ! 7227: %% ! 7228: Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else. ! 7229: %% ! 7230: Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means ! 7231: for going backwards. ! 7232: -- Aldous Huxley ! 7233: %% ! 7234: Ten years of rejection slips is nature's way of telling you to stop ! 7235: writing. ! 7236: -- R. Geis ! 7237: %% ! 7238: "Terence, this is stupid stuff: ! 7239: You eat your victuals fast enough; ! 7240: There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, ! 7241: To see the rate you drink your beer. ! 7242: But oh, good Lord, the verse you make, ! 7243: It gives a chap the belly-ache. ! 7244: The cow, the old cow, she is dead; ! 7245: It sleeps well the horned head: ! 7246: We poor lads, 'tis our turn now ! 7247: To hear such tunes as killed the cow. ! 7248: Pretty friendship 'tis to rhyme ! 7249: Your friends to death before their time. ! 7250: Moping, melancholy mad: ! 7251: Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad." ! 7252: -- A. E. Housman ! 7253: %% ! 7254: Tertullian was born in Carthage somewhere about 160 A.D. He was a ! 7255: pagan, and he abandoned himself to the lascivious life of his city ! 7256: until about his 35th year, when he became a Christian .... To him is ! 7257: ascribed the sublime confession: Credo quia absurdum est (I believe ! 7258: because it is absurd). This does not altogether accord with historical ! 7259: fact, for he merely said: ! 7260: ! 7261: "And the Son of God died, which is immediately credible because ! 7262: it is absurd. And buried he rose again, which is certain ! 7263: because it is impossible." ! 7264: ! 7265: Thanks to the acuteness of his mind, he saw through the poverty of ! 7266: philosophical and Gnostic knowledge, and contemptuously rejected it. ! 7267: -- C. G. Jung, in Psychological Types ! 7268: ! 7269: (Teruillian was one of the founders of the Catholic Church). ! 7270: %% ! 7271: Test-tube babies shouldn't throw stones. ! 7272: %% ! 7273: "Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even ! 7274: one which cannot be justified on any other grounds." ! 7275: -- J. Finnegan, USC. ! 7276: %% ! 7277: "That must be wonderful! I don't understand it at all." ! 7278: %% ! 7279: That secret you've been guarding, isn't. ! 7280: %% ! 7281: That woman speaks eight languages and can't say "no" in any of them. ! 7282: -- Dorothy Parker ! 7283: %% ! 7284: The [Ford Foundation] is a large body of money completely surrounded by ! 7285: people who want some. ! 7286: -- Dwight MacDonald ! 7287: %% ! 7288: The Abrams' Principle: ! 7289: The shortest distance between two points is off the wall. ! 7290: %% ! 7291: The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper ! 7292: -- Thomas Jefferson ! 7293: %% ! 7294: ... The Anarchists' [national] anthem is an international anthem that ! 7295: consists of 365 raspberries blown in very quick succession to the tune ! 7296: of "Camptown Races". Nobody has to stand up for it, nobody has to ! 7297: listen to it, and, even better, nobody has to play it. ! 7298: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 7299: %% ! 7300: The Army has carried the American ... ideal to its logical conclusion. ! 7301: Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed ! 7302: and color, but also on ability. ! 7303: -- T. Lehrer ! 7304: %% ! 7305: The Army needs leaders the way a foot needs a big toe. ! 7306: -- Bill Murray ! 7307: %% ! 7308: The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the ! 7309: average man can see better than he can think. ! 7310: %% ! 7311: The basic idea behind malls is that they are more convenient than ! 7312: cities. Cities contain streets, which are dangerous and crowded and ! 7313: difficult to park in. Malls, on the other hand, have parking lots, ! 7314: which are also dangerous and crowded and difficult to park in, but -- ! 7315: here is the big difference -- in mall parking lots, THERE ARE NO ! 7316: RULES. You're allowed to do anything. You can drive as fast as you ! 7317: want in any direction you want. I was once driving in a mall parking ! 7318: lot when my car was struck by a pickup truck being driven backward by a ! 7319: squat man with a tattoo that said "Charlie" on his forearm, who got out ! 7320: and explained to me, in great detail, why the accident was my fault, ! 7321: his reasoning being that he was violent and muscular, whereas I was ! 7322: neither. This kind of reasoning is legally valid in mall parking ! 7323: lots. ! 7324: -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" ! 7325: %% ! 7326: The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; ! 7327: but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman. ! 7328: %% ! 7329: The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. ! 7330: -- W. C. Fields ! 7331: %% ! 7332: The best defense against logic is ignorance. ! 7333: %% ! 7334: The best thing about growing older is that it takes such a long time. ! 7335: %% ! 7336: The biggest difference between time and space is that you can't reuse ! 7337: time. ! 7338: -- Merrick Furst ! 7339: %% ! 7340: The birds are singing, the flowers are budding, and it is time for Miss ! 7341: Manners to tell young lovers to stop necking in public. ! 7342: ! 7343: It's not that Miss Manners is immune to romance. Miss Manners has been ! 7344: known to squeeze a gentleman's arm while being helped over a curb, and, ! 7345: in her wild youth, even to press a dainty slipper against a foot or two ! 7346: under the dinner table. Miss Manners also believes that the sight of ! 7347: people strolling hand in hand or arm in arm or arm in hand dresses up a ! 7348: city considerably more than the more familiar sight of people shaking ! 7349: umbrellas at one another. What Miss Manners objects to is the kind of ! 7350: activity that frightens the horses on the street ... ! 7351: %% ! 7352: "The bland leadeth the bland and they both shall fall into the kitsch." ! 7353: %% ! 7354: The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up ! 7355: in the morning, and does not stop until you get to school. ! 7356: %% ! 7357: The Briggs/Chase Law of Program Development: ! 7358: To determine how long it will take to write and debug a ! 7359: program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add ! 7360: one, and convert to the next higher units. ! 7361: %% ! 7362: "The C Programming Language -- A language which combines the ! 7363: flexibility of assembly language with the power of assembly language." ! 7364: %% ! 7365: The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to show up ! 7366: at the steam fitters' picnic. ! 7367: %% ! 7368: The chief cause of problems is solutions. ! 7369: %% ! 7370: "The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live ! 7371: elsewhere." ! 7372: %% ! 7373: The computing field is always in need of new cliches. ! 7374: -- Alan Perlis ! 7375: %% ! 7376: The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: "Of course it is ! 7377: none of my business, but --" is to place a period after the word "but." ! 7378: Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. ! 7379: Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you ! 7380: talked about. ! 7381: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 7382: %% ! 7383: The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. ! 7384: %% ! 7385: The cost of living is going up, and the chance of living is going ! 7386: down. ! 7387: %% ! 7388: The cow is nothing but a machine with makes grass fit for us people to ! 7389: eat. ! 7390: -- John McNulty ! 7391: %% ! 7392: The Crown is full of it! ! 7393: -- Nate Harris, 1775 ! 7394: %% ! 7395: The day-to-day travails of the IBM programmer are so amusing to most of ! 7396: us who are fortunate enough never to have been one -- like watching ! 7397: Charlie Chaplin trying to cook a shoe. ! 7398: %% ! 7399: The debate rages on: Is PL/I Bachtrian or Dromedary? ! 7400: %% ! 7401: The devil finds work for idle circuits to do. ! 7402: %% ! 7403: "The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell ! 7404: into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him ! 7405: out again, it would be a calamity." ! 7406: -- Benjamin Disraeli ! 7407: %% ! 7408: The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science ! 7409: requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require ! 7410: scholarship. ! 7411: -- Robert Heinlein ! 7412: %% ! 7413: The duck hunter trained his retriever to walk on water. Eager to show ! 7414: off this amazing accomplishment, he asked a friend to go along on his ! 7415: next hunting trip. Saying nothing, he fired his first shot and, as the ! 7416: duck fell, the dog walked on the surface of the water, retrieved the ! 7417: duck and returned it to his master. ! 7418: "Notice anything?" the owner asked eagerly. ! 7419: "Yes," said his friend, "I see that fool dog of yours can't ! 7420: swim." ! 7421: %% ! 7422: The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier. ! 7423: %% ! 7424: The end of the world will occur at 3:00 p.m., this Friday, with ! 7425: symposium to follow. ! 7426: %% ! 7427: The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach ! 7428: their children to speak it. ! 7429: -- G. B. Shaw ! 7430: %% ! 7431: The fact that it works is immaterial. ! 7432: -- L. Ogborn ! 7433: %% ! 7434: The Fifth Rule: ! 7435: You have taken yourself too seriously. ! 7436: %% ! 7437: The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. ! 7438: -- Abbie Hoffman ! 7439: %% ! 7440: The first Great Steward, Parrafin the Climber, was employed in King ! 7441: Chloroplast's kitchen as second scullery boy when the old King met a ! 7442: tragic death. He apparently fell backward by accident on a dozen salad ! 7443: forks. Simultaneously the true heir, his son Carotene, mysteriously ! 7444: fled the city, complaining of some sort of plot and a lot of ! 7445: threatening notes left on his breakfast tray. At the time, this looked ! 7446: suspicious what with his father's death, and Carotene was suspected of ! 7447: foul play. Then the rest of the King's relatives began to drop dead ! 7448: one after the other in an odd fashion. Some were found strangled with ! 7449: dishrags and some succumbed to food poisoning. A few were found ! 7450: drowned in the soup vats, and one was attacked by assailants unknown ! 7451: and beaten to death with a pot roast. At least three appear to have ! 7452: thrown themselves backward on salad forks, perhaps in a noble gesture ! 7453: of grief over the King's untimely end. Finally there was no one left ! 7454: in Minas Troney who was either eligible or willing to wear the accursed ! 7455: crown, and the rule of Twodor was up for grabs. The scullery slave ! 7456: Parrafin bravely accepted the Stewardship of Twodor until that day when ! 7457: a lineal descendant of Carotene's returns to reclaim his rightful ! 7458: throne, conquer Twodor's enemies, and revamp the postal system. ! 7459: -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" ! 7460: %% ! 7461: The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish ! 7462: child, was propounded to me by my father: ! 7463: "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and ! 7464: whistles?" ! 7465: I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity ! 7466: gave up. ! 7467: "A herring," said my father. ! 7468: "A herring," I echoed. "A herring doesn't hang on the wall!" ! 7469: "So hang it there." ! 7470: "But a herring isn't green!" I protested. ! 7471: "Paint it." ! 7472: "But a herring isn't wet." ! 7473: "If its just painted its still wet." ! 7474: "But -- " I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, "-- a herring ! 7475: doesn't whistle!!" ! 7476: "Right, " smiled my father. "I just put that in to make it ! 7477: hard." ! 7478: -- Leo Rosten, "The Joys of Yiddish" ! 7479: %% ! 7480: The First Rule of Program Optimization: ! 7481: Don't do it. ! 7482: ! 7483: The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): ! 7484: Don't do it yet. ! 7485: -- Michael Jackson ! 7486: %% ! 7487: The fortune program is supported, in part, by user contributions and by ! 7488: a major grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. ! 7489: %% ! 7490: The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to ! 7491: chance. ! 7492: %% ! 7493: The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the ! 7494: center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South ! 7495: Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South ! 7496: End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. ! 7497: %% ! 7498: The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at ! 7499: least until we've finished building it. ! 7500: %% ! 7501: The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. ! 7502: The goal of nature is to build better mice. ! 7503: %% ! 7504: The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him ! 7505: love and he invented marriage. ! 7506: %% ! 7507: THE GOLDEN RULE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ! 7508: The one who has the gold makes the rules. ! 7509: %% ! 7510: The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog: ! 7511: The Gerat Bald Swamp Hedgehog of Billericay displays, in ! 7512: courtship, his single prickle and does impressions of Holiday Inn desk ! 7513: clerks. Since this means him standing motionless for enormous periods ! 7514: of time he is often eaten in full display by The Great Bald Swamp ! 7515: Hedgehog Eater. ! 7516: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 7517: %% ! 7518: The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. ! 7519: -- Albert Einstein ! 7520: %% ! 7521: The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue, ! 7522: a custom whereof the memory of man runneth not howsomever to ! 7523: the contrary, nohow. ! 7524: %% ! 7525: The Heineken Uncertainty Principle: ! 7526: You can never be sure how many beers you had last night. ! 7527: %% ! 7528: The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent ! 7529: thinkers. ! 7530: %% ! 