fortunes revision 1.24
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% 663 syncs represent the trinity -- init, the child and the eternal zombie 67process. In doing 3, you're paying homage to each and I think such 68traditions are important in this shallow, mercurial business we find 69ourselves in. 70 -- Jordan K. Hubbard 71% 7243rd Law of Computing: 73 Anything that can go wr 74fortune: Segmentation violation -- Core dumped 75% 7677. HO HUM -- The Redundant 77 78------- (7) This hexagram refers to a situation of extreme 79--- --- (8) boredom. Your programs always bomb off. Your wife 80------- (7) smells bad. Your children have hives. You are working 81---O--- (6) on an accounting system, when you want to develop the 82---X--- (9) GREAT AMERICAN COMPILER. You give up hot dates to 83--- --- (8) nurse sick computers. What you need now is sex. 84 85Nine in the second place means: 86 The yellow bird approaches the malt shop. Misfortune. 87 88Six in the third place means: 89 In former times men built altars to honor the Internal Revenue 90 Service. Great Dragons! Are you in trouble! 91% 927:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 93 The Bionic Dog drinks too much and kicks over the National 94 Redwood Forest. 95% 967:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 97 The Bionic Dog gets a hormonal short-circuit and violates the 98 Mann Act with an interstate Greyhound bus. 99% 10099 blocks of crud on the disk, 10199 blocks of crud! 102You patch a bug, and dump it again: 103100 blocks of crud on the disk! 104 105100 blocks of crud on the disk, 106100 blocks of crud! 107You patch a bug, and dump it again: 108101 blocks of crud on the disk! ... 109% 110A "No" uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 111"Yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble. 112 -- Mahatma Ghandi 113% 114A [golf] ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. 115Hitting a tree is simply bad luck and has no place in a scientific 116game. The player should estimate the distance the ball would have 117traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there, 118preferably atop a nice firm tuft of grass. 119 -- Donald A. Metz 120% 121A [golf] ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and 122placed in the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or 123rolled into the rough. Such veering right or left frequently results 124from friction between the face of the club and the cover of the ball 125and the player should not be penalized for the erratic behavior of the 126ball resulting from such uncontrollable physical 127phenomena. 128 -- Donald A. Metz 129% 130A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no 131responsibility at the other. 132% 133A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. 134 -- Carl Sandburg 135% 136A bachelor is a selfish, undeserving guy who has cheated some woman out 137of a divorce. 138 -- Don Quinn 139% 140A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining 141and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. 142 -- Mark Twain 143% 144A billion here, a couple of billion there -- first thing you know it 145adds up to be real money. 146 -- Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen 147% 148A bird in the bush usually has a friend in there with him. 149% 150A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring. 151% 152A bird in the hand makes it awfully hard to blow your nose. 153% 154... A booming voice says, "Wrong, cretin!", and you notice that you 155have turned into a pile of dust. 156% 157A bore is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have 158enlightened him with ours. 159% 160A budget is just a method of worrying before you spend money, as well 161as afterward. 162% 163A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the 164poor to protect them from each other. 165% 166A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness. 167% 168A child can go only so far in life without potty training. It is not 169mere coincidence that six of the last seven presidents were potty 170trained, not to mention nearly half of the nation's state legislators. 171 -- Dave Barry 172% 173A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five. 174% 175A chubby man with a white beard and a red suit will approach you soon. 176Avoid him. He's a Commie. 177% 178A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but 179won't cross the street to vote in a national election. 180 -- Bill Vaughan 181% 182A city is a large community where people are lonesome together. 183 -- Herbert Prochnow 184% 185A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody 186wants to read. 187 -- Mark Twain, "The Disappearance of Literature" 188% 189A closed mouth gathers no foot. 190% 191A computer, to print out a fact, 192Will divide, multiply, and subtract. 193 But this output can be 194 No more than debris, 195If the input was short of exact. 196 -- Gigo 197% 198A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking. 199% 200A CONS is an object which cares. 201 -- Bernie Greenberg. 202% 203A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it 204is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it. 205% 206A continuing flow of paper is sufficient to continue the flow of paper. 207 -- Dyer 208% 209A copy of the universe is not what is required of art; one of the 210damned things is ample. 211 -- Rebecca West 212% 213A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. 214 -- Ben Franklin 215% 216A crusader's wife slipped from the garrison 217And had an affair with a Saracen. 218 She was not oversexed, 219 Or jealous or vexed, 220She just wanted to make a comparison. 221% 222A cynic is a person searching for an honest man, with a stolen 223lantern. 224 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 225% 226A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it? 227% 228A day without sunshine is like night. 229% 230A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a fur 231coat. 232% 233A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that 234you will look forward to the trip. 235% 236 A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was 237eating his morning meal. "I would like to give you this personality 238test", said the outsider, "because I want you to be happy." 239 Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into 240the toaster -- "I wish the toaster to be happy too". 241% 242A diva who specializes in risqu'e arias is an off-coloratura soprano ... 243% 244 A doctor, an architect, and a computer scientist were arguing 245about whose profession was the oldest. In the course of their 246arguments, they got all the way back to the Garden of Eden, whereupon 247the doctor said, "The medical profession is clearly the oldest, because 248Eve was made from Adam's rib, as the story goes, and that was a simply 249incredible surgical feat." 250 The architect did not agree. He said, "But if you look at the 251Garden itself, in the beginning there was chaos and void, and out of 252that, the Garden and the world were created. So God must have been an 253architect." 254 The computer scientist, who had listened to all of this said, 255"Yes, but where do you think the chaos came from?" 256% 257A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. 258 -- Ogden Nash 259% 260A dozen, a gross, and a score, 261Plus three times the square root of four, 262 Divided by seven, 263 Plus five times eleven, 264Equals nine squared plus zero, no more. 265% 266A famous Lisp Hacker noticed an Undergraduate sitting in front of a 267Xerox 1108, trying to edit a complex Klone network via a browser. 268Wanting to help, the Hacker clicked one of the nodes in the network 269with the mouse, and asked "what do you see?" Very earnestly, the 270Undergraduate replied "I see a cursor." The Hacker then quickly 271pressed the boot toggle at the back of the keyboard, while 272simultaneously hitting the Undergraduate over the head with a thick 273Interlisp Manual. The Undergraduate was then Enlightened. 274% 275A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the 276subject. 277 -- Winston Churchill 278% 279A fool must now and then be right by chance. 280% 281A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into 282superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education. 283 -- G. B. Shaw 284% 285A fool-proof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block 286of marble; then you chip away everything that doesn't look like an 287elephant. 288% 289A formal parsing algorithm should not always be used. 290 -- D. Gries 291% 292A fractal is by definition a set for which the Hausdorff Besicovitch 293dimension strictly exceeds the topological dimension. 294 -- Mandelbrot, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" 295% 296A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. 297 -- Adlai Stevenson 298% 299A Galileo could no more be elected president of the United States than 300he could be elected Pope of Rome. Both high posts are reserved for men 301favored by God with an extraordinary genius for swathing the bitter 302facts of life in bandages of self-illusion. 303 -- H. L. Mencken 304% 305A general leading the State Department resembles a dragon commanding 306ducks. 307 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 308% 309A girl and a boy bump into each other -- surely an accident. 310A girl and a boy bump and her handkerchief drops -- surely another accident. 311But when a girl gives a boy a dead squid -- *____that ___had __to ____mean _________something*. 312 -- S. Morganstern, "The Silent Gondoliers" 313% 314A gleekzorp without a tornpee is like a quop without a fertsneet (sort 315of). 316% 317A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened 318into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the 319hope of greening the landscape of idea. 320 -- John Ciardi 321% 322A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely 323rearranging their prejudices. 