fortunes revision 1.10
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 10Therefore, 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% 161.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight -- it's not just a good idea, it's 17the law! 18% 1910.0 times 0.1 is hardly ever 1.0. 20% 21100 buckets of bits on the bus 22100 buckets of bits 23Take one down, short it to ground 24FF buckets of bits on the bus 25 26FF buckets of bits on the bus 27FF buckets of bits 28Take one down, short it to ground 29FE buckets of bits on the bus 30 31ad infinitum... 32% 33$100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at 34which time it will be worth absolutely nothing. 35 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 36% 37101 USES FOR A DEAD MICROPROCESSOR 38 (1) Scarecrow for centipedes 39 (2) Dead cat brush 40 (3) Hair barrettes 41 (4) Cleats 42 (5) Self-piercing earrings 43 (6) Fungus trellis 44 (7) False eyelashes 45 (8) Prosthetic dog claws 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 (99) Window garden harrow (pulled behind Tonka tractors) 50 (100) Killer velcro 51 (101) Currency 52% 53186,282 miles per second: 54 55It isn't just a good idea, it's the law! 56% 572180, U.S. History question: 58 What 20th Century U.S. President was almost impeached and what 59office did he later hold? 60% 61$3,000,000 62% 63"355/113 -- Not the famous irrational number PI, but an incredible 64simulation!" 65% 6643rd Law of Computing: 67 Anything that can go wr 68fortune: Segmentation violation -- Core dumped 69% 7077. HO HUM -- The Redundant 71 72------- (7) This hexagram refers to a situation of extreme 73--- --- (8) boredom. Your programs always bomb off. Your wife 74------- (7) smells bad. Your children have hives. You are working 75---O--- (6) on an accounting system, when you want to develop the 76---X--- (9) GREAT AMERICAN COMPILER. You give up hot dates to 77--- --- (8) nurse sick computers. What you need now is sex. 78 79Nine in the second place means: 80 The yellow bird approaches the malt shop. Misfortune. 81 82Six in the third place means: 83 In former times men built altars to honor the Internal Revenue 84 Service. Great Dragons! Are you in trouble! 85% 867:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 87 The Bionic Dog drinks too much and kicks over the National 88 Redwood Forest. 89% 907:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 91 The Bionic Dog gets a hormonal short-circuit and violates the 92 Mann Act with an interstate Greyhound bus. 93% 9499 blocks of crud on the disk, 9599 blocks of crud! 96You patch a bug, and dump it again: 97100 blocks of crud on the disk! 98 99100 blocks of crud on the disk, 100100 blocks of crud! 101You patch a bug, and dump it again: 102101 blocks of crud on the disk! ... 103% 104A "No" uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 105"Yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble. 106 -- Mahatma Ghandi 107% 108A [golf] ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. 109Hitting a tree is simply bad luck and has no place in a scientific 110game. The player should estimate the distance the ball would have 111traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there, 112preferably atop a nice firm tuft of grass. 113 -- Donald A. Metz 114% 115A [golf] ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and 116placed in the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or 117rolled into the rough. Such veering right or left frequently results 118from friction between the face of the club and the cover of the ball 119and the player should not be penalized for the erratic behavior of the 120ball resulting from such uncontrollable physical 121phenomena. 122 -- Donald A. Metz 123% 124A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no 125responsibility at the other. 126% 127A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. 128 -- Carl Sandburg 129% 130A bachelor is a selfish, undeserving guy who has cheated some woman out 131of a divorce. 132 -- Don Quinn 133% 134A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining 135and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. 136 -- Mark Twain 137% 138A billion here, a couple of billion there -- first thing you know it 139adds up to be real money. 140 -- Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen 141% 142A bird in the bush usually has a friend in there with him. 143% 144A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring. 145% 146A bird in the hand makes it awfully hard to blow your nose. 147% 148... A booming voice says, "Wrong, cretin!", and you notice that you 149have turned into a pile of dust. 150% 151A bore is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have 152enlightened him with ours. 153% 154A budget is just a method of worrying before you spend money, as well 155as afterward. 156% 157A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the 158poor to protect them from each other. 159% 160A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness. 161% 162A child can go only so far in life without potty training. It is not 163mere coincidence that six of the last seven presidents were potty 164trained, not to mention nearly half of the nation's state legislators. 165 -- Dave Barry 166% 167A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five. 168% 169A chubby man with a white beard and a red suit will approach you soon. 170Avoid him. He's a Commie. 171% 172A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but 173won't cross the street to vote in a national election. 174 -- Bill Vaughan 175% 176A city is a large community where people are lonesome together 177 -- Herbert Prochnow 178% 179A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody 180wants to read. 181 -- Mark Twain 182% 183A closed mouth gathers no foot. 184% 185A computer, to print out a fact, 186Will divide, multiply, and subtract. 187 But this output can be 188 No more than debris, 189If the input was short of exact. 190 -- Gigo 191% 192A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking. 193% 194A CONS is an object which cares. 195 -- Bernie Greenberg. 196% 197A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it 198is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it. 199% 200A continuing flow of paper is sufficient to continue the flow of paper. 201 -- Dyer 202% 203A copy of the universe is not what is required of art; one of the 204damned things is ample. 205 -- Rebecca West 206% 207A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. 208 -- Ben Franklin 209% 210A crusader's wife slipped from the garrison 211And had an affair with a Saracen. 212 She was not oversexed, 213 Or jealous or vexed, 214She just wanted to make a comparison. 215% 216A cynic is a person searching for an honest man, with a stolen 217lantern. 218 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 219% 220A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it? 221% 222A day without sunshine is like night. 223% 224A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a fur 225coat. 226% 227A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that 228you will look forward to the trip. 229% 230 A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was 231eating his morning meal. "I would like to give you this personality 232test", said the outsider, "because I want you to be happy." 233 Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into 234the toaster -- "I wish the toaster to be happy too". 235% 236A diva who specializes in risqu'e arias is an off-coloratura soprano ... 237% 238 A doctor, an architect, and a computer scientist were arguing 239about whose profession was the oldest. In the course of their 240arguments, they got all the way back to the Garden of Eden, whereupon 241the doctor said, "The medical profession is clearly the oldest, because 242Eve was made from Adam's rib, as the story goes, and that was a simply 243incredible surgical feat." 244 The architect did not agree. He said, "But if you look at the 245Garden itself, in the beginning there was chaos and void, and out of 246that, the Garden and the world were created. So God must have been an 247architect." 248 The computer scientist, who had listened to all of this said, 249"Yes, but where do you think the chaos came from?" 250% 251A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. 252 -- Ogden Nash 253% 254A dozen, a gross, and a score, 255Plus three times the square root of four, 256 Divided by seven, 257 Plus five times eleven, 258Equals nine squared plus zero, no more. 259% 260A famous Lisp Hacker noticed an Undergraduate sitting in front of a 261Xerox 1108, trying to edit a complex Klone network via a browser. 262Wanting to help, the Hacker clicked one of the nodes in the network 263with the mouse, and asked "what do you see?" Very earnestly, the 264Undergraduate replied "I see a cursor." The Hacker then quickly 265pressed the boot toggle at the back of the keyboard, while 266simultaneously hitting the Undergraduate over the head with a thick 267Interlisp Manual. The Undergraduate was then Enlightened. 268% 269A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the 270subject. 271 -- Winston Churchill 272% 273A fool must now and then be right by chance. 274% 275A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into 276superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education. 277 -- G. B. Shaw 278% 279A fool-proof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block 280of marble; then you chip away everything that doesn't look like an 281elephant. 282% 283A formal parsing algorithm should not always be used. 284 -- D. Gries 285% 286"A fractal is by definition a set for which the Hausdorff Besicovitch 287dimension strictly exceeds the topological dimension." 288 -- Mandelbrot, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" 289% 290A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. 291 -- Adlai Stevenson 292% 293A Galileo could no more be elected president of the United States than 294he could be elected Pope of Rome. Both high posts are reserved for men 295favored by God with an extraordinary genius for swathing the bitter 296facts of life in bandages of self-illusion. 297 -- H. L. Mencken 298% 299A general leading the State Department resembles a dragon commanding 300ducks. 301 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 302% 303A girl and a boy bump into each other -- surely an accident. 304A girl and a boy bump and her handkerchief drops -- surely another accident. 305But when a girl gives a boy a dead squid -- *____that ___had __to ____mean _________something*. 306 -- S. Morganstern, "The Silent Gondoliers" 307% 308A gleekzorp without a tornpee is like a quop without a fertsneet (sort 309of). 310% 311A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened 312into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the 313hope of greening the landscape of idea. 314 -- John Ciardi 315% 316A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely 317rearranging their prejudices. 318 -- William James 319% 320A great nation is any mob of people which produces at least one honest 321man a century. 322% 323A hypothetical paradox: 324 What would happen in a battle between an Enterprise security 325team, who always get killed soon after appearing, and a squad of 326Imperial Stormtroopers, who can't hit the broad side of a planet? 327 -- Tom Galloway 328% 329A is for Amy who fell down the stairs, B is for Basil assaulted by bears. 330C is for Clair who wasted away, D is for Desmond thrown out of the sleigh. 331E is for Ernest who choked on a peach, F is for Fanny, sucked dry by a leech. 332G is for George, smothered under a rug, H is for Hector, done in by a thug. 333I is for Ida who drowned in the lake, J is for James who took lye, by mistake. 334K is for Kate who was struck with an axe, L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks. 335M is for Maud who was swept out to sea, N is for Nevil who died of enui. 336O is for Olive, run through with an awl, P is for Prue, trampled flat in a brawl 337Q is for Quinton who sank in a mire, R is for Rhoda, consumed by a fire. 338S is for Susan who parished of fits, T is for Titas who flew into bits. 339U is for Una who slipped down a drain, V is for Victor, squashed under a train. 340W is for Winie, embedded in ice, X is for Xercies, devoured by mice. 341Y is for Yoric whose head was bashed in, Z is for Zilla who drank too much gin. 342 -- Edward Gorey "The Gastly Crumb Tines" 343% 344A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance. 345% 346A jury consists of 12 persons chosen to decide 347who has the better lawyer. 348 -- Robert Frost 349% 350A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. 351% 352A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. 353% 354A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. 355% 356A lady with one of her ears applied 357To an open keyhole heard, inside, 358Two female gossips in converse free -- 359The subject engaging them was she. 360"I think", said one, "and my husband thinks 361That she's a prying, inquisitive minx!" 362As soon as no more of it she could hear 363The lady, indignant, removed her ear. 364"I will not stay," she said with a pout, 365"To hear my character lied about!" 366 -- Gopete Sherany 367% 368A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is 369not worth knowing. 370% 371A language that doesn't have everything is actually easier to program 372in than some that do. 373 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 374% 375A large number of installed systems work by fiat. That is, they work 376by being declared to work. 377 -- Anatol Holt 378% 379A Law of Computer Programming: 380 Make it possible for programmers to write in English and you 381will find the programmers cannot write in English. 382% 383A limerick packs laughs anatomical 384Into space that is quite economical. 385 But the good ones I've seen 386 So seldom are clean, 387And the clean ones so seldom are comical. 388% 389A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of 390nothing. 391% 392A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation. 393 -- H. H. Munroe 394% 395A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. 396% 397A long-forgotten loved one will appear soon. Buy the negatives at any 398price. 399% 400A Los Angeles judge ruled that "a citizen may snore with immunity in 401his own home, even though he may be in possession of unusual and 402exceptional ability in that particular field." 403% 404A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me. I'm afraid of widths. 405 -- Steve Wright 406% 407A lot of people I know believe in positive thinking, and so do I. I 408believe everything positively stinks. 409 -- Lew Col 410% 411 A man goes to a tailor to try on a new custom-made suit. The 412first thing he notices is that the arms are too long. 413 "No problem," says the tailor. "Just bend them at the elbow 414and hold them out in front of you. See, now it's fine." 415 "But the collar is up around my ears!" 416 "It's nothing. Just hunch your back up a little ... no, a 417little more ... that's it." 418 "But I'm stepping on my cuffs!" the man cries in desperation. 419 "Nu, bend you knees a little to take up the slack. There you 420go. Look in the mirror -- the suit fits perfectly." 421 So, twisted like a pretzel, the man lurches out onto the 422street. Reba and Florence see him go by. 423 "Oh, look," says Reba, "that poor man!" 424 "Yes," says Florence, "but what a beautiful suit." 425 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 426% 427A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!" 428 429"However," replied the Universe, "the fact has not created in me a 430sense of obligation." 431 -- Stephen Crane 432% 433A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. 434% 435 A master was explaining the nature of Tao to one of his 436novices. "The Tao is embodied in all software -- regardless of how 437insignificant," said the master. 438 439 "Is Tao in a hand-held calculator?" asked the novice. 440 441 "It is," came the reply. 442 443 "Is the Tao in a video game?" continued the novice. 444 445 "It is even in a video game," said the master. 446 447 "And is the Tao in the DOS for a personal computer?" 448 449 The master coughed and shifted his position slightly. "The 450lesson is over for today," he said. 451 -- "The Tao of Programming" 452% 453A mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theorems. 454% 455A Mexican newspaper reports that bored Royal Air Force pilots stationed 456on the Falkland Islands have devised what they consider a marvelous new 457game. Noting that the local penguins are fascinated by airplanes, the 458pilots search out a beach where the birds are gathered and fly slowly 459along it at the water's edge. Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their 460heads in unison watching the planes go by, and when the pilots turn 461around and fly back, the birds turn their heads in the opposite 462direction, like spectators at a slow-motion tennis match. Then, the 463paper reports, "The pilots fly out to sea and directly to the penguin 464colony and overfly it. Heads go up, up, up, and ten thousand penguins 465fall over gently onto their backs. 466 -- Audobon Society Magazine 467% 468 A musician of more ambition than talent composed an elegy at 469the death of composer Edward MacDowell. She played the elegy for the 470pianist Josef Hoffman, then asked his opinion. "Well, it's quite 471nice," he replied, but don't you think it would be better if ..." 472 "If what?" asked the composer. 473 "If ... if you had died and MacDowell had written the elegy?" 474% 475A neighbor came to Nasrudin, asking to borrow his donkey. "It is out 476on loan," the teacher replied. At that moment, the donkey brayed 477loudly inside the stable. "But I can hear it bray, over there." "Whom 478do you believe," asked Nasrudin, "me or a donkey?" 479% 480A new dramatist of the absurd 481Has a voice that will shortly be heard. 482 I learn from my spies 483 He's about to devise 484An unprintable three-letter word. 485% 486A new koan: 487 488 If you have some ice cream, I will give it to you. 489 490 If you have no ice cream, I will take it away from you. 491 492It is an ice cream koan. 493% 494A new supply of round tuits has arrived and are available from Mary. 495Anyone who has been putting off work until they got a round tuit now 496has no excuse for further procrastination. 497% 498A New York City judge ruled that if two women behind you at the movies 499insist on discussing the probable outcome of the film, you have the 500right to turn around and blow a Bronx cheer at them. 501% 502A New York City ordinance prohibits the shooting of rabbits from the 503rear of a Third Avenue street car -- if the car is in motion. 504% 505 A novel approach is to remove all power from the system, which 506removes most system overhead so that resources can be fully devoted to 507doing nothing. Benchmarks on this technique are promising; tremendous 508amounts of nothing can be produced in this manner. Certain hardware 509limitations can limit the speed of this method, especially in the 510larger systems which require a more involved & less efficient 511power-down sequence. 512 An alternate approach is to pull the main breaker for the 513building, which seems to provide even more nothing, but in truth has 514bugs in it, since it usually inhibits the systems which keep the beer 515cool. 516% 517A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power 518off and on. Knight, seeing what the student was doing spoke sternly: 519"You can not fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no 520understanding of what is going wrong." Knight turned the machine off 521and on. The machine worked. 522% 523A nuclear war can ruin your whole day. 524% 525A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space. 526 -- Gloria Steinem 527% 528A penny saved is ridiculous. 529% 530A person is just about as big as the things that make them angry. 531% 532A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms. 533 -- George Wald 534% 535A pig is a jolly companion, 536Boar, sow, barrow, or gilt -- 537A pig is a pal, who'll boost your morale, 538Though mountains may topple and tilt. 539When they've blackballed, bamboozled, and burned you, 540When they've turned on you, Tory and Whig, 541Though you may be thrown over by Tabby and Rover, 542You'll never go wrong with a pig, a pig, 543You'll never go wrong with a pig! 544 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 545% 546 A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling 547 by Mark Twain 548 549 For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped 550to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer 551be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained 552would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 553might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the 554same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with 555"i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all. 556 Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear 557with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 558or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. 559Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi 560ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz 561ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli. 562 Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud 563hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. 564% 565"A power so great, it can only be used for Good or Evil!" 566 -- Firesign Theatre, "The Giant Rat of Summatra" 567% 568A priest asked: What is Fate, Master? 569 570And he answered: 571 572It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence. 573 574It is that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs. 575 576It is that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City 577upon which carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come 578to be built to stave off Hunger, Thirst and Weariness. 579 580And that is Fate? said the priest. 581 582Fate ... I thought you said Freight, responded the Master. 583 584That's all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was 585too. 586 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 587% 588 A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came 589upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. 590"That's what I like to see", said the priest, "A man helping his fellow 591man". 592 As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, "Well, 593he sure doesn't know the first thing about shark fishing." 594% 595A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep. 596% 597"A programmer is a person who passes as an exacting expert on the basis 598of being able to turn out, after innumerable punching, an infinite 599series of incomprehensive answers calculated with micrometric 600precisions from vague assumptions based on debatable figures taken from 601inconclusive documents and carried out on instruments of problematical 602accuracy by persons of dubious reliability and questionable mentality 603for the avowed purpose of annoying and confounding a hopelessly 604defenseless department that was unfortunate enough to ask for the 605information in the first place." 606 -- IEEE Grid news magazine 607% 608A psychiatrist is a person who will give you expensive answers that 609your wife will give you for free. 610% 611A public debt is a kind of anchor in the storm; but if the anchor be 612too heavy for the vessel, she will be sunk by that very weight which 613was intended for her preservation. 614 -- Colton 615% 616A putt that stops close enough to the cup to inspire such comments as 617"you could blow it in" may be blown in. This rule does not apply if 618the ball is more than three inches from the hole, because no one wants 619to make a travesty of the game. 620 -- Donald A. Metz 621% 622"A raccoon tangled with a 23,000 volt line today. The results blacked 623out 1400 homes and, of course, one raccoon." 624 -- Steel City News 625% 626"A radioactive cat has eighteen half-lives." 627% 628A reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 20: 629 630Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, 631"Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny 632bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the 633lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and 634breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the 635Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of 636the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt 637thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then 638proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being 639the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand 640Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, 641shall snuff it." 642 -- Monty Python, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" 643% 644A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices 645that the system works. 646% 647A real person has two reasons for doing anything ... a good reason and 648the real reason. 649% 650A recent study has found that concentrating on difficult off-screen 651objects, such as the faces of loved ones, causes eye strain in computer 652scientists. Researchers into the phenomenon cite the added 653concentration needed to "make sense" of such unnatural three 654dimensional objects ... 655% 656A Riverside, California, health ordinance states that two persons may 657not kiss each other without first wiping their lips with carbolized 658rosewater. 659% 660A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man 661contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. 662 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 663% 664A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will 665keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those 666that are worth committing. 667 -- Samuel Butler 668% 669 A Severe Strain on the Credulity 670 671As a method of sending a missile to the higher, and even to the highest 672parts of the earth's atmospheric envelope, Professor Goddard's rocket 673is a practicable and therefore promising device. It is when one 674considers the multiple-charge rocket as a traveler to the moon that one 675begins to doubt ... for after the rocket quits our air and really 676starts on its journey, its flight would be neither accelerated nor 677maintained by the explosion of the charges it then might have left. 678Professor Goddard, with his "chair" in Clark College and countenancing 679of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action to 680re-action, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum 681against which to react ... Of course he only seems to lack the 682knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. 683 -- New York Times Editorial, 1920 684% 685A sine curve goes off to infinity or at least the end of the blackboard 686 -- Prof. Steiner 687% 688... A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he 689was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity. 690 -- Mark Twain 691% 692A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. 693 -- O'Henry 694% 695A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many 696bad measures. 697 -- Daniel Webster 698% 699A student who changes the course of history is probably taking an 700exam. 701% 702A student, in hopes of understanding the Lambda-nature, came to 703Greenblatt. As they spoke a Multics system hacker walked by. "Is it 704true," asked the student, "that PL-1 has many of the same data types as 705Lisp?" Almost before the student had finished his question, Greenblatt 706shouted, "FOO!", and hit the student with a stick. 707% 708A successful [software] tool is one that was used to do something 709undreamed of by its author. 710 -- S. C. Johnson 711% 712A tautology is a thing which is tautological. 713% 714A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, 715and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others. 716 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 717% 718A transistor protected by a fast-acting fuse will protect the fuse by 719blowing first. 720% 721A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene 722triangle. 723% 724A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. 725% 726A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest 727in students. 728 -- John Ciardi 729% 730"A University without students is like an ointment without a fly." 731 -- Ed Nather, professor of astronomy at UT Austin 732% 733A UNIX saleslady, Lenore, 734Enjoys work, but she likes the beach more. 735 She found a good way 736 To combine work and play: 737She sells C shells by the seashore. 738% 739A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature 740replaces it with. 741 -- Tennessee Williams 742% 743A very intelligent turtle 744Found programming UNIX a hurdle 745 The system, you see, 746 Ran as slow as did he, 747And that's not saying much for the turtle. 748% 749A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without 750getting nervous. 751% 752A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets 753people's attention. 754% 755"A witty saying proves nothing." 756 -- Voltaire 757% 758"A wizard cannot do everything; a fact most magicians are reticent to 759admit, let alone discuss with prospective clients. Still, the fact 760remains that there are certain objects, and people, that are, for one 761reason or another, completely immune to any direct magical spell. It 762is for this group of beings that the magician learns the subtleties of 763using indirect spells. It also does no harm, in dealing with these 764matters, to carry a large club near your person at all times." 765 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VIII 766% 767A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe 768in God. 769% 770A.A.A.A.A.: 771 An organization for drunks who drive 772% 773AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!!!!!!!!! 774You brute! Knock before entering a ladies room! 775% 776Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy. 777% 778"About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the 779ends." 780 -- Herbert Hoover 781% 782Absence makes the heart go wander. 783% 784Absent, adj.: 785 Exposed to the attacks of friends and acquaintances; defamed; 786slandered. 787% 788Absentee, n.: 789 A person with an income who has had the forethought to remove 790himself from the sphere of exaction. 791 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 792% 793Abstainer, n.: 794 A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a 795pleasure. 796 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 797% 798Absurdity, n.: 799 A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own 800opinion. 801 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 802% 803Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, 804because the stakes are so low. 805 -- Wallace Sayre 806% 807Accident, n.: 808 A condition in which presence of mind is good, but absence of 809body is better. 810% 811Accidents cause History. 812 813If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyler, the 814Peasant's Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not 815have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil 816could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and 817the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd. 818 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 819% 820According to Arkansas law, Section 4761, Pope's Digest: "No person 821shall be permitted under any pretext whatever, to come nearer than 822fifty feet of any door or window of any polling room, from the opening 823of the polls until the completion of the count and the certification of 824the returns." 825% 826According to Kentucky state law, every person must take a bath at least 827once a year. 828% 829According to my best recollection, I don't remember. 830 -- Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo 831% 832According to the latest official figures, 43% of all statistics are 833totally worthless. 834% 835According to the obituary notices, a mean and unimportant person never 836dies. 837% 838"According to the Rand McNally Places-Rated Almanac, the best place to 839live in America is the city of Pittsburgh. The city of New York came 840in twenty-fifth. Here in New York we really don't care too much. 841Because we know that we could beat up their city anytime." 842 -- David Letterman 843% 844Accordion, n.: 845 A bagpipe with pleats. 846% 847Accuracy, n.: 848 The vice of being right 849% 850 ACHTUNG!!! 851 852Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy 853schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit 854spitzensparken. Ist nicht fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das 855rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands in das pockets. Relaxen und 856vatch das blinkenlights!!! 857% 858Acid -- better living through chemistry. 859% 860Acid absorbs 47 times it's weight in excess Reality. 861% 862Acquaintance, n.: 863 A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well 864enough to lend to. 865 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 866% 867"Acting is an art which consists of keeping the audience from 868coughing." 869% 870Actor: "I'm a smash hit. Why, yesterday during the last act, I had 871 everyone glued in their seats!" 872Oliver Herford: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Clever of you to think of 873 it!" 874% 875Actor: So what do you do for a living? 876Doris: I work for a company that makes deceptively shallow serving 877 dishes for Chinese restaurants. 878 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 879% 880Actors will happen even in the best-regulated families. 881% 882ADA, n.: 883 Something you need only know the name of to be an Expert in 884Computing. Useful in sentences like, "We had better develop an ADA 885awareness." 886% 887Admiration, n.: 888 Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves. 889 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 890% 891Adolescence, n.: 892 The stage between puberty and adultery. 893% 894"Adopted kids are such a pain -- you have to teach them how to look 895like you ..." 896 -- Gilda Radner 897% 898Adore, v.: 899 To venerate expectantly. 900 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 901% 902Adult, n.: 903 One old enough to know better. 904% 905Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest 906way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. 907 -- Sinclair Lewis 908% 909Advice to young men: Be ascetic, and if you can't be ascetic, 910then at least be asceptic. 911% 912After [Benjamin] Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose 913names have become part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary 914Louise Amp, James Watt, Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted 915many important electrical experiments. For example, in 1780 Luigi 916Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when he attached two 917different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical current 918developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer 919attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led 920to enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, 921skilled veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously 922injured or killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it 923hop back into the pond just like a normal frog, except for the fact 924that it sinks like a stone. 925 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 926% 927After a few boring years, socially meaningful rock 'n' roll died out. 928It was replaced by disco, which offers no guidance to any form of life 929more advanced than the lichen family. 930 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly 931 Do" 932% 933After a number of decimal places, nobody gives a damn. 934% 935"... After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known 936quotations." 937 -- H. L. Mencken, on Shakespeare 938% 939After all, what is your hosts' purpose in having a party? Surely not 940for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have 941simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi. 942 -- P. J. O'Rourke 943% 944After an instrument has been assembled, extra components will be found 945on the bench. 946% 947 After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from 948Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, 949and turned to God and said, "A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon 950to be created." 951 "This is true," He replied. 952 "He will need laws," said the Demon slyly. 953 "What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the 954right to make his laws?" 955 "Oh, no!" Satan replied, "I ask only that he be allowed to 956make his own." 957 It was so granted. 958 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 959% 960"After I asked him what he meant, he replied that freedom consisted of 961the unimpeded right to get rich, to use his ability, no matter what the 962cost to others, to win advancement." 963 -- Norman Thomas 964% 965After I run your program, let's make love like crazed weasels, OK? 966% 967After living in New York, you trust nobody, but you believe 968everything. Just in case. 969% 970After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access 971cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been 972removed. 973% 974Afternoon very favorable for romance. Try a single person for a 975change. 976% 977Afternoon, n.: 978 That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted the 979morning. 980% 981Age before beauty; and pearls before swine. 982 -- Dorothy Parker 983% 984Age, n.: 985 That period of life in which we compound for the vices that we 986still cherish by reviling those that we no longer have the enterprise 987to commit. 988 -- Ambrose Bierce 989% 990Ah say, son, you're about as sharp as a bowlin' ball. 991% 992Ah, but the choice of dreams to live, 993there's the rub. 994 995For all dreams are not equal, 996some exit to nightmare 997most end with the dreamer 998 999But at least one must be lived ... and died. 1000% 1001"Ah, you know the type. They like to blame it all on the Jews or the 1002Blacks, 'cause if they couldn't, they'd have to wake up to the fact 1003that life's one big, scary, glorious, complex and ultimately 1004unfathomable crapshoot -- and the only reason THEY can't seem to keep 1005up is they're a bunch of misfits and losers." 1006 -- A analysis of Neo-Nazis, from "The Badger" comic 1007% 1008Air is water with holes in it 1009% 1010Alas, I am dying beyond my means. 1011 -- Oscar Wilde, as he sipped champagne on his deathbed 1012% 1013Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied: "You see, wire 1014telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New 1015York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? 1016And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they 1017receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." 1018% 1019Alden's Laws: 1020 (1) Giving away baby clothes and furniture is the major cause 1021 of pregnancy. 1022 (2) Always be backlit. 1023 (3) Sit down whenever possible. 1024% 1025Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall, 1026Aleph-null bottles of beer, 1027 You take one down, and pass it around, 1028Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall. 1029% 1030Alex Haley was adopted! 1031% 1032Alexander Graham Bell is alive and well in New York, and still waiting 1033for a dial tone. 1034% 1035Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of 1036them keeps paying for it. 1037 -- Peggy Joyce 1038% 1039All [zoos] actually offer to the public in return for the taxes spent 1040upon them is a form of idle and witless amusement, compared to which a 1041visit to a penitentiary, or even to a State legislature in session, is 1042informing, stimulating and ennobling. 1043 -- H. L. Mencken 1044% 1045All bridge hands are equally likely, but some are more equally likely 1046than others. 1047 -- Alan Truscott 1048% 1049All extremists should be taken out and shot. 1050% 1051All Finagle Laws may be bypassed by learning the simple art of doing 1052without thinking. 1053% 1054"All flesh is grass" 1055 -- Isiah 1056Smoke a friend today. 1057% 1058All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. 1059% 1060All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own 1061importance. 1062% 1063All I can think of is a platter of organic PRUNE CRISPS being trampled 1064by an army of swarthy, Italian LOUNGE SINGERS ... 1065% 1066All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power 1067 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 1068% 1069All men are mortal. Socrates was mortal. Therefore, all men are 1070Socrates. 1071 -- Woody Allen 1072% 1073"All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us 1074sane." 1075% 1076"All my life I wanted to be someone; I guess I should have been more 1077specific." 1078 -- Jane Wagner 1079% 1080All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies. 1081 -- The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1082% 1083All other things being equal, a bald man cannot be elected President of 1084the United States. 1085 -- Vic Gold 1086% 1087All power corrupts, but we need electricity. 1088% 1089All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors. 1090% 1091All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of 1092every organism to live beyond its income. 1093 -- Samuel Butler 1094% 1095All science is either physics or stamp collecting. 1096 -- E. Rutherford 1097% 1098"All snakes who wish to remain in Ireland will please raise their right 1099hands." 1100 -- Saint Patrick 1101% 1102All syllogisms have three parts, therefore this is not a syllogism. 1103% 1104All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, 1105too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you 1106subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you 1107can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. 1108Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax 1109decision: "Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What 1110if it rains?" 1111 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 1112% 1113"... all the modern inconveniences ..." 1114 -- Mark Twain 1115% 1116All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most 1117ridiculous ones. 1118 -- La Rochefoucauld 1119% 1120All the taxes paid over a lifetime by the average American are spent by 1121the government in less than a second. 1122 -- Jim Fiebig 1123% 1124All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. 1125 -- Sean O'Casey 1126% 1127All the world's a VAX, 1128And all the coders merely butchers; 1129They have their exits and their entrails; 1130And one int in his time plays many widths, 1131His sizeof being _N bytes. At first the infant, 1132Mewling and puking in the Regent's arms. 1133And then the whining schoolboy, with his Sun, 1134And shining morning face, creeping like slug 1135Unwillingly to school. 1136 -- A Very Annoyed PDP-11 1137% 1138All theoretical chemistry is really physics; 1139and all theoretical chemists know it. 1140 -- Richard P. Feynman 1141% 1142All things are possible, except skiing thru a revolving door. 1143% 1144All this wheeling and dealing around, why, it isn't for money, it's for 1145fun. Money's just the way we keep score. 1146% 1147All true wisdom is found on T-shirts. 1148% 1149All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers ... Each one owes 1150infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in 1151which he was born. 1152 -- Francois Fenelon 1153% 1154Alliance, n.: 1155 In international politics, the union of two thieves who have 1156their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot 1157separately plunder a third. 1158 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1159% 1160Alone, adj.: 1161 In bad company. 1162 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1163% 1164Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight 1165Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. 1166 -- Dave Barry 1167% 1168Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away. 1169% 1170Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, 1171mixers, etc., for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have 1172any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place 1173to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, 1174Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a 1175serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the 1176same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely 1177that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as "A 1178penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job 1179running the post office. 1180 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 1181% 1182Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been 1183reissued by the Grove Press, and this pictorial account of the 1184day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is full of considerable 1185interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on 1186pheasant-raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, 1187and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. 1188Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous 1189material in order to discover and savour those sidelights on the 1190management of a midland shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion 1191the book cannot take the place of J. R. Miller's "Practical 1192Gamekeeping." 1193 -- Ed Zern, "Field and Stream" (Nov. 1959) 1194% 1195Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid 1196back. 1197% 1198Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. 1199% 1200"Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing 1201that way." 1202% 1203Am I ranting? I hope so. My ranting gets raves. 1204% 1205 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1206 1207If all the salmon caught in Canada in one year were laid end to end 1208across the Sahara Desert, the smell would be absolutely awful. 1209% 1210 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1211 1212There is so much sand in Northern Africa that if it were spread out it 1213would completely cover the Sahara Desert. 1214% 1215Ambidextrous, adj.: 1216 Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. 1217 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1218% 1219Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. 1220 -- Charlie McCarthy 1221% 1222America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism 1223to decadence without touching civilization. 1224 -- John O'Hara 1225% 1226America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, 1227until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and 1228changed its name to "America". 1229 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 1230% 1231American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective 1232employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for 1233employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference 1234between the men's room and the women's room without having little 1235pictures on the doors. 1236 -- Dave Barry, "Urine Trouble, Mister" 1237% 1238"Amnesia used to be my favorite word, but then I forgot it." 1239% 1240An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because 1241people refuse to see it. 1242 -- James Michener, "Space" 1243% 1244An American's a person who isn't afraid to criticize the President but 1245is always polite to traffic cops. 1246% 1247"An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to 1248New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they have Tide but 1249not new Tide with lemon-fresh Borax." 1250 -- David Letterman 1251% 1252An apple every eight hours will keep three doctors away. 1253% 1254 An architect's first work is apt to be spare and clean. He 1255knows he doesn't know what he's doing, so he does it carefully and with 1256great restraint. 1257 As he designs the first work, frill after frill and 1258embellishment after embellishment occur to him. These get stored away 1259to be used "next time". Sooner or later the first system is finished, 1260and the architect, with firm confidence and a demonstrated mastery of 1261that class of systems, is ready to build a second system. 1262 This second is the most dangerous system a man ever designs. 1263When he does his third and later ones, his prior experiences will 1264confirm each other as to the general characteristics of such systems, 1265and their differences will identify those parts of his experience that 1266are particular and not generalizable. 1267 The general tendency is to over-design the second system, using 1268all the ideas and frills that were cautiously sidetracked on the first 1269one. The result, as Ovid says, is a "big pile". 1270 -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month" 1271% 1272An artist should be fit for the best society and keep out of it. 1273% 1274An attorney was defending his client against a charge of first-degree 1275murder. "Your Honor, my client is accused of stuffing his lover's 1276mutilated body into a suitcase and heading for the Mexican border. 1277Just north of Tijuana a cop spotted her hand sticking out of the 1278suitcase. Now, I would like to stress that my client is *not* a 1279murderer. A sloppy packer, maybe..." 1280% 1281An authority is a person who can tell you more about something than you 1282really care to know. 1283% 1284An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible. 1285% 1286An elephant is a mouse with an operating system. 1287% 1288An English judge, growing weary of the barrister's long-winded 1289summation, leaned over the bench and remarked, "I've heard your 1290arguments, Sir Geoffrey, and I'm none the wiser!" Sir Geoffrey 1291responded, "That may be, Milord, but at least you're better informed!" 1292% 1293An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose. 1294 -- A. P. Herbert 1295% 1296An excellence-oriented '80s male does not wear a regular watch. He 1297wears a Rolex watch, because it weighs nearly six pounds and is 1298advertised only in excellence-oriented publications such as Fortune and 1299Rich Protestant Golfer Magazine. The advertisements are written in 1300incomplete sentences, which is how advertising copywriters denote 1301excellence: 1302 1303"The Rolex Hyperion. An elegant new standard in quality excellence and 1304discriminating handcraftsmanship. For the individual who is truly able 1305to discriminate with regard to excellent quality standards of crafting 1306things by hand. Fabricated of 100 percent 24-karat gold. No watch 1307parts or anything. Just a great big chunk on your wrist. Truly a 1308timeless statement. For the individual who is very secure. Who 1309doesn't need to be reminded all the time that he is very successful. 1310Much more successful than the people who laughed at him in high 1311school. Because of his acne. People who are probably nowhere near as 1312successful as he is now. Maybe he'll go to his 20th reunion, and 1313they'll see his Rolex Hyperion. Hahahahahahahahaha." 1314 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 1315% 1316An exotic journey in downtown Newark is in your future. 1317% 1318"... an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often 1319picturesque liar." 1320 -- Mark Twain 1321% 1322An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these 1323eyes we cannot bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as 1324possible. 1325 -- Russell Hoban, "Pilgermann" 1326% 1327An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. 1328% 1329 An old Jewish man reads about Einstein's theory of relativity 1330in the newspaper and asks his scientist grandson to explain it to him. 1331 "Well, zayda, it's sort of like this. Einstein says that if 1332you're having your teeth drilled without Novocain, a minute seems like 1333an hour. But if you're sitting with a beautiful woman on your lap, an 1334hour seems like a minute." 1335 The old man considers this profound bit of thinking for a 1336moment and says, "And from this he makes a living?" 1337 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 1338% 1339"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of purge." 1340% 1341Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it's better than no 1342government at all. 1343% 1344And as we stand on the edge of darkness 1345Let our chant fill the void 1346That others may know 1347 1348 In the land of the night 1349 The ship of the sun 1350 Is drawn by 1351 The grateful dead. 1352 1353 -- Tibetan "Book of the Dead," ca. 4000 BC. 1354% 1355... and furthermore ... I don't like your trousers. 1356% 1357And I heard Jeff exclaim, 1358As they strolled out of sight, 1359"Merry Christmas to all -- 1360You take credit cards, right?" 1361 -- "Outsiders" comic 1362% 1363... And malt does more than Milton can 1364To justify God's ways to man 1365 -- A. E. Housman 1366% 1367And on the seventh day, He exited from append mode. 1368% 1369"... And remember: if you don't like the news, go out and make some of 1370your own." 1371 -- "Scoop" Nisker, KFOG radio reporter 1372 Preposterous Words 1373% 1374And so, men, we can see that human skin is an even more complex and 1375fascinating organ than we thought it was, and if we want to keep it 1376looking good, we have to care for it as though it were our own. One 1377approach is to undergo a painful surgical procedure wherein your skin 1378is turned inside-out, so the young cells are on the outside, but then 1379of course you have the unpleasant side effect that your insides 1380gradually fill up with dead old cells and you explode. So this 1381procedure is pretty much limited to top Hollywood stars for whom 1382youthful beauty is a career necessity, such as Elizabeth Taylor and 1383Orson Welles. 1384 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 1385% 1386"...and the fully armed nuclear warheads, are, of course, merely a 1387courtesy detail." 1388% 1389And this is a table ma'am. What in essence it consists of is a 1390horizontal rectilinear plane surface maintained by four vertical 1391columnar supports, which we call legs. The tables in this laboratory, 1392ma'am, are as advanced in design as one will find anywhere in the 1393world. 1394 -- Michael Frayn, "The Tin Men" 1395% 1396 "And what will you do when you grow up to be as big as me?" 1397asked the father of his little son. 1398 "Diet." 1399% 1400And yet, seasons must be taken with a grain of salt, for they too have 1401a sense of humor, as does history. Corn stalks comedy, comedy stalks 1402tragedy, and this too is historic. And yet, still, when corn meets 1403tragedy face to face, we have politics. 1404 -- Dalglish, Larsen and Sutherland, "Root Crops and 1405 Ground Cover" 1406% 1407Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes. 1408Galileo: No, unhappy the land that _____needs heroes. 1409 -- Bertolt Brecht, "Life of Galileo" 1410% 1411Angels we have heard on High 1412Tell us to go out and Buy. 1413 -- Tom Lehrer 1414% 1415Ankh if you love Isis. 1416% 1417Anoint, v.: 1418 To grease a king or other great functionary already 1419sufficiently slippery. 1420 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1421% 1422 Another Glitch in the Call 1423 ------- ------ -- --- ---- 1424 (Sung to the tune of a recent Pink Floyd song.) 1425 1426We don't need no indirection 1427We don't need no flow control 1428No data typing or declarations 1429Did you leave the lists alone? 1430 1431 Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone! 1432 1433Chorus: 1434 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1435 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1436% 1437Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 1438% 1439Another possible source of guidance for teenagers is television, but 1440television's message has always been that the need for truth, wisdom 1441and world peace pales by comparison with the need for a toothpaste that 1442offers whiter teeth *___and* fresher breath. 1443 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly 1444 Do" 1445% 1446 Answers to Last Fortune's Questions: 1447 1448(1) None. (Moses didn't have an ark). 1449(2) Your mother, by the pigeonhole principle. 1450(3) I don't know. 1451(4) Who cares? 1452(5) 6 (or maybe 4, or else 3). Mr. Alfred J. Duncan of Podunk, 1453 Montana, submitted an interesting solution to Problem 5. 1454(6) There is an interesting solution to this problem on page 1029 of my 1455 book, which you can pick up for $23.95 at finer bookstores and 1456 bathroom supply outlets (or 99 cents at the table in front of 1457 Papyrus Books). 1458% 1459Anthony's Law of Force: 1460 Don't force it; get a larger hammer. 1461% 1462Anthony's Law of the Workshop: 1463 Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible 1464 corner of the workshop. 1465 1466Corollary: 1467 On the way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike 1468 your toes. 1469% 1470Antonym, n.: 1471 The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. 1472% 1473Any clod can have the facts, but having an opinion is an art. 1474 -- Charles McCabe 1475% 1476Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art. 1477 -- Charles McCabe 1478% 1479Any dramatic series the producers want us to take seriously as a 1480representation of contemporary reality cannot be taken seriously as a 1481representation of anything -- except a show to be ignored by anyone 1482capable of sitting upright in a chair and chewing gum simultaneously. 1483 -- Richard Schickel 1484% 1485Any excuse will serve a tyrant. 1486 -- Aesop 1487% 1488Any father who thinks he's all important should remind himself that 1489this country honors fathers only one day a year while pickles get a 1490whole week. 1491% 1492Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to 1493sell it. 1494% 1495Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche 1496-- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, 1497my grandmother used to say, "The black cat is always the last one off 1498the fence." I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was 1499undoubtedly true. 1500 -- Solomon Short 1501% 1502Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there. 1503 -- Sydney J. Harris 1504% 1505Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a larger 1506object. 1507% 1508Any stone in your boot always migrates against the pressure gradient to 1509exactly the point of most pressure. 1510 -- Milt Barber 1511% 1512Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature. 1513 -- Rich Kulawiec 1514% 1515Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged 1516demo. 1517% 1518Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. 1519 -- Arthur C. Clarke 1520% 1521Any time things appear to be going better, you have overlooked 1522something. 1523% 1524Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours. 1525 -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1526% 1527Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry. 1528% 1529Anybody who doesn't cut his speed at the sight of a police car is 1530probably parked. 1531% 1532Anybody with money to burn will easily find someone to tend the fire. 1533% 1534Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is 1535supposed to be doing at the moment. 1536 -- Robert Benchley 1537% 1538Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. 1539 -- Publius Syrus 1540% 1541Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with 1542none. 1543% 1544Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he 1545is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not 1546make messes in the house. 1547 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1548% 1549Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. 1550 -- Samuel Goldwyn 1551% 1552Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. 1553 -- W. C. Fields 1554% 1555Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no 1556account be allowed to do the job. 1557 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 1558% 1559Anyone who uses the phrase "easy as taking candy from a baby" has never 1560tried taking candy from a baby. 1561 -- Robin Hood 1562% 1563Anything free is worth what you pay for it. 1564% 1565Anything is good and useful if it's made of chocolate. 1566% 1567Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. 1568% 1569Anything labeled "NEW" and/or "IMPROVED" isn't. The label means the 1570price went up. The label "ALL NEW", "COMPLETELY NEW", or "GREAT NEW" 1571means the price went way up. 1572% 1573Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate. 1574% 1575Anything worth doing is worth overdoing 1576% 1577"Apathy is not the problem, it's the solution" 1578% 1579Aphorism, n.: 1580 A concise, clever statement. 1581Afterism, n.: 1582 A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late. 1583 -- James Alexander Thom 1584% 1585APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of 1586the future for the problems of the past: it creates a new generation of 1587coding bums. 1588% 1589"APL is a write-only language. I can write programs in APL, but I 1590can't read any of them." 1591 -- Roy Keir 1592% 1593Aquadextrous, adj.: 1594 Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off 1595with your toes. 1596 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1597% 1598AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 1599 You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. 1600 You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to 1601 be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same 1602 mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. 1603% 1604Arbitrary systems, pl.n.: 1605 Systems about which nothing general can be said, save "nothing 1606general can be said." 1607% 1608ARCHDUKE FERDINAND FOUND ALIVE -- 1609 FIRST WORLD WAR A MISTAKE 1610% 1611Are you a turtle? 1612% 1613Are you a turtle? 1614% 1615"Arguments with furniture are rarely productive." 1616 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 1617% 1618ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) 1619 You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You 1620 are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are 1621 not very nice. 1622% 1623Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your 1624shoes. 1625 -- Mickey Mouse 1626% 1627Armadillo: 1628 To provide weapons to a Spanish pickle 1629% 1630Arnold's Laws of Documentation: 1631 (1) If it should exist, it doesn't. 1632 (2) If it does exist, it's out of date. 1633 (3) Only documentation for useless programs transcends the 1634 first two laws. 1635% 1636Around computers it is difficult to find the correct unit of time to 1637measure progress. Some cathedrals took a century to complete. Can you 1638imagine the grandeur and scope of a program that would take as long? 1639 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 1640% 1641Art is anything you can get away with. 1642 -- Marshall McLuhan. 1643% 1644Art is either plagiarism or revolution. 1645 -- Paul Gauguin 1646% 1647Arthur's Laws of Love: 1648 (1) People to whom you are attracted invariably think you 1649 remind them of someone else. 1650 (2) The love letter you finally got the courage to send will be 1651 delayed in the mail long enough for you to make a fool of 1652 yourself in person. 1653% 1654Artistic ventures highlighted. Rob a museum. 1655% 1656As a professional humorist, I often get letters from readers who are 1657interested in the basic nature of humor. "What kind of a sick 1658perverted disgusting person are you," these letters typically ask, 1659"that you make jokes about setting fire to a goat?" ... 1660 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 1661% 1662"As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual 1663certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I 1664became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can 1665meet girls." 1666 -- Matt Cartmill 1667% 1668As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not 1669certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. 1670 -- Albert Einstein 1671% 1672As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error. 1673 -- Weisert 1674% 1675As I was going up Punch Card Hill, 1676 Feeling worse and worser, 1677There I met a C.R.T. 1678 And it drop't me a cursor. 1679 1680C.R.T., C.R.T., 1681 Phosphors light on you! 1682If I had fifty hours a day 1683 I'd spend them all at you. 1684 1685 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 1686% 1687As I was passing Project MAC, 1688I met a Quux with seven hacks. 1689Every hack had seven bugs; 1690Every bug had seven manifestations; 1691Every manifestation had seven symptoms. 1692Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and hacks, 1693How many losses at Project MAC? 1694% 1695As long as I am mayor of this city [Jersey City, New Jersey] the great 1696industries are secure. We hear about constitutional rights, free 1697speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to 1698myself, "That man is a Red, that man is a Communist". You never hear a 1699real American talk like that. 1700 -- Frank Hague (1896-1956) 1701% 1702As long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? 1703% 1704As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its 1705fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be 1706popular. 1707 -- Oscar Wilde 1708% 1709As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. 1710% 1711"As part of the conversion, computer specialists rewrote 1,500 1712programs; a process that traditionally requires some debugging." 1713 -- USA Today, referring to the IRS switchover to a new 1714 computer system. 1715% 1716As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it 1717wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had 1718to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized 1719that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in 1720finding mistakes in my own programs. 1721 -- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949 1722% 1723As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" -- probably because it's 1724so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. 1725 -- Woody Allen 1726% 1727As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there 1728is always a future in Computer Maintenance. 1729 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1730% 1731As Will Rogers would have said, "There is no such things as a free 1732variable." 1733% 1734As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple 1735memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time 1736to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, 1737E, or U is the proper time for chocolate. 1738 -- Sandra Boynton, "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" 1739% 1740As you know, birds do not have sexual organs because they would 1741interfere with flight. [In fact, this was the big breakthrough for the 1742Wright Brothers. They were watching birds one day, trying to figure 1743out how to get their crude machine to fly, when suddenly it dawned on 1744Wilbur. "Orville," he said, "all we have to do is remove the sexual 1745organs!" You should have seen their original design.] As a result, 1746birds are very, very difficult to arouse sexually. You almost never 1747see an aroused bird. So when they want to reproduce, birds fly up and 1748stand on telephone lines, where they monitor telephone conversations 1749with their feet. When they find a conversation in which people are 1750talking dirty, they grip the line very tightly until they are both 1751highly aroused, at which point the female gets pregnant. 1752 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 1753 Teen Should Know" 1754% 1755As you reach for the web, a venomous spider appears. Unable to pull 1756your hand away in time, the spider promptly, but politely, bites you. 1757The venom takes affect quickly causing your lips to turn plaid along 1758with your complexion. You become dazed, and in your stupor you fall 1759from the limbs of the tree. Snap! Your head falls off and rolls all 1760over the ground. The instant before you croak, you hear the whoosh of 1761a vacuum being filled by the air surrounding your head. Worse yet, the 1762spider is suing you for damages. 1763% 1764As Zeus said to Narcissus, "Watch yourself." 1765% 1766ASHes to ASHes, DOS to DOS. 1767% 1768Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if 1769one went to Harvard). 1770 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 1771% 1772Ask not for whom the <CONTROL-G> tolls. 1773% 1774Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the 1775Station-to-Station rate. 1776% 1777Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls ... if thou art in the 1778bathtub, it tolls for thee. 1779% 1780Ask your boss to reconsider -- it's so difficult to take "Go to hell" 1781for an answer. 1782% 1783"Asked by reporters about his upcoming marriage to a forty-two-year-old 1784woman, director Roman Polanski told reporters, `The way I look at it, 1785she's the equivalent of three fourteen-year-olds.'" 1786 -- David Letterman 1787% 1788Ass, n.: 1789 The masculine of "lass". 1790% 1791Associate with well-mannered persons and your manners will improve. 1792Run with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be 1793strengthened. Keep the company of bums and you will become a bum. 1794Hang around with rich people and you will end by picking up the check 1795and dying broke. 1796 -- Stanley Walker 1797% 1798"At a recent meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, a participant from Los 1799Angeles fainted from hyperoxygenation, and we had to hold his head 1800under the exhaust of a bus until he revived." 1801% 1802At any given moment, an arrow must be either where it is or where it is 1803not. But obviously it cannot be where it is not. And if it is where 1804it is, that is equivalent to saying that it is at rest. 1805 -- Zeno's paradox of the moving (still?) arrow 1806% 1807At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial 1808challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. 1809 -- The Washington Post Magazine, 9 June, 1985 1810% 1811At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial 1812challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. 1813 -- The Washington Post Magazine, June 9, 1985 1814% 1815... at least I thought I was dancing, 'til somebody stepped on my hand. 1816 -- J. B. White 1817% 1818"At least they're ___________EXPERIENCED incompetents" 1819% 1820At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his 1821thumb with a hammer. 1822 -- Marshall Lumsden 1823% 1824At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will 1825find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on 1826the computer. 1827% 1828Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole 1829or street lamp. 1830% 1831Atlee is a very modest man. And with reason. 1832 -- Winston Churchill 1833% 1834Authors (and perhaps columnists) eventually rise to the top of whatever 1835depths they were once able to plumb. 1836 -- Stanley Kaufman 1837% 1838Automobile, n.: 1839 A four-wheeled vehicle that runs up hills and down 1840pedestrians. 1841% 1842Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep. 1843 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1844% 1845Avoid reality at all costs. 1846% 1847"Avoid revolution or expect to get shot. Mother and I will grieve, but 1848we will gladly buy a dinner for the National Guardsman who shot you." 1849 -- Dr. Paul Williamson, father of a student entering 1850 school in the fall after the Kent State shootings 1851% 1852Bacchus, n.: 1853 A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for 1854getting drunk. 1855 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1856% 1857Bagbiter: 1858 1. n.; Equipment or program that fails, usually 1859intermittently. 2. adj.: Failing hardware or software. "This 1860bagbiting system won't let me get out of spacewar." Usage: verges on 1861obscenity. Grammatically separable; one may speak of "biting the 1862bag". Synonyms: LOSER, LOSING, CRETINOUS, BLETCHEROUS, BARFUCIOUS, 1863CHOMPER, CHOMPING. 1864% 1865Bagdikian's Observation: 1866 Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American 1867newspaper is like trying to play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on a 1868ukelele. 1869% 1870Baker's First Law of Federal Geometry: 1871 A block grant is a solid mass of money surrounded on all sides 1872by governors. 1873% 1874Ban the bomb. Save the world for conventional warfare. 1875% 1876Banectomy, n.: 1877 The removal of bruises on a banana. 1878 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1879% 1880Bank error in your favor. Collect $200. 1881% 1882Barach's Rule: 1883 An alcoholic is a person who drinks more than his own 1884physician. 1885% 1886Bare feet magnetize sharp metal objects so they point upward from the 1887floor -- especially in the dark. 1888% 1889Barometer, n.: 1890 An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we 1891are having. 1892 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1893% 1894Barth's Distinction: 1895 There are two types of people: those who divide people into two 1896types, and those who don't. 1897% 1898Baruch's Observation: 1899 If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 1900% 1901Baseball is a skilled game. It's America's game -- it, and high 1902taxes. 1903 -- Will Rogers 1904% 1905Basic is a high level languish. 1906APL is a high level anguish. 1907% 1908"BASIC is the Computer Science equivalent of `Scientific Creationism'." 1909% 1910Basic, n.: 1911 A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in 1912that those who have it will not admit it in polite company. 1913% 1914Bathquake, n.: 1915 The violent quake that rattles the entire house when the water 1916faucet is turned on to a certain point. 1917 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1918% 1919Be a better psychiatrist and the world will beat a psychopath to your 1920door. 1921% 1922BE ALERT!!!! (The world needs more lerts ...) 1923% 1924Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most Souls would scarcely 1925get your Feet wet. Fall not in Love, therefore: it will stick to your 1926face. 1927 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1928% 1929Be braver -- you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 1930% 1931Be careful of reading health books, you might die of a misprint. 1932 -- Mark Twain 1933% 1934Be different: conform. 1935% 1936Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so 1937get used to it. 1938% 1939Be security conscious -- National defense is at stake. 1940% 1941Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and 1942miss 1943 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1944% 1945Bees are very busy souls 1946They have no time for birth controls 1947And that is why in times like these 1948There are so many Sons of Bees. 1949% 1950 Before he became a hermit, Zarathud was a young Priest, and 1951took great delight in making fools of his opponents in front of his 1952followers. 1953 One day Zarathud took his students to a pleasant pasture and 1954there he confronted The Sacred Chao while She was contentedly grazing. 1955 "Tell me, you dumb beast," demanded the Priest in his 1956commanding voice, "why don't you do something worthwhile? What is your 1957Purpose in Life, anyway?" 1958 Munching the tasty grass, The Sacred Chao replied "MU". (The 1959Chinese ideogram for NO-THING.) 1960 Upon hearing this, absolutely nobody was enlightened. 1961 Primarily because nobody understood Chinese. 1962 -- Camden Benares, "Zen Without Zen Masters" 1963% 1964Before Xerox, five carbons were the maximum extension of anybody's 1965ego. 1966% 1967Begathon, n.: 1968 A multi-day event on public television, used to raise money so 1969you won't have to watch commercials. 1970% 1971Behold the warranty ... the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh 1972away. 1973% 1974Beifeld's Principle: 1975 The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and 1976receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression when he is 1977already in the company of: (1) a date, (2) his wife, (3) a better 1978looking and richer male friend. 1979% 1980"Being disintegrated makes me ve-ry an-gry!" <huff, huff> 1981% 1982"Being disintegrated makes me ve-ry an-gry!" <huff, huff> 1983% 1984Bell Labs Unix -- Reach out and grep someone. 1985% 1986Bennett's Laws of Horticulture: 1987 (1) Houses are for people to live in. 1988 (2) Gardens are for plants to live in. 1989 (3) There is no such thing as a houseplant. 1990% 1991"Benson, you are so free of the ravages of intelligence" 1992 -- Time Bandits 1993% 1994Besides the device, the box should contain: 1995 1996* Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING" 1997 1998* A plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and two 1999 club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns. 2000 2001YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram 2002cable. 2003 2004IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should turn to your 2005spouse and say: "Margaret, you know why this country can't make a car 2006that can get all the way through the drive-through at Burger King 2007without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody cares, that's 2008why." 2009 2010WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret. 2011 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2012% 2013Best of all is never to have been born. Second best is to die soon. 2014% 2015better !pout !cry 2016better watchout 2017lpr why 2018santa claus <north pole >town 2019 2020cat /etc/passwd >list 2021ncheck list 2022ncheck list 2023cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist 2024cat list | grep nice >giftlist 2025santa claus <north pole > town 2026 2027who | grep sleeping 2028who | grep awake 2029who | egrep 'bad|good' 2030for (goodness sake) { 2031 be good 2032} 2033% 2034Better dead than mellow. 2035% 2036Between 1950 and 1952, a bored weatherman, stationed north of Hudson 2037Bay, left a monument that neither government nor time can eradicate. 2038Using a bulldozer abandoned by the Air Force, he spent two years and 2039great effort pushing boulders into a single word. 2040 2041It can be seen from 10,000 feet, silhouetted against the snow. 2042Government officials exchanged memos full of circumlocutions (no Latin 2043equivalent exists) but failed to word an appropriation bill for the 2044destruction of this cairn, that wouldn't alert the press and embarrass 2045both Parliament and Party. 2046 2047It stands today, a monument to human spirit. If life exists on other 2048planets, this may be the first message received from us. 2049 -- The Realist, November, 1964. 2050% 2051"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not 2052tried it." 2053 -- Donald Knuth 2054% 2055Beware of computerized fortune-tellers! 2056% 2057Beware of low-flying butterflies. 2058% 2059Beware of Programmers who carry screwdrivers. 2060 -- Leonard Brandwein 2061% 2062Beware of self-styled experts: an ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a 2063drip under pressure. 2064% 2065"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and 2066finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of 2067murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by 2068their ignorance the hard way." 2069 -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle" 2070% 2071Beware of the Turing Tar-pit in which everything is possible but 2072nothing of interest is easy. 2073% 2074Binary, adj.: 2075 Possessing the ability to have friends of both sexes. 2076% 2077"Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same 2078thing as division." 2079% 2080Bipolar, adj.: 2081 Refers to someone who has homes in Nome, Alaska, and Buffalo, 2082New York 2083% 2084Birth, n.: 2085 The first and direst of all disasters. 2086 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2087% 2088Bizarreness is the essence of the exotic 2089% 2090Bizoos, n.: 2091 The millions of tiny individual bumps that make up a 2092basketball. 2093 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2094% 2095... bleakness ... desolation ... plastic forks ... 