7531: The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for ! 7532: lists of "Ten Best". ! 7533: -- H. Allen Smith ! 7534: %% ! 7535: The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its capacity ! 7536: -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. ! 7537: %% ! 7538: The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange ! 7539: protein -- it rejects it. ! 7540: -- P. Medawar ! 7541: %% ! 7542: The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. ! 7543: -- Mark Twain ! 7544: %% ! 7545: "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit ! 7546: longer." ! 7547: -- Henry Kissinger ! 7548: %% ! 7549: The individual choice of garnishment of a burger can be an important ! 7550: point to the consumer in this day when individualism is an increasingly ! 7551: important thing to people. ! 7552: -- Donald N. Smith, president of Burger King ! 7553: %% ! 7554: The IQ of the group is the lowest IQ of a member of the group divided ! 7555: by the number of people in the group. ! 7556: %% ! 7557: The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free ! 7558: information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a ! 7559: dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a ! 7560: real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. ! 7561: ! 7562: So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never ! 7563: pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big ! 7564: consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes... ! 7565: -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" ! 7566: %% ! 7567: The Kennedy Constant: ! 7568: Don't get mad -- get even. ! 7569: %% ! 7570: The Killer Ducks are coming!!! ! 7571: %% ! 7572: The ladies men admire, I've heard, ! 7573: Would shudder at a wicked word. ! 7574: Their candle gives a single light; ! 7575: They'd rather stay at home at night. ! 7576: They do not keep awake till three, ! 7577: Nor read erotic poetry. ! 7578: They never sanction the impure, ! 7579: Nor recognize an overture. ! 7580: They shrink from powders and from paints ... ! 7581: So far, I've had no complaints. ! 7582: -- Dorothy Parker ! 7583: %% ! 7584: The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the ! 7585: poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal ! 7586: bread. ! 7587: -- Anatole France ! 7588: %% ! 7589: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #10 -- SIMPLE ! 7590: ! 7591: SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiot's Monopurpose Programming Language ! 7592: Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover College for ! 7593: Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write code ! 7594: with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, ! 7595: END and STOP. No matter how you arrange the statements, you can't make ! 7596: a syntax error. Programs written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. Thus ! 7597: they achieve the results of programs written in other languages without ! 7598: the tedious, frustrating process of testing and debugging. ! 7599: %% ! 7600: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12 -- LITHP ! 7601: ! 7602: This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of ! 7603: an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said ! 7604: to be useful in protheththing lithtth. ! 7605: %% ! 7606: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #13 -- SLOBOL ! 7607: ! 7608: SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its compiler. ! 7609: Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they ! 7610: compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the ! 7611: coffee. Forty-three programmers are known to have died of boredom ! 7612: sitting at their terminals while waiting for a SLOBOL program to ! 7613: compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often turn to a related (but ! 7614: infinitely faster) language, COCAINE. ! 7615: %% ! 7616: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17 -- SARTRE ! 7617: ! 7618: Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an ! 7619: extremely unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; ! 7620: they just are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own ! 7621: functions. SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are ! 7622: no fun at parties. ! 7623: %% ! 7624: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17 -- SARTRE ! 7625: ! 7626: Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an extremely ! 7627: unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; they just ! 7628: are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own functions. ! 7629: SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are no fun at ! 7630: parties. ! 7631: %% ! 7632: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18 -- C- ! 7633: ! 7634: This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he ! 7635: submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is ! 7636: best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the ! 7637: language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code ! 7638: statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very ! 7639: similar to COBOL. ! 7640: %% ! 7641: THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18 -- FIFTH ! 7642: ! 7643: FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the data types ! 7644: refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT, and ! 7645: JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and ! 7646: BLOTTO. Commands refer to ingredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, ! 7647: CABERNET, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH, and WHATEVERSAROUND. ! 7648: ! 7649: The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and ! 7650: financial status of its users. Commands in the ELITE dialect include ! 7651: VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER dialect include HOOTCH ! 7652: and RIPPLE. The latter is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers ! 7653: who end up using this language. ! 7654: %% ! 7655: The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an approaching ! 7656: train. ! 7657: %% ! 7658: The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get ! 7659: much sleep. ! 7660: -- Woody Allen ! 7661: %% ! 7662: The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. ! 7663: -- Henry Kissinger ! 7664: %% ! 7665: "The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as ! 7666: we could with both of them." ! 7667: -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" ! 7668: %% ! 7669: The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the ! 7670: crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no ! 7671: one has ever been. ! 7672: -- Alan Ashley-Pitt ! 7673: %% ! 7674: The marvels of today's modern technology include the development of a ! 7675: soda can, when discarded will last forever ... and a $7,000 car which ! 7676: when properly cared for will rust out in two or three years. ! 7677: %% ! 7678: The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse. ! 7679: %% ! 7680: The men sat sipping their tea in silence. After a while the ! 7681: klutz said, "Life is like a bowl of sour cream." ! 7682: ! 7683: "Like a bowl of sour cream?" asked the other. "Why?" ! 7684: ! 7685: "How should I know? What am I, a philosopher?" ! 7686: %% ! 7687: The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away. ! 7688: %% ! 7689: The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and ! 7690: robbers there will be. ! 7691: -- Lao Tsu ! 7692: %% ! 7693: The more things change, the more they stay insane. ! 7694: %% ! 7695: The more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us ! 7696: is right. ! 7697: %% ! 7698: The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey. ! 7699: -- Andy Warhol ! 7700: %% ! 7701: The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new ! 7702: discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." ! 7703: -- Isaac Asimov ! 7704: %% ! 7705: The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. ! 7706: %% ! 7707: The National Short-Sleeved Shirt Association says: ! 7708: Support your right to bare arms! ! 7709: %% ! 7710: The new Congressmen say they're going to turn the government around. I ! 7711: hope I don't get run over again. ! 7712: %% ! 7713: The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, ! 7714: in the form of an affirmation of the binary number system. ! 7715: ! 7716: But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for ! 7717: whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. ! 7718: -- Matthew 5:37 ! 7719: %% ! 7720: The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to ! 7721: choose from. ! 7722: -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum ! 7723: %% ! 7724: The notion of a "record" is an obsolete remnant of the days of the ! 7725: 80-column card. ! 7726: -- Dennis M. Ritchie ! 7727: %% ! 7728: The objective of all dedicated employees should be to thoroughly ! 7729: analyze all situations, anticipate all problems prior to their ! 7730: occurrence, have answers for these problems, and move swiftly to solve ! 7731: these problems when called upon. ! 7732: ! 7733: However, When you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to ! 7734: remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp. ! 7735: %% ! 7736: The Official MBA Handbook on business cards: ! 7737: ! 7738: Avoid overly pretentious job titles such as "Lord of the Realm, ! 7739: Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" or "Director of ! 7740: Corporate Planning." ! 7741: %% ! 7742: The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. ! 7743: %% ! 7744: The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when ! 7745: to cringe. ! 7746: %% ! 7747: The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the ! 7748: `social sciences' is: some do, some don't. ! 7749: -- Ernest Rutherford ! 7750: %% ! 7751: The only problem with being a man of leisure is that you can never stop ! 7752: and take a rest. ! 7753: %% ! 7754: The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any ! 7755: use to oneself. ! 7756: -- Oscar Wilde ! 7757: %% ! 7758: The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. ! 7759: -- Oscar Wilde ! 7760: %% ! 7761: The opossum is a very sophisticated animal. It doesn't even get up ! 7762: until 5 or 6 pm. ! 7763: %% ! 7764: The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. ! 7765: -- Bohr ! 7766: %% ! 7767: The optimum committee has no members. ! 7768: -- Norman Augustine ! 7769: %% ! 7770: The owner of a large furniture store in the mid-west arrived in France ! 7771: on a buying trip. As he was checking into a hotel he struck up an ! 7772: acquaintance with a beautiful young lady. However, she only spoke ! 7773: French and he only spoke English, so each couldn't understand a word ! 7774: the other spoke. He took out a pencil and a notebook and drew a ! 7775: picture of a taxi. She smiled, nodded her head and they went for a ! 7776: ride in the park. Later, he drew a picture of a table in a restaurant ! 7777: with a question mark and she nodded, so they went to dinner. After ! 7778: dinner he sketched two dancers and she was delighted. They went to ! 7779: several nightclubs, drank champagne, danced and had a glorious ! 7780: evening. It had gotten quite late when she motioned for the pencil and ! 7781: drew a picture of a four-poster bed. He was dumbfounded, and has never ! 7782: be able to understand how she knew he was in the furniture business. ! 7783: %% ! 7784: The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because ! 7785: it isn't here. ! 7786: -- Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley) ! 7787: %% ! 7788: The people of Halifax invented the trampoline. During the ! 7789: Victorian period the tripe-dressers of Halifax stretched tripe across a ! 7790: large wooden frame and jumped up and down on it to `tender and dress' ! 7791: it. The tripoline, as they called it, degenerated into becoming the ! 7792: apparatus for a spectator sport. ! 7793: ! 7794: The people of Halifax also invented the harmonium, a device for ! 7795: castrating pigs during Sunday service. ! 7796: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 7797: %% ! 7798: The Pig, if I am not mistaken, ! 7799: Gives us ham and pork and Bacon. ! 7800: Let others think his heart is big, ! 7801: I think it stupid of the Pig. ! 7802: -- Ogden Nash ! 7803: %% ! 7804: The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter ! 7805: swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the ! 7806: batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The ! 7807: center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute ! 7808: his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. ! 7809: -- Dizzy Dean ! 7810: %% ! 7811: The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter ! 7812: swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the ! 7813: batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The ! 7814: center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute ! 7815: his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. ! 7816: -- Dizzy Dean ! 7817: %% ! 7818: The Preacher, the Politicain, the Teacher, ! 7819: Were each of them once a kiddie. ! 7820: A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature. ! 7821: Do I want one? God Forbiddie! ! 7822: -- Ogden Nash ! 7823: %% ! 7824: The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to ! 7825: constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every ! 7826: appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA ! 7827: statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This ! 7828: also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change. ! 7829: -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers ! 7830: %% ! 7831: The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the ! 7832: stupidity of your action. ! 7833: %% ! 7834: The problem ... is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. ! 