324 -- William James 325% 326A great nation is any mob of people which produces at least one honest 327man a century. 328% 329A hypothetical paradox: 330 What would happen in a battle between an Enterprise security 331team, who always get killed soon after appearing, and a squad of 332Imperial Stormtroopers, who can't hit the broad side of a planet? 333 -- Tom Galloway 334% 335A is for Amy who fell down the stairs, B is for Basil assaulted by bears. 336C is for Clair who wasted away, D is for Desmond thrown out of the sleigh. 337E is for Ernest who choked on a peach, F is for Fanny, sucked dry by a leech. 338G is for George, smothered under a rug, H is for Hector, done in by a thug. 339I is for Ida who drowned in the lake, J is for James who took lye, by mistake. 340K is for Kate who was struck with an axe, L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks. 341M is for Maud who was swept out to sea, N is for Nevil who died of ennui. 342O is for Olive, run through with an awl, P is for Prue, trampled flat in a brawl 343Q is for Quinton who sank in a mire, R is for Rhoda, consumed by a fire. 344S is for Susan who parished of fits, T is for Titas who flew into bits. 345U is for Una who slipped down a drain, V is for Victor, squashed under a train. 346W is for Winnie, embedded in ice, X is for Xercies, devoured by mice. 347Y is for Yoric whose head was bashed in, Z is for Zilla who drank too much gin. 348 -- Edward Gorey "The Gastly Crumb Tines" 349% 350A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance. 351% 352A jury consists of 12 persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer. 353 -- Robert Frost 354% 355A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. 356% 357A lady with one of her ears applied 358To an open keyhole heard, inside, 359Two female gossips in converse free -- 360The subject engaging them was she. 361"I think", said one, "and my husband thinks 362That she's a prying, inquisitive minx!" 363As soon as no more of it she could hear 364The lady, indignant, removed her ear. 365"I will not stay," she said with a pout, 366"To hear my character lied about!" 367 -- Gopete Sherany 368% 369A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is 370not worth knowing. 371% 372A language that doesn't have everything is actually easier to program 373in than some that do. 374 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 375% 376A large number of installed systems work by fiat. That is, they work 377by being declared to work. 378 -- Anatol Holt 379% 380A Law of Computer Programming: 381 Make it possible for programmers to write in English and you 382will find the programmers cannot write in English. 383% 384A limerick packs laughs anatomical 385Into space that is quite economical. 386 But the good ones I've seen 387 So seldom are clean, 388And the clean ones so seldom are comical. 389% 390A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of 391nothing. 392 -- Alan Perlis 393% 394A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation. 395 -- H. H. Munroe, "Saki" 396% 397A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. 398% 399A long-forgotten loved one will appear soon. Buy the negatives at any 400price. 401% 402A Los Angeles judge ruled that "a citizen may snore with immunity in 403his own home, even though he may be in possession of unusual and 404exceptional ability in that particular field." 405% 406A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me. I'm afraid of widths. 407 -- Steve Wright 408% 409A lot of people I know believe in positive thinking, and so do I. I 410believe everything positively stinks. 411 -- Lew Col 412% 413 A man goes to a tailor to try on a new custom-made suit. The 414first thing he notices is that the arms are too long. 415 "No problem," says the tailor. "Just bend them at the elbow 416and hold them out in front of you. See, now it's fine." 417 "But the collar is up around my ears!" 418 "It's nothing. Just hunch your back up a little ... no, a 419little more ... that's it." 420 "But I'm stepping on my cuffs!" the man cries in desperation. 421 "Nu, bend you knees a little to take up the slack. There you 422go. Look in the mirror -- the suit fits perfectly." 423 So, twisted like a pretzel, the man lurches out onto the 424street. Reba and Florence see him go by. 425 "Oh, look," says Reba, "that poor man!" 426 "Yes," says Florence, "but what a beautiful suit." 427 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 428% 429A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!" 430 431"However," replied the Universe, "the fact has not created in me a 432sense of obligation." 433 -- Stephen Crane 434% 435A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. 436% 437 A master was explaining the nature of Tao to one of his 438novices. "The Tao is embodied in all software -- regardless of how 439insignificant," said the master. 440 441 "Is Tao in a hand-held calculator?" asked the novice. 442 443 "It is," came the reply. 444 445 "Is the Tao in a video game?" continued the novice. 446 447 "It is even in a video game," said the master. 448 449 "And is the Tao in the DOS for a personal computer?" 450 451 The master coughed and shifted his position slightly. "The 452lesson is over for today," he said. 453 -- "The Tao of Programming" 454% 455A mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theorems. 456% 457A Mexican newspaper reports that bored Royal Air Force pilots stationed 458on the Falkland Islands have devised what they consider a marvelous new 459game. Noting that the local penguins are fascinated by airplanes, the 460pilots search out a beach where the birds are gathered and fly slowly 461along it at the water's edge. Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their 462heads in unison watching the planes go by, and when the pilots turn 463around and fly back, the birds turn their heads in the opposite 464direction, like spectators at a slow-motion tennis match. Then, the 465paper reports, "The pilots fly out to sea and directly to the penguin 466colony and overfly it. Heads go up, up, up, and ten thousand penguins 467fall over gently onto their backs. 468 469 -- Audubon Society Magazine 470 471 472[From the BBC, 2001-02-02: 473 For five weeks, a team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) 474monitored 1,000 king penguins on the island of South Georgia as Lynx 475helicopters passed overhead. 476 "Not one king penguin fell over when the helicopters came over," 477said team leader Dr. Richard Stone. 478 "As the aircraft approached, the birds went quiet and stopped 479calling to each other, and adolescent birds that were not associated 480with nests began walking away from the noise. Pure animal instinct, 481really." 482 The conclusion, said Dr. Stone, is that flights over 305 metres 483(1,000 feet) caused "only minor and transitory ecological effects" on 484king penguins.] 485% 486 A musician of more ambition than talent composed an elegy at 487the death of composer Edward MacDowell. She played the elegy for the 488pianist Josef Hoffman, then asked his opinion. "Well, it's quite 489nice," he replied, but don't you think it would be better if ..." 490 "If what?" asked the composer. 491 "If ... if you had died and MacDowell had written the elegy?" 492% 493A neighbor came to Nasrudin, asking to borrow his donkey. "It is out 494on loan," the teacher replied. At that moment, the donkey brayed 495loudly inside the stable. "But I can hear it bray, over there." "Whom 496do you believe," asked Nasrudin, "me or a donkey?" 497% 498A new dramatist of the absurd 499Has a voice that will shortly be heard. 500 I learn from my spies 501 He's about to devise 502An unprintable three-letter word. 503% 504A new koan: 505 506 If you have some ice cream, I will give it to you. 507 508 If you have no ice cream, I will take it away from you. 509 510It is an ice cream koan. 511% 512A new supply of round tuits has arrived and are available from Mary. 513Anyone who has been putting off work until they got a round tuit now 514has no excuse for further procrastination. 515% 516A New York City judge ruled that if two women behind you at the movies 517insist on discussing the probable outcome of the film, you have the 518right to turn around and blow a Bronx cheer at them. 519% 520A New York City ordinance prohibits the shooting of rabbits from the 521rear of a Third Avenue street car -- if the car is in motion. 522% 523 A novel approach is to remove all power from the system, which 524removes most system overhead so that resources can be fully devoted to 525doing nothing. Benchmarks on this technique are promising; tremendous 526amounts of nothing can be produced in this manner. Certain hardware 527limitations can limit the speed of this method, especially in the 528larger systems which require a more involved & less efficient 529power-down sequence. 530 An alternate approach is to pull the main breaker for the 531building, which seems to provide even more nothing, but in truth has 532bugs in it, since it usually inhibits the systems which keep the beer 533cool. 534% 535A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power 536off and on. Knight, seeing what the student was doing spoke sternly: 537"You can not fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no 538understanding of what is going wrong." Knight turned the machine off 539and on. The machine worked. 540% 541A nuclear war can ruin your whole day. 542% 543A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space. 544 -- Gloria Steinem 545% 546A penny saved is ridiculous. 547% 548A person is just about as big as the things that make him angry. 