2096% 2097Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt. 2098% 2099Blessed are they who Go Around in Circles, for they Shall be Known as 2100Wheels. 2101% 2102BLISS is ignorance 2103% 2104Blood flows down one leg and up the other. 2105% 2106Blood is thicker than water, and much tastier. 2107% 2108Blore's Razor: 2109 Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is 2110funnier. 2111% 2112Board the windows, up your car insurance, and don't leave any booze in 2113plain sight. It's St. Patrick's day in Chicago again. The legend has 2114it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. In fact, he was 2115arrested for drunk driving. The snakes left because people kept 2116throwing up on them. 2117% 2118Boling's postulate: 2119 If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. 2120% 2121Bolub's Fourth Law of Computerdom: 2122 Project teams detest weekly progress reporting because it so 2123vividly manifests their lack of progress. 2124% 2125Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: 2126 Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. 2127% 2128BOO! We changed Coke again! BLEAH! BLEAH! 2129% 2130Boob's Law: 2131 You always find something in the last place you look. 2132% 2133Bore, n.: 2134 A guy who wraps up a two-minute idea in a two-hour vocabulary. 2135 -- Walter Winchell 2136% 2137Bore, n.: 2138 A person who talks when you wish him to listen. 2139 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2140% 2141Boren's Laws: 2142 (1) When in charge, ponder. 2143 (2) When in trouble, delegate. 2144 (3) When in doubt, mumble. 2145% 2146Boss, n.: 2147 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the Middle Ages 2148the words "boss" and "botch" were largely synonymous, except that boss, 2149in addition to meaning "a supervisor of workers" also meant "an 2150ornamental stud." 2151% 2152Boston State House is the hub of the Solar System. You couldn't pry 2153that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation 2154straightened out for a crowbar. 2155 -- O. W. Holmes 2156% 2157Boston, n.: 2158 Ludwig van Beethoven being jeered by 50,000 sports fans for 2159finishing second in the Irish jig competition. 2160% 2161Boy, life takes a long time to live. 2162 -- Steven Wright 2163% 2164Boy, n.: 2165 A noise with dirt on it. 2166% 2167Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least 2168when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. 2169 -- James Thurber 2170% 2171Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. 2172 -- Kin Hubbard 2173% 2174Brace yourselves. We're about to try something that borders on the 2175unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only 2176(gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn, but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend 2177to think of it as `Constructive Snottiness.' 2178 -- Mike Padlipsky, Foreword to "Elements of Networking 2179 Style" 2180% 2181Bradley's Bromide: 2182 If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a 2183committee -- that will do them in. 2184% 2185Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: 2186 When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more 2187easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger have 2188handled this?" 2189% 2190Brain fried -- Core dumped 2191% 2192Brain, n.: 2193 The apparatus with which we think that we think. 2194 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2195% 2196Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: 2197 To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of 2198error in an opponent. 2199 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2200% 2201Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, 2202since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. 2203 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2204% 2205Bride, n.: 2206 A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. 2207 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2208% 2209Bringing computers into the home won't change either one, but may 2210revitalize the corner saloon. 2211% 2212British Israelites: 2213 The British Israelites believe the white Anglo-Saxons of 2214Britain to be descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel deported by 2215Sargon of Assyria on the fall of Sumeria in 721 B.C. ... They further 2216believe that the future can be foretold by the measurements of the 2217Great Pyramid, which probably means it will be big and yellow and in 2218the hand of the Arabs. They also believe that if you sleep with your 2219head under the pillow a fairy will come and take all your teeth. 2220 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2221% 2222Broad-mindedness, n.: 2223 The result of flattening high-mindedness out. 2224% 2225Brontosaurus Principle: 2226 Organizations can grow faster than their brains can manage them 2227in relation to their environment and to their own physiology: when 2228this occurs, they are an endangered species. 2229 -- Thomas K. Connellan 2230% 2231Brook's Law: 2232 Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later 2233% 2234Brooke's Law: 2235 Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool 2236discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it 2237beyond recognition. 2238% 2239Bubble Memory, n.: 2240 A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's 2241intelligence. See also "vacuum tube". 2242% 2243Bucy's Law: 2244 Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. 2245% 2246Bug, n.: 2247 An aspect of a computer program which exists because the 2248programmer was thinking about Jumbo Jacks or stock options when s/he 2249wrote the program. 2250 2251Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed. 2252 -- Ray Simard 2253% 2254Bugs, pl. n.: 2255 Small living things that small living boys throw on small 2256living girls. 2257% 2258BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the 2259 outfit." 2260GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" 2261BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive..." 2262 -- Jay Ward 2263% 2264Bumper sticker: 2265 2266"All the parts falling off this car are of the very finest British 2267manufacture" 2268% 2269Bureaucrat, n.: 2270 A person who cuts red tape sideways. 2271 -- J. McCabe 2272% 2273Bureaucrat, n.: 2274 A politician who has tenure. 2275% 2276Bureaucrats cut red tape -- lengthwise. 2277% 2278Burn's Hog Weighing Method: 2279 (1) Get a perfectly symmetrical plank and balance it across a 2280 sawhorse. 2281 (2) Put the hog on one end of the plank. 2282 (3) Pile rocks on the other end until the plank is again 2283 perfectly balanced. 2284 (4) Carefully guess the weight of the rocks. 2285 -- Robert Burns 2286% 2287... But as records of courts and justice are admissible, it can 2288easily be proved that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed 2289and were a scourge to mankind. The evidence (including confession) 2290upon which certain women were convicted of witchcraft and executed was 2291without a flaw; it is still unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based 2292on it were sound in logic and in law. Nothing in any existing court 2293was ever more thoroughly proved than the charges of witchcraft and 2294sorcery for which so many suffered death. If there were no witches, 2295human testimony and human reason are alike destitute of value. 2296 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2297% 2298"But don't you worry, its for a cause -- feeding global corporations 2299paws." 2300% 2301"But I don't like Spam!!!!" 2302% 2303... But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human 2304intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as 2305we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues 2306that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding 2307of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard 2308example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- 2309makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing 2310whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a 2311finite or an infinite number. 2312 -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" 2313% 2314But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the 2315system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, 2316analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses. 2317 -- Bruce Leverett, "Register Allocation in Optimizing 2318 Compilers" 2319% 2320"But officer, I was only trying to gain enough speed so I could coast 2321to the nearest gas station." 2322% 2323But scientists, who ought to know 2324Assure us that it must be so. 2325Oh, let us never, never doubt 2326What nobody is sure about. 2327 -- Hilaire Belloc 2328% 2329But soft you, the fair Ophelia: 2330Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, 2331But get thee to a nunnery -- go! 2332 -- Mark "The Bard" Twain 2333% 2334But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who 2335was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal 2336education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 23371877, was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of 2338American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was 2339invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879, when he 2340invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant 2341adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends 2342electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the 2343electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant 2344part) sends it right back to the customer again. 2345 2346This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch 2347of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since 2348very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. 2349In fact the last year any new electricity was generated in the United 2350States was 1937; the electric companies have been merely re-selling it 2351ever since, which is why they have so much free time to apply for rate 2352increases. 2353 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 2354% 2355"But this has taken us far afield from interface, which is not a bad 2356place to be, since I particularly want to move ahead to the kludge. 2357Why do people have so much trouble understanding the kludge? What is a 2358kludge, after all, but not enough Ks, not enough ROMs, not enough RAMs, 2359poor quality interface and too few bytes to go around? Have I 2360explained yet about the bytes?" 2361% 2362... But we've only fondled the surface of that subject. 2363 -- Virginia Masters 2364% 2365"But what we need to know is, do people want nasally-insertable 2366computers?" 2367% 2368Buzz off, Banana Nose; Relieve mine eyes 2369Of hateful soreness, purge mine ears of corn; 2370Less dear than army ants in apple pies 2371Art thou, old prune-face, with thy chestnuts worn, 2372Dropt from thy peeling lips like lousy fruit; 2373Like honeybees upon the perfum'd rose 2374They suck, and like the double-breasted suit 2375Are out of date; therefore, Banana Nose, 2376Go fly a kite, thy welcome's overstayed; 2377And stem the produce of thy waspish wits: 2378Thy logick, like thy locks, is disarrayed; 2379Thy cheer, like thy complexion, is the pits. 2380Be off, I say; go bug somebody new, 2381Scram, beat it, get thee hence, and nuts to you. 2382% 2383By doing just a little every day, you can gradually let the task 2384completely overwhelm you. 2385% 2386"By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, 2387it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to 2388invent. (R. Emerson)" 2389 -- Quoted from a fortune cookie program 2390 (whose author claims, "Actually, stealing IS easier.") 2391 [to which I reply, "You think it's easy for me to 2392 misconstrue all these misquotations?!?"] 2393% 2394"By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began 2395to suspect 'Hungry' ..." 2396 -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side" 2397% 2398By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's, I 2399mean. 2400 -- Mark Twain 2401% 2402Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to 2403point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very 2404fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are 2405often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people 2406from point B are so keen to get there and what's so great about point B 2407that so many people from point A are so keen to get _____there. They often 2408wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell 2409they wanted to be. 2410 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 2411% 2412C, n.: 2413 A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more 2414like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or 2415anything else. It is either the best language available to the art 2416today, or it isn't. 2417 -- Ray Simard 2418% 2419Cabbage, n.: 2420 A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as 2421a man's head. 2422 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2423% 2424"Cable is not a luxury, since many areas have poor TV reception." 2425 -- The mayor of Tucson, Arizona, 1989 2426% 2427Cahn's Axiom: 2428 When all else fails, read the instructions. 2429% 2430California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange. 2431 -- Fred Allen 2432% 2433California, n.: 2434 From Latin "calor", meaning "heat" (as in English "calorie" or 2435Spanish "caliente"); and "fornia'" for "sexual intercourse" or 2436"fornication." Hence: Tierra de California, "the land of hot sex." 2437 -- Ed Moran 2438% 2439Call on God, but row away from the rocks. 2440 -- Indian proverb 2441% 2442"Calling J-Man Kink. Calling J-Man Kink. Hash missile sighted, target 2443Los Angeles. Disregard personal feelings about city and intercept." 2444% 2445"Calvin Coolidge looks as if he had been weaned on a pickle." 2446 -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth 2447% 2448"Calvin Coolidge was the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth 2449Corner, Vermont." 2450 -- Clarence Darrow 2451% 2452Campus sidewalks never exist as the straightest line between two 2453points. 2454 -- M. M. Johnston 2455% 2456Canada Bill Jone's Motto: 2457 It's morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money. 2458 2459Supplement: 2460 A .44 magnum beats four aces. 2461% 2462Canada Post doesn't really charge 32 cents for a stamp. It's 2 cents 2463for postage and 30 cents for storage. 2464 -- Gerald Regan, Cabinet Minister, 12/31/83 Financial 2465 Post 2466% 2467Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain? 2468Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes, 2469A root or two, a torus and a node: 2470The inverse of my verse, a null domain. 2471 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2472% 2473CANCER (June 21 - July 22) 2474 You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's 2475problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things 2476off. That's why you'll never make anything of yourself. Most welfare 2477recipients are Cancer people. 2478% 2479Canonical, adj.: 2480 The usual or standard state or manner of something. A true 2481story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some 2482annoyance at the use of jargon. Over his loud objections, we made a 2483point of using jargon as much as possible in his presence, and 2484eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used 2485the word "canonical" in jargon-like fashion without thinking. 2486 Steele: "Aha! We've finally got you talking jargon too!" 2487 Stallman: "What did he say?" 2488 Steele: "He just used `canonical' in the canonical way." 2489% 2490CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19) 2491 You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do 2492much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any 2493importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as 2494they take root and become trees. 2495% 2496Captain Penny's Law: 2497 You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of 2498the people all of the time, but you Can't Fool Mom. 2499% 2500Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than 2501expected. Carefully planned projects take four times longer to 2502complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their 2503planning to reduce the time it takes. 2504% 2505Carmel, New York, has an ordinance forbidding men to wear coats and 2506trousers that don't match. 2507% 2508Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun), n.: 2509 The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a 2510dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then 2511putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. 2512 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2513% 2514Cat, n.: 2515 Lapwarmer with built-in buzzer. 2516% 2517Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education. 2518 -- Mark Twain 2519% 2520Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. 2521% 2522CChheecckk yyoouurr dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh.. 2523% 2524Cecil, you're my final hope 2525Of finding out the true Straight Dope 2526For I have been reading of Schrodinger's cat 2527But none of my cats are at all like that. 2528This unusual animal (so it is said) 2529Is simultaneously alive and dead! 2530What I don't understand is just why he 2531Can't be one or the other, unquestionably. 2532My future now hangs in between eigenstates. 2533In one I'm enlightened, in the other I ain't. 2534If *you* understand, Cecil, then show me the way 2535And rescue my psyche from quantum decay. 2536But if this queer thing has perplexed even you, 2537Then I will *___and* I won't see you in Schrodinger's zoo. 2538 -- Randy F., Chicago, "The Straight Dope, a compendium 2539 of human knowledge" by Cecil Adams 2540% 2541Celebrate Hannibal Day this year. Take an elephant to lunch. 2542% 2543Celestial navigation is based on the premise that the Earth is the 2544center of the universe. The premise is wrong, but the navigation 2545works. An incorrect model can be a useful tool. 2546 -- Kelvin Throop III 2547% 2548Census Taker to Housewife: Did you ever have the measles, and, if so, 2549how many? 2550% 2551Cerebus: I'd love to lick apricot brandy out of your navel. 2552Jaka: Look, Cerebus-- Jaka has to tell you ... something 2553Cerebus: If Cerebus had a navel, would you lick apricot brandy 2554 out of it? 2555Jaka: Ugh! 2556Cerebus: You don't like apricot brandy? 2557 -- Cerebus #6, "The Secret" 2558% 2559Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long 2560walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They 2561then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy 2562health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, 2563not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find 2564only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the 2565others who have tried it. 2566 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2567% 2568Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, but it's very funny-- 2569 Did you ever try buying them without money? 2570 -- Ogden Nash 2571% 2572 Chapter 1 2573 2574The story so far: 2575 2576 In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot 2577of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. 2578% 2579Character Density, n.: 2580 The number of very weird people in the office. 2581% 2582Checkuary, n.: 2583 The thirteenth month of the year. Begins New Year's Day and 2584ends when a person stops absentmindedly writing the old year on his 2585checks. 2586% 2587Chef, n.: 2588 Any cook who swears in French. 2589% 2590Chemicals, n.: 2591 Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. 2592% 2593Chemistry is applied theology. 2594 -- Augustus Stanley Owsley III 2595% 2596Chicago law prohibits eating in a place that is on fire. 2597% 2598Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #36: 2599 Never ever ask the tough looking gentleman wearing El Rukn 2600headgear where he got his "pyramid powered pizza warmer". 2601 -- Chicago Reader 3/27/81 2602% 2603Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #84: 2604 The CTA has complimentary pop-up timers available on request 2605for overheated passengers. When your timer pops up, the driver will 2606cheerfully baste you. 2607 -- Chicago Reader 5/28/82 2608% 2609Chicago, n.: 2610 Where the dead still vote ... early and often! 2611% 2612Chicken Little only has to be right once. 2613% 2614Chicken Little was right. 2615% 2616Chicken Soup, n.: 2617 An ancient miracle drug containing equal parts of aureomycin, 2618cocaine, interferon, and TLC. The only ailment chicken soup can't cure 2619is neurotic dependence on one's mother. 2620 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 2621% 2622Children are natural mimic who act like their parents despite every 2623effort to teach them good manners. 2624% 2625Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're 2626going to catch you in next. 2627 -- Franklin P. Jones 2628% 2629Children aren't happy without something to ignore, 2630And that's what parents were created for. 2631 -- Ogden Nash 2632% 2633Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for 2634word what you shouldn't have said. 2635% 2636Chism's Law of Completion: 2637 The amount of time required to complete a government project is 2638precisely equal to the length of time already spent on it. 2639% 2640Chisolm's First Corollary to Murphy's Second Law: 2641 When things just can't possibly get any worse, they will. 2642% 2643Chivalry, Schmivalry! 2644 Roger the thief has a 2645 method he uses for 2646 sneaky attacks: 2647Folks who are reading are 2648 Characteristically 2649 Always Forgetting to 2650 Guard their own bac ... 2651% 2652Christ: 2653 A man who was born at least 5,000 years ahead of his time. 2654% 2655Churchill's Commentary on Man: 2656 Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the 2657time he will pick himself up and continue on. 2658% 2659Cigarette, n.: 2660 A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in 2661between. 2662% 2663Cinemuck, n.: 2664 The combination of popcorn, soda, and melted chocolate which 2665covers the floors of movie theaters. 2666 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2667% 2668Clairvoyant, n.: 2669 A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that 2670which is invisible to her patron -- namely, that he is a blockhead. 2671 -- Ambrose Bierce 2672% 2673Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like 2674shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. 2675 -- Phyllis Diller 2676% 2677Cleanliness is next to impossible. 2678% 2679Cleveland still lives. God ____must be dead. 2680% 2681"Cleveland? Yes, I spent a week there one day." 2682% 2683Cloning is the sincerest form of flattery. 2684% 2685Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on 2686society. 2687 -- Mark Twain 2688% 2689COBOL programs are an exercise in Artificial Inelegance. 2690% 2691Cocaine -- the thinking man's Dristan. 2692% 2693Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- 2694"I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." 2695 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2696% 2697"Cogito ergo I'm right and you're wrong." 2698 -- Blair Houghton 2699% 2700Coincidence, n.: 2701 You weren't paying attention to the other half of what was 2702going on. 2703% 2704Coincidences are spiritual puns. 2705 -- G. K. Chesterton 2706% 2707Cold, adj.: 2708 When the local flashers are handing out written descriptions. 2709% 2710Cold, adj.: 2711 When the politicians walk around with their hands in their own 2712pockets. 2713% 2714Collaboration, n.: 2715 A literary partnership based on the false assumption that the 2716other fellow can spell. 2717% 2718College football is a game which would be much more interesting if the 2719faculty played instead of the students, and even more interesting if 2720the trustees played. There would be a great increase in broken arms, 2721legs, and necks, and simultaneously an appreciable diminution in the 2722loss to humanity. 2723 -- H. L. Mencken 2724% 2725Colvard's Logical Premises: 2726 All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or it 2727 won't. 2728 2729Colvard's Unconscionable Commentary: 2730 This is especially true when dealing with someone you're 2731 attracted to. 2732 2733Grelb's Commentary 2734 Likelihoods, however, are 90% against you. 2735% 2736Come, every frustum longs to be a cone, 2737And every vector dreams of matrices. 2738Hark to the gentle gradient of the breeze: 2739It whispers of a more ergodic zone. 2740 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2741% 2742Come, let us hasten to a higher plane, 2743Where dyads tread the fairy fields of Venn, 2744Their indices bedecked from one to _n, 2745Commingled in an endless Markov chain! 2746 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2747% 2748Command, n.: 2749 Statement presented by a human and accepted by a computer in 2750such a manner as to make the human feel as if he is in control. 2751% 2752 COMMENT 2753 2754Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, 2755A medley of extemporanea; 2756And love is thing that can never go wrong; 2757And I am Marie of Roumania. 2758 -- Dorothy Parker 2759% 2760Commitment, n.: 2761 Commitment can be illustrated by a breakfast of ham and eggs. 2762The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. 2763% 2764Committee Rules: 2765 (1) Never arrive on time, or you will be stamped a beginner. 2766 (2) Don't say anything until the meeting is half over; this 2767 stamps you as being wise. 2768 (3) Be as vague as possible; this prevents irritating the 2769 others. 2770 (4) When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed. 2771 (5) Be the first to move for adjournment; this will make you 2772 popular -- it's what everyone is waiting for. 2773% 2774Committee, n.: 2775 A group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group 2776decide that nothing can be done. 2777 -- Fred Allen 2778% 2779Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to 2780be appointed to do the work. 2781% 2782Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at 2783different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. 2784 -- Clive James 2785% 2786Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius. 2787 -- Josh Billings 2788% 2789Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. 2790 -- Albert Einstein 2791% 2792Comparing information and knowledge is like asking whether the fatness 2793of a pig is more or less green than the designated hitter rule." 2794 -- David Guaspari 2795% 2796Computer programmers do it byte by byte 2797% 2798Computer Science is merely the post-Turing decline in formal systems 2799theory. 2800% 2801Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. 2802% 2803Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. 2804 -- Pablo Picasso 2805% 2806Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in 2807the world that just don't add up. 2808% 2809Computers will not be perfected until they can compute how much more 2810than the estimate the job will cost. 2811% 2812Conceit causes more conversation than wit. 2813 -- LaRouchefoucauld 2814% 2815Concept, n.: 2816 Any "idea" for which an outside consultant billed you more than 2817$25,000. 2818% 2819... [concerning quotation marks] even if we *___did* quote anybody in this 2820business, it probably would be gibberish. 2821 -- Thom McLeod 2822% 2823Condense soup, not books! 2824% 2825Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is 2826good for dandruff. 2827 -- Peter de Vries 2828% 2829Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the 2830situation. 2831% 2832Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that 2833would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that 2834you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer 2835maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS 2836OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY 2837UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED 2838IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD 2839WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER AND 2840SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, 2841RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, 2842RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE 2843FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? 2844 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2845% 2846Connector Conspiracy, n: 2847 [probably came into prominence with the appearance of the 2848KL-10, none of whose connectors match anything else] The tendency of 2849manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of anything) 2850to come up with new products which don't fit together with the old 2851stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff or expensive 2852interface devices. 2853% 2854Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. 2855 -- H. L. Mencken 2856% 2857Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking 2858 -- H. L. Mencken 2859% 2860Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. 2861% 2862Conscious is when you are aware of something and conscience is when you 2863wish you weren't. 2864% 2865"Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich." 2866 -- "Ali Baba Bunny" [1957, Chuck Jones] 2867% 2868Consultants are mystical people who ask a company for a number and then 2869give it back to them. 2870% 2871"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and 2872if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" 2873 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 2874% 2875"Contrary to popular belief, penguins are not the salvation of modern 2876technology. Neither do they throw parties for the urban proletariat." 2877% 2878Conversation, n.: 2879 A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath 2880is called the listener. 2881% 2882Conway's Law: 2883 In any organization there will always be one person who knows 2884 what is going on. 2885 2886 This person must be fired. 2887% 2888Coronation, n.: 2889 The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outward and 2890visible signs of his divine right to be blown skyhigh with a dynamite 2891bomb. 2892 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2893% 2894Corrupt, adj.: 2895 In politics, holding an office of trust or profit. 2896% 2897Corrupt, stupid grasping functionaries will make at least as big a 2898muddle of socialism as stupid, selfish and acquisitive employers can 2899make of capitalism. 2900 -- Walter Lippmann 2901% 2902Corruption is not the #1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job 2903is to enforce the law and fight crime. 2904 -- P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan 2905% 2906Court, n.: 2907 A place where they dispense with justice. 2908 -- Arthur Train 2909% 2910Coward, n.: 2911 One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. 2912 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2913% 2914Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with 2915nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month. 2916 -- Wernher von Braun 2917% 2918Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. 2919 -- A. E. Newman 2920% 2921Critic, n.: 2922 A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries 2923to please him. 2924 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2925% 2926Croll's Query: 2927 If tin whistles are made of tin, what are foghorns made of? 2928% 2929cursor address, n: 2930 "Hello, cursor!" 2931 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 2932% 2933"Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It 2934eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the 2935business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." 2936 -- Johnny Hart 2937% 2938"Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It 2939eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the 2940business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation." 2941 -- Johnny Hart 2942% 2943Cynic, n.: 2944 A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not 2945as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking 2946out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. 2947 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2948% 2949Cynic, n.: 2950 One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced 2951eye. 2952% 2953Dare to be naive. 2954 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 2955% 2956Darth Vader sleeps with a Teddywookie. 2957% 2958Dave Mack: "Your stupidity, Allen, is simply not up to par." 2959Allen Gwinn: "Yours is." 2960% 2961Dawn, n.: 2962 The time when men of reason go to bed. 2963 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2964% 2965Day of inquiry. You will be subpoenaed. 2966% 2967%DCL-MEM-BAD, bad memory 2968VMS-F-PDGERS, pudding between the ears 2969% 2970Dealing with failure is easy: work hard to improve. Success is also 2971easy to handle: you've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to 2972improve. 2973% 2974Dear Lord: 2975 I just want *___one* one-armed manager so I never have to hear "On 2976the other hand", again. 2977% 2978Dear Miss Manners: 2979 My home economics teacher says that one must never place one's 2980elbows on the table. However, I have read that one elbow, in between 2981courses, is all right. Which is correct? 2982 2983Gentle Reader: 2984 For the purpose of answering examinations in your home 2985economics class, your teacher is correct. Catching on to this 2986principle of education may be of even greater importance to you now 2987than learning correct current table manners, vital as Miss Manners 2988believes that is. 2989% 2990Dear Miss Manners: 2991 Please list some tactful ways of removing a man's saliva from 2992your face. 2993 2994Gentle Reader: 2995 Please list some decent ways of acquiring a man's saliva on 2996your face ... 2997% 2998Dear Mister Language Person: I am curious about the expression, "Part 2999of this complete breakfast". The way it comes up is, my 5-year-old 3000will be watching TV cartoon shows in the morning, and they'll show a 3001commercial for a children's compressed breakfast compound such as 3002"Froot Loops" or "Lucky Charms", and they always show it sitting on a 3003table next to some actual food such as eggs, and the announcer always 3004says: "Part of this complete breakfast". Don't that really mean, 3005"Adjacent to this complete breakfast", or "On the same table as this 3006complete breakfast"? And couldn't they make essentially the same claim 3007if, instead of Froot Loops, they put a can of shaving cream there, or a 3008dead bat? 3009 3010Answer: Yes. 3011 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 3012% 3013Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe? 3014 3015Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business 3016signs to alert the reader than an "S" is coming up at the end of a 3017word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR 3018ANY ITEM'S. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when 3019creating hand- lettered small-business signs is that you should put 3020quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT 3021DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S. 3022 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 3023% 3024Death is God's way of telling you not to be such a wise guy. 3025% 3026Death is life's way of telling you you've been fired. 3027 -- R. Geis 3028% 3029Death is Nature's way of recycling human beings. 3030% 3031"Death is nature's way of saying `Howdy'". 3032% 3033Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down 3034% 3035Death is only a state of mind. 3036 3037Only it doesn't leave you much time to think about anything else. 3038% 3039Death to all fanatics! 3040% 3041Decision maker, n.: 3042 The person in your office who was unable to form a task force 3043before the music stopped. 3044% 3045Decisions of the judges will be final unless shouted down by a really 3046overwhelming majority of the crowd present. Abusive and obscene 3047language may not be used by contestants when addressing members of the 3048judging panel, or, conversely, by members of the judging panel when 3049addressing contestants (unless struck by a boomerang). 3050 -- Mudgeeraba Creek Emu-Riding and Boomerang-Throwing 3051 Assoc. 3052% 3053 Deck Us All With Boston Charlie 3054 3055Deck us all with Boston Charlie, 3056Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! 3057Nora's freezin' on the trolley, 3058Swaller dollar cauliflower, alleygaroo! 3059 3060Don't we know archaic barrel, 3061Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou. 3062Trolley Molly don't love Harold, 3063Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo! 3064 -- Walt Kelly 3065% 3066"Deep" is a word like "theory" or "semantic" -- it implies all sorts of 3067marvelous things. It's one thing to be able to say "I've got a 3068theory", quite another to say "I've got a semantic theory", but, ah, 3069those who can claim "I've got a deep semantic theory", they are truly 3070blessed. 3071 -- Randy Davis 3072% 3073default, n.: 3074 [Possibly from Black English "De fault wid dis system is you, 3075mon."] The vain attempt to avoid errors by inactivity. "Nothing will 3076come of nothing: speak again." -- King Lear. 3077 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 3078% 3079#define BITCOUNT(x) (((BX_(x)+(BX_(x)>>4)) & 0x0F0F0F0F) % 255) 3080#define BX_(x) ((x) - (((x)>>1)&0x77777777) \ 3081 - (((x)>>2)&0x33333333) \ 3082 - (((x)>>3)&0x11111111)) 3083 3084 -- really weird C code to count the number of bits in a word 3085% 3086 DELETE A FORTUNE! 3087 3088Don't some of these fortunes just drive you nuts?! Wouldn't you like 3089to see some of them deleted from the system? You can! Just mail to 3090"fortune" with the fortune you hate most, and we MIGHT make sure it 3091gets expunged. 3092% 3093Deliberation, n.: 3094 The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is 3095buttered on. 3096 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3097% 3098"Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow." 3099% 3100Demand the establishment of the government 3101in its rightful home at Disneyland. 3102% 3103Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than 3104we deserve. 3105 -- George Bernard Shaw 3106% 3107Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder 3108aloud what the country could do under first-class management. 3109 -- Senator Soaper 3110% 3111Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the 3112incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. 3113 -- G. B. Shaw 3114% 3115Democracy is a government where you can say what you think even if you 3116don't think. 3117% 3118Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by 3119Jackasses. 3120 -- H. L. Mencken 3121% 3122Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse. 3123 -- Jawaharlal Nehru 3124% 3125Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people 3126are right more than half of the time. 3127 -- E. B. White 3128% 3129Democracy, n.: 3130 A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass 3131meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. 3132Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. 3133Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, 3134whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, 3135prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. 3136Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy. 3137 -- U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), 3138 since withdrawn. 3139% 3140Demographic polls show that you have lost credibility across the 3141board. Especially with those 14 year-old Valley girls. 3142% 3143Dentist, n.: 3144 A Prestidigitator who, putting metal in one's mouth, pulls 3145coins out of one's pockets. 3146 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3147% 3148Despising machines to a man, 3149The Luddites joined up with the Klan, 3150 And ride out by night 3151 In a sheeting of white 3152To lynch all the robots they can. 3153 -- C. M. and G. A. Maxson 3154% 3155Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will 3156be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over 3157the table. 3158 -- The Anarchist Cookbook 3159% 3160 DETERIORATA 3161 3162Go placidly amid the noise and waste, 3163And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. 3164Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. 3165Rotate your tires. 3166Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, 3167And heed well their advice -- even though they be turkeys. 3168Know what to kiss -- and when. 3169Remember that two wrongs never make a right, 3170But that three do. 3171Wherever possible, put people on "HOLD". 3172Be comforted, that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment, 3173And despite the changing fortunes of time, 3174There is always a big future in computer maintenance. 3175 3176 You are a fluke of the universe ... 3177 You have no right to be here. 3178 Whether you can hear it or not, the universe 3179 Is laughing behind your back. 3180 -- National Lampoon 3181% 3182DeVries's Dilemma: 3183 If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want 3184hits the paper. 3185% 3186Did I say 2? I lied. 3187% 3188Did you know ... 3189 3190That no-one ever reads these things? 3191% 3192Did you know that clones never use mirrors? 3193 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3194% 3195Did you know that if you took all the economists in the world and lined 3196them up end to end, they'd still point in the wrong direction? 3197% 3198Did you know that the voice tapes easily identify the Russian pilot 3199that shot down the Korean jet? At one point he definitely states: 3200 3201 "Natasha! First we shoot jet, then we go after moose and 3202 squirrel." 3203 3204 -- ihuxw!tommyo 3205% 3206Die, v.: 3207 To stop sinning suddenly. 3208 -- Elbert Hubbard 3209% 3210"Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a 3211conventional thing to happen to him." 3212 -- John Barrymore's dying words 3213% 3214Different all twisty a of in maze are you, passages little. 3215% 3216Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable term. 3217Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. 3218% 3219Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. 3220% 3221Disc space -- the final frontier! 3222% 3223Disclaimer: "These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be 3224yours too." 3225 -- Dave Haynie 3226% 3227Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above views and those of my 3228employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely 3229coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is 3230non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the 3231absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. 3232The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for 3233the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, 3234non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.) 3235% 3236Disco is to music what Etch-A-Sketch is to art. 3237% 3238Distinctive, adj.: 3239 A different color or shape than our competitors. 3240% 3241Distress, n.: 3242 A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. 3243 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3244% 3245District of Columbia pedestrians who leap over passing autos to escape 3246injury, and then strike the car as they come down, are liable for any 3247damage inflicted on the vehicle. 3248% 3249Do infants have as much fun in infancy as adults do in adultery? 3250% 3251Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? 3252% 3253Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. 3254% 3255Do not drink coffee in early a.m. It will keep you awake until noon. 3256% 3257Do not meddle in the affairs of troff, for it is subtle and quick to 3258anger. 3259% 3260"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good 3261with ketchup." 3262% 3263Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. 3264Violators will be prosecuted. 3265(Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.)) 3266% 3267Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight. 3268% 3269Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to dread each 3270day as it comes. 3271 -- Donald Kaul 3272% 3273Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. 3274% 3275Do what comes naturally now. Seethe and fume and throw a tantrum. 3276% 3277Do you have lysdexia? 3278% 3279Do you realize how many holes there could be if people would just take 3280the time to take the dirt out of them? 3281% 3282"Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" 3283"Of course it's wrong! It's illegal!" 3284"I've never done anything illegal before." 3285"I thought you said you were an accountant!" 3286% 3287Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and 3288when it is bad, it is better than nothing. 3289 -- Dick Brandon 3290% 3291Documentation is the castor oil of programming. Managers know it must 3292be good because the programmers hate it so much. 3293% 3294Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? 3295% 3296Don't abandon hope: your Tom Mix decoder ring arrives tomorrow. 3297% 3298Don't be humble ... you're not that great. 3299 -- Golda Meir 3300% 3301Don't believe everything you hear or anything you say. 3302% 3303Don't change the reason, just change the excuses! 3304 -- Joe Cointment 3305% 3306"Don't come back until you have him", the Tick-Tock Man said quietly, 3307sincerely, extremely dangerously. 3308 3309They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardio plate crossoffs. 3310They used teepers. They used bribery. They used stick tites. They 3311used intimidation. They used torment. They used torture. They used 3312finks. They used cops. They used search and seizure. They used 3313fallaron. They used betterment incentives. They used finger prints. 3314They used the bertillion system. They used cunning. They used guile. 3315They used treachery. They used Raoul-Mitgong but he wasn't much help. 3316They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology. And 3317what the hell, they caught him. 3318 3319 -- Harlan Ellison, "Repent, Harlequin, said the 3320 Tick-Tock Man" 3321% 3322Don't cook tonight -- starve a rat today! 3323% 3324Don't feed the bats tonight. 3325% 3326Don't get even -- get odd! 3327% 3328Don't get suckered in by the comments -- they can be terribly 3329misleading. Debug only code. 3330 -- Dave Storer 3331% 3332"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes 3333you nothing. It was here first." 3334 -- Mark Twain 3335% 3336Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while. 3337% 3338Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon. 3339% 3340Don't hit a man when he's down -- kick him; it's easier. 3341% 3342Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today. 3343% 3344Don't knock President Fillmore. He kept us out of Vietnam. 3345% 3346Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking 3347distance. 3348% 3349Don't let your mind wander -- it's too little to be let out alone. 3350% 3351Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you. 3352% 3353Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy 3354it today you can do it again tomorrow. 3355% 3356"Don't say yes until I finish talking." 3357 -- Darryl F. Zanuck 3358% 3359Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete successfully in business. 3360Cheat. 3361 -- Ambrose Bierce 3362% 3363Don't suspect your friends -- turn them in! 3364 -- "Brazil" 3365% 3366Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. 3367 -- Walt Kelly 3368% 3369Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out of it alive. 3370% 3371Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective. 3372% 3373"Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends -- tell me where to 3374get more wax!!" 3375% 3376Don't worry about avoiding temptation -- as you grow older, it starts 3377avoiding you. 3378 -- The Old Farmer's Almanac 3379% 3380"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any 3381good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats." 3382 -- Howard Aiken 3383% 3384Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already 3385tomorrow in Australia. 3386 -- Charles Schultz 3387% 3388Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too 3389busy worrying over what you are thinking about them. 3390% 3391Don't you feel more like you do now than you did when you came in? 3392% 3393Don: I didn't know you had a cousin Penelope, Bill! Was she 3394 pretty? 3395W. C.: Well, her face was so wrinkled it looked like seven miles of 3396 bad road. She had so many gold teeth, Don, she use to have to 3397 sleep with her head in a safe. She died in Bolivia. 3398Don: Oh Bill, it must be hard to lose a relative. 3399W. C.: It's almost impossible. 3400 -- W. C. Fields, from "The Further Adventures of Larson 3401 E. Whipsnade and other Tarradiddles" 3402% 3403 Double Bucky 3404 (Sung to the tune of "Rubber Duckie") 3405 3406Double bucky, you're the one! 3407You make my keyboard lots of fun 3408 Double bucky, an additional bit or two: 3409(Vo-vo-de-o!) 3410Control and Meta side by side, 3411Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide! 3412 Double bucky, a half a thousand glyphs, plus a few! 3413 3414Double bucky, left and right 3415OR'd together, outta sight! 3416 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of 3417 Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of 3418 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you! 3419 3420 -- (C) 1978 by Guy L. Steele, Jr. 3421% 3422Double-Blind Experiment, n.: 3423 An experiment in which the chief researcher believes he is 3424fooling both the subject and the lab assistant. Often accompanied by a 3425belief in the tooth fairy. 3426% 3427Down with categorical imperative! 3428% 3429"Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing." 3430% 3431Drew's Law of Highway Biology: 3432 The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front 3433of your eyes. 3434% 3435Drink Canada Dry! You might not succeed, but it *__is* fun trying. 3436% 3437Drive defensively. Buy a tank. 3438% 3439Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic 3440route! 3441% 3442Ducharme's Axiom: 3443 If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize 3444yourself as part of the problem. 3445% 3446Ducharme's Precept: 3447 Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. 3448% 3449Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and 3450it holds the universe together ... 3451 -- Carl Zwanzig 3452% 3453Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders 3454has been discontinued. 3455% 3456Due to circumstances beyond your control, you are master of your fate 3457and captain of your soul. 3458% 3459Due to lack of disk space, this fortune database has been 3460discontinued. 3461% 3462 During a grouse hunt in North Carolina two intrepid sportsmen 3463were blasting away at a clump of trees near a stone wall. Suddenly a 3464red-faced country squire popped his head over the wall and shouted, 3465"Hey, you almost hit my wife." 3466 "Did I?" cried the hunter, aghast. "Terribly sorry. Have a 3467shot at mine, over there." 3468% 3469During the next two hours, the system will be going up and down several 3470times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4k**n~po_~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o 3471% 3472"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have 3473nothing whatever to do with it." 3474 -- W. Somerset Maugham 3475% 3476E Pluribus Unix 3477% 3478Eagleson's Law: 3479 Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more 3480months, might as well have been written by someone else. (Eagleson is 3481an optimist, the real number is more like three weeks.) 3482% 3483Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends 3484% 3485/earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. 3486% 3487Earth is a beta site. 3488% 3489"Earth is a great, big funhouse without the fun." 3490 -- Jeff Berner 3491% 3492Easiest Color to Solve on a Rubik's Cube: 3493 Black. Simply remove all the little colored stickers on the 3494cube, and each of side of the cube will now be the original color of 3495the plastic underneath -- black. According to the instructions, this 3496means the puzzle is solved. 3497 -- Steve Rubenstein 3498% 3499 Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal. 3500% 3501"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may work." 3502% 3503Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. 3504 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 3505% 3506Economics, n.: 3507 Economics is the study of the value and meaning of J. K. 3508Galbraith ... 3509 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3510% 3511Economists can certainly disappoint you. One said that the economy 3512would turn up by the last quarter. Well, I'm down to mine and it 3513hasn't. 3514 -- Robert Orben 3515% 3516Economists state their GNP growth projections to the nearest tenth of a 3517percentage point to prove they have a sense of humor. 3518 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 3519% 3520Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent. 3521 -- Fred Allen 3522% 3523Education is the process of casting false pearls before real swine. 3524 -- Irsin Edman 3525% 3526Eeny, Meeny, Jelly Beanie, the spirits are about to speak! 3527 -- Bullwinkle Moose 3528% 3529Eggheads unite! You have nothing to lose but your yolks. 3530 -- Adlai Stevenson 3531% 3532Eggnog is a traditional holiday drink invented by the English. Many 3533people wonder where the word "eggnog" comes from. The first syllable 3534comes from the English word "egg", meaning "egg". I don't know where 3535the "nog" comes from. 3536 3537To make eggnog, you'll need rum, whiskey, wine gin and, if they are in 3538season, eggs... 3539% 3540Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain 3541of being a damned fool. 3542 -- Bellamy Brooks 3543% 3544Egotist, n.: 3545 A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. 3546 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3547% 3548Ehrman's Commentary: 3549 (1) Things will get worse before they get better. 3550 (2) Who said things would get better? 3551% 3552Eighty percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees. 3553 -- Ronald Reagan, famous movie star 3554% 3555Eleanor Rigby 3556 Sits at the keyboard 3557 And waits for a line on the screen 3558Lives in a dream 3559Waits for a signal 3560 Finding some code 3561 That will make the machine do some more. 3562What is it for? 3563 3564All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3565All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3566% 3567Electrical Engineers do it with less resistance. 3568% 3569 Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles, 3570called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you 3571have been drinking. Electrons travel at the speed of light, which in 3572most American homes is 110 volts per hour. This is very fast. In the 3573time it has taken you to read this sentence so far, an electron could 3574have traveled all the way from San Francisco to Hackensack, New Jersey, 3575although God alone knows why it would want to. 3576 The five main kinds of electricity are alternating current, 3577direct current, lightning, static, and European. Most American homes 3578have alternating current, which means that the electricity goes in one 3579direction for a while, then goes in the other direction. This prevents 3580harmful electron buildup in the wires. 3581 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 3582% 3583Electrocution, n.: 3584 Burning at the stake with all the modern improvements. 3585% 3586Elevators smell different to midgets 3587% 3588Emerson's Law of Contrariness: 3589 Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we 3590can. Having found them, we shall then hate them for it. 3591% 3592Encyclopedia Salesmen: 3593 Invite them all in. Nip out the back door. Phone the police 3594and tell them your house is being burgled. 3595 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3596% 3597Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless. 3598Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop. 3599 -- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary 3600% 3601Entropy isn't what it used to be. 3602% 3603Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which 3604otherwise require harder thinking. 3605 -- Jerome Lettvin 3606% 3607Epperson's law: 3608 When a man says it's a silly, childish game, it's probably 3609something his wife can beat him at. 3610% 3611Equal bytes for women. 3612% 3613Error in operator: add beer 3614% 3615Es brilig war. Die schlichte Toven 3616 Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben; 3617Und aller-m"umsige Burggoven 3618 Dir mohmen R"ath ausgraben. 3619 -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" 3620% 3621Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. 3622 -- Woody Allen 3623% 3624Etymology, n.: 3625 Some early etymological scholars came up with derivations that 3626were hard for the public to believe. The term "etymology" was formed 3627from the Latin "etus" ("eaten"), the root "mal" ("bad"), and "logy" 3628("study of"). It meant "the study of things that are hard to swallow." 3629 -- Mike Kellen 3630% 3631Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to 3632speak it to? 3633 -- Clarence Darrow 3634% 3635"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit 3636there." 3637 -- Will Rogers 3638% 3639"Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral." 3640 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 3641% 3642Even though they raised the rate for first class mail in the United 3643States we really shouldn't complain -- it's still only two cents a 3644day. 3645% 3646Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you 3647just how busy they are. 3648% 3649Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to understand what, 3650exactly, make people laugh. That's why they were called "wise men." 3651All the other prehistoric people were out puncturing each other with 3652spears, and the wise men were back in the cave saying: "How about: 3653Would you please take my wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please 3654take her right now. No How about: Would you like to take something? 3655My wife is available. No. How about ..." 3656 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 3657% 3658Every absurdity has a champion who will defend it. 3659% 3660Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to punt. 3661% 3662Every four seconds a woman has a baby. Our problem is to find this 3663woman and stop her. 3664% 3665"Every group has a couple of experts. And every group has at least one 3666idiot. Thus are balance and harmony (and discord) maintained. It's 3667sometimes hard to remember this in the bulk of the flamewars that all 3668of the hassle and pain is generally caused by one or two 3669highly-motivated, caustic twits." 3670 -- Chuq Von Rospach, about Usenet 3671% 3672Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired 3673signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not 3674fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not 3675spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the 3676genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way 3677of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is 3678humanity hanging on a cross of iron. 3679 -- Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953 3680% 3681Every Horse has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation): 3682 3683Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs, and in 3684front they have fore-legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an 3685odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both even 3686and odd is infinity. Therefore, horses have an infinite number of 3687legs. Now to show this for the general case, suppose that somewhere, 3688there is a horse that has a finite number of legs. But that is a horse 3689of another color, and by the [above] lemma ["All horses are the same 3690color"], that does not exist. 3691% 3692Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible. 3693 -- Frank Moore Colby 3694% 3695Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. 3696% 3697Every little picofarad has a nanohenry all its own. 3698 -- Don Vonada 3699% 3700"Every man has his price. Mine is $3.95." 3701% 3702Every man is as God made him, ay, and often worse. 3703 -- Miguel de Cervantes 3704% 3705"Every morning, I get up and look through the 'Forbes' list of the 3706richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work" 3707 -- Robert Orben 3708% 3709Every nonzero finite dimensional inner product space has an orthonormal basis. 3710 3711It makes sense, when you don't think about it. 3712% 3713Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one 3714instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every 3715program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work. 3716% 3717Every program has two purposes -- one for which it was written and 3718another for which it wasn't. 3719% 3720Every program is a part of some other program, and rarely fits. 3721% 3722Every solution breeds new problems. 3723% 3724Every successful person has had failures but repeated failure is no 3725guarantee of eventual success. 3726% 3727"Every time I think I know where it's at, they move it." 3728% 3729Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness. 3730 -- Beckett 3731% 3732Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. 3733 -- Dykstra 3734% 3735Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. 3736% 3737Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be 3738taught how ___not to. So it is with the great programmers. 3739% 3740Everyone is a genius. It's just that some people are too stupid to 3741realize it. 3742% 3743Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic 3744formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the 3745scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact 3746wholly unconcerned with what ____does exist. Indeed, the banality of 3747existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to 3748discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the 3749problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the 3750mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, 3751one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely 3752different way ... 3753 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 3754% 3755Everyone talks about apathy, but no one ____does anything about it. 3756% 3757Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, 3758no one we know belongs. 3759% 3760Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being 3761that a belch is more satisfying. 3762 -- Ingmar Bergman 3763% 3764Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. 3765% 3766Everything you know is wrong! 3767% 3768Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less 3769obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no 3770solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. 3771There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no 3772straight lines. 3773 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 3774% 3775 Excellence is THE trend of the '80s. Walk into any shopping 3776mall bookstore, go to the rack where they keep the best-sellers such as 3777"Garfield Gets Spayed", and you'll see a half-dozen books telling you 3778how to be excellent: "In Search of Excellence", "Finding Excellence", 3779"Grasping Hold of Excellence", "Where to Hide Your Excellence at Night 3780So the Cleaning Personnel Don't Steal It", etc. 3781 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 3782% 3783Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike office water cooler. 3784% 3785Excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator. 3786% 3787Excellent day to have a rotten day. 3788% 3789Excellent time to become a missing person. 3790% 3791Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from 3792acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. 3793 -- W. Somerset Maugham 3794% 3795Excessive login or logout messages are a sure sign of senility. 3796% 3797Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do 3798the work. 3799 -- John G. Pollard 3800% 3801Expect the worst, it's the least you can do. 3802% 3803Expense Accounts, n.: 3804 Corporate food stamps. 3805% 3806Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 3807 -- Olivier 3808% 3809Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake 3810when you make it again. 3811 -- F. P. Jones 3812% 3813Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and 3814the instruction afterward. 3815% 3816Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old 3817ones. 3818% 3819Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. 3820% 3821Experience varies directly with equipment ruined. 3822% 3823Expert, n.: 3824 Someone who comes from out of town and shows slides. 3825% 3826Extract from Official Sweepstakes Rules: 3827 3828 NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE 3829 3830To claim your prize without purchase, do the following: (a) Carefully 3831cut out your computer-printed name and address from upper right hand 3832corner of the Prize Claim Form. (b) Affix computer-printed name and 3833address -- with glue or cellophane tape (no staples or paper clips) -- 3834to a 3x5 inch index card. (c) Also cut out the "No" paragraph (lower 3835left hand corner of Prize Claim Form) and affix it to the 3x5 card 3836below your address label. (d) Then print on your 3x5 card, above your 3837computer-printed name and address the words "CARTER & VAN PEEL 3838SWEEPSTAKES" (Use all capital letters.) (e) Finally place 3x5 card 3839(without bending) into a plain envelope [NOTE: do NOT use the the 3840Official Prize Claim and CVP Perfume Reply Envelope or you may be 3841disqualified], and mail to: CVP, Box 1320, Westbury, NY 11595. Print 3842this address correctly. Comply with above instructions carefully and 3843completely or you may be disqualified from receiving your prize. 3844% 3845F u cn rd ths u cnt spl wrth a dm! 3846% 3847f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd. 3848% 3849f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng. 3850% 3851F: When into a room I plunge, I 3852 Sometimes find some VIOLET FUNGI. 3853 Then I linger, darkly brooding 3854 On the poison they're exuding. 3855 -- The Roguelet's ABC 3856% 3857Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. 3858% 3859Fairy Tale, n.: 3860 A horror story to prepare children for the newspapers. 3861% 3862Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic 3863without looking to see whether the seeds move. 3864% 3865Faith, n: 3866 That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be 3867untrue. 3868% 3869Fakir, n: 3870 A psychologist whose charismatic data have inspired almost 3871religious devotion in his followers, even though the sources seem to 3872have shinnied up a rope and vanished. 3873% 3874Familiarity breeds attempt 3875% 3876Families, when a child is born 3877Want it to be intelligent. 3878I, through intelligence, 3879Having wrecked my whole life, 3880Only hope the baby will prove 3881Ignorant and stupid. 3882Then he will crown a tranquil life 3883By becoming a Cabinet Minister 3884 -- Su Tung-p'o 3885% 3886Famous last words: 3887% 3888Famous last words: 3889 (1) "Don't worry, I can handle it." 3890 (2) "You and what army?" 3891 (3) "If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be 3892 a cop." 3893% 3894Famous last words: 3895 (1) Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix. 3896 (2) Let's take the shortcut, he can't see us from there. 3897 (3) What happens if you touch these two wires tog-- 3898 (4) We won't need reservations. 3899 (5) It's always sunny there this time of the year. 3900 (6) Don't worry, it's not loaded. 3901 (7) They'd never (be stupid enough to) make him a manager. 3902% 3903Famous, adj.: 3904 Conspicuously miserable. 3905 -- Ambrose Bierce 3906% 3907Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the 3908Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. 3909Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an 3910utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life 3911forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches 3912are a pretty neat idea ... 3913 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 3914% 3915Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it 3916every six months. 3917 -- Oscar Wilde 3918% 3919Fats Loves Madelyn 3920% 3921Feel disillusioned? I've got some great new illusions ... 3922% 3923Fertility is hereditary. If your parents didn't have any children, 3924neither will you. 3925% 3926 Festivity Level 1: Your guests are chatting amiably with each 3927other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around 3928the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling hors 3929d'oeuvres. 3930 Festivity Level 2: Your guests are talking loudly -- sometimes 3931to each other, and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your 3932Christmas-tree ornaments, singing "I Gotta Be Me" around the upright 3933piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d'oeuvres. 3934 Festivity Level 3: Your guests are arguing violently with 3935inanimate objects, singing "I can't get no satisfaction," gulping down 3936other peoples' drinks, wolfing down Christmas tree ornaments and 3937placing hors d'oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when 3938the little hammers strike. 3939 Festivity Level 4: Your guests, hors d'oeuvres smeared all over 3940their naked bodies are performing a ritual dance around the burning 3941Christmas tree. The piano is missing. 3942 3943 You want to keep your party somewhere around level 3, unless 3944you rent your home and own Firearms, in which case you can go to level 39454. The best way to get to level 3 is egg-nog. 3946% 3947Fifth Law of Applied Terror: 3948 If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. 3949 3950Corollary: 3951 If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you 3952live. 3953% 3954Fifth Law of Procrastination: 3955 Procrastination avoids boredom; one never has the feeling that 3956there is nothing important to do. 3957% 3958Fifty flippant frogs 3959Walked by on flippered feet 3960And with their slime they made the time 3961Unnaturally fleet. 3962% 3963 FIGHTING WORDS 3964 3965Say my love is easy had, 3966 Say I'm bitten raw with pride, 3967Say I am too often sad -- 3968 Still behold me at your side. 3969 3970Say I'm neither brave nor young, 3971 Say I woo and coddle care, 3972Say the devil touched my tongue -- 3973 Still you have my heart to wear. 3974 3975But say my verses do not scan, 3976 And I get me another man! 3977 -- Dorothy Parker 3978% 3979Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited by statute in Barber, North 3980Carolina. 3981% 3982Finagle's Creed: 3983 Science is true. Don't be misled by facts. 3984% 3985Finagle's First Law: 3986 If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. 3987% 3988Finagle's fourth Law: 3989 Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes 3990it worse. 3991% 3992Finagle's Second Law: 3993 No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be 3994someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it 3995happened according to his own pet theory. 3996% 3997Finagle's Third Law: 3998 In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct, 3999 beyond all need of checking, is the mistake 4000 4001Corollaries: 4002 (1) Nobody whom you ask for help will see it. 4003 (2) The first person who stops by, whose advice you really 4004 don't want to hear, will see it immediately. 4005% 4006Finding out what goes on in the C.I.A. is like performing acupuncture 4007on a rock. 4008 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 4009% 4010Fine day to throw a party. Throw him as far as you can. 4011% 4012Fine day to work off excess energy. Steal something heavy. 4013% 4014Fine's Corollary: 4015 Functionality breeds Contempt. 4016% 4017Finish the sentence below in 25 words or less: 4018 4019 "Love is what you feel just before you give someone a good ..." 4020 4021Mail your answer along with the top half of your supervisor to: 4022 4023 P.O. Box 35 4024 Baffled Greek, Michigan 4025% 4026First Corollary of Taber's Second Law: 4027 Machines that piss people off get murdered. 4028 -- Pat Taber 4029% 4030First Law of Bicycling: 4031 No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the 4032wind. 4033% 4034First Law of Procrastination: 4035 Procrastination shortens the job and places the responsibility 4036for its termination on someone else (i.e., the authority who imposed 4037the deadline). 4038% 4039First Law of Socio-Genetics: 4040 Celibacy is not hereditary. 4041% 4042First Rule of History: 4043 History doesn't repeat itself -- historians merely repeat each 4044other. 4045% 4046"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order" 4047 -- The Doctor, "Doctor Who" 4048% 4049First, a few words about tools. 4050 4051Basically, a tool is an object that enables you to take advantage of 4052the laws of physics and mechanics in such a way that you can seriously 4053injure yourself. Today, people tend to take tools for granted. If 4054you're ever walking down the street and you notice some people who look 4055particularly smug, the odds are that they are taking tools for 4056granted. If I were you, I'd walk right up and smack them in the face. 4057 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 4058% 4059Five is a sufficiently close approximation to infinity. 4060 -- Robert Firth 4061% 4062Flappity, floppity, flip 4063The mouse on the m"obius strip; 4064 The strip revolved, 4065 The mouse dissolved 4066In a chronodimensional skip. 4067% 4068FLASH! Intelligence of mankind decreasing. Details at ... uh, when 4069the little hand is on the .... 4070% 4071Flon's Law: 4072 There is not now, and never will be, a language in which it is 4073the least bit difficult to write bad programs. 4074% 4075Florence Flask was ... dressing for the opera when she turned to her 4076husband and screamed, "Erlenmeyer! My joules! Someone has stolen my 4077joules!" 4078 4079"Now, now, my dear," replied her husband, "keep your balance and reflux 4080a moment. Perhaps they're mislead." 4081 4082"No, I know they're stolen," cried Florence. "I remember putting them 4083in my burette ... We must call a copper." 4084 4085Erlenmeyer did so, and the flatfoot who turned up, one Sherlock Ohms, 4086said the outrage looked like the work of an arch-criminal by the name 4087of Lawrence Ium. 4088 4089"We must be careful -- he's a free radical, ultraviolet, and 4090dangerous. His girlfriend is a chlorine at the Palladium. Maybe I can 4091catch him there." With that, he jumped on his carbon cycle in an 4092activated state and sped off along the reaction pathway ... 4093 -- Daniel B. Murphy, "Precipitations" 4094% 4095flowchart, n. & v.: 4096 [From flow "to ripple down in rich profusion, as hair" + chart 4097"a cryptic hidden-treasure map designed to mislead the uninitiated."] 40981. n. The solution, if any, to a class of Mascheroni construction 4099problems in which given algorithms require geometrical representation 4100using only the 35 basic ideograms of the ANSI template. 2. n. Neronic 4101doodling while the system burns. 3. n. A low-cost substitute for 4102wallpaper. 4. n. The innumerate misleading the illiterate. "A 4103thousand pictures is worth ten lines of code." -- The Programmer's 4104Little Red Vade Mecum, Mao Tse T'umps. 5. v.intrans. To produce 4105flowcharts with no particular object in mind. 6. v.trans. To obfuscate 4106(a problem) with esoteric cartoons. 4107 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 4108% 4109Flugg's Law: 4110 When you need to knock on wood is when you realize that the 4111world is composed of vinyl, naugahyde and aluminum. 4112% 4113Flying saucers on occasion 4114 Show themselves to human eyes. 4115Aliens fume, put off invasion 4116 While they brand these tales as lies. 4117% 4118Fog Lamps, n.: 4119 Excessively (often obnoxiously) bright lamps mounted on the 4120fronts of automobiles; used on dry, clear nights to indicate that the 4121driver's brain is in a fog. 4122 4123See also "Idiot Lights". 4124% 4125Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing. 4126 -- Walt Kelly, "Putluck Pogo" 4127% 4128For 20 dollars, I'll give you a good fortune next time ... 4129% 4130For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a 4131cat. 4132% 4133"For an adequate time call 555-3321" 4134% 4135For an idea to be fashionable is ominous, since it must afterwards be 4136always old-fashioned. 4137% 4138For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, 4139and wrong. 4140 -- H. L. Mencken 4141% 4142For every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill. 4143 -- R. Clopton 4144% 4145 "For I perceive that behind this seemingly unrelated sequence 4146of events, there lurks a singular, sinister attitude of mind." 4147 4148 "Whose?" 4149 4150 "MINE! HA-HA!" 4151% 4152For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two. 4153% 4154For my son, Robert, this is proving to be the high-point of his entire 4155life to date. He has had his pajamas on for two, maybe three days 4156now. He has the sense of joyful independence a 5-year-old child gets 4157when he suddenly realizes that he could be operating an acetylene torch 4158in the coat closet and neither parent [because of the flu] would have 4159the strength to object. He has been foraging for his own food, which 4160means his diet consists entirely of "food" substances which are 4161advertised only on Saturday-morning cartoon shows; substances that are 4162the color of jukebox lights and that, for legal reasons, have their 4163names spelled wrong, as in New Creemy Chok-'n'-Cheez Lumps o' Froot 4164("part of this complete breakfast"). 4165 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 4166% 4167For perfect happiness, remember two things: 4168 (1) Be content with what you've got. 4169 (2) Be sure you've got plenty. 4170% 4171For some reason a glaze passes over people's faces when you say 4172"Canada". Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something. 4173 -- Sandra Gotlieb, wife of the Canadian ambassador to 4174 the U.S. 4175% 4176For some reason, this fortune reminds everyone of Marvin Zelkowitz. 4177% 4178"For that matter, compare your pocket computer with the massive jobs of 4179a thousand years ago. Why not, then, the last step of doing away with 4180computers altogether?" 4181 -- Jehan Shuman 4182% 4183For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they 4184like. 4185 -- Abraham Lincoln 4186% 4187"For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but 4188phone calls taper off." 4189 -- Johnny Carson 4190% 4191For years a secret shame destroyed my peace -- 4192I'd not read Eliot, Auden or MacNiece. 4193But now I think a thought that brings me hope: 4194Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope. 4195 -- Justin Richardson. 4196% 4197For your penance, say five Hail Marys and one loud BLAH! 4198% 4199Forgetfulness, n.: 4200 A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their 4201destitution of conscience. 4202% 4203Forms follow function, and often obliterate it. 4204% 4205FORTUNE DISCUSSES THE OBSCURE FILMS! #6 4206 4207RAZORBACK: Paul Harbride, 1984, 2 hours 25 min. 4208 One of the great Australian films of the early 1980's, and 4209 arguably the best movie ever made about a large, man-eating 4210 hog. Some violence. With Gregory Harrison. 4211% 4212fortune's Contribution of the Month to the Animal Rights Debate: 4213 4214 I'll stay out of animals' way if they'll stay out of mine. 4215 "Hey you, get off my plate" 4216 -- Roger Midnight 4217% 4218Fortune's Fictitious Country Song Title of the Week: 4219 "How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?" 4220% 4221Fortune's graffito of the week (or maybe even month): 4222 4223 Don't Write On Walls! 4224 4225 (and underneath) 4226 4227 You want I should type? 4228% 4229Fortune's Law of the Week (this week, from Kentucky): 4230 No female shall appear in a bathing suit at any airport in this 4231State unless she is escorted by two officers or unless she is armed 4232with a club. The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females 4233weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it 4234apply to female horses. 