7835: Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil ! 7836: using other animals; they've piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle ! 7837: Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, ! 7838: etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous ! 7839: bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons. None ! 7840: of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats ! 7841: developed cancer. ! 7842: -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" ! 7843: %% ! 7844: The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go ! 7845: to erase it. ! 7846: -- Glaser and Way ! 7847: %% ! 7848: The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be ! 7849: pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. ! 7850: -- Elizabeth Taylor ! 7851: %% ! 7852: The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. ! 7853: %% ! 7854: The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's ! 7855: outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by ! 7856: mistake since its colors are those of the London Reform Club. Once ! 7857: tied around its victim's neck, it strangles him gently and then claims ! 7858: the insurance before running off to Germany where it lives in hiding. ! 7859: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 7860: %% ! 7861: "The pyramid is opening!" ! 7862: "Which one?" ! 7863: "The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" ! 7864: -- Firesign Theater, "How Can You Be In Two Places At ! 7865: Once When You're Not Anywhere At All" ! 7866: %% ! 7867: The rain it raineth on the just ! 7868: And also on the unjust fella, ! 7869: But chiefly on the just, because ! 7870: The unjust steals the just's umbrella. ! 7871: %% ! 7872: The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much. ! 7873: %% ! 7874: The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one ! 7875: persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all ! 7876: progress depends on the unreasonable man. ! 7877: -- George Bernard Shaw ! 7878: %% ! 7879: The revolution will not be televised. ! 7880: %% ! 7881: The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. ! 7882: -- Emerson ! 7883: %% ! 7884: The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. ! 7885: This means that only left handed people are in their right mind. ! 7886: %% ! 7887: The Roman Rule ! 7888: The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the ! 7889: one who is doing it. ! 7890: %% ! 7891: The Ruffed Pandanga of Borneo and Rotherham spreads out his feathers in ! 7892: his courtship dance and imitates Winston Churchill and Tommy Cooper on ! 7893: one leg. The padanga is dying out because the female padanga doesn't ! 7894: take it too seriously. ! 7895: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 7896: %% ! 7897: The Schwine-Kitzenger Institute study of 47 men over the age of 100 ! 7898: showed that all had these things in common: ! 7899: ! 7900: 1. They all had moderate appetites. ! 7901: 2. They all came from middle class homes ! 7902: 3. All but two of them were dead. ! 7903: %% ! 7904: The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood ! 7905: as he reported to Fafhrd: "I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. ! 7906: The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in ! 7907: the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in ! 7908: twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. ! 7909: ! 7910: "Now about Lankhmar. She's been invaded, her walls breached ! 7911: everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a ! 7912: fierce host which out-numbers Lankhamar's inhabitants by fifty to one ! 7913: -- and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city." ! 7914: ! 7915: "How?" demanded Fafhrd. ! 7916: ! 7917: Ningauble shrugged. "You're a hero. You should know." ! 7918: -- Fritz Leiber, from "The Swords of Lankhmar" ! 7919: %% ! 7920: The shortest distance between two points is under construction. ! 7921: -- Noelie Altito ! 7922: %% ! 7923: "The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity ! 7924: and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exaulted ! 7925: activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ... ! 7926: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." ! 7927: %% ! 7928: "The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up!" ! 7929: %% ! 7930: The STAR WARS Song ! 7931: Sung to the tune of "Lola", by the Kinks: ! 7932: ! 7933: I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah ! 7934: Where it bubbles all the time like a giant cabinet soda ! 7935: S-O-D-A soda ! 7936: I saw the little runt sitting there on a log ! 7937: I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said Yoda ! 7938: Y-O-D-A Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda ! 7939: ! 7940: Well I've been around but I ain't never seen ! 7941: A guy who looks like a Muppet but he's wrinkled and green ! 7942: Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda ! 7943: Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand ! 7944: How he can raise me in the air just by raising his hand ! 7945: Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda ! 7946: %% ! 7947: The steady state of disks is full. ! 7948: --Ken Thompson ! 7949: %% ! 7950: THE STORY OF CREATION ! 7951: or ! 7952: THE MYTH OF URK ! 7953: ! 7954: In the beginning there was data. The data was without form and null, ! 7955: and darkness was upon the face of the console; and the Spirit of IBM ! 7956: was moving over the face of the market. And DEC said, "Let there be ! 7957: registers"; and there were registers. And DEC saw that they carried; ! 7958: and DEC separated the data from the instructions. DEC called the data ! 7959: Stack, and the instructions they called Code. And there was evening ! 7960: and there was morning, one interrupt ... ! 7961: -- Rico Tudor ! 7962: %% ! 7963: The sun was shining on the sea, ! 7964: Shining with all his might: ! 7965: He did his very best to make ! 7966: The billows smooth and bright -- ! 7967: And this was very odd, because it was ! 7968: The middle of the night. ! 7969: -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" ! 7970: %% ! 7971: The superfluous is very necessary. ! 7972: -- Voltaire ! 7973: %% ! 7974: The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our ! 7975: authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as ! 7976: the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as ! 7977: the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much ! 7978: radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much ! 7979: as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we ! 7980: receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the ! 7981: Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will ! 7982: heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to ! 7983: the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much ! 7984: heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for ! 7985: radiation, (_H/_E)^4 = 50, where _E is the absolute temperature of the ! 7986: earth (-300K), gives _H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell ! 7987: cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the ! 7988: fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which ! 7989: burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means ! 7990: that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We ! 7991: have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. ! 7992: -- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972 ! 7993: %% ! 7994: The Third Law of Photography: ! 7995: If you did manage to get any good shots, they will be ruined ! 7996: when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of ! 7997: the dark leaks out. ! 7998: %% ! 7999: The three laws of thermodynamics: ! 8000: ! 8001: The First Law: You can't get anything without working for it. ! 8002: The Second Law: The most you can accomplish by working is to break ! 8003: even. ! 8004: The Third Law: You can only break even at absolute zero. ! 8005: %% ! 8006: The trouble with a kitten is that ! 8007: When it grows up, it's always a cat ! 8008: -- Ogden Nash. ! 8009: %% ! 8010: The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. ! 8011: %% ! 8012: The trouble with being punctual is that people think you have nothing ! 8013: more important to do. ! 8014: %% ! 8015: The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody ! 8016: appreciates how difficult it was. ! 8017: %% ! 8018: The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. And ! 8019: vice versa. ! 8020: %% ! 8021: The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks ! 8022: Which practically conceal its sex. ! 8023: I think it clever of the turtle ! 8024: In such a fix to be so fertile. ! 8025: -- Ogden Nash ! 8026: %% ! 8027: The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more ! 8028: annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. ! 8029: -- Oscar Wilde ! 8030: %% ! 8031: The University of California Bears announced the signing of Reggie ! 8032: Philbin to a letter of intent to attend Cal next Fall. Philbin is said ! 8033: to make up for no talent by cheating well. Says Philbin of his ! 8034: decision to attend Cal, "I'm in it for the free ride." ! 8035: %% ! 8036: The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and ! 8037: religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging ! 8038: from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its ! 8039: yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledegook than the rest of the ! 8040: world put together. ! 8041: -- Sir Peter Medawar ! 8042: %% ! 8043: The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and ! 8044: religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging ! 8045: from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its ! 8046: yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledygook than the rest of the ! 8047: world put together. ! 8048: -- Sir Peter Medawar ! 8049: %% ! 8050: The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be ! 8051: regarded as a criminal offense. ! 8052: -- E. W. Dijkstra ! 8053: %% ! 8054: "The voters have spoken, the bastards ..." ! 8055: %% ! 8056: "The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity ! 8057: that would be clearly understood." ! 8058: -- Alexander Haig ! 8059: %% ! 8060: "The way to make a small fortune in the commodities market is to start ! 8061: with a large fortune." ! 8062: %% ! 8063: THE WOMBAT ! 8064: ! 8065: The wombat lives across the seas, ! 8066: Among the far Antipodes. ! 8067: He may exist on nuts and berries, ! 8068: Or then again, on missionaries; ! 8069: His distant habitat precludes ! 8070: Conclusive knowledge of his moods. ! 8071: But I would not engage the wombat ! 8072: In any form of mortal combat. ! 8073: %% ! 8074: The world is coming to an end! Repent and return those library books! ! 8075: %% ! 8076: The world is coming to an end. Please log off. ! 8077: %% ! 8078: The world's as ugly as sin, ! 8079: And almost as delightful ! 8080: -- Frederick Locker-Lampson ! 8081: %% ! 8082: The years of peak mental activity are undoubtedly between the ages of ! 8083: four and eighteen. At four we know all the questions, at eighteen all ! 8084: the answers. ! 8085: %% ! 8086: Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations. ! 8087: ! 8088: He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan, ! 8089: then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open ! 8090: market. ! 8091: ! 8092: If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should ! 8093: not accept of the Earth that which he refuses to give of himself. ! 8094: ! 8095: Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree. ! 8096: Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg. ! 8097: Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. ! 8098: -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" ! 8099: %% ! 8100: THEORY ! 8101: Into love and out again, ! 8102: Thus I went and thus I go. ! 8103: Spare your voice, and hold your pen: ! 8104: Well and bitterly I know ! 8105: All the songs were ever sung, ! 8106: All the words were ever said; ! 8107: Could it be, when I was young, ! 8108: Someone dropped me on my head? ! 8109: -- Dorothy Parker ! 8110: %% ! 8111: There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, ! 8112: and praiseworthy ... ! 8113: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 8114: %% ! 8115: There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a ! 8116: vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone. ! 8117: -- Gloria Steinem ! 8118: %% ! 8119: There are some goyisha names that just about guarantee that ! 8120: someone isn't Jewish. For example, you'll never meet a Jew named ! 8121: Johnson or Wright or Jones or Sinclair or Ricks or Stevenson or Reid or ! 8122: Larsen or Jenks. But some goyisha names just about guarantee that ! 8123: every other person you meet with that name will be Jewish. Why is ! 8124: this? ! 8125: Who knows? Learned rabbis have pondered this question for ! 8126: centuries and have failed to come up with an answer, and you think ___you ! 8127: can find one? Get serious. You don't even understand why it's ! 8128: forbidden to eat crab -- fresh cold crab with mayonnaise -- or lobster ! 8129: -- soft tender morsels of lobster dipped in melted butter. You don't ! 8130: even understand a simple thing like that, and yet you hope to discover ! 8131: why there are more Jews named Miller than Katz? Fat Chance. ! 8132: -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" ! 8133: %% ! 8134: There are some micro-organisms that exhibit characteristics of both ! 8135: plants and animals. When exposed to light they undergo photosynthesis; ! 8136: and when the lights go out, they turn into animals. But then again, ! 8137: don't we all? ! 8138: %% ! 8139: There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. ! 8140: -- Disraeli ! 8141: %% ! 