549% 550A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms. 551 -- George Wald 552% 553A pig is a jolly companion, 554Boar, sow, barrow, or gilt -- 555A pig is a pal, who'll boost your morale, 556Though mountains may topple and tilt. 557When they've blackballed, bamboozled, and burned you, 558When they've turned on you, Tory and Whig, 559Though you may be thrown over by Tabby and Rover, 560You'll never go wrong with a pig, a pig, 561You'll never go wrong with a pig! 562 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 563% 564 A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling 565 by Mark Twain 566 567 For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped 568to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer 569be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained 570would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 571might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the 572same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with 573"i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all. 574 Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear 575with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 576or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. 577Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi 578ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz 579ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli. 580 Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud 581hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. 582% 583"A power so great, it can only be used for Good or Evil!" 584 -- Firesign Theatre, "The Giant Rat of Sumatra" 585% 586A priest asked: What is Fate, Master? 587 588And the Master answered: 589 590It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence. 591 592It is that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs. 593 594It is that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City 595upon which carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come 596to be built to stave off Hunger, Thirst and Weariness. 597 598And that is Fate? said the priest. 599 600Fate ... I thought you said Freight, responded the Master. 601 602That's all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was 603too. 604 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 605% 606 A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came 607upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. 608"That's what I like to see", said the priest, "A man helping his fellow 609man". 610 As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, "Well, 611he sure doesn't know the first thing about shark fishing." 612% 613A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep. 614% 615"A programmer is a person who passes as an exacting expert on the basis 616of being able to turn out, after innumerable punching, an infinite 617series of incomprehensive answers calculated with micrometric 618precisions from vague assumptions based on debatable figures taken from 619inconclusive documents and carried out on instruments of problematical 620accuracy by persons of dubious reliability and questionable mentality 621for the avowed purpose of annoying and confounding a hopelessly 622defenseless department that was unfortunate enough to ask for the 623information in the first place." 624 -- IEEE Grid news magazine 625% 626A psychiatrist is a person who will give you expensive answers that 627your wife will give you for free. 628% 629A public debt is a kind of anchor in the storm; but if the anchor be 630too heavy for the vessel, she will be sunk by that very weight which 631was intended for her preservation. 632 -- Colton 633% 634A putt that stops close enough to the cup to inspire such comments as 635"you could blow it in" may be blown in. This rule does not apply if 636the ball is more than three inches from the hole, because no one wants 637to make a travesty of the game. 638 -- Donald A. Metz 639% 640"A raccoon tangled with a 23,000 volt line today. The results blacked 641out 1400 homes and, of course, one raccoon." 642 -- Steel City News 643% 644"A radioactive cat has eighteen half-lives." 645% 646A reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 20: 647 648Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, 649"Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny 650bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the 651lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and 652breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the 653Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of 654the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt 655thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then 656proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being 657the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand 658Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, 659shall snuff it." 660 -- Monty Python, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" 661% 662A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices 663that the system works. 664% 665A real person has two reasons for doing anything ... a good reason and 666the real reason. 667% 668A recent study has found that concentrating on difficult off-screen 669objects, such as the faces of loved ones, causes eye strain in computer 670scientists. Researchers into the phenomenon cite the added 671concentration needed to "make sense" of such unnatural three 672dimensional objects ... 673% 674A Riverside, California, health ordinance states that two persons may 675not kiss each other without first wiping their lips with carbolized 676rosewater. 677% 678A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man 679contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. 680 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 681% 682A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will 683keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those 684that are worth committing. 685 -- Samuel Butler 686% 687 A Severe Strain on the Credulity 688 689As a method of sending a missile to the higher, and even to the highest 690parts of the earth's atmospheric envelope, Professor Goddard's rocket 691is a practicable and therefore promising device. It is when one 692considers the multiple-charge rocket as a traveler to the moon that one 693begins to doubt ... for after the rocket quits our air and really 694starts on its journey, its flight would be neither accelerated nor 695maintained by the explosion of the charges it then might have left. 696Professor Goddard, with his "chair" in Clark College and countenancing 697of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action to 698re-action, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum 699against which to react ... Of course he only seems to lack the 700knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. 701 -- New York Times Editorial, 1920 702% 703A sine curve goes off to infinity or at least the end of the blackboard. 704 -- Prof. Steiner 705% 706... A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he 707was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity. 708 -- Mark Twain 709% 710A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. 711 -- O'Henry 712% 713A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many 714bad measures. 715 -- Daniel Webster 716% 717A student who changes the course of history is probably taking an 718exam. 719% 720A student, in hopes of understanding the Lambda-nature, came to 721Greenblatt. As they spoke a Multics system hacker walked by. "Is it 722true," asked the student, "that PL-1 has many of the same data types as 723Lisp?" Almost before the student had finished his question, Greenblatt 724shouted, "FOO!", and hit the student with a stick. 725% 726A successful [software] tool is one that was used to do something 727undreamed of by its author. 728 -- S. C. Johnson 729% 730A system admin's life is a sorry one. The only advantage he has over 731Emergency Room doctors is that malpractice suits are rare. On the 732other hand, ER doctors never have to deal with patients installing 733new versions of their own innards! 734 -- Michael O'Brien 735% 736A tautology is a thing which is tautological. 737% 738A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, 739and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others. 740 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 741% 742A transistor protected by a fast-acting fuse will protect the fuse by 743blowing first. 744% 745A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene 746triangle. 747% 748A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. 749% 750A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest 751in students. 752 -- John Ciardi 753% 754"A University without students is like an ointment without a fly." 755 -- Ed Nather, professor of astronomy at UT Austin 756% 757A UNIX saleslady, Lenore, 758Enjoys work, but she likes the beach more. 759 She found a good way 760 To combine work and play: 761She sells C shells by the seashore. 762% 763A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature 764replaces it with. 765 -- Tennessee Williams 766% 767A very intelligent turtle 768Found programming UNIX a hurdle 769 The system, you see, 770 Ran as slow as did he, 771And that's not saying much for the turtle. 772% 773A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without 774getting nervous. 775% 776A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets 777people's attention. 778% 779A witty saying proves nothing. 780 -- Voltaire 781% 782A wizard cannot do everything; a fact most magicians are reticent to 783admit, let alone discuss with prospective clients. Still, the fact 784remains that there are certain objects, and people, that are, for one 785reason or another, completely immune to any direct magical spell. It 786is for this group of beings that the magician learns the subtleties of 787using indirect spells. It also does no harm, in dealing with these 788matters, to carry a large club near your person at all times. 789 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VIII 790% 791A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God. 792% 793A.A.A.A.A.: 794 An organization for drunks who drive 795% 796AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!!!!!!!!! 