4235% 4236Fortune's nomination for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful 4237Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an 4238impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to "expand oyster and 4239clam research," a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following 4240exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan. 4241 4242DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are 4243 having to artificially propagate oysters and clams. 4244HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature's oysters? 4245DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter 4246 is that female oysters through their living habits cast out 4247 large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large 4248 amounts of fertilization ... 4249HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many 4250 teenagers who read The Congressional Record. 4251% 4252Fortune's Office Door Sign of the Week: 4253 4254 Incorrigible punster -- Do not incorrige. 4255% 4256FORTUNE'S PARTY TIPS #14 4257 4258Tired of finding that other people are helping themselves to your good 4259liquor at BYOB parties? Take along a candle, which you insert and 4260light after you've opened the bottle. No one ever expects anything 4261drinkable to be in a bottle which has a candle stuck in its neck. 4262% 4263Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #18: 4264 4265Q: Are you married? 4266A: No, I'm divorced. 4267Q: And what did your husband do before you divorced him? 4268A: A lot of things I didn't know about. 4269% 4270Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #19: 4271 4272Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? 4273A: All my autopsies have been performed on dead people. 4274% 4275Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #29: 4276 4277THE JUDGE: Now, as we begin, I must ask you to banish all present 4278 information and prejudice from your minds, if you have 4279 any ... 4280% 4281Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #32: 4282 4283Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are right now? 4284A: I will be three months November 8th. 4285Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was August 8th? 4286A: Yes. 4287Q: What were you and your husband doing at that time? 4288% 4289Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #37: 4290 4291Q: Did he pick the dog up by the ears? 4292A: No. 4293Q: What was he doing with the dog's ears? 4294A: Picking them up in the air. 4295Q: Where was the dog at this time? 4296A: Attached to the ears. 4297% 4298Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #3: 4299 4300Q: When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were 4301 able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to 4302 go, gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with 4303 him to the station? 4304MR. BROOKS: Objection. That question should be taken out and shot. 4305% 4306Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #41: 4307 4308Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? 4309A: By death. 4310Q: And by whose death was it terminated? 4311% 4312Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #52: 4313 4314Q: What is your name? 4315A: Ernestine McDowell. 4316Q: And what is your marital status? 4317A: Fair. 4318% 4319Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #7: 4320 4321Q: What happened then? 4322A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify 4323 me." 4324Q: Did he kill you? 4325A: No. 4326% 4327fortune: cpu time/usefulness ratio too high -- core dumped. 4328% 4329Fortune: You will be attacked next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. by six samuri 4330sword wielding purple fish glued to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 4331 4332Oh, and have a nice day! 4333 -- Bryce Nesbitt '84 4334% 4335Fourth Law of Applied Terror: 4336 The night before the English History mid-term, your Biology 4337instructor will assign 200 pages on planaria. 4338 4339Corollary: 4340 Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do 4341except study for that instructor's course. 4342% 4343Fourth Law of Revision: 4344 It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about 4345interferences -- if you have none, someone will make one for you. 4346% 4347Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: If the probability of success is not 4348almost one, it is damn near zero. 4349 -- David Ellis 4350% 4351Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a 4352policeman's tie. 4353% 4354Fresco's Discovery: 4355 If you knew what you were doing you'd probably be bored. 4356% 4357Friends, Romans, Hipsters, 4358Let me clue you in; 4359I come to put down Caesar, not to groove him. 4360The square kicks some cats are on stay with them; 4361The hip bits, like, go down under; so let it lay with Caesar. The cool Brutus 4362Gave you the message: Caesar had big eyes; 4363If that's the sound, someone's copping a plea, 4364And, like, old Caesar really set them straight. 4365Here, copacetic with Brutus and the studs, -- for Brutus is a real cool cat; 4366So are they all, all cool cats, -- 4367Come I to make this gig at Caesar's laying down. 4368% 4369Frisbeetarianism, n.: 4370 The belief that when you die, your soul goes up the on roof and 4371gets stuck. 4372% 4373Frobnicate, v.: 4374 To manipulate or adjust, to tweak. Derived from FROBNITZ. 4375Usually abbreviated to FROB. Thus one has the saying "to frob a 4376frob". See TWEAK and TWIDDLE. Usage: FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK 4377sometimes connote points along a continuum. FROB connotes aimless 4378manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse 4379search for a proper setting; TWEAK connotes fine-tuning. If someone is 4380turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it 4381he is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the 4382screen he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because 4383turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. 4384% 4385Frobnitz, pl. Frobnitzem (frob'nitsm) n.: 4386 An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers to 4387electronic black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated to 4388FROTZ, or more commonly to FROB. Also used are FROBNULE, FROBULE, and 4389FROBNODULE. Starting perhaps in 1979, FROBBOZ (fruh-bahz'), pl. 4390FROBBOTZIM, has also become very popular, largely due to its exposure 4391via the Adventure spin-off called Zork (Dungeon). These can also be 4392applied to non-physical objects, such as data structures. 4393% 4394[From an announcement of a congress of the International Ontopsychology 4395Association, in Rome]: 4396 4397The Ontopsychological school, availing itself of new research criteria 4398and of a new telematic epistemology, maintains that social modes do not 4399spring from dialectics of territory or of class, or of consumer goods, 4400or of means of power, but rather from dynamic latencies capillarized in 4401millions of individuals in system functions which, once they have 4402reached the event maturation, burst forth in catastrophic phenomenology 4403engaging a suitable stereotype protagonist or duty marionette (general, 4404president, political party, etc.) to consummate the act of social 4405schizophrenia in mass genocide. 4406% 4407From the "Guiness Book of World Records", 1973: 4408 4409Certain passages in several laws have always defied interpretation and 4410the most inexplicable must be a matter of opinion. A judge of the 4411Court of Session of Scotland has sent the editors of this book his 4412candidate which reads, "In the Nuts (unground), (other than ground 4413nuts) Order, the expression nuts shall have reference to such nuts, 4414other than ground nuts, as would but for this amending Order not 4415qualify as nuts (unground)(other than ground nuts) by reason of their 4416being nuts (unground)." 4417% 4418From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down I was 4419convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it. 4420 -- Groucho Marx, from "The Book of Insults" 4421% 4422[From the operation manual for the CI-300 Dot Matrix Line Printer, made 4423in Japan]: 4424 4425The excellent output machine of MODEL CI-300 as extraordinary DOT 4426MATRIX LINE PRINTER, built in two MICRO-PROCESSORs as well as EAROM, is 4427featured by permitting wonderful co-existence such as; "high quality 4428against low cost", "diversified functions with compact design", 4429"flexibility in accessibleness and durability of approx. 2000,000,00 4430Dot/Head", "being sophisticated in mechanism but possibly agile 4431operating under noises being extremely suppressed" etc. 4432 4433And as a matter of course, the final goal is just simply to help 4434achieve "super shuttle diplomacy" between cool data, perhaps earned by 4435HOST COMPUTER, and warm heart of human being. 4436% 4437From the Pro 350 Pocket Service Guide, p. 49, Step 5 of the 4438instructions on removing an I/O board from the card cage, comes a new 4439experience in sound: 4440 4441 5. Turn the handle to the right 90 degrees. The pin-spreading 4442 sound is normal for this type of connector. 4443% 4444From too much love of living, 4445From hope and fear set free, 4446We thank with brief thanksgiving, 4447Whatever gods may be, 4448That no life lives forever, 4449That dead men rise up never, 4450That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea. 4451 -- Swinburne 4452% 4453Fuch's Warning: 4454 If you actually look like your passport photo, you aren't well 4455enough to travel. 4456% 4457Fudd's First Law of Opposition: 4458 Push something hard enough and it will fall over. 4459% 4460Furbling, v.: 4461 Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank 4462even when you are the only person in line. 4463 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4464% 4465Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. 4466 -- H. H. Williams 4467% 4468Future looks spotty. You will spill soup in late evening. 4469% 4470G. B. Shaw to William Douglas Home: "Go on writing plays, my boy. One 4471of these days a London producer will go into his office and say to his 4472secretary, `Is there a play from Shaw this morning?' and when she says 4473`No,' he will say, `Well, then we'll have to start on the rubbish.' And 4474that's your chance, my boy." 4475% 4476Garbage In -- Gospel Out. 4477% 4478Garter, n.: 4479 An elastic band intended to keep a woman from coming out of her 4480stockings and desolating the country. 4481 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4482% 4483Gauls! We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall 4484on our heads tomorrow. But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!! 4485 -- Adventures of Asterix. 4486% 4487Gay shlafen: Yiddish for "go to sleep". 4488 4489 Now doesn't "gay shlafen" have a softer, more soothing sound 4490than the harsh, staccato "go to sleep"? Listen to the difference: 4491 "Go to sleep, you little wretch!" ... "Gay shlafen, darling." 4492Obvious, isn't it? 4493 Clearly the best thing you can do for you children is to start 4494speaking Yiddish right now and never speak another word of English as 4495long as you live. This will, of course, entail teaching Yiddish to all 4496your friends, business associates, the people at the supermarket, and 4497so on, but that's just the point. It has to start with committed 4498individuals and then grow ... 4499 Some minor adjustments will have to be made, of course: those 4500signs written in what look like Yiddish letters won't be funny when 4501everything is written in Yiddish. And we'll have to start driving on 4502the left side of the road so we won't be reading the street signs 4503backwards. But is that too high a price to pay for world peace? I 4504think not, my friend, I think not. 4505 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4506% 4507 "Gee, Mudhead, everyone at More Science High has an 4508extracurricular activity except you." 4509 "Well, gee, doesn't Louise count?" 4510 "Only to ten, Mudhead." 4511 4512 -- Firesign Theater 4513% 4514"Gee, Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore." 4515% 4516GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) 4517 You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you 4518because you are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much 4519for too little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for 4520committing incest. 4521% 4522GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20) 4523 Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while 4524you can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy praise 4525and respect from those around you; everybody loves a sucker. A short 4526trip is in the stars, possibly to the men's room. 4527% 4528Genderplex, n.: 4529 The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to 4530determine his or her designated restroom (e.g., turtles and 4531tortoises). 4532 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4533% 4534Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why 4535you should. 4536% 4537Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus 4538handicapped. 4539 -- Elbert Hubbard 4540% 4541Genius, n.: 4542 A chemist who discovers a laundry additive that rhymes with 4543"bright". 4544% 4545George Orwell 1984. Northwestern 0. 4546 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 4547% 4548George Orwell was an optimist. 4549% 4550George Washington was first in war, first in peace -- and the first to 4551have his birthday juggled to make a long weekend. 4552 -- Ashley Cooper 4553% 4554Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics: 4555 (1) An object in motion will always be headed in the wrong 4556 direction. 4557 (2) An object at rest will always be in the wrong place. 4558 (3) The energy required to change either one of these states 4559 will always be more than you wish to expend, but never so 4560 much as to make the task totally impossible. 4561% 4562Get forgiveness now -- tomorrow you may no longer feel guilty. 4563% 4564 Get GUMMed 4565 --- ------ 4566The Gurus of Unix Meeting of Minds (GUMM) takes place Wednesday, April 45671, 2076 (check THAT in your perpetual calendar program), 14 feet above 4568the ground directly in front of the Milpitas Gumps. Members will grep 4569each other by the hand (after intro), yacc a lot, smoke filtered 4570chroots in pipes, chown with forks, use the wc (unless uuclean), fseek 4571nice zombie processes, strip, and sleep, but not, we hope, od. Three 4572days will be devoted to discussion of the ramifications of whodo. Two 4573seconds have been allotted for a complete rundown of all the user- 4574friendly features of Unix. Seminars include "Everything You Know is 4575Wrong", led by Tom Kempson, "Batman or Cat:man?" led by Richie Dennis 4576"cc C? Si! Si!" led by Kerwin Bernighan, and "Document Unix, Are You 4577Kidding?" led by Jan Yeats. No Reader Service No. is necessary because 4578all GUGUs (Gurus of Unix Group of Users) already know everything we 4579could tell them. 4580 -- Dr. Dobb's Journal, June '84 4581% 4582Get Revenge! Live long enough to be a problem for your children! 4583% 4584 -- Gifts for Children -- 4585 4586This is easy. You never have to figure out what to get for children, 4587because they will tell you exactly what they want. They spend months 4588and months researching these kinds of things by watching Saturday- 4589morning cartoon-show advertisements. Make sure you get your children 4590exactly what they ask for, even if you disapprove of their choices. If 4591your child thinks he wants Murderous Bob, the Doll with the Face You 4592Can Rip Right Off, you'd better get it. You may be worried that it 4593might help to encourage your child's antisocial tendencies, but believe 4594me, you have not seen antisocial tendencies until you've seen a child 4595who is convinced that he or she did not get the right gift. 4596 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4597% 4598 -- Gifts for Men -- 4599 4600Men are amused by almost any idiot thing -- that is why professional 4601ice hockey is so popular -- so buying gifts for them is easy. But you 4602should never buy them clothes. Men believe they already have all the 4603clothes they will ever need, and new ones make them nervous. For 4604example, your average man has 84 ties, but he wears, at most, only 4605three of them. He has learned, through humiliating trial and error, 4606that if he wears any of the other 81 ties, his wife will probably laugh 4607at him ("You're not going to wear THAT tie with that suit, are you?"). 4608So he has narrowed it down to three safe ties, and has gone several 4609years without being laughed at. If you give him a new tie, he will 4610pretend to like it, but deep inside he will hate you. 4611 4612If you want to give a man something practical, consider tires. More 4613than once, I would have gladly traded all the gifts I got for a new set 4614of tires. 4615 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4616% 4617 Gimmie That Old Time Religion 4618We will follow Zarathustra, We will worship like the Druids, 4619Zarathustra like we use to, Dancing naked in the woods, 4620I'm a Zarathustra booster, Drinking strange fermented fluids, 4621And he's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! 4622 (chorus) (chorus) 4623 4624In the church of Aphrodite, 4625The priestess wears a see-through nightie, 4626She's a mighty righteous sightie, 4627And she's good enough for me! 4628 (chorus) 4629 4630CHORUS: Give me that old time religion, 4631 Give me that old time religion, 4632 Give me that old time religion, 4633 'Cause it's good enough for me! 4634% 4635Ginsberg's Theorem: 4636 (1) You can't win. 4637 (2) You can't break even. 4638 (3) You can't even quit the game. 4639 4640Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem: 4641 Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem 4642 meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's 4643 Theorem. To wit: 4644 4645 (1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win. 4646 (2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break 4647 even. 4648 (3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the 4649 game. 4650% 4651Give me a Plumber's friend the size of the Pittsburgh dome, and a place 4652to stand, and I will drain the world. 4653% 4654"Give me enough medals, and I'll win any war." 4655 -- Napoleon 4656% 4657Give me the Luxuries, and the Hell with the Necessities! 4658% 4659Give thought to your reputation. Consider changing name and moving to 4660a new town. 4661% 4662Give your child mental blocks for Christmas. 4663% 4664"Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying 4665around, I'd rather lie around. No contest." 4666 -- Eric Clapton 4667% 4668Giving up on assembly language was the apple in our Garden of Eden: 4669Languages whose use squanders machine cycles are sinful. The LISP 4670machine now permits LISP programmers to abandon bra and fig-leaf. 4671 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 4672% 4673Glib's Fourth Law of Unreliability: 4674 Investment in reliability will increase until it exceeds the 4675probable cost of errors, or until someone insists on getting some 4676useful work done. 4677% 4678Gnagloot, n.: 4679 A person who leaves all his ski passes on his jacket just to 4680impress people. 4681 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4682% 4683Go 'way! You're bothering me! 4684% 4685Go climb a gravity well! 4686% 4687Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what value there may 4688be in owning a piece thereof. 4689 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 4690% 4691//GO.SYSIN DD *, DOODAH, DOODAH 4692% 4693God did not create the world in seven days; he screwed around for six 4694days and then pulled an all-nighter. 4695% 4696God doesn't play dice. 4697 -- Albert Einstein 4698% 4699"God gives burdens; also shoulders" 4700 4701Jimmy Carter cited this Jewish saying in his concession speech at the 4702end of the 1980 election. At least he said it was a Jewish saying; I 4703can't find it anywhere. I'm sure he's telling the truth though; why 4704would he lie about a thing like that? 4705 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4706% 4707God has intended the great to be great and the little to be little ... 4708The trade unions, under the European system, destroy liberty ... I do 4709not mean to say that a dollar a day is enough to support a workingman 4710... not enough to support a man and five children if he insists on 4711smoking and drinking beer. But the man who cannot live on bread and 4712water is not fit to live! A family may live on good bread and water in 4713the morning, water and bread at midday, and good bread and water at 4714night! 4715 -- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 4716% 4717God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh. 4718% 4719God is a polytheist. 4720% 4721God is Dead 4722 -- Nietzsche 4723Nietzsche is Dead 4724 -- God 4725Nietzsche is God 4726 -- The Dead 4727% 4728God is not dead! He's alive and autographing bibles at Cody's 4729% 4730God is real, unless declared integer. 4731% 4732God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the 4733elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying 4734other things. 4735 -- Pablo Picasso 4736% 4737God is the tangential point between zero and infinity. 4738 -- Alfred Jarry 4739% 4740God isn't dead, he just couldn't find a parking place. 4741% 4742God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man. 4743% 4744God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board 4745 -- Mark Twain 4746% 4747God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. 4748 -- Kronecker 4749% 4750God made the world in six days, and was arrested on the seventh. 4751% 4752God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean. 4753 -- Albert Einstein 4754% 4755God must love the Common Man; He made so many of them. 4756% 4757God rest ye CS students now, 4758Let nothing you dismay. 4759The VAX is down and won't be up, 4760Until the first of May. 4761The program that was due this morn, 4762Won't be postponed, they say. 4763 4764 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 4765 Comfort and joy, 4766 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 4767 4768The bearings on the drum are gone, 4769The disk is wobbling, too. 4770We've found a bug in Lisp, and Algol 4771Can't tell false from true. 4772And now we find that we can't get 4773At Berkeley's 4.2. 4774 4775 (chorus) 4776% 4777Going to church does not make a person religious, nor does going to 4778school make a person educated, any more than going to a garage makes a 4779person a car. 4780% 4781Gold, n.: 4782 A soft malleable metal relatively scarce in distribution. It 4783is mined deep in the earth by poor men who then give it to rich men who 4784immediately bury it back in the earth in great prisons, although gold 4785hasn't done anything to them. 4786 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 4787% 4788Goldenstern's Rules: 4789 (1) Always hire a rich attorney 4790 (2) Never buy from a rich salesman. 4791% 4792Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad 4793example. 4794 -- La Rouchefoucauld 4795% 4796Good day for a change of scene. Repaper the bedroom wall. 4797% 4798Good day for overcoming obstacles. Try a steeplechase. 4799% 4800Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to school. 4801% 4802Good day to let down old friends who need help. 4803% 4804Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed. 4805% 4806Good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance. 4807% 4808Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. 4809% 4810Good night to spend with family, but avoid arguments with your mate's 4811new lover. 4812% 4813"Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored." 4814 -- George Saunders' dying words 4815% 4816Gordon's first law: 4817 If a research project is not worth doing, it is not worth doing 4818well. 4819% 4820"Gosh that takes me back ... or forward. That's the trouble with time 4821travel, you never can tell." 4822 -- Dr. Who 4823% 4824Gosh that takes me back... or is it forward? That's the trouble with 4825time travel, you never can tell." 4826 -- Doctor Who "Androids of Tara" 4827% 4828Got Mole problems? 4829Call Avogardo 6.02 x 10^23 4830% 4831Goto, n.: 4832 A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers 4833to complain about unstructured programmers. 4834 -- Ray Simard 4835% 4836Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage. 4837 -- John Updike, "Couples" 4838% 4839Government lies, and newspapers lie, but in a democracy they are 4840different lies. 4841% 4842Government spending? I don't know what it's all about. I don't know 4843any more about this thing than an economist does, and, God knows, he 4844doesn't know much. 4845 -- Will Rogers 4846% 4847Grabel's Law: 4848 2 is not equal to 3 -- not even for large values of 2. 4849% 4850Graduate life -- it's not just a job, it's an indenture. 4851% 4852Graduate life: It's not just a job. It's an indenture. 4853% 4854Grandpa Charnock's Law: 4855 You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. 4856% 4857Gravity is a myth, the Earth sucks. 4858% 4859Gray's Law of Programming: 4860 `_n+1' trivial tasks are expected to be accomplished in the same 4861time as `_n' tasks. 4862 4863Logg's Rebuttal to Gray's Law: 4864 `_n+1' trivial tasks take twice as long as `_n' trivial tasks. 4865% 4866Great minds run in great circles. 4867% 4868 GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY #21 -- July 30, 1917 4869 4870On this day, New York City hotel detectives burst in and caught then- 4871Senator Warren G. Harding in bed with an underage girl. He bought them 4872off with a $20 bribe, and later remarked thankfully, "I thought I 4873wouldn't get out of that under $1000!" Always one to learn from his 4874mistakes, in later years President Harding carried on his affairs in a 4875tiny closet in the White House Cabinet Room while Secret Service men 4876stood lookout. 4877% 4878Green light in a.m. for new projects. Red light in P.M. for traffic 4879tickets. 4880% 4881Greener's Law: 4882 Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel. 4883% 4884Grelb's Reminder: 4885 Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above 4886average drivers. 4887% 4888"Grub first, then ethics." 4889 -- Bertolt Brecht 4890% 4891Gurmlish, n.: 4892 The red warning flag at the top of a club sandwich which 4893prevents the person from biting into it and puncturing the roof of his 4894mouth. 4895 -- Rich Hall & Friends, "Sniglets" 4896% 4897Gyroscope, n.: 4898 A wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also 4899free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each 4900other and the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two 4901mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the 4902other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus 4903offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any 4904torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin. 4905 -- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary 4906% 4907H. L. Mencken suffers from the hallucination that he is H. L. 4908Mencken -- there is no cure for a disease of that magnitude. 4909 -- Maxwell Bodenheim 4910% 4911H. L. Mencken's Law: 4912 Those who can -- do. 4913 Those who can't -- teach. 4914 4915Martin's Extension: 4916 Those who cannot teach -- administrate. 4917% 4918H: If a 'GOBLIN (HOB) waylays you, 4919 Slice him up before he slays you. 4920 Nothing makes you look a slob 4921 Like running from a HOB'LIN (GOB). 4922 -- The Roguelet's ABC 4923% 4924Hacker's Law: 4925 The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a 4926nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. 4927% 4928Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge. 4929% 4930... Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, 4931and you would not have been informed. 4932% 4933Hail to the sun god 4934He sure is a fun god 4935Ra! Ra! Ra! 4936% 4937Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big 4938enough majority in any town? 4939 -- Mark Twain, "Huckleberry Finn" 4940% 4941Half Moon tonight. (At least it's better than no Moon at all.) 4942% 4943Half-done: 4944 This is the best way to eat a kosher dill -- when it's still 4945crunchy, light green, yet full of garlic flavor. The difference 4946between this and the typical soggy dark green cucumber corpse is like 4947the difference between life and death. 4948 You may find it difficult to find a good half-done kosher dill 4949there in Seattle, so what you should do is take a cab out to the 4950airport, fly to New York, take the JFK Express to Jay Street-Borough 4951Hall, transfer to an uptown F, get off at East Broadway, walk north on 4952Essex (along the park), make your first left onto Hester Street, walk 4953about fifteen steps, turn ninety degrees left, and stop. Say to the 4954man, "Let me have a nice half-done." 4955 Worth the trouble, wasn't it? 4956 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4957% 4958Hall's Laws of Politics: 4959 (1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending. 4960 (2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something 4961 fixed. 4962 (3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend 4963 military spending, and conservatives social spending in 4964 their own districts). 4965% 4966Hand, n.: 4967 A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and 4968commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. 4969 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4970% 4971Hanlon's Razor: 4972 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by 4973stupidity. 4974% 4975Hanson's Treatment of Time: 4976 There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days 4977before Saturday. 4978% 4979Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. 4980 -- Ogden Nash 4981% 4982Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. 4983 -- Oscar Levant 4984% 4985Happiness, n.: 4986 An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of 4987another. 4988 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4989% 4990Hard work may not kill you, but why take chances? 4991% 4992Hardware, n.: 4993 The parts of a computer system that can be kicked. 4994% 4995Hark ye, Clinker, you are a most notorious offender. You stand 4996convicted of sickness, hunger, wretchedness, and want. 4997 -- Tobias Smollet 4998% 4999Hark, Hark, the dogs do bark 5000The Duke is fond of kittens 5001He likes to take their insides out 5002And use them for his mittens 5003 From "The Thirteen Clocks" 5004% 5005Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, 5006Advertising wondrous things. 5007 -- Tom Lehrer 5008% 5009Harris's Lament: 5010 All the good ones are taken. 5011% 5012Harrisberger's Fourth Law of the Lab: 5013 Experience is directly proportional to the amount of equipment 5014ruined. 5015% 5016Harry is heavily into camping, and every year in the late fall, he 5017makes us all go to Assateague, which is an island on the Atlantic Ocean 5018famous for its wild horses. I realize that the concept of wild horses 5019probably stirs romantic notions in many of you, but this is because you 5020have never met any wild horses in person. In person, they are like 5021enormous hooved rats. They amble up to your camp site, and their 5022attitude is: "We're wild horses. We're going to eat your food, knock 5023down your tent and poop on your shoes. We're protected by federal law, 5024just like Richard Nixon." 5025 -- Dave Barry, "Tenting Grandpa Bob" 5026% 5027Hartley's First Law: 5028 You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float 5029on his back, you've got something. 5030% 5031Hartley's Second Law: 5032 Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. 5033% 5034Harvard Law: 5035 Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, 5036temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables, the organism will 5037do as it damn well pleases. 5038% 5039"Has anyone had problems with the computer accounts?" 5040"Yes, I don't have one." 5041"Okay, you can send mail to one of the tutors ..." 5042 -- E. D'Azevedo, Computer Science 372 5043% 5044Has everyone noticed that all the letters of the word "database" are 5045typed with the left hand? Now the layout of the QWERTYUIOP typewriter 5046keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the even use 5047of both hands. It follows, therefore, that writing about databases is 5048not only unnatural, but a lot harder than it appears. 5049% 5050 Has your family tried 'em? 5051 5052 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5053 5054 Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious! 5055 5056 They're made from whole wheat, to give shy persons the 5057 strength to get up and do what needs to be done. 5058 5059 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5060 5061 Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the 5062 biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains 5063 that indicate freshness. 5064% 5065Hatred, n.: 5066 A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's 5067superiority. 5068 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5069% 5070Have an adequate day. 5071% 5072Have an adequate day. 5073% 5074Have people realized that the purpose of the fortune cookie program is 5075to defuse project tensions? When did you ever see a cheerful cookie, a 5076non-cynical, or even an informative cookie? 5077 5078Perhaps inadvertently, we have a channel for our aggressions. This 5079still begs the question of whether the cookie releases the pressure or 5080only serves to blunt the warning signs. 5081 5082 Long live the revolution! 5083 Have a nice day. 5084% 5085Have you ever noticed that the people who are always trying to tell 5086you, "There's a time for work and a time for play," never find the time 5087for play? 5088% 5089Have you ever wondered what makes Californians so calm? Besides drugs, 5090I mean. The answer is hot tubs. A hot tub is a redwood container 5091filled with water that you sit in naked with members of the opposite 5092sex, none of whom is necessarily your spouse. After a few hours in 5093their hot tubs, Californians don't give a damn about earthquakes or 5094mass murderers. They don't give a damn about anything , which is why 5095they are able to produce "Laverne and Shirley" week after week. 5096 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5097% 5098"Have you lived here all your life?" 5099"Oh, twice that long." 5100% 5101Have you noticed that all you need to grow healthy, vigorous grass is a 5102crack in your sidewalk? 5103% 5104Have you noticed the way people's intelligence capabilities decline 5105sharply the minute they start waving guns around? 5106 -- Dr. Who 5107% 5108Have you reconsidered a computer career? 5109% 5110"He did decide, though, that with more time and a great deal of mental 5111effort, he could probably turn the activity into an acceptable 5112perversion." 5113 -- Mick Farren, "When Gravity Fails" 5114% 5115"He flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions" 5116% 5117He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation 5118perfectly delightful. 5119 -- Sydney Smith 5120% 5121He had that rare weird electricity about him -- that extremely wild and 5122heavy presence that you only see in a person who has abandoned all hope 5123of ever behaving "normally." 5124 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing '72" 5125% 5126He hadn't a single redeeming vice. 5127 -- Oscar Wilde 5128% 5129"He is now rising from affluence to poverty." 5130 -- Mark Twain 5131% 5132He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered. 5133% 5134He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. 5135 -- John Mason Brown, drama critic 5136% 5137He thought he saw an albatross 5138That fluttered 'round the lamp. 5139He looked again and saw it was 5140A penny postage stamp. 5141"You'd best be getting home," he said, 5142"The nights are rather damp." 5143% 5144He was a fiddler, and consequently a rogue. 5145 -- Jonathon Swift 5146% 5147"He was a modest, good-humored boy. It was Oxford that made him 5148insufferable." 5149% 5150"He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both 5151eyes ..." 5152% 5153He who attacks the fundamentals of the American broadcasting industry 5154attacks democracy itself. 5155 -- William S. Paley, chairman of CBS 5156% 5157He who Laughs, Lasts. 5158% 5159"He's just a politician trying to save both his faces ..." 5160% 5161He's the kind of guy, that, well, if you were ever in a jam he'd be 5162there ... with two slices of bread and some chunky peanut butter. 5163% 5164"He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is ..." 5165% 5166HE: Let's end it all, bequeathin' our brains to science. 5167SHE: What?!? Science got enough trouble with their ___OWN brains. 5168 -- Walt Kelley 5169% 5170Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. 5171% 5172Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5173of nothing. 5174 -- Redd Foxx 5175% 5176Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5177of nothing. 5178 -- Redd Foxx 5179% 5180Heaven, n.: 5181 A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of 5182their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you 5183expound your own. 5184 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5185% 5186Heavy, adj.: 5187 Seduced by the chocolate side of the force. 5188% 5189"Heisenberg may have slept here" 5190% 5191Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. 5192 -- Milton Friedman 5193% 5194Heller's Law: 5195 The first myth of management is that it exists. 5196 5197Johnson's Corollary: 5198 Nobody really knows what is going on anywhere within the 5199organization. 5200% 5201"Hello," he lied. 5202 -- Don Carpenter quoting a Hollywood agent 5203% 5204Help a swallow land at Capistrano. 5205% 5206Help fight continental drift. 5207% 5208Help me, I'm a prisoner in a Fortune cookie file! 5209% 5210Help stamp out and abolish redundancy. 5211% 5212Help! I'm trapped in a PDP 11/70! 5213% 5214HELP! MY TYPEWRITER IS BROKEN! 5215 -- E. E. CUMMINGS 5216% 5217Her locks an ancient lady gave 5218Her loving husband's life to save; 5219And men -- they honored so the dame -- 5220Upon some stars bestowed her name. 5221 5222But to our modern married fair, 5223Who'd give their lords to save their hair, 5224No stellar recognition's given. 5225There are not stars enough in heaven. 5226% 5227"Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from 5228Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth ..." 5229% 5230Here I sit, broken-hearted, 5231All logged in, but work unstarted. 5232First net.this and net.that, 5233And a hot buttered bun for net.fat. 5234 5235The boss comes by, and I play the game, 5236Then I turn back to net.flame. 5237Is there a cure (I need your views), 5238For someone trapped in net.news? 5239 5240I need your help, I say 'tween sobs, 5241'Cause I'll soon be listed in net.jobs. 5242% 5243Here in my heart, I am Helen; 5244 I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least. 5245I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Sta"el; 5246 I'm Salome, moon of the East. 5247 5248Here in my soul I am Sappho; 5249 Lady Hamilton am I, as well. 5250In me R'ecamier vies with Kitty O'Shea, 5251 With Dido, and Eve, and poor nell. 5252 5253I'm all of the glamorous ladies 5254 At whose beckoning history shook. 5255But you are a man, and see only my pan, 5256 So I stay at home with a book. 5257 -- Dorothy Parker 5258% 5259Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical 5260lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach 5261your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. 5262Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in 5263pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, 5264but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an 5265important electrical lesson. 5266 5267It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed 5268your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small 5269objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpets so they will 5270attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and 5271collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your 5272friend's filling, then travels down to his feet and back into the 5273carpet, thus completing the circuit. 5274 5275Amazing Electronic Fact: If you scuffed your feet long enough without 5276touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your 5277finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you 5278have carpeting. 5279 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 5280% 5281 Here is the fact of the week, maybe even the fact of the 5282month. According to probably reliable sources, the Coca-Cola people 5283are experiencing severe marketing anxiety in China. 5284 The words "Coca-Cola" translate into Chinese as either 5285(depending on the inflection) "wax-fattened mare" or "bite the wax 5286tadpole". 5287 Bite the wax tadpole. 5288 There is a sort of rough justice, is there not? 5289 The trouble with this fact, as lovely as it is, is that it's 5290hard to get a whole column out of it. I'd like to teach the world to 5291bite a wax tadpole. Coke -- it's the real wax-fattened mare. Not bad, 5292but broad satiric vistas do not open up. 5293 -- John Carrol, San Francisco Chronicle 5294% 5295"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 5296`Psychic Wins Lottery'?" 5297 -- Jay Leno 5298% 5299Heuristics are bug ridden by definition. If they didn't have bugs, 5300then they'd be algorithms. 5301% 5302"Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??!" 5303 -- W. C. Fields 5304% 5305Hi there! This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person 5306reading this note, that I can't think up any more famous quotes, jokes, 5307nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home. 5308% 5309"Hi, I'm Preston A. Mantis, president of Consumers Retail Law Outlet. 5310As you can see by my suit and the fact that I have all these books of 5311equal height on the shelves behind me, I am a trained legal attorney. 5312Do you have a car or a job? Do you ever walk around? If so, you 5313probably have the makings of an excellent legal case. Although of 5314course every case is different, I would definitely say that based on my 5315experience and training, there's no reason why you shouldn't come out 5316of this thing with at least a cabin cruiser. 5317 5318"Remember, at the Preston A. Mantis Consumers Retail Law Outlet, our 5319motto is: 'It is very difficult to disprove certain kinds of pain.'" 5320 -- Dave Barry, "Pain and Suffering" 5321% 5322Hier liegt ein Mann ganz obnegleich; 5323Im Leibe dick, an Suden reich. 5324Wir haben ihn in das Grab gesteckt, Here lies a man with sundry flaws 5325Weil es uns dunkt er sei verreckt. And numerous Sins upon his head; 5326 We buried him today because 5327 As far as we can tell, he's dead. 5328 -- PDQ Bach's epitaph, as requested by his cousin Betty 5329 Sue Bach and written by the local doggerel catcher; 5330 "The Definitive Biography of PDQ Bach", Peter 5331 Schickele 5332% 5333Higgeldy Piggeldy, 5334Hamlet of Elsinore 5335Ruffled the critics by 5336Dropping this bomb: 5337"Phooey on Freud and his 5338Psychoanalysis -- 5339Oedipus, Shmoedipus, 5340I just love Mom." 5341% 5342Hindsight is an exact science. 5343% 5344Hippogriff, n.: 5345 An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. 5346The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. 5347The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one quarter eagle, which 5348is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full 5349of surprises. 5350 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5351% 5352Hire the morally handicapped. 5353% 5354"His great aim was to escape from civilization, and, as soon as he had 5355money, he went to Southern California." 5356% 5357"His mind is like a steel trap -- full of mice" 5358 -- Foghorn Leghorn 5359% 5360"His super power is to turn into a scotch terrier." 5361% 5362History is curious stuff 5363 You'd think by now we had enough 5364Yet the fact remains I fear 5365 They make more of it every year. 5366% 5367History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history. 5368% 5369History, n.: 5370 Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we 5371learn nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from 5372what happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long 5373view. 5374 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 5375% 5376Hlade's Law: 5377 If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- they 5378will find an easier way to do it. 5379% 5380Hoare's Law of Large Problems: 5381 Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get 5382out. 5383% 5384Hofstadter's Law: 5385 It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take 5386Hofstadter's Law into account. 5387% 5388Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness you send out for it. 5389 -- Rex Reed 5390% 5391 Home centers are designed for the do-it-yourselfer who's 5392willing to pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop 5393for lumber, hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say 5394"shop for", as opposed to "obtain". This is the major drawback of home 5395centers: they are always out of everything except artificial Christmas 5396trees. The home center employees have no time to reorder merchandise 5397because they are too busy applying little price stickers to every 5398object -- every board, washer, nail and screw -- in the entire store ... 5399 Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the 5400broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has 5401a replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the 5402inside of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the 5403same way that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at 5404an electronic calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of 5405these sometime around the middle of next week". 5406 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5407% 5408Home of Doberman Propulsion Laboratories: 5409The ultimate in watchdog weaponry. 5410 -- Chris Shaw 5411% 5412"Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense" 5413% 5414Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people. 5415 -- F. M. Hubbard 5416% 5417Honk if you hate bumper stickers that say "Honk if ..." 5418% 5419Honk if you love peace and quiet. 5420% 5421Honorable, adj.: 5422 Afflicted with an impediment in one's reach. In legislative 5423bodies, it is customary to mention all members as honorable; as, "the 5424honorable gentleman is a scurvy cur." 5425 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5426% 5427Horngren's Observation: 5428 Among economists, the real world is often a special case. 5429% 5430Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on 5431people. 5432 -- W. C. Fields 5433% 5434Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. 5435% 5436"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." 5437 -- Neil Armstrong 5438% 5439How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all? 5440% 5441How come only your friends step on your new white sneakers? 5442% 5443How come wrong numbers are never busy? 5444% 5445"How do I love thee? My accumulator overflows." 5446% 5447How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? 5448 -- Elliot, "E.T." 5449% 5450How doth the little crocodile 5451 Improve his shining tail, 5452And pour the waters of the Nile 5453 On every golden scale! 5454 5455How cheerfully he seems to grin, 5456 How neatly spreads his claws, 5457And welcomes little fishes in, 5458 With gently smiling jaws! 5459 -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" 5460% 5461How doth the VAX's C compiler 5462Improve its object code. 5463And even as we speak does it 5464Increase the system load. 5465 5466How patiently it seems to run 5467And spit out error flags, 5468While users, with frustration, all 5469Tear their clothes to rags. 5470% 5471How doth the VAX's C-compiler 5472Improve its object code. 5473And even as we speak does it 5474Increase the system load. 5475 5476How patiently it seems to run 5477And spit out error flags, 5478While users, with frustration, all 5479Tear all their clothes to rags. 5480% 5481How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're 5482on. 5483% 5484How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5485None: "We'll fix it in software." 5486 5487How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5488None: "We'll document it in the manual." 5489 5490How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5491None: "The user can work it out." 5492% 5493"How many hors d'oeuvres you are allowed to take off a tray being 5494carried by a waiter at a nice party?" 5495 5496Two, but there are ways around it, depending on the style of the hors 5497d'oeuvre. If they're those little pastry things where you can't tell 5498what's inside, you take one, bite off about two-thirds of it, then 5499say: "This is cheese! I hate cheese!" Then you put the rest of it 5500back on the tray and bite another one and go, "Darn it! Another 5501cheese!" and so on. 5502 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 5503% 5504 How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 55053.155 x 10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, 5506who could forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is a 5507nanocentury. 5508 -- Tom Duff, Bell Labs 5509% 5510How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to 5511Dayton? 5512 -- Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey 5513% 5514How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. 5515% 5516How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. 5517% 5518HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5519 #1040 Your income tax refund cheque bounces. 5520% 5521HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5522 #15 Your pet rock snaps at you. 5523% 5524HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5525 5526 #32: You call your answering service and they've never heard of 5527 you. 5528% 5529Howe's Law: 5530 Everyone has a scheme that will not work. 5531% 5532However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity in my traditional 5533manner ... sulking and nausea. 5534 -- Tom K. Ryan 5535% 5536HR 3128. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation, Fiscal 1986. Martin, R-Ill., 5537motion that the House recede from its disagreement to the Senate 5538amendment making changes in the bill to reduce fiscal 1986 deficits. 5539The Senate amendment was an amendment to the House amendment to the 5540Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 5541bill. The original Senate amendment was the conference agreement on 5542the bill. Agreed to. 5543 -- Albuquerque Journal 5544% 5545 Hug O' War 5546 5547I will not play at tug o' war. 5548I'd rather play at hug o' war, 5549Where everyone hugs 5550Instead of tugs, 5551Where everyone giggles 5552And rolls on the rug, 5553Where everyone kisses, 5554And everyone grins, 5555And everyone cuddles, 5556And everyone wins. 5557 -- Shel Silverstein 5558% 5559Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill. 5560% 5561Human cardiac catheterization was introduced by Werner Forssman in 55621929. Ignoring his department chief, and tying his assistant to an 5563operating table to prevent his interference, he placed a uretheral 5564catheter into a vein in his arm, advanced it to the right atrium [of 5565his heart], and walked upstairs to the x-ray department where he took 5566the confirmatory x-ray film. In 1956, Dr. Forssman was awarded the 5567Nobel Prize. 5568% 5569Hummingbirds never remember the words to songs. 5570% 5571"Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse." 5572 -- William Gilbert 5573% 5574Hurewitz's Memory Principle: 5575 The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional 5576to ..... to ........ uh .............. 5577% 5578I also believe that academic freedom should protect the right of a 5579professor or student to advocate Marxism, socialism, communism, or any 5580other minority viewpoint -- no matter how distasteful to the majority. 5581 -- Richard M. Nixon 5582 5583What are our schools for if not indoctrination against Communism? 5584 -- Richard M. Nixon 5585% 5586"I am convinced that the manufacturers of carpet odor removing powder 5587have included encapsulated time released cat urine in their products. 5588This technology must be what prevented its distribution during my mom's 5589reign. My carpet smells like piss, and I don't have a cat. Better go 5590by some more." 5591 -- timw@zeb.USWest.COM 5592% 5593I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work. 5594% 5595"I am not an Economist. I am an honest man!" 5596 -- Paul McCracken 5597% 5598"I am not now, and never have been, a girlfriend of Henry Kissinger." 5599 -- Gloria Steinem 5600% 5601I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the demigodic party. 5602 -- Dennis Ritchie 5603% 5604"I am not sure what this is, but an `F' would only dignify it." 5605 -- English Professor 5606% 5607"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the 5608great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." 5609 -- Winston Churchill 5610% 5611"I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone 5612has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top." 5613 -- English Professor, Ohio University 5614% 5615I am so optimistic about beef prices that I've just leased a pot roast 5616with an option to buy. 5617% 5618"I am the mother of all things, and all things should wear a sweater." 5619% 5620"I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, 5621of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell 5622you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial 5623atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something 5624inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering." 5625 -- Pooh-Bah, "The Mikado", Gilbert & Sullivan 5626% 5627"I appreciate the fact that this draft was done in haste, but some of 5628the sentences that you are sending out in the world to do your work for 5629you are loitering in taverns or asleep beside the highway." 5630 -- Dr. Dwight Van de Vate, Professor of Philosophy, 5631 University of Tennessee at Knoxville 5632% 5633"I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an 5634argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and 5635steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, 5636they don't even invite me." 5637 -- Dave Barry 5638% 5639'I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean." 5640 -- G. K. Chesterton 5641% 5642"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." 5643 -- Will Rogers 5644% 5645"I bet the human brain is a kludge." 5646 -- Marvin Minsky 5647% 5648I brake for chezlogs! 5649% 5650I call them as I see them. If I can't see them, I make them up. 5651 -- Biff Barf 5652% 5653I can feel for her because, although I have never been an Alaskan 5654prostitute dancing on the bar in a spangled dress, I still get very 5655bored with washing and ironing and dishwashing and cooking day after 5656relentless day. 5657 -- Betty MacDonald 5658% 5659I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself. 5660% 5661"I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and 566225 percent actor, but I can well see the day when the reverse could be 5663true." 5664 -- Harry Truman 5665% 5666"I can resist anything but temptation." 5667% 5668"I can't complain, but sometimes I still do." 5669 -- Joe Walsh 5670% 5671"I can't decide whether to commit suicide or go bowling." 5672 -- Florence Henderson 5673% 5674I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can 5675understand it. 5676 -- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 5677% 5678I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a 5679novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. 5680 -- Fred Allen 5681% 5682"I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions." 5683 -- Lillian Hellman 5684% 5685I cannot conceive that anybody will require multiplications at the rate 5686of 40,000 or even 4,000 per hour ... 5687 -- F. H. Wales (1936) 5688% 5689I cannot overemphasize the importance of good grammar. 5690 5691What a crock. I could easily overemphasize the importance of good 5692grammar. For example, I could say: "Bad grammar is the leading cause 5693of slow, painful death in North America," or "Without good grammar, the 5694United States would have lost World War II." 5695 -- Dave Barry, "An Utterly Absurd Look at Grammar" 5696% 5697 "I cannot read the fiery letters," said Frito Bugger in a 5698quavering voice. 5699 "No," said GoodGulf, "but I can. The letters are Elvish, of 5700course, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which 5701I will not utter here. They are lines of a verse long known in 5702Elven-lore: 5703 5704 "This Ring, no other, is made by the elves, 5705 Who'd pawn their own mother to grab it themselves. 5706 Ruler of creeper, mortal, and scallop, 5707 This is a sleeper that packs quite a wallop. 5708 The Power almighty rests in this Lone Ring. 5709 The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing. 5710 If broken or busted, it cannot be remade. 5711 If found, send to Sorhed (with postage prepaid)." 5712 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 5713% 5714" I changed my headlights the other day. I put in strobe lights 5715instead! Now when I drive at night, it looks like everyone else is 5716standing still ..." 5717 -- Steven Wright 5718% 5719I could dance till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather 5720dance with the cows till you come home. 5721 -- Groucho Marx 5722% 5723"I couldn't remember when I had been so disappointed. Except perhaps 5724the time I found out that M&Ms really *do* melt in your hand ..." 5725 -- Peter Oakley 5726% 5727"I didn't know it was impossible when I did it." 5728% 5729I didn't like the play, but I saw it under adverse conditions. The 5730curtain was up. 5731% 5732 I disapprove of the F-word, not because it's dirty, but because 5733we use it as a substitute for thoughtful insults, and it frequently 5734leads to violence. What we ought to do, when we anger each other, say, 5735in traffic, is exchange phone numbers, so that later on, when we've had 5736time to think of witty and learned insults or look them up in the 5737library, we could call each other up: 5738 5739 You: Hello? Bob? 5740 Bob: Yes? 5741 You: This is Ed. Remember? The person whose parking space you 5742 took last Thursday? Outside of Sears? 5743 Bob: Oh yes! Sure! How are you, Ed? 5744 You: Fine, thanks. Listen, Bob, the reason I'm calling is: 5745 "Madam, you may be drunk, but I am ugly, and ..." No, wait. 5746 I mean: "you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill 5747 and ..." No, wait. (Sound of reference book thudding onto 5748 the floor.) S-word. Excuse me. Look, Bob, I'm going to 5749 have to get back to you. 5750 Bob: Fine. 5751 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 5752% 5753I do hate sums. There is no greater mistake than to call arithmetic an 5754exact science. There are permutations and aberrations discernible to 5755minds entirely noble like mine; subtle variations which ordinary 5756accountants fail to discover; hidden laws of number which it requires a 5757mind like mine to perceive. For instance, if you add a sum from the 5758bottom up, and then again from the top down, the result is always 5759different. 5760 -- Mrs. La Touche (19th cent.) 5761% 5762"I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them." 5763 -- Isaac Asimov 5764% 5765"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us 5766with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use." 5767 -- Galileo Galilei 5768% 5769"I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should." 5770 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5771% 5772"I don't believe in astrology. But then I'm an Aquarius, and Aquarians 5773don't believe in astrology." 5774 -- James R. F. Quirk 5775% 5776I don't believe there really IS a GAS SHORTAGE.. I think it's all just 5777a BIG HOAX on the part of the plastic sign salesmen -- to sell more 5778numbers!! 5779% 5780I don't care for the Sugar Smacks commercial. I don't like the idea of 5781a frog jumping on my Breakfast. 5782 -- Lowell, Chicago Reader 10/15/82 5783% 5784"I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the 5785nominating" 5786 -- Boss Tweed 5787% 5788"I don't have any solution but I certainly admire the problem." 5789 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 5790% 5791"I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I've got hundreds of 5792people waiting to abuse me." 5793 -- Bill Murray, "Ghostbusters" 5794% 5795I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. 5796 -- Elvis Presley 5797% 5798"I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to." 5799 -- Elvis Presley 5800% 5801 "I don't know what you mean by `glory,'" Alice said 5802 Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- 5803till I tell you. I meant `there's a nice knock-down argument for 5804you!'" 5805 "But glory doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice 5806objected. 5807 "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful 5808tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor 5809less." 5810 "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean 5811so many different things." 5812 "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-- 5813that's all." 5814 -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" 5815% 5816"I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd 5817eat it, and I just hate it." 5818 -- Clarence Darrow 5819% 5820"I don't mind going nowhere as long as it's an interesting path." 5821 -- Ronald Mabbitt 5822% 5823I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the 5824streets and frighten the horses. 5825 -- Victor Hugo 5826% 5827"I don't object to sex before marriage, but two minutes before?!?" 5828% 5829"I don't think so," said Ren'e Descartes. Just then, he vanished. 5830% 5831"I don't think they could put him in a mental hospital. On the other 5832hand, if he were already in, I don't think they'd let him out." 5833% 5834I don't want to alarm anybody, but there is an excellent chance that 5835the Earth will be destroyed in the next several days. Congress is 5836thinking about eliminating a federal program under which scientists 5837broadcast signals to alien beings. This would be a large mistake. 5838Alien beings have nuclear blaster death cannons. You cannot cut off 5839their federal programs as if they were merely poor people ... 5840 -- Davy Barry, "THE ALIENS ARE COMING, THE ALIENS ARE 5841 COMING!" 5842% 5843I doubt, therefore I might be. 5844% 5845"I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business 5846on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment 5847he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual 5848becoming, with a goal in front and not behind." 5849 -- George Bernard Shaw 5850% 5851"I drink to make other people interesting." 5852 -- George Jean Nathan 5853% 5854I fell asleep reading a dull book, and I dreamt that I was reading on, 5855so I woke up from sheer boredom. 5856% 5857I for one cannot protest the recent M.T.A. fare hike and the 5858accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For 5859the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that 5860can't be measured in monetary terms. 5861 5862Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have 5863that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by 5864subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should 5865someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly 5866understand his long delay. 5867% 5868"I found out why my car was humming. It had forgotten the words." 5869% 5870"I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very 5871reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment." 5872 -- Gotama Buddha 5873% 5874I gave up Smoking, Drinking and Sex. It was the most *__________horrifying* 20 5875minutes of my life! 5876% 5877'I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." 5878 -- Mae West 5879% 5880I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5881 Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5882If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5883 So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5884% 5885I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5886Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5887If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5888So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5889 5890Oh, how do I know my youth is all spent? 5891My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. 5892But in spite of it all, I'm able to grin, 5893And think of the places my get-up has been. 5894 -- Pete Seeger 5895% 5896"I had to censor everything my sons watched ... even on the Mary Tyler 5897Moore show I heard the word 'damn'!" 5898 -- Mary Lou Bax 5899% 5900"I had to hit him -- he was starting to make sense." 5901% 5902"I hate it when my foot falls asleep during the day cause that means 5903it's going to be up all night." 5904 -- Steven Wright 5905% 5906"I hate quotations." 5907 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 5908% 5909I have a simple philosophy: 5910 5911 Fill what's empty. 5912 Empty what's full. 5913 Scratch where it itches. 5914 -- A. R. Longworth 5915% 5916"I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it 5917any time!" 5918% 5919"I have come up with a sure-fire concept for a hit television show, 5920which would be called `A Live Celebrity Gets Eaten by a Shark'." 5921 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 5922% 5923I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. I tell them the truth 5924and they never believe me. 5925 -- Camillo Di Cavour 5926% 5927I have great faith in fools -- self confidence my friends call it. 5928 -- Edgar Allan Poe 5929% 5930"I have just read your lousy review buried in the back pages. You 5931sound like a frustrated old man who never made a success, an 5932eight-ulcer man on a four-ulcer job, and all four ulcers working. I 5933have never met you, but if I do you'll need a new nose and plenty of 5934beefsteak and perhaps a supporter below. Westbrook Pegler, a 5935guttersnipe, is a gentleman compared to you. You can take that as more 5936of an insult than as a reflection on your ancestry." 5937 -- President Harry S Truman 5938% 5939I have learned 5940To spell hors d'oeuvres 5941Which still grates on 5942Some people's n'oeuvres. 5943 -- Warren Knox 5944% 5945"I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming 5946that I have never made one." 5947 -- James Gordon Bennett 5948% 5949"I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to 5950make it shorter." 5951 -- Blaise Pascal 5952% 5953I have more humility in my little finger than you have in your whole 5954____BODY! 5955 -- from "Cerebus" #82 5956% 5957"I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer." 5958 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 5959% 5960"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best." 5961 -- Oscar Wilde 5962% 5963"I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it 5964scattered around the beaches of the world ... Perhaps you've seen it. 5965 -- Steven Wright 5966% 5967"I have to convince you, or at least snow you ..." 5968 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 5969% 5970"I have two very rare photographs: one is a picture of Houdini locking 5971his keys in his car; the other is a rare photograph of Norman Rockwell 5972beating up a child." 5973 -- Steven Wright 5974% 5975I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when looked 5976at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. 5977 -- Poul Anderson 5978% 5979"I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere." 5980% 5981"I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where I left it." 5982% 5983I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!! 5984% 5985"I just need enough to tide me over until I need more." 5986 -- Bill Hoest 5987% 5988I know it all. I just can't remember it all at once. 5989% 5990"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World 5991War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." 5992 -- Albert Einstein 5993% 5994"I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! 5995The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building." 5996 -- Charles Schulz 5997% 5998"I like being single. I'm always there when I need me." 5999 -- Art Leo 6000% 6001I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to 6002promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want 6003peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of 6004the way and let them have it. 6005 -- Dwight D. Eisenhower 6006% 6007"I like work ... I can sit and watch it for hours." 6008% 6009"I like your game but we have to change the rules." 6010% 6011"I love Saturday morning cartoons, what classic humour! This is what 6012entertainment is all about ... Idiots, explosives and falling anvils." 6013 -- Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson 6014% 6015"I love to eat them Smurfies 6016 Smurfies what I love to eat 6017 Bite they ugly heads off, 6018 Nibble on they bluish feet." 6019% 6020"I may appear to be just sitting here like a bucket of tapioca, but 6021don't let appearances fool you. I'm approaching old age ... at the 6022speed of light." 6023 -- Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk 6024% 6025"I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent." 6026 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 6027% 6028"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a 6029week sometimes to make it up." 6030 -- Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" 6031% 6032I must have slipped a disk -- my pack hurts 6033% 6034"I never fail to convince an audience that the best thing they could do 6035was to go away." 6036% 6037"I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like." 6038% 6039I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation. 6040 -- G. B. Shaw 6041% 6042"I only touch base with reality on an as-needed basis!" 6043 -- Royal Floyd Mengot (Klaus) 6044% 6045"I played lead guitar in a band called The Federal Duck, which is the 6046kind of name that was popular in the '60s as a result of controlled 6047substances being in widespread use. Back then, there were no 6048restrictions, in terms of talent, on who could make an album, so we 6049made one, and it sounds like a group of people who have been given 6050powerful but unfamiliar instruments as a therapy for a degenerative 6051nerve disease." 6052 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 6053% 6054I predict that today will be remembered until tomorrow! 6055% 6056"I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral 6057slob." 6058 -- William F. Buckley 6059% 6060 "I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of 6061that is -- `Be what you would seem to be' -- or, if you'd like it put 6062more simply -- `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it 6063might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not 6064otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be 6065otherwise.'" 6066 -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" 6067% 6068I realize that the MX missile is none of our concern. I realize that 6069the whole point of living in a democracy is that we pay professional 6070congresspersons to concern themselves with things like the MX missile 6071so we can be free to concern ourselves with getting hold of the 6072plumber. 6073 6074But from time to time, I feel I must address major public issues such 6075as this, because in a free and open society, where the very future of 6076the world hinges on decisions made by our elected leaders, you never 6077win large cash journalism awards if you stick to the topics I usually 6078write about, such as nose-picking. 6079 -- Dave Barry, "At Last, the Ultimate Deterrent Against 6080 Political Fallout" 6081% 6082I really hate this damned machine 6083I wish that they would sell it. 6084It never does quite what I want 6085But only what I tell it. 6086% 6087"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person." 6088% 6089I see a good deal of talk from Washington about lowering taxes. I hope 6090they do get 'em lowered enough so people can afford to pay 'em. 6091 -- Will Rogers 6092% 6093I see the eigenvalue in thine eye, 6094I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh. 6095Bernoulli would have been content to die 6096Had he but known such _a-squared cos 2(phi)! 6097 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6098% 6099I sent a letter to the fish, 6100I told them, "This is what I wish." 6101The little fishes of the sea, 6102They sent an answer back to me. 6103The little fishes' answer was 6104"We cannot do it, sir, because ..." 6105I sent a letter back to say 6106It would be better to obey. 6107But someone came to me and said 6108"The little fishes are in bed." 6109I said to him, and I said it plain 6110"Then you must wake them up again." 6111I said it very loud and clear, 6112I went and shouted in his ear. 6113But he was very stiff and proud, 6114He said "You needn't shout so loud." 6115And he was very proud and stiff, 6116He said "I'll go and wake them if ..." 6117I took a kettle from the shelf, 6118I went to wake them up myself. 6119But when I found the door was locked 6120I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked, 6121And when I found the door was shut, 6122I tried to turn the handle, But ... 6123 6124 "Is that all?" asked Alice. 6125 "That is all." said Humpty Dumpty. "Goodbye." 6126 -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" 6127% 6128"I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck." 6129 -- Graffito in Los Angeles 6130% 6131"... I should explain that I was wearing a black velvet cape that was 6132supposed to make me look like the dashing, romantic Zorro but which 6133actually made me look like a gigantic bat wearing glasses ..." 6134 -- Dave Barry, "The Wet Zorro Suit and Other Turning 6135 Points in l'Amour" 6136% 6137"I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full 6138house and four people died." 6139 -- Steven Wright 6140% 6141"I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to 6142see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph." 6143 -- Shirley Temple 6144% 6145I suggest you locate your hot tub outside your house, so it won't do 6146too much damage if it catches fire or explodes. First you decide which 6147direction your hot tub should face for maximum solar energy. After 6148much trial and error, I have found that the best direction for a hot 6149tub to face is up. 6150 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 6151% 6152"I think it is true for all _n. I was just playing it safe with _n >= 3 6153because I couldn't remember the proof." 6154 -- Baker, Pure Math 351a 6155% 6156"I think sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it." 6157% 6158I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick 6159and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this 6160country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people 6161in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I'm certainly 6162not, and I'm sick and tired of being told that I am. 6163 -- Monty Python 6164% 6165I think that I shall never see 6166A billboard lovely as a tree. 6167Perhaps, unless the billboards fall 6168I'll never see a tree at all. 6169 -- Ogden Nash 6170% 6171I think that I shall never see 6172A thing as lovely as a tree. 6173But as you see the trees have gone 6174They went this morning with the dawn. 6175A logging firm from out of town 6176Came and chopped the trees all down. 6177But I will trick those dirty skunks 6178And write a brand new poem called 'Trunks'. 6179% 6180"I think the sky is blue because it's a shift from black through purple 6181to blue, and it has to do with where the light is. You know, the 6182farther we get into darkness, and there's a shifting of color of light 6183into the blueness, and I think as you go farther and farther away from 6184the reflected light we have from the sun or the light that's bouncing 6185off this earth, uh, the darker it gets ... I think if you look at the 6186color scale, you start at black, move it through purple, move it on 6187out, it's the shifting of color. We mentioned before about the stars 6188singing, and that's one of the effects of the shifting of colors." 6189 -- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club 6190% 6191I think we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown 6192... HEY! PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU DAMMIT! I said I think 6193we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown today. 6194When we take the time to be courteous to each other, we find that we 6195are happier and less likely to engage in nuclear war. This point was 6196driven home by the recent summit talks, where Nancy Reagan and Raisa 6197Gorbachev, each of whose husband thinks the other's husband is vermin, 6198were able to sit down at a high-level tea and engage in courteous 6199conversation ... 6200 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 6201% 6202"I thought you were trying to get into shape." 6203"I am. The shape I've selected is a triangle." 6204% 6205" ... I told my doctor I got all the exercise I needed being a 6206pallbearer for all my friends who run and do exercises!" 6207 -- Winston Churchill 6208% 6209I took a course in speed reading and was able to read War and Peace in 6210twenty minutes. It's about Russia. 6211 -- Woody Allen 6212% 6213I used to be an agnostic, but now I'm not so sure. 6214% 6215"I used to get high on life but lately I've built up a resistance." 6216% 6217"I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure." 6218% 6219"I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my 6220body. Then I realized who was telling me this." 6221 -- Emo Phillips 6222% 6223I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere 6224near the place. 6225 -- Steven Wright 6226% 6227I value kindness to human beings first of all, and kindness to 6228animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for 6229anything connected with society except that which makes the roads 6230safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and old men and women 6231warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer. 6232 -- Brendan Behan 6233% 6234"I want to buy a husband who, every week when I sit down to watch `St. 6235Elsewhere', won't scream, `FORGET IT, BLANCHE ... IT'S TIME FOR "HEE 6236HAW"!!'" 6237 -- Berke Breathed, "Bloom County" 6238% 6239I was born because it was a habit in those days, people didn't know 6240anything else ... I was not a Child Prodigy, because a Child Prodigy is 6241a child who knows as much when it is a child as it does when it grows 6242up. 6243 -- Will Rogers 6244% 6245"I was drunk last night, crawled home across the lawn. By accident I 6246put the car key in the door lock. The house started up. So I figured 6247what the hell, and drove it around the block a few times. I thought I 6248should go park it in the middle of the freeway and yell at everyone to 6249get off my driveway." 6250 -- Steven Wright 6251% 6252"I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I 6253didn't know." 6254 -- Mark Twain 6255% 6256I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending 6257their lives doing things they detest to make money they don't want to 6258buy things they don't need to impress people they dislike. 6259 -- Emile Henry Gauvreay 6260% 6261"I was playing poker the other night ... with Tarot cards. I got a full 6262house and four people died." 6263 -- Steven Wright 6264% 6265"I went into a general store, and they wouldn't sell me anything 6266specific". 