8142: "There are three possibilities: Pioneer's solar panel has turned away ! 8143: from the sun; there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or someone ! 8144: loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor." ! 8145: %% ! 8146: There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be ! 8147: offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin ! 8148: a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount ! 8149: of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of ! 8150: affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. ! 8151: When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. ! 8152: Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. ! 8153: -- Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behaviour ! 8154: %% ! 8155: There are three ways to get something done: ! 8156: 1. Do it yourself. ! 8157: 2. Hire someone to do it for you. ! 8158: 3. Forbid your kids to do it. ! 8159: %% ! 8160: There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire ! 8161: someone, or forbid your kids to do it. ! 8162: %% ! 8163: There are two kinds of solar-heat systems: "passive" systems collect ! 8164: the sunlight that hits your home, and "active" systems collect the ! 8165: sunlight that hits your neighbors' homes, too. ! 8166: -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" ! 8167: %% ! 8168: "There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the ! 8169: other is to read Pope." ! 8170: -- Oscar Wilde ! 8171: %% ! 8172: There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one ! 8173: works. ! 8174: %% ! 8175: There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a ! 8176: suitable application of high explosives. ! 8177: %% ! 8178: There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. ! 8179: -- Henry Kissinger ! 8180: %% ! 8181: There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know ! 8182: nothing about. ! 8183: %% ! 8184: There is a great discovery still to be made in Literature: that of ! 8185: paying literary men by the quantity they do NOT write. ! 8186: %% ! 8187: There is a green, multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. ! 8188: %% ! 8189: There is a theory that states: "If anyone finds out what the universe ! 8190: is for it will disappear and be replaced by something more bazaarly ! 8191: inexplicable." ! 8192: ! 8193: There is another theory that states: "This has already happened ...." ! 8194: -- Donald Adams, "Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" ! 8195: %% ! 8196: There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly ! 8197: what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly ! 8198: disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and ! 8199: inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has ! 8200: already happened. ! 8201: -- Donald Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 8202: %% ! 8203: There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. ! 8204: -- Mark Twain ! 8205: %% ! 8206: There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the ! 8207: tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not ! 8208: abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards -- only physics and ! 8209: war hold him in check. And also the wife who wants him home by five, ! 8210: of course. ! 8211: -- Encyclopadia Apocryphia, 1990 ed. ! 8212: %% ! 8213: There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it ! 8214: -- G. B. Shaw ! 8215: %% ! 8216: There is no substitute for good manners, except, perhaps, fast ! 8217: reflexes. ! 8218: %% ! 8219: There is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be ! 8220: doing. ! 8221: %% ! 8222: There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and ! 8223: that is not being talked about. ! 8224: -- Oscar Wilde ! 8225: %% ! 8226: There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale ! 8227: returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. ! 8228: -- Mark Twain ! 8229: %% ! 8230: There once was a girl named Irene ! 8231: Who lived on distilled kerosene ! 8232: But she started absorbin' ! 8233: A new hydrocarbon ! 8234: And since then has never benzene. ! 8235: %% ! 8236: There once was an old man from Esser, ! 8237: Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser. ! 8238: It at last grew so small, ! 8239: He knew nothing at all, ! 8240: And now he's a College Professor. ! 8241: %% ! 8242: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved ! 8243: it." ! 8244: -- C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia ! 8245: %% ! 8246: There was a plane crash over mid-ocean, and only three survivors were ! 8247: left in the life-raft: the Pope, the President, and Mayor Daley. ! 8248: Unfortunately, it was a one-man life-raft, and quickly sinking, so they ! 8249: started debating who should be allowed to stay. ! 8250: ! 8251: The Pope pointed out that he was the spiritual leader of millions all ! 8252: over the world, the President explained that if he died then America ! 8253: would be stuck with the Vice-President, and so forth. Then Mayor Daley ! 8254: said, "Look! We're not solving anything like this! The only fair ! 8255: thing to do is to vote on it." So they did, and Mayor Daley won by 97 ! 8256: votes. ! 8257: %% ! 8258: There was a young lady from Hyde ! 8259: Who ate a green apple and died. ! 8260: While her lover lamented ! 8261: The apple fermented ! 8262: And made cider inside her inside. ! 8263: %% ! 8264: There was a young man who said "God, ! 8265: I find it exceedingly odd, ! 8266: That the willow oak tree ! 8267: Continues to be, ! 8268: When there's no one about in the Quad." ! 8269: ! 8270: "Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd, ! 8271: For I'm always about in the Quad; ! 8272: And that's why the tree, ! 8273: Continues to be," ! 8274: Signed "Yours faithfully, God." ! 8275: %% ! 8276: There was a young poet named Dan, ! 8277: Whose poetry never would scan. ! 8278: When told this was so, ! 8279: He said, "Yes, I know. ! 8280: It's because I try to put every possible syllable into that last line that I can." ! 8281: %% ! 8282: There were in this country two very large monopolies. The larger of ! 8283: the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double- ! 8284: digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the ! 8285: 8-cent postcard. The second was responsible for such things as the ! 8286: transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity ! 8287: stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative ! 8288: feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching ! 8289: systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the ! 8290: first electrical digital computer, and the first communications ! 8291: satellite. Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the ! 8292: telephone business? ! 8293: %% ! 8294: There's a fine line between courage and foolishness. Too bad its not a ! 8295: fence. ! 8296: %% ! 8297: There's an old proverb that says just about whatever you want it to. ! 8298: %% ! 8299: There's little in taking or giving, ! 8300: There's little in water or wine: ! 8301: This living, this living, this living, ! 8302: Was never a project of mine. ! 8303: Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is ! 8304: The gain of the one at the top, ! 8305: For art is a form of catharsis, ! 8306: And love is a permanent flop, ! 8307: And work is the province of cattle, ! 8308: And rest's for a clam in a shell, ! 8309: So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -- ! 8310: Would you kindly direct me to hell? ! 8311: -- Dorothy Parker ! 8312: %% ! 8313: There's no future in time travel ! 8314: %% ! 8315: There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. ! 8316: -- Dr. Who ! 8317: %% ! 8318: There's no real need to do housework -- after four years it doesn't get ! 8319: any worse. ! 8320: %% ! 8321: There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn ! 8322: what it is I'll get married again. ! 8323: -- Clint Eastwood ! 8324: %% ! 8325: There's so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is ! 8326: becoming an endangered synthetic. ! 8327: -- Lily Tomlin ! 8328: %% ! 8329: "These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!" ! 8330: "These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!" ! 8331: "These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP ! 8332: out of MEGATON MAN!" ! 8333: %% ! 8334: These days the necessities of life cost you about three times what they ! 8335: used to, and half the time they aren't even fit to drink. ! 8336: %% ! 8337: They also surf who only stand on waves. ! 8338: %% ! 8339: They spell it "da Vinci" and pronounce it "da Vinchy". Foreigners ! 8340: always spell better than they pronounce. ! 8341: -- Mark Twain ! 8342: %% ! 8343: "They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them!" ! 8344: %% ! 8345: They told me you had proven it When they discovered our results ! 8346: About a month before. Their hair began to curl ! 8347: The proof was valid, more or less Instead of understanding it ! 8348: But rather less than more. We'd run the thing through PRL. ! 8349: ! 8350: He sent them word that we would try Don't tell a soul about all this ! 8351: To pass where they had failed For it must ever be ! 8352: And after we were done, to them A secret, kept from all the rest ! 8353: The new proof would be mailed. Between yourself and me. ! 8354: ! 8355: My notion was to start again ! 8356: Ignoring all they'd done ! 8357: We quickly turned it into code ! 8358: To see if it would run. ! 8359: %% ! 8360: They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! ! 8361: %% ! 8362: Things are more like they used to be than they are now. ! 8363: %% ! 8364: Things will be bright in P.M. A cop will shine a light in your face. ! 8365: %% ! 8366: Think big. Pollute the Mississippi. ! 8367: %% ! 8368: Think honk if you're a telepath. ! 8369: %% ! 8370: Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! ! 8371: %% ! 8372: Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! ! 8373: %% ! 8374: Think of your family tonight. Try to crawl home after the ! 8375: computer crashes. ! 8376: %% ! 8377: Think twice before speaking, but don't say "think think click click". ! 8378: %% ! 8379: This fortune cookie program out of order. For those in desperate need, ! 8380: please use the program "________randchar". This program generates random ! 8381: characters, and, given enough time, will undoubtedly come up with ! 8382: something profound. It will, however, take it no time at all to be ! 8383: more profound than THIS program has ever been. ! 8384: %% ! 8385: This fortune intentionally not included. ! 8386: %% ! 8387: This fortune is false. ! 8388: %% ! 8389: "This is a country where people are free to practice their religion, ! 8390: regardless of race, creed, color, obesity, or number of dangling ! 8391: keys ..." ! 8392: %% ! 8393: This is for all ill-treated fellows ! 8394: Unborn and unbegot, ! 8395: For them to read when they're in trouble ! 8396: And I am not. ! 8397: -- A. E. Housman ! 8398: %% ! 8399: This is National Non-Dairy Creamer Week. ! 8400: %% ! 8401: THIS IS PLEDGE WEEK FOR THE FORTUNE PROGRAM ! 8402: ! 8403: If you like the fortune program, why not support it now with your ! 8404: contribution of a pithy fortune, clean or obscene? We cannot continue ! 8405: without your support. Less than 14% of all fortune users are ! 8406: contributors. That means that 86% of you are getting a free ride. We ! 8407: can't go on like this much longer. Federal cutbacks mean less money ! 8408: for fortunes, and unless user contributions increase to make up the ! 8409: difference, the fortune program will have to shut down between midnight ! 8410: and 8 a.m. Don't let this happen. Mail your fortunes right now to ! 8411: "fortune". Just type in your favorite pithy saying. Do it now before ! 8412: you forget. Our target is 300 new fortunes by the end of the week. ! 8413: Don't miss out. All fortunes will be acknowledged. If you contribute ! 8414: 30 fortunes or more, you will receive a free subscription to "The ! 8415: Fortune Hunter", our monthly program guide. If you contribute 50 or ! 8416: more, you will receive a free "Fortune Hunter" coffee mug .... ! 8417: %% ! 8418: This is the story of the bee ! 8419: Whose sex is very hard to see ! 8420: ! 8421: You cannot tell the he from the she ! 8422: But she can tell, and so can he ! 8423: ! 8424: The little bee is never still ! 8425: She has no time to take the pill ! 8426: ! 8427: And that is why, in times like these ! 8428: There are so many sons of bees. ! 8429: %% ! 8430: This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, ! 8431: you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where ! 8432: to go. ! 8433: %% ! 8434: This login session: $13.99, but for you $11.88 ! 8435: %% ! 8436: This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of ! 8437: the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many ! 8438: solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were ! 8439: largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, ! 8440: which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of ! 8441: paper that were unhappy. ! 8442: -- Douglas Adams ! 8443: %% ! 8444: ... This striving for excellence extends into people's ! 8445: personal lives as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the ! 8446: best one, as determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. ! 8447: Eighties people buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking ! 8448: soda. If an '80s couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a ! 8449: reservation three weeks in advance, and they are informed that their ! 8450: table is available, they stalk out immediately, because they know it is ! 8451: not an excellent restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous ! 8452: crowd of excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their ! 8453: beepers going off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant ! 