797You brute! Knock before entering a ladies room! 798% 799Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy. 800% 801About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends. 802 -- Herbert Hoover 803% 804Absence makes the heart go wander. 805% 806Absent, adj.: 807 Exposed to the attacks of friends and acquaintances; defamed; 808slandered. 809% 810Absentee, n.: 811 A person with an income who has had the forethought to remove 812himself from the sphere of exaction. 813 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 814% 815Abstainer, n.: 816 A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a 817pleasure. 818 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 819% 820Absurdity, n.: 821 A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own 822opinion. 823 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 824% 825Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, 826because the stakes are so low. 827 -- Wallace Sayre 828% 829Accident, n.: 830 A condition in which presence of mind is good, but absence of 831body is better. 832 -- Foolish Dictionary 833% 834Accidents cause History. 835 836If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyler, the 837Peasant's Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not 838have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil 839could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and 840the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd. 841 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 842% 843According to Arkansas law, Section 4761, Pope's Digest: "No person 844shall be permitted under any pretext whatever, to come nearer than 845fifty feet of any door or window of any polling room, from the opening 846of the polls until the completion of the count and the certification of 847the returns." 848% 849According to Kentucky state law, every person must take a bath at least 850once a year. 851% 852According to my best recollection, I don't remember. 853 -- Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo 854% 855According to the latest official figures, 43% of all statistics are 856totally worthless. 857% 858According to the obituary notices, a mean and unimportant person never 859dies. 860% 861According to the Rand McNally Places-Rated Almanac, the best place to 862live in America is the city of Pittsburgh. The city of New York came 863in twenty-fifth. Here in New York we really don't care too much. 864Because we know that we could beat up their city anytime. 865 -- David Letterman 866% 867Accordion, n.: 868 A bagpipe with pleats. 869% 870Accuracy, n.: 871 The vice of being right. 872% 873 ACHTUNG!!! 874 875Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy 876schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit 877spitzensparken. Ist nicht fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das 878rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands in das pockets. Relaxen und 879vatch das blinkenlights!!! 880% 881Acid -- better living through chemistry. 882% 883Acid absorbs 47 times its weight in excess Reality. 884% 885Acquaintance, n.: 886 A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well 887enough to lend to. 888 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 889% 890Acting is an art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing. 891% 892Actor: "I'm a smash hit. Why, yesterday during the last act, I had 893 everyone glued in their seats!" 894Oliver Herford: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Clever of you to think of 895 it!" 896% 897Actor: So what do you do for a living? 898Doris: I work for a company that makes deceptively shallow serving 899 dishes for Chinese restaurants. 900 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 901% 902Actors will happen even in the best-regulated families. 903% 904ADA, n.: 905 Something you need only know the name of to be an Expert in 906Computing. Useful in sentences like, "We had better develop an ADA 907awareness." 908 -- "Datamation", January 15, 1984 909% 910Admiration, n.: 911 Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves. 912 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 913% 914Adolescence, n.: 915 The stage between puberty and adultery. 916% 917"Adopted kids are such a pain -- you have to teach them how to look 918like you ..." 919 -- Gilda Radner 920% 921Adore, v.: 922 To venerate expectantly. 923 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 924% 925Adult, n.: 926 One old enough to know better. 927% 928Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest 929way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. 930 -- Sinclair Lewis 931% 932Advice to young men: Be ascetic, and if you can't be ascetic, 933then at least be aseptic. 934% 935After [Benjamin] Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose 936names have become part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary 937Louise Amp, James Watt, Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted 938many important electrical experiments. For example, in 1780 Luigi 939Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when he attached two 940different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical current 941developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer 942attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led 943to enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, 944skilled veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously 945injured or killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it 946hop back into the pond just like a normal frog, except for the fact 947that it sinks like a stone. 948 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 949% 950After a few boring years, socially meaningful rock 'n' roll died out. 951It was replaced by disco, which offers no guidance to any form of life 952more advanced than the lichen family. 953 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 954% 955After a number of decimal places, nobody gives a damn. 956% 957"... After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known 958quotations." 959 -- H. L. Mencken, on Shakespeare 960% 961After all, what is your hosts' purpose in having a party? Surely not 962for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have 963simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi. 964 -- P. J. O'Rourke 965% 966After an instrument has been assembled, extra components will be found 967on the bench. 968% 969 After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from 970Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, 971and turned to God and said, "A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon 972to be created." 973 "This is true," He replied. 974 "He will need laws," said the Demon slyly. 975 "What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the 976right to make his laws?" 977 "Oh, no!" Satan replied, "I ask only that he be allowed to 978make his own." 979 It was so granted. 980 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 981% 982"After I asked him what he meant, he replied that freedom consisted of 983the unimpeded right to get rich, to use his ability, no matter what the 984cost to others, to win advancement." 985 -- Norman Thomas 986% 987After I run your program, let's make love like crazed weasels, OK? 988% 989After living in New York, you trust nobody, but you believe 990everything. Just in case. 991% 992After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access 993cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been 994removed. 995% 996Afternoon very favorable for romance. Try a single person for a 997change. 998% 999Afternoon, n.: 1000 That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted the 1001morning. 1002% 1003Age before beauty; and pearls before swine. 1004 -- Dorothy Parker 1005% 1006Age, n.: 1007 That period of life in which we compound for the vices that we 1008still cherish by reviling those that we no longer have the enterprise 1009to commit. 1010 -- Ambrose Bierce 1011% 1012Ah say, son, you're about as sharp as a bowlin' ball. 1013% 1014Ah, but the choice of dreams to live, 1015there's the rub. 1016 1017For all dreams are not equal, 1018some exit to nightmare 1019most end with the dreamer 1020 1021But at least one must be lived ... and died. 1022% 1023"Ah, you know the type. They like to blame it all on the Jews or the 1024Blacks, 'cause if they couldn't, they'd have to wake up to the fact 1025that life's one big, scary, glorious, complex and ultimately 1026unfathomable crapshoot -- and the only reason THEY can't seem to keep 1027up is they're a bunch of misfits and losers." 1028 -- A analysis of Neo-Nazis, from "The Badger" comic 1029% 1030Air is water with holes in it. 1031% 1032Alas, I am dying beyond my means. 1033 -- Oscar Wilde, as he sipped champagne on his deathbed 1034% 1035Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied: "You see, wire 1036telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New 1037York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? 1038And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they 1039receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." 1040% 1041Alden's Laws: 1042 (1) Giving away baby clothes and furniture is the major cause 1043 of pregnancy. 1044 (2) Always be backlit. 1045 (3) Sit down whenever possible. 1046% 1047Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall, 1048Aleph-null bottles of beer, 1049 You take one down, and pass it around, 1050Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall. 1051% 1052Alex Haley was adopted! 1053% 1054Alexander Graham Bell is alive and well in New York, and still waiting 1055for a dial tone. 1056% 1057Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of 1058them keeps paying for it. 1059 -- Peggy Joyce 1060% 1061All [zoos] actually offer to the public in return for the taxes spent 1062upon them is a form of idle and witless amusement, compared to which a 1063visit to a penitentiary, or even to a State legislature in session, is 1064informing, stimulating and ennobling. 