6267 -- Steven Wright 6268% 6269I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained 6270it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass 6271stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold. 6272I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be 6273absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had 6274developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case. 6275Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's 6276temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I 6277chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to 6278the point where it would not run at all. 6279 -- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black 6280 Holes and the Fate of Stars" 6281% 6282"I went to a job interview the other day, the guy asked me if I had any 6283questions , I said yes, just one, if you're in a car traveling at the 6284speed of light and you turn your headlights on, does anything happen? 6285 6286He said he couldn't answer that, I told him sorry, but I couldn't work 6287for him then. 6288 -- Steven Wright 6289% 6290"I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in 6291the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't 6292included." 6293 -- Steven Wright 6294% 6295"I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the 6296statues that are in all the other museums." 6297 -- Steven Wright 6298% 6299I went to the race track once and bet on a horse that was so good that 6300it took seven others to beat him! 6301% 6302"I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. 6303There's a knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work." 6304 -- Gallagher 6305% 6306"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've 6307always worked for me." 6308 -- Hunter S. Thompson 6309% 6310"I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous." 6311% 6312"I'd love to go out with you, but I did my own thing and now I've got 6313to undo it." 6314% 6315"I'd love to go out with you, but I have to floss my cat." 6316% 6317"I'd love to go out with you, but I have to stay home and see if I 6318snore." 6319% 6320"I'd love to go out with you, but I never go out on days that end in 6321`Y.'" 6322% 6323"I'd love to go out with you, but I want to spend more time with my 6324blender." 6325% 6326"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm attending the opening of my 6327garage door." 6328% 6329"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm converting my calendar watch from 6330Julian to Gregorian." 6331% 6332"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm doing door-to-door collecting for 6333static cling." 6334% 6335"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm having all my plants neutered." 6336% 6337"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm staying home to work on my 6338cottage cheese sculpture." 6339% 6340"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm taking punk totem pole carving." 6341% 6342"I'd love to go out with you, but I've been scheduled for a karma 6343transplant." 6344% 6345"I'd love to go out with you, but it's my parakeet's bowling night." 6346% 6347"I'd love to go out with you, but my favorite commercial is on TV." 6348% 6349"I'd love to go out with you, but the last time I went out, I never 6350came back." 6351% 6352"I'd love to go out with you, but the man on television told me to say 6353tuned." 6354% 6355"I'd love to go out with you, but there are important world issues that 6356need worrying about." 6357% 6358"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." 6359% 6360"I'll carry your books, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over, 6361carry forward, Cary Grant, cash & carry, Carry Me Back To Old Virginia, 6362I'll even Hara Kari if you show me how, but I will *not* carry a gun." 6363 -- Hawkeye, M*A*S*H 6364% 6365I'll defend to the death your right to say that, but I never said I'd 6366listen to it! 6367 -- Tom Galloway with apologies to Voltaire 6368% 6369I'll grant thee random access to my heart, 6370Thoul't tell me all the constants of thy love; 6371And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove 6372And in our bound partition never part. 6373 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6374% 6375"I'll rob that rich person and give it to some poor deserving slob. 6376That will *prove* I'm Robin Hood." 6377 -- Daffy Duck, "Robin Hood Daffy", [1958, Chuck Jones] 6378% 6379"I'm a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from 6380man." 6381% 6382I'm a Lisp variable -- bind me! 6383% 6384"I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my 6385sister." 6386% 6387I'm changing my name to Chrysler 6388I'm going down to Washington, D.C. 6389I'll tell some power broker 6390 What they did for Iacocca 6391Will be perfectly acceptable to me! 6392I'm changing my name to Chrysler, 6393I'm heading for that great receiving line. 6394When they hand a million grand out, 6395 I'll be standing with my hand out, 6396Yessir, I'll get mine! 6397 -- Tom Paxton 6398% 6399I'm defending her honor, which is more than she ever did. 6400% 6401"I'm defending her honor, which is more than she ever did." 6402% 6403"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to 6404die in." 6405 -- George McGovern 6406% 6407I'm going to Boston to see my doctor. He's a very sick man. 6408 -- Fred Allen 6409% 6410I'm going to live forever, or die trying! 6411 -- Spider Robinson 6412% 6413... I'm IMAGINING a sensuous GIRAFFE, CAVORTING in the BACK ROOM of a 6414KOSHER DELI!! 6415% 6416"I'm in Pittsburgh. Why am I here?" 6417 -- Harold Urey, Nobel Laureate 6418% 6419i'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be 6420living apart. 6421 -- e. e. cummings 6422% 6423I'm N-ary the tree, I am, 6424N-ary the tree, I am, I am. 6425I'm getting traversed by the parser next door, 6426She's traversed me seven times before. 6427And ev'ry time it was an N-ary (N-ary!) 6428Never wouldn't ever do a binary. (No sir!) 6429I'm 'er eighth tree that was N-ary. 6430N-ary the tree I am, I am, 6431N-ary the tree I am. 6432% 6433"I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. 6434It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get." 6435% 6436"I'm prepared for all emergencies but totally unprepared for everyday 6437life." 6438% 6439I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is 6440-- I could be just as proud for half the money. 6441 -- Arthur Godfrey 6442% 6443I'm rated PG-34!! 6444% 6445"I'm really enjoying not talking to you ... Let's not talk again ____REAL 6446soon ..." 6447% 6448"I'm returning this note to you, instead of your paper, because it 6449(your paper) presently occupies the bottom of my bird cage." 6450 -- English Professor, Providence College 6451% 6452I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, 6453I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; 6454In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, 6455I am the very model of a modern Major-General. 6456 -- Gilbert & Sullivan, "Pirates of Penzance" 6457% 6458"I'm willing to sacrifice anything for this cause, even other people's 6459lives" 6460% 6461I've built a better model than the one at Data General 6462For data bases vegetable, animal, and mineral 6463My OS handles CPUs with multiplexed duality; 6464My PL/1 compiler shows impressive functionality. 6465My storage system's better than magnetic core polarity, 6466You never have to bother checking out a bit for parity; 6467There isn't any reason to install non-static floor matting; 6468My disk drive has capacity for variable formatting. 6469 6470I feel compelled to mention what I know to be a gloating point: 6471There's lots of room in memory for variables floating-point, 6472Which shows for input vegetable, animal, and mineral 6473I've built a better model than the one at Data General. 6474 6475 -- Steve Levine, "A Computer Song" (To the tune of 6476 "Modern Major General", from "Pirates of Penzance", 6477 by Gilbert & Sullivan) 6478% 6479I've enjoyed just about as much of this as I can stand. 6480% 6481I've found my niche. If you're wondering why I'm not there, there was 6482this little hole in the bottom ... 6483 -- John Croll 6484% 6485I've given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself. 6486% 6487I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. 6488 -- Groucho Marx 6489% 6490I've known him as a man, as an adolescent and as a child -- sometimes 6491on the same day. 6492% 6493"I've seen better heads on half a pint of beer." 6494% 6495"I've seen, I SAY, I've seen better heads on a mug of beer" 6496 -- Senator Claghorn 6497% 6498I've touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; 6499And from that full meridian of my glory 6500I haste now to my setting. I shall fall, 6501Like a bright exhalation in the evening 6502And no man see me more. 6503 -- Shakespeare 6504% 6505IBM had a PL/I, 6506 Its syntax worse than JOSS; 6507And everywhere this language went, 6508 It was a total loss. 6509% 6510Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box 6511of candy weighing less than fifty pounds. 6512% 6513Ideas don't stay in some minds very long because they don't like 6514solitary confinement. 6515% 6516Idiot Box, n.: 6517 The part of the envelope that tells a person where to place the 6518stamp when they can't quite figure it out for themselves. 6519 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 6520% 6521Idiot, n.: 6522 A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human 6523affairs has always been dominant and controlling. 6524 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 6525% 6526If a 6600 used paper tape instead of core memory, it would use up tape 6527at about 30 miles/second. 6528 -- Grishman, Assembly Language Programming 6529% 6530If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law. 6531 -- Roy Santoro 6532% 6533"If a camel flies, no one laughs if it doesn't get very far." 6534 -- Paul White 6535% 6536If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then a consensus 6537forecast is a camel's behind. 6538 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 6539% 6540If A equals success, then the formula is _A = _X + _Y + _Z. _X is work. _Y 6541is play. _Z is keep your mouth shut. 6542 -- Albert Einstein 6543% 6544If a group of _N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be _N-1 6545passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. 6546 -- T. Cheatham 6547% 6548If a jury in a criminal trial stays out for more than twenty-four 6549hours, it is certain to vote acquittal, save in those instances where 6550it votes guilty. 6551 -- Joseph C. Goulden 6552% 6553If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake 6554him up. 6555% 6556If a President doesn't do it to his wife, he'll do it to his country. 6557% 6558If a putt passes over the hole without dropping, it is deemed to have 6559dropped. The law of gravity holds that any object attempting to 6560maintain a position in the atmosphere without something to support it 6561must drop. The law of gravity supercedes the law of golf. 6562 -- Donald A. Metz 6563% 6564"If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good 6565attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to 6566playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win -- 6567unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager 6568can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry?" 6569 -- Sparky Anderson 6570% 6571If all be true that I do think, 6572There be Five Reasons why one should Drink; 6573Good friends, good wine, or being dry, 6574Or lest we should be by-and-by, 6575Or any other reason why. 6576% 6577If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular 6578error. 6579 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 6580% 6581If all the Chinese simultaneously jumped into the Pacific off a 10 foot 6582platform erected 10 feet off their coast, it would cause a tidal wave 6583that would destroy everything in this country west of Nebraska. 6584% 6585If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door. 6586 -- Paul Beatty 6587% 6588If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a 6589conclusion. 6590 -- William Baumol 6591% 6592If an S and an I and an O and a U 6593With an X at the end spell Su; 6594And an E and a Y and an E spell I, 6595Pray what is a speller to do? 6596Then, if also an S and an I and a G 6597And an HED spell side, 6598There's nothing much left for a speller to do 6599But to go commit siouxeyesighed. 6600 -- Charles Follen Adams, "An Orthographic Lament" 6601% 6602If anything can go wrong, it will. 6603% 6604If at first you don't succeed, give up, no use being a damn fool. 6605% 6606If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. 6607% 6608If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four 6609tellers? 6610% 6611"If dolphins are so smart, why did Flipper work for television?" 6612% 6613If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from? 6614% 6615If everybody minded their own business, the world would go 6616around a deal faster. 6617 -- The Duchess, "Through the Looking Glass" 6618% 6619If everything is coming your way then you're in the wrong lane. 6620% 6621... If forced to travel on an airplane, try and get in the cabin with 6622the Captain, so you can keep an eye on him and nudge him if he falls 6623asleep or point out any mountains looming up ahead ... 6624 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6625% 6626If God didn't mean for us to juggle, tennis balls wouldn't come three 6627to a can. 6628% 6629If God had intended Man to Smoke, He would have set him on Fire. 6630% 6631If God had intended Man to Walk, He would have given him Feet. 6632% 6633If God had intended Man to Watch TV, He would have given him Rabbit 6634Ears. 6635% 6636If God had intended Men to Smoke, He would have put Chimneys in their 6637Heads. 6638% 6639If God had meant for us to be in the Army, we would have been born with 6640green, baggy skin. 6641% 6642If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way. 6643% 6644If God had not given us sticky tape, it would have been necessary to 6645invent it. 6646% 6647If God had wanted you to go around nude, He would have given you bigger 6648hands. 6649% 6650If God is dead, who will save the Queen? 6651% 6652If God is perfect, why did He create discontinuous functions? 6653% 6654"If God lived on Earth, people would knock out all His windows." 6655 -- Yiddish saying 6656% 6657If God wanted us to be brave, why did he give us legs? 6658 -- Marvin Kitman 6659% 6660"If I am elected, the concrete barriers around the WHITE HOUSE will be 6661replaced by tasteful foam replicas of ANN MARGARET!" 6662% 6663If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive! 6664 -- Samuel Goldwyn 6665% 6666If I don't drive around the park, 6667I'm pretty sure to make my mark. 6668If I'm in bed each night by ten, 6669I may get back my looks again. 6670If I abstain from fun and such, 6671I'll probably amount to much; 6672But I shall stay the way I am, 6673Because I do not give a damn. 6674 -- Dorothy Parker 6675% 6676If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture. 6677% 6678If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I'd sell the 6679plantation and go home. 6680 -- Eugene P. Gallagher 6681% 6682If I had any humility I would be perfect. 6683 -- Ted Turner 6684% 6685"If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith." 6686 -- Albert Einstein 6687% 6688If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the 6689shoulders of giants. 6690 -- Isaac Newton 6691 6692In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side 6693with the giants on whose shoulders we stand. 6694 -- Gerald Holton 6695 6696If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing 6697on my shoulders. 6698 -- Hal Abelson 6699 6700In computer science, we stand on each other's feet. 6701 -- Brian K. Reid 6702% 6703If I kiss you, that is a psychological interaction. 6704 6705On the other hand, if I hit you over the head with a brick, that is 6706also a psychological interaction. 6707 6708The difference is that one is friendly and the other is not so 6709friendly. 6710 6711The crucial point is if you can tell which is which. 6712 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 6713% 6714If I traveled to the end of the rainbow 6715As Dame Fortune did intend, 6716Murphy would be there to tell me 6717The pot's at the other end. 6718 -- Bert Whitney 6719% 6720If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people? 6721% 6722If it's Tuesday, this must be someone else's fortune. 6723% 6724If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. 6725They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun 6726of it. 6727 -- Thomas Carlyle 6728% 6729"If just one piece of mail gets lost, well, they'll just think they 6730forgot to send it. But if *two* pieces of mail get lost, hell, they'll 6731just think the other guy hasn't gotten around to answering his mail. 6732And if *fifty* pieces of mail get lost, can you imagine it, if *fifty* 6733pieces of mail get lost, why they'll think someone *else* is broken! 6734And if 1Gb of mail gets lost, they'll just *know* that Arpa is down and 6735think it's a conspiracy to keep them from their God given right to 6736receive Net Mail ..." 6737 -- Leith (Casey) Leedom 6738% 6739If life is a stage, I want some better lighting. 6740% 6741If little else, the brain is an educational toy. 6742 -- Tom Robbins 6743% 6744If little green men land in your back yard, hide any little green women 6745you've got in the house. 6746 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6747% 6748If mathematically you end up with the wrong answer, try multiplying by 6749the page number. 6750% 6751If money can't buy happiness, I guess you'll just have to rent it. 6752% 6753"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think 6754little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and 6755Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." 6756 -- Thomas De Quincey (1785 - 1859) 6757% 6758If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants. 6759 -- A. Einstein. 6760% 6761If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit 6762in my name at a Swiss bank. 6763 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 6764% 6765If only I could be respected without having to be respectable. 6766% 6767If only one could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment without 6768having to accomplish anything. 6769% 6770If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, 6771he should see how bad it is with representation. 6772% 6773If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of 6774arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the 6775physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker 6776entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. 6777 -- Vannevar Bush 6778% 6779If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied 6780harder. 6781 -- Pope John Paul I 6782% 6783"If that makes any sense to you, you have a big problem." 6784 -- C. Durance, Computer Science 234 6785% 6786If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would 6787presumably flunk it. 6788 -- Stanley Garn 6789% 6790If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong. 6791 -- Norm Schryer 6792% 6793If the colleges were better, if they really had it, you would need to 6794get the police at the gates to keep order in the inrushing multitude. 6795See in college how we thwart the natural love of learning by leaving 6796the natural method of teaching what each wishes to learn, and insisting 6797that you shall learn what you have no taste or capacity for. The 6798college, which should be a place of delightful labor, is made odious 6799and unhealthy, and the young men are tempted to frivolous amusements to 6800rally their jaded spirits. I would have the studies elective. 6801Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure 6802interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by 6803opening to his pupils precisely the attractions the study has for 6804himself. The marking is a system for schools, not for the college; for 6805boys, not for men; and it is an ungracious work to put on a professor. 6806 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 6807% 6808"If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for 6809me!" 6810 -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa 1920) 6811% 6812If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances 6813are 50-50 it will. 6814% 6815If the weather is extremely bad, church attendance will be down. If 6816the weather is extremely good, church attendance will be down. If the 6817bulletin covers are in short supply, however, church attendance will 6818exceed all expectations. 6819 -- Reverend Chichester 6820% 6821If there are epigrams, there must be meta-epigrams. 6822% 6823If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that 6824will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. 6825% 6826If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? 6827 -- Art Hoppe 6828% 6829If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make 6830something out of you. 6831 -- Muhammad Ali 6832% 6833If this fortune didn't exist, somebody would have invented it. 6834% 6835If this is timesharing, give me my share right now. 6836% 6837If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? 6838% 6839If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what the hell was 6840yesterday? 6841% 6842If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is 6843doing the thinking. 6844 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson 6845% 6846If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. 6847 -- Laurence J. Peter 6848% 6849"If value corrupts then absolute value corrupts absolutely" 6850% 6851"If we were meant to fly, we wouldn't keep losing our luggage." 6852% 6853If while you are in school, there is a shortage of qualified personnel 6854in a particular field, then by the time you graduate with the necessary 6855qualifications, that field's employment market is glutted. 6856 -- Marguerite Emmons 6857% 6858If you are a fatalist, what can you do about it? 6859 -- Ann Edwards-Duff 6860% 6861"If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars." 6862 -- J. Paul Getty 6863% 6864If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse. 6865% 6866If you can read this, you're too close. 6867% 6868If you can survive death, you can probably survive anything. 6869% 6870If you can't be good, be careful. If you can't be careful, give me a 6871call. 6872% 6873If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly. 6874% 6875If you cannot convince them, confuse them. 6876 -- Harry S Truman 6877% 6878If you didn't get caught, did you really do it? 6879% 6880If you don't care where you are, then you ain't lost. 6881% 6882If you don't go to other men's funerals they won't go to yours. 6883 -- Clarence Day 6884% 6885If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. 6886 -- Freeman Dyson 6887% 6888"If you don't want your dog to have bad breath, do what I do: Pour a little 6889Lavoris in the toilet." 6890 -- Jay Leno 6891% 6892If you eat a live frog in the morning, nothing worse will happen to 6893either of you for the rest of the day. 6894% 6895"If you ever want to get anywhere in politics, my boy, you're going to 6896have to get a toehold in the public eye." 6897% 6898If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody 6899will. 6900% 6901If you give Congress a chance to vote on both sides of an issue, it 6902will always do it. 6903 -- Les Aspin, D., Wisconsin 6904% 6905"If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is 6906make the rubble bounce" 6907 -- Winston Churchill 6908% 6909If you had any brains, you'd be dangerous. 6910% 6911If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some. 6912% 6913"If you have to hate, hate gently" 6914% 6915If you just try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to 6916boot yourself in the posterior. 6917 -- A. J. Liebling 6918% 6919If you keep anything long enough, you can throw it away. 6920% 6921If you live in a country run by committee, be on the committee. 6922 -- Graham Summer 6923% 6924If you live to the age of a hundred you have it made because very few 6925people die past the age of a hundred. 6926 -- George Burns 6927% 6928If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; but if you 6929really make them think they'll hate you. 6930% 6931If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. 6932 -- Maslow 6933% 6934If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure 6935can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly 6936develop. 6937% 6938If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite 6939you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. 6940 -- Mark Twain 6941% 6942If you push the "extra ice" button on the soft drink vending machine, 6943you won't get any ice. If you push the "no ice" button, you'll get 6944ice, but no cup. 6945% 6946If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But 6947this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is 6948somehow enobled and none dare criticize it. 6949% 6950If you sit down at a poker game and don't see a sucker, get up. You're 6951the sucker. 6952% 6953If you stand on your head, you will get footprints in your hair. 6954% 6955If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker, 6956It is slick to stick a lock upon your stock. 6957 Or some joker who is slicker, 6958 Will trick you of your liquor, 6959If you fail to lock your liquor with a lock. 6960% 6961If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. 6962 -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard 6963% 6964If you think last Tuesday was a drag, wait till you see what happens 6965tomorrow! 6966% 6967If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car 6968payments. 6969 -- Earl Wilson 6970% 6971If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it. 6972 -- Arthur Kasspe 6973% 6974If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest 6975shopping center in the world? 6976 -- Richard M. Nixon 6977% 6978If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest 6979shopping center in the world? 6980 -- Richard Nixon 6981% 6982If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would 6983be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call 6984you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw 6985another party next year. 6986 6987What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up 6988several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've 6989been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to 6990avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning 6991parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from 6992having another one ... 6993 6994If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless 6995your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas 6996through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure 6997that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting 6998someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you ... 6999% 7000If you took all the students that felt asleep in class and laid them 7001end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. 7002 -- "Graffiti in the Big Ten" 7003% 7004"If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything." 7005 -- A. L. 7006% 7007If you want divine justice, die. 7008 -- Nick Seldon 7009% 7010If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people 7011he gave it to. 7012 -- Dorthy Parker 7013% 7014If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the 7015Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's 7016statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington 7017telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with 7018titles beginning with the word "National". 7019 -- George Will 7020% 7021If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every 7022word you say, talk in your sleep. 7023% 7024"If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some 7025memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' it, 7026even if they don't know what it means." 7027 -- Walt Kelly, "The Pogo Party" 7028% 7029If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings -- including this one. 7030% 7031If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for 7032tomorrow morning, sleep late. 7033 -- Henny Youngman 7034% 7035If you're happy, you're successful. 7036% 7037 If you're like most homeowners, you're afraid that many repairs 7038around your home are too difficult to tackle. So, when your furnace 7039explodes, you call in a so-called professional to fix it. The 7040"professional" arrives in a truck with lettering on the sides and 7041deposits a large quantity of tools and two assistants who spend the 7042better part of the week in your basement whacking objects at random 7043with heavy wrenches, after which the "professional" returns and gives 7044you a bill for slightly more money than it would cost you to run a 7045successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. 7046 And that's why you've decided to start doing things yourself. 7047You figure, "If those guys can fix my furnace, then so can I. How 7048difficult can it be?" 7049 Very difficult. In fact, most home projects are impossible, 7050which is why you should do them yourself. There is no point in paying 7051other people to screw things up when you can easily screw them up 7052yourself for far less money. This article can help you. 7053 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 7054% 7055If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. 7056% 7057If you're not very clever you should be conciliatory. 7058 -- Benjamin Disraeli 7059% 7060If you're right 90% of the time, why quibble about the remaining 3%? 7061% 7062"If you've done six impossible things before breakfast, why not round 7063it off with dinner at Milliway's, the restaurant at the end of the 7064universe?" 7065% 7066If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all. 7067 -- Ronald Reagan 7068% 7069Ignisecond, n.: 7070 The overlapping moment of time when the hand is locking the car 7071door even as the brain is saying, "my keys are in there!" 7072 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 7073% 7074Il brilgue: les t^oves libricilleux 7075 Se gyrent et frillant dans le guave, 7076Enm^im'es sont les gougebosquex, 7077 Et le m^omerade horgrave. 7078 -- Lewis Carrol, "Through the Looking Glass" 7079% 7080Iles's Law: 7081 There is always an easier way to do it. When looking directly 7082at the easy way, especially for long periods, you will not see it. 7083Neither will Iles. 7084% 7085Illinois isn't exactly the land that God forgot -- it's more like the 7086land He's trying to ignore. 7087% 7088Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. 7089 -- Jules de Gaultier 7090% 7091"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the 7092usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody 7093thinks of complaining." 7094 -- Jeff Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal 7095% 7096Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has 7097a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk 7098storage, a screen resolution of 4096 x 4096 pixels, relies entirely on 7099voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300. 7100What's the first question that the computer community asks? 7101 7102"Is it PC compatible?" 7103% 7104Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery. 7105 -- Jack Paar 7106% 7107Immortality -- a fate worse than death. 7108 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 7109% 7110Impartial, adj.: 7111 Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from 7112espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two 7113conflicting opinions. 7114 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7115% 7116Important letters which contain no errors will develop errors in the 7117mail. Corresponding errors will show up in the duplicate while the 7118Boss is reading it. 7119% 7120Impossible, adj.: 7121 (1) I wouldn't like it and when it happens I won't approve; 7122(2) I can't be bothered; (3) God can't be bothered. Meaning (3) may 7123perhaps be valid but the others are 101% whaledreck. 7124 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 7125% 7126In 1750 Issac Newton became discouraged when he fell up a flight of 7127stairs. 7128% 7129In 1869 the waffle iron was invented for people who had wrinkled 7130waffles. 7131% 7132In 1880 the French captured Detroit but gave it back ... they couldn't 7133get parts. 7134% 7135In 1914, the first crossword puzzle was printed in a newspaper. The 7136creator received $4000 down ... and $3000 across. 7137% 7138In 1915 pancake make-up was invented but most people still preferred 7139syrup. 7140% 7141In a five year period we can get one superb programming language. Only 7142we can't control when the five year period will begin. 7143% 7144 In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi, 7145junior, what are you up to?" 7146 "I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the 7147rabbit. 7148 "Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!" 7149 "Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the 7150rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied 7151expression on his face. 7152 Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?" 7153 "I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits 7154devour wolves." 7155 "Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?" 7156 "Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes 7157out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw. 7158Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody 7159should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting 7160next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox. 7161 7162The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important -- 7163it's your PhD advisor that really counts. 7164% 7165In a medium in which a News Piece takes a minute and an "In-Depth" 7166Piece takes two minutes, the Simple will drive out the Complex. 7167 -- Frank Mankiewicz 7168% 7169In a museum in Havana, there are two skulls of Christopher Columbus, 7170"one when he was a boy and one when he was a man." 7171 -- Mark Twain 7172% 7173In Africa some of the native tribes have a custom of beating the ground 7174with clubs and uttering spine chilling cries. Anthropologists call 7175this a form of primitive self-expression. In America we call it golf. 7176% 7177In America today ... we have Woody Allen, whose humor has become so 7178sophisticated that nobody gets it any more except Mia Farrow. All 7179those who think Mia Farrow should go back to making movies where the 7180devil gets her pregnant and Woody Allen should go back to dressing up 7181as a human sperm, please raise your hands. Thank you. 7182 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 7183% 7184In America, any boy may become president and I suppose that's just one 7185of the risks he takes. 7186 -- Adlai Stevenson 7187% 7188In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own 7189incompetency 7190 -- The Peter Principle 7191% 7192In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) 7193are to be treated as variables. 7194% 7195"In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of 7196nations -- it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir." 7197 -- Stuart Keate 7198% 7199In Blythe, California, a city ordinance declares that a person must own 7200at least two cows before he can wear cowboy boots in public. 7201% 7202In Boston, it is illegal to hold frog-jumping contests in nightclubs. 7203% 7204In case of atomic attack, the federal ruling against prayer in schools 7205will be temporarily canceled. 7206% 7207In case of injury notify your superior immediately. He'll kiss it and 7208make it better. 7209% 7210In Columbia, Pennsylvania, it is against the law for a pilot to tickle 7211a female flying student under her chin with a feather duster in order 7212to get her attention. 7213% 7214In Corning, Iowa, it's a misdemeanor for a man to ask his wife to ride 7215in any motor vehicle. 7216% 7217"In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable." 7218 -- Winston Churchill, of Montgomery 7219% 7220In Denver it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door 7221neighbor. 7222% 7223In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. 7224% 7225In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last 7226resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but 7227inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first. 7228 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7229% 7230In English, every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our 7231programming languages. 7232% 7233In Greene, New York, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on 7234the sidewalks when a concert is on. 7235% 7236In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come 7237into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish 7238between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which 7239will only make it mushy. 7240 -- Mark Twain 7241% 7242In Lexington, Kentucky, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your 7243pocket. 7244% 7245In Lowes Crossroads, Delaware, it is a violation of local law for any 7246pilot or passenger to carry an ice cream cone in their pocket while 7247either flying or waiting to board a plane. 7248% 7249In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless 7250there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red 7251flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians. 7252% 7253In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as 7254to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the 7255speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. 7256% 7257"In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the 7258universe." 7259 -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos 7260% 7261In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, 7262intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from 7263the cares of office. 7264 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7265% 7266In Pocataligo, Georgia, it is a violation for a woman over 200 pounds 7267and attired in shorts to pilot or ride in an airplane. 7268% 7269In Pocatello, Idaho, a law passed in 1912 provided that "The carrying 7270of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public 7271view." 7272% 7273In Riemann, Hilbert or in Banach space 7274Let superscripts and subscripts go their ways. 7275Our asymptotes no longer out of phase, 7276We shall encounter, counting, face to face. 7277 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 7278% 7279In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that 7280is over six feet in length. 7281% 7282In seeking the unattainable, simplicity only gets in the way. 7283 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 7284% 7285"In short, _N is Richardian if, and only if, _N is not Richardian." 7286% 7287In specifications, Murphy's Law supersedes Ohm's. 7288% 7289In Tennessee, it is illegal to shoot any game other than whales from a 7290moving automobile. 7291% 7292[In the 60's] there was madness in any direction, at any hour ... You 7293could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense 7294that whatever we were doing was `right', that we were winning ... 7295 7296And that, I think, was the handle -- the sense of inevitable victory 7297over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we 7298didn't need that. Our energy would simply `prevail'. There was no 7299point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; 7300we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave .... 7301 7302So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in 7303Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost 7304___see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and 7305rolled back. 7306 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 7307% 7308In the beginning was the word. 7309But by the time the second word was added to it, 7310there was trouble. 7311For with it came syntax ... 7312 -- John Simon 7313% 7314In the days when Sussman was a novice Minsky once came to him as he sat 7315hacking at the PDP-6. "What are you doing?", asked Minsky. "I am 7316training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe." "Why is the 7317net wired randomly?", asked Minsky. "I do not want it to have any 7318preconceptions of how to play." Minsky shut his eyes. "Why do you 7319close your eyes?", Sussman asked his teacher. "So the room will be 7320empty." At that moment, Sussman was enlightened. 7321% 7322In the force if Yoda's so strong, construct a sentence with words in 7323the proper order then why can't he? 7324% 7325In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful 7326Dead. 7327 -- Egyptian Book of the Dead 7328% 7329In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. 7330 -- Alan Perlis 7331% 7332In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or 7333a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole a loaf of bread and gave it 7334to you, you would only be tried for receiving, a crime punishable by 7335forty lashes with the cat or the dog, whichever was handy. If you 7336stole a dog and were caught, you were punished with twelve rabbit 7337punches, although it was hard to find rabbits big enough or strong 7338enough to punch you. 7339 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 7340% 7341In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Mississippi has 7342shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. Therefore ... in the 7343Old Silurian Period the Mississippi River was upward of one million 7344three hundred thousand miles long ... seven hundred and forty-two years 7345from now the Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. 7346... There is something fascinating about science. One gets such 7347wholesome returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of 7348fact. 7349 -- Mark Twain 7350% 7351In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to 7352drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at 7353discotheques. 7354 -- Art Linkletter 7355% 7356In those days he was wiser than he is now -- he used to frequently take 7357my advice. 7358 -- Winston Churchill 7359% 7360In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without 7361the supervision of a licensed engineer. 7362% 7363In West Union, Ohio, No married man can go flying without his spouse 7364along at any time, unless he has been married for more than 12 months. 7365% 7366Incumbent, n.: 7367 Person of liveliest interest to the outcumbents. 7368 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7369% 7370... indifference is a militant thing ... when it goes away it leaves 7371smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayonetted through the throat. It is 7372not a children's pastime like mere highway robbery. 7373 -- Stephen Crane 7374% 7375Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? 7376% 7377Individualists unite! 7378% 7379Infancy, n.: 7380 The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, "Heaven 7381lies about us." The world begins lying about us pretty soon 7382afterward. 7383 -- Ambrose Bierce 7384% 7385Information Center, n.: 7386 A room staffed by professional computer people whose job it is 7387to tell you why you cannot have the information you require. 7388% 7389Ingrate, n.: 7390 A man who bites the hand that feeds him, and then complains of 7391indigestion. 7392% 7393Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 7394 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. 7395% 7396Ink, n.: 7397 A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic, and 7398water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote 7399intellectual crime. 7400 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7401% 7402Innovation is hard to schedule. 7403 -- Dan Fylstra 7404% 7405Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. 7406% 7407Insanity is the final defense ... It's hard to get a refund when the 7408salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon. 7409% 7410Interpreter, n.: 7411 One who enables two persons of different languages to 7412understand each other by repeating to each what it would have been to 7413the interpreter's advantage for the other to have said. 7414 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7415% 7416Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure. 7417% 7418 INVENTORY 7419Four be the things I am wiser to know: 7420Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. 7421 7422Four be the things I'd been better without: 7423Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. 7424 7425Three be the things I shall never attain: 7426Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. 7427 7428Three be the things I shall have till I die: 7429Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye. 7430% 7431Iron Law of Distribution: 7432 Them that has, gets. 7433% 7434"Irrationality is the square root of all evil" 7435 -- Douglas Hofstadter 7436% 7437Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is 7438meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a 7439soap bubble? 7440% 7441Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the 7442beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get 7443out, and such as are out wish to get in? 7444 -- Ralph Emerson 7445% 7446Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! 7447% 7448Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction 7449listen to weather forecasts and economists? 7450 -- Kelvin Throop III 7451% 7452Isn't it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune 7453tellers take economists seriously? 7454% 7455Issawi's Laws of Progress: 7456 7457 The Course of Progress: 7458 Most things get steadily worse. 7459 7460 The Path of Progress: 7461 A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. 7462% 7463It appears that after his death, Albert Einstein found himself working 7464as the doorkeeper at the Pearly Gates. One slow day, he found that he 7465had time to chat with the new entrants. To the first one he asked, 7466"What's your IQ?" The new arrival replied, "190". They discussed 7467Einstein's theory of relativity for hours. When the second new arrival 7468came, Einstein once again inquired as to the newcomer's IQ. The answer 7469this time came "120". To which Einstein replied, "Tell me, how did the 7470Cubs do this year?" and they proceeded to talk for half an hour or so. 7471To the final arrival, Einstein once again posed the question, "What's 7472your IQ?". Upon receiving the answer "70", Einstein smiled and asked, 7473"Got a minute to tell me about VMS 4.0?" 7474% 7475It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown 7476came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and 7477applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I 7478think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the 7479wits, who believe that it is a joke. 7480% 7481It has been observed that one's nose is never so happy as when it is 7482thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have 7483drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell. 7484 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7485% 7486It has been said [by Anatole France], "it is not by amusing oneself 7487that one learns," and, in reply: "it is *____only* by amusing oneself that 7488one can learn." 7489 -- Edward Kasner and James R. Newman 7490% 7491It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have 7492been searching for evidence which could support this. 7493 -- Bertrand Russell 7494% 7495It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats. 7496% 7497It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to 7498program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in 7499organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be 7500self-critical? 7501 -- Alan Perlis 7502% 7503It is against the law for a monster to enter the corporate limits of 7504Urbana, Illinois. 7505% 7506It is always preferable to visit home with a friend. Your parents will 7507not be pleased with this plan, because they want you all to themselves 7508and because in the presence of your friend, they will have to act like 7509mature human beings ... 7510 -- Playboy, January 1983 7511% 7512It is amusing that a virtue is made of the vice of chastity; and it's a 7513pretty odd sort of chastity at that, which leads men straight into the 7514sin of Onan, and girls to the waning of their color. 7515 -- Voltaire 7516% 7517It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what 7518they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed 7519that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so 7520much -- the wheel, New York wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins 7521had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But 7522conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more 7523intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. 7524 7525Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending 7526destruction of the of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to 7527alert mankind to the danger; but most of their communications were 7528misinterpreted ... 7529 -- Douglas Admas "The Hitch-Hikers' Guide To The 7530 Galaxy" 7531% 7532It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be 7533coming up it. 7534 -- Henry Allen 7535% 7536It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? 7537One in a million, perhaps. 7538% 7539It is better to kiss an avocado than to get in a fight with an aardvark 7540% 7541It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three 7542benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never 7543to use either. 7544 -- Mark Twain 7545% 7546It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both 7547incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by 7548twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. 7549 -- Rod Serling 7550% 7551"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is 7552lightly greased." 7553 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 7554% 7555It is easier to be a "humanitarian" than to render your own country its 7556proper due; it is easier to be a "patriot" than to make your community 7557a better place to live in; it is easier to be a "civic leader" than to 7558treat your own family with loving understanding; for the smaller the 7559focus of attention, the harder the task. 7560 -- Sydney J. Harris 7561% 7562It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice 7563versa. 7564% 7565It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. 7566% 7567It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct 7568one. 7569% 7570It is generally agreed that "Hello" is an appropriate greeting because 7571if you entered a room and said "Goodbye," it could confuse a lot of 7572people. 7573 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 7574% 7575It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood 7576Boulevard at one time. 7577% 7578It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia. 7579% 7580It is impossible to experience one's death objectively and still carry 7581a tune. 7582 -- Woody Allen 7583% 7584It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so 7585ingenious. 7586% 7587It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not 7588desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. 7589 -- Woody Allen 7590% 7591It is Mr. Mellon's credo that $200,000,000 can do no wrong. Our 7592offense consists in doubting it. 7593 -- Justice Robert H. Jackson 7594% 7595It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the 7596problem. 7597% 7598It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be 7599privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to 7600corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles. 7601 -- George Bernard Shaw 7602% 7603It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. 7604 -- Gore Vidal 7605% 7606It is not true that life is one damn thing after another -- it's one 7607damn thing over and over. 7608 -- Edna St. Vincent Millay 7609% 7610It is now 10 p.m. Do you know where Henry Kissinger is? 7611 -- Elizabeth Carpenter 7612% 7613It is now pitch dark. If you proceed, you will likely fall into a 7614pit. 7615% 7616It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that 7617virginity could be a virtue. 7618 -- Voltaire 7619% 7620It is only people of small moral stature who have to stand on their 7621dignity. 7622% 7623It is only the great men who are truly obscene. If they had not dared 7624to be obscene, they could never have dared to be great. 7625 -- Havelock Ellis 7626% 7627It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to 7628students that have had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential 7629programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of 7630regeneration. 7631 -- Dijkstra 7632% 7633It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the 7634lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as 7635high as the eagle? 7636% 7637It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a 7638statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more 7639glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through 7640which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the 7641day, that is the highest of arts. 7642 -- Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Live" 7643% 7644It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad 7645crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed 7646until the other has gone. 7647% 7648It is the business of little minds to shrink. 7649 -- Carl Sandburg 7650% 7651It is the business of the future to be dangerous. 7652 -- Hawkwind 7653% 7654It is true that if your paperboy throws your paper into the bushes for 7655five straight days it can be explained by Newton's Law of Gravity. But 7656it takes Murphy's law to explain why it is happening to you. 7657% 7658It is very difficult to prophesy, especially when it pertains to the 7659future. 7660% 7661It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. 7662% 7663It may be bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but it isn't too 7664good either if you speak when your head is empty. 7665% 7666It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a 7667warning to others. 7668% 7669"It runs like _x, where _x is something unsavory" 7670 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 7671% 7672It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the 7673flag. 7674% 7675It shall be unlawful for any suspicious person to be within the 7676municipality. 7677 -- Local ordinance, Euclid Ohio 7678% 7679"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, 7680but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous." 7681 -- Robert Benchly 7682% 7683It was a book to kill time for those who liked it better dead. 7684% 7685"It was a virgin forest, a place where the Hand of Man had never set 7686foot." 7687% 7688It was one of those perfect summer days -- the sun was shining, a 7689breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, and the lawn mower was 7690broken ... 7691 -- James Dent 7692% 7693"It was pleasant to me to get a letter from you the other day. Perhaps 7694I should have found it pleasanter if I had been able to decipher it. I 7695don't think that I mastered anything beyond the date (which I knew) and 7696the signature (which I guessed at). There's a singular and a perpetual 7697charm in a letter of yours; it never grows old, it never loses its 7698novelty .... Other letters are read and thrown away and forgotten, but 7699yours are kept forever -- unread. One of them will last a reasonable 7700man a lifetime." 7701 -- Thomas Aldrich 7702% 7703 It was the next morning that the armies of Twodor marched east 7704laden with long lances, sharp swords, and death-dealing hangovers. The 7705thousands were led by Arrowroot, who sat limply in his sidesaddle, 7706nursing a whopper. Goodgulf, Gimlet, and the rest rode by him, praying 7707for their fate to be quick, painless, and if possible, someone else's. 7708 Many an hour the armies forged ahead, the war-merinos bleating 7709under their heavy burdens and the soldiers bleating under their melting 7710icepacks. 7711 -- The Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 7712% 7713It wasn't that she had a rose in her teeth, exactly. It was more like 7714the rose and the teeth were in the same glass. 7715% 7716It will be advantageous to cross the great stream ... the Dragon is on 7717the wing in the Sky ... the Great Man rouses himself to his Work. 7718% 7719It will be generally found that those who sneer habitually at human 7720nature and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant 7721examples. 7722 -- Charles Dickens 7723% 7724It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing 7725warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or 7726two things still safe to eat. 7727 -- Robert Fuoss 7728% 7729It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. 7730 -- Andrew Jackson 7731% 7732"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milkbone 7733underwear." 7734% 7735It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for. 7736% 7737"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it." 7738 -- Steven Wright 7739% 7740"It's a summons." 7741"What's a summons?" 7742"It means summon's in trouble." 7743 -- Rocky and Bullwinkle 7744% 7745It's a very *__UN*lucky week in which to be took dead. 7746 -- Churchy La Femme 7747% 7748It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black. 7749% 7750"It's bad luck to be superstitious." 7751 -- Andrew W. Mathis 7752% 7753It's better to be wanted for murder that not to be wanted at all. 7754 -- Marty Winch 7755% 7756"It's easier said than done." 7757 7758... and if you don't believe it, try proving that it's easier done than 7759said, and you'll see that "it's easier said that `it's easier done than 7760said' than it is done", which really proves that "it's easier said than 7761done". 7762% 7763It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. 7764% 7765It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than forgiveness for 7766being right. 7767% 7768"It's Fabulous! We haven't seen anything like it in the last half an 7769hour!" 7770 -- Macy's 7771% 7772It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse. 7773% 7774It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it 7775is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It 7776isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. 7777 -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News 7778% 7779It's just a jump to the left 7780 And then a step to the right. 7781Put your hands on your hips 7782 And pull your knees in tight. 7783It's the pelvic thrust 7784 That really gets you insa-a-a-a-ane 7785 7786 LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! 7787 7788 -- Rocky Horror Picture Show 7789% 7790"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." 7791 -- Walt Disney 7792% 7793"It's Like This" 7794 7795Even the samurai 7796have teddy bears, 7797and even the teddy bears 7798get drunk. 7799% 7800It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong 7801direction. 7802% 7803"It's men like him that give the Y chromosome a bad name." 7804% 7805It's more than magnificent -- it's mediocre. 7806 -- Sam Goldwyn 7807% 7808It's no surprise that things are so screwed up: everyone that knows how 7809to run a government is either driving taxicabs or cutting hair. 7810 -- George Burns 7811% 7812It's not an optical illusion, it just looks like one. 7813 -- Phil White 7814% 7815"It's not Camelot, but it's not Cleveland, either." 7816 -- Kevin White, mayor of Boston 7817% 7818It's not enough to be Hungarian; you must have talent too. 7819 -- Alexander Korda 7820% 7821"It's not just a computer -- it's your ass." 7822 -- Cal Keegan 7823% 7824It's not reality or how you perceive things that's important -- it's 7825what you're taking for it... 7826% 7827It's not so hard to lift yourself by your bootstraps once you're off 7828the ground. 7829 -- Daniel B. Luten 7830% 7831It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it 7832happens. 7833 -- Woody Allen 7834% 7835It's not the valleys in life I dread so much as the dips. 7836 -- Garfield 7837% 7838It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that 7839English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many 7840other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case. 7841 -- Sydney J. Harris 7842% 7843It's raisins that make Post Raisin Bran so raisiny ... 7844% 7845It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles. 7846% 7847It's so stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the 7848Devil when he is the only explanation of it. 7849% 7850It's the opinion of some that crops could be grown on the moon. Which 7851raises the fear that it may not be long before we're paying somebody 7852not to. 7853 -- Franklin P. Jones 7854% 7855It's the thought, if any, that counts! 7856% 7857 JACK AND THE BEANSTACK 7858 by Mark Isaak 7859 7860 Long ago, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL 7861character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their 7862hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices 7863are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some 7864BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it 7865to him. 7866 So Jack set out. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, 7867he met the traveling salesman. 7868 "Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman 7869in high-level language. 7870 "I'm going to the market to exchange this RAM for some chips 7871and Apples," commented Jack. 7872 "I have a much better algorithm. You needn't join a queue 7873there; I will swap your RAM for these magic kernels now." 7874 Jack made the trade, then backtracked to his house. But when 7875he told his busy-waiting parent of the deal, she became so angry she 7876started thrashing. 7877 "Don't you even have any artificial intelligence? All these 7878kernels together hardly make up one byte," and she popped them out the 7879window ... 7880% 7881Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Government: 7882 No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the 7883legislature is in session. 7884% 7885James Joyce -- an essentially private man who wished his total 7886indifference to public notice to be universally recognized. 7887 -- Tom Stoppard 7888% 7889Jenkinson's Law: 7890 It won't work. 7891% 7892Jesus Saves, 7893Moses Invests, 7894But only Buddha pays Dividends. 7895% 7896Job Placement, n.: 7897 Telling your boss what he can do with your job. 7898% 7899Joe's sister puts spaghetti in her shoes! 7900% 7901Johnson's First Law: 7902 When any mechanical contrivance fails, it will do so at the 7903most inconvenient possible time. 7904% 7905Join in the new game that's sweeping the country. It's called 7906"Bureaucracy". Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do 7907anything loses. 7908% 7909Join the march to save individuality! 7910% 7911Jone's Law: 7912 The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone 7913to blame it on. 7914% 7915Jone's Motto: 7916 Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. 7917% 7918Jones's First Law: 7919 Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of 7920endeavor, and stays in that field long enough, becomes an obstruction 7921to its progress -- in direct proportion to the importance of their 7922original contribution. 7923% 7924Just about every computer on the market today runs Unix, except the Mac 7925(and nobody cares about it). 7926 -- Bill Joy 6/21/85 7927% 7928Just as most issues are seldom black or white, so are most good 7929solutions seldom black or white. Beware of the solution that requires 7930one side to be totally the loser and the other side to be totally the 7931winner. The reason there are two sides to begin with usually is 7932because neither side has all the facts. Therefore, when the wise 7933mediator effects a compromise, he is not acting from political 7934motivation. Rather, he is acting from a deep sense of respect for the 7935whole truth. 7936 -- Stephen R. Schwambach 7937% 7938Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has 7939changed. 7940 -- Irene Peter 7941% 7942Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. 7943% 7944Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn't mean he 7945knows what it is. 7946% 7947Just go with the flow control, roll with the crunches, and, when you 7948get a prompt, type like hell. 7949% 7950"Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't 7951immune to bullets" 7952 -- The Brigader, "Dr. Who" 7953% 7954"Just out of curiosity does this actually mean something or have some 7955of the few remaining bits of your brain just evaporated?" 7956 -- Patricia O Tuama, rissa@killer.DALLAS.TX.US 7957% 7958Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to 7959twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! 7960% 7961`Just the place for a Snark!' the Bellman cried, 7962 As he landed his crew with care; 7963Supporting each man on the top of the tide 7964 By a finger entwined in his hair. 7965 7966'Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: 7967 That alone should encourage the crew. 7968Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: 7969 What I tell you three times is true.' 7970% 7971Just when you thought you were winning the rat race, along comes a 7972faster rat!!! 7973% 7974Justice always prevails ... three times out of seven! 7975 -- Michael J. Wagner 7976% 7977Justice is incidental to law and order. 7978 -- J. Edgar Hoover 7979% 7980Justice, n.: 7981 A decision in your favor. 7982% 7983K: Cobalt's metal, hard and shining; 7984 Cobol's wordy and confining; 7985 KOBOLDS topple when you strike them; 7986 Don't feel bad, it's hard to like them. 7987 -- The Roguelet's ABC 7988% 7989Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to 7990wear tail lights. 7991% 7992Katz' Law: 7993 Man and nations will act rationally when all other 7994possibilities have been exhausted. 7995% 7996Keep America beautiful. Swallow your beer cans. 7997% 7998Keep Cool, but Don't Freeze 7999 - Hellman's Mayonnaise 8000% 8001Keep emotionally active. Cater to your favorite neurosis. 8002% 8003Keep grandma off the streets -- legalize bingo. 8004% 8005Keep in mind always the two constant Laws of Frisbee: 8006 (1) The most powerful force in the world is that of a disc 8007 straining to land under a car, just out of reach (this 8008 force is technically termed "car suck"). 8009 (2) Never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive 8010 than "Watch this!" 8011% 8012Keep you Eye on the Ball, 8013Your Shoulder to the Wheel, 8014Your Nose to the Grindstone, 8015Your Feet on the Ground, 8016Your Head on your Shoulders. 8017Now ... try to get something DONE! 8018% 8019Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most 8020automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the 8021numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the 8022driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the 8023dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know 8024what's wrong." 8025% 8026Kerr's Three Rules for a Successful College: 8027 Have plenty of football for the alumni, sex for the students, 8028and parking for the faculty. 8029% 8030Kids have *_____never* taken guidance from their parents. If you could 8031travel back in time and observe the original primate family in the 8032original tree, you would see the primate parents yelling at the primate 8033teenager for sitting around and sulking all day instead of hunting for 8034grubs and berries like dad primate. Then you'd see the primate 8035teenager stomp up to his branch and slam the leaves. 8036 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly 8037 Do" 8038% 8039Kin, n.: 8040 An affliction of the blood 8041% 8042Kinkler's First Law: 8043 Responsibility always exceeds authority. 8044 8045Kinkler's Second Law: 8046 All the easy problems have been solved. 8047% 8048"Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack." 8049% 8050Kirkland, Illinois, law forbids bees to fly over the village or through 8051any of its streets. 8052% 8053Kiss me twice. I'm schizophrenic. 8054% 8055Kiss your keyboard goodbye! 8056% 8057Klein bottle for rent -- inquire within. 8058% 8059Klein bottle for sale ... inquire within. 8060% 8061Kleptomaniac, n.: 8062 A rich thief. 8063 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8064% 8065Know thyself. If you need help, call the C.I.A. 8066% 8067Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. 8068 -- Henry N. Camp 8069% 8070Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr): 8071 The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards. 8072 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8073% 8074Labor, n.: 8075 One of the processes by which A acquires property for B. 8076 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8077% 8078Lackland's Laws: 8079 (1) Never be first. 8080 (2) Never be last. 8081 (3) Never volunteer for anything 8082% 8083Lactomangulation, n.: 8084 Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly 8085that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side. 8086 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8087% 8088Ladybug, ladybug, 8089Look to your stern! 8090Your house is on fire, 8091Your children will burn! 8092So jump ye and sing, for 8093The very first time 8094The four lines above 8095Have been put into rhyme. 8096 -- Walt Kelly 8097% 8098Laetrile is the pits 8099% 8100Langsam's Laws: 8101 (1) Everything depends. 8102 (2) Nothing is always. 8103 (3) Everything is sometimes. 8104% 8105Larkinson's Law: 8106 All laws are basically false. 8107% 8108Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with 8109was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting 8110pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the 8111farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their 8112sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do 8113you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? 8114What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead 8115of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under 8116the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops 8117whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which 8118Lassie filed the applications for. 8119 -- Dave Barry 8120% 8121"Last night, I came home and realized that everything in my apartment 8122had been stolen and replaced with an exact duplicate. I told this to 8123my friend -- he said, `Do I know you?'" 8124 -- Steven Wright 8125% 8126"Last week a cop stopped me in my car. He asked me if I had a police 8127record. I said, no, but I have the new DEVO album. Cops have no sense 8128of humor." 8129% 8130Last yeer I kudn't spel Engineer. Now I are won. 8131% 8132Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. 8133% 8134"Laughter is the closest distance between two people." 8135 -- Victor Borge 8136% 8137Law of Communications: 8138 The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications 8139between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased area of 8140misunderstanding. 8141% 8142Law of Probable Dispersal: 8143 Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly 8144distributed. 8145% 8146Law of Selective Gravity: 8147 An object will fall so as to do the most damage. 8148 8149Jenning's Corollary: 8150 The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is 8151directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. 8152% 8153Law of the Perversity of Nature: 8154 You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the 8155bread to butter. 8156% 8157Laws of Serendipity: 8158 8159 (1) In order to discover anything, you must be looking for 8160 something. 8161 (2) If you wish to make an improved product, you must already 8162 be engaged in making an inferior one. 8163% 8164Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: 8165 No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats -- 8166approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less. 8167% 8168Learned men are the cisterns of knowledge, not the fountainheads. 8169% 8170Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and 8171everything else follows in the same way. 8172 -- Alan J. Perlis 8173% 8174Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. 8175% 8176Legalize free-enterprise murder: why should governments have all the 8177fun? 8178% 8179Legislation proposed in the Illinois State Legislature, May, 1907: 8180 "Speed upon county roads will be limited to ten miles an hour 8181unless the motorist sees a bailiff who does not appear to have had a 8182drink in 30 days, when the driver will be permitted to make what he 8183can." 8184% 8185Leibowitz's Rule: 8186 When hammering a nail, you will never hit your finger if you 8187hold the hammer with both hands. 8188% 8189LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8190 You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are 8191 pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike 8192 honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people 8193 are thieves. 8194% 8195LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8196 Your determination and sense of humor will come to the fore. 8197 Your ability to laugh at adversity will be a blessing because 8198 you've got a day coming you wouldn't believe. As a matter of 8199 fact, if you can laugh at what happens to you today, you've got 8200 a sick sense of humor. 8201% 8202Let He who taketh the Plunge Remember to return it by Tuesday. 8203% 8204"Let me assure you that to us here at First National, you're not just a 8205number. You're two numbers, a dash, three more numbers, another dash 8206and another number." 8207 -- James Estes 8208% 8209Let us live!!! 8210Let us love!!! 8211Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!! 8212 8213You first. 8214% 8215Let's just say that where a change was required, I adjusted. In every 8216relationship that exists, people have to seek a way to survive. If you 8217really care about the person, you do what's necessary, or that's the 8218end. For the first time, I found that I really could change, and the 8219qualities I most admired in myself I gave up. I stopped being loud and 8220bossy ... Oh, all right. I was still loud and bossy, but only behind 8221his back." 8222 -- Kate Hepburn, on Tracy and Hepburn 8223% 8224Let's say your wedding ring falls into your toaster, and when you stick 8225your hand in to retrieve it, you suffer Pain and Suffering as well as 8226Mental Anguish. You would sue: 8227 8228* The toaster manufacturer, for failure to include, in the instructions 8229 section that says you should never never never ever stick you hand 8230 into the toaster, the statement "Not even if your wedding ring falls 8231 in there". 8232 8233* The store where you bought the toaster, for selling it to an obvious 8234 cretin like yourself. 8235 8236* Union Carbide Corporation, which is not directly responsible in this 8237 case, but which is feeling so guilty that it would probably send you 8238 a large cash settlement anyway. 8239 -- Dave Barry 8240% 8241Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often 8242overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of 8243dollars: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your 8244tax return around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to 8245spend hours poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe 8246money, you can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will 8247probably give it to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? 8248It's not his money. 8249 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 8250% 8251LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Times of London) 8252 8253Dear Sir, 8254 8255I am firmly opposed to the spread of microchips either to the home or 8256to the office. We have more than enough of them foisted upon us in 8257public places. They are a disgusting Americanism, and can only result 8258in the farmers being forced to grow smaller potatoes, which in turn 8259will cause massive unemployment in the already severely depressed 8260agricultural industry. 8261 8262Yours faithfully, 8263 Capt. Quinton D'Arcy, J. P. 8264 Sevenoaks 8265% 8266Lewis's Law of Travel: 8267 The first piece of luggage out of the chute doesn't belong to 8268anyone, ever. 8269% 8270Liar, n.: 8271 A lawyer with a roving commission. 8272 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8273% 8274Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. 8275 -- Harry Emerson Fosdick 8276% 8277LIBRA (Sep. 23 to Oct. 22) 8278 Your desire for justice and truth will be overshadowed by your 8279 desire for filthy lucre and a decent meal. Be gracious and 8280 polite. Someone is watching you, so stop staring like that. 8281% 8282LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22) 8283 You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with 8284 reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely gay. 8285 Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most 8286 Libra women are prostitutes. All Libra people die of venereal 8287 disease. 8288% 8289Lie, n.: 8290 A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one 8291discovered to date. 8292% 8293Lieberman's Law: 8294 Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens. 8295% 8296Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while. 8297% 8298Life is a yo-yo, and mankind ties knots in the string. 8299% 8300"Life is like a bowl of soup with hairs floating on it. You have to 8301eat it nevertheless." 8302 -- Flaubert 8303% 8304"Life is like a buffet; it's not good but there's plenty of it." 8305% 8306Life is like a simile. 8307% 8308Life is like an analogy 8309% 8310Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, then you find 8311there is nothing in it. 8312% 8313"Life is too important to take seriously." 8314 -- Corky Siegel 8315% 8316"Life may have no meaning -- or even worse, it may have a meaning of 8317which I disapprove." 8318% 8319"Life to you is a bold and dashing responsibility" 8320 -- a Mary Chung's fortune cookie 8321% 8322"Life would be much simpler and things would get done much faster if it 8323weren't for other people" 8324 -- Blore 8325% 8326Life would be so much easier if we could just look at the source code. 8327% 8328"Life, loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it." 8329 -- Marvin, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 8330% 8331Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made 8332sense from things she found in gift shops. 8333 -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 8334% 8335Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking 8336for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem. 8337 -- Alan McKay 8338% 8339Limericks are art forms complex, 8340Their topics run chiefly to sex. 8341 They usually have virgins, 8342 And masculine urgin's, 8343And other erotic effects. 8344% 8345Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations. 8346% 8347Linus: I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe 8348 we should think only about today. 8349Charlie Brown: 8350 No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get 8351 better. 8352% 8353Living in LA is like not having a date on Saturday night. 8354 -- Candice Bergen 8355% 8356Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip 8357around the Sun. 8358% 8359Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted 8360before. 