8454: wouldn't have a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of ! 8455: Liza Minnelli. ! 8456: -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" ! 8457: %% ! 8458: This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget ! 8459: it. ! 8460: %% ! 8461: Thompson, if he is to be believed, has sampled the entire ! 8462: rainbow of legal and illegal drugs in heroic efforts to feel better ! 8463: than he does. ! 8464: As for the truth about his health: I have asked around about ! 8465: it. I am told that he appears to be strong and rosy, and steadily ! 8466: sane. But we will be doing what he wants us to do, I think, if we ! 8467: consider his exterior a sort of Dorian Gray facade. Inwardly, he is ! 8468: being eaten alive by tinhorn politicians. ! 8469: The disease is fatal. There is no known cure. The most we can ! 8470: do for the poor devil, it seems to me, is to name his disease in his ! 8471: honor. From this moment on, let all those who feel that Americans can ! 8472: be as easily led to beauty as to ugliness, to truth as to public ! 8473: relations, to joy as to bitterness, be said to be suffering from Hunter ! 8474: Thompson's disease. I don't have it this morning. It comes and goes. ! 8475: This morning I don't have Hunter Thompson's disease. ! 8476: -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Excerpt ! 8477: from "A Political Disease", Vonnegut's review of "Fear ! 8478: and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" ! 8479: %% ! 8480: Those who can't write, write manuals. ! 8481: %% ! 8482: Those who can, do. Those who can't, simulate. ! 8483: %% ! 8484: Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, ! 8485: for these only gave life, those the art of living well. ! 8486: -- Aristotle ! 8487: %% ! 8488: Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose. ! 8489: %% ! 8490: Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent ! 8491: revolution inevitable. ! 8492: -- John F. Kennedy ! 8493: %% ! 8494: Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are ! 8495: the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with ! 8496: Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether -- ! 8497: whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A ! 8498: fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any ! 8499: more about the matter than the others. ! 8500: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 8501: %% ! 8502: Time flies like an arrow ! 8503: Fruit flies like a banana ! 8504: %% ! 8505: Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at ! 8506: once. ! 8507: %% ! 8508: (to "The Caissons Go Rolling Along") ! 8509: Scratch the disks, dump the core, Shut it down, pull the plug ! 8510: Roll the tapes across the floor, Give the core an extra tug ! 8511: And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. ! 8512: Teletypes smashed to bits. Mem'ry cards, one and all, ! 8513: Give the scopes some nasty hits Toss out halfway down the hall ! 8514: And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. ! 8515: And we've also found Just flip one switch ! 8516: When you turn the power down, And the lights will cease to twitch ! 8517: You turn the disk readers into trash. And the tape drives will crumble ! 8518: in a flash. ! 8519: Oh, it's so much fun, When the CPU ! 8520: Now the CPU won't run Can print nothing out but "foo," ! 8521: And the system is going to crash. The system is going to crash. ! 8522: %% ! 8523: To A Quick Young Fox: ! 8524: Why jog exquisite bulk, fond crazy vamp, ! 8525: Daft buxom jonquil, zephyr's gawky vice? ! 8526: Guy fed by work, quiz Jove's xanthic lamp -- ! 8527: Zow! Qualms by deja vu gyp fox-kin thrice. ! 8528: -- Lazy Dog ! 8529: %% ! 8530: To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it. ! 8531: %% ! 8532: To be is to do. ! 8533: -- I. Kant ! 8534: To do is to be. ! 8535: -- A. Sartre ! 8536: Yabba-Dabba-Doo! ! 8537: -- F. Flinstone ! 8538: %% ! 8539: To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and, whatever you hit, ! 8540: call it the target. ! 8541: %% ! 8542: To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy. ! 8543: %% ! 8544: To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. ! 8545: -- Thomas Edison ! 8546: %% ! 8547: To iterate is human, to recurse, divine. ! 8548: %% ! 8549: To those accustomed to the precise, structured methods of conventional ! 8550: system development, exploratory development techniques may seem messy, ! 8551: inelegant, and unsatisfying. But it's a question of congruence: ! 8552: precision and flexibility may be just as disfunctional in novel, ! 8553: uncertain situations as sloppiness and vacillation are in familiar, ! 8554: well-defined ones. Those who admire the massive, rigid bone structures ! 8555: of dinosaurs should remember that jellyfish still enjoy their very ! 8556: secure ecological niche. ! 8557: -- Beau Sheil, "Power Tools for Programmers" ! 8558: %% ! 8559: "To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question ... or is it?" ! 8560: %% ! 8561: "To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition." ! 8562: -- Woody Allen ! 8563: %% ! 8564: Today is a good day to bribe a high-ranking public official. ! 8565: %% ! 8566: Today is National Existential Ennui Awareness Day. ! 8567: %% ! 8568: Today is the first day of the rest of the mess ! 8569: %% ! 8570: Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday ! 8571: %% ! 8572: Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? ! 8573: ! 8574: And where does it go after it leaves the toaster? ! 8575: -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" ! 8576: %% ! 8577: Tomorrow will be canceled due to lack of interest. ! 8578: %% ! 8579: Tonight's the night: Sleep in a eucalyptus tree. ! 8580: %% ! 8581: Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL. ! 8582: -- Mae West ! 8583: %% ! 8584: Travel important today; Internal Revenue men arrive tomorrow. ! 8585: %% ! 8586: Troubled day for virgins over 16 who are beautiful and wealthy and live ! 8587: in eucalyptus trees. ! 8588: %% ! 8589: Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant ! 8590: intelligence. ! 8591: -- Henrik Tikkanen ! 8592: %% ! 8593: Truth will be out this morning. (Which may really mess things up.) ! 8594: %% ! 8595: Truthful, adj.: ! 8596: Dumb and illiterate. ! 8597: %% ! 8598: Truthful, adj.: ! 8599: Dumb and illiterate. ! 8600: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 8601: %% ! 8602: Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational. ! 8603: -- Charles Schulz ! 8604: %% ! 8605: Try to be the best of whatever you are, even if what you are is no ! 8606: good. ! 8607: %% ! 8608: Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. ! 8609: %% ! 8610: Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only ! 8611: specification is that it should run noiselessly. ! 8612: %% ! 8613: Turnaucka's Law: ! 8614: The attention span of a computer is only as long as its ! 8615: electrical cord. ! 8616: %% ! 8617: Tussman's Law: ! 8618: Nothing is as inevitable as a mistake whose time has come. ! 8619: %% ! 8620: TV is chewing gum for the eyes. ! 8621: -- Frank Lloyd Wright ! 8622: %% ! 8623: 'Twas midnight, and the UNIX hacks ! 8624: Did gyre and gimble in their cave ! 8625: All mimsy was the CS-VAX ! 8626: And Cory raths outgrave. ! 8627: ! 8628: "Beware the software rot, my son! ! 8629: The faults that bite, the jobs that thrash! ! 8630: Beware the broken pipe, and shun ! 8631: The frumious system crash!" ! 8632: %% ! 8633: 'Twas the Night before Crisis ! 8634: ! 8635: 'Twas the night before crisis, and all through the house, ! 8636: Not a program was working not even a browse. ! 8637: The programmers were wrung out too mindless to care, ! 8638: Knowing chances of cutover hadn't a prayer. ! 8639: The users were nestled all snug in their beds, ! 8640: While visions of inquiries danced in their heads. ! 8641: When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, ! 8642: I sprang from my tube to see what was the matter. ! 8643: And what to my wondering eyes should appear, ! 8644: But a Super Programmer, oblivious to fear. ! 8645: More rapid than eagles, his programs they came, ! 8646: And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; ! 8647: On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete! ! 8648: On Batch Jobs! On Closing! On Functions Complete! ! 8649: His eyes were glazed over, his fingers were lean, ! 8650: From Weekends and nights in front of a screen. ! 8651: A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, ! 8652: Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread... ! 8653: %% ! 8654: 'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period ! 8655: preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, And ! 8656: throughout our place of residence, ! 8657: Kinetic activity was not in evidence among the ! 8658: possessors of this potential, including that ! 8659: species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. ! 8660: Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward ! 8661: edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus, ! 8662: Pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an ! 8663: imminent visitation from an eccentric ! 8664: philanthropist among whose folkloric appelations ! 8665: is the honorific title of St. Nicklaus ... ! 8666: %% ! 8667: Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. ! 8668: -- Howard Kandel ! 8669: %% ! 8670: Two percent of zero is almost nothing. ! 8671: %% ! 8672: UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist. ! 8673: %% ! 8674: "Uncle Cosmo ... why do they call this a word processor?" ! 8675: ! 8676: "It's simple, Skyler ... you've seen what food processors do to food, ! 8677: right?" ! 8678: -- MacNelley, "Shoe" ! 8679: %% ! 8680: Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: ! 8681: Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a ! 8682: hammer or get a splinter in it. ! 8683: %% ! 8684: Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it ! 8685: can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic ... ! 8686: %% ! 8687: Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: ! 8688: Superiority is recessive. ! 8689: %% ! 8690: Unfair animal names: ! 8691: ! 8692: -- tsetse fly -- bullhead ! 8693: -- booby -- duck-billed platypus ! 8694: -- sapsucker -- Clarence ! 8695: -- Gary Larson ! 8696: %% ! 8697: United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the ! 8698: Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of ! 8699: all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of ! 8700: all the patriots of every persuasion. ! 8701: ! 8702: Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the ! 8703: world. ! 8704: -- Isaac Asimov ! 8705: %% ! 8706: Universe, n.: ! 8707: The problem. ! 8708: %% ! 8709: University, n.: ! 8710: Like a software house, except the software's free, and it's ! 8711: usable, and it works, and if it breaks they'll quickly tell you how to ! 8712: fix it, and ... ! 8713: %% ! 8714: Unnamed Law: ! 8715: If it happens, it must be possible. ! 8716: %% ! 8717: Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out ! 8718: twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. ! 8719: -- H. L. Mencken ! 8720: %% ! 8721: Usage: fortune -P [] -a [xsz] [Q: [file]] [rKe9] -v6[+] dataspec ... inputdir ! 8722: %% ! 8723: User n.: ! 8724: A programmer who will believe anything you tell him. ! 8725: %% ! 8726: Using TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach. ! 8727: -- S. C. Johnson ! 8728: %% ! 8729: Vail's Second Axiom: ! 8730: The amount of work to be done increases in proportion to the ! 8731: amount of work already completed. ! 8732: %% ! 8733: Van Roy's Law: ! 8734: An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. ! 8735: %% ! 8736: Velilind's Laws of Experimentation: ! 8737: 1. If reproducibility may be a problem, conduct the test only ! 8738: once. ! 8739: 2. If a straight line fit is required, obtain only two data ! 8740: points. ! 8741: %% ! 8742: "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past ! 8743: year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley ! 8744: reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their ! 8745: artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue ! 8746: moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon ! 8747: Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the ! 8748: entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the ! 8749: sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips." ! 8750: ! 8751: "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito. ! 8752: ! 8753: "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made ! 8754: good copy." ! 8755: -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" ! 8756: %% ! 8757: Very few profundities can be expressed in less than 80 characters. ! 8758: %% ! 8759: Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. ! 8760: -- Salvor Hardin ! 8761: %% ! 8762: VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) ! 8763: Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to ! 8764: ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this ! 8765: morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you ! 8766: wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of ! 8767: that old underwear you own. ! 8768: %% ! 8769: VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) ! 8770: You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nitpicking is ! 8771: sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and sometimes ! 8772: fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus drivers. ! 8773: %% ! 8774: Virtue is its own punishment. ! 8775: %% ! 8776: Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving ! 8777: from where you left them to where you can't find them. ! 8778: %% ! 8779: Vitamin C deficiency is apauling ! 8780: %% ! 8781: Vote anarchist ! 8782: %% ! 8783: "Wagner's music is better than it sounds." ! 8784: -- Mark Twain ! 8785: %% ! 8786: Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?" ! 