1065 -- H. L. Mencken 1066% 1067All bridge hands are equally likely, but some are more equally likely 1068than others. 1069 -- Alan Truscott 1070% 1071All extremists should be taken out and shot. 1072% 1073All Finagle Laws may be bypassed by learning the simple art of doing 1074without thinking. 1075% 1076"All flesh is grass" 1077 -- Isaiah 1078Smoke a friend today. 1079% 1080All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. 1081% 1082All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own 1083importance. 1084% 1085All I can think of is a platter of organic PRUNE CRISPS being trampled 1086by an army of swarthy, Italian LOUNGE SINGERS ... 1087% 1088All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power. 1089 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 1090% 1091All men are mortal. Socrates was mortal. Therefore, all men are 1092Socrates. 1093 -- Woody Allen 1094% 1095"All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us 1096sane." 1097% 1098"All my life I wanted to be someone; I guess I should have been more 1099specific." 1100 -- Jane Wagner 1101% 1102All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies. 1103 -- The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1104% 1105All other things being equal, a bald man cannot be elected President of 1106the United States. 1107 -- Vic Gold 1108% 1109All power corrupts, but we need electricity. 1110% 1111All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors. 1112% 1113All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of 1114every organism to live beyond its income. 1115 -- Samuel Butler, "Notebooks" 1116% 1117All science is either physics or stamp collecting. 1118 -- E. Rutherford 1119% 1120"All snakes who wish to remain in Ireland will please raise their right 1121hands." 1122 -- Saint Patrick 1123% 1124All syllogisms have three parts; therefore this is not a syllogism. 1125% 1126All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, 1127too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you 1128subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you 1129can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. 1130Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax 1131decision: "Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What 1132if it rains?" 1133 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 1134% 1135"... all the modern inconveniences ..." 1136 -- Mark Twain 1137% 1138All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most 1139ridiculous ones. 1140 -- La Rochefoucauld 1141% 1142All the taxes paid over a lifetime by the average American are spent by 1143the government in less than a second. 1144 -- Jim Fiebig 1145% 1146All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. 1147 -- Sean O'Casey 1148% 1149All the world's a VAX, 1150And all the coders merely butchers; 1151They have their exits and their entrails; 1152And one int in his time plays many widths, 1153His sizeof being _N bytes. At first the infant, 1154Mewling and puking in the Regent's arms. 1155And then the whining schoolboy, with his Sun, 1156And shining morning face, creeping like slug 1157Unwillingly to school. 1158 -- A Very Annoyed PDP-11 1159% 1160All theoretical chemistry is really physics; 1161and all theoretical chemists know it. 1162 -- Richard P. Feynman 1163% 1164All things are possible, except skiing thru a revolving door. 1165% 1166All this wheeling and dealing around, why, it isn't for money, it's for 1167fun. Money's just the way we keep score. 1168 -- Henry Tyroon 1169% 1170All true wisdom is found on T-shirts. 1171% 1172All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers ... Each one owes 1173infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in 1174which he was born. 1175 -- Francois Fenelon 1176% 1177Alliance, n.: 1178 In international politics, the union of two thieves who have 1179their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot 1180separately plunder a third. 1181 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1182% 1183Alone, adj.: 1184 In bad company. 1185 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1186% 1187Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight 1188Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. 1189 -- Dave Barry 1190% 1191Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away. 1192% 1193Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, 1194mixers, etc., for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have 1195any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place 1196to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, 1197Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a 1198serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the 1199same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely 1200that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as "A 1201penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job 1202running the post office. 1203 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 1204% 1205Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been 1206reissued by the Grove Press, and this pictorial account of the 1207day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is full of considerable 1208interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on 1209pheasant-raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, 1210and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. 1211Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous 1212material in order to discover and savour those sidelights on the 1213management of a midland shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion 1214the book cannot take the place of J. R. Miller's "Practical 1215Gamekeeping." 1216 -- Ed Zern, "Field and Stream" (Nov. 1959) 1217% 1218Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid 1219back. 1220% 1221Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. 1222% 1223"Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing 1224that way." 1225% 1226Am I ranting? I hope so. My ranting gets raves. 1227% 1228 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1229 1230If all the salmon caught in Canada in one year were laid end to end 1231across the Sahara Desert, the smell would be absolutely awful. 1232% 1233 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1234 1235There is so much sand in Northern Africa that if it were spread out it 1236would completely cover the Sahara Desert. 1237% 1238Ambidextrous, adj.: 1239 Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. 1240 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1241% 1242Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. 1243 -- Charlie McCarthy 1244% 1245America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism 1246to decadence without touching civilization. 1247 -- John O'Hara 1248% 1249America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, 1250until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and 1251changed its name to "America". 1252 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 1253% 1254American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective 1255employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for 1256employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference 1257between the men's room and the women's room without having little 1258pictures on the doors. 1259 -- Dave Barry, "Urine Trouble, Mister" 1260% 1261"Amnesia used to be my favorite word, but then I forgot it." 1262% 1263An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because 1264people refuse to see it. 1265 -- James Michener, "Space" 1266% 1267An American's a person who isn't afraid to criticize the President but 1268is always polite to traffic cops. 1269% 1270An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to 1271New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they have Tide but 1272not new Tide with lemon-fresh Borax. 1273 -- David Letterman 1274% 1275An apple every eight hours will keep three doctors away. 1276% 1277 An architect's first work is apt to be spare and clean. He 1278knows he doesn't know what he's doing, so he does it carefully and with 1279great restraint. 1280 As he designs the first work, frill after frill and 1281embellishment after embellishment occur to him. These get stored away 1282to be used "next time". Sooner or later the first system is finished, 1283and the architect, with firm confidence and a demonstrated mastery of 1284that class of systems, is ready to build a second system. 1285 This second is the most dangerous system a man ever designs. 1286When he does his third and later ones, his prior experiences will 1287confirm each other as to the general characteristics of such systems, 1288and their differences will identify those parts of his experience that 1289are particular and not generalizable. 1290 The general tendency is to over-design the second system, using 1291all the ideas and frills that were cautiously sidetracked on the first 1292one. The result, as Ovid says, is a "big pile". 1293 -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month" 1294% 1295An artist should be fit for the best society and keep out of it. 1296% 1297An attorney was defending his client against a charge of first-degree 1298murder. "Your Honor, my client is accused of stuffing his lover's 1299mutilated body into a suitcase and heading for the Mexican border. 1300Just north of Tijuana a cop spotted her hand sticking out of the 1301suitcase. Now, I would like to stress that my client is *not* a 1302murderer. A sloppy packer, maybe..." 1303% 1304An authority is a person who can tell you more about something than you 1305really care to know. 1306% 1307An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible. 1308% 1309An elephant is a mouse with an operating system. 