8361% 8362Lizzie Borden took an axe, 8363And plunged it deep into the VAX; 8364Don't you envy people who 8365Do all the things ___YOU want to do? 8366% 8367Loan-department manager: "There isn't any fine print. At these 8368interest rates, we don't need it." 8369% 8370Lobster: 8371 Everyone loves these delectable crustaceans, but many cooks are 8372squeamish about placing them into boiling water alive, which is the 8373only proper method of preparing them. Frankly, the easiest way to 8374eliminate your guilt is to establish theirs by putting them on trial 8375before they're cooked. The fact is, lobsters are among the most 8376ferocious predators on the sea floor, and you're helping reduce crime 8377in the reefs. Grasp the lobster behind the head, look it right in its 8378unmistakably guilty eyestalks and say, "Where were you on the night of 8379the 21st?", then flourish a picture of a scallop or a sole and shout, 8380"Perhaps this will refresh that crude neural apparatus you call a 8381memory!" The lobster will squirm noticeably. It may even take a swipe 8382at you with one of its claws. Incorrigible. Pop it into the pot. 8383Justice has been served, and shortly you and your friends will be, 8384too. 8385 -- "Cooking: The Art of Using Appliances and Utensils 8386 into Excuses and Apologies" 8387% 8388Lockwood's Long Shot: 8389 The chances of getting eaten up by a lion on Main Street aren't 8390one in a million, but once would be enough. 8391% 8392Logic is a little bird, sitting in a tree; that smells *_____awful*. 8393% 8394... Logically incoherent, semantically incomprehensible, and 8395legally ... impeccable! 8396% 8397Logicians have but ill defined 8398As rational the human kind. 8399Logic, they say, belongs to man, 8400But let them prove it if they can. 8401 -- Oliver Goldsmith 8402% 8403Look out! Behind you! 8404% 8405Look, we play the Star Spangled Banner before every game. You want us 8406to pay income taxes, too? 8407 -- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox 8408% 8409Loose bits sink chips. 8410% 8411Losing your drivers' license is just God's way of saying "BOOGA, 8412BOOGA!" 8413% 8414Lost interest? It's so bad I've lost apathy. 8415% 8416Loud burping while walking around the airport is prohibited in 8417Halstead, Kansas. 8418% 8419Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. 8420% 8421Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. 8422% 8423Love at first sight is one of the greatest labor-saving devices the 8424world has ever seen. 8425% 8426Love cannot be much younger than the lust for murder. 8427 -- Sigmund Freud 8428% 8429"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it 8430flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come." 8431 -- Matt Groening 8432% 8433Love is a word that is constantly heard, 8434Hate is a word that is not. 8435Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. 8436Love, I have read, is hot. 8437But hate is the verb that to me is superb, 8438And Love but a drug on the mart. 8439Any kiddie in school can love like a fool, 8440But Hating, my boy, is an Art. 8441 -- Ogden Nash 8442% 8443"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with 8444the ideal never goes unpunished." 8445 -- Goethe 8446% 8447Love is sentimental measles. 8448% 8449Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. 8450 -- H. L. Mencken 8451% 8452Love means having to say you're sorry every five minutes. 8453% 8454Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighborhood. 8455 -- Louise Beal 8456% 8457Love your enemies: they'll go crazy trying to figure out what you're up 8458to. 8459% 8460 Love's Drug 8461 8462My love is like an iron wand 8463 That conks me on the head, 8464My love is like the valium 8465 That I take before my bed, 8466My love is like the pint of scotch 8467 That I drink when I be dry; 8468And I shall love thee still, my dear, 8469 Until my wife is wise. 8470% 8471Lowery's Law: 8472 If it jams -- force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing 8473anyway. 8474% 8475LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand. 8476% 8477Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: 8478 There's always one more bug. 8479% 8480Lunatic Asylum, n.: 8481 The place where optimism most flourishes. 8482% 8483Lysistrata had a good idea. 8484% 8485"MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into 8486the smallest amount of thoughts." 8487 -- Winston Churchill 8488% 8489Machine-Independent, adj.: 8490 Does not run on any existing machine. 8491% 8492Machines certainly can solve problems, store information, correlate, 8493and play games -- but not with pleasure. 8494 -- Leo Rosten 8495% 8496Mad, adj.: 8497 Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence ... 8498 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8499% 8500Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child -- if you parboil them 8501first for seven hours, they always come out tender. 8502 -- W. C. Fields 8503% 8504MAFIA, n: 8505 [Acronym for Mechanized Applications in Forced Insurance 8506Accounting.] An extensive network with many on-line and offshore 8507subsystems running under OS, DOS, and IOS. MAFIA documentation is 8508rather scanty, and the MAFIA sales office exhibits that testy 8509reluctance to bona fide inquiries which is the hallmark of so many DP 8510operations. From the little that has seeped out, it would appear that 8511MAFIA operates under a non-standard protocol, OMERTA, a tight-lipped 8512variant of SNA, in which extended handshakes also perform complex 8513security functions. The known timesharing aspects of MAFIA point to a 8514more than usually autocratic operating system. Screen prompts carry an 8515imperative, nonrefusable weighting (most menus offer simple YES/YES 8516options, defaulting to YES) that precludes indifference or delay. 8517Uniquely, all editing under MAFIA is performed centrally, using a 8518powerful rubout feature capable of erasing files, filors, filees, and 8519entire nodal aggravations. 8520 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 8521% 8522Magnet, n.: Something acted upon by magnetism 8523 8524Magnetism, n.: Something acting upon a magnet. 8525 8526The two definition immediately foregoing are condensed from the works 8527of one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject 8528with a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human 8529knowledge. 8530 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8531% 8532Magnocartic, adj.: 8533 Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping 8534carts. 8535 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 8536% 8537Magpie, n.: 8538 A bird whose thievish disposition suggested to someone that it 8539might be taught to talk. 8540 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8541% 8542Maier's Law: 8543 If the facts don't conform to the theory, they must be disposed 8544 of. 8545 8546Corollaries: 8547 (1) The bigger the theory, the better. 8548 (2) The experiment may be considered a success if no more than 8549 50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to 8550 obtain a correspondence with the theory. 8551% 8552Main's Law: 8553 For every action there is an equal and opposite government 8554program. 8555% 8556Maintainer's Motto: 8557 If we can't fix it, it ain't broke. 8558% 8559Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly 8560 as one man. 8561 8562Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds. 8563 8564Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. 8565 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8566% 8567Majority, n.: 8568 That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law. 8569% 8570Make it myself? But I'm a physical organic chemist! 8571% 8572Making files is easy under the UNIX operating system. Therefore, users 8573tend to create numerous files using large amounts of file space. It 8574has been said that the only standard thing about all UNIX systems is 8575the message-of-the-day telling users to clean up their files. 8576 -- System V.2 administrator's guide 8577% 8578Malek's Law: 8579 Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way. 8580% 8581Man 1: Ask me the what the most important thing about telling a good 8582 joke is. 8583 8584Man 2: OK, what is the most impo -- 8585 8586Man 1: ______TIMING! 8587% 8588"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." 8589 -- Lily Tomlin 8590% 8591Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called 8592upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 8593 -- Oscar Wilde 8594% 8595Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the 8596only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. 8597 -- Wernher von Braun 8598% 8599Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. 8600 -- Mark Twain 8601% 8602Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the 8603victims he intends to eat until he eats them. 8604 -- Samuel Butler 8605% 8606Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the 8607victims he intends to eat until he eats them. 8608 -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) 8609% 8610Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- unless it 8611is an enemy. 8612 -- Albert Einstein 8613% 8614Man, n.: 8615 An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks 8616he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief 8617occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, 8618however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole 8619habitable earth and Canada. 8620 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8621% 8622Mandrell: "You know what I think?" 8623Doctor: "Ah, ah that's a catch question. With a brain your size you 8624 don't think, right?" 8625 -- Dr. Who 8626% 8627Mankind's yearning to engage in sports is older than recorded history, 8628dating back to the time millions of years ago, when the first primitive 8629man picked up a crude club and a round rock, tossed the rock into the 8630air, and whomped the club into the sloping forehead of the first 8631primitive umpire. 8632 8633What inner force drove this first athlete? Your guess is as good as 8634mine. Better, probably, because you haven't had four beers. 8635 -- Dave Barry, "Sports is a Drag" 8636% 8637Manual, n.: 8638 A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a 8639given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The 8640information you need in in the others. 8641 -- Ray Simard 8642% 8643Many years ago in a period commonly know as Next Friday Afternoon, 8644there lived a King who was very Gloomy on Tuesday mornings because he 8645was so Sad thinking about how Unhappy he had been on Monday and how 8646completely Mournful he would be on Wednesday ... 8647 -- Walt Kelly 8648% 8649Mark's Dental-Chair Discovery: 8650 Dentists are incapable of asking questions that require a 8651simple yes or no answer. 8652% 8653Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. 8654 -- Voltaire 8655% 8656Maryel brought her bat into Exit once and started whacking people on 8657the dance floor. Now everyone's doing it. It's called grand slam 8658dancing. 8659 -- Ransford, Chicago Reader 10/7/83 8660% 8661Maternity pay? Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will get pregnant. 8662 -- Malcolm Smith 8663% 8664Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. 8665 -- R. Drabek 8666% 8667Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they 8668translate into their own language, and forthwith it is something 8669entirely different. 8670 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8671% 8672Mathematicians often resort to something called Hilbert space, which is 8673described as being n-dimensional. Like modern sex, any number can 8674play. 8675 -- Dr. Thor Wald, in "Beep/The Quincunx of Time", by 8676 James Blish 8677% 8678"Matrimony isn't a word, it's a sentence." 8679% 8680Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a 8681receipt. 8682% 8683Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. 8684 -- Jules Feiffer 8685% 8686May a Misguided Platypus lay its Eggs in your Jockey Shorts 8687% 8688May Euell Gibbons eat your only copy of the manual! 8689% 8690May the Fleas of a Thousand Camels infest one of your Erogenous Zones. 8691% 8692May your Tongue stick to the Roof of your Mouth with the Force of a 8693Thousand Caramels. 8694% 8695Maybe Computer Science should be in the College of Theology. 8696 -- R. S. Barton 8697% 8698Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days you can certainly charge 8699it. 8700% 8701McGowan's Madison Avenue Axiom: 8702 If an item is advertised as "under $50", you can bet it's not 8703$19.95. 8704% 8705Meader's Law: 8706 Whatever happens to you, it will previously have happened to 8707everyone you know, only more so. 8708% 8709Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 8710% 8711Meeting, n.: 8712 An assembly of people coming together to decide what person or 8713department not represented in the room must solve a problem. 8714% 8715Men were real men, women were real women, and small, furry creatures 8716from Alpha Centauri were REAL small, furry creatures from Alpha 8717Centauri. Spirits were brave, men boldly split infinitives that no man 8718had split before. Thus was the Empire forged. 8719 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams 8720% 8721Men's skin is different from women's skin. It is usually bigger, and 8722it has more snakes tattooed on it. Also, if you examine a woman's skin 8723very closely, inch by inch, starting at her shapely ankles, then gently 8724tracing the slender curve of her calves, then moving up to her ... 8725 [EDITOR'S NOTE: To make room for news articles about important 8726 world events such as agriculture, we're going to delete the 8727 next few square feet of the woman's skin. Thank you.] 8728... until finally the two of you are lying there, spent, smoking your 8729cigarettes, and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of 8730billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called "cells"! And what is even 8731more interesting, the ones on the outside are all dying! This is a 8732fact. Your skin is like an aggressive modern corporation, where the 8733older veteran cells, who have finally worked their way to the top and 8734obtained offices with nice views, are constantly being shoved out the 8735window head first, without so much as a pension plan, by younger 8736hotshot cells moving up from below. 8737 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 8738% 8739Mencken and Nathan's Fifteenth Law of The Average American: 8740 The worst actress in the company is always the manager's wife. 8741% 8742Mencken and Nathan's Ninth Law of The Average American: 8743 The quality of a champagne is judged by the amount of noise the 8744cork makes when it is popped. 8745% 8746Mencken and Nathan's Second Law of The Average American: 8747 All the postmasters in small towns read all the postcards. 8748% 8749Mencken and Nathan's Sixteenth Law of The Average American: 8750 Milking a cow is an operation demanding a special talent that 8751is possessed only by yokels, and no person born in a large city can 8752never hope to acquire it. 8753% 8754Menu, n.: 8755 A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of. 8756% 8757Meskimen's Law: 8758 There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to 8759do it over. 8760% 8761MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGED -- The Pershing II missiles have been launched. 8762% 8763Message will arrive in the mail. Destroy, before the FBI sees it. 8764% 8765methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutamin- 8766ylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolyl- 8767phenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglu- 8768taminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanyl- 8769glycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylala- 8770nylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylgluta- 8771minylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylgly- 8772cylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl- 8773leucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleu- 8774cylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylva- 8775lylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyro- 8776sylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleu- 8777cylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphe- 8778nylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylala- 8779nylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylas- 8780partylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosyl- 8781glycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycyl- 8782valylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleu- 8783cylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparagi- 8784nylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylse- 8785rylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanyl- 8786glycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalylly- 8787sylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylpro- 8788lylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalyl- 8789glutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine, n.: 8790 The chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein, a 8791 1,913-letter enzyme with 267 amino acids. 8792 -- Mrs. Bryne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and 8793% 8794Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. 8795% 8796Micro Credo: 8797 Never trust a computer bigger than you can lift. 8798% 8799"Microwave oven? Whaddya mean, it's a microwave oven? I've been 8800watching Channel 4 on the thing for two weeks." 8801% 8802"Might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you 8803out of Casablanca and the Germans have outlawed miracles." 8804% 8805Mike: "The Fourth Dimension is a shambles?" 8806Bernie: "Nobody ever empties the ashtrays. People are SO 8807 inconsiderate." 8808 -- Gary Trudeau, "Doonesbury" 8809% 8810Miksch's Law: 8811 If a string has one end, then it has another end. 8812% 8813Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. 8814 -- Groucho Marx 8815% 8816Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. 8817 -- Groucho Marx 8818% 8819Millihelen, adj: 8820 The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. 8821% 8822Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with 8823themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. 8824 -- Susan Ertz 8825% 8826Millions of sensible people are too high-minded to concede that 8827politics is almost always the choice of the lesser evil. "Tweedledum 8828and Tweedledee," they say, "I will not vote." Having abstained, they 8829are presented with a President who appoints the people who are going to 8830rummage around in their lives for the next four years. Consider all 8831the people who sat home in a stew in 1968 rather than vote for Hubert 8832Humphrey. They showed Humphrey. Those people who taught Hubert 8833Humphrey a lesson will still be enjoying the Nixon Supreme Court when 8834Tricia and Julie begin to find silver threads among the gold and the 8835black. 8836 -- Russel Baker, "Ford without Flummery" 8837% 8838Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there 8839is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, 8840myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in 8841the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my 8842unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You 8843will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as 8844dead as a door-nail. 8845% 8846Minnie Mouse is a slow maze learner. 8847% 8848Minors in Kansas City, Missouri, are not allowed to purchase cap 8849pistols; they may buy shotguns freely, however. 8850% 8851Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. 8852% 8853Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it. 8854 -- Russell Baker 8855% 8856Misfortune, n.: 8857 The kind of fortune that never misses. 8858 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8859% 8860Miss, n.: 8861 A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that 8862they are in the market. 8863 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8864% 8865Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure. 8866% 8867Mitchell's Law of Committees: 8868 Any simple problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are 8869held to discuss it. 8870% 8871MOCK APPLE PIE (No Apples Needed) 8872 8873 Pastry to two crust 9-inch pie 36 RITZ Crackers 88742 cups water 2 cups sugar 88752 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8876 Grated rind of one lemon Butter or margarine 8877 Cinnamon 8878 8879Roll out bottom crust of pastry and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Break 8880RITZ Crackers coarsely into pastry-lined plate. Combine water, sugar 8881and cream of tartar in saucepan, boil gently for 15 minutes. Add lemon 8882juice and rind. Cool. Pour this syrup over Crackers, dot generously 8883with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with top 8884crust. Trim and flute edges together. Cut slits in top crust to let 8885steam escape. Bake in a hot oven (425 F) 30 to 35 minutes, until crust 8886is crisp and golden. Serve warm. Cut into 6 to 8 slices. 8887 -- Found lurking on a Ritz Crackers box 8888% 8889Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. 8890% 8891Mohandas K. Gandhi often changed his mind publicly. An aide once asked 8892him how he could so freely contradict this week what he had said just 8893last week. The great man replied that it was because this week he knew 8894better. 8895% 8896Molecule, n.: 8897 The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished 8898from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a 8899closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of 8900matter ... The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the 8901atom in that it is an ion ... 8902 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8903% 8904Mollison's Bureaucracy Hypothesis: 8905 If an idea can survive a bureaucratic review and be implemented 8906it wasn't worth doing. 8907% 8908Monday is an awful way to spend one seventh of your life. 8909% 8910Monday, n.: 8911 In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game. 8912 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8913% 8914Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. 8915% 8916Money is the root of all evil, and man needs roots 8917% 8918Money is the root of all wealth. 8919% 8920Moon, n.: 8921 1. A celestial object whose phase is very important to 8922hackers. See PHASE OF THE MOON. 2. Dave Moon (MOON@MC). 8923% 8924Mophobia, n.: 8925 Fear of being verbally abused by a Mississippian. 8926% 8927 MORE SPORTS RESULTS: 8928The Beverly Hills Freudians tied the Chicago Rogerians 0-0 last 8929Saturday night. The match started with a long period of silence while 8930the Freudians waited for the Rogerians to free associate and the 8931Rogerians waited for the Freudians to say something they could 8932paraphrase. The stalemate was broken when the Freudians' best player 8933took the offensive and interpreted the Rogerians' silence as reflecting 8934their anal-retentive personalities. At this the Rogerians' star player 8935said "I hear you saying you think we're full of ka-ka." This started a 8936fight and the match was called by officials. 8937% 8938More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One 8939path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total 8940extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly. 8941 -- Woody Allen 8942% 8943Mosher's Law of Software Engineering: 8944 Don't worry if it doesn't work right. If everything did, you'd 8945be out of a job. 8946% 8947Most fish live underwater, which is a terrible place to have sex 8948because virtually anywhere you lie down there will be stinging crabs 8949and large quantities of little fish staring at you with buggy little 8950eyes. So generally when two fish want to have sex, they swim around 8951and around for hours, looking for someplace to go, until finally the 8952female gets really tired and has a terrible headache, and she just 8953dumps her eggs right on the sand and swims away. Then the male, driven 8954by some timeless, noble instinct for survival, eats the eggs. So the 8955truth is that fish don't reproduce at all, but there are so many of 8956them that it doesn't make any difference. 8957 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 8958 Teen Should Know" 8959% 8960Most people can't understand how others can blow their noses differently 8961than they do. 8962 -- Turgenev 8963% 8964Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass. 8965 -- Frank Zappa 8966% 8967Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like. 8968 -- Arnold Bennett 8969% 8970Mother is the invention of necessity. 8971% 8972Mother told me to be good, but she's been wrong before. 8973% 8974Mr. Cole's Axiom: 8975 The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the 8976population is growing. 8977% 8978"Multiply in your head" (ordered the compassionate Dr. Adams) 8979"365,365,365,365,365,365 by 365,365,365,365,365,365. He [ten-year-old 8980Truman Henry Safford] flew around the room like a top, pulled his 8981pantaloons over the tops of his boots, bit his hands, rolled his eyes 8982in their sockets, sometimes smiling and talking, and then seeming to be 8983in an agony, until, in not more than one minute, said he, 8984133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,255!" An electronic 8985computer might do the job a little faster but it wouldn't be as much 8986fun to watch. 8987 -- James R. Newman (The World of Mathematics) 8988% 8989Murphy's Discovery: 8990 Do you know Presidents talk to the country the way men talk to 8991women? They say, "Trust me, go all the way with me, and everything 8992will be all right." And what happens? Nine months later, you're in 8993trouble! 8994% 8995Murphy's Law is recursive. Washing your car to make it rain doesn't 8996work. 8997% 8998Murphy's Law of Research: 8999 Enough research will tend to support your theory. 9000% 9001"Murphy's Law, that brash proletarian restatement of Godel's Theorem ..." 9002 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 9003% 9004 Murray and Esther, a middle-aged Jewish couple, are touring 9005Chile. Murray just got a new camera and is constantly snapping 9006pictures. One day, without knowing it, he photographs a top-secret 9007military installation. In an instant, armed troops surround Murray and 9008Esther and hustle them off to prison. 9009 They can't prove who they are because they've left their 9010passports in their hotel room. For three weeks they're tortured day 9011and night to get them to name their contacts in the liberation 9012movement.. Finally they're hauled in front of a military court, 9013charged with espionage, and sentenced to death. 9014 The next morning they're lined up in front of the wall where 9015they'll be shot. The sergeant in charge of the firing squad asks them 9016if they have any lasts requests. Esther wants to know if she can call 9017her daughter in Chicago. The sergeant says he's sorry, that's not 9018possible, and turns to Murray. 9019 "This is crazy!" Murray shouts. "We're not spies!" And he 9020spits in the sergeants face. 9021 "Murray!" Esther cries. "Please! Don't make trouble." 9022 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 9023% 9024Mustgo, n.: 9025 Any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so 9026long it has become a science project. 9027 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 9028% 9029"My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on 9030it." 9031 -- "Grendel", by John Gardner 9032% 9033My band career ended late in my senior year when John Cooper and I 9034threw my amplifier out the dormitory window. We did not act in haste. 9035First we checked to make sure the amplifier would fit through the 9036frame, using the belt from my bathrobe to measure, then we picked up 9037the amplifier and backed up to my bedroom door. Then we rushed 9038forward, shouting "The WHO! The WHO!" and we launched my amplifier 9039perfectly, as though we had been doing it all our lives, clean through 9040the window and down onto the sidewalk, where a small but appreciative 9041crowd had gathered. I would like to be able to say that this was a 9042symbolic act, an effort on my part to break cleanly away from one state 9043in my life and move on to another, but the truth is, Cooper and I 9044really just wanted to find out what it would sound like. It sounded 9045OK. 9046 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 9047% 9048"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless 9049there are three other people." 9050 -- Orson Welles 9051% 9052My God, I'm depressed! Here I am, a computer with a mind a thousand 9053times as powerful as yours, doing nothing but cranking out fortunes and 9054sending mail about softball games. And I've got this pain right 9055through my ALU. I've asked for it to be replaced, but nobody ever 9056listens. I think it would be better for us both if you were to just 9057log out again. 9058% 9059"My life is a soap opera, but who has the rights?" 9060 -- MadameX 9061% 9062My love runs by like a day in June, 9063 And he makes no friends of sorrows. 9064He'll tread his galloping rigadoon 9065 In the pathway or the morrows. 9066He'll live his days where the sunbeams start 9067 Nor could storm or wind uproot him. 9068My own dear love, he is all my heart -- 9069 And I wish somebody'd shoot him. 9070 -- Dorothy Parker 9071% 9072My love, he's mad, and my love, he's fleet, 9073 And a wild young wood-thing bore him! 9074The ways are fair to his roaming feet, 9075 And the skies are sunlit for him. 9076As sharply sweet to my heart he seems 9077 As the fragrance of acacia. 9078My own dear love, he is all my dreams -- 9079 And I wish he were in Asia. 9080 -- Dorothy Parker 9081% 9082My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been 9083one. 9084 -- Groucho Marx 9085% 9086My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right. 9087% 9088My own dear love, he is strong and bold 9089 And he cares not what comes after. 9090His words ring sweet as a chime of gold, 9091 And his eyes are lit with laughter. 9092He is jubilant as a flag unfurled -- 9093 Oh, a girl, she'd not forget him. 9094My own dear love, he is all my world -- 9095 And I wish I'd never met him. 9096 -- Dorothy Parker 9097% 9098... My pants just went on a wild rampage through a Long Island Bowling 9099Alley!! 9100% 9101"My pants just went on a wild rampage through a Long Island Bowling 9102Alley!!" 9103 -- Zippy the Pinhead 9104% 9105My pen is at the bottom of a page, 9106Which, being finished, here the story ends; 9107'Tis to be wished it had been sooner done, 9108But stories somehow lengthen when begun. 9109 -- Byron 9110% 9111My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not 9112signed. 9113 -- Christopher Morley 9114% 9115"My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies" 9116% 9117Mythology, n.: 9118 The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its 9119origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished 9120from the true accounts which it invents later. 9121 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9122% 9123 n = ((n >> 1) & 0x55555555) | ((n << 1) & 0xaaaaaaaa); 9124 n = ((n >> 2) & 0x33333333) | ((n << 2) & 0xcccccccc); 9125 n = ((n >> 4) & 0x0f0f0f0f) | ((n << 4) & 0xf0f0f0f0); 9126 n = ((n >> 8) & 0x00ff00ff) | ((n << 8) & 0xff00ff00); 9127 n = ((n >> 16) & 0x0000ffff) | ((n << 16) & 0xffff0000); 9128 9129 -- C code which reverses the bits in a word. 9130% 9131Naeser's Law: 9132 You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it 9133damnfoolproof. 9134% 9135NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Guiseppe? Everything he 9136 says is wrong. 9137GUISEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, and then everything he says 9138 will be right. 9139 -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny" 9140% 9141Nasrudin called at a large house to collect for charity. The servant 9142said "My master is out." Nasrudin replied, "Tell your master that next 9143time he goes out, he should not leave his face at the window. Someone 9144might steal it." 9145% 9146Nasrudin returned to his village from the imperial capital, and the 9147villagers gathered around to hear what had passed. "At this time," 9148said Nasrudin, "I only want to say that the King spoke to me." All the 9149villagers but the stupidest ran off to spread the wonderful news. The 9150remaining villager asked, "What did the King say to you?" "What he 9151said -- and quite distinctly, for everyone to hear -- was 'Get out of 9152my way!'" The simpleton was overjoyed; he had heard words actually 9153spoken by the King, and seen the very man they were spoken to. 9154% 9155Nasrudin walked into a shop one day, and the owner came forward to 9156serve him. Nasrudin said, "First things first. Did you see me walk 9157into your shop?" "Of course." "Have you ever seen me before?" 9158"Never." "Then how do you know it was me?" 9159% 9160Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and declaimed, "The moon is more useful 9161than the sun." "Why?", he was asked. "Because at night we need the 9162light more." 9163% 9164Nasrudin was carrying home a piece of liver and the recipe for liver 9165pie. Suddenly a bird of prey swooped down and snatched the piece of 9166meat from his hand. As the bird flew off, Nasrudin called after it, 9167"Foolish bird! You have the liver, but what can you do with it without 9168the recipe?" 9169% 9170Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of 9171conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the 9172fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he 9173is most likely to be creamed? 9174 -- Solomon Short 9175% 9176Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, 9177God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light. 9178 9179It did not last; the devil howling "Ho! 9180Let Einstein be!" restored the status quo. 9181% 9182Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it 9183cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs. 9184 -- Fran Leibowitz 9185% 9186Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's 9187character, give him power. 9188 -- Abraham Lincoln 9189% 9190Necessity is a mother. 9191% 9192Neckties strangle clear thinking. 9193 -- Lin Yutang 9194% 9195Never be led astray onto the path of virtue. 9196% 9197Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him. 9198% 9199Never call a man a fool; borrow from him. 9200% 9201Never commit yourself! Let someone else commit you. 9202% 9203Never count your chickens before they rip your lips off 9204% 9205Never drink coke in a moving elevator. The elevator's motion coupled 9206with the chemicals in coke produce hallucinations. People tend to 9207change into lizards and attack without warning, and large bats usually 9208fly in the window. Additionally, you begin to believe that elevators 9209have windows. 9210% 9211Never eat more than you can lift. 9212 -- Miss Piggy 9213% 9214Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat. 9215% 9216Never let your schooling interfere with your education. 9217% 9218Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. 9219 -- Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" 9220% 9221Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to 9222make it complex and wonderful. 9223% 9224Never offend people with style when you can offend them with 9225substance. 9226 -- Sam Brown, "The Washington Post", January 26, 1977 9227% 9228Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid all together. 9229% 9230Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a 9231law against it by that time. 9232% 9233Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flame thrower. 9234% 9235Never tell a lie unless it is absolutely convenient. 9236% 9237Never try to outstubborn a cat. 9238 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 9239% 9240Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes. 9241 -- Dr. Warren Jackson, Director, UTCS 9242% 9243"Never underestimate the power of a small tactical nuclear weapon." 9244% 9245Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's 9246supposed to do. 9247 -- R. A. Heinlein 9248% 9249New crypt. See /usr/news/crypt. 9250% 9251New Hampshire law forbids you to tap your feet, nod your head, or in 9252any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. 9253% 9254New members are urgently needed in the Society for Prevention of 9255Cruelty to Yourself. Apply within. 9256% 9257New members urgently required for SUICIDE CLUB, Watford area. 9258 -- Monty Python's Big Red Book 9259% 9260New systems generate new problems. 9261% 9262New Year's Eve is the time of year when a man most feels his age, and 9263his wife most often reminds him to act it. 9264 -- Webster's Unafraid Dictionary 9265% 9266New York is real. The rest is done with mirrors. 9267% 9268New York's got the ways and means; 9269Just won't let you be. 9270 -- The Grateful Dead 9271% 9272Newlan's Truism: 9273 An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government 9274economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. 9275% 9276NEWS FLASH!! 9277 Today the East German pole-vault champion became the West 9278 German pole-vault champion. 9279% 9280 *** NEWSFLASH *** 9281Russian tanks steamrolling through New Jersey!!!! Details at eleven! 9282% 9283Newton's Fourth Law: Every action has an equal and opposite satisfaction. 9284% 9285Newton's Little-Known Seventh Law: 9286 A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead. 9287% 9288Next Friday will not be your lucky day. As a matter of fact, you don't 9289have a lucky day this year. 9290% 9291Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying 9292as an income tax refund. 9293 -- F. J. Raymond 9294% 9295"Nice boy, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice." 9296 -- Foghorn Leghorn 9297% 9298Nihilism should commence with oneself. 9299% 9300Niklaus Wirth has lamented that, whereas Europeans pronounce his name 9301correctly (Ni-klows Virt), Americans invariably mangle it into 9302(Nick-les Worth). Which is to say that Europeans call him by name, but 9303Americans call him by value. 9304% 9305Nine megs for the secretaries fair, 9306Seven megs for the hackers scarce, 9307Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs, 9308Three megs for system source; 9309 9310One disk to rule them all, 9311One disk to bind them, 9312One disk to hold the files 9313And in the darkness grind 'em. 9314% 9315Nine-track tapes and seven-track tapes 9316 And tapes without any tracks; 9317Stretchy tapes and snarley tapes 9318 And tapes mixed up on the racks -- 9319 Take hold of the tape 9320 And pull off the strip, 9321 And then you'll be sure 9322 Your tape drive will skip. 9323 9324 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 9325% 9326"Ninety percent of the time things turn out worse than you thought they 9327would. The other ten percent of the time you had no right to expect 9328that much." 9329 -- Augustine 9330% 9331Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules: 9332 The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of 9333the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent. 9334% 9335"Nirvana? Thats the place where the powers that be and their friends 9336hang out. 9337 -- Zonker Harris 9338% 9339No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless 9340absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation. 9341 -- Fran Lebowitz 9342% 9343No committee could ever come up with anything as revolutionary as a 9344camel -- anything as practical and as perfectly designed to perform 9345effectively under such difficult conditions. 9346 -- Laurence J. Peter 9347% 9348No good deed goes unpunished. 9349 -- Clare Boothe Luce 9350% 9351No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after 9352eating one peanut. 9353 -- Channing Pollock 9354% 9355No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. 9356% 9357No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife in the shoulder blades will 9358seriously cramp his style. 9359% 9360No matter what other nations may say about the United States, 9361immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery. 9362% 9363No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 9364 -- Eleanor Roosevelt 9365% 9366"No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid." 9367% 9368No part of this message may reproduce, store itself in a retrieval 9369system, or transmit disease, in any form, without the permissiveness of 9370the author. 9371 -- Chris Shaw 9372% 9373No plain fanfold paper could hold that fractal Puff -- 9374He grew so fast no plotting pack could shrink him far enough. 9375Compiles and simulations grew so quickly tame 9376And swapped out all their data space when Puff pushed his stack frame. 9377CHORUS: 9378 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9379 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9380 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9381 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9382Puff, he grew so quickly, while others moved like snails 9383And mini-Puffs would perch themselves on his gigantic tail. 9384All the student hackers loved that fractal Puff 9385But DCS did not like Puff, and finally said, "Enough!" 9386 (chorus) 9387Puff used more resources than DCS could spare. 9388The operator killed Puff's job -- he didn't seem to care. 9389A gloom fell on the hackers; it seemed to be the end, 9390But Puff trapped the exception, and grew from naught again! 9391 (chorus) 9392% 9393No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. 9394% 9395No problem is so large it can't be fit in somewhere. 9396% 9397"No proper program contains an indication which as an operator-applied 9398occurrence identifies an operator-defining occurrence which as an 9399indication-applied occurrence identifies an indication-defining 9400occurrence different from the one identified by the given indication as 9401an indication-applied occurrence." 9402 -- ALGOL 68 Report 9403% 9404"No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in that kind of 9405paper." 9406 -- Mike Royko on the Chicago Sun-Times after it was 9407 taken over by Rupert Murdoch 9408% 9409 No violence, gentlemen -- no violence, I beg of you! Consider 9410the furniture! 9411 -- Sherlock Holmes 9412% 9413"No, `Eureka' is Greek for `This bath is too hot.'" 9414 -- Dr. Who 9415% 9416Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing 9417it. 9418 -- Tallulah Bankhead 9419% 9420NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION 9421% 9422Nobody said computers were going to be polite. 9423% 9424Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in 9425order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed on the 9426substance of their people, for insurance companies to cheat the young 9427and rob the old. 9428 -- Lewis Lapham 9429% 9430Nobody wants constructive criticism. It's all we can do to put up with 9431constructive praise. 9432% 9433Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: 9434 Negative expectations yield negative results. 9435 Positive expectations yield negative results. 9436% 9437Non-sequiturs make me eat lampshades. 9438% 9439Noncombatant, n.: 9440 A dead Quaker. 9441 -- Ambrose Bierce 9442% 9443Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9444% 9445"Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong." 9446% 9447Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 9448% 9449Not far from here, by a white sun, behind a green star, lived the 9450Steelypips, illustrious, industrious, and they hadn't a care: no spats 9451in their vats, no rules, no schools, no gloom, no evil influence of the 9452moon, no trouble from matter or antimatter -- for they had a machine, a 9453dream of a machine, with springs and gears and perfect in every 9454respect. And they lived with it, and on it, and under it, and inside 9455it, for it was all they had -- first they saved up all their atoms, 9456then they put them all together, and if one didn't fit, why they 9457chipped at it a bit, and everything was just fine ... 9458 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 9459% 9460"Not Hercules could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none." 9461 -- Shakespeare 9462% 9463"Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper 9464is from the wrong kind of tree." 9465 -- Professor W. 9466% 9467Notes for a ballet, "The Spell": ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter 9468of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon ... Sigmund 9469is astounded to see that their leader is part swan and part woman -- 9470unfortunately, divided lengthwise. She enchants Sigmund, who is 9471careful not to make any poultry jokes ... 9472 -- Woody Allen 9473% 9474Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. 9475% 9476Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up. 9477% 9478Nothing is faster than the speed of light ... 9479 9480To prove this to yourself, try opening the refrigerator door before the 9481light comes on. 9482% 9483Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. 9484 -- Andrew Young 9485% 9486Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires 9487tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth. 9488 -- Nero Wolfe 9489% 9490Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. 9491Conscience makes egotists of us all. 9492 -- Oscar Wilde 9493% 9494Nothing recedes like success. 9495 -- Walter Winchell 9496% 9497Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited 9498love. 9499 -- Charlie Brown 9500% 9501November, n.: 9502 The eleventh twelfth of a weariness. 9503 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9504% 9505Now and then an innocent person is sent to the legislature. 9506% 9507Now I lay me down to sleep 9508I pray the double lock will keep; 9509May no brick through the window break, 9510And, no one rob me till I awake. 9511% 9512"Now is the time for all good men to come to." 9513 -- Walt Kelly 9514% 9515Now that you've read Fortune's diet truths, you'll be prepared the next 9516time some housewife or boutique-owner-turned-diet-expert appears on TV 9517to plug her latest book. And, if you still feel a twinge of guilt for 9518eating coffee cake while listening to her exhortations, ask yourself 9519the following questions: 9520 9521(1) Do I dare trust a person who actually considers alfalfa sprouts a 9522 food? 9523(2) Was the author's sole motive in writing this book to get rich 9524 exploiting the forlorn hopes of chubby people like me? 9525(3) Would a longer life be worthwhile if it had to be lived as 9526 prescribed ... without French-fried onion rings, pizza with 9527 double cheese, or the occasional Mai-Tai? (Remember, living 9528 right doesn't really make you live longer, it just *seems* like 9529 longer.) 9530 9531That, and another piece of coffee cake, should do the trick. 9532% 9533"Now the Lord God planted a garden East of Whittier in a place called 9534Yorba Linda, and out of the ground he made to grow orange trees that 9535were good for food and the fruits thereof he labeled SUNKIST ..." 9536 -- "The Begatting of a President" 9537% 9538"Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a 9539smurfette." 9540 -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354 9541% 9542... Now you're ready for the actual shopping. Your goal should be to 9543get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in 9544the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs 9545on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage 9546children emotionally. For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a 9547snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn 9548to love him, then melts. And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about 9549a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an 9550outcast by the other reindeer. Then along comes good, old Santa. Does 9551he ignore the deformity? Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect 9552Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath? No. Santa asks 9553Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some 9554kind of headlight with legs and a tail. So unless you want your 9555children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop 9556quickly. 9557 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9558% 9559 Now, you might ask, "How do I get one of those complete home 9560tool sets for under $4?" An excellent question. 9561 Go to one of those really cheap discount stores where they sell 9562plastic furniture in colors visible from the planet Neptune and where 9563they have a food section specializing in cardboard cartons full of 9564Raisinets and malted milk balls manufactured during the Nixon 9565administration. In either the hardware or housewares department, 9566you'll find an item imported from an obscure Oriental country and 9567described as "Nine Tools in One", consisting of a little handle with 9568interchangeable ends representing inscrutable Oriental notions of tools 9569that Americans might use around the home. Buy it. 9570 This is the kind of tool set professionals use. Not only is it 9571inexpensive, but it also has a great safety feature not found in the 9572so-called quality tools sets: The handle will actually break right off 9573if you accidentally hit yourself or anything else, or expose it to 9574direct sunlight. 9575 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 9576% 9577"Nuclear war can ruin your whole compile." 9578 -- Karl Lehenbauer 9579% 9580"Nuclear war would mean abolition of most comforts, and disruption of 9581normal routines, for children and adults alike." 9582 -- Willard F. Libby, "You *Can* Survive Atomic Attack" 9583% 9584"Nuclear war would really set back cable." 9585 -- Ted Turner 9586% 9587[Nuclear war] ... may not be desirable. 9588 -- Edwin Meese III 9589% 9590Nudists are people who wear one-button suits. 9591% 9592(null cookie; hope that's ok) 9593% 9594Numeric stability is probably not all that important when you're 9595guessing. 9596% 9597O give me a home, 9598Where the buffalo roam, 9599Where the deer and the antelope play, 9600Where seldom is heard 9601A discouraging word, 9602'Cause what can an antelope say? 9603% 9604O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law: 9605 Murphy was an optimist. 9606% 9607"Of ______course it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a 9608fake?" 9609% 9610Of all possible committee reactions to any given agenda item, the 9611reaction that will occur is the one which will liberate the greatest 9612amount of hot air. 9613 -- Thomas L. Martin 9614% 9615Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. 9616 -- Plato 9617% 9618Of all the words of witch's doom 9619There's none so bad as which and whom. 9620The man who kills both which and whom 9621Will be enshrined in our Who's Whom. 9622 -- Fletcher Knebel 9623% 9624"Of course power tools and alcohol don't mix. Everyone knows power 9625tools aren't soluble in alcohol ..." 9626 -- Crazy Nigel 9627% 9628Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy. 9629% 9630Of what you see in books, believe 75%. Of newspapers, believe 50%. 9631And of TV news, believe 25% -- make that 5% if the anchorman wears a 9632blazer. 9633% 9634Office Automation, n.: 9635 The use of computers to improve efficiency by removing anyone 9636you would want to talk with over coffee. 9637% 9638Ogden's Law: 9639 The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch 9640up. 9641% 9642Oh Dad! We're ALL Devo! 9643% 9644Oh don't the days seem lank and long 9645 When all goes right and none goes wrong, 9646And isn't your life extremely flat 9647 With nothing whatever to grumble at! 9648% 9649Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9650 I muck with indices and structs all day 9651And when it works, I shout hoo-ray 9652 Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9653% 9654Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd 9655be irresponsible, too. 9656 -- Lichty & Wagner 9657% 9658Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, 9659And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings; 9660Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth 9661Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things 9662You have not dreamed of -- 9663Wheeled and soared and swung 9664High in the sunlit silence. 9665Hovering there 9666I've chased the shouting wind along and flung 9667My eager craft through footless halls of air. 9668Up, up along delirious, burning blue 9669I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, 9670Where never lark, or even eagle flew; 9671And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod 9672The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 9673Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 9674 -- John Gillespie Magee Jr., "High Flight" 9675% 9676Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes. 9677% 9678Oh, when I was in love with you, 9679 Then I was clean and brave, 9680And miles around the wonder grew 9681 How well did I behave. 9682 9683And now the fancy passes by, 9684 And nothing will remain, 9685And miles around they'll say that I 9686 Am quite myself again. 9687 -- A. E. Housman 9688% 9689Oh, wow! Look at the moon! 9690% 9691"OK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard." 9692 -- Dr. Joy 9693% 9694OK, so you're a Ph.D. Just don't touch anything. 9695% 9696Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. 9697 -- Trotsky 9698% 9699Old programmers never die. They just branch to a new address. 9700% 9701Old soldiers never die. Young ones do. 9702% 9703Oliver's Law: 9704 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need 9705it. 9706% 9707Omnibiblious, adj.: 9708 Indifferent to type of drink. "Oh, you can get me anything. 9709I'm omnibiblious." 9710% 9711OMNIVERSAL AWARENESS?? Oh, YEH!! First you need four GALLONS of 9712JELL-O and a BIG WRENCH!! ... I think you drop th' WRENCH in the JELL-O 9713as if it was a FLAVOR, or an INGREDIENT ... or ... I ... um ... 9714WHERE'S the WASHING MACHINES? 9715% 9716On a paper submitted by a physicist colleague: 9717 9718"This isn't right. This isn't even wrong." 9719 -- Wolfgang Pauli 9720% 9721On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only 9722nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter 9723what it does. 9724 -- Will Rogers 9725% 9726 On his first day as a bus driver, Maxey Eckstein handed in 9727receipts of $65. The next day his take was $67. The third day's 9728income was $62. But on the fourth day, Eckstein emptied no less than 9729$283 on the desk before the cashier. 9730 "Eckstein!" exclaimed the cashier. "This is fantastic. That 9731route never brought in money like this! What happened?" 9732 "Well, after three days on that cockamamie route, I figured 9733business would never improve, so I drove over to Fourteenth Street and 9734worked there. I tell you, that street is a gold mine!" 9735% 9736On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are 9737created jerks. 9738 -- Avery 9739% 9740On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are 9741created jerks. 9742 -- H. Allen Smith, "Let the Crabgrass Grow" 9743% 9744On the road, ZIPPY is a pinhead without a purpose, but never without a 9745POINT ... 9746% 9747On the subject of C program indentation: 9748 9749 "In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be 9750 indented six feet downward and covered with dirt." 9751 -- Blair P. Houghton 9752% 9753"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!], `Pray, 9754Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right 9755answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of 9756confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." 9757 -- Charles Babbage 9758% 9759On-line, adj.: 9760 The idea that a human being should always be accessible to a 9761computer. 9762% 9763Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were 9764forced to live on nothing but food and water for days. 9765 -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee" 9766% 9767Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that 9768each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his 9769choice. 9770 9771In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians 9772called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka" 9773and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People 9774passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy 9775Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" 9776 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9777% 9778Once at a social gathering, Gladstone said to Disraeli, "I predict, 9779Sir, that you will die either by hanging or of some vile disease". 9780Disraeli replied, "That all depends upon whether I embrace your 9781principals or your mistress". 9782% 9783Once Law was sitting on the bench 9784 And Mercy knelt a-weeping. 9785"Clear out!" he cried, "disordered wench! 9786 Nor come before me creeping. 9787Upon you knees if you appear, 9788'Tis plain you have no standing here." 9789 9790Then Justice came. His Honor cried: 9791 "YOUR states? -- Devil seize you!" 9792"Amica curiae," she replied -- 9793 "Friend of the court, so please you." 9794"Begone!" he shouted -- "There's the door -- 9795I never saw your face before!" 9796 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9797% 9798Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human 9799beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by 9800side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them 9801which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the 9802sky. 9803 -- Rainer Rilke 9804% 9805 Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a 9806great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to 9807the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of 9808life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But 9809one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is 9810going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I 9811shall die of boredom." 9812 The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that 9813current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the 9814rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!" 9815 But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, 9816and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. 9817Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current 9818lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. 9819 And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, 9820"See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the 9821Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current 9822said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us 9823free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this 9824adventure. 9825 But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to 9826the rocks, making legends of a Saviour. 9827% 9828Once upon a time, when I was training to be a mathematician, a group of 9829us bright young students taking number theory discovered the names of 9830the smaller prime numbers. 9831 98322: The Odd Prime -- 9833 It's the only even prime, therefore is odd. QED. 98343: The True Prime -- 9835 Lewis Carroll: "If I tell you three times, it's true." 983631: The Arbitrary Prime -- 9837 Determined by unanimous unvote. We needed an arbitrary prime 9838 in case the prof asked for one, and so had an election. 91 9839 received the most votes (well, it *looks* prime) and 3+4i the 9840 next most. However, 31 was the only candidate to receive none 9841 at all. 9842 9843Since the composite numbers are formed from primes, their qualities are 9844derived from those primes. So, for instance, the number 6 is "odd but 9845true", while the powers of 2 are all extremely odd numbers. 9846% 9847... Once you're safely in the mall, you should tie your children to you 9848with ropes so the other shoppers won't try to buy them. Holiday 9849shoppers have been whipped into a frenzy by months of holiday 9850advertisements, and they will buy anything small enough to stuff into a 9851shopping bag. If your children object to being tied, threaten to take 9852them to see Santa Claus; that ought to shut them up. 9853 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9854% 9855Once, adv.: 9856 Enough. 9857 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9858% 9859One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least 9860somebody's listening. 9861 -- Franklin P. Jones 9862% 9863"One basic notion underlying Usenet is that it is a cooperative." 9864 9865Having been on USENET for going on ten years, I disagree with this. 9866The basic notion underlying USENET is the flame. 9867 -- Chuq Von Rospach 9868% 9869One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means. 9870% 9871One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs -- but it is amazing 9872how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette. 9873 -- Professor Charles P. Issawi 9874% 9875One day the King decided that he would force all his subjects to tell 9876the truth. A gallows was erected in front of the city gates. A herald 9877announced, "Whoever would enter the city must first answer the truth to 9878a question which will be put to him." Nasrudin was first in line. The 9879captain of the guard asked him, "Where are you going? Tell the truth 9880-- the alternative is death by hanging." "I am going," said Nasrudin, 9881"to be hanged on that gallows." "I don't believe you." "Very well, if 9882I have told a lie, then hang me!" "But that would make it the truth!" 9883"Exactly," said Nasrudin, "your truth." 9884% 9885One difference between a man and a machine is that a machine is quiet 9886when well oiled. 9887% 9888One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they 9889never have to stop and answer the phone. 9890% 9891One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious. 9892 -- Chateaubriand (1768-1848) 9893% 9894One learns to itch where one can scratch. 9895 -- Ernest Bramah 9896% 9897One man's brain plus one other will produce one half as many ideas as 9898one man would have produced alone. These two plus two more will 9899produce half again as many ideas. These four plus four more begin to 9900represent a creative meeting, and the ratio changes to one quarter as 9901many ... 9902 -- Anthony Chevins 9903% 9904One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. 9905% 9906One monk said to the other, "The fish has flopped out of the net! How 9907will it live?" The other said, "When you have gotten out of the net, 9908I'll tell you." 9909% 9910One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 9911% 9912One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible 9913from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at 9914least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts 9915are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but 9916when He's good, nobody can touch Him. 9917 -- John Gardner, NYT Book Review, Jan 1983 9918% 9919One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to 9920do and always a clever thing to say. 9921 -- Will Durant 9922% 9923"... one of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, 9924lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of 9925their C programs." 9926 -- Robert Firth 9927% 9928One of the oldest problems puzzled over in the Talmud is: "Why did God 9929create goyim?" The generally accepted answer is "________somebody has to buy 9930retail." 9931 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 9932% 9933 One of the questions that comes up all the time is: How 9934enthusiastic is our support for UNIX? 9935 Unix was written on our machines and for our machines many 9936years ago. Today, much of UNIX being done is done on our machines. 9937Ten percent of our VAXs are going for UNIX use. UNIX is a simple 9938language, easy to understand, easy to get started with. It's great for 9939students, great for somewhat casual users, and it's great for 9940interchanging programs between different machines. And so, because of 9941its popularity in these markets, we support it. We have good UNIX on 9942VAX and good UNIX on PDP-11s. 9943 It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will 9944run out of things they can do with UNIX. They'll want a real system and 9945will end up doing VMS when they get to be serious about programming. 9946 With UNIX, if you're looking for something, you can easily and 9947quickly check that small manual and find out that it's not there. With 9948VMS, no matter what you look for -- it's literally a five-foot shelf of 9949documentation -- if you look long enough it's there. That's the 9950difference -- the beauty of UNIX is it's simple; and the beauty of VMS 9951is that it's all there. 9952 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984 9953% 9954One of the rules of Busmanship, New York style, is never surrender your 9955seat to another passenger. This may seem callous, but it is the best 9956way, really. If one passenger were to give a seat to someone who 9957fainted in the aisle, say, the others on the bus would become 9958disoriented and imagine they were in Topeka, Kansas. 9959% 9960The Seventh Commandments for Technicians 9961 Work thou not on energized equipment, for if thou dost, thy 9962fellow workers will surely buy beers for thy widow and console her in 9963other ways. 9964% 9965The First Commandment for Technicians: 9966 Beware the lightening that lurketh in the undischarged 9967capacitor, lest it cause thee to bounce upon thy buttocks in a most 9968untechnician-like manner. 9969% 9970One Page Principle: 9971 A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch 9972paper cannot be understood. 9973 -- Mark Ardis 9974% 9975"One planet is all you get." 9976% 9977One promising concept that I came up with right away was that you could 9978manufacture personal air bags, then get a law passed requiring that 9979they be installed on congressmen to keep them from taking trips. Let's 9980say your congressman was trying to travel to Paris to do a fact-finding 9981study on how the French government handles diseases transmitted by 9982sherbet. Just when he got to the plane, his mandatory air bag, 9983strapped around his waist, would inflate -- FWWAAAAAAPPPP -- thus 9984rendering him too large to fit through the plane door. It could also 9985be rigged to inflate whenever the congressman proposed a law. ("Mr. 9986Speaker, people ask me, why should October be designated as Cuticle 9987Inspection Month? And I answer that FWWAAAAAAPPPP.") This would save 9988millions of dollars, so I have no doubt that the public would violently 9989support a law requiring airbags on congressmen. The problem is that 9990your potential market is very small: there are only around 500 members 9991of Congress, and some of them, such as House Speaker "Tip" O'Neil, are 9992already too large to fit on normal aircraft. 9993 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 9994% 9995One reason why George Washington 9996Is held in such veneration: 9997He never blamed his problems 9998On the former Administration. 9999 -- George O. Ludcke 10000% 10001One seldom sees a monument to a committee. 10002% 10003One thing the inventors can't seem to get the bugs out of is fresh 10004paint. 10005% 10006"One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that 10007sometimes you must work under adverse conditions ... like a state of 10008sheer terror." 10009 -- W. K. Hartmann 10010% 10011One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a 10012new model. 10013% 10014One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him. 10015% 10016One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr has been burned 10017at the stake while the votes were being counted. 10018 -- Thomas B. Reed 10019% 10020One-Shot Case Study, n.: 10021 The scientific equivalent of the four-leaf clover, from which 10022it is concluded all clovers possess four leaves and are sometimes 10023green. 10024% 10025Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. 10026% 10027Only God can make random selections. 10028% 10029Only presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to 10030use the editorial "we." 10031% 10032Only through hard work and perseverance can one truly suffer. 10033% 10034Optimization hinders evolution. 10035% 10036Optimization hinders evolution. 10037% 10038Oregano, n.: 10039 The ancient Italian art of pizza folding. 10040% 10041Oregon, n.: 10042 Eighty billion gallons of water with no place to go on Saturday 10043night. 10044% 10045Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. Biochemistry 10046is the study of carbon compounds that crawl. 10047 -- Mike Adams 10048% 10049Osborn's Law: 10050 Variables won't; constants aren't. 10051% 10052Others will look to you for stability, so hide when you bite your 10053nails. 10054% 10055Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is 10056they charge fifteen cents for them. 10057% 10058Our documentation manager was showing her two year old son around the 10059office. He was introduced to me, at which time he pointed out that we 10060were both holding bags of popcorn. We were both holding bottles of 10061juice. But only *__he* had a lollipop. 10062 10063He asked his mother, "Why doesn't HE have a lollipop?" 10064 10065Her reply: 10066 10067 "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it 10068 means to be a programmer." 10069% 10070Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. 10071 Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, 10072 In kernel as it is in user! 10073% 10074Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. 10075 -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president Litton Industries 10076% 10077... Our second completely true news item was sent to me by Mr. H. Boyce 10078Connell Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., where he is involved in a law firm. One 10079thing I like about the South is, folks there care about tradition. If 10080somebody gets handed a name like "H. Boyce," he hangs on to it, puts it 10081on his legal stationery, even passes it to his son, rather than do what 10082a lesser person would do, such as get it changed or kill himself. 10083 -- Dave Barry, "This Column is Nothing but the Truth!" 10084% 10085"Our vision is to speed up time, eventually eliminating it." 10086 -- Alex Schure 10087% 10088"Our vision is to speed up time, eventually eliminating it." 10089 -- Alex Schure 10090% 10091Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. 10092 -- General Omar N. Bradley 10093% 10094 OUTCONERR 10095Twas FORTRAN as the doloop goes 10096 Did logzerneg the ifthen block 10097All kludgy were the function flows 10098 And subroutines adhoc. 10099 10100Beware the runtime-bug my friend 10101 squrooneg, the false goto 10102Beware the infiniteloop 10103 And shun the inprectoo. 10104% 10105"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend: and inside a dog, 10106it's too dark to read." 10107 -- Groucho Marx 10108% 10109Over the years, I've developed my sense of deja vu so acutely that now 10110I can remember things that *have* happened before ... 10111% 10112Overdrawn? But I still have checks left! 10113% 10114Overflow on /dev/null, please empty the bit bucket. 10115% 10116Overload -- core meltdown sequence initiated. 10117% 10118Ozman's Laws: 10119 (1) If someone says he will do something "without fail," he 10120 won't. 10121 (2) The more people talk on the phone, the less money they 10122 make. 10123 (3) People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. 10124 (4) Pizza always burns the roof of your mouth. 10125% 10126Painting, n.: 10127 The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and 10128exposing them to the critic. 10129 -- Ambrose Bierce 10130% 10131panic: can't find / 10132% 10133panic: kernel trap (ignored) 10134% 10135Paradise is exactly like where you are right now ... only much, much 10136better. 10137 -- Laurie Anderson 10138% 10139Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them. 10140% 10141Paranoia is simply an optimistic outlook on life. 10142% 10143Paranoid schizophrenics outnumber their enemies at least two to one. 10144% 10145Paranoids are people, too; they have their own problems. It's easy to 10146criticize, but if everybody hated you, you'd be paranoid too. 10147 -- D. J. Hicks 10148% 10149Pardo's First Postulate: 10150 Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or 10151fattening. 10152 10153Arnold's Addendum: 10154 Everything else causes cancer in rats. 10155% 10156Pardon this fortune. Database under reconstruction. 10157% 10158Parker's Law: 10159 Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. 10160% 10161Parkinson's Fifth Law: 10162 If there is a way to delay in important decision, the good 10163bureaucracy, public or private, will find it. 10164% 10165Parkinson's Fourth Law: 10166 The number of people in any working group tends to increase 10167regardless of the amount of work to be done. 10168% 10169Parsley 10170 is gharsley. 10171 -- Ogden Nash 10172% 10173Parts that positively cannot be assembled in improper order will be. 10174% 10175"Pascal is not a high-level language." 10176 -- Steven Feiner 10177% 10178"Pascal is Pascal is Pascal is dog meat." 10179 -- M. Devine and P. Larson, Computer Science 340 10180% 10181Pascal Users: 10182 To show respect for the 313th anniversary (tomorrow) of the 10183death of Blaise Pascal, your programs will be run at half speed. 10184% 10185Pascal, n.: 10186 A programming language named after a man who would turn over in 10187his grave if he knew about it. 10188% 10189Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. 10190 -- Eric Hoffer 10191% 10192Patageometry, n.: 10193 The study of those mathematical properties that are invariant 10194under brain transplants. 10195% 10196Paul Revere was a tattle-tale 10197% 10198Paul's Law: 10199 In America, it's not how much an item costs, it's how much you 10200save. 10201% 10202Paul's Law: 10203 You can't fall off the floor. 10204% 10205Peace, n.: 10206 In international affairs, a period of cheating between two 10207periods of fighting. 10208 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10209% 10210Peanut Blossoms 10211 102124 cups sugar 16 tbsp. milk 102134 cups brown sugar 4 tsp. vanilla 102144 cups shortening 14 cups flour 102158 eggs 4 tsp. soda 102164 cups peanut butter 4 tsp. salt 10217 10218Shape dough into balls. Roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie 10219sheet at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a 10220Hershey's kiss or star pressing down firmly to crack cookie. Makes a 10221hell of a lot. 10222% 10223Pecor's Health-Food Principle: 10224 Never eat rutabaga on any day of the week that has a "y" in 10225it. 10226% 10227Pedaeration, n.: 10228 The perfect body heat achieved by having one leg under the 10229sheet and one hanging off the edge of the bed. 10230 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 10231% 10232Penguin Trivia #46: 10233 Animals who are not penguins can only wish they were. 10234 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 10235% 10236People need good lies. There are too many bad ones. 10237 -- Bokonon, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 10238% 10239People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of 10240the future. 10241% 10242"People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense." 10243 -- Ken Kesey 10244% 10245People usually get what's coming to them ... unless it's been mailed. 10246% 10247People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better 10248press than people who are just funny and smart. 10249 -- Howard Simons, "The Washington Post" 10250% 10251People who claim they don't let little things bother them have never 10252slept in a room with a single mosquito. 10253% 10254People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who 10255haven't what they want that they don't want it. 10256 -- Ogden Nash 10257% 10258People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that 10259Benjamin Franklin said it first. 10260% 10261People will buy anything that's one to a customer. 10262% 10263People will do tomorrow what they did today because that is what they 10264did yesterday. 10265% 10266Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt. 10267"Confound those who have said our remarks before us." 10268 -- Aelius Donatus 10269% 10270Perfect day for scrubbing the floor and other exciting things. 10271% 10272Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but 10273when there is no longer anything to take away. 10274 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 10275% 10276Personifiers Unite! You have nothing to lose but Mr. Dignity! 10277% 10278Peter's Law of Substitution: 10279 Look after the molehills, and the mountains will look after 10280themselves. 10281% 10282Philadelphia is not dull -- it just seems so because it is next to 10283exciting Camden, New Jersey. 10284% 10285Philogyny recapitulates erogeny; erogeny recapitulates philogyny. 10286% 10287Philosophy will clip an angel's wings. 10288 -- John Keats 10289% 10290Pick another fortune cookie. 10291% 10292"Picture the sun as the origin of two intersecting 6-dimensional 10293hyperplanes from which we can deduce a certain transformational 10294sequence which gives us the terminal velocity of a rubber duck ..." 10295% 10296Pig, n.: 10297 An animal (Porcus omnivorous) closely allied to the human race 10298by the splendor and vivacity of its appetite, which, however, is 10299inferior in scope, for it balks at pig. 10300 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10301% 10302PISCES (Feb. 19 - Mar. 20) 10303 You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being 10304followed by the CIA or FBI. You have minor influence over your 10305associates and people resent your flaunting of your power. You lack 10306confidence and you are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible 10307things to small animals. 10308% 10309PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) 10310 Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the 10311American Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today, as 10312nobody else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed. You will 10313probably get run over by a bus. 10314% 10315 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10316 10317(7) The car directly in front of you has a flashing right tail light 10318 but a steady left tail light. This means 10319 10320 (a) one of the tail lights is broken; you should blow your horn 10321 to call the problem to the driver's attention. 10322 (b) the driver is signaling a right turn. 10323 (c) the driver is signaling a left turn. 10324 (d) the driver is from out of town. 10325 10326The correct answer is (d). Tail lights are used in some foreign 10327countries to signal turns. 10328% 10329 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10330 10331(8) Pedestrians are 10332 10333 (a) irrelevant. 10334 (b) communists. 10335 (c) a nuisance. 10336 (d) difficult to clean off the front grille. 10337 10338The correct answer is (a). Pedestrians are not in cars, so they are 10339totally irrelevant to driving; you should ignore them completely. 10340% 10341Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 10342 -- Don Marquis 10343% 10344PL/1, "the fatal disease", belongs more to the problem set than to the 10345solution set. 10346 -- E. W. Dijkstra 10347% 10348"Plaese porrf raed." 10349 -- Prof. Michael O'Longhlin, S.U.N.Y. Purchase 10350% 10351Plato, by the way, wanted to banish all poets from his proposed Utopia 10352because they were liars. The truth was that Plato knew philosophers 10353couldn't compete successfully with poets. 10354 -- Kilgore Trout (Philip J. Farmer) "Venus on the Half 10355 Shell" 10356% 10357Play Rogue, visit exotic locations, meet strange creatures and kill 10358them. 10359% 10360Playing an unamplified electric guitar is like strumming on a picnic 10361table. 10362 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 10363% 10364Please ignore previous fortune. 10365% 10366Please take note: 10367% 10368Please try to limit the amount of "this room doesn't have any bazingas" 10369until you are told that those rooms are "punched out". Once punched 10370out, we have a right to complain about atrocities, missing bazingas, 10371and such. 10372 -- N. Meyrowitz 10373% 10374Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? 10375% 10376 Plumbing is one of the easier of do-it-yourself activities, 10377requiring only a few simple tools and a willingness to stick your arm 10378into a clogged toilet. In fact, you can solve many home plumbing 10379problems, such as annoying faucet drip, merely by turning up the 10380radio. But before we get into specific techniques, let's look at how 10381plumbing works. 