8787: 1st customer: "I'll have tea." ! 8788: 2nd customer: "Me, too -- and be sure the glass is clean!" ! 8789: (Waiter exits, returns) ! 8790: Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?" ! 8791: %% ! 8792: War hath no fury like a non-combatant. ! 8793: -- Charles Edward Montague ! 8794: %% ! 8795: WARNING: ! 8796: Reading this fortune can affect the dimensionality of your ! 8797: mind, change the curvature of your spine, cause the growth of ! 8798: hair on your palms, and make a difference in the outcome of ! 8799: your favorite war. ! 8800: %% ! 8801: Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. ! 8802: -- John F. Kennedy ! 8803: %% ! 8804: Wasting time is an important part of living. ! 8805: %% ! 8806: Watson's Law: ! 8807: The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the ! 8808: number and significance of any persons watching it. ! 8809: %% ! 8810: We ARE as gods and might as well get good at it. ! 8811: -- Whole Earth Catalog ! 8812: %% ! 8813: We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. ! 8814: -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" ! 8815: %% ! 8816: We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. ! 8817: -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" ! 8818: %% ! 8819: We can defeat gravity. The problem is the paperwork involved. ! 8820: %% ! 8821: "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." ! 8822: %% ! 8823: We don't understand the software, and sometimes we don't understand the ! 8824: hardware, but we can *___see* the blinking lights! ! 8825: %% ! 8826: We have met the enemy, and he is us. ! 8827: -- Walt Kelly ! 8828: %% ! 8829: "We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his ! 8830: hands for masturbation." ! 8831: -- Lily Tomlin ! 8832: %% ! 8833: We may not return the affection of those who like us, but we always ! 8834: respect their good judgement. ! 8835: %% ! 8836: We must remember the First Amendment which protects any shrill jackass ! 8837: no matter how self-seeking. ! 8838: -- F. G. Withington ! 8839: %% ! 8840: We really don't have any enemies. It's just that some of our best ! 8841: friends are trying to kill us. ! 8842: %% ! 8843: We were young and our happiness dazzled us with its strength. ! 8844: But there was also a terrible betrayal that lay within me like a Merle ! 8845: Haggard song at a French restaurant. ... ! 8846: I could not tell the girl about the woman of the tollway, of ! 8847: her milk white BMW and her Jordache smile. There had been a fight. I ! 8848: had punched her boyfriend, who fought the mechanical bulls. Everyone ! 8849: told him, "You ride the bull, senor. You do not fight it." But he was ! 8850: lean and tough like a bad rib-eye and he fought the bull. And then he ! 8851: fought me. And when we finished there were no winners, just men doing ! 8852: what men must do. ... ! 8853: "Stop the car," the girl said. There was a look of terrible ! 8854: sadness in her eyes. She knew about the woman of the tollway. I knew ! 8855: not how. I started to speak, but she raised an arm and spoke with a ! 8856: quiet and peace I will never forget. ! 8857: "I do not ask for whom's the tollway belle," she said, "the ! 8858: tollway belle's for thee." ! 8859: The next morning our youth was a memory, and our happiness was ! 8860: a lie. Life is like a bad margarita with good tequila, I thought as I ! 8861: poured whiskey onto my granola and faced a new day. ! 8862: -- Peter Applebome, International Imitation Hemingway ! 8863: Competition ! 8864: %% ! 8865: We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one ! 8866: technical problem -- how to run a sunbeam through a meter. ! 8867: %% ! 8868: we will invent new lullabies, new songs, new acts of love, ! 8869: we will cry over things we used to laugh & ! 8870: our new wisdom will bring tears to eyes of gentile ! 8871: creatures from other planets who were afraid of us till then & ! 8872: in the end a summer with wild winds & ! 8873: new friends will be. ! 8874: %% ! 8875: We wish you a Hare Krishna ! 8876: We wish you a Hare Krishna ! 8877: We wish you a Hare Krishna ! 8878: And a Sun Myung Moon! ! 8879: -- Maxwell Smart ! 8880: %% ! 8881: "We'll cross out that bridge when we come back to it later." ! 8882: %% ! 8883: We're deep into the holiday gift-giving season, as you can tell from ! 8884: the fact that everywhere you look, you see jolly old St. Nick urging ! 8885: you to purchase things, to the point where you want to slug him right ! 8886: in his bowl full of jelly. ! 8887: -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" ! 8888: %% ! 8889: We've sent a man to the moon, and that's 29,000 miles away. The center ! 8890: of the Earth is only 4,000 miles away. You could drive that in a week, ! 8891: but for some reason nobody's ever done it. ! 8892: -- Andy Rooney ! 8893: %% ! 8894: Weiler's Law: ! 8895: Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it ! 8896: himself. ! 8897: %% ! 8898: Weinberg's First Law: ! 8899: Progress is made on alternate Fridays. ! 8900: %% ! 8901: Weinberg's Principle: ! 8902: An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while ! 8903: sweeping on to the grand fallacy. ! 8904: %% ! 8905: Weinberg's Second Law: ! 8906: If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, ! 8907: then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy ! 8908: civilization. ! 8909: %% ! 8910: Weiner's Law of Libraries: ! 8911: There are no answers, only cross references. ! 8912: %% ! 8913: Well, I would -- if they realized that we -- again if -- if we led them ! 8914: back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, ! 8915: or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they ! 8916: they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off. ! 8917: -- President Ronald Reagan, on the MX missile ! 8918: %% ! 8919: "Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *___can* ! 8920: you believe?!" ! 8921: -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward] ! 8922: %% ! 8923: Well, my terminal's locked up, and I ain't got any Mail, ! 8924: And I can't recall the last time that my program didn't fail; ! 8925: I've got stacks in my structs, I've got arrays in my queues, ! 8926: I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. ! 8927: ! 8928: If you think that it's nice that you get what you C, ! 8929: Then go : illogical statement with your whole family, ! 8930: 'Cause the Supreme Court ain't the only place with : Bus error views. ! 8931: I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. ! 8932: ! 8933: On a PDP-11, life should be a breeze, ! 8934: But with VAXen in the house even magnetic tapes would freeze. ! 8935: Now you might think that unlike VAXen I'd know who I abuse, ! 8936: I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. ! 8937: -- Core Dumped Blues ! 8938: %% ! 8939: Westheimer's Discovery: ! 8940: A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a ! 8941: couple of hours in the library. ! 8942: %% ! 8943: Wethern's Law: ! 8944: Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. ! 8945: %% ! 8946: "What do you give a man who has everything?" the pretty ! 8947: teenager asked her mother. ! 8948: "Encouragement, dear," she replied. ! 8949: %% ! 8950: What does it mean if there is no fortune for you? ! 8951: %% ! 8952: What garlic is to food, insanity is to art. ! 8953: %% ! 8954: What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. ! 8955: %% ! 8956: What good is a ticket to the good life, if you can't find the ! 8957: entrance? ! 8958: %% ! 8959: What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow ! 8960: in his footsteps? ! 8961: %% ! 8962: What I tell you three times is true. ! 8963: %% ! 8964: What I want is all of the power and none of the responsibility. ! 8965: %% ! 8966: What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I ! 8967: definitely overpaid for my carpet. ! 8968: -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" ! 8969: %% ! 8970: What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's ! 8971: worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists? ! 8972: -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" ! 8973: %% ! 8974: What is a magician but a practising theorist? ! 8975: -- Obi-Wan Kenobi ! 8976: %% ! 8977: What is mind? No matter. ! 8978: What is matter? Never mind. ! 8979: -- Thomas Hewitt Key, 1799-1875 ! 8980: %% ! 8981: What is the difference between a Turing machine and the modern ! 8982: computer? It's the same as that between Hillary's ascent of Everest ! 8983: and the establishment of a Hilton on its peak. ! 8984: %% ! 8985: "What is the robbing of a bank compared to the FOUNDING of a bank?" ! 8986: -- Bertold Brecht ! 8987: %% ! 8988: What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do. ! 8989: %% ! 8990: What makes the Universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing ! 8991: to compare it with. ! 8992: %% ! 8993: What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing ! 8994: to compare it with. ! 8995: %% ! 8996: What publishers are looking for these days isn't radical feminism. ! 8997: It's corporate feminism -- a brand of feminism designed to sell books ! 8998: and magazines, three-piece suits, airline tickets, Scotch, cigarettes ! 8999: and, most important, corporate America's message, which runs: "Yes, ! 9000: women were discriminated against in the past, but that unfortunate ! 9001: mistake has been remedied; now every woman can attain wealth, prestige ! 9002: and power by dint of individual rather than collective effort." ! 9003: -- Susan Gordon ! 9004: %% ! 9005: What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? ! 9006: -- Ursula K. LeGuin ! 9007: %% ! 9008: What the hell, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. ! 9009: %% ! 9010: What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away. ! 9011: %% ! 9012: What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent ! 9013: bagel. ! 9014: %% ! 9015: What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent ! 9016: bagel. ! 9017: %% ! 9018: What this country needs is a good 5 dollar plasma weapon. ! 9019: %% ! 9020: What this country needs is a good five cent ANYTHING! ! 9021: %% ! 9022: What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel. ! 9023: %% ! 9024: What use is magic if it can't save a unicorn? ! 9025: -- Peter S. Beagle, "The Last Unicorn" ! 9026: %% ! 9027: What with chromodynamics and electroweak too ! 9028: Our Standardized Model should please even you, ! 9029: Tho once you did say that of charm there was none ! 9030: It took courage to switch as to say Earth moves not Sun. ! 9031: Yet your state of the union penultimate large ! 9032: Is the last known haunt of the Fractional Charge, ! 9033: And as you surf in the hot tub with sourdough roll ! 9034: Please ponder the passing of your sole Monopole. ! 9035: Your Olympics were fun, you should bring them all back ! 9036: For transsexual tennis or Anamalon Track, ! 9037: But Hollywood movies remain sinfully crude ! 9038: Whether seen on the telly or Remotely Viewed. ! 9039: Now fasten your sunbelts, for you've done it once more, ! 9040: You said it in Leipzig of the thing we adore, ! 9041: That you've built an incredible crystalline sphere ! 9042: Whose German attendants spread trembling and fear ! 9043: Of the death of our theory by Particle Zeta ! 9044: Which I'll bet is not there say your article, later. ! 9045: -- Sheldon Glashow, Physics Today, Dec. 1984 ! 9046: %% ! 9047: "What's that thing?" ! 9048: "Well, it's a highly technical, sensitive instrument we use in ! 9049: computer repair. Being a layman, you probably can't grasp exactly what ! 9050: it does. We call it a two-by-four." ! 9051: -- Jeff MacNelly, "Shoe" ! 9052: %% ! 9053: Whatever became of eternal truth? ! 9054: %% ! 9055: Whatever became of Strange de Jim? Well, he found a substitute for ! 9056: cocaine: "You cover Q-tips with sandpaper and ram them up your nostrils ! 9057: as far as they will go. Then you sniff talcum powder while shredding ! 9058: hundred dollar bills." ! 9059: -- Herb Caen ! 9060: %% ! 9061: Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not ! 9062: nailed down. ! 9063: -- Collis P. Huntingdon ! 9064: %% ! 9065: When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him -- that's where the ! 9066: money is. ! 9067: -- Robespierre ! 9068: %% ! 9069: When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the ! 9070: thing," it's the money. ! 9071: -- Kim Hubbard ! 9072: %% ! 9073: When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half ! 9074: loop? ! 9075: %% ! 9076: When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is ! 9077: not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space ! 9078: travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere. ! 9079: -- Robert Heinlein ! 9080: %% ! 9081: When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the ! 9082: sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain ! 9083: relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. ! 9084: -- Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle ! 9085: Maintenance" ! 9086: %% ! 9087: When all other means of communication fail, try words. ! 9088: %% ! 9089: When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask? Well, last year, I ! 9090: think it was a Tuesday. ! 9091: %% ! 9092: When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to ! 9093: guarantee them. ! 9094: %% ! 9095: When I said "we", officer, I was referring to myself, the four young ! 9096: ladies, and, of course, the goat. ! 9097: %% ! 9098: When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now ! 9099: I'm beginning to believe it. ! 9100: -- Clarence Darrow ! 9101: %% ! 9102: When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: I looked into ! 9103: the soul of the boy sitting next to me. ! 9104: -- Woody Allen ! 9105: %% ! 9106: When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened ! 9107: or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I ! 