1310% 1311An English judge, growing weary of the barrister's long-winded 1312summation, leaned over the bench and remarked, "I've heard your 1313arguments, Sir Geoffrey, and I'm none the wiser!" Sir Geoffrey 1314responded, "That may be, Milord, but at least you're better informed!" 1315% 1316An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose. 1317 -- A. P. Herbert 1318% 1319An excellence-oriented '80s male does not wear a regular watch. He 1320wears a Rolex watch, because it weighs nearly six pounds and is 1321advertised only in excellence-oriented publications such as Fortune and 1322Rich Protestant Golfer Magazine. The advertisements are written in 1323incomplete sentences, which is how advertising copywriters denote 1324excellence: 1325 1326"The Rolex Hyperion. An elegant new standard in quality excellence and 1327discriminating handcraftsmanship. For the individual who is truly able 1328to discriminate with regard to excellent quality standards of crafting 1329things by hand. Fabricated of 100 percent 24-karat gold. No watch 1330parts or anything. Just a great big chunk on your wrist. Truly a 1331timeless statement. For the individual who is very secure. Who 1332doesn't need to be reminded all the time that he is very successful. 1333Much more successful than the people who laughed at him in high 1334school. Because of his acne. People who are probably nowhere near as 1335successful as he is now. Maybe he'll go to his 20th reunion, and 1336they'll see his Rolex Hyperion. Hahahahahahahahaha." 1337 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 1338% 1339An exotic journey in downtown Newark is in your future. 1340% 1341"... an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often 1342picturesque liar." 1343 -- Mark Twain 1344% 1345An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these 1346eyes we cannot bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as 1347possible. 1348 -- Russell Hoban, "Pilgermann" 1349% 1350An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. 1351% 1352 An old Jewish man reads about Einstein's theory of relativity 1353in the newspaper and asks his scientist grandson to explain it to him. 1354 "Well, zayda, it's sort of like this. Einstein says that if 1355you're having your teeth drilled without Novocain, a minute seems like 1356an hour. But if you're sitting with a beautiful woman on your lap, an 1357hour seems like a minute." 1358 The old man considers this profound bit of thinking for a 1359moment and says, "And from this he makes a living?" 1360 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 1361% 1362"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of purge." 1363% 1364Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it's better than no 1365government at all. 1366% 1367And as we stand on the edge of darkness 1368Let our chant fill the void 1369That others may know 1370 1371 In the land of the night 1372 The ship of the sun 1373 Is drawn by 1374 The grateful dead. 1375 1376 -- Tibetan "Book of the Dead," ca. 4000 BC. 1377% 1378... and furthermore ... I don't like your trousers. 1379% 1380And I heard Jeff exclaim, 1381As they strolled out of sight, 1382"Merry Christmas to all -- 1383You take credit cards, right?" 1384 -- "Outsiders" comic 1385% 1386... And malt does more than Milton can 1387To justify God's ways to man 1388 -- A. E. Housman 1389% 1390And on the seventh day, He exited from append mode. 1391% 1392"... And remember: if you don't like the news, go out and make some of 1393your own." 1394 -- "Scoop" Nisker, KFOG radio reporter 1395 Preposterous Words 1396% 1397And so, men, we can see that human skin is an even more complex and 1398fascinating organ than we thought it was, and if we want to keep it 1399looking good, we have to care for it as though it were our own. One 1400approach is to undergo a painful surgical procedure wherein your skin 1401is turned inside-out, so the young cells are on the outside, but then 1402of course you have the unpleasant side effect that your insides 1403gradually fill up with dead old cells and you explode. So this 1404procedure is pretty much limited to top Hollywood stars for whom 1405youthful beauty is a career necessity, such as Elizabeth Taylor and 1406Orson Welles. 1407 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 1408% 1409"...and the fully armed nuclear warheads, are, of course, merely a 1410courtesy detail." 1411% 1412And this is a table ma'am. What in essence it consists of is a 1413horizontal rectilinear plane surface maintained by four vertical 1414columnar supports, which we call legs. The tables in this laboratory, 1415ma'am, are as advanced in design as one will find anywhere in the 1416world. 1417 -- Michael Frayn, "The Tin Men" 1418% 1419 "And what will you do when you grow up to be as big as me?" 1420asked the father of his little son. 1421 "Diet." 1422% 1423And yet, seasons must be taken with a grain of salt, for they too have 1424a sense of humor, as does history. Corn stalks comedy, comedy stalks 1425tragedy, and this too is historic. And yet, still, when corn meets 1426tragedy face to face, we have politics. 1427 -- Dalglish, Larsen and Sutherland, "Root Crops and 1428 Ground Cover" 1429% 1430Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes. 1431Galileo: No, unhappy the land that _____needs heroes. 1432 -- Bertholt Brecht, "Life of Galileo" 1433% 1434Angels we have heard on High 1435Tell us to go out and Buy. 1436 -- Tom Lehrer 1437% 1438Ankh if you love Isis. 1439% 1440Anoint, v.: 1441 To grease a king or other great functionary already 1442sufficiently slippery. 1443 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1444% 1445 Another Glitch in the Call 1446 ------- ------ -- --- ---- 1447 (Sung to the tune of a recent Pink Floyd song.) 1448 1449We don't need no indirection 1450We don't need no flow control 1451No data typing or declarations 1452Did you leave the lists alone? 1453 1454 Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone! 1455 1456Chorus: 1457 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1458 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1459% 1460Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 1461% 1462Another possible source of guidance for teenagers is television, but 1463television's message has always been that the need for truth, wisdom 1464and world peace pales by comparison with the need for a toothpaste that 1465offers whiter teeth *___and* fresher breath. 1466 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 1467% 1468 Answers to Last Fortune's Questions: 1469 1470(1) None. (Moses didn't have an ark). 1471(2) Your mother, by the pigeonhole principle. 1472(3) I don't know. 1473(4) Who cares? 1474(5) 6 (or maybe 4, or else 3). Mr. Alfred J. Duncan of Podunk, 1475 Montana, submitted an interesting solution to Problem 5. 1476(6) There is an interesting solution to this problem on page 1029 of my 1477 book, which you can pick up for $23.95 at finer bookstores and 1478 bathroom supply outlets (or 99 cents at the table in front of 1479 Papyrus Books). 1480% 1481Anthony's Law of Force: 1482 Don't force it; get a larger hammer. 1483% 1484Anthony's Law of the Workshop: 1485 Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible 1486 corner of the workshop. 1487 1488Corollary: 1489 On the way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike 1490 your toes. 1491% 1492Antonym, n.: 1493 The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. 1494% 1495Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art. 1496 -- Charles McCabe 1497% 1498Any dramatic series the producers want us to take seriously as a 1499representation of contemporary reality cannot be taken seriously as a 1500representation of anything -- except a show to be ignored by anyone 1501capable of sitting upright in a chair and chewing gum simultaneously. 1502 -- Richard Schickel 1503% 1504Any excuse will serve a tyrant. 1505 -- Aesop 1506% 1507Any father who thinks he's all important should remind himself that 1508this country honors fathers only one day a year while pickles get a 1509whole week. 1510% 1511Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to 1512sell it. 1513% 1514Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche 1515-- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, 1516my grandmother used to say, "The black cat is always the last one off 1517the fence." I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was 1518undoubtedly true. 1519 -- Solomon Short 1520% 1521Any philosophy that can be put "in a nutshell" belongs there. 1522 -- Sydney J. Harris 1523% 1524Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a larger 1525object. 1526% 1527Any stone in your boot always migrates against the pressure gradient to 1528exactly the point of most pressure. 1529 -- Milt Barber 1530% 1531Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature. 1532 -- Rich Kulawiec 1533% 1534Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged 1535demo. 1536% 1537Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. 1538 -- Arthur C. Clarke 1539% 1540Any time things appear to be going better, you have overlooked 1541something. 1542% 1543Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours. 1544 -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1545% 1546Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry. 1547% 1548Anybody who doesn't cut his speed at the sight of a police car is 1549probably parked. 1550% 1551Anybody with money to burn will easily find someone to tend the fire. 1552% 1553Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is 1554supposed to be doing at the moment. 1555 -- Robert Benchley 1556% 1557Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. 1558 -- Publius Syrus 1559% 1560Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with 1561none. 1562% 1563Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he 1564is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not 1565make messes in the house. 1566 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1567% 1568Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. 