10382 A plumbing system is very much like your electrical system, 10383except that instead of electricity, it has water, and instead of wires, 10384it has pipes, and instead of radios and waffle irons, it has faucets 10385and toilets. So the truth is that your plumbing systems is nothing at 10386all like your electrical system, which is good, because electricity can 10387kill you. 10388 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 10389% 10390PLUNDERER'S THEME 10391(to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius) 10392 10393Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10394If you do the things we say, then you'll soon rule the nation. 10395Kill your foes and enemies and then kill your relations. 10396Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10397% 10398Pohl's law: 10399 Nothing is so good that somebody, somewhere, will not hate it. 10400% 10401Police: Good evening, are you the host? 10402Host: No. 10403Police: We've been getting complaints about this party. 10404Host: About the drugs? 10405Police: No. 10406Host: About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns? 10407Police: No, the noise. 10408Host: Oh, the noise. Well that makes sense because there are no guns 10409 or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the 10410 background.) Or fireworks. Who's complaining about the noise? 10411 The neighbors? 10412Police: No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent 10413 complaints have come from Pittsburgh. Do you think you could 10414 ask the host to quiet things down? 10415Host: No Problem. (At this point, a Volkswagon bug with primitive 10416 religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living 10417 room and roars down the hall, past the police and onto the 10418 lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out 10419 onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind 10420 down. 10421% 10422Political T.V. commercials prove one thing: some candidates can tell 10423all their good points and qualifications in just 30 seconds. 10424% 10425Politician, n.: 10426 An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of 10427organized society is reared. When he wriggles, he mistakes the 10428agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared 10429with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. 10430 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10431% 10432Politician, n.: 10433 From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or 10434"face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face). Hence 10435"polytetien", a person of two or more faces. 10436 -- Martin Pitt 10437% 10438Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even 10439where there is no river. 10440 -- Nikita Khrushchev 10441% 10442Politics is like coaching a football team. you have to be smart enough 10443to understand the game but not smart enough to lose interest. 10444% 10445Polymer physicists are into chains. 10446% 10447Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the 10448Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The 10449white smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before 10450it dawned on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his 10451name had hilarious possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with 10452laughter, singing 10453 Half a pound of tuppenny rice 10454 Half a pound of treacle 10455 That's the way the chimney smokes 10456 Pope Goestheveezl 10457The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of 10458laughter streaming down their faces. The event set a record for 10459hilarious civic functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron 10460Hans Neizant B"ompzidaize was elected Landburgher of K"oln in 1653. 10461 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 10462% 10463Portable, adj.: 10464 Survives system reboot. 10465% 10466Positive, adj.: 10467 Mistaken at the top of one's voice. 10468 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10469% 10470Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth. 10471% 10472"Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat" 10473 -- John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987 10474% 10475Power corrupts. And atomic power corrupts atomically. 10476% 10477Power, n: 10478 The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA. 10479% 10480Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little 10481more time for dreaming. 10482 -- J. P. McEvoy 10483% 10484Predestination was doomed from the start. 10485% 10486President Reagan has noted that there are too many economic pundits and 10487forecasters and has decided on an excess prophets tax. 10488% 10489President Thieu says he'll quit if he doesn't get more than 50% of the 10490vote. In a democracy, that's not called quitting. 10491 -- The Washington Post 10492% 10493Pretend to spank me -- I'm a pseudo-masochist! 10494% 10495Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: 10496 It's on the other side. 10497% 10498[Prime Minister Joseph] Chamberlain loves the working man -- he loves 10499to see him work. 10500 -- Winston Churchill 10501% 10502Pro is to con as progress is to Congress. 10503% 10504Probable-Possible, my black hen, 10505She lays eggs in the Relative When. 10506She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now 10507Because she's unable to postulate how. 10508 -- Frederick Winsor 10509% 10510Probably the question asked most often is: Do one-celled animals have 10511orgasms? The answer is yes, they have orgasms almost constantly, which 10512is why they don't mind living in pools of warm slime. 10513 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 10514 Teen Should Know" 10515% 10516Prof: So the American government went to IBM to come up with a data 10517 encryption standard and they came up with ... 10518Student: EBCDIC!" 10519% 10520Professor Gorden Newell threw another shutout in last week's Chem. 10521Eng. 130 midterm. Once again no student received a single point on 10522his exam. Newell has now tossed five shutouts this quarter. Newell's 10523earned exam average has now dropped to a phenomenal 30% 10524% 10525Proof techniques #1: Proof by Induction. 10526 10527This technique is used on equations with "_n" in them. Induction 10528techniques are very popular, even the military used them. 10529 10530SAMPLE: Proof of induction without proof of induction. 10531 10532 We know it's true for _n equal to 1. Now assume that it's true 10533for every natural number less than _n. _N is arbitrary, so we can take _n 10534as large as we want. If _n is sufficiently large, the case of _n+1 is 10535trivially equivalent, so the only important _n are _n less than _n. We 10536can take _n = _n (from above), so it's true for _n+1 because it's just 10537about _n. 10538 QED. (QED translates from the Latin as "So what?") 10539% 10540Proof techniques #2: Proof by Oddity. 10541 SAMPLE: To prove that horses have an infinite number of legs. 10542(1) Horses have an even number of legs. 10543(2) They have two legs in back and fore legs in front. 10544(3) This makes a total of six legs, which certainly is an odd number of 10545 legs for a horse. 10546(4) But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. 10547(5) Therefore, horses must have an infinite number of legs. 10548 10549Topics is be covered in future issues include proof by: 10550 Intimidation 10551 Gesticulation (handwaving) 10552 "Try it; it works" 10553 Constipation (I was just sitting there and ...) 10554 Blatant assertion 10555 Changing all the 2's to _n's 10556 Mutual consent 10557 Lack of a counterexample, and 10558 "It stands to reason" 10559% 10560Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10561 10562BBW Branch Both Ways 10563BEW Branch Either Way 10564BBBF Branch on Bit Bucket Full 10565BH Branch and Hang 10566BMR Branch Multiple Registers 10567BOB Branch On Bug 10568BPO Branch on Power Off 10569BST Backspace and Stretch Tape 10570CDS Condense and Destroy System 10571CLBR Clobber Register 10572CLBRI Clobber Register Immediately 10573CM Circulate Memory 10574CMFRM Come From -- essential for truly structured programming 10575CPPR Crumple Printer Paper and Rip 10576CRN Convert to Roman Numerals 10577% 10578Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10579 10580DC Divide and Conquer 10581DMPK Destroy Memory Protect Key 10582DO Divide and Overflow 10583EMPC Emulate Pocket Calculator 10584EPI Execute Programmer Immediately 10585EROS Erase Read Only Storage 10586EXCE Execute Customer Engineer 10587HCF Halt and Catch Fire 10588IBP Insert Bug and Proceed 10589INSQSW Insert into queue somewhere (for FINO queues [First in never out]) 10590PBC Print and Break Chain 10591PDSK Punch Disk 10592% 10593Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10594 10595PI Punch Invalid 10596POPI Punch Operator Immediately 10597PVLC Punch Variable Length Card 10598RASC Read And Shred Card 10599RPM Read Programmers Mind 10600RSSC reduce speed, step carefully (for improved accuracy) 10601RTAB Rewind tape and break 10602RWDSK rewind disk 10603RWOC Read Writing On Card 10604SCRBL scribble to disk - faster than a write 10605SLC Search for Lost Chord 10606SPSW Scramble Program Status Word 10607SRSD Seek Record and Scar Disk 10608STROM Store in Read Only Memory 10609TDB Transfer and Drop Bit 10610WBT Water Binary Tree 10611% 10612"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller 10613than the both put together." 10614% 10615Psychiatrists say that one out of four people are mentally ill. Check 10616three friends. If they're OK, you're it. 10617% 10618Psychotherapy is the theory that the patient will probably get well 10619anyhow and is certainly a damn fool. 10620 -- H. L. Mencken 10621% 10622Puns are little "plays on words" that a certain breed of person loves 10623to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way 10624to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the 10625cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in 10626fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a 10627lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of 10628the first day even if they have plenty of food and water. 10629 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 10630% 10631Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off of the TV screen. 10632% 10633Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen. 10634% 10635Pushing 40 is exercise enough. 10636% 10637Put no trust in cryptic comments. 10638% 10639Put your Nose to the Grindstone! 10640 -- Amalgamated Plastic Surgeons and Toolmakers, Ltd. 10641% 10642Putt's Law: 10643 Technology is dominated by two types of people: 10644 Those who understand what they do not manage. 10645 Those who manage what they do not understand. 10646% 10647Q: Do you know what the death rate around here is? 10648A: One per person. 10649% 10650Q: How did you get into artificial intelligence? 10651A: Seemed logical -- I didn't have any real intelligence. 10652% 10653Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat ? 10654A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10655% 10656Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat? 10657A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10658 10659Q: How long does it take? 10660A: It's indeterminate. It will depend upon how many flats they've 10661 brought with them. 10662 10663Q: What happens if you've got TWO flats? 10664A: They replace your generator. 10665% 10666Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10667A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb 10668 itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective 10669 reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a 10670 maudlin cosmos of nothingness. 10671% 10672Q: How many heterosexual males does it take to screw in a light bulb 10673 in San Francisco? 10674A: Both of them. 10675% 10676Q: How many IBM cpu's does it take to do a logical right shift? 10677A: 33. 1 to hold the bits and 32 to push the register. 10678% 10679Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? 10680A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off. 10681% 10682Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb? 10683A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-0001, 10684 Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of 10685 the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% 10686 of the definitions are of the form "A ...... consists of sequences 10687 of non-blank characters separated by blanks". 10688% 10689Q: How many journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10690A: Three. One to report it as an inspired government program to bring 10691 light to the people, one to report it as a diabolical government 10692 plot to deprive the poor of darkness, and one to win a pulitzer 10693 prize for reporting that Electric Company hired a lightbulb 10694 assassin to break the bulb in the first place. 10695% 10696Q: How many Martians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10697A: One and a half. 10698% 10699Q: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10700A: One. He gives it to six Californians, thereby reducing the problem 10701 to the earlier joke. 10702% 10703Q: How many Oregonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10704A: Three. One to screw in the lightbulb and two to fend off all those 10705 Californians trying to share the experience. 10706% 10707Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? 10708A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub 10709 with brightly colored machine tools. 10710% 10711Q: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10712A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master stays out 10713 of the way. 10714% 10715Q: What's a light-year? 10716A: One-third less calories than a regular year. 10717% 10718Q: Why did the tachyon cross the road? 10719A: Because it was on the other side. 10720% 10721Q: Why do ducks have flat feet? 10722A: To stamp out forest fires. 10723 10724Q: Why do elephants have flat feet? 10725A: To stamp out flaming ducks. 10726% 10727Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together? 10728A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home. 10729% 10730Q: Somebody just posted that Roman Polanski directed Star Wars. What 10731 should I do? 10732 10733A: Post the correct answer at once! We can't have people go on 10734 believing that! Very good of you to spot this. You'll probably be 10735 the only one to make the correction, so post as soon as you can. No 10736 time to lose, so certainly don't wait a day, or check to see if 10737 somebody else has made the correction. 10738 10739 And it's not good enough to send the message by mail. Since you're 10740 the only one who really knows that it was Francis Coppola, you have 10741 to inform the whole net right away! 10742 10743 -- Brad Templeton, "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions 10744 on Netiquette" 10745% 10746Quality Control, n.: 10747 The process of testing one out of every 1,000 units coming off 10748a production line to make sure that at least one out of 100 works. 10749% 10750Question: 10751Man Invented Alcohol, 10752God Invented Grass. 10753Who do you trust? 10754% 10755Quick!! Act as if nothing has happened! 10756% 10757Quick, sing me the BUDAPEST NATIONAL ANTHEM!! 10758% 10759Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. 10760 10761(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) 10762% 10763Quigley's Law: 10764 Whoever has any authority over you, no matter how small, will 10765atttempt to use it. 10766% 10767QUOTE OF THE DAY: 10768 10769 ` 10770 10771% 10772"Qvid me anxivs svm?" 10773% 10774QWERT (kwirt), n. [MW < OW qwertyuiop, a thirteenth]: 10775 1. a unit of weight equal to 13 poiuyt avoirdupois (or 1.69 10776kiloliks), commonly used in structural engineering; 2. [colloq.] one 10777thirteenth the load that a fully grown sligo can carry; 3. [anat.] a 10778painful irritation of the dermis in the region of the anus; 4. [slang] 10779person who excites in others the symptoms of a qwert. 10780 -- Webster's Middle World Dictionary, 4th ed. 10781% 10782Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. 10783% 10784Rattling around the back of my head is a disturbing image of something 10785I saw at the airport ... Now I'm remembering, those giant piles of 10786computer magazines right next to "People" and "Time" in the airport 10787store. Does it bother anyone else that half the world is being told 10788all of our hard-won secrets of computer technology? Remember how all 10789the lawyers cried foul when "How to Avoid Probate" was published? Are 10790they taking no-fault insurance lying down? No way! But at the current 10791rate it won't be long before there are stacks of the "Transactions on 10792Information Theory" at the A&P checkout counters. Who's going to be 10793impressed with us electrical engineers then? Are we, as the saying 10794goes, giving away the store? 10795 -- Robert W. Lucky, IEEE President 10796% 10797Ray's Rule of Precision: 10798 Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 10799% 10800Razors pain you; 10801Rivers are damp; 10802Acids stain you; 10803And drugs cause cramp. 10804Guns aren't lawful; 10805Nooses give; 10806Gas smells awful; 10807You might as well live. 10808 -- Dorothy Parker 10809% 10810Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe 10811the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described 10812with pictures. 10813% 10814Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of 10815Congress. But I repeat myself. 10816 -- Mark Twain 10817% 10818Real computer scientists admire ADA for its overwhelming aesthetic 10819value but they find it difficult to actually program in it, as it is 10820much too large to implement. Most computer scientists don't notice 10821this because they are still arguing over what else to add to ADA. 10822% 10823Real computer scientists despise the idea of actual hardware. Hardware 10824has limitations, software doesn't. It's a real shame that Turing 10825machines are so poor at I/O. 10826% 10827Real computer scientists don't comment their code. The identifiers are 10828so long they can't afford the disk space. 10829% 10830Real computer scientists don't program in assembler. They don't write 10831in anything less portable than a number two pencil. 10832% 10833Real computer scientists don't write code. They occasionally tinker 10834with `programming systems', but those are so high level that they 10835hardly count (and rarely count accurately; precision is for 10836applications.) 10837% 10838Real computer scientists only write specs for languages that might run 10839on future hardware. Nobody trusts them to write specs for anything homo 10840sapiens will ever be able to fit on a single planet. 10841% 10842Real programmers disdain structured programming. Structured 10843programming is for compulsive neurotics who were prematurely toilet- 10844trained. They wear neckties and carefully line up pencils on otherwise 10845clear desks. 10846% 10847Real programmers don't bring brown-bag lunches. If the vending machine 10848doesn't sell it, they don't eat it. Vending machines don't sell 10849quiche. 10850% 10851Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it 10852should be hard to understand. 10853% 10854Real programmers don't draw flowcharts. Flowcharts are, after all, the 10855illiterate's form of documentation. Cavemen drew flowcharts; look how 10856much good it did them. 10857% 10858Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires 10859you to change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers 10860wear their climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly 10861spring up in the middle of the machine room. 10862% 10863Real programmers don't write in BASIC. Actually, no programmers write 10864in BASIC after reaching puberty. 10865% 10866Real programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress 10867freaks and crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who 10868wear white socks. 10869% 10870Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who 10871can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN. 10872% 10873Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue. 10874% 10875Real Programs don't use shared text. Otherwise, how can they use 10876functions for scratch space after they are finished calling them? 10877% 10878Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness. 10879This process doesn't necessarily involve execution of anything on a 10880computer, except perhaps a Correctness Verification Aid package. 10881% 10882Real software engineers don't like the idea of some inexplicable and 10883greasy hardware several aisles away that may stop working at any 10884moment. They have a great distrust of hardware people, and wish that 10885systems could be virtual at *___all* levels. They would like personal 10886computers (you know no one's going to trip over something and kill your 10887DFA in mid-transit), except that they need 8 megabytes to run their 10888Correctness Verification Aid packages. 10889% 10890Real software engineers work from 9 to 5, because that is the way the 10891job is described in the formal spec. Working late would feel like 10892using an undocumented external procedure. 10893% 10894Real Time, adj.: 10895 Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there 10896and then. 10897% 10898Real Users are afraid they'll break the machine -- but they're never 10899afraid to break your face. 10900% 10901Real Users find the one combination of bizarre input values that shuts 10902down the system for days. 10903% 10904Real Users hate Real Programmers. 10905% 10906Real Users know your home telephone number. 10907% 10908Real Users never know what they want, but they always know when your 10909program doesn't deliver it. 10910% 10911Real Users never use the Help key. 10912% 10913Real World, The n.: 10914 1. In programming, those institutions at which programming may 10915be used in the same sentence as FORTRAN, COBOL, RPG, IBM, etc. 2. To 10916programmers, the location of non-programmers and activities not related 10917to programming. 3. A universe in which the standard dress is shirt and 10918tie and in which a person's working hours are defined as 9 to 5. 4. 10919The location of the status quo. 5. Anywhere outside a university. 10920"Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the real world." Used 10921pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation, talking 10922of someone who has entered the real world is not unlike talking about a 10923deceased person. 10924% 10925Reality is a cop-out for people who can't handle drugs. 10926% 10927Reality is an obstacle to hallucination. 10928% 10929Reality is bad enough, why should I tell the truth? 10930 -- Patrick Sky 10931% 10932Reality is for people who lack imagination. 10933% 10934Reality is for those who can't face Science Fiction. 10935% 10936Reality is just a convenient measure of complexity. 10937 -- Alvy Ray Smith 10938% 10939"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go 10940away". 10941 -- Philip K. Dick 10942% 10943"Really ?? What a coincidence, I'm shallow too!!" 10944% 10945Receiving a million dollars tax free will make you feel better than 10946being flat broke and having a stomach ache. 10947 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 10948% 10949Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you 10950lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, 10951but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and 10952Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 10953recessions. 10954% 10955Reclaimer, spare that tree! 10956Take not a single bit! 10957It used to point to me, 10958Now I'm protecting it. 10959It was the reader's CONS 10960That made it, paired by dot; 10961Now, GC, for the nonce, 10962Thou shalt reclaim it not. 10963% 10964 "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" 10965Candy 10966Is dandy 10967But liquor 10968Is quicker. 10969 -- Ogden Nash 10970% 10971"Reintegration complete," ZORAC advised. "We're back in the universe 10972again ..." An unusually long pause followed, "... but I don't know 10973which part. We seem to have changed our position in space." A 10974spherical display in the middle of the floor illuminated to show the 10975starfield surrounding the ship. 10976 10977"Several large, artificial constructions are approaching us," ZORAC 10978announced after a short pause. "The designs are not familiar, but they 10979are obviously the products of intelligence. Implications: we have been 10980intercepted deliberately by a means unknown, for a purpose unknown, and 10981transferred to a place unknown by a form of intelligence unknown. 10982Apart from the unknowns, everything is obvious." 10983 -- James P. Hogan, "Giants Star" 10984% 10985Reisner's Rule of Conceptual Inertia: 10986 If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it. 10987% 10988Religion has done love a great service by making it a sin. 10989 -- Anatole France 10990% 10991"Rembrandt's first name was Beauregard, which is why he never used 10992it." 10993 -- Dave Barry 10994% 10995Remember that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be 10996worse in Cleveland. 10997 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 10998% 10999Remember, drive defensively! And of course, the best defense is a good 11000offense! 11001% 11002Remember, even if you win the rat race -- you're still a rat. 11003% 11004Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. 11005% 11006Remember: Silly is a state of Mind, Stupid is a way of Life. 11007 -- Dave Butler 11008% 11009Renning's Maxim: 11010 Man is the highest animal. Man does the classifying. 11011% 11012Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): Mr Gandhi, what do you think of Western 11013 Civilization? 11014Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. 11015% 11016Reporter, n.: 11017 A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a 11018tempest of words. 11019 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 11020% 11021REPORTER: Senator, are you for or against the MX missile system? 11022 11023SENATOR: Bob, the MX missile system reminds me of an old saying that 11024the country folk in my state like to say. It goes like this: "You can 11025carry a pig for six miles, but if you set it down it might run away." 11026I have no idea why the country folk say this. Maybe there's some kind 11027of chemical pollutant in their drinking water. That is why I pledge to 11028do all that I can to protect the environment of this great nation of 11029ours, and put prayer back in the schools, where it belongs. What we 11030need is jobs, not empty promises. I realize I'm risking my political 11031career be being so outspoken on a sensitive issue such as the MX, but 11032that's just the kind of straight-talking honest person I am, and I 11033can't help it. 11034 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 11035% 11036Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. 11037 -- Wernher von Braun 11038% 11039Resisting temptation is easier when you think you'll probably get 11040another chance later on. 11041% 11042Review Questions 11043 11044(1) If Nerd on the planet Nutley starts out in his spaceship at 20 KPH, 11045 and his speed doubles every 3.2 seconds, how long will it be before 11046 he exceeds the speed of light? How long will it be before the 11047 Galactic Patrol picks up the pieces of his spaceship? 11048 11049(2) If Roger Rowdy wrecks his car every week, and each week he breaks 11050 twice as many bones as before, how long will it be before he breaks 11051 every bone in his body? How long will it be before they cut off 11052 his insurance? Where does he get a new car every week? 11053 11054(3) If Johnson drinks one beer the first hour (slow start), four beers 11055 the next hour, nine beers the next, etc., and stacks the cans in a 11056 pyramid, how soon will Johnson's pyramid be larger than King 11057 Tut's? When will it fall on him? Will he notice? 11058% 11059Rhode's Law: 11060 When any principle, law, tenet, probability, happening, 11061circumstance, or result can in no way be directly, indirectly, 11062empirically, or circuitously proven, derived, implied, inferred, 11063induced, deducted, estimated, or scientifically guessed, it will always 11064for the purpose of convenience, expediency, political advantage, 11065material gain, or personal comfort, or any combination of the above, or 11066none of the above, be unilaterally and unequivocally assumed, 11067proclaimed, and adhered to as absolute truth to be undeniably, 11068universally, immutably, and infinitely so, until such time as it 11069becomes advantageous to assume otherwise, maybe. 11070% 11071"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time." 11072 -- Steven Wright 11073% 11074Rocky's Lemma of Innovation Prevention 11075 Unless the results are known in advance, funding agencies will 11076 reject the proposal. 11077% 11078Romeo wasn't bilked in a day. 11079 -- Walt Kelly, "Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years With 11080 Pogo" 11081% 11082ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. 11083MERCUTIO: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church- 11084 door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. 11085% 11086Rudin's Law: 11087 If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will do it 11088every time. 11089% 11090Rule 46, Oxford Union Society, London: 11091 Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall 11092be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person 11093shall be deemed to be a cat. 11094% 11095Rule of Creative Research: 11096 (1) Never draw what you can copy. 11097 (2) Never copy what you can trace. 11098 (3) Never trace what you can cut out and paste down. 11099% 11100Rule of Defactualization: 11101 Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies. 11102% 11103Rule of Feline Frustration: 11104 When your cat has fallen asleep on your lap and looks utterly 11105content and adorable, you will suddenly have to go to the bathroom. 11106% 11107Rule of the Great: 11108 When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep 11109thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch. 11110% 11111Rules for Academic Deans: 11112 (1) HIDE!!!! 11113 (2) If they find you, LIE!!!! 11114 -- Father Damian C. Fandal 11115% 11116Rules for driving in New York: 11117 (1) Anything done while honking your horn is legal. 11118 (2) You may park anywhere if you turn your four-way flashers 11119 on. 11120 (3) A red light means the next six cars may go through the 11121 intersection. 11122% 11123RULES OF EATING -- THE BRONX DIETER'S CREED 11124 (1) Never eat on an empty stomach. 11125 (2) Never leave the table hungry. 11126 (3) When traveling, never leave a country hungry. 11127 (4) Enjoy your food. 11128 (5) Enjoy your companion's food. 11129 (6) Really taste your food. It may take several portions to 11130 accomplish this, especially if subtly seasoned. 11131 (7) Really feel your food. Texture is important. Compare, 11132 for example, the texture of a turnip to that of a 11133 brownie. Which feels better against your cheeks? 11134 (8) Never eat between snacks, unless it's a meal. 11135 (9) Don't feel you must finish everything on your plate. You 11136 can always eat it later. 11137 (10) Avoid any wine with a childproof cap. 11138 (11) Avoid blue food. 11139 -- Richard Smit, "The Bronx Diet" 11140% 11141Rules: 11142 (1) The boss is always right. 11143 (2) When the boss is wrong, refer to rule 1. 11144% 11145 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11146 Tip #1: How to tell when you are dead. 11147 11148(1) Little things start bothering you: little things like worms, bugs, 11149 ants. 11150(2) Something is missing in your personal relationships. 11151(3) Your dog becomes overly affectionate. 11152(4) You have a hard time getting a waiter. 11153(5) Exotic birds flock around you. 11154(6) People ignore you at parties. 11155(7) You have a hard time getting up in the morning. 11156(8) You no longer get off on cocaine. 11157% 11158 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11159(1) Never use an elevator in a building that has been hit by a nuclear 11160 bomb; use the stairs. 11161(2) When you're flying through the air, remember to roll when you hit 11162 the ground. 11163(3) If you're on fire, avoid gasoline and other flammable materials. 11164(4) Don't attempt communication with dead people; it will only lead to 11165 psychological problems. 11166(5) Food will be scarce; you will have to scavenge. Learn to 11167 recognize foods that will be available after the bomb: mashed 11168 potatoes, shredded wheat, tossed salad, ground beef, etc. 11169(6) Put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze; internal organs 11170 will be scarce in the post-nuclear age. 11171(7) Try to be neat; fall only in designated piles. 11172(8) Drive carefully in "Heavy Fallout" areas; people could be 11173 staggering illegally. 11174(9) Nutritionally, hundred dollar bills are equal to ones, but more 11175 sanitary due to limited circulation. 11176(10) Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on 11177 D-Day. 11178% 11179SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21) 11180 You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless 11181 tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority 11182 of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends or both. People 11183 laugh at you a great deal. 11184% 11185San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was. 11186 -- Herb Caen 11187% 11188San Francisco, n.: 11189 Marcel Proust editing an issue of Penthouse. 11190% 11191Sanity is the trademark of a weak mind. 11192 -- Mark Harrold 11193% 11194Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, 11195 He must be a communist. 11196And a beard and long hair, 11197 Must be a pacifist. 11198 11199 What's in that pipe that he's smoking? 11200 -- Arlo Guthrie 11201% 11202Satellite Safety Tip #14: 11203 If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck. 11204% 11205Sattinger's Law: 11206 It works better if you plug it in. 11207% 11208Saturday night in Toledo Ohio, 11209 Is like being nowhere at all, 11210All through the day how the hours rush by, 11211 You sit in the park and you watch the grass die. 11212 -- John Denver, "Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio" 11213% 11214Sauron is alive in Argentina! 11215% 11216Save energy: be apathetic. 11217% 11218Save the Whales -- Harpoon a Honda. 11219% 11220Save the whales. Collect the whole set. 11221% 11222"Saw a sign on a restaurant that said Breakfast, any time -- so I 11223ordered French Toast in the Renaissance. 11224 -- Steven Wright 11225% 11226SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out! 11227 -- Ken Thompson 11228% 11229Schapiro's Explanation: 11230 The grass is always greener on the other side -- but that's 11231because they use more manure. 11232% 11233Schizophrenia beats being alone. 11234% 11235Schlattwhapper, n.: 11236 The window shade that allows itself to be pulled down, 11237hesitates for a second, then snaps up in your face. 11238 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11239% 11240Schnuffel, n.: 11241 A dog's practice of continuously nuzzling in your crotch in 11242mixed company. 11243 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11244% 11245Schwiggle, n.: 11246 The amusing rotation of one's bottom while sharpening a 11247pencil. 11248 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11249% 11250Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made 11251of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts 11252is not necessarily science. 11253 -- Henri Poincair'e 11254% 11255Science is what happens when preconception meets verification. 11256% 11257Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it. 11258 -- William Buckley 11259 11260% 11261SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21) 11262 You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will 11263 achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of 11264 ethics. Most Scorpio people are murdered. 11265% 11266Scott's first Law: 11267 No matter what goes wrong, it will probably look right. 11268% 11269Scott's second Law: 11270 When an error has been detected and corrected, it will be found 11271to have been wrong in the first place. 11272 11273Corollary: 11274 After the correction has been found in error, it will be 11275impossible to fit the original quantity back into the equation. 11276% 11277Scotty: Captain, we din' can reference it! 11278Kirk: Analysis, Mr. Spock? 11279Spock: Captain, it doesn't appear in the symbol table. 11280Kirk: Then it's of external origin? 11281Spock: Affirmative. 11282Kirk: Mr. Sulu, go to pass two. 11283Sulu: Aye aye, sir, going to pass two. 11284% 11285Screw up your courage! You've screwed up everything else. 11286% 11287Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the 11288Presidency. 11289 -- Richard Nixon 11290% 11291Second Law of Business Meetings: 11292 If there are two possible ways to spell a person's name, you 11293will pick the wrong one. 11294 11295Corollary: 11296 If there is only one way to spell a name, you will spell it 11297wrong, anyway. 11298% 11299"Section 2.4.3.5 AWNS (Acceptor Wait for New Cycle State). 11300 In AWNS the AH function indicates that it has received a 11301multiline message byte. 11302 In AWNS the RFD message must be sent false and the DAC message 11303must be sent passive true. 11304 The AH function must exit the AWNS and enter: 11305 (1) The ANRS if DAV is false 11306 (2) The AIDS if the ATN message is false and neither: 11307 (a) The LADS is active 11308 (b) Nor LACS is active" 11309 11310 -- from the IEEE Standard Digital Interface for 11311 Programmable Instrumentation 11312% 11313Security check: INTRUDER ALERT! 11314% 11315Seduced, shaggy Samson snored. 11316She scissored short. Sorely shorn, 11317Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed, 11318Silently scheming, 11319Sightlessly seeking 11320Some savage, spectacular suicide. 11321 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 11322% 11323"See - the thing is - I'm an absolutist. I mean, kind of ... in a way ..." 11324% 11325Seleznick's Theory of Holistic Medicine: 11326 Ice Cream cures all ills. 11327% 11328Self Test for Paranoia: 11329 You know you have it when you can't think of anything that's 11330your own fault. 11331% 11332Seminars, n.: 11333 From "semi" and "arse", hence, any half-assed discussion. 11334% 11335Sen. Danforth: "There is nothing on the face of the album which would 11336 notify you if the record has pornographics material or 11337 material glorifying violence?" 11338Tipper Gore: "No, there is nothing that would suggest that to me." 11339Frank Zappa: "I would say that a buzz saw blade between the guy's 11340 legs on the album cover is good indication that it's 11341 not for little Johnny." 11342 11343 -- The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rock 11344 lyrics, from The Village Voice, 6 Oct 1985 11345% 11346Senate, n.: 11347 A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and 11348misdemeanors. 11349 -- Ambrose Bierce 11350% 11351Serenity through viciousness. 11352% 11353Serocki's Stricture: 11354 Marriage is always a bachelor's last option. 11355% 11356Serving coffee on aircraft causes turbulence. 11357% 11358 "Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated 11359thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked MY 11360advice, I'd have said `Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now." 11361 "I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly. 11362 "Too proud?" the other enquired. 11363 Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," 11364she said, "that one can't help growing older." 11365 "ONE can't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but TWO can. With 11366proper assistance, you might have left off at seven." 11367 -- Lewis Carroll 11368% 11369Several years ago, some smart businessmen had an idea: Why not build a 11370big store where a do-it-yourselfer could get everything he needed at 11371reasonable prices? Then they decided, nah, the hell with that, let's 11372build a home center. And before long home centers were springing up 11373like crabgrass all over the United States. 11374 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 11375% 11376Sex is a natural bodily process, like a stroke. 11377% 11378Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer. 11379 -- Swami X 11380% 11381Sex is the mathematics urge sublimated. 11382 -- M. C. Reed. 11383% 11384Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, 11385it's one of the best. 11386 -- Woody Allen 11387% 11388Shamus, n. [Yiddish]: 11389 A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the 11390temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. 11391 A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagog 11392functionaries, and there's a joke about that: 11393 A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the 11394middle of a service, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" The cantor, not to be 11395bested, also cries out, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" 11396 The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, "Oh, Lord, I 11397am nobody!" The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, "Look who thinks 11398he's nobody!" 11399 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 11400% 11401Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off 11402during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. 11403 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 11404 Teen Should Know" 11405% 11406Shaw's Principle: 11407 Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will 11408want to use it. 11409% 11410"She is descended from a long line that her mother listened to." 11411 -- Gypsy Rose Lee 11412% 11413She is not refined. She is not unrefined. She keeps a parrot. 11414 -- Mark Twain 11415% 11416She liked him; he was a man of many qualities, even if most of them 11417were bad. 11418% 11419She missed an invaluable opportunity to give him a look that you could 11420have poured on a waffle ... 11421% 11422"She said, `I know you ... you cannot sing'. I said, `That's nothing, 11423you should hear me play piano.'" 11424 -- Morrisey 11425% 11426She's genuinely bogus. 11427% 11428"Sherry [Thomas Sheridan] is dull, naturally dull; but it must have 11429taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an 11430excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature." 11431 -- Samuel Johnson 11432% 11433SHIFT TO THE LEFT! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT! 11434POP UP, PUSH DOWN, BYTE, BYTE, BYTE! 11435% 11436Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is 11437playing golf with his boss. 11438% 11439Show respect for age. Drink good Scotch for a change. 11440% 11441Signs of crime: screaming or cries for help. 11442 -- from the Brown Security Crime Prevention Pamphlet 11443% 11444Silverman's Law: 11445 If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will. 11446% 11447Simon's Law: 11448 Everything put together falls apart sooner or later. 11449% 11450Since I hurt my pendulum 11451My life is all erratic. 11452My parrot, who was cordial, 11453Is now transmitting static. 11454The carpet died, a palm collapsed, 11455The cat keeps doing poo. 11456The only thing that keeps me sane 11457Is talking to my shoe. 11458 -- My Shoe 11459% 11460Since we have to speak well of the dead, let's knock them while they're 11461alive. 11462 -- John Sloan 11463% 11464Since we're all here, we must not be all there. 11465 -- Bob "Mountain" Beck 11466% 11467[Sir Stafford Cripps] has all the virtues I dislike and none of the 11468vices I admire. 11469 -- Winston Churchill 11470% 11471Sixtus V, Pope from 1585 to 1590 authorized a printing of the Vulgate 11472Bible. Taking no chances, the pope issued a papal bull automatically 11473excommunicating any printer who might make an alteration in the text. 11474This he ordered printed at the beginning of the Bible. He personally 11475examined every sheet as it came off the press. Yet the published 11476Vulgate Bible contained so many errors that corrected scraps had to be 11477printed and pasted over them in every copy. The result provoked wry 11478comments on the rather patchy papal infallibility, and Pope Sixtus had 11479no recourse but to order the return and destruction of every copy. 11480% 11481Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor): 11482 That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, 11483or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you should 11484have gotten. 11485% 11486Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and goes 11487to work. 11488% 11489Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work ... I did not, 11490when a slave, understand the deep meanings of those rude, and 11491apparently incoherent songs. I was myself within the circle, so that I 11492neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear. They told a 11493tale which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension: they 11494were tones, loud, long and deep, breathing the prayer and complaint of 11495souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a 11496testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from 11497chains. 11498 -- Frederick Douglass 11499% 11500Slick's Three Laws of the Universe: 11501 (1) Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad 11502 check. 11503 (2) A quarter-ounce of chocolate = four pounds of fat. 11504 (3) There are two types of dirt: the dark kind, which is 11505 attracted to light objects, and the light kind, which is 11506 attracted to dark objects. 11507% 11508Slowly and surely the unix crept up on the Nintendo user ... 11509% 11510Slurm, n.: 11511 The slime that accumulates on the underside of a soap bar when 11512it sits in the dish too long. 11513 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11514% 11515Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. 11516 -- Fletcher Knebel 11517% 11518Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. 11519 -- Fletcher Knebel 11520% 11521Snacktrek, n.: 11522 The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly 11523returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have 11524materialized. 11525 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11526% 11527So as your consumer electronics adviser, I am advising you to donate 11528your current VCR to a grate resident, who will laugh sardonically and 11529hurl it into a dumpster. Then I want you to go out and purchase a vast 11530array of 8-millimeter video equipment. 11531 11532... OK! Got everything? Well, *too bad, sucker*, because while you 11533were gone the electronics industry came up with an even newer format 11534that makes your 8-millimeter VCR look as technologically advanced as 11535toenail dirt. This format is called "3.5 hectare" and it will not be 11536made available until it is outmoded, sometime early next week, by a 11537format called "Elroy", so *order yours now*. 11538 -- Dave Barry, "No Surrender in the Electronics 11539 Revolution" 11540% 11541So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in 11542praise of intelligence. 11543 -- Bertrand Russell 11544% 11545... so long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those 11546who wish to tyrranize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, 11547and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious 11548and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. 11549 -- Voltarine de Cleyre 11550% 11551 So Richard and I decided to try to catch [the small shark]. 11552With a great deal of strategy and effort and shouting, we managed to 11553maneuver the shark, over the course of about a half-hour, to a sort of 11554corner of the lagoon, so that it had no way to escape other than to 11555flop up onto the land and evolve. Richard and I were inching toward 11556it, sort of crouched over, when all of a sudden it turned around and -- 11557I can still remember the sensation I felt at that moment, primarily in 11558the armpit area -- headed right straight toward us. 11559 Many people would have panicked at this point. But Richard and 11560I were not "many people." We were experienced waders, and we kept our 11561heads. We did exactly what the textbook says you should do when you're 11562unarmed and a shark that is nearly two feet long turns on you in water 11563up to your lower calves: We sprinted I would say 600 yards in the 11564opposite direction, using a sprinting style such that the bottoms of 11565our feet never once went below the surface of the water. We ran all 11566the way to the far shore, and if we had been in a Warner Brothers 11567cartoon we would have run right INTO the beach, and you would have seen 11568these two mounds of sand racing across the island until they bonked 11569into trees and coconuts fell onto their heads. 11570 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11571% 11572"So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple 11573pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street pops 11574its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very 11575imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, 11576and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, 11577and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the 11578gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots." 11579 -- Samuel Foote 11580% 11581... So the documentary-makers stick with sharks. Generally, their 11582procedure is to scatter bleeding fish pieces around their boat, so as 11583to infest the waters. I would estimate that the primary food source of 11584sharks today is bleeding fish pieces scattered by people making 11585documentaries. Once the sharks arrive, they are generally fairly 11586listless. The general shark attitude seems to be: "Oh God, another 11587documentary." So the divers have to somehow goad them into attacking, 11588under the guise of Scientific Research. "We know very little about the 11589effect of electricity on sharks," the narrator will say, in a deeply 11590scientific voice. "That is why Todd is going to jab this Great White 11591in the testicles with a cattle prod." The divers keep this kind of 11592thing up until the shark finally gets irritated and snaps at them, and 11593then they act as though this was a totally unexpected and very 11594dangerous development, although clearly it is what they wanted all 11595along. 11596 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11597% 11598So, what's with this guy Gideon, anyway? And why can't he ever 11599remember his Bible? 11600% 11601Sodd's Second Law: 11602 Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is 11603bound to occur. 11604% 11605Software, n.: 11606 Formal evening attire for female computer analysts. 11607% 11608Some don't prefer the pursuit of happiness to the happiness of pursuit. 11609% 11610Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. 11611 -- Ed Howe 11612% 11613Some of you ... may have decided that, this year, you're going to 11614celebrate it the old-fashioned way, with your family sitting around 11615stringing cranberries and exchanging humble, handmade gifts, like on 11616"The Waltons". Well, you can forget it. If everybody pulled that kind 11617of subversive stunt, the economy would collapse overnight. The 11618government would have to intervene: it would form a cabinet-level 11619Department of Holiday Gift-Giving, which would spend billions and 11620billions of tax dollars to buy Barbie dolls and electronic games, which 11621it would drop on the populace from Air Force jets, killing and maiming 11622thousands. So, for the good of the nation, you should go along with 11623the Holiday Program. This means you should get a large sum of money 11624and go to a mall. 11625 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 11626% 11627Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some 11628people have mediocrity thrust upon them. 11629 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 11630% 11631Some people have a way about them that seems to say: "If I have only 11632one life to live, let me live it as a jerk." 11633% 11634Some people in this department wouldn't recognize subtlety if it hit 11635them on the head. 11636% 11637Some people live life in the fast lane. You're in oncoming traffic. 11638% 11639Some performers on television appear to be horrible people, but when 11640you finally get to know them in person, they turn out to be even 11641worse. 11642 -- Avery 11643% 11644Some points to remember [about animals]: 11645 11646(1) Don't go to sleep under big animals, e.g., elephants, rhinoceri, 11647 hippopotamuses; 11648(2) Don't put animals with sharp teeth or poisonous fangs down the 11649 front of your clothes; 11650(3) Don't pat certain animals, e.g., crocodiles and scorpions or dogs 11651 you have just kicked. 11652 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 11653% 11654Some primal termite knocked on wood. 11655And tasted it, and found it good. 11656And that is why your Cousin May 11657Fell through the parlor floor today. 11658 -- Ogden Nash 11659% 11660Some programming languages manage to absorb change but withstand 11661progress. 11662% 11663Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand 11664progress. 11665 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11666% 11667Somebody ought to cross ball point pens with coat hangers so that the 11668pens will multiply instead of disappear. 11669% 11670Someone will try to honk your nose today. 11671% 11672"Sometimes I simply feel that the whole world is a cigarette and I'm 11673the only ashtray." 11674% 11675Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world. 11676 -- Lily Tomlin 11677% 11678"Somewhere", said Father Vittorini, "did Blake not speak of the 11679Machineries of Joy? That is, did not God promote environments, then 11680intimidate these Natures by provoking the existence of flesh, toy men 11681and women, such as are we all? And thus happily sent forth, at our 11682best, with good grace and fine wit, on calm noons, in fair climes, are 11683we not God's Machineries of Joy?" 11684 11685"If Blake said that", said Father Brian, "he never lived in Dublin." 11686 -- R. Bradbury, "The Machineries of Joy" 11687% 11688Somewhere, just out of sight, the unicorns are gathering. 11689% 11690Song Title of the Week: 11691 "They're putting dimes in the hole in my head to see the change 11692in me." 11693% 11694Sooner or later you must pay for your sins. (Those who have already 11695paid may disregard this fortune). 11696% 11697Sorry, no fortune this time. 11698% 11699Sorry. I forget what I was going to say. 11700% 11701Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- 11702bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the 11703road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. 11704 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 11705% 11706"Spare no expense to save money on this one." 11707 -- Samuel Goldwyn 11708% 11709Spark's Sixth Rule for Managers: 11710 If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as 11711if he had lost his senses. When he looks down, paraphrase the question 11712back at him. 11713% 11714Speak roughly to your little boy, 11715 And beat him when he sneezes: 11716He only does it to annoy 11717 Because he knows it teases. 11718 11719 Wow! wow! wow! 11720 11721I speak severely to my boy, 11722 And beat him when he sneezes: 11723For he can thoroughly enjoy 11724 The pepper when he pleases! 11725 11726 Wow! wow! wow! 11727 -- Lewis Carrol, "Alice in Wonderland" 11728% 11729Speak roughly to your little VAX, 11730 And boot it when it crashes; 11731It knows that one cannot relax 11732 Because the paging thrashes! 11733 11734 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11735 11736I speak severely to my VAX, 11737 And boot it when it crashes; 11738In spite of all my favorite hacks 11739 My jobs it always thrashes! 11740 11741 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11742% 11743Speak softly and carry a +6 two-handed sword. 11744% 11745Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. 11746 -- Dave Millman 11747% 11748Speaking as someone who has delved into the intricacies of PL/I, I am 11749sure that only Real Men could have written such a machine-hogging, 11750cycle-grabbing, all-encompassing monster. Allocate an array and free 11751the middle third? Sure! Why not? Multiply a character string times a 11752bit string and assign the result to a float decimal? Go ahead! Free a 11753controlled variable procedure parameter and reallocate it before 11754passing it back? Overlay three different types of variable on the same 11755memory location? Anything you say! Write a recursive macro? Well, 11756no, but Real Men use rescan. How could a language so obviously 11757designed and written by Real Men not be intended for Real Man use? 11758% 11759Speaking of Godzilla and other things that convey horror: 11760 11761 With a purposeful grimace and a Mongo-like flair 11762 He throws the spinning disk drives in the air! 11763 And he picks up a Vax and he throws it back down 11764 As he wades through the lab making terrible sounds! 11765 Helpless users with projects due 11766 Scream "My God!" as he stomps on the tape drives, too! 11767 11768 Oh, no! He says Unix runs too slow! Go, go, DECzilla! 11769 Oh, yes! He's gonna bring up VMS! Go, go, DECzilla!" 11770 11771* VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation 11772* DECzilla is a trademark of Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of Death, Inc. 11773 -- Curtis Jackson 11774% 11775Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently 11776these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people 11777to communicate with the people they love; Husbands and wives who can't 11778communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so 11779on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on (and in real 11780life, I might add) spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't 11781communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very _____least 11782he can do is to Shut Up! 11783 -- Tom Lehrer, "That Was the Year that Was" 11784% 11785"Speed is subsittute fo accurancy." 11786% 11787Speer's 1st Law of Proofreading: 11788 The visibility of an error is inversely proportional to the 11789number of times you have looked at it. 11790% 11791Spelling is a lossed art. 11792% 11793Spend extra time on hobby. Get plenty of rolling papers. 11794% 11795Spirtle, n.: 11796 The fine stream from a grapefruit that always lands right in 11797your eye. 11798 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 11799% 11800Spouse, n.: 11801 Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you 11802wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. 11803% 11804"Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist 11805drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to pur'ee of bat guano; and the 11806greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll 11807take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up!" 11808 -- Harlan Ellison 11809% 11810Stay away from flying saucers today. 11811% 11812Stay away from hurricanes for a while. 11813% 11814"Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly." 11815% 11816Steele's Plagiarism of Somebody's Philosophy: 11817 Everybody should believe in something -- I believe I'll have 11818another drink. 11819% 11820Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming: 11821 Never test for an error condition you don't know how to 11822handle. 11823% 11824Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11825% 11826Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. Now, if they'd only 11827take a bath ... 11828% 11829Stult's Report: 11830 Our problems are mostly behind us. What we have to do now is 11831fight the solutions. 11832% 11833Stupid, n.: 11834 Losing $25 on the game and $25 on the instant replay. 11835% 11836Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out? 11837% 11838Sturgeon's Law: 11839 90% of everything is crud. 11840% 11841Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your 11842editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. 11843 -- Mark Twain 11844% 11845Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way 11846before it is understood. 11847% 11848Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring. 11849% 11850Suddenly, Professor Liebowitz realizes he has come to the seminar 11851without his duck ... 11852% 11853(Sung to the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA) 11854 11855 To code the impossible code, 11856 To bring up a virgin machine, 11857 To pop out of endless recursion, 11858 To grok what appears on the screen, 11859 11860 To right the unrightable bug, 11861 To endlessly twiddle and thrash, 11862 To mount the unmountable magtape, 11863 To stop the unstoppable crash! 11864% 11865Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have! 11866% 11867Support wildlife -- vote for an orgy. 11868% 11869Support your local police force -- steal!! 11870% 11871Support your local Search and Rescue unit -- get lost. 11872% 11873Sure he's sharp as a razor ... he's a two-dimensional pinhead! 11874% 11875Surprise due today. Also the rent. 11876% 11877Surprise your boss. Get to work on time. 11878% 11879Surprise! You are the lucky winner of random I.R.S. Audit! Just type 11880in your name and social security number. Please remember that leaving 11881the room is punishable under law: 11882 11883Name # 11884% 11885Swahili, n.: 11886 The language used by the National Enquirer to print their 11887retractions. 11888 -- Johnny Hart 11889% 11890Sweater, n.: 11891 A garment worn by a child when its mother feels chilly. 11892% 11893Swipple's Rule of Order: 11894 He who shouts the loudest has the floor. 11895% 11896Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon. 11897 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11898% 11899System/3! System/3! 11900See how it runs! See how it runs! 11901 Its monitor loses so totally! 11902 It runs all its programs in RPG! 11903 It's made by our favorite monopoly! 11904System/3! 11905% 11906Systems have sub-systems and sub-systems have sub-systems and so on ad 11907infinitum -- which is why we're always starting over. 11908 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11909% 11910 _ 11911 _ / \ o 11912 / \ | | o o o 11913 | | | | _ o o o o 11914 | \_| | / \ o o o 11915 \__ | | | o o 11916 | | | | ______ ~~~~ _____ 11917 | |__/ | / ___--\\ ~~~ __/_____\__ 11918 | ___/ / \--\\ \\ \ ___ <__ x x __\ 11919 | | / /\\ \\ )) \ ( " ) 11920 | | -------(---->>(@)--(@)-------\----------< >----------- 11921 | | // | | //__________ / \ ____) (___ \\ 11922 | | // __|_| ( --------- ) //// ______ /////\ \\ 11923 // | ( \ ______ / <<<< <>-----<<<<< / \\ 11924 // ( ) / / \` \__ \\ 11925 //-------------------------------------------------------------\\ 11926 11927Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels 11928start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and 11929then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the 11930music at top volume and at least a pint of ether. 11931 -- H.S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 11932% 11933T: One big monster, he called TROLL. 11934 He don't rock, and he don't roll; 11935 Drink no wine, and smoke no stogies. 11936 He just Love To Eat Them Roguies. 11937 -- The Roguelet's ABC 11938% 11939Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a 11940hole in his head. 11941% 11942Tact, n.: 11943 The unsaid part of what you're thinking. 11944% 11945Take everything in stride. Trample anyone who gets in your way. 11946% 11947Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting 11948enough cheese 11949 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 11950% 11951Take it easy, we're in a hurry. 11952% 11953Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it 11954needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. 11955 -- Kipling 11956% 11957Take the folks at Coca-Cola. For many years, they were content to sit 11958back and make the same old carbonated beverage. It was a good 11959beverage, no question about it; generations of people had grown up 11960drinking it and doing the experiment in sixth grade where you put a 11961nail into a glass of Coke and after a couple of days the nail dissolves 11962and the teacher says: "Imagine what it does to your TEETH!" So 11963Coca-Cola was solidly entrenched in the market, and the management saw 11964no need to improve ... 11965 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 11966% 11967Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to 11968your execution is not generally understood by less advanced life forms, 11969and they'll call you crazy. 11970 -- "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul" 11971% 11972Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. 11973 -- Euripides 11974% 11975Talkers are no good doers. 11976 -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI" 11977% 11978Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. 11979 -- Friedrich Nietzsche 11980% 11981TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) 11982 You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged 11983 determination and work like hell. Most people think you are 11984 stubborn and bull headed. You are a Communist. 11985% 11986Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind 11987the tree." 11988 -- Russell Long 11989% 11990Taxes are going up so fast, the government is likely to price itself 11991out of the market. 11992% 11993Taxes, n.: 11994 Of life's two certainties, the only one for which you can get 11995an extension. 11996% 11997Teach children to be polite and courteous in the home, and, when he 11998grows up, he will never be able to edge his car onto a freeway. 11999% 12000Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else. 12001% 12002Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means 12003for going backwards. 12004 -- Aldous Huxley 12005% 12006Telephone, n.: 12007 An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the 12008advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. 12009 -- Ambrose Bierce 12010% 12011Tell me, O Octopus, I begs, 12012Is those things arms, or is they legs? 12013I marvel at thee, Octopus; 12014If I were thou, I'd call me us. 12015 -- Ogden Nash 12016% 12017Ten years of rejection slips is nature's way of telling you to stop 12018writing. 12019 -- R. Geis 12020% 12021"Terence, this is stupid stuff: 12022You eat your victuals fast enough; 12023There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, 12024To see the rate you drink your beer. 12025But oh, good Lord, the verse you make, 12026It gives a chap the belly-ache. 12027The cow, the old cow, she is dead; 12028It sleeps well the horned head: 12029We poor lads, 'tis our turn now 12030To hear such tunes as killed the cow. 12031Pretty friendship 'tis to rhyme 12032Your friends to death before their time. 12033Moping, melancholy mad: 12034Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad." 12035 -- A. E. Housman 12036% 12037"Termiter's argument that God is His own grandmother generated a 12038surprising amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one 12039hand considered the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other 12040hand were unwilling to risk offending God's grandmother." 12041 -- Len Cool, "American Pie" 12042% 12043Tertullian was born in Carthage somewhere about 160 A.D. He was a 12044pagan, and he abandoned himself to the lascivious life of his city 12045until about his 35th year, when he became a Christian .... To him is 12046ascribed the sublime confession: Credo quia absurdum est (I believe 12047because it is absurd). This does not altogether accord with historical 12048fact, for he merely said: 12049 12050 "And the Son of God died, which is immediately credible because 12051 it is absurd. And buried he rose again, which is certain 12052 because it is impossible." 12053 12054Thanks to the acuteness of his mind, he saw through the poverty of 12055philosophical and Gnostic knowledge, and contemptuously rejected it. 12056 -- C. G. Jung, in Psychological Types 12057 12058(Teruillian was one of the founders of the Catholic Church). 12059% 12060Test-tube babies shouldn't throw stones. 12061% 12062Texas law forbids anyone to have a pair of pliers in his possession. 12063% 12064"Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even 12065one which cannot be justified on any other grounds." 12066 -- J. Finnegan, USC. 12067% 12068Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future. 12069 -- Pogo, by Walt Kelly 12070% 12071"That boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver" 12072 -- Foghorn Leghorn 12073% 12074"That must be wonderful! I don't understand it at all." 12075% 12076That secret you've been guarding, isn't. 12077% 12078That woman speaks eight languages and can't say "no" in any of them. 12079 -- Dorothy Parker 12080% 12081The 80's -- when you can't tell hairstyles from chemotherapy. 12082% 12083The [Ford Foundation] is a large body of money completely surrounded by 12084people who want some. 12085 -- Dwight MacDonald 12086% 12087The Abrams' Principle: 12088 The shortest distance between two points is off the wall. 12089% 12090The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper 12091 -- Thomas Jefferson 12092% 12093The Advertising Agency Song: 12094 12095 When your client's hopping mad, 12096 Put his picture in the ad. 12097 If he still should prove refractory, 12098 Add a picture of his factory. 12099% 12100"The algorithm to do that is extremely nasty. You might want to mug 12101someone with it." 12102 -- M. Devine, Computer Science 340 12103% 12104... The Anarchists' [national] anthem is an international anthem that 12105consists of 365 raspberries blown in very quick succession to the tune 12106of "Camptown Races". Nobody has to stand up for it, nobody has to 12107listen to it, and, even better, nobody has to play it. 12108 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12109% 12110The Arkansas legislature passed a law that states that the Arkansas 12111River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little 12112Rock. 12113% 12114The Army has carried the American ... ideal to its logical conclusion. 12115Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed 12116and color, but also on ability. 12117 -- T. Lehrer 12118% 12119The Army needs leaders the way a foot needs a big toe. 12120 -- Bill Murray 12121% 12122The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use 12123in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the 12124Declaration not for that, but for future use. 12125 -- Abraham Lincoln 12126% 12127The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 a.m. 12128% 12129The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the 12130average man can see better than he can think. 12131% 12132"The bad reputation UNIX has gotten is totally undeserved, laid on by 12133people who don't understand, who have not gotten in there and tried 12134anything." 12135 -- Jim Joyce, owner of Jim Joyce's UNIX Bookstore 12136% 12137The basic idea behind malls is that they are more convenient than 12138cities. Cities contain streets, which are dangerous and crowded and 12139difficult to park in. Malls, on the other hand, have parking lots, 12140which are also dangerous and crowded and difficult to park in, but -- 12141here is the big difference -- in mall parking lots, THERE ARE NO 12142RULES. You're allowed to do anything. You can drive as fast as you 12143want in any direction you want. I was once driving in a mall parking 12144lot when my car was struck by a pickup truck being driven backward by a 12145squat man with a tattoo that said "Charlie" on his forearm, who got out 12146and explained to me, in great detail, why the accident was my fault, 12147his reasoning being that he was violent and muscular, whereas I was 12148neither. This kind of reasoning is legally valid in mall parking 12149lots. 12150 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 12151% 12152The basic menu item, in fact the ONLY menu item, would be a food unit 12153called the "patty," consisting of -- this would be guaranteed in 12154writing -- "100 percent animal matter of some kind." All patties would 12155be heated up and then cooled back down in electronic devices 12156immediately before serving. The Breakfast Patty would be a patty on a 12157bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Ba-Ko-Bits, Cheez Whiz, a Special 12158Sauce made by pouring ketchup out of a bottle and a little slip of 12159paper stating: "Inspected by Number 12". The Lunch or Dinner Patty 12160would be any Breakfast Patties that didn't get sold in the morning. 12161The Seafood Lover's Patty would be any patties that were starting to 12162emit a serious aroma. Patties that were too rank even to be Seafood 12163Lover's Patties would be compressed into wads and sold as "Nuggets." 12164 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12165% 12166The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; 12167but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman. 12168% 12169The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. 12170 -- W. C. Fields 12171% 12172The best defense against logic is ignorance. 12173% 12174The best thing about growing older is that it takes such a long time. 12175% 12176"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and 12177blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. 12178You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at 12179night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only 12180love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or 12181know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only 12182one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what 12183wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, 12184never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never 12185dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a 12186lot of things there are to learn." 12187 -- T.H. White, "The Once and Future King" 12188% 12189The best way to make a fire with two sticks is to make sure one of them 12190is a match. 12191 -- Will Rogers 12192% 12193The bigger the theory the better. 12194% 12195The biggest difference between time and space is that you can't reuse 12196time. 12197 -- Merrick Furst 12198% 12199The birds are singing, the flowers are budding, and it is time for Miss 12200Manners to tell young lovers to stop necking in public. 12201 12202It's not that Miss Manners is immune to romance. Miss Manners has been 12203known to squeeze a gentleman's arm while being helped over a curb, and, 12204in her wild youth, even to press a dainty slipper against a foot or two 12205under the dinner table. Miss Manners also believes that the sight of 12206people strolling hand in hand or arm in arm or arm in hand dresses up a 12207city considerably more than the more familiar sight of people shaking 12208umbrellas at one another. What Miss Manners objects to is the kind of 12209activity that frightens the horses on the street ... 12210% 12211"The bland leadeth the bland and they both shall fall into the kitsch." 12212% 12213The bogosity meter just pegged. 12214% 12215The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up 12216in the morning, and does not stop until you get to school. 12217% 12218The Briggs/Chase Law of Program Development: 12219 To determine how long it will take to write and debug a 12220program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add one, and 12221convert to the next higher units. 12222% 12223The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. 12224Statistics prove that in the United States more Americans are killed in 12225automobile accidents than are killed by buffalo. 12226 -- Art Buchwald 12227% 12228The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding 12229bureaucracy. 12230% 12231"The C Programming Language -- A language which combines the 12232flexibility of assembly language with the power of assembly language." 12233% 12234The camel has a single hump; 12235The dromedary two; 12236Or else the other way around. 12237I'm never sure. Are you? 12238 -- Ogden Nash 12239% 12240The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly 12241greater than that of any other animals. Some of their most esteemed 12242inventions have no other apparent purpose, for example, the dinner 12243party of more than two, the epic poem, and the science of metaphysics. 12244 -- H. L. Mencken 12245% 12246"The chain which can be yanked is not the eternal chain." 12247 -- G. Fitch 12248% 12249The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to show up 12250at the steam fitters' picnic. 12251% 12252The chief cause of problems is solutions. 12253% 12254The chief danger in life is that you may take too may precautions. 12255 -- Alfred Adler 12256% 12257The church is near but the road is icy; the bar is far away but I will 12258walk carefully. 12259 -- Russian Proverb 12260% 12261"The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live 12262elsewhere." 12263% 12264"The Computer made me do it." 12265% 12266The computing field is always in need of new cliches. 12267 -- Alan Perlis 12268% 12269The confusion of a staff member is measured by the length of his 12270memos. 12271 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 12272% 12273The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other 12274subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up 12275every bird watcher in the country. 12276 -- John Mitchell, Atty. General 1969-1972 12277% 12278The Consultant's Curse: 12279 When the customer has beaten upon you long enough, give him 12280what he asks for, instead of what he needs. This is very strong 12281medicine, and is normally only required once. 12282% 12283The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: "Of course it is 12284none of my business, but --" is to place a period after the word "but." 12285Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. 12286Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you 12287talked about. 12288 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 12289% 12290The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. 12291% 12292The cost of living is going up, and the chance of living is going 12293down. 12294% 12295The cow is nothing but a machine which makes grass fit for us people to 12296eat. 12297 -- John McNulty 12298% 12299The Crown is full of it! 12300 -- Nate Harris, 1775 12301% 12302The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should 12303therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could 12304hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to 12305declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny ... In war, 12306then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press. 12307Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges. 12308 -- William Ellery Channing 12309% 12310The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life. 12311% 12312The day-to-day travails of the IBM programmer are so amusing to most of 12313us who are fortunate enough never to have been one -- like watching 12314Charlie Chaplin trying to cook a shoe. 12315% 12316The debate rages on: Is PL/I Bachtrian or Dromedary? 12317% 12318The devil finds work for idle circuits to do. 12319% 12320"The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell 12321into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him 12322out again, it would be a calamity." 12323 -- Benjamin Disraeli 12324% 12325The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science 12326requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require 12327scholarship. 12328 -- Robert Heinlein 12329% 12330The distinction between Jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, as the 12331following quote from Lenny Bruce illustrates: 12332 12333 "I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. 12334Eddie Cantor's goyish. The B'nai Brith is goyish. The Hadassah is 12335Jewish. Marine Corps -- heavy goyish, dangerous. 12336 "Kool-Aid is goyish. All Drake's Cakes are goyish. 12337Pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. 12338Instant potatoes -- goyish. Black cherry soda's very Jewish. 