9108: cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to ! 9109: go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. ! 9110: -- Mark Twain ! 9111: %% ! 9112: When in doubt, do what the President does -- guess. ! 9113: %% ! 9114: "When in doubt, tell the truth." ! 9115: -- Mark Twain ! 9116: %% ! 9117: When in doubt, use brute force. ! 9118: -- Ken Thompson ! 9119: %% ! 9120: When love is gone, there's always justice. ! 9121: And when justice is gone, there's always force. ! 9122: And when force is gone, there's always Mom. ! 9123: Hi, Mom! ! 9124: -- Laurie Anderson ! 9125: %% ! 9126: When Marriage is Outlawed, ! 9127: Only Outlaws will have Inlaws. ! 9128: %% ! 9129: When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment ! 9130: results. ! 9131: -- Calvin Coolidge ! 9132: %% ! 9133: When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only ! 9134: say what I wish done," give him a lollipop. ! 9135: %% ! 9136: "When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical" ! 9137: -- Jon Carroll ! 9138: %% ! 9139: When the government bureau's remedies do not match your problem, you ! 9140: modify the problem, not the remedy. ! 9141: %% ! 9142: When the Ngdanga tribe of West Africa hold their moon love ceremonies, ! 9143: the men of the tribe bang their heads on sacred trees until they get a ! 9144: nose bleed, which usually cures them of ____that. ! 9145: -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" ! 9146: %% ! 9147: When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the ! 9148: stars were lined up in their proper places, you could easily count them ! 9149: from left to right, or top to bottom, and the larger and bluer ones ! 9150: were set apart, and the smaller yellowing types pushed off to the ! 9151: corners as bodies of a lower grade ... ! 9152: -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" ! 9153: %% ! 9154: When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most ! 9155: insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are ! 9156: required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and ! 9157: exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. ! 9158: -- George Bernard Shaw ! 9159: %% ! 9160: When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is ! 9161: not hereditary. ! 9162: -- Thomas Paine ! 9163: %% ! 9164: "When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut." ! 9165: %% ! 9166: When you do not know what you are doing, do it neatly. ! 9167: %% ! 9168: When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure ! 9169: clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer ! 9170: to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. ! 9171: In a way, the next move is up to him. ! 9172: -- R. A. Lafferty ! 9173: %% ! 9174: "When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." ! 9175: -- Winston Curchill, On formal declarations of war ! 9176: %% ! 9177: When you make your mark in the world, watch out for guys with erasers. ! 9178: -- The Wall Street Journal ! 9179: %% ! 9180: When you're away, I'm restless, lonely, ! 9181: Wretched, bored, dejected; only ! 9182: Here's the rub, my darling dear ! 9183: I feel the same when you are near. ! 9184: -- Samuel Hoffenstein, "When You're Away" ! 9185: %% ! 9186: When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. ! 9187: %% ! 9188: When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. ! 9189: %% ! 9190: Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really". ! 9191: -- Dave Parnas ! 9192: %% ! 9193: Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to ! 9194: see it tried on him personally. ! 9195: -- A. Lincoln ! 9196: %% ! 9197: Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. ! 9198: --Oscar Wilde ! 9199: %% ! 9200: Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last ! 9201: you are going to see of him until he emerges on the other side of his ! 9202: Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. ! 9203: -- Mark Twain ! 9204: "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" ! 9205: %% ! 9206: Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time ! 9207: to reform. ! 9208: -- Mark Twain ! 9209: %% ! 9210: Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time ! 9211: to reform. ! 9212: -- Mark Twain ! 9213: %% ! 9214: WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE ! 9215: ! 9216: Oh, dear, where can the matter be ! 9217: When it's converted to energy? ! 9218: There is a slight loss of parity. ! 9219: Johnny's so long at the fair. ! 9220: %% ! 9221: Where humor is concerned there are no standards -- no one can say what ! 9222: is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. ! 9223: -- John Kenneth Galbraith ! 9224: %% ! 9225: Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax. ! 9226: %% ! 9227: Whether you can hear it or not ! 9228: The Universe is laughing behind your back ! 9229: -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorada" ! 9230: %% ! 9231: While anyone can admit to themselves they were wrong, the true test is ! 9232: admission to someone else. ! 9233: %% ! 9234: While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, ! 9235: The fate of empires and the fall of kings; ! 9236: While quacks of State must each produce his plan, ! 9237: And even children lisp the Rights of Man; ! 9238: Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, ! 9239: The Rights of Woman merit some attention. ! 9240: -- Robert Burns, Address on "The Rights of Woman", ! 9241: November 26, 1792 ! 9242: %% ! 9243: While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own ! 9244: form of misery. ! 9245: %% ! 9246: While money doesn't buy love, it puts you in a great bargaining ! 9247: position. ! 9248: %% ! 9249: While most peoples' opinions change, the conviction of their ! 9250: correctness never does. ! 9251: %% ! 9252: While you don't greatly need the outside world, it's still very ! 9253: reassuring to know that it's still there. ! 9254: %% ! 9255: While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are ! 9256: safe, for you can watch both of his. ! 9257: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 9258: %% ! 9259: Whistler's Law: ! 9260: You never know who is right, but you always know who is in ! 9261: charge. ! 9262: %% ! 9263: "Who cares if it doesn't do anything? It was made with our new ! 9264: Triple-Iso-Bifurcated-Krypton-Gate-MOS process ..." ! 9265: %% ! 9266: Who made the world I cannot tell; ! 9267: 'Tis made, and here am I in hell. ! 9268: My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, ! 9269: I never soiled with such a deed. ! 9270: -- A. E. Housman ! 9271: %% ! 9272: Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink? ! 9273: %% ! 9274: Who's on first? ! 9275: %% ! 9276: Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. ! 9277: %% ! 9278: "Why be a man when you can be a success?" ! 9279: -- Bertold Brecht ! 9280: %% ! 9281: Why did the Lord give us so much quickness of movement unless it was to ! 9282: avoid responsibility with? ! 9283: %% ! 9284: Why did the Roman Empire collapse? What is the Latin for office ! 9285: automation? ! 9286: %% ! 9287: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently ! 9288: there must be a beverage. ! 9289: -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" ! 9290: %% ! 9291: Why I Can't Go Out With You: ! 9292: ! 9293: I'd LOVE to, but ... ! 9294: -- I have to floss my cat. ! 9295: -- I've dedicated my life to linguini. ! 9296: -- I need to spend more time with my blender. ! 9297: -- it wouldn't be fair to the other Beautiful People. ! 9298: -- it's my night to pet the dog/ferret/goldfish. ! 9299: -- I'm going downtown to try on some gloves. ! 9300: -- I have to check the freshness dates on my dairy products. ! 9301: -- I'm going down to the bakery to watch the buns rise. ! 9302: -- I have an appointment with a cuticle specialist. ! 9303: -- I have some really hard words to look up. ! 9304: -- I've got a Friends of the Lowly Rutabaga meeting. ! 9305: -- I promised to help a friend fold road maps. ! 9306: %% ! 9307: "Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is ! 9308: because we are not the person involved" ! 9309: -- Mark Twain ! 9310: %% ! 9311: "Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?" ! 9312: -- Lily Tomlin ! 9313: %% ! 9314: Why not have an old-fashioned Christmas for your family this year? ! 9315: Just picture the scene in your living room on Christmas morning as your ! 9316: children open their old-fashioned presents. ! 9317: ! 9318: Your 11-year-old son: "What the heck is this?" ! 9319: ! 9320: You: "A spinning top! You spin it around, and then eventually it ! 9321: falls down. What fun! Ha, ha!" ! 9322: ! 9323: Son: "Is this a joke? Jason Thompson's parents got him a computer ! 9324: with two disk drives and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory, ! 9325: and I get this cretin TOP?" ! 9326: ! 9327: Your 8-year-old daughter: "You think that's bad? Look at this." ! 9328: ! 9329: You: "It's figgy pudding! What a treat!" ! 9330: ! 9331: Daughter: "It looks like goat barf." ! 9332: -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" ! 9333: %% ! 9334: "Why was I born with such contemporaries?" ! 9335: -- Oscar Wilde ! 9336: %% ! 9337: Wiker's Law: ! 9338: Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. ! 9339: %% ! 9340: William Safire's Rules for Writers: ! 9341: ! 9342: Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never ! 9343: be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to ! 9344: agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words ! 9345: out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal ! 9346: of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must ! 9347: not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a ! 9348: conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a ! 9349: sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as ! 9350: close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more ! 9351: words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles ! 9352: must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a ! 9353: linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing ! 9354: metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should ! 9355: be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their ! 9356: writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows ! 9357: the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek ! 9358: viable alternatives. ! 9359: %% ! 9360: Williams and Holland's Law: ! 9361: If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by ! 9362: statistical methods. ! 9363: %% ! 9364: Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as ! 9365: it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. ! 9366: %% ! 9367: Wit, n.: ! 9368: The salt with which the American Humorist spoils his cookery ! 9369: ... by leaving it out. ! 9370: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 9371: %% ! 9372: With a rubber duck, one's never alone. ! 9373: -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 9374: %% ! 9375: With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once ! 9376: build a nuclear balm? ! 9377: %% ! 9378: With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand ! 9379: miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and ! 9380: still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no ! 9381: such thing as progress. ! 9382: -- Ransom K. Ferm ! 9383: %% ! 9384: Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless. ! 9385: %% ! 9386: Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If ! 9387: you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut ! 9388: down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that ! 9389: tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with ! 9390: long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit ! 9391: there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you ! 9392: come back. ! 9393: ! 9394: Wood heat is not new. It dates back to a day millions of years ago, ! 9395: when a group of cavemen were sitting around, watching dinosaurs rot. ! 9396: Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby log and set it on fire. One of the ! 9397: cavemen stared at the fire for a few minutes, then said: "Hey! Wood ! 9398: heat!" The other cavemen, who did not understand English, immediately ! 9399: beat him to death with stones. But the key discovery had been made, ! 9400: and from that day forward, the cavemen had all the heat they needed, ! 9401: although their insurance rates went way up. ! 9402: -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" ! 9403: %% ! 9404: Workers of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your ! 9405: chairs. ! 9406: %% ! 9407: Worst Month of 1981 for Downhill Skiing: ! 9408: August. The lines are the shortest, though. ! 9409: -- Steve Rubenstein ! 9410: %% ! 9411: Worst Month of the Year: ! 9412: February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if ! 9413: you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't ! 9414: get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible. ! 9415: -- Steve Rubenstein ! 9416: %% ! 9417: Worst Vegetable of the Year: ! 9418: The brussels sprout. This is also the worst vegetable of next ! 9419: year. ! 9420: -- Steve Rubenstein ! 9421: %% ! 9422: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" ! 9423: ! 9424: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat ! 9425: -- Lewis Carrol ! 9426: %% ! 9427: Write-Protect Tab, n.: ! 9428: A small sticker created to cover the unsightly notch carelessly ! 9429: left by disk manufacturers. The use of the tab creates an error ! 9430: message once in a while, but its aesthetic value far outweighs the ! 9431: momentary inconvenience. ! 9432: -- Robb Russon ! 9433: %% ! 9434: X-rated movies are all alike ... the only thing they leave to the ! 9435: imagination is the plot. ! 9436: %% ! 9437: Xerox does it again and again and again and ... ! 9438: %% ! 9439: Xerox never comes up with anything original. ! 