1569 -- Samuel Goldwyn 1570% 1571Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. 1572 -- W. C. Fields 1573% 1574Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no 1575account be allowed to do the job. 1576 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 1577% 1578Anyone who uses the phrase "easy as taking candy from a baby" has never 1579tried taking candy from a baby. 1580 -- Robin Hood 1581% 1582Anything free is worth what you pay for it. 1583% 1584Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. 1585% 1586Anything labeled "NEW" and/or "IMPROVED" isn't. The label means the 1587price went up. The label "ALL NEW", "COMPLETELY NEW", or "GREAT NEW" 1588means the price went way up. 1589% 1590Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate. 1591% 1592Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. 1593% 1594"Apathy is not the problem, it's the solution" 1595% 1596Aphorism, n.: 1597 A concise, clever statement. 1598Afterism, n.: 1599 A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late. 1600 -- James Alexander Thom 1601% 1602APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of 1603the future for the problems of the past: it creates a new generation of 1604coding bums. 1605% 1606APL is a write-only language. I can write programs in APL, but I 1607can't read any of them. 1608 -- Roy Keir 1609% 1610Aquadextrous, adj.: 1611 Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off 1612with your toes. 1613 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1614% 1615AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 1616 You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. 1617 You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to 1618 be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same 1619 mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. 1620% 1621Arbitrary systems, pl.n.: 1622 Systems about which nothing general can be said, save "nothing 1623general can be said." 1624% 1625ARCHDUKE FERDINAND FOUND ALIVE -- 1626 FIRST WORLD WAR A MISTAKE 1627% 1628Are you a turtle? 1629% 1630"Arguments with furniture are rarely productive." 1631 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 1632% 1633ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) 1634 You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You 1635 are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are 1636 not very nice. 1637% 1638Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your 1639shoes. 1640 -- Mickey Mouse 1641% 1642Armadillo: 1643 To provide weapons to a Spanish pickle 1644% 1645Arnold's Laws of Documentation: 1646 (1) If it should exist, it doesn't. 1647 (2) If it does exist, it's out of date. 1648 (3) Only documentation for useless programs transcends the 1649 first two laws. 1650% 1651Around computers it is difficult to find the correct unit of time to 1652measure progress. Some cathedrals took a century to complete. Can you 1653imagine the grandeur and scope of a program that would take as long? 1654 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 1655% 1656Art is anything you can get away with. 1657 -- Marshall McLuhan. 1658% 1659Art is either plagiarism or revolution. 1660 -- Paul Gauguin 1661% 1662Arthur's Laws of Love: 1663 (1) People to whom you are attracted invariably think you 1664 remind them of someone else. 1665 (2) The love letter you finally got the courage to send will be 1666 delayed in the mail long enough for you to make a fool of 1667 yourself in person. 1668% 1669Artistic ventures highlighted. Rob a museum. 1670% 1671As a professional humorist, I often get letters from readers who are 1672interested in the basic nature of humor. "What kind of a sick 1673perverted disgusting person are you," these letters typically ask, 1674"that you make jokes about setting fire to a goat?" 1675 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 1676% 1677As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual 1678certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I 1679became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can 1680meet girls. 1681 -- Matt Cartmill 1682% 1683As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not 1684certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. 1685 -- Albert Einstein 1686% 1687As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error. 1688 -- Weisert 1689% 1690As I was going up Punch Card Hill, 1691 Feeling worse and worser, 1692There I met a C.R.T. 1693 And it drop't me a cursor. 1694 1695C.R.T., C.R.T., 1696 Phosphors light on you! 1697If I had fifty hours a day 1698 I'd spend them all at you. 1699 1700 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 1701% 1702As I was passing Project MAC, 1703I met a Quux with seven hacks. 1704Every hack had seven bugs; 1705Every bug had seven manifestations; 1706Every manifestation had seven symptoms. 1707Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and hacks, 1708How many losses at Project MAC? 1709% 1710As long as I am mayor of this city [Jersey City, New Jersey] the great 1711industries are secure. We hear about constitutional rights, free 1712speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to 1713myself, "That man is a Red, that man is a Communist". You never hear a 1714real American talk like that. 1715 -- Frank Hague (1896-1956) 1716% 1717As long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? 1718% 1719As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its 1720fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be 1721popular. 1722 -- Oscar Wilde 1723% 1724As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. 1725% 1726"As part of the conversion, computer specialists rewrote 1,500 1727programs; a process that traditionally requires some debugging." 1728 -- USA Today, referring to the IRS switchover to a new 1729 computer system. 1730% 1731As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it 1732wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had 1733to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized 1734that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in 1735finding mistakes in my own programs. 1736 -- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949 1737% 1738As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" -- probably because it's 1739so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. 1740 -- Woody Allen 1741% 1742As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there 1743is always a future in Computer Maintenance. 1744 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1745% 1746As Will Rogers would have said, "There is no such thing as a free 1747variable." 1748% 1749As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple 1750memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time 1751to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, 1752E, or U is the proper time for chocolate. 1753 -- Sandra Boynton, "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" 1754% 1755As you know, birds do not have sexual organs because they would 1756interfere with flight. [In fact, this was the big breakthrough for the 1757Wright Brothers. They were watching birds one day, trying to figure 1758out how to get their crude machine to fly, when suddenly it dawned on 1759Wilbur. "Orville," he said, "all we have to do is remove the sexual 1760organs!" You should have seen their original design.] As a result, 1761birds are very, very difficult to arouse sexually. You almost never 1762see an aroused bird. So when they want to reproduce, birds fly up and 1763stand on telephone lines, where they monitor telephone conversations 1764with their feet. When they find a conversation in which people are 1765talking dirty, they grip the line very tightly until they are both 1766highly aroused, at which point the female gets pregnant. 1767 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 1768 Teen Should Know" 1769% 1770As you reach for the web, a venomous spider appears. Unable to pull 1771your hand away in time, the spider promptly, but politely, bites you. 1772The venom takes affect quickly causing your lips to turn plaid along 1773with your complexion. You become dazed, and in your stupor you fall 1774from the limbs of the tree. Snap! Your head falls off and rolls all 1775over the ground. The instant before you croak, you hear the whoosh of 1776a vacuum being filled by the air surrounding your head. Worse yet, the 1777spider is suing you for damages. 1778% 1779As Zeus said to Narcissus, "Watch yourself." 1780% 1781ASHes to ASHes, DOS to DOS. 1782% 1783Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if 1784one went to Harvard). 1785 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 1786% 1787Ask not for whom the <CONTROL-G> tolls. 1788% 1789Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the 1790Station-to-Station rate. 1791% 1792Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls ... if thou art in the 1793bathtub, it tolls for thee. 1794% 1795Ask your boss to reconsider -- it's so difficult to take "Go to hell" 1796for an answer. 1797% 1798"Asked by reporters about his upcoming marriage to a forty-two-year-old 1799woman, director Roman Polanski told reporters, `The way I look at it, 1800she's the equivalent of three fourteen-year-olds.'" 1801 -- David Letterman 1802% 1803Ass, n.: 1804 The masculine of "lass". 1805% 1806Associate with well-mannered persons and your manners will improve. 1807Run with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be 1808strengthened. Keep the company of bums and you will become a bum. 1809Hang around with rich people and you will end by picking up the check 1810and dying broke. 1811 -- Stanley Walker 1812% 1813"At a recent meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, a participant from Los 1814Angeles fainted from hyperoxygenation, and we had to hold his head 1815under the exhaust of a bus until he revived." 