12339Macaroons are ____very Jewish. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime Jell-O is 12340goyish. Lime soda is ____very goyish. Trailer parks are so goyish that 12341Jews won't go near them ..." 12342 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 12343% 12344The District of Columbia has a law forbidding you to exert pressure on 12345a balloon and thereby cause a whistling sound on the streets. 12346% 12347The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man 12348really clever who has not found that he is stupid. 12349 -- Gilbert K. Chesterson 12350% 12351The duck hunter trained his retriever to walk on water. Eager to show 12352off this amazing accomplishment, he asked a friend to go along on his 12353next hunting trip. Saying nothing, he fired his first shot and, as the 12354duck fell, the dog walked on the surface of the water, retrieved the 12355duck and returned it to his master. 12356 "Notice anything?" the owner asked eagerly. 12357 "Yes," said his friend, "I see that fool dog of yours can't 12358swim." 12359% 12360The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late 12361and owns the worm farm. 12362 -- Travis McGee 12363% 12364The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier. 12365% 12366The easiest way to figure the cost of living is to take your income and 12367add ten percent. 12368% 12369The economy depends about as much on economists as the weather does on 12370weather forecasters. 12371 -- Jean-Paul Kauffmann 12372% 12373"The eleventh commandment was `Thou Shalt Compute' or `Thou Shalt Not 12374Compute' -- I forget which." 12375 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 12376% 12377The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of 12378civilization. 12379 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 12380% 12381The end of the world will occur at 3:00 p.m., this Friday, with 12382symposium to follow. 12383% 12384The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach 12385their children to speak it. 12386 -- G. B. Shaw 12387% 12388The fact that boys are allowed to exist at all is evidence of a 12389remarkable Christian forbearance among men. 12390 -- Ambrose Bierce 12391% 12392The fact that it works is immaterial. 12393 -- L. Ogborn 12394% 12395The faster we go, the rounder we get. 12396 -- The Grateful Dead 12397% 12398The Fifth Rule: 12399 You have taken yourself too seriously. 12400% 12401The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. 12402 -- Abbie Hoffman 12403% 12404The first Great Steward, Parrafin the Climber, was employed in King 12405Chloroplast's kitchen as second scullery boy when the old King met a 12406tragic death. He apparently fell backward by accident on a dozen salad 12407forks. Simultaneously the true heir, his son Carotene, mysteriously 12408fled the city, complaining of some sort of plot and a lot of 12409threatening notes left on his breakfast tray. At the time, this looked 12410suspicious what with his father's death, and Carotene was suspected of 12411foul play. Then the rest of the King's relatives began to drop dead 12412one after the other in an odd fashion. Some were found strangled with 12413dishrags and some succumbed to food poisoning. A few were found 12414drowned in the soup vats, and one was attacked by assailants unknown 12415and beaten to death with a pot roast. At least three appear to have 12416thrown themselves backward on salad forks, perhaps in a noble gesture 12417of grief over the King's untimely end. Finally there was no one left 12418in Minas Troney who was either eligible or willing to wear the accursed 12419crown, and the rule of Twodor was up for grabs. The scullery slave 12420Parrafin bravely accepted the Stewardship of Twodor until that day when 12421a lineal descendant of Carotene's returns to reclaim his rightful 12422throne, conquer Twodor's enemies, and revamp the postal system. 12423 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 12424% 12425The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of 12426management is that success equals skill. 12427 -- Robert Heller 12428% 12429The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish 12430child, was propounded to me by my father: 12431 "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and 12432whistles?" 12433 I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity 12434gave up. 12435 "A herring," said my father. 12436 "A herring," I echoed. "A herring doesn't hang on the wall!" 12437 "So hang it there." 12438 "But a herring isn't green!" I protested. 12439 "Paint it." 12440 "But a herring isn't wet." 12441 "If it's just painted it's still wet." 12442 "But -- " I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, "-- a herring 12443doesn't whistle!!" 12444 "Right, " smiled my father. "I just put that in to make it 12445hard." 12446 -- Leo Rosten, "The Joys of Yiddish" 12447% 12448"The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your 12449hands and hoping when a rock or a club will do." 12450 -- McCloctnik the Lucid 12451% 12452The First Rule of Program Optimization: 12453 Don't do it. 12454 12455The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): 12456 Don't do it yet. 12457 -- Michael Jackson 12458% 12459The first time, it's a KLUDGE! 12460The second, a trick. 12461Later, it's a well-established technique! 12462 -- Mike Broido, Intermetrics 12463% 12464The following quote is from page 4-27 of the MSCP Basic Disk Functions 12465Manual which is part of the UDA50 Programmers Doc Kit manuals: 12466 12467As stated above, the host area of a disk is structured as a vector of 12468logical blocks. From a performance viewpoint, however, it is more 12469appropriate to view the host area as a four dimensional hyper-cube, the 12470four dimensions being cylinder, group, track, and sector. 12471 . . . 12472Referring to our hyper-cube analogy, the set of potentially accessible 12473blocks form a line parallel to the track axis. This line moves 12474parallel to the sector axis, wrapping around when it reaches the edge 12475of the hyper-cube. 12476% 12477The fortune program is supported, in part, by user contributions and by 12478a major grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. 12479% 12480"The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and 12481vinyl." 12482 -- Dave Barry 12483% 12484The full impact of parenthood doesn't hit you until you multiply the 12485number of your kids by 32 teeth. 12486% 12487The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to 12488chance. 12489% 12490The gentlemen looked one another over with microscopic carelessness. 12491% 12492The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the 12493center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South 12494Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South 12495End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. 12496% 12497The giraffe you thought you offended last week is willing to be nuzzled 12498today. 12499% 12500The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at 12501least until we've finished building it. 12502% 12503The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. The goal of nature 12504is to build better mice. 12505% 12506The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him 12507love and he invented marriage. 12508% 12509THE GOLDEN RULE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 12510 The one who has the gold makes the rules. 12511% 12512"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who 12513make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians 12514have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine 12515man in the bonds of Hell." 12516 -- St. Augustine 12517% 12518The good die young -- because they see it's no use living if you've got 12519to be good. 12520% 12521 "The Good Ship Enterprise" (to the tune of "The Good Ship Lollipop") 12522 12523On the good ship Enterprise 12524Every week there's a new surprise 12525Where the Romulans lurk 12526And the Klingons often go berserk. 12527 12528Yes, the good ship Enterprise 12529There's excitement anywhere it flies 12530Where Tribbles play 12531And Nurse Chapel never gets her way. 12532 12533 See Captain Kirk standing on the bridge, 12534 Mr. Spock is at his side. 12535 The weekly menace, ooh-ooh 12536 It gets fried, scattered far and wide. 12537 12538It's the good ship Enterprise 12539Heading out where danger lies 12540And you live in dread 12541If you're wearing a shirt that's red. 12542 -- Doris Robin and Karen Trimble of The L.A. Filkharmonics 12543% 12544The government [is] extremely fond of amassing great quantities of 12545statistics. These are raised to the _nth degree, the cube roots are 12546extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive 12547displays. What must be kept ever in mind, however, is that in every 12548case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts 12549down anything he damn well pleases. 12550 -- Sir Josiah Stamp 12551% 12552The grand leap of the whale up the Fall of Niagara is esteemed, by all 12553who have seen it, as one of the finest spectacles in nature. 12554 -- Benjamin Franklin. 12555% 12556The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog: 12557 The Gerat Bald Swamp Hedgehog of Billericay displays, in 12558courtship, his single prickle and does impressions of Holiday Inn desk 12559clerks. Since this means him standing motionless for enormous periods 12560of time he is often eaten in full display by The Great Bald Swamp 12561Hedgehog Eater. 12562 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12563% 12564The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men 12565of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. 12566 -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis 12567% 12568The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. 12569 -- Albert Einstein 12570% 12571The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue, a custom 12572whereof the memory of man runneth not howsomever to the contrary, 12573nohow. 12574% 12575The Heineken Uncertainty Principle: 12576 You can never be sure how many beers you had last night. 12577% 12578The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent 12579thinkers. 12580% 12581The hieroglyphics are all unreadable except for a notation on the back, 12582which reads "Genuine authentic Egyptian papyrus. Guaranteed to be at 12583least 5000 years old." 12584% 12585The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for 12586lists of "Ten Best". 12587 -- H. Allen Smith 12588% 12589"The human brain is like an enormous fish -- it is flat and slimy and 12590has gills through which it can see." 12591 -- Monty Python 12592% 12593The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its capacity 12594-- the rest is overhead for the operating system. 12595% 12596The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange 12597protein -- it rejects it. 12598 -- P. Medawar 12599% 12600The human race has been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can 12601remember. Just like the bluebird feeding its young, or the spider 12602struggling to weave its perfect web, or the buttercup blooming in 12603spring, the shark reveals to us yet another of the infinite and 12604wonderful facets of nature, namely the facet that it can bite your head 12605off. This causes us humans to feel a certain degree of awe. 12606 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 12607% 12608The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. 12609 -- Mark Twain 12610% 12611The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that 12612procession but carrying a banner. 12613 -- Mark Twain 12614% 12615The idea is to die young as late as possible. 12616 -- Ashley Montagu 12617% 12618The idea is to die young as late as possible. 12619 -- Ashley Montague 12620% 12621The idea there was that consumers would bring their broken electronic 12622devices, such as television sets and VCR's, to the destruction centers, 12623where trained personnel would whack them (the devices) with 12624sledgehammers. With their devices thus permanently destroyed, 12625consumers would then be free to go out and buy new devices, rather than 12626have to fritter away years of their lives trying to have the old ones 12627repaired at so-called "factory service centers," which in fact consist 12628of two men named Lester poking at the insides of broken electronic 12629devices with cheap cigars and going, "Lookit all them WIRES in there!" 12630 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12631% 12632"The identical is equal to itself, since it is different." 12633 -- Franco Spisani 12634% 12635"The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit 12636longer." 12637 -- Henry Kissinger 12638% 12639The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf 12640has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know 12641when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr. 12642 -- Will Rogers 12643% 12644The individual choice of garnishment of a burger can be an important 12645point to the consumer in this day when individualism is an increasingly 12646important thing to people. 12647 -- Donald N. Smith, president of Burger King 12648% 12649The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the 12650number of participants. 12651 -- Adam Walinsky 12652% 12653The IQ of the group is the lowest IQ of a member of the group divided 12654by the number of people in the group. 12655% 12656The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free 12657information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a 12658dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a 12659real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. 12660 12661So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never 12662pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big 12663consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes... 12664 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 12665% 12666The Kennedy Constant: 12667 Don't get mad -- get even. 12668% 12669The Killer Ducks are coming!!! 12670% 12671The ladies men admire, I've heard, 12672Would shudder at a wicked word. 12673Their candle gives a single light; 12674They'd rather stay at home at night. 12675They do not keep awake till three, 12676Nor read erotic poetry. 12677They never sanction the impure, 12678Nor recognize an overture. 12679They shrink from powders and from paints ... 12680So far, I've had no complaints. 12681 -- Dorothy Parker 12682% 12683"The last time somebody said, `I find I can write much better with a 12684word processor.', I replied, `They used to say the same thing about 12685drugs.' 12686 -- Roy Blount, Jr. 12687% 12688The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the 12689law free. 12690 -- Henry David Thoreau 12691% 12692The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the 12693poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal 12694bread. 12695 -- Anatole France 12696% 12697"The lawgiver, of all beings, most owes the law allegiance. He of all 12698men should behave as though the law compelled him. But it is the 12699universal weakness of mankind that what we are given to administer we 12700presently imagine we own." 12701 -- H.G. Wells 12702% 12703 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #10: SIMPLE 12704 12705SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiot's Monopurpose Programming Language 12706Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover College for 12707Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write code 12708with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, 12709END and STOP. No matter how you arrange the statements, you can't make 12710a syntax error. Programs written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. Thus 12711they achieve the results of programs written in other languages without 12712the tedious, frustrating process of testing and debugging. 12713% 12714 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12: LITHP 12715 12716This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of 12717an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said 12718to be useful in protheththing lithtth. 12719% 12720 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #13: SLOBOL 12721 12722SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its compiler. 12723Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they 12724compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the 12725coffee. Forty-three programmers are known to have died of boredom 12726sitting at their terminals while waiting for a SLOBOL program to 12727compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often turn to a related (but 12728infinitely faster) language, COCAINE. 12729% 12730 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17: SARTRE 12731 12732Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an extremely 12733unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; they just 12734are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own functions. 12735SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are no fun at 12736parties. 12737% 12738 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18: C- 12739 12740This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he 12741submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is 12742best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the 12743language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code 12744statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very 12745similar to COBOL. 12746% 12747 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18a: FIFTH 12748 12749FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the data types 12750refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT, and 12751JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and 12752BLOTTO. Commands refer to ingredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, 12753CABERNET, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH, and WHATEVERSAROUND. 12754 12755The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and 12756financial status of its users. Commands in the ELITE dialect include 12757VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER dialect include HOOTCH 12758and RIPPLE. The latter is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers 12759who end up using this language. 12760% 12761 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #2: RENE 12762 12763Named after the famous French philosopher and mathematician Rene 12764DesCartes, RENE is a language used for artificial intelligence. The 12765language is being developed at the Chicago Center of Machine Politics 12766and Programming under a grant from the Jane Byrne Victory Fund. A 12767spokesman described the language as "Just as great as dis [sic] city of 12768ours." 12769 12770The center is very pleased with progress to date. They say they have 12771almost succeeded in getting a VAX to think. However, sources inside the 12772organization say that each time the machine fails to think it ceases to 12773exist. 12774% 12775 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #5: VALGOL 12776From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, 12777VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of popularity across the industry. 12778 12779Here is a sample program: 12780 LIKE, Y*KNOW(I MEAN)START 12781 IF PIZZA = LIKE BITCHEN AND GUY = LIKE TUBULAR AND 12782 VALLEY GIRL = LIKE GRODY**MAX(FERSURE)**2 THEN 12783 FOR I = LIKE 1 TO OH*MAYBE 100 12784 DO*WAH - (DITTY**2) 12785 BARF(I)=TOTALLY GROSS(OUT) 12786 SURE 12787 LIKE BAG THIS PROGRAM 12788 REALLY 12789 LIKE TOTALLY (Y*KNOW) 12790 IM*SURE 12791 GOTO THE MALL 12792 12793When the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter displays the message: 12794 12795 GAG ME WITH A SPOON!! 12796% 12797 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #8: LAIDBACK 12798 12799This language was developed at the Marin County Center for T'ai Chi, 12800Mellowness and Computer Programming (now defunct), as an alternative to 12801the more intense atmosphere in nearby Silicon Valley. 12802 12803The center was ideal for programmers who liked to soak in hot tubs 12804while they worked. Unfortunately few programmers could survive there 12805because the center outlawed Pizza and Coca-Cola in favor of Tofu and 12806Perrier. 12807 12808Many mourn the demise of LAIDBACK because of its reputation as a gentle 12809and non-threatening language since all error messages are in lower 12810case. For example, LAIDBACK responded to syntax errors with the 12811message: 12812 "i hate to bother you, but i just can't relate to that. can 12813 you find the time to try it again?" 12814% 12815The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an approaching 12816train. 12817% 12818The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming dragon. 12819% 12820The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get 12821much sleep. 12822 -- Woody Allen 12823% 12824The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. 12825 -- Henry Kissinger 12826% 12827"The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as 12828we could with both of them." 12829 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 12830% 12831The makers may make 12832and the users may use, 12833but the fixers must fix 12834with but minimal clues 12835% 12836The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the 12837crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no 12838one has ever been. 12839 -- Alan Ashley-Pitt 12840% 12841The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that 12842will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful. 12843 -- Mark Twain. 12844% 12845The marvels of today's modern technology include the development of a 12846soda can, when discarded will last forever ... and a $7,000 car which 12847when properly cared for will rust out in two or three years. 12848% 12849"... the Mayo Clinic, named after its founder, Dr. Ted Clinic ..." 12850 -- Dave Barry 12851% 12852The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse. 12853% 12854 The men sat sipping their tea in silence. After a while the 12855klutz said, "Life is like a bowl of sour cream." 12856 12857 "Like a bowl of sour cream?" asked the other. "Why?" 12858 12859 "How should I know? What am I, a philosopher?" 12860% 12861The meta-Turing test counts a thing as intelligent if it seeks to 12862devise and apply Turing tests to objects of its own creation. 12863 -- Lew Mammel, Jr. 12864% 12865The misnaming of fields of study is so common as to lead to what might 12866be general systems laws. For example, Frank Harary once suggested the 12867law that any field that had the word "science" in its name was 12868guaranteed thereby not to be a science. He would cite as examples 12869Military Science, Library Science, Political Science, Homemaking 12870Science, Social Science, and Computer Science. Discuss the generality 12871of this law, and possible reasons for its predictive 12872power. 12873 -- Gerald Weinberg, "An Introduction to General Systems 12874 Thinking." 12875% 12876The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything. 12877 -- Laurence J. Peter 12878% 12879The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me. 12880 -- Nicol Williamson 12881% 12882The moon is a planet just like the Earth, only it is even deader. 12883% 12884The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away. 12885% 12886"The more data I punch in this card, the lighter it becomes, and the 12887lower the mailing cost." 12888 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 12889% 12890The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and 12891robbers there will be. 12892 -- Lao Tsu 12893% 12894The more things change, the more they stay insane. 12895% 12896The more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us 12897is right. 12898% 12899The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey. 12900 -- Andy Warhol 12901% 12902"The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and 12903to watch someone else do it wrong without comment." 12904 -- Theodore H. White 12905% 12906The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new 12907discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." 12908 -- Isaac Asimov 12909% 12910The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. 12911% 12912... the MYSTERIANS are in here with my CORDUROY SOAP DISH!! 12913% 12914 "... The name of the song is called 'Haddocks' Eyes'!" 12915 "Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to 12916feel interested. 12917 "No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little 12918vexed. "That's what the name is called. The name really is, 'The Aged 12919Aged Man.'" 12920 "Then I ought to have said "That's what the song is called'?" 12921Alice corrected herself. 12922 "No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is 12923called 'Ways and Means': but that's only what it is called you know!" 12924 "Well, what is the song then?" said Alice, who was by this time 12925completely bewildered. 12926 "I was coming to that," the Knight said. "The song really is 12927"A-sitting on a Gate": and the tune's my own invention." 12928 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 12929% 12930"The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 129311986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert." 12932 -- D. Letterman 12933% 12934The National Short-Sleeved Shirt Association says: 12935 Support your right to bare arms! 12936% 12937The net of law is spread so wide, 12938No sinner from its sweep may hide. 12939Its meshes are so fine and strong, 12940They take in every child of wrong. 12941O wondrous web of mystery! 12942Big fish alone escape from thee! 12943 -- James Jeffrey Roche 12944% 12945The new Congressmen say they're going to turn the government around. I 12946hope I don't get run over again. 12947% 12948The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, 12949in the form of an affirmation of the binary number system. 12950 12951 But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for 12952 whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 12953 -- Matthew 5:37 12954% 12955"The New York Times is read by the people who run the country. The 12956Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. 12957The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive 12958and running the country ..." 12959 -- Robert J Woodhead 12960% 12961The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to 12962choose from. 12963 -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum 12964% 12965The notion of a "record" is an obsolete remnant of the days of the 1296680-column card. 12967 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 12968% 12969The notion that the church, the press, and the universities should 12970serve the state is essentially a Communist notion ... In a free society 12971these institutions must be wholly free -- which is to say that their 12972function is to serve as checks upon the state. 12973 -- Alan Barth 12974% 12975The number of arguments is unimportant unless some of them are 12976correct. 12977 -- Ralph Hartley 12978% 12979The objective of all dedicated employees should be to thoroughly 12980analyze all situations, anticipate all problems prior to their 12981occurrence, have answers for these problems, and move swiftly to solve 12982these problems when called upon. 12983 12984However, When you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to 12985remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp. 12986% 12987The Official MBA Handbook on business cards: 12988 Avoid overly pretentious job titles such as "Lord of the Realm, 12989Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" or "Director of Corporate 12990Planning." 12991% 12992The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. 12993% 12994The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age 12995brings wisdom. 12996 -- H. L. Mencken 12997% 12998The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader 12999catch his own breath. 13000 -- Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart 13001% 13002The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when 13003to cringe. 13004% 13005The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 13006`social sciences' is: some do, some don't. 13007 -- Ernest Rutherford 13008% 13009The only problem with being a man of leisure is that you can never stop 13010and take a rest. 13011% 13012"The only real way to look younger is not to be born so soon." 13013 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 13014 Over and Over" 13015% 13016The only really decent thing to do behind a person's back is pat it. 13017% 13018The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber 13019has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, 13020finished, and put inside boxes. 13021 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13022% 13023The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any 13024use to oneself. 13025 -- Oscar Wilde 13026% 13027"The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from 13028history." 13029 -- Hegel 13030 13031"I know guys can't learn from yesterday ... Hegel must be taking the 13032long view." 13033 -- John Brunner, "Stand on Zanzibar" 13034% 13035The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. 13036 -- Oscar Wilde 13037% 13038The opossum is a very sophisticated animal. It doesn't even get up 13039until 5 or 6 p.m. 13040% 13041The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. 13042 -- Bohr 13043% 13044The optimum committee has no members. 13045 -- Norman Augustine 13046% 13047The optimum committee has no members. 13048 -- Norman Augustine 13049% 13050"The other day I put instant coffee in my microwave oven ... I almost 13051went back in time." 13052 -- Steven Wright 13053% 13054The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because 13055it isn't here. 13056 -- Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley) 13057% 13058The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it 13059were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence. 13060 -- H. L. Mencken 13061% 13062 The people of Halifax invented the trampoline. During the 13063Victorian period the tripe-dressers of Halifax stretched tripe across a 13064large wooden frame and jumped up and down on it to `tender and dress' 13065it. The tripoline, as they called it, degenerated into becoming the 13066apparatus for a spectator sport. 13067 13068 The people of Halifax also invented the harmonium, a device for 13069castrating pigs during Sunday service. 13070 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13071% 13072The Pig, if I am not mistaken, 13073Gives us ham and pork and Bacon. 13074Let others think his heart is big, 13075I think it stupid of the Pig. 13076 -- Ogden Nash 13077% 13078The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter 13079swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the 13080batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The 13081center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute 13082his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. 13083 -- Dizzy Dean 13084% 13085The plot was designed in a light vein that somehow became varicose. 13086 -- David Lardner 13087% 13088The polite thing to do has always been to address people as they wish 13089to be addressed, to treat them in a way they think dignified. But it 13090is equally important to accept and tolerate different standards of 13091courtesy, not expecting everyone else to adapt to one's own 13092preferences. Only then can we hope to restore the insult to its proper 13093social function of expressing true distaste. 13094 -- Judith Martin, "Miss Manners' Guide to 13095 Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" 13096% 13097"The porcupine with the sharpest quills gets stuck on a tree more 13098often." 13099% 13100The Preacher, the Politician, the Teacher, 13101 Were each of them once a kiddie. 13102A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature. 13103 Do I want one? God Forbiddie! 13104 -- Ogden Nash 13105% 13106The President publicly apologized today to all those offended by his 13107brother's remark, "There's more Arabs in this country than there is 13108Jews!". Those offended include Arabs, Jews, and English teachers. 13109 -- Baltimore, Channel 11 News, on Jimmy Carter 13110% 13111The price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that someday 13112they might force their beliefs on us. 13113 -- Mario Cuomo 13114% 13115The primary cause of failure in electrical appliances is an expired 13116warranty. Often, you can get an appliance running again simply by 13117changing the warranty expiration date with a 15/64-inch felt-tipped 13118marker. 13119 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13120% 13121The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to 13122constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every 13123appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA 13124statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This 13125also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change. 13126 -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers 13127% 13128The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough 13129voters to win the next election. 13130% 13131The primary theme of SoupCon is communication. The acronym "LEO" 13132represents the secondary theme: 13133 13134 Law Enforcement Officials 13135 13136The overall theme of SoupCon shall be: 13137 13138 Avoiding Communication with Law Enforcement Officials 13139% 13140... the privileged being which we call human is distinguished from 13141other animals only by certain double-edged manifestations which in 13142charity we can only call "inhuman." 13143 -- R. A. Lafferty 13144% 13145The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the 13146stupidity of your action. 13147% 13148The problem ... is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. 13149Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil 13150using other animals; they've piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle 13151Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, 13152etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous 13153bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons. None 13154of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats 13155developed cancer. 13156 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13157% 13158The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go 13159to erase it. 13160 -- Glaser and Way 13161% 13162The problem with engineers is that they tend to cheat in order to get 13163results. 13164 13165The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy 13166problems in order to get results. 13167 13168The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at toy 13169problems in order to get results. 13170% 13171The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be 13172pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. 13173 -- Elizabeth Taylor 13174% 13175The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 13176% 13177The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's 13178outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by 13179mistake since its colors are those of the London Reform Club. Once 13180tied around its victim's neck, it strangles him gently and then claims 13181the insurance before running off to Germany where it lives in hiding. 13182 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13183% 13184"The pyramid is opening!" 13185"Which one?" 13186"The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" 13187 -- Firesign Theater, "How Can You Be In Two Places At 13188 Once When You're Not Anywhere At All" 13189% 13190The qotc (quote of the con) was Liz's: 13191 "My brain is paged out to my liver" 13192% 13193The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is 13194it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, 13195that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of 13196industrial waste? 13197 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 13198% 13199The rain it raineth on the just 13200 And also on the unjust fella, 13201But chiefly on the just, because 13202 The unjust steals the just's umbrella. 13203% 13204The reader this message encounters not failing to understand is 13205cursed. 13206% 13207The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much. 13208% 13209The reason it's called "Grape Nuts" is that it contains "dextrose", 13210which is also sometimes called "grape sugar", and also because "Grape 13211Nuts" is catchier, in terms of marketing, than "A Cross Between Gerbil 13212Food and Gravel", which is what it tastes like. 13213 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 13214% 13215The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one 13216persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all 13217progress depends on the unreasonable man. 13218 -- George Bernard Shaw 13219% 13220The revolution will not be televised. 13221% 13222The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. 13223 -- Emerson 13224% 13225The rhino is a homely beast, 13226For human eyes he's not a feast. 13227Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros, 13228I'll stare at something less prepoceros. 13229 -- Ogden Nash 13230% 13231The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This 13232means that only left handed people are in their right mind. 13233% 13234"The Right Honorable Gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests 13235and to his imagination for his facts." 13236 -- Sheridan 13237% 13238The right to revolt has sources deep in our history. 13239 -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas 13240% 13241"The rights you have are the rights given you by this Committee [the 13242House Un-American Activities Committee]. We will determine what rights 13243you have and what rights you have not got." 13244 -- J. Parnell Thomas 13245% 13246The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And littered with 13247sloppy analysis! 13248% 13249The Roman Rule 13250 The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the 13251 one who is doing it. 13252% 13253The Ruffed Pandanga of Borneo and Rotherham spreads out his feathers in 13254his courtship dance and imitates Winston Churchill and Tommy Cooper on 13255one leg. The padanga is dying out because the female padanga doesn't 13256take it too seriously. 13257 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13258% 13259The rule on staying alive as a forcaster is to give 'em a number or 13260give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once. 13261 -- Jane Bryant Quinn 13262% 13263"The Schizophrenic: An Unauthorized Autobiography" 13264% 13265The Schwine-Kitzenger Institute study of 47 men over the age of 100 13266showed that all had these things in common: 13267 13268 (1) They all had moderate appetites. 13269 (2) They all came from middle class homes 13270 (3) All but two of them were dead. 13271% 13272The scum also rises. 13273 -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 13274% 13275The seven deadly sins ... Food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes, 13276respectability and children. Nothing can lift those seven milestones 13277from man's neck but money; and the spirit cannot soar until the 13278milestones are lifted. 13279 -- George Bernard Shaw 13280% 13281 The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood 13282as he reported to Fafhrd: "I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. 13283The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in 13284the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in 13285twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. 13286 13287 "Now about Lankhmar. She's been invaded, her walls breached 13288everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a 13289fierce host which out-numbers Lankhmar's inhabitants by fifty to one -- 13290and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city." 13291 13292 "How?" demanded Fafhrd. 13293 13294 Ningauble shrugged. "You're a hero. You should know." 13295 -- Fritz Leiber, from "The Swords of Lankhmar" 13296% 13297The sheep that fly over your head are soon to land. 13298% 13299The shortest distance between two points is under construction. 13300 -- Noelie Alito 13301% 13302The Sixth Commandment of Frisbee: 13303 The greatest single aid to distance is for the disc to be going 13304in a direction you did not want. (Goes the wrong way = Goes a long 13305way.) 13306 -- Dan Roddick 13307% 13308"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity 13309and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted 13310activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ... 13311neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." 13312% 13313"The sooner all the animals are dead, the sooner we'll find their 13314money." 13315 -- Ed Bluestone, "The National Lampoon" 13316% 13317"The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up!" 13318% 13319The sooner you make your first 5000 mistakes, the sooner you will be 13320able to correct them. 13321 -- Nicolaides 13322% 13323The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. 13324% 13325The Soviet pre-eminence in chess can be traced to the average Russian's 13326readiness to brood obsessively over anything, even the arrangement of 13327some pieces of wood. Indeed, the Russians' predisposition for quiet 13328reflection followed by sudden preventive action explains why they led 13329the field for many years in both chess and ax murders. It is well 13330known that as early as 1970, the U.S.S.R., aware of what a defeat at 13331Reykjavik would do to national prestige, implemented a vigorous program 13332of preparation and incentive. Every day for an entire year, a team of 13333psychologists, chess analysts and coaches met with the top three 13334Russian grand masters and threatened them with a pointy stick. That 13335these tactics proved fruitless is now a part of chess history and a 13336further testament to the American way, which provides that if you want 13337something badly enough, you can always go to Iceland and get it from 13338the Russians. 13339 -- Marshall Brickman, Playboy, April, 1973 13340% 13341 The STAR WARS Song 13342 Sung to the tune of "Lola", by the Kinks: 13343 13344I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah 13345Where it bubbles all the time like a giant cabinet soda 13346 S-O-D-A soda 13347I saw the little runt sitting there on a log 13348I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said Yoda 13349 Y-O-D-A Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13350 13351Well I've been around but I ain't never seen 13352A guy who looks like a Muppet but he's wrinkled and green 13353 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13354Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand 13355How he can raise me in the air just by raising his hand 13356 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13357% 13358The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. 13359% 13360The steady state of disks is full. 13361 -- Ken Thompson 13362% 13363 THE STORY OF CREATION 13364 or 13365 THE MYTH OF URK 13366 13367In the beginning there was data. The data was without form and null, 13368and darkness was upon the face of the console; and the Spirit of IBM 13369was moving over the face of the market. And DEC said, "Let there be 13370registers"; and there were registers. And DEC saw that they carried; 13371and DEC separated the data from the instructions. DEC called the data 13372Stack, and the instructions they called Code. And there was evening 13373and there was morning, one interrupt ... 13374 -- Rico Tudor 13375% 13376The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it's only the people who make 13377them unsafe. 13378 -- Mayor Frank Rizzo 13379% 13380"The student in question is performing minimally for his peer group and 13381is an emerging underachiever." 13382% 13383The study of non-linear physics is like the study of non-elephant 13384biology. 13385% 13386"The subspace _W inherits the other 8 properties of _V. And there aren't 13387even any property taxes." 13388 -- J. MacKay, Mathematics 134b 13389% 13390The sum of the Universe is zero. 13391% 13392The sun was shining on the sea, 13393Shining with all his might: 13394He did his very best to make 13395The billows smooth and bright -- 13396And this was very odd, because it was 13397The middle of the night. 13398 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 13399% 13400The superfluous is very necessary. 13401 -- Voltaire 13402% 13403The surest protection against temptation is cowardice. 13404 -- Mark Twain 13405% 13406The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our 13407authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as 13408the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as 13409the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much 13410radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much 13411as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we 13412receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the 13413Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will 13414heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to 13415the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much 13416heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for 13417radiation, (_H/_E)^4 = 50, where _E is the absolute temperature of the 13418earth (-300K), gives _H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell 13419cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the 13420fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which 13421burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means 13422that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We 13423have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. 13424 -- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972 13425% 13426The Third Law of Photography: 13427 If you did manage to get any good shots, they will be ruined 13428when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of the dark 13429leaks out. 13430% 13431The Three Laws of Thermodynamics: 13432 13433The First Law: You can't get anything without working for it. 13434The Second Law: The most you can accomplish by working is to break 13435 even. 13436The Third Law: You can only break even at absolute zero. 13437% 13438 The Three Major Kind of Tools 13439 13440* Tools for hittings things to make them loose or to tighten them up or 13441 jar their many complex, sophisticated electrical parts in such a 13442 manner that they function perfectly. (These are your hammers, maces, 13443 bludgeons, and truncheons.) 13444 13445* Tools that, if dropped properly, can penetrate your foot. (Awls) 13446 13447* Tools that nobody should ever use because the potential danger is far 13448 greater than the value of any project that could possibly result. 13449 (Power saws, power drills, power staplers, any kind of tool that uses 13450 any kind of power more advanced than flashlight batteries.) 13451 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13452% 13453The trouble with a kitten is that 13454When it grows up, it's always a cat 13455 -- Ogden Nash. 13456% 13457The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. 13458% 13459The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate 13460it. 13461 -- Franklin P. Jones 13462% 13463The trouble with being punctual is that people think you have nothing 13464more important to do. 13465% 13466The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody 13467appreciates how difficult it was. 13468% 13469The trouble with superheros is what to do between phone booths. 13470 -- Ken Kesey 13471% 13472The truth is what is; what should be is a dirty lie. 13473 -- Lenny Bruce 13474% 13475The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. And 13476vice versa. 13477% 13478The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks 13479Which practically conceal its sex. 13480I think it clever of the turtle 13481In such a fix to be so fertile. 13482 -- Ogden Nash 13483% 13484"The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and 13485stupidity." 13486% 13487The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more 13488annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. 13489 -- Oscar Wilde 13490% 13491The United States also has its native Fascists who say that they are 13492"100 percent American"... 13493 -- U. S. Army (1945) 13494% 13495The United States is like the guy at the party who gives cocaine to 13496everybody and still nobody likes him. 13497 -- Jim Samuels 13498% 13499The universe does not have laws -- it has habits, and habits can be 13500broken. 13501% 13502The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination -- but the 13503combination is locked up in the safe. 13504 -- Peter DeVries 13505% 13506The University of California Bears announced the signing of Reggie 13507Philbin to a letter of intent to attend Cal next Fall. Philbin is said 13508to make up for no talent by cheating well. Says Philbin of his 13509decision to attend Cal, "I'm in it for the free ride." 13510% 13511The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and 13512religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging 13513from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its 13514yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledygook than the rest of the 13515world put together. 13516 -- Sir Peter Medawar 13517% 13518The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be 13519regarded as a criminal offense. 13520 -- E. W. Dijkstra 13521% 13522The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes 13523the worst cigars. 13524 -- H. L. Mencken 13525% 13526The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid 13527prejudice. 13528 -- Mark Twain 13529% 13530The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. 13531Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts 13532to fit their views ... which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to 13533be one of the facts that needs altering. 13534 -- Doctor Who, "Face of Evil" 13535% 13536"The voters have spoken, the bastards ..." 13537% 13538"The wages of sin are death; but after they're done taking out taxes, 13539it's just a tired feeling:" 13540% 13541The wages of sin are high but you get your money's worth. 13542% 13543"The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity 13544that would be clearly understood." 13545 -- Alexander Haig 13546% 13547"The way to make a small fortune in the commodities market is to start 13548with a large fortune." 13549% 13550The wind doth taste so bitter sweet, 13551 Like Jaspar wine and sugar, 13552It must have blown through someone's feet, 13553 Like those of Caspar Weinberger. 13554 -- P. Opus 13555% 13556 THE WOMBAT 13557 13558The wombat lives across the seas, 13559Among the far Antipodes. 13560He may exist on nuts and berries, 13561Or then again, on missionaries; 13562His distant habitat precludes 13563Conclusive knowledge of his moods. 13564But I would not engage the wombat 13565In any form of mortal combat. 13566% 13567The world is coming to an end ... SAVE YOUR BUFFERS!!! 13568% 13569The world is coming to an end! Repent and return those library books! 13570% 13571The world is coming to an end. Please log off. 13572% 13573The world's as ugly as sin, 13574And almost as delightful 13575 -- Frederick Locker-Lampson 13576% 13577The years of peak mental activity are undoubtedly between the ages of 13578four and eighteen. At four we know all the questions, at eighteen all 13579the answers. 13580% 13581Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations. 13582 13583He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan, 13584then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open 13585market. 13586 13587If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should 13588not accept of the Earth that which he refuses to give of himself. 13589 13590Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree. 13591Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg. 13592Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. 13593 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 13594% 13595Then here's to the City of Boston, 13596The town of the cries and the groans. 13597Where the Cabots can't see the Kabotschniks, 13598And the Lowells won't speak to the Cohns. 13599 -- Franklin Pierce Adams 13600% 13601 THEORY 13602Into love and out again, 13603 Thus I went and thus I go. 13604Spare your voice, and hold your pen: 13605 Well and bitterly I know 13606All the songs were ever sung, 13607 All the words were ever said; 13608Could it be, when I was young, 13609 Someone dropped me on my head? 13610 -- Dorothy Parker 13611% 13612There *__is* intelligent life on Earth, but I leave for Texas on Monday. 13613% 13614There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, 13615and praiseworthy ... 13616 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 13617% 13618There are many intelligent species in the universe. They all own 13619cats. 13620% 13621There are no data that cannot be plotted on a straight line if the axis 13622are chosen correctly. 13623% 13624There are no games on this system. 13625% 13626There are no physicists in the hottest parts of hell, because the 13627existence of a "hottest part" implies a temperature difference, and any 13628marginally competent physicist would immediately use this to run a heat 13629engine and make some other part of hell comfortably cool. This is 13630obviously impossible. 13631 -- Richard Davisson 13632% 13633There are people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the 13634truth without lying. 13635% 13636There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a 13637vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone. 13638 -- Gloria Steinem 13639% 13640 There are some goyisha names that just about guarantee that 13641someone isn't Jewish. For example, you'll never meet a Jew named 13642Johnson or Wright or Jones or Sinclair or Ricks or Stevenson or Reid or 13643Larsen or Jenks. But some goyisha names just about guarantee that 13644every other person you meet with that name will be Jewish. Why is 13645this? 13646 Who knows? Learned rabbis have pondered this question for 13647centuries and have failed to come up with an answer, and you think ___you 13648can find one? Get serious. You don't even understand why it's 13649forbidden to eat crab -- fresh cold crab with mayonnaise -- or lobster 13650-- soft tender morsels of lobster dipped in melted butter. You don't 13651even understand a simple thing like that, and yet you hope to discover 13652why there are more Jews named Miller than Katz? Fat Chance. 13653 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 13654% 13655"There are some micro-organisms that exhibit characteristics of both 13656plants and animals. When exposed to light they undergo photosynthesis; 13657and when the lights go out, they turn into animals. But then again, 13658don't we all?" 13659% 13660"There are those who claim that magic is like the tide; that it swells 13661and fades over the surface of the earth, collecting in concentrated 13662pools here and there, almost disappearing from other spots, leaving 13663them parched for wonder. There are also those who believe that if you 13664stick your fingers up your nose and blow, it will increase your 13665intelligence." 13666 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VII 13667% 13668There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. 13669 -- Disraeli 13670% 13671"There are three possibilities: Pioneer's solar panel has turned away 13672from the sun; there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or someone 13673loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor." 13674% 13675There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be 13676offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin 13677a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount 13678of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of 13679affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. 13680When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. 13681Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. 13682 -- Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior 13683% 13684"There are three principal ways to lose money: wine, women, and 13685engineers. While the first two are more pleasant, the third is by far 13686the more certain." 13687 -- Baron Rothschild, ca. 1800 13688% 13689There are three schools of magic. One: State a tautology, then ring 13690the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy. Two: Record many 13691facts. Try to find a pattern. Then make a wrong guess at the next 13692fact; that's science. Three: Be aware that you live in a malevolent 13693Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's 13694Factor; that's engineering. 13695% 13696There are three things I always forget. Names, faces -- the third I 13697can't remember. 13698 -- Italo Svevo 13699% 13700There are three ways to get something done: 13701 (1) Do it yourself. 13702 (2) Hire someone to do it for you. 13703 (3) Forbid your kids to do it. 13704% 13705There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire 13706someone, or forbid your kids to do it. 13707% 13708There are times when truth is stranger than fiction and lunch time is 13709one of them. 13710% 13711There are two kinds of solar-heat systems: "passive" systems collect 13712the sunlight that hits your home, and "active" systems collect the 13713sunlight that hits your neighbors' homes, too. 13714 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13715% 13716There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good 13717sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. 13718 -- Woody Allen 13719% 13720"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to 13721make is so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the 13722other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious 13723deficiencies." 13724 -- C. A. R. Hoare 13725% 13726"There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the 13727other is to read Pope." 13728 -- Oscar Wilde 13729% 13730There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one 13731works. 13732% 13733There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a 13734suitable application of high explosives. 13735% 13736There can be no twisted thought without a twisted molecule. 13737 -- R. W. Gerard 13738% 13739There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. 13740 -- Henry Kissinger 13741% 13742There exist tasks which cannot be done by more than 10 men or fewer 13743than 100. 13744 -- Steele's Law 13745% 13746There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know 13747nothing about. 13748% 13749There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself to be burned for an 13750opinion. 13751 -- Anatole France 13752% 13753There is a great discovery still to be made in Literature: that of 13754paying literary men by the quantity they do NOT write. 13755% 13756There is a green, multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. 13757% 13758There is a Massachusetts law requiring all dogs to have their hind legs 13759tied during the month of April. 13760% 13761There is a natural hootchy-kootchy to a goldfish. 13762 -- Walt Disney 13763% 13764"There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, 13765Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and 13766love of the Fatherland." 13767 -- Adolf Hitler 13768% 13769There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly 13770what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly 13771disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and 13772inexplicable. 13773 13774There is another theory which states that this has already happened. 13775 13776 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 13777% 13778"There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a 13779vacuum." 13780 -- Arthur C. Clarke 13781% 13782There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. 13783 -- Mark Twain 13784% 13785There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the 13786tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not 13787abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards -- only physics and 13788war hold him in check. And also the wife who wants him home by five, 13789of course. 13790 -- Encyclopedia Apocryphia, 1990 ed. 13791% 13792"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their 13793home." 13794 -- Ken Olson, President of DEC, World Future Society 13795 Convention, 1977 13796% 13797There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it 13798 -- G. B. Shaw 13799% 13800There is no substitute for good manners, except, perhaps, fast 13801reflexes. 13802% 13803There is no such thing as fortune. Try again. 13804% 13805There is no time like the pleasant. 13806% 13807There is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be 13808doing. 13809% 13810There is no TRUTH. There is no REALITY. There is no CONSISTENCY. 13811There are no ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS I'm very probably wrong. 13812% 13813"There is nothing which cannot be answered by means of my doctrine," 13814said a monk, coming into a teahouse where Nasrudin sat. "And yet just 13815a short time ago, I was challenged by a scholar with an unanswerable 13816question," said Nasrudin. "I could have answered it if I had been 13817there." "Very well. He asked, 'Why are you breaking into my house in 13818the middle of the night?'" 13819% 13820There is nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the 13821ocean level wouldn't cure. 13822 -- Ross MacDonald 13823% 13824There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and 13825that is not being talked about. 13826 -- Oscar Wilde 13827% 13828There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale 13829returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. 13830 -- Mark Twain 13831% 13832There once was a girl named Irene 13833Who lived on distilled kerosene 13834 But she started absorbin' 13835 A new hydrocarbon 13836And since then has never benzene. 13837% 13838There once was a member of Mensa 13839Who was a most excellent fencer. 13840 The sword that he used 13841 Was his -- (line is refused, 13842And has now been removed by the censor). 13843% 13844There once was an old man from Esser, 13845Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser. 13846 It at last grew so small, 13847 He knew nothing at all, 13848And now he's a College Professor. 13849% 13850"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved 13851it." 13852 -- C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia 13853% 13854There was a plane crash over mid-ocean, and only three survivors were 13855left in the life-raft: the Pope, the President, and Mayor Daley. 13856Unfortunately, it was a one-man life-raft, and quickly sinking, so they 13857started debating who should be allowed to stay. 13858 13859The Pope pointed out that he was the spiritual leader of millions all 13860over the world, the President explained that if he died then America 13861would be stuck with the Vice-President, and so forth. Then Mayor Daley 13862said, "Look! We're not solving anything like this! The only fair 13863thing to do is to vote on it." So they did, and Mayor Daley won by 97 13864votes. 13865% 13866There was a young lady from Hyde 13867Who ate a green apple and died. 13868 While her lover lamented 13869 The apple fermented 13870And made cider inside her inside. 13871% 13872There was a young man who said "God, 13873I find it exceedingly odd, 13874 That the willow oak tree 13875 Continues to be, 13876When there's no one about in the Quad." 13877 13878"Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd, 13879For I'm always about in the Quad; 13880 And that's why the tree, 13881 Continues to be," 13882Signed "Yours faithfully, God." 13883% 13884There was a young poet named Dan, 13885Whose poetry never would scan. 13886 When told this was so, 13887 He said, "Yes, I know. 13888% 13889There was a young poet named Dan, 13890Whose poetry never would scan. 13891 When told this was so, 13892 He said, "Yes, I know. 13893It's because I try to put every possible syllable into that last line that I can." 13894% 13895"There was an interesting development in the CBS-Westmoreland trial: 13896both sides agreed that after the trial, Andy Rooney would be allowed to 13897talk to the jury for three minutes about little things that annoyed him 13898during the trial." 13899 -- David Letterman 13900% 13901There were in this country two very large monopolies. The larger of 13902the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double- 13903digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the 139048-cent postcard. The second was responsible for such things as the 13905transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity 13906stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative 13907feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching 13908systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the 13909first electrical digital computer, and the first communications 13910satellite. Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the 13911telephone business? 13912% 13913There's a fine line between courage and foolishness. Too bad it's not 13914a fence. 13915% 13916There's an old proverb that says just about whatever you want it to. 13917% 13918There's little in taking or giving, 13919 There's little in water or wine: 13920This living, this living, this living, 13921 Was never a project of mine. 13922Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is 13923 The gain of the one at the top, 13924For art is a form of catharsis, 13925 And love is a permanent flop, 13926And work is the province of cattle, 13927 And rest's for a clam in a shell, 13928So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -- 13929 Would you kindly direct me to hell? 13930 -- Dorothy Parker 13931% 13932There's no easy quick way out, we're gonna have to live through our 13933whole lives, win, lose, or draw. 13934 -- Walt Kelly 13935% 13936There's no future in time travel 13937% 13938There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. 13939 -- Dr. Who 13940% 13941There's no real need to do housework -- after four years it doesn't get 13942any worse. 13943% 13944There's no room in the drug world for amateurs. 13945% 13946There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government 13947working for you. 13948 -- Will Rodgers 13949% 13950"There's nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and dead 13951armadillos." 13952 -- Jim Hightower, Texas Agricultural Commissioner 13953% 13954"There's nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won't 13955aggravate." 13956% 13957There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn 13958what it is I'll get married again. 13959 -- Clint Eastwood 13960% 13961There's so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is 13962becoming an endangered synthetic. 13963 -- Lily Tomlin 13964% 13965"These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!" 13966"These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!" 13967"These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP 13968out of MEGATON MAN!" 13969% 13970These days the necessities of life cost you about three times what they 13971used to, and half the time they aren't even fit to drink. 13972% 13973They also surf who only stand on waves. 13974% 13975"They make a desert and call it peace." 13976 -- Tacitus (55?-120?) 13977% 13978They spell it "da Vinci" and pronounce it "da Vinchy". Foreigners 13979always spell better than they pronounce. 13980 -- Mark Twain 13981% 13982"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 13983safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." 13984 -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 13985% 13986"They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them!" 13987% 13988They told me you had proven it When they discovered our results 13989 About a month before. Their hair began to curl 13990The proof was valid, more or less Instead of understanding it 13991 But rather less than more. We'd run the thing through PRL. 13992 13993He sent them word that we would try Don't tell a soul about all this 13994 To pass where they had failed For it must ever be 13995And after we were done, to them A secret, kept from all the rest 13996 The new proof would be mailed. Between yourself and me. 13997 13998My notion was to start again 13999 Ignoring all they'd done 14000We quickly turned it into code 14001 To see if it would run. 14002% 14003They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! 14004% 14005"They're unfriendly, which is fortunate, really. They'd be difficult 14006to like." 14007 -- Avon 14008% 14009Things are more like they used to be than they are now. 14010% 14011Things will be bright in P.M. A cop will shine a light in your face. 14012% 14013Think big. Pollute the Mississippi. 14014% 14015Think honk if you're a telepath. 14016% 14017Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! 14018% 14019Think of your family tonight. Try to crawl home after the computer 14020crashes. 14021% 14022Think twice before speaking, but don't say "think think click click". 14023% 14024"Thirty days hath Septober, 14025April, June, and no wonder. 14026all the rest have peanut butter 14027except my father who wears red suspenders." 14028% 14029This Fortue Examined By INSPECTOR NO. 2-14 14030% 14031This fortune cookie program out of order. For those in desperate need, 14032please use the program "________randchar". This program generates random 14033characters, and, given enough time, will undoubtedly come up with 14034something profound. It will, however, take it no time at all to be 14035more profound than THIS program has ever been. 14036% 14037This fortune intentionally not included. 14038% 14039This fortune is false. 14040% 14041This fortune is inoperative. Please try another. 14042% 14043"This is a country where people are free to practice their religion, 14044regardless of race, creed, color, obesity, or number of dangling 14045keys ..." 14046% 14047"This is a job for BOB VIOLENCE and SCUM, the INCREDIBLY STUPID MUTANT 14048DOG." 14049 -- Bob Violence 14050% 14051"This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. If this had been an 14052actual emergency, do you really think we'd stick around to tell you?" 14053% 14054This is an especially good time for you vacationers who plan to fly, 14055because the Reagan administration, as part of the same policy under 14056which it recently sold Yellowstone National Park to Wayne Newton, has 14057"deregulated" the airline industry. What this means for you, the 14058consumer, is that the airlines are no longer required to follow any 14059rules whatsoever. They can show snuff movies. They can charge for 14060oxygen. They can hire pilots right out of Vending Machine Refill 14061Person School. They can conserve fuel by ejecting husky passengers 14062over water. They can ram competing planes in mid-air. These 14063innovations have resulted in tremendous cost savings which have been 14064passed along to you, the consumer, in the form of flights with 14065amazingly low fares, such as $29. Of course, certain restrictions do 14066apply, the main one being that all these flights take you to Newark, 14067and you must pay thousands of dollars if you want to fly back out. 14068 -- Dave Barry, "Iowa -- Land of Secure Vacations" 14069% 14070This is an unauthorized cybernetic announcement. 14071% 14072This is for all ill-treated fellows 14073 Unborn and unbegot, 14074For them to read when they're in trouble 14075 And I am not. 14076 -- A. E. Housman 14077% 14078"This is lemma 1.1. We start a new chapter so the numbers all go back 14079to one." 14080 -- Prof. Seager, C&O 351 14081% 14082This is National Non-Dairy Creamer Week. 14083% 14084THIS IS PLEDGE WEEK FOR THE FORTUNE PROGRAM 14085 14086If you like the fortune program, why not support it now with your 14087contribution of a pithy fortune, clean or obscene? We cannot continue 14088without your support. Less than 14% of all fortune users are 14089contributors. That means that 86% of you are getting a free ride. We 14090can't go on like this much longer. Federal cutbacks mean less money 14091for fortunes, and unless user contributions increase to make up the 14092difference, the fortune program will have to shut down between midnight 14093and 8 a.m. Don't let this happen. Mail your fortunes right now to 14094"fortune". Just type in your favorite pithy saying. Do it now before 14095you forget. Our target is 300 new fortunes by the end of the week. 14096Don't miss out. All fortunes will be acknowledged. If you contribute 1409730 fortunes or more, you will receive a free subscription to "The 14098Fortune Hunter", our monthly program guide. If you contribute 50 or 14099more, you will receive a free "Fortune Hunter" coffee mug .... 14100% 14101This is the ____LAST time I take travel suggestions from Ray Bradbury! 14102% 14103This is the first numerical problem I ever did. It demonstrates the 14104power of computers: 14105 14106Enter lots of data on calorie & nutritive content of foods. Instruct 14107the thing to maximize a function describing nutritive content, with a 14108minimum level of each component, for fixed caloric content. The 14109results are that one should eat each day: 14110 14111 1/2 chicken 14112 1 egg 14113 1 glass of skim milk 14114 27 heads of lettuce. 14115 -- Rev. Adrian Melott 14116% 14117This is the story of the bee 14118Whose sex is very hard to see 14119 14120You cannot tell the he from the she 14121But she can tell, and so can he 14122 14123The little bee is never still 14124She has no time to take the pill 14125 14126And that is why, in times like these 14127There are so many sons of bees. 14128% 14129This is your fortune. 14130% 14131This land is full of trousers! 14132this land is full of mausers! 14133 And pussycats to eat them when the sun goes down! 14134 -- Firesign Theater 14135% 14136This land is made of mountains, 14137This land is made of mud, 14138This land has lots of everything, 14139For me and Elmer Fudd. 14140 14141This land has lots of trousers, 14142This land has lots of mousers, 14143And pussycats to eat them 14144When the sun goes down. 14145% 14146This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, 14147you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where 14148to go. 14149% 14150This login session: $13.99, but for you $11.88 14151% 14152This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with 14153great force. 14154 -- Dorothy Parker 14155% 14156This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of 14157the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many 14158solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were 14159largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, 14160which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of 14161paper that were unhappy. 14162 -- Douglas Adams 14163% 14164"This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does 14165something child-like." 14166 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 14167% 14168This quote is taken from the Diamondback, the University of Maryland 14169student newspaper, of Tuesday, 3/10/87. 14170 14171 One disadvantage of the Univac system is that it does not use 14172 Unix, a recently developed program which translates from one 14173 computer language to another and has a built-in editing system 14174 which identifies errors in the original program. 14175% 14176This sentence contradicts itself -- no actually it doesn't. 14177 -- Hofstadter 14178% 14179... This striving for excellence extends into people's personal lives 14180as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the best one, as 14181determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. Eighties people 14182buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking soda. If an '80s 14183couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a reservation three 14184weeks in advance, and they are informed that their table is available, 14185they stalk out immediately, because they know it is not an excellent 14186restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous crowd of 14187excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their beepers going 14188off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant wouldn't have 14189a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of Liza Minnelli. 14190 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 14191% 14192This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget 14193it. 14194% 14195 Thompson, if he is to be believed, has sampled the entire 14196rainbow of legal and illegal drugs in heroic efforts to feel better 14197than he does. 14198 As for the truth about his health: I have asked around about 14199it. I am told that he appears to be strong and rosy, and steadily 14200sane. But we will be doing what he wants us to do, I think, if we 14201consider his exterior a sort of Dorian Gray facade. Inwardly, he is 14202being eaten alive by tinhorn politicians. 14203 The disease is fatal. There is no known cure. The most we can 14204do for the poor devil, it seems to me, is to name his disease in his 14205honor. From this moment on, let all those who feel that Americans can 14206be as easily led to beauty as to ugliness, to truth as to public 14207relations, to joy as to bitterness, be said to be suffering from Hunter 14208Thompson's disease. I don't have it this morning. It comes and goes. 14209This morning I don't have Hunter Thompson's disease. 14210 -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Excerpt 14211 from "A Political Disease", Vonnegut's review of "Fear 14212 and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" 14213% 14214Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those 14215of us who do. 14216% 14217Those who can't write, write manuals. 14218% 14219Those who can, do. Those who can't, simulate. 14220% 14221"Those who do not do politics will be done in by politics." 14222 -- French Proverb 14223% 14224Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly. 14225 -- Henry Spencer 14226% 14227Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, 14228for these only gave life, those the art of living well. 14229 -- Aristotle 14230% 14231Those who express random thoughts to legislative committees are often 14232surprised and appalled to find themselves the instigators of law. 14233 -- Mark B. Cohen 14234% 14235Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose. 14236% 14237Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent 14238revolution inevitable. 14239 -- John F. Kennedy 14240% 14241Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are 14242men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean 14243without the roar of its many waters. 14244 -- Frederick Douglass 14245% 14246Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are 14247the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with 14248Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether -- 14249whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A 14250fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any 14251more about the matter than the others. 14252 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14253% 14254Time flies like an arrow 14255Fruit flies like a banana 14256% 14257Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. 14258% 14259Time is an illusion; lunchtime, doubly so. 14260 -- Ford Prefect 14261% 14262Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at 14263once. 14264% 14265'Tis the dream of each programmer, 14266Before his life is done, 14267To write three lines of APL, 14268And make the damn things run. 14269% 14270 (to "The Caissons Go Rolling Along") 14271Scratch the disks, dump the core, Shut it down, pull the plug 14272Roll the tapes across the floor, Give the core an extra tug 14273And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14274Teletypes smashed to bits. Mem'ry cards, one and all, 14275Give the scopes some nasty hits Toss out halfway down the hall 14276And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14277And we've also found Just flip one switch 14278When you turn the power down, And the lights will cease to twitch 14279You turn the disk readers into trash. And the tape drives will crumble 14280 in a flash. 