9440: %% ! 9441: "Yacc" owes much to a most stimulating collection of users, who have ! 9442: goaded me beyond my inclination, and frequently beyond my ability in ! 9443: their endless search for "one more feature". Their irritating ! 9444: unwillingness to learn how to do things my way has usually led to my ! 9445: doing things their way; most of the time, they have been right. ! 9446: -- S. C. Johnson, "Yacc guide acknowledgements" ! 9447: %% ! 9448: Year, n.: ! 9449: A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. ! 9450: -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" ! 9451: %% ! 9452: Yes, but every time I try to see things your way, I get a headache. ! 9453: %% ! 9454: Yes, but which self do you want to be? ! 9455: %% ! 9456: Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still ! 9457: be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. ! 9458: -- Snoopy ! 9459: %% ! 9460: Yesterday upon the stair ! 9461: I met a man who wasn't there. ! 9462: He wasn't there again today -- ! 9463: I think he's from the CIA. ! 9464: %% ! 9465: Yield to Temptation ... it may not pass your way again. ! 9466: -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" ! 9467: %% ! 9468: Yinkel, n.: ! 9469: A person who combs his hair over his bald spot, hoping no one ! 9470: will notice. ! 9471: -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" ! 9472: %% ! 9473: "You are old, Father William," the young man said, ! 9474: "All your papers these days look the same; ! 9475: Those William's would be better unread -- ! 9476: Do these facts never fill you with shame?" ! 9477: ! 9478: "In my youth," Father William replied to his son, ! 9479: "I wrote wonderful papers galore; ! 9480: But the great reputation I found that I'd won, ! 9481: Made it pointless to think any more." ! 9482: %% ! 9483: "You are old, father William," the young man said, ! 9484: "And your hair has become very white; ! 9485: And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- ! 9486: Do you think, at your age, it is right?" ! 9487: ! 9488: "In my youth," father William replied to his son, ! 9489: "I feared it might injure the brain; ! 9490: But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, ! 9491: Why, I do it again and again." ! 9492: -- Lewis Carrol ! 9493: %% ! 9494: "You are old," said the youth, "and I'm told by my peers ! 9495: That your lectures bore people to death. ! 9496: Yet you talk at one hundred conventions per year -- ! 9497: Don't you think that you should save your breath?" ! 9498: ! 9499: "I have answered three questions and that is enough," ! 9500: Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs! ! 9501: Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? ! 9502: Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" ! 9503: %% ! 9504: "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak ! 9505: For anything tougher than suet; ! 9506: Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- ! 9507: Pray, how did you manage to do it?" ! 9508: ! 9509: "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, ! 9510: And argued each case with my wife; ! 9511: And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw, ! 9512: Has lasted the rest of my life." ! 9513: -- Lewis Carrol ! 9514: %% ! 9515: "You are old," said the youth, "and your programs don't run, ! 9516: And there isn't one language you like; ! 9517: Yet of useful suggestions for help you have none -- ! 9518: Have you thought about taking a hike?" ! 9519: ! 9520: "Since I never write programs," his father replied, ! 9521: "Every language looks equally bad; ! 9522: Yet the people keep paying to read all my books ! 9523: And don't realize that they've been had." ! 9524: %% ! 9525: "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, ! 9526: And have grown most uncommonly fat; ! 9527: Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- ! 9528: Pray what is the reason of that?" ! 9529: ! 9530: "In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, ! 9531: "I kept all my limbs very supple ! 9532: By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- ! 9533: Allow me to sell you a couple?" ! 9534: -- Lewis Carrol ! 9535: %% ! 9536: "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, ! 9537: And make errors few people could bear; ! 9538: You complain about everyone's English but yours -- ! 9539: Do you really think this is quite fair?" ! 9540: ! 9541: "I make lots of mistakes," Father William declared, ! 9542: "But my stature these days is so great ! 9543: That no critic can hurt me -- I've got them all scared, ! 9544: And to stop me it's now far too late." ! 9545: %% ! 9546: "You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose ! 9547: That your eye was as steady as ever; ! 9548: Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- ! 9549: What made you so awfully clever?" ! 9550: ! 9551: "I have answered three questions, and that is enough," ! 9552: Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! ! 9553: Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? ! 9554: Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" ! 9555: -- Lewis Carrol ! 9556: %% ! 9557: You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. ! 9558: %% ! 9559: You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading ! 9560: this sort of trash. ! 9561: %% ! 9562: You can always tell the Christmas season is here when you start getting ! 9563: incredibly dense, tinfoil-and-ribbon- wrapped lumps in the mail. ! 9564: Fruitcakes make ideal gifts because the Postal Service has been unable ! 9565: to find a way to damage them. They last forever, largely because ! 9566: nobody ever eats them. In fact, many smart people save the fruitcakes ! 9567: they receive and send them back to the original givers the next year; ! 9568: some fruitcakes have been passed back and forth for hundreds of years. ! 9569: ! 9570: The easiest way to make a fruitcake is to buy a darkish cake, then ! 9571: pound some old, hard fruit into it with a mallet. Be sure to wear ! 9572: safety glasses. ! 9573: -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" ! 9574: %% ! 9575: You can create your own opportunities this week. Blackmail a senior ! 9576: executive. ! 9577: %% ! 9578: You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you ! 9579: can with just a kind word. ! 9580: -- Bumper Sticker ! 9581: %% ! 9582: You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular. ! 9583: %% ! 9584: You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on ! 9585: the continuing viability of FORTRAN. ! 9586: -- Alan Perlis ! 9587: %% ! 9588: You can take all the impact that science considerations have on funding ! 9589: decisions at NASA, put them in the navel of a flea, and have room left ! 9590: over for a caraway seed and Tony Calio's heart. ! 9591: -- F. Allen ! 9592: %% ! 9593: You can tell how far we have to go, when FORTRAN is the language of ! 9594: supercomputers. ! 9595: -- Steven Feiner ! 9596: %% ! 9597: You can't carve your way to success without cutting remarks. ! 9598: %% ! 9599: You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair. ! 9600: %% ! 9601: You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic ! 9602: enough worrying about what's happening now. ! 9603: -- Lauren Bacall ! 9604: %% ! 9605: "You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they ! 9606: don't." ! 9607: -- Dagwood Bumstead ! 9608: %% ! 9609: You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd. ! 9610: %% ! 9611: You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. ! 9612: %% ! 9613: You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. ! 9614: %% ! 9615: You could get a new lease on life -- if only you didn't need the first ! 9616: and last month in advance. ! 9617: %% ! 9618: You couldn't even prove the White House staff sane beyond a reasonable ! 9619: doubt. ! 9620: -- Ed Meese, on the Hinckley verdict ! 9621: %% ! 9622: You don't have to think too hard when you talk to teachers. ! 9623: -- J. D. Salinger ! 9624: %% ! 9625: You don't sew with a fork, so I see no reason to eat with knitting ! 9626: needles. ! 9627: -- Miss Piggy, on eating Chinese Food ! 9628: %% ! 9629: You first have to decide whether to use the short or the long form. The ! 9630: short form is what the Internal Revenue Service calls "simplified", ! 9631: which means it is designed for people who need the help of a Sears ! 9632: tax-preparation expert to distinguish between their first and last ! 9633: names. Here's the complete text: ! 9634: ! 9635: "1. How much did you make? (AMOUNT) ! 9636: "2. How much did we here at the government take out? (AMOUNT) ! 9637: "3. Hey! Sounds like we took too much! So we're going to ! 9638: send an official government check for (ONE-FIFTEENTH OF ! 9639: THE AMOUNT WE TOOK) directly to the (YOUR LAST NAME) ! 9640: household at (YOUR ADDRESS), for you to spend in any way ! 9641: you please! Which just goes to show you, (YOUR FIRST ! 9642: NAME), that it pays to file the short form!" ! 9643: ! 9644: The IRS wants you to use this form because it gets to keep most of your ! 9645: money. So unless you have pond silt for brains, you want the long ! 9646: form. ! 9647: -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" ! 9648: %% ! 9649: You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You'll learn a lot ! 9650: today. ! 9651: %% ! 9652: You know you've been spending too much time on the computer when your ! 9653: friend misdates a check, and you suggest adding a "++" to fix it. ! 9654: %% ! 9655: "You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon ! 9656: airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in ! 9657: deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me ! 9658: when I was young!" ! 9659: "Why, what did she tell you?" ! 9660: "I don't know, I didn't listen!" ! 9661: -- Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ! 9662: %% ! 9663: You may be recognized soon. Hide. ! 9664: %% ! 9665: You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog. ! 9666: -- Alfred Kahn ! 9667: %% ! 9668: You men out there probably think you already know how to dress for ! 9669: success. You know, for example, that you should not wear leisure suits ! 9670: or white plastic belts and shoes, unless you are going to a costume ! 9671: party disguised as a pig farmer vacationing at Disney World. ! 9672: -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" ! 9673: %% ! 9674: You might have mail ! 9675: %% ! 9676: "You must realize that the computer has it in for you. The irrefutable ! 9677: proof of this is that the computer always does what you tell it to do." ! 9678: %% ! 9679: You need no longer worry about the future. This time tomorrow you'll ! 9680: be dead. ! 9681: %% ! 9682: You never know how many friends you have until you rent a house on the ! 9683: beach. ! 9684: %% ! 9685: You or I must yield up his life to Ahrimanes. I would rather it were ! 9686: you. I should have no hesitation in sacrificing my own life to spare ! 9687: yours, but we take stock next week, and it would not be fair on the ! 9688: company. ! 9689: -- J. Wellington Wells ! 9690: %% ! 9691: You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained. ! 9692: %% ! 9693: You should emulate your heros, but don't carry it too far. Especially ! 9694: if they are dead. ! 9695: %% ! 9696: You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for ! 9697: freedom and liberty. ! 9698: -- Henrick Ibson ! 9699: %% ! 9700: You should not use your fireplace, because scientists now believe that, ! 9701: contrary to popular opinion, fireplaces actually remove heat from ! 9702: houses. Really, that's what scientists believe. In fact many ! 9703: scientists actually use their fireplaces to cool their houses in the ! 9704: summer. If you visit a scientist's house on a sultry August day, ! 9705: you'll find a cheerful fire roaring on the hearth and the scientist ! 9706: sitting nearby, remarking on how cool he is and drinking heavily. ! 9707: -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" ! 9708: %% ! 9709: You will be a winner today. Pick a fight with a four-year-old. ! 9710: %% ! 9711: You will be surprised by a loud noise. ! 9712: %% ! 9713: You will be Told about it Tomorrow. Go Home and Prepare Thyself. ! 9714: %% ! 9715: You worry too much about your job. Stop it. You are not paid enough ! 9716: to worry. ! 9717: %% ! 9718: "You'll never be the man your mother was!" ! 9719: %% ! 9720: You're at the end of the road again. ! 9721: %% ! 9722: You're being followed. Cut out the hanky-panky for a few days. ! 9723: %% ! 9724: You're never too old to become younger. ! 9725: -- Mae West ! 9726: %% ! 9727: You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. ! 9728: -- Dean Martin ! 9729: %% ! 9730: You've been leading a dog's life. Stay off the furniture. ! 9731: %% ! 9732: Your analyst has you mixed up with another patient. Don't believe a ! 9733: thing he tells you. ! 9734: %% ! 9735: Your conscience never stops you from doing anything. It just stops you ! 9736: from enjoying it. ! 9737: %% ! 9738: Your fault: core dumped ! 9739: %% ! 9740: Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret. ! 9741: %% ! 9742: Your lucky color has faded. ! 9743: %% ! 9744: Your lucky number has been disconnected. ! 9745: %% ! 9746: Your lucky number is 3552664958674928. Watch for it everywhere. ! 9747: %% ! 9748: Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with. ! 9749: %% ! 9750: Youth is when you blame all your troubles on your parents; maturity is ! 9751: when you learn that everything is the fault of the younger generation. ! 9752: %% ! 9753: Zero Defects, n.: ! 9754: The result of shutting down a production line. ! 9755: %% ! 9756: Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words ! 9757: since I first called my brother's father dad. ! 9758: -- William Shakespeare, "King John" ! 9759: %% ! 9760: Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor: ! 9761: People are always available for work in the past tense.
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