14281Oh, it's so much fun, When the CPU 14282Now the CPU won't run Can print nothing out but "foo," 14283And the system is going to crash. The system is going to crash. 14284% 14285 To A Quick Young Fox: 14286Why jog exquisite bulk, fond crazy vamp, 14287Daft buxom jonquil, zephyr's gawky vice? 14288Guy fed by work, quiz Jove's xanthic lamp -- 14289Zow! Qualms by deja vu gyp fox-kin thrice. 14290 -- Lazy Dog 14291% 14292To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it. 14293% 14294To be is to do. 14295 -- I. Kant 14296To do is to be. 14297 -- A. Sartre 14298Yabba-Dabba-Doo! 14299 -- F. Flinstone 14300% 14301"To be responsive at this time, though I will simply say, and therefore 14302this is a repeat of what I said previously, that which I am unable to 14303offer in response is based on information available to make no such 14304statement." 14305% 14306To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and, whatever you hit, 14307call it the target. 14308% 14309To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy. 14310% 14311"To err is human, to forgive, beyond the scope of the Operating System" 14312% 14313To err is human, to moo bovine. 14314% 14315To every Ph.D. there is an equal and opposite Ph.D. 14316 -- B. Duggan 14317% 14318To generalize is to be an idiot. 14319 -- William Blake 14320% 14321To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three 14322men, two of them absent. 14323% 14324To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. 14325 -- Thomas Edison 14326% 14327To iterate is human, to recurse, divine. 14328% 14329To the best of my recollection, Senator, I can't recall. 14330% 14331To the systems programmer, users and applications serve only to provide 14332a test load. 14333% 14334To those accustomed to the precise, structured methods of conventional 14335system development, exploratory development techniques may seem messy, 14336inelegant, and unsatisfying. But it's a question of congruence: 14337precision and flexibility may be just as disfunctional in novel, 14338uncertain situations as sloppiness and vacillation are in familiar, 14339well-defined ones. Those who admire the massive, rigid bone structures 14340of dinosaurs should remember that jellyfish still enjoy their very 14341secure ecological niche. 14342 -- Beau Sheil, "Power Tools for Programmers" 14343% 14344To understand this important story, you have to understand how the 14345telephone company works. Your telephone is connected to a local 14346computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is 14347in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the 14348lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan. 14349 14350Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in. If it 14351suspects you're going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the 14352computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the 14353one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe 14354break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid 14355incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor's spouse, 14356an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca 14357pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna's 14358loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen 14359and drink gin and laugh themselves silly. 14360 -- Dave Barry, "Won't It Be Just Great Owning Our Own 14361 Phones?" 14362% 14363"To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question ... or is it?" 14364% 14365"To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition." 14366 -- Woody Allen 14367% 14368Today is a good day to bribe a high-ranking public official. 14369% 14370Today is National Existential Ennui Awareness Day. 14371% 14372Today is the first day of the rest of the mess 14373% 14374Today is the first day of the rest of your lossage. 14375% 14376Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday 14377% 14378Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? 14379 14380And where does it go after it leaves the toaster? 14381 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 14382% 14383"Today's thrilling story has been brought to you by Mushies, the great new 14384cereal that gets soggy even without milk or cream. Join us soon for more 14385spectacular adventure starring ... Tippy, the Wonder Dog." 14386 -- Bob & Ray 14387% 14388"Today, of course, it is considered very poor taste to use the F-word 14389except in major motion pictures." 14390 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 14391% 14392Toilet Toup'ee, n.: 14393 Any shag carpet that causes the lid to become top-heavy, thus 14394creating endless annoyance to male users. 14395 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 14396% 14397Tomorrow will be canceled due to lack of interest. 14398% 14399Tonight's the night: Sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 14400% 14401Too clever is dumb. 14402 -- Ogden Nash 14403% 14404Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL. 14405 -- Mae West 14406% 14407Too much of everything is just enough. 14408 -- Bob Wier 14409% 14410Too often I find that the volume of paper expands to fill the available 14411briefcases. 14412 -- Governor Jerry Brown 14413% 14414Top scientists agree that with the present rate of consumption, the 14415earth's supply of gravity will be exhausted before the 24th century. 14416As man struggles to discover cheaper alternatives, we need your help. 14417Please... 14418 14419 CONSERVE GRAVITY 14420 14421Follow these simple suggestions: 14422 14423(1) Walk with a light step. Carry helium balloons if possible. 14424(2) Use tape, magnets, or glue instead of paperweights. 14425(3) Give up skiing and skydiving for more horizontal sports like 14426 curling. 14427(4) Avoid showers .. take baths instead. 14428(5) Don't hang all your clothes in the closet ... Keep them in one big 14429 pile. 14430(6) Stop flipping pancakes 14431% 14432Travel important today; Internal Revenue men arrive tomorrow. 14433% 14434Troubled day for virgins over 16 who are beautiful and wealthy and live 14435in eucalyptus trees. 14436% 14437Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant 14438intelligence. 14439 -- Henrik Tikkanen 14440% 14441Truth is the most valuable thing we have -- so let us economize it. 14442 -- Mark Twain 14443% 14444Truth will be out this morning. (Which may really mess things up.) 14445% 14446Truthful, adj.: 14447 Dumb and illiterate. 14448 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14449% 14450Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational. 14451 -- Charles Schulz 14452% 14453Try to be the best of whatever you are, even if what you are is no 14454good. 14455% 14456Try to find the real tense of the report you are reading: Was it done, 14457is it being done, or is something to be done? Reports are now written 14458in four tenses: past tense, present tense, future tense, and 14459pretense. Watch for novel uses of CONGRAM (CONtractor GRAMmer), 14460defined by the imperfect past, the insufficient present, and the 14461absolutely perfect future. 14462 -- Amrom Katz 14463% 14464Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. 14465% 14466Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only 14467specification is that it should run noiselessly. 14468% 14469Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. 14470 -- Alan Watts 14471% 14472Trying to establish voice contact ... please ____yell into keyboard. 14473% 14474Turnaucka's Law: 14475 The attention span of a computer is only as long as its 14476electrical cord. 14477% 14478Tussman's Law: 14479 Nothing is as inevitable as a mistake whose time has come. 14480% 14481TV is chewing gum for the eyes. 14482 -- Frank Lloyd Wright 14483% 14484'Twas midnight, and the UNIX hacks 14485Did gyre and gimble in their cave 14486All mimsy was the CS-VAX 14487And Cory raths outgrabe. 14488 14489"Beware the software rot, my son! 14490The faults that bite, the jobs that thrash! 14491Beware the broken pipe, and shun 14492The frumious system crash!" 14493% 14494 'Twas the Night before Crisis 14495 14496'Twas the night before crisis, and all through the house, 14497 Not a program was working not even a browse. 14498The programmers were wrung out too mindless to care, 14499 Knowing chances of cutover hadn't a prayer. 14500The users were nestled all snug in their beds, 14501 While visions of inquiries danced in their heads. 14502When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, 14503 I sprang from my tube to see what was the matter. 14504And what to my wondering eyes should appear, 14505 But a Super Programmer, oblivious to fear. 14506More rapid than eagles, his programs they came, 14507 And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; 14508On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete! 14509 On Batch Jobs! On Closing! On Functions Complete! 14510His eyes were glazed over, his fingers were lean, 14511 From Weekends and nights in front of a screen. 14512A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, 14513 Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread... 14514% 14515'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period 14516 preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, And 14517 throughout our place of residence, 14518Kinetic activity was not in evidence among the 14519 possessors of this potential, including that 14520 species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. 14521Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward 14522 edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus, 14523Pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an 14524 imminent visitation from an eccentric 14525 philanthropist among whose folkloric appelations 14526 is the honorific title of St. Nicklaus ... 14527% 14528Twenty Percent of Zero is Better than Nothing. 14529 -- Walt Kelly 14530% 14531Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. 14532 -- Howard Kandel 14533% 14534Two men came before Nasrudin when he was magistrate. The first man 14535said, "This man has bitten my ear -- I demand compensation." The 14536second man said, "He bit it himself." Nasrudin withdrew to his 14537chambers, and spent an hour trying to bite his own ear. He succeeded 14538only in falling over and bruising his forehead. Returning to the 14539courtroom, Nasrudin pronounced, "Examine the man whose ear was bitten. 14540If his forehead is bruised, he did it himself and the case is 14541dismissed. If his forehead is not bruised, the other man did it and 14542must pay three silver pieces." 14543% 14544Two percent of zero is almost nothing. 14545% 14546"Two sure ways to tell a sexy male; the first is, he has a bad memory. 14547I forget the second." 14548% 14549Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. 14550% 14551U: There's a U -- a Unicorn! 14552 Run right up and rub its horn. 14553 Look at all those points you're losing! 14554 UMBER HULKS are so confusing. 14555 -- The Roguelet's ABC 14556% 14557"Ubi non accusator, ibi non judex." 14558 14559(Where there is no police, there is no speed limit.) 14560 -- Roman Law, trans. Petr Beckmann (1971) 14561% 14562UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist. 14563% 14564"Uncle Cosmo ... why do they call this a word processor?" 14565 14566"It's simple, Skyler ... you've seen what food processors do to food, 14567right?" 14568 -- MacNelley, "Shoe" 14569% 14570Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: 14571 Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a 14572hammer or get a splinter in it. 14573% 14574Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: 14575 Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a 14576hammmer or get a splinter in it. 14577% 14578Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14579just man is also a prison. 14580 -- Henry David Thoreau 14581% 14582Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14583just man is also in prison. 14584 -- Henry David Thoreau 14585% 14586Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it 14587can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic ... 14588% 14589Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: 14590 Superiority is recessive. 14591% 14592Unfair animal names: 14593 14594-- tsetse fly -- bullhead 14595-- booby -- duck-billed platypus 14596-- sapsucker -- Clarence 14597 -- Gary Larson 14598% 14599United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the 14600Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of 14601all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of 14602all the patriots of every persuasion. 14603 14604Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the 14605world. 14606 -- Isaac Asimov 14607% 14608Universe, n.: 14609 The problem. 14610% 14611University, n.: 14612 Like a software house, except the software's free, and it's 14613usable, and it works, and if it breaks they'll quickly tell you how to 14614fix it, and ... 14615% 14616unix soit qui mal y pense 14617% 14618UNIX was half a billion (500000000) seconds old on 14619Tue Nov 5 00:53:20 1985 GMT (measuring since the time(2) epoch). 14620 -- Andy Tannenbaum 14621% 14622Unnamed Law: 14623 If it happens, it must be possible. 14624% 14625Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out 14626twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. 14627 -- H. L. Mencken 14628% 14629Usage: fortune -P [] -a [xsz] [Q: [file]] [rKe9] -v6[+] dataspec ... inputdir 14630% 14631User n.: 14632 A programmer who will believe anything you tell him. 14633% 14634USER, n.: 14635 The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." 14636 -- Dave Barry, "Claw Your Way to the Top" 14637% 14638Using TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach. 14639 -- S. C. Johnson 14640% 14641Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, 14642opulence is when you have three -- and paradise is when you have none. 14643 -- Doug Larson 14644% 14645Vail's Second Axiom: 14646 The amount of work to be done increases in proportion to the 14647amount of work already completed. 14648% 14649Valerie: Aww, Tom, you're going maudlin on me ... 14650Tom: I reserve the right to wax maudlin as I wane eloquent ... 14651 -- Tom Chapin 14652% 14653Van Roy's Law: 14654 An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. 14655% 14656Vanilla, adj.: 14657 Ordinary flavor, standard. See FLAVOR. When used of food, 14658very often does not mean that the food is flavored with vanilla 14659extract! For example, "vanilla-flavored won ton soup" (or simply 14660"vanilla won ton soup") means ordinary won ton soup, as opposed to hot 14661and sour won ton soup. 14662% 14663Velilind's Laws of Experimentation: 14664 (1) If reproducibility may be a problem, conduct the test only 14665 once. 14666 (2) If a straight line fit is required, obtain only two data 14667 points. 14668% 14669Veni, Vidi, Visa. 14670% 14671 "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past 14672year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley 14673reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their 14674artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue 14675moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon 14676Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the 14677entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the 14678sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips." 14679 14680 "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito. 14681 14682 "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made 14683good copy." 14684 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 14685% 14686Very few profundities can be expressed in less than 80 characters. 14687% 14688Vila: "I think I have just made the biggest mistake of my life." 14689Orac: "It is unlikely. I would predict there are far greater mistakes 14690 waiting to be made by someone with your obvious talent for it." 14691% 14692Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. 14693 -- Salvor Hardin 14694% 14695Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the 14696yard. 14697% 14698VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14699 Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to 14700 ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this 14701 morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you 14702 wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of 14703 that old underwear you own. 14704% 14705VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14706 You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nitpicking is 14707 sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and 14708 sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus 14709 drivers. 14710% 14711"Virtual" means never knowing where your next byte is coming from. 14712% 14713Virtue is its own punishment. 14714% 14715Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving 14716from where you left them to where you can't find them. 14717% 14718Vitamin C deficiency is apauling 14719% 14720VMS is like a nightmare about RXS-11M. 14721% 14722Vote anarchist 14723% 14724Vote for ME -- I'm well-tapered, half-cocked, ill-conceived and 14725TAX-DEFERRED! 14726% 14727VYARZERZOMANIMORORSEZASSEZANSERAREORSES? 14728% 14729 14730 *** System shutdown message from root *** 14731 14732System going down in 60 seconds 14733 14734 14735% 14736"Wagner's music is better than it sounds." 14737 -- Mark Twain 14738% 14739Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?" 147401st customer: "I'll have tea." 147412nd customer: "Me, too -- and be sure the glass is clean!" 14742 (Waiter exits, returns) 14743Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?" 14744% 14745Walk softly and carry a megawatt laser. 14746% 14747War hath no fury like a non-combatant. 14748 -- Charles Edward Montague 14749% 14750War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ketchup is a vegetable. 14751% 14752 WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: 14753 14754Firings will continue until morale improves. 14755% 14756 WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: 14757 14758Firings will continue until morale improves. 14759% 14760WARNING: 14761 Reading this fortune can affect the dimensionality of your 14762mind, change the curvature of your spine, cause the growth of hair on 14763your palms, and make a difference in the outcome of your favorite war. 14764% 14765Warning: Listening to WXRT on April Fools' Day is not recommended for 14766those who are slightly disoriented the first few hours after waking 14767up. 14768 -- Chicago Reader 4/22/83 14769% 14770Warp 7 -- It's a law we can live with. 14771% 14772Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. 14773 -- John F. Kennedy 14774% 14775Waste not, get your budget cut next year. 14776% 14777Wasting time is an important part of living. 14778% 14779Watson's Law: 14780 The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the 14781number and significance of any persons watching it. 14782% 14783We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which 14784divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being 14785correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough. 14786 -- Niels Bohr 14787% 14788We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 14789 -- Oscar Wilde 14790% 14791We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm. 14792 -- Winston Churchill 14793% 14794We ARE as gods and might as well get good at it. 14795 -- Whole Earth Catalog 14796% 14797We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. 14798 -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" 14799% 14800We are going to give a little something, a few little years more, to 14801socialism, because socialism is defunct. It dies all by itself. The 14802bad thing is that socialism, being a victim of its ... Did I say 14803socialism? 14804 -- Fidel Castro 14805% 14806"We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat's next-to-last 14807theorem." 14808 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 14809% 14810"We are upping our standards ... so up yours." 14811 -- Pat Paulsen for President, 1988. 14812% 14813We can defeat gravity. The problem is the paperwork involved. 14814% 14815We can predict everything, except the future. 14816% 14817We cannot put the face of a person on a stamp unless said person is 14818deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead. 14819 -- James E. Day, Postmaster General 14820% 14821"We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!" 14822 -- Vroomfondel 14823% 14824"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." 14825% 14826We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a 14827fish. 14828% 14829We don't understand the software, and sometimes we don't understand the 14830hardware, but we can *___see* the blinking lights! 14831% 14832We gave you an atomic bomb, what do you want, mermaids? 14833 -- I. I. Rabi to the Atomic Energy Commission 14834% 14835"We had it tough ... I had to get up at 9 o'clock at night, half an 14836hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of dry poison, work 29 hours down 14837mill, and when we came home our Dad would kill us, and dance about on 14838our grave singing Haleleuia ..." 14839 -- Monty Python 14840% 14841We have met the enemy, and he is us. 14842 -- Walt Kelly 14843% 14844We have only two things to worry about: That things will never get 14845back to normal, and that they already have. 14846% 14847"We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his 14848hands for masturbation." 14849 -- Lily Tomlin 14850% 14851We have the flu. I don't know if this particular strain has an 14852official name, but if it does, it must be something like "Martian Death 14853Flu". You may have had it yourself. The main symptom is that you wish 14854you had another setting on your electric blanket, up past "HIGH", that 14855said "ELECTROCUTION". 14856 14857Another symptom is that you cease brushing your teeth, because (a) your 14858teeth hurt, and (b) you lack the strength. Midway through the brushing 14859process, you'd have to lie down in front of the sink to rest for a 14860couple of hours, and rivulets of toothpaste foam would dribble sideways 14861out of your mouth, eventually hardening into crusty little toothpaste 14862stalagmites that would bond your head permanently to the bathroom 14863floor, which is how the police would find you. 14864 14865You know the kind of flu I'm talking about. 14866 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 14867% 14868We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all 14869purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start 14870with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the 14871playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is 14872best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can 14873buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. 14874 -- Alan M. Turing 14875% 14876We may not return the affection of those who like us, but we always 14877respect their good judgement. 14878% 14879We must remember the First Amendment which protects any shrill jackass 14880no matter how self-seeking. 14881 -- F. G. Withington 14882% 14883We ought to be very grateful that we have tools. Millions of years ago 14884people did not have them, and home projects were extremely difficult. 14885For example, when a primitive person wanted to put up paneling, he had 14886to drive the little paneling nails into the cave wall with his bare 14887fist, so generally the paneling wound up getting spattered with 14888primitive blood, which isn't really all that bad when you consider how 14889ugly paneling is to begin with. 14890 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 14891% 14892We really don't have any enemies. It's just that some of our best 14893friends are trying to kill us. 14894% 14895 We were young and our happiness dazzled us with its strength. 14896But there was also a terrible betrayal that lay within me like a Merle 14897Haggard song at a French restaurant. ... 14898 I could not tell the girl about the woman of the tollway, of 14899her milk white BMW and her Jordache smile. There had been a fight. I 14900had punched her boyfriend, who fought the mechanical bulls. Everyone 14901told him, "You ride the bull, senor. You do not fight it." But he was 14902lean and tough like a bad rib-eye and he fought the bull. And then he 14903fought me. And when we finished there were no winners, just men doing 14904what men must do. ... 14905 "Stop the car," the girl said. There was a look of terrible 14906sadness in her eyes. She knew about the woman of the tollway. I knew 14907not how. I started to speak, but she raised an arm and spoke with a 14908quiet and peace I will never forget. 14909 "I do not ask for whom's the tollway belle," she said, "the 14910tollway belle's for thee." 14911 The next morning our youth was a memory, and our happiness was 14912a lie. Life is like a bad margarita with good tequila, I thought as I 14913poured whiskey onto my granola and faced a new day. 14914 -- Peter Applebome, International Imitation Hemingway 14915 Competition 14916% 14917We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one 14918technical problem -- how to run a sunbeam through a meter. 14919% 14920we will invent new lullabies, new songs, new acts of love, 14921we will cry over things we used to laugh & 14922our new wisdom will bring tears to eyes of gentile 14923creatures from other planets who were afraid of us till then & 14924in the end a summer with wild winds & 14925new friends will be. 14926% 14927We wish you a Hare Krishna 14928We wish you a Hare Krishna 14929We wish you a Hare Krishna 14930And a Sun Myung Moon! 14931 -- Maxwell Smart 14932% 14933"We'll cross out that bridge when we come back to it later." 14934% 14935We're deep into the holiday gift-giving season, as you can tell from 14936the fact that everywhere you look, you see jolly old St. Nick urging 14937you to purchase things, to the point where you want to slug him right 14938in his bowl full of jelly. 14939 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 14940% 14941We're only in it for the volume. 14942 -- Black Sabbath 14943% 14944We've sent a man to the moon, and that's 29,000 miles away. The center 14945of the Earth is only 4,000 miles away. You could drive that in a week, 14946but for some reason nobody's ever done it. 14947 -- Andy Rooney 14948% 14949Weiler's Law: 14950 Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it 14951himself. 14952% 14953Weinberg's First Law: 14954 Progress is made on alternate Fridays. 14955% 14956Weinberg's Principle: 14957 An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while 14958sweeping on to the grand fallacy. 14959% 14960Weinberg's Second Law: 14961 If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, 14962then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization. 14963% 14964Weiner's Law of Libraries: 14965 There are no answers, only cross references. 14966% 14967Welcome thy neighbor into thy fallout shelter. He'll come in handy if 14968you run out of food. 14969 -- Dean McLaughlin. 14970% 14971Well, here it is, 1983, so it won't be long before you start reading a 14972lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke. Hartke is a 14973governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the 14974reason you'll be reading about him is that he's one of the 50 top 14975contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. These men 14976will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the 14977most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and 14978appearing on "Meet the Press". "Meet the Press" is one of those Sunday 14979morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit 14980interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a 14981guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through 14982the entire show without answering a single question ... 14983 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 14984% 14985Well, I would -- if they realized that we -- again if -- if we led them 14986back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, 14987or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they 14988they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off. 14989 -- President Ronald Reagan, on the MX missile 14990% 14991"Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *___can* 14992you believe?!" 14993 -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward] 14994% 14995Well, my terminal's locked up, and I ain't got any Mail, 14996 And I can't recall the last time that my program didn't fail; 14997I've got stacks in my structs, I've got arrays in my queues, 14998 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14999 15000If you think that it's nice that you get what you C, 15001 Then go : illogical statement with your whole family, 15002'Cause the Supreme Court ain't the only place with : Bus error views. 15003 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 15004 15005On a PDP-11, life should be a breeze, 15006 But with VAXen in the house even magnetic tapes would freeze. 15007Now you might think that unlike VAXen I'd know who I abuse, 15008 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 15009 -- Core Dumped Blues 15010% 15011"Well, that was a piece of cake, eh K-9?" 15012 15013"Piece of cake, Master? Radial slice of baked confection ... 15014coefficient of relevance to Key of Time: zero." 15015 -- Dr. Who 15016% 15017"Well," Brahma said, "even after ten thousand explanations, a fool is 15018no wiser, but an intelligent man requires only two thousand five 15019hundred." 15020 -- The Mahabharata. 15021% 15022Westheimer's Discovery: 15023 A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a 15024couple of hours in the library. 15025% 15026Wethern's Law: 15027 Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. 15028% 15029"What are we going to do?" 15030 15031"Me, I'm examining the major Western religions. I'm looking for 15032something that's soft on morality, generous with holidays, and has a 15033short initiation period." 15034% 15035"What are you doing?" 15036 15037"Examining the world's major religions. I'm looking for something 15038that's light on morals, has lots of holidays, and with a short 15039initiation period." 15040% 15041What color is a chameleon on a mirror? 15042% 15043 "What do you give a man who has everything?" the pretty 15044teenager asked her mother. 15045 "Encouragement, dear," she replied. 15046% 15047What does "it" mean in the sentence "What time is it?"? 15048% 15049What does it mean if there is no fortune for you? 15050% 15051What garlic is to food, insanity is to art. 15052% 15053What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. 15054% 15055"What George Washington did for us was to throw out the British, so 15056that we wouldn't have a fat, insensitive government running our 15057country. Nice try anyway, George." 15058 -- D.J. on KSFO/KYA 15059% 15060What good is a ticket to the good life, if you can't find the 15061entrance? 15062% 15063What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow 15064in his footsteps? 15065% 15066What I do, first thing [in the morning], is I hop into the shower 15067stall. Then I hop right back out, because when I hopped in I landed 15068barefoot right on top of See Threepio, a little plastic robot character 15069from "Star Wars" whom my son, Robert, likes to pull the legs off of 15070while he showers. Then I hop right back into the stall because our 15071dog, Earnest, who has been alone in the basement all night building up 15072powerful dog emotions, has come bounding and quivering into the 15073bathroom and wants to greet me with 60 or 70 thousand playful nips, any 15074one of which -- bear in mind that I am naked and, without my contact 15075lenses, essentially blind -- could result in the kind of injury where 15076you have to learn a whole new part if you want to sing the "Messiah", 15077if you get my drift. Then I hop right back out, because Robert, with 15078that uncanny sixth sense some children have -- you cannot teach it; 15079they either have it or they don't -- has chosen exactly that moment to 15080flush one of the toilets. Perhaps several of them. 15081 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 15082% 15083What I tell you three times is true. 15084% 15085"What I think is that the F-word is basically just a convenient nasty- 15086sounding word that we tend to use when we would really like to come up 15087with a terrifically witty insult, the kind Winston Churchill always 15088came up with when enormous women asked him stupid questions at 15089parties. 15090 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15091% 15092What I want is all of the power and none of the responsibility. 15093% 15094"What I've done, of course, is total garbage." 15095 -- R. Willard, Pure Math 430a 15096% 15097What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I 15098definitely overpaid for my carpet. 15099 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15100% 15101What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's 15102worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists? 15103 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15104% 15105What is a magician but a practising theorist? 15106 -- Obi-Wan Kenobi 15107% 15108What is mind? No matter. 15109What is matter? Never mind. 15110 -- Thomas Hewitt Key, 1799-1875 15111% 15112What is the difference between a Turing machine and the modern 15113computer? It's the same as that between Hillary's ascent of Everest 15114and the establishment of a Hilton on its peak. 15115% 15116"What is the Nature of God?" 15117 15118 CLICK...CLICK...WHIRRR...CLICK...=BEEP!= 15119 1 QT. SOUR CREAM 15120 1 TSP. SAUERKRAUT 15121 1/2 CUT CHIVES. 15122 STIR AND SPRINKLE WITH BACON BITS. 15123 15124"I've just GOT to start labeling my software..." 15125 -- Bloom County 15126% 15127"What is the robbing of a bank compared to the FOUNDING of a bank?" 15128 -- Bertold Brecht 15129% 15130"What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, 15131which is the exact opposite." 15132 -- Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical_Essays", 1928 15133% 15134What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do. 15135% 15136What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing 15137to compare it with. 15138% 15139What publishers are looking for these days isn't radical feminism. 15140It's corporate feminism -- a brand of feminism designed to sell books 15141and magazines, three-piece suits, airline tickets, Scotch, cigarettes 15142and, most important, corporate America's message, which runs: "Yes, 15143women were discriminated against in the past, but that unfortunate 15144mistake has been remedied; now every woman can attain wealth, prestige 15145and power by dint of individual rather than collective effort." 15146 -- Susan Gordon 15147% 15148What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? 15149 -- Ursula K. LeGuin 15150% 15151What the hell, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. 15152% 15153What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away. 15154% 15155What the world *really* needs is a good Automatic Bicycle Sharpener. 15156% 15157What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent 15158bagel. 15159% 15160What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent bagel. 15161% 15162What this country needs is a good five cent ANYTHING! 15163% 15164What this country needs is a good five cent microcomputer. 15165% 15166What this country needs is a good five cent nickel. 15167% 15168What this country needs is a good five dollar plasma weapon. 15169% 15170What this world needs is a good five-dollar plasma weapon. 15171% 15172What use is magic if it can't save a unicorn? 15173 -- Peter S. Beagle, "The Last Unicorn" 15174% 15175What we need in this country, instead of Daylight Savings Time, which 15176nobody really understands anyway, is a new concept called Weekday 15177Morning Time, whereby at 7 a.m. every weekday we go into a space- 15178launch-style "hold" for two to three hours, during which it just 15179remains 7 a.m. This way we could all wake up via a civilized gradual 15180process of stretching and belching and scratching, and it would still 15181be only 7 a.m. when we were ready to actually emerge from bed. 15182 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15183% 15184What you don't know can hurt you, only you won't know it. 15185% 15186"What's another word for Thesaurus?" 15187 -- Steven Wright 15188% 15189 "What's that thing?" 15190 "Well, it's a highly technical, sensitive instrument we use in 15191computer repair. Being a layman, you probably can't grasp exactly what 15192it does. We call it a two-by-four." 15193 -- Jeff MacNelley, "Shoe" 15194% 15195"What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it?" 15196 -- Dr. Who 15197% 15198"What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it?" 15199 -- The Doctor 15200% 15201Whatever became of eternal truth? 15202% 15203Whatever became of Strange de Jim? Well, he found a substitute for 15204cocaine: "You cover Q-tips with sandpaper and ram them up your nostrils 15205as far as they will go. Then you sniff talcum powder while shredding 15206hundred dollar bills." 15207 -- Herb Caen 15208% 15209Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not 15210nailed down. 15211 -- Collis P. Huntingdon 15212% 15213"Whatever the missing mass of the universe is, I hope it's not 15214cockroaches!" 15215 -- Mom 15216% 15217When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him -- that's where the 15218money is. 15219 -- Robespierre 15220% 15221When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the 15222thing," it's the money. 15223 -- Kim Hubbard 15224% 15225When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half 15226loop? 15227% 15228When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is 15229not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space 15230travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere. 15231 -- Robert Heinlein 15232% 15233When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the 15234sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain 15235relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. 15236 -- Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 15237 Maintenance" 15238% 15239When all other means of communication fail, try words. 15240% 15241"When are you BUTTHEADS gonna learn that you can't oppose Gestapo 15242tactics *with* Gestapo tactics?" 15243 -- Reuben Flagg 15244% 15245When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before 15246the white men came, an Indian said simply "Ours." 15247 -- Vine Deloria, Jr. 15248% 15249When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask? Well, last year, I 15250think it was a Tuesday. 15251% 15252When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to 15253guarantee them. 15254% 15255"When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great 15256parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if 15257I'm leaving." 15258 -- Steven Wright 15259% 15260When I heated my home with oil, I used an average of 800 gallons a 15261year. I have found that I can keep comfortably warm for an entire 15262winter with slightly over half that quantity of beer. 15263 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15264% 15265When I said "we", officer, I was referring to myself, the four young 15266ladies, and, of course, the goat. 15267% 15268When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now 15269I'm beginning to believe it. 15270 -- Clarence Darrow 15271% 15272When I was a kid I said to my father one afternoon, "Daddy, will you 15273take me to the zoo?" He answered, "If the zoo wants you let them come 15274and get you." 15275 -- Jerry Lewis 15276% 15277"When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked if I had any 15278firearms with me. I said, `Well, what do you need?'" 15279 -- Steven Wright 15280% 15281When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: I looked into 15282the soul of the boy sitting next to me. 15283 -- Woody Allen 15284% 15285When I was seven years old, I was once reprimanded by my mother for an 15286act of collective brutality in which I had been involved at school. A 15287group of seven-year-olds had been teasing and tormenting a 15288six-year-old. "It is always so," my mother said. "You do things 15289together which not one of you would think of doing alone." ... 15290Wherever one looks in the world of human organization, collective 15291responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards. The military 15292establishment is an extreme case, an organization which seems to have 15293been expressly designed to make it possible for people to do things 15294together which nobody in his right mind would do alone. 15295 -- Freeman Dyson, "Weapons and Hope" 15296% 15297When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened 15298or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I 15299cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to 15300go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. 15301 -- Mark Twain 15302% 15303When in doubt, do what the President does -- guess. 15304% 15305"When in doubt, tell the truth." 15306 -- Mark Twain 15307% 15308When in doubt, use brute force. 15309 -- Ken Thompson 15310% 15311When in panic, fear and doubt, 15312Drink in barrels, eat, and shout. 15313% 15314When love is gone, there's always justice. 15315And when justice is gone, there's always force. 15316And when force is gone, there's always Mom. 15317Hi, Mom! 15318 -- Laurie Anderson 15319% 15320When Marriage is Outlawed, 15321Only Outlaws will have Inlaws. 15322% 15323When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment 15324results. 15325 -- Calvin Coolidge 15326% 15327When one woman was asked how long she had been going to symphony 15328concerts, she paused to calculate and replied, "Forty-seven years -- 15329and I find I mind it less and less." 15330 -- Louise Andrews Kent 15331% 15332When properly administered, vacations do not diminish productivity: 15333for every week you're away and get nothing done, there's another when 15334your boss is away and you get twice as much done. 15335 -- Daniel B. Luten 15336% 15337When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only 15338say what I wish done," give him a lollipop. 15339% 15340"When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical" 15341 -- Jon Carroll 15342% 15343When the government bureau's remedies don't match your problem, you 15344modify the problem, not the remedy. 15345% 15346When the Ngdanga tribe of West Africa hold their moon love ceremonies, 15347the men of the tribe bang their heads on sacred trees until they get a 15348nose bleed, which usually cures them of ____that. 15349 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 15350% 15351When the speaker and he to whom he is speaks do not understand, that is 15352metaphysics. 15353 -- Voltaire 15354% 15355When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the 15356stars were lined up in their proper places, you could easily count them 15357from left to right, or top to bottom, and the larger and bluer ones 15358were set apart, and the smaller yellowing types pushed off to the 15359corners as bodies of a lower grade ... 15360 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 15361% 15362When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, the 15363plane will fly. 15364 -- Donald Douglas 15365% 15366When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most 15367insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are 15368required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and 15369exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. 15370 -- George Bernard Shaw 15371% 15372When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is 15373not hereditary. 15374 -- Thomas Paine 15375% 15376When we understand knowledge-based systems, it will be as before -- 15377except our fingertips will have been singed. 15378 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 15379% 15380When you are about to do an objective and scientific piece of 15381investigation of a topic, it is well to gave the answer firmly in hand, 15382so that you can proceed forthrightly, without being deflected or 15383swayed, directly to the goal. 15384 -- Amrom Katz 15385% 15386"When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut." 15387% 15388When you don't know what you are doing, do it neatly. 15389% 15390When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. 15391 -- Harry Truman 15392% 15393 When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure 15394clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer 15395to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. 15396 In a way, the next move is up to him. 15397 -- R. A. Lafferty 15398% 15399"When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." 15400 -- Winston Churchill, On formal declarations of war 15401% 15402When you know absolutely nothing about the topic, make your forecast by 15403asking a carefully selected probability sample of 300 others who don't 15404know the answer either. 15405 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 15406% 15407When you make your mark in the world, watch out for guys with erasers. 15408 -- The Wall Street Journal 15409% 15410When you try to make an impression, the chances are that is the 15411impression you will make. 15412% 15413When you're away, I'm restless, lonely, 15414Wretched, bored, dejected; only 15415Here's the rub, my darling dear 15416I feel the same when you are near. 15417 -- Samuel Hoffenstein, "When You're Away" 15418% 15419When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. 15420% 15421Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really". 15422 -- Dave Parnas 15423% 15424Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to 15425see it tried on him personally. 15426 -- A. Lincoln 15427% 15428Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. 15429 -- Oscar Wilde 15430% 15431Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last 15432you are going to see of him until he emerges on the other side of his 15433Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. 15434 -- Mark Twain 15435 "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" 15436% 15437Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time 15438to reform. 15439 -- Mark Twain 15440% 15441WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE 15442 15443 Oh, dear, where can the matter be 15444 When it's converted to energy? 15445 There is a slight loss of parity. 15446 Johnny's so long at the fair. 15447% 15448Where humor is concerned there are no standards -- no one can say what 15449is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. 15450 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 15451% 15452Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax. 15453% 15454Whether you can hear it or not 15455The Universe is laughing behind your back 15456 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 15457% 15458Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? Who knows? Who cares? 15459% 15460While anyone can admit to themselves they were wrong, the true test is 15461admission to someone else. 15462% 15463While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, 15464The fate of empires and the fall of kings; 15465While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 15466And even children lisp the Rights of Man; 15467Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, 15468The Rights of Woman merit some attention. 15469 -- Robert Burns, Address on "The Rights of Woman", 15470 November 26, 1792 15471% 15472While having never invented a sin, I'm trying to perfect several. 15473% 15474While it may be true that a watched pot never boils, the one you don't 15475keep an eye on can make an awful mess of your stove. 15476 -- Edward Stevenson 15477% 15478While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own 15479form of misery. 15480% 15481While money doesn't buy love, it puts you in a great bargaining 15482position. 15483% 15484While most peoples' opinions change, the conviction of their 15485correctness never does. 15486% 15487While you don't greatly need the outside world, it's still very 15488reassuring to know that it's still there. 15489% 15490While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are 15491safe, for you can watch both of his. 15492 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15493% 15494Whistler's Law: 15495 You never know who is right, but you always know who is in 15496charge. 15497% 15498"Who cares if it doesn't do anything? It was made with our new 15499Triple-Iso-Bifurcated-Krypton-Gate-MOS process ..." 15500% 15501Who made the world I cannot tell; 15502'Tis made, and here am I in hell. 15503My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, 15504I never soiled with such a deed. 15505 -- A. E. Housman 15506% 15507Who messed with my anti-paranoia shot? 15508% 15509Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink? 15510% 15511Who's on first? 15512% 15513"Whom are you?" said he, for he had been to night school. 15514 -- George Ade 15515% 15516Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. 15517% 15518Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. 15519% 15520"Why are we importing all these highbrow plays like `Amadeus'? I could 15521have told you Mozart was a jerk for nothing." 15522 -- Ian Shoales 15523% 15524"Why be a man when you can be a success?" 15525 -- Bertold Brecht 15526% 15527Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we 15528have? 15529% 15530Why can't you be a non-conformist like everyone else? 15531% 15532Why did the Lord give us so much quickness of movement unless it was to 15533avoid responsibility with? 15534% 15535Why did the Roman Empire collapse? What is the Latin for office 15536automation? 15537% 15538Why do we have two eyes? To watch 3-D movies with. 15539% 15540Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently 15541there must be a beverage. 15542 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15543% 15544Why does New Jersey have more toxic waste dumps and California have 15545more lawyers? 15546 15547New Jersey had first choice. 15548% 15549Why don't elephants eat penguins ? 15550 15551Because they can't get the wrappers off ... 15552% 15553Why I Can't Go Out With You: 15554 15555I'd LOVE to, but ... 15556 -- I have to floss my cat. 15557 -- I've dedicated my life to linguini. 15558 -- I need to spend more time with my blender. 15559 -- it wouldn't be fair to the other Beautiful People. 15560 -- it's my night to pet the dog/ferret/goldfish. 15561 -- I'm going downtown to try on some gloves. 15562 -- I have to check the freshness dates on my dairy products. 15563 -- I'm going down to the bakery to watch the buns rise. 15564 -- I have an appointment with a cuticle specialist. 15565 -- I have some really hard words to look up. 15566 -- I've got a Friends of the Lowly Rutabaga meeting. 15567 -- I promised to help a friend fold road maps. 15568% 15569"Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is 15570because we are not the person involved" 15571 -- Mark Twain 15572% 15573Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 15574% 15575"Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?" 15576 -- Lily Tomlin 15577% 15578"Why must you tell me all your secrets when it's hard enough to love 15579you knowing nothing?" 15580 -- Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 15581% 15582Why not have an old-fashioned Christmas for your family this year? 15583Just picture the scene in your living room on Christmas morning as your 15584children open their old-fashioned presents. 15585 15586Your 11-year-old son: "What the heck is this?" 15587 15588You: "A spinning top! You spin it around, and then eventually it 15589 falls down. What fun! Ha, ha!" 15590 15591Son: "Is this a joke? Jason Thompson's parents got him a computer 15592 with two disk drives and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory, 15593 and I get this cretin TOP?" 15594 15595Your 8-year-old daughter: "You think that's bad? Look at this." 15596 15597You: "It's figgy pudding! What a treat!" 15598 15599Daughter: "It looks like goat barf." 15600 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15601% 15602"Why was I born with such contemporaries?" 15603 -- Oscar Wilde 15604% 15605Why You Can't Run When There's Trouble in the Office: 15606 No matter where you stand, no matter how far or fast you flee, 15607when it hits the fan, as much as possible will be propelled in your 15608direction, and almost none will be returned to the source. 15609 -- John L. Shelton 15610% 15611Wiker's Law: 15612 Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. 15613% 15614 William Safire's Rules for Writers: 15615 15616Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never 15617be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to 15618agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words 15619out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal 15620of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must 15621not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a 15622conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a 15623sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as 15624close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more 15625words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles 15626must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a 15627linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing 15628metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should 15629be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their 15630writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows 15631the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek 15632viable alternatives. 15633% 15634Williams and Holland's Law: 15635 If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by 15636statistical methods. 15637% 15638Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as 15639it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. 15640% 15641Wit, n.: 15642 The salt with which the American Humorist spoils his cookery 15643... by leaving it out. 15644 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15645% 15646With a gentleman I try to be a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I 15647try to be a fraud and a half. 15648 -- Otto von Bismark 15649% 15650With a rubber duck, one's never alone. 15651 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15652% 15653With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once 15654build a nuclear balm? 15655% 15656With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand 15657miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and 15658still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no 15659such thing as progress. 15660 -- Ransom K. Ferm 15661% 15662Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless. 15663% 15664Wombat's Laws of Computer Selection: 15665 (1) If it doesn't run Unix, forget it. 15666 (2) Any computer design over 10 years old is obsolete. 15667 (3) Anything made by IBM is junk. (See number 2) 15668 (4) The minimum acceptable CPU power for a single user is a 15669 VAX/780 with a floating point accelerator. 15670 (5) Any computer with a mouse is worthless. 15671 -- Rich Kulawiec 15672% 15673Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If 15674you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut 15675down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that 15676tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with 15677long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit 15678there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you 15679come back. 15680 15681Wood heat is not new. It dates back to a day millions of years ago, 15682when a group of cavemen were sitting around, watching dinosaurs rot. 15683Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby log and set it on fire. One of the 15684cavemen stared at the fire for a few minutes, then said: "Hey! Wood 15685heat!" The other cavemen, who did not understand English, immediately 15686beat him to death with stones. But the key discovery had been made, 15687and from that day forward, the cavemen had all the heat they needed, 15688although their insurance rates went way up. 15689 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15690% 15691Work Rule: Leave of Absence (for an Operation): 15692 We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage 15693any thoughts that you may not need all of whatever you have, and you 15694should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are, 15695and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we 15696bargained for. 15697% 15698Workers of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your 15699chairs. 15700% 15701World War Three can be averted by adherence to a strictly enforced 15702dress code! 15703% 15704Worst Month of 1981 for Downhill Skiing: 15705 August. The lines are the shortest, though. 15706 -- Steve Rubenstein 15707% 15708Worst Month of the Year: 15709 February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if 15710you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't 15711get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible. 15712 -- Steve Rubenstein 15713% 15714Worst Response To A Crisis, 1985: 15715 From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved 15716in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding bombs 15717damage my videotapes?" 15718% 15719Worst Vegetable of the Year: 15720 The brussels sprout. This is also the worst vegetable of next 15721year. 15722 -- Steve Rubenstein 15723% 15724"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" 15725 15726"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat 15727 -- Lewis Carrol 15728% 15729"Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish 15730and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign' have been clearer 15731if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and 15732and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and 15733and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips?" 15734% 15735Write-Protect Tab, n.: 15736 A small sticker created to cover the unsightly notch carelessly 15737left by disk manufacturers. The use of the tab creates an error 15738message once in a while, but its aesthetic value far outweighs the 15739momentary inconvenience. 15740 -- Robb Russon 15741% 15742Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. 15743 -- Frank Zappa 15744% 15745"Wrong," said Renner. 15746 15747"The tactful way," Rod said quietly, "the polite way to disagree with 15748the Senator would be to say, `That turns out not to be the case.'" 15749% 15750X-rated movies are all alike ... the only thing they leave to the 15751imagination is the plot. 15752% 15753Xerox does it again and again and again and ... 15754% 15755Xerox never comes up with anything original. 15756% 15757XIIdigitation, n.: 15758 The practice of trying to determine the year a movie was made 15759by deciphering the Roman numerals at the end of the credits. 15760 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15761% 15762"Yacc" owes much to a most stimulating collection of users, who have 15763goaded me beyond my inclination, and frequently beyond my ability in 15764their endless search for "one more feature". Their irritating 15765unwillingness to learn how to do things my way has usually led to my 15766doing things their way; most of the time, they have been right. 15767 -- S. C. Johnson, "Yacc guide acknowledgements" 15768% 15769Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of APL, I shall 15770fear no evil, for I can string six primitive monadic and dyadic 15771operators together. 15772 -- Steve Higgins 15773% 15774"Yeah, but you're taking the universe out of context." 15775% 15776Year, n.: 15777 A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. 15778 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15779% 15780Yes, but every time I try to see things your way, I get a headache. 15781% 15782Yes, but which self do you want to be? 15783% 15784Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still 15785be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. 15786 -- Snoopy 15787% 15788Yesterday upon the stair 15789I met a man who wasn't there. 15790He wasn't there again today -- 15791I think he's from the CIA. 15792% 15793Yield to Temptation ... it may not pass your way again. 15794 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 15795% 15796Yinkel, n.: 15797 A person who combs his hair over his bald spot, hoping no one 15798will notice. 15799 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15800% 15801You are a very redundant person, that's what kind of person you are. 15802% 15803You are here: 15804 *** 15805 *** 15806 ********* 15807 ******* 15808 ***** 15809 *** 15810 * 15811 15812 But you're not all there. 15813% 15814"You are old, Father William," the young man said, 15815 "All your papers these days look the same; 15816Those William's would be better unread -- 15817 Do these facts never fill you with shame?" 15818 15819"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, 15820 "I wrote wonderful papers galore; 15821But the great reputation I found that I'd won, 15822 Made it pointless to think any more." 15823% 15824"You are old, father William," the young man said, 15825 "And your hair has become very white; 15826And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- 15827 Do you think, at your age, it is right?" 15828 15829"In my youth," father William replied to his son, 15830 "I feared it might injure the brain; 15831But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, 15832 Why, I do it again and again." 15833 -- Lewis Carrol 15834% 15835"You are old," said the youth, "and I'm told by my peers 15836 That your lectures bore people to death. 15837Yet you talk at one hundred conventions per year -- 15838 Don't you think that you should save your breath?" 15839 15840"I have answered three questions and that is enough," 15841 Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs! 15842Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15843 Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" 15844% 15845"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak 15846 For anything tougher than suet; 15847Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- 15848 Pray, how did you manage to do it?" 15849 15850"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, 15851 And argued each case with my wife; 15852And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw, 15853 Has lasted the rest of my life." 15854 -- Lewis Carrol 15855% 15856"You are old," said the youth, "and your programs don't run, 15857 And there isn't one language you like; 15858Yet of useful suggestions for help you have none -- 15859 Have you thought about taking a hike?" 15860 15861"Since I never write programs," his father replied, 15862 "Every language looks equally bad; 15863Yet the people keep paying to read all my books 15864 And don't realize that they've been had." 15865% 15866"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15867 And have grown most uncommonly fat; 15868Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- 15869 Pray what is the reason of that?" 15870 15871"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 15872 "I kept all my limbs very supple 15873By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- 15874 Allow me to sell you a couple?" 15875 -- Lewis Carrol 15876% 15877"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15878 And make errors few people could bear; 15879You complain about everyone's English but yours -- 15880 Do you really think this is quite fair?" 15881 15882"I make lots of mistakes," Father William declared, 15883 "But my stature these days is so great 15884That no critic can hurt me -- I've got them all scared, 15885 And to stop me it's now far too late." 15886% 15887"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose 15888 That your eye was as steady as ever; 15889Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- 15890 What made you so awfully clever?" 15891 15892"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," 15893 Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! 15894Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15895 Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" 15896 -- Lewis Carrol 15897% 15898You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. 15899% 15900You are the only person to ever get this message. 15901% 15902You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading 15903this sort of trash. 15904% 15905You buttered your bread, now lie in it. 15906% 15907You can always tell the Christmas season is here when you start getting 15908incredibly dense, tinfoil-and-ribbon- wrapped lumps in the mail. 15909Fruitcakes make ideal gifts because the Postal Service has been unable 15910to find a way to damage them. They last forever, largely because 15911nobody ever eats them. In fact, many smart people save the fruitcakes 15912they receive and send them back to the original givers the next year; 15913some fruitcakes have been passed back and forth for hundreds of years. 15914 15915The easiest way to make a fruitcake is to buy a darkish cake, then 15916pound some old, hard fruit into it with a mallet. Be sure to wear 15917safety glasses. 15918 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15919% 15920"You can bring any calculator you like to the midterm, as long as it 15921doesn't dim the lights when you turn it on." 15922 -- Hepler, Systems Design 182 15923% 15924You can create your own opportunities this week. Blackmail a senior 15925executive. 15926% 15927"You can do this in a number of ways. IBM chose to do all of them. 15928Why do you find that funny?" 15929 -- D. Taylor, Computer Science 350 15930% 15931You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you 15932can with just a kind word. 15933 -- Bumper Sticker 15934% 15935You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, 15936for instance. 15937 -- Franklin P. Jones 15938% 15939You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular. 15940% 15941You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on 15942the continuing viability of FORTRAN. 15943 -- Alan Perlis 15944% 15945You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. 15946% 15947You can take all the impact that science considerations have on funding 15948decisions at NASA, put them in the navel of a flea, and have room left 15949over for a caraway seed and Tony Calio's heart. 15950 -- F. Allen 15951% 15952You can tell how far we have to go, when FORTRAN is the language of 15953supercomputers. 15954 -- Steven Feiner 15955% 15956You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish. 15957% 15958"You can write a small letter to Grandma in the filename." 15959 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 15960% 15961You can't carve your way to success without cutting remarks. 15962% 15963"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?" 15964 -- Steven Wright 15965% 15966You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. 15967 -- Booker T. Washington 15968% 15969You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair. 15970% 15971"You can't make a program without broken egos." 15972% 15973You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic 15974enough worrying about what's happening now. 15975 -- Lauren Bacall 15976% 15977"You can't survive by sucking the juice from a wet mitten." 15978 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 15979 Over and Over" 15980% 15981"You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they 15982don't." 15983 -- Dagwood Bumstead 15984% 15985You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd. 15986% 15987You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. 15988% 15989You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. 15990% 15991You could get a new lease on life -- if only you didn't need the first 15992and last month in advance. 15993% 15994You couldn't even prove the White House staff sane beyond a reasonable 15995doubt. 15996 -- Ed Meese, on the Hinckley verdict 15997% 15998You do not have mail. 15999% 16000You don't have to think too hard when you talk to teachers. 16001 -- J. D. Salinger 16002% 16003You don't sew with a fork, so I see no reason to eat with knitting 16004needles. 16005 -- Miss Piggy, on eating Chinese Food 16006% 16007You first have to decide whether to use the short or the long form. 16008The short form is what the Internal Revenue Service calls "simplified", 16009which means it is designed for people who need the help of a Sears 16010tax-preparation expert to distinguish between their first and last 16011names. Here's the complete text: 16012 16013 "(1) How much did you make? (AMOUNT) 16014 "(2) How much did we here at the government take out? (AMOUNT) 16015 "(3) Hey! Sounds like we took too much! So we're going to 16016 send an official government check for (ONE-FIFTEENTH OF 16017 THE AMOUNT WE TOOK) directly to the (YOUR LAST NAME) 16018 household at (YOUR ADDRESS), for you to spend in any way 16019 you please! Which just goes to show you, (YOUR FIRST 16020 NAME), that it pays to file the short form!" 16021 16022The IRS wants you to use this form because it gets to keep most of your 16023money. So unless you have pond silt for brains, you want the long 16024form. 16025 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 16026% 16027You have a tendency to feel you are superior to most computers. 16028% 16029You have acquired a scroll entitled 'irk gleknow mizk'(n).--More-- 16030 16031This is an IBM Manual scroll.--More-- 16032 16033You are permanently confused. 16034 -- Dave Decot 16035% 16036You have an unusual magnetic personality. Don't walk too close to 16037metal objects which are not fastened down. 16038% 16039You have junk mail. 16040% 16041You have the body of a 19 year old. Please return it before it gets 16042wrinkled. 16043% 16044You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You'll learn a lot 16045today. 16046% 16047You know it's going to be a bad day when you want to put on the clothes 16048you wore home from the party and there aren't any. 16049% 16050You know the great thing about TV? If something important happens 16051anywhere at all in the world, no matter what time of the day or night, 16052you can always change the channel. 16053 -- Jim Ignatowski 16054% 16055You know you have a small apartment when Rice Krispies echo. 16056 -- S. Rickly Christian 16057% 16058You know you're a little fat if you have stretch marks on your car. 16059 -- Cyrus, Chicago Reader 1/22/82 16060% 16061You know you've been spending too much time on the computer when your 16062friend misdates a check, and you suggest adding a "++" to fix it. 16063% 16064You know you've landed gear-up when it takes full power to taxi. 16065% 16066 "You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon 16067airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in 16068deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me 16069when I was young!" 16070 "Why, what did she tell you?" 16071 "I don't know, I didn't listen!" 16072 -- Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 16073% 16074You look like a million dollars. All green and wrinkled. 16075% 16076You may be recognized soon. Hide. 16077% 16078You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a "realist," he 16079is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing. 16080 -- Sydney Harris 16081% 16082You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue -- agree with 16083him. 16084 -- Ed Howe 16085% 16086You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog. 16087 -- Alfred Kahn 16088% 16089You men out there probably think you already know how to dress for 16090success. You know, for example, that you should not wear leisure suits 16091or white plastic belts and shoes, unless you are going to a costume 16092party disguised as a pig farmer vacationing at Disney World. 16093 -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" 16094% 16095You might have mail 16096% 16097"You must realize that the computer has it in for you. The irrefutable 16098proof of this is that the computer always does what you tell it to do." 16099% 16100You need no longer worry about the future. This time tomorrow you'll 16101be dead. 16102% 16103You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a 16104reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating 16105the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for 16106independence. 16107 -- Charles A. Beard 16108% 16109You never know how many friends you have until you rent a house on the 16110beach. 16111% 16112You or I must yield up his life to Ahrimanes. I would rather it were 16113you. I should have no hesitation in sacrificing my own life to spare 16114yours, but we take stock next week, and it would not be fair on the 16115company. 16116 -- J. Wellington Wells 16117% 16118You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained. 16119% 16120You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could 16121know how seldom they do. 16122 -- Olin Miller. 16123% 16124You should emulate your heros, but don't carry it too far. Especially 16125if they are dead. 16126% 16127You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than 16128about 10^12 to 1. 16129 -- Ernest Rutherford 16130% 16131You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for 16132freedom and liberty. 16133 -- Henrik Ibsen 16134% 16135You should not use your fireplace, because scientists now believe that, 16136contrary to popular opinion, fireplaces actually remove heat from 16137houses. Really, that's what scientists believe. In fact many 16138scientists actually use their fireplaces to cool their houses in the 16139summer. If you visit a scientist's house on a sultry August day, 16140you'll find a cheerful fire roaring on the hearth and the scientist 16141sitting nearby, remarking on how cool he is and drinking heavily. 16142 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 16143% 16144You should tip the waiter $10, minus $2 if he tells you his name, 16145another $2 if he claims it will be His Pleasure to serve you and 16146another $2 for each "special" he describes involving confusing terms 16147such as "shallots," and $4 if the menu contains the word "fixin's." In 16148many restaurants, this means the waiter will actually owe you money. 16149If you are traveling with a child aged six months to three years, you 16150should leave an additional amount equal to twice the bill to compensate 16151for the fact that they will have to take the banquette out and burn it 16152because the cracks are wedged solid with gobbets made of partially 16153chewed former restaurant rolls saturated with baby spit. 16154 16155In New York, tip the taxicab driver $40 if he does not mention his 16156hemorrhoids. 16157 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 16158% 16159"You should, without hesitation, pound your typewriter into a 16160plowshare, your paper into fertilizer, and enter agriculture" 16161 -- Business Professor, University of Georgia 16162% 16163You think Oedipus had a problem -- Adam was Eve's mother. 16164% 16165 YOU TOO CAN MAKE BIG MONEY IN THE EXCITING FIELD OF 16166 PAPER SHUFFLING! 16167 16168Mr. TAA of Muddle, Mass. says: "Before I took this course I used to be 16169a lowly bit twiddler. Now with what I learned at MIT Tech I feel 16170really important and can obfuscate and confuse with the best." 16171 16172Mr. MARC had this to say: "Ten short days ago all I could look forward 16173to was a dead-end job as a engineer. Now I have a promising future and 16174make really big Zorkmids." 16175 16176MIT Tech can't promise these fantastic results to everyone, but when 16177you earn your MDL degree from MIT Tech your future will be brighter. 16178 16179 SEND FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE TODAY! 16180% 16181You too can wear a nose mitten. 16182% 16183You will be a winner today. Pick a fight with a four-year-old. 16184% 16185You will be attacked by a beast who has the body of a wolf, the tail of 16186a lion, and the face of Donald Duck. 16187% 16188You will be surprised by a loud noise. 16189% 16190You will be Told about it Tomorrow. Go Home and Prepare Thyself. 16191% 16192You will feel hungry again in another hour. 16193% 16194You will lose your present job and have to become a door to door 16195mayonnaise salesman. 16196% 16197 You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the 16198Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the 16199parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day. 16200 -- Sherlock Holmes 16201% 16202You will think of something funnier than this to add to the fortunes. 16203% 16204You worry too much about your job. Stop it. You're not paid enough to 16205worry. 16206% 16207You'd better beat it. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a 16208taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a 16209minute and a huff. 16210 -- Groucho Marx 16211% 16212"You'll never be the man your mother was!" 16213% 16214You're at the end of the road again. 16215% 16216You're being followed. Cut out the hanky-panky for a few days. 16217% 16218You're never too old to become younger. 16219 -- Mae West 16220% 16221You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. 16222 -- Dean Martin 16223% 16224You're not my type. For that matter, you're not even my species!!! 16225% 16226You've been leading a dog's life. Stay off the furniture. 16227% 16228"You've got to have a gimmick if your band sucks." 16229 -- Gary Giddens 16230% 16231"You've got to think about tomorrow!" 16232 16233"TOMORROW! I haven't even prepared for *_________yesterday* yet!" 16234% 16235Your analyst has you mixed up with another patient. Don't believe a 16236thing he tells you. 16237% 16238Your conscience never stops you from doing anything. It just stops you 16239from enjoying it. 16240% 16241Your fault: core dumped 16242% 16243 Your home electrical system is basically a bunch of wires that 16244bring electricity into your home and take if back out before it has a 16245chance to kill you. This is called a "circuit". The most common home 16246electrical problem is when the circuit is broken by a "circuit 16247breaker"; this causes the electricity to back up in one of the wires 16248until it bursts out of an outlet in the form of sparks, which can 16249damage your carpet. The best way to avoid broken circuits is to change 16250your fuses regularly. 16251 Another common problem is that the lights flicker. This 16252sometimes means that your electrical system is inadequate, but more 16253often it means that your home is possessed by demons, in which case 16254you'll need to get a caulking gun and some caulking. If you're not 16255sure whether your house is possessed, see "The Amityville Horror", a 16256fine documentary film based on an actual book. Or call in a licensed 16257electrician, who is trained to spot the signs of demonic possession, 16258such as blood coming down the stairs, enormous cats on the dinette 16259table, etc. 16260 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 16261% 16262Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret. 16263% 16264Your lucky color has faded. 16265% 16266Your lucky number has been disconnected. 16267% 16268Your lucky number is 3552664958674928. Watch for it everywhere. 16269% 16270Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with. 16271% 16272"Yow! Am I having fun yet?" 16273 -- Zippy the Pinhead 16274% 16275YOW!! Everybody out of the GENETIC POOL!" 16276% 16277Zero Defects, n.: 16278 The result of shutting down a production line. 16279% 16280Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words 16281since I first called my brother's father dad. 16282 -- William Shakespeare, "King John" 16283% 16284Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor: 16285 People are always available for work in the past tense. 16286