1816% 1817At any given moment, an arrow must be either where it is or where it is 1818not. But obviously it cannot be where it is not. And if it is where 1819it is, that is equivalent to saying that it is at rest. 1820 -- Zeno's paradox of the moving (still?) arrow 1821% 1822At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial 1823challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. 1824 -- The Washington Post Magazine, June 9, 1985 1825% 1826... at least I thought I was dancing, 'til somebody stepped on my hand. 1827 -- J. B. White 1828% 1829"At least they're ___________EXPERIENCED incompetents" 1830% 1831At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his 1832thumb with a hammer. 1833 -- Marshall Lumsden 1834% 1835At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will 1836find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on 1837the computer. 1838% 1839Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole 1840or street lamp. 1841% 1842Atlee is a very modest man. And with reason. 1843 -- Winston Churchill 1844% 1845Authors (and perhaps columnists) eventually rise to the top of whatever 1846depths they were once able to plumb. 1847 -- Stanley Kaufman 1848% 1849Automobile, n.: 1850 A four-wheeled vehicle that runs up hills and down pedestrians. 1851% 1852Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep. 1853 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1854% 1855Avoid reality at all costs. 1856% 1857Avoid revolution or expect to get shot. Mother and I will grieve, but 1858we will gladly buy a dinner for the National Guardsman who shot you. 1859 -- Dr. Paul Williamson, father of a student entering 1860 school in the fall after the Kent State shootings 1861% 1862Bacchus, n.: 1863 A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for 1864getting drunk. 1865 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1866% 1867Bagbiter: 1868 1. n.; Equipment or program that fails, usually 1869intermittently. 2. adj.: Failing hardware or software. "This 1870bagbiting system won't let me get out of spacewar." Usage: verges on 1871obscenity. Grammatically separable; one may speak of "biting the 1872bag". Synonyms: LOSER, LOSING, CRETINOUS, BLETCHEROUS, BARFUCIOUS, 1873CHOMPER, CHOMPING. 1874% 1875Bagdikian's Observation: 1876 Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American 1877newspaper is like trying to play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on a 1878ukulele. 1879% 1880Baker's First Law of Federal Geometry: 1881 A block grant is a solid mass of money surrounded on all sides 1882by governors. 1883% 1884Ban the bomb. Save the world for conventional warfare. 1885% 1886Banectomy, n.: 1887 The removal of bruises on a banana. 1888 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1889% 1890Bank error in your favor. Collect $200. 1891% 1892Barach's Rule: 1893 An alcoholic is a person who drinks more than his own physician. 1894% 1895Bare feet magnetize sharp metal objects so they point upward from the 1896floor -- especially in the dark. 1897% 1898Barometer, n.: 1899 An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we 1900are having. 1901 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1902% 1903Barth's Distinction: 1904 There are two types of people: those who divide people into two 1905types, and those who don't. 1906% 1907Baruch's Observation: 1908 If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 1909% 1910Baseball is a skilled game. It's America's game -- it, and high 1911taxes. 1912 -- Will Rogers 1913% 1914Basic is a high level languish. 1915APL is a high level anguish. 1916% 1917"BASIC is the Computer Science equivalent of `Scientific Creationism'." 1918% 1919BASIC, n.: 1920 A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in 1921that those who have it will not admit it in polite company. 1922% 1923Bathquake, n.: 1924 The violent quake that rattles the entire house when the water 1925faucet is turned on to a certain point. 1926 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1927% 1928Be a better psychiatrist and the world will beat a psychopath to your 1929door. 1930% 1931BE ALERT!!!! (The world needs more lerts ...) 1932% 1933Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most Souls would scarcely 1934get your Feet wet. Fall not in Love, therefore: it will stick to your 1935face. 1936 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1937% 1938Be braver -- you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 1939% 1940Be careful of reading health books. You might die of a misprint. 1941 -- Mark Twain 1942% 1943Be different: conform. 1944% 1945Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so 1946get used to it. 1947% 1948Be security conscious -- National Defense is at stake. 1949% 1950Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and 1951miss 1952 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1953% 1954Bees are very busy souls 1955They have no time for birth controls 1956And that is why in times like these 1957There are so many Sons of Bees. 1958% 1959 Before he became a hermit, Zarathud was a young Priest, and 1960took great delight in making fools of his opponents in front of his 1961followers. 1962 One day Zarathud took his students to a pleasant pasture and 1963there he confronted The Sacred Chao while She was contentedly grazing. 1964 "Tell me, you dumb beast," demanded the Priest in his 1965commanding voice, "why don't you do something worthwhile? What is your 1966Purpose in Life, anyway?" 1967 Munching the tasty grass, The Sacred Chao replied "MU". (The 1968Chinese ideogram for NO-THING.) 1969 Upon hearing this, absolutely nobody was enlightened. 1970 Primarily because nobody understood Chinese. 1971 -- Camden Benares, "Zen Without Zen Masters" 1972% 1973Before Xerox, five carbons were the maximum extension of anybody's ego. 1974% 1975Begathon, n.: 1976 A multi-day event on public television, used to raise money so 1977you won't have to watch commercials. 1978% 1979Behold the warranty ... the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh 1980away. 1981% 1982Beifeld's Principle: 1983 The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and 1984receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression when he is 1985already in the company of: (1) a date, (2) his wife, (3) a better 1986looking and richer male friend. 1987% 1988"Being disintegrated makes me ve-ry an-gry!" <huff, huff> 1989% 1990Bell Labs Unix -- Reach out and grep someone. 1991% 1992Bennett's Laws of Horticulture: 1993 (1) Houses are for people to live in. 1994 (2) Gardens are for plants to live in. 1995 (3) There is no such thing as a houseplant. 1996% 1997"Benson, you are so free of the ravages of intelligence" 1998 -- Time Bandits 1999% 2000Besides the device, the box should contain: 2001 2002* Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING" 2003 2004* A plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and two 2005 club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns. 2006 2007YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram 2008cable. 2009 2010IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should turn to your 2011spouse and say: "Margaret, you know why this country can't make a car 2012that can get all the way through the drive-through at Burger King 2013without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody cares, that's 2014why." 2015 2016WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret. 2017 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2018% 2019Best of all is never to have been born. Second best is to die soon. 2020% 2021better !pout !cry 2022better watchout 2023lpr why 2024santa claus <north pole >town 2025 2026cat /etc/passwd >list 2027ncheck list 2028ncheck list 2029cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist 2030cat list | grep nice >giftlist 2031santa claus <north pole > town 2032 2033who | grep sleeping 2034who | grep awake 2035who | egrep 'bad|good' 2036for (goodness sake) { 2037 be good 2038} 2039% 2040Better dead than mellow. 2041% 2042Between 1950 and 1952, a bored weatherman, stationed north of Hudson 2043Bay, left a monument that neither government nor time can eradicate. 2044Using a bulldozer abandoned by the Air Force, he spent two years and 2045great effort pushing boulders into a single word. 2046 2047It can be seen from 10,000 feet, silhouetted against the snow. 2048Government officials exchanged memos full of circumlocutions (no Latin 2049equivalent exists) but failed to word an appropriation bill for the 2050destruction of this cairn, that wouldn't alert the press and embarrass 2051both Parliament and Party. 2052 2053It stands today, a monument to human spirit. If life exists on other 2054planets, this may be the first message received from us. 2055 -- The Realist, November, 1964. 2056% 2057Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not 2058tried it. 2059 -- Donald Knuth 2060% 2061Beware of computerized fortune-tellers! 2062% 2063Beware of low-flying butterflies. 2064% 2065Beware of Programmers who carry screwdrivers. 2066 -- Leonard Brandwein 2067% 2068Beware of self-styled experts: an ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a 2069drip under pressure. 2070% 2071"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and 2072finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of 2073murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by 2074their ignorance the hard way." 2075 -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle" 2076% 2077Beware of the Turing Tar-pit in which everything is possible but 2078nothing of interest is easy. 2079% 2080Binary, adj.: 2081 Possessing the ability to have friends of both sexes. 2082% 2083Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same 2084thing as division. 2085% 2086Bipolar, adj.: 2087 Refers to someone who has homes in Nome, Alaska, and Buffalo, 2088New York 2089% 2090Birth, n.: 2091 The first and direst of all disasters. 2092 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2093% 2094Bizarreness is the essence of the exotic. 2095% 2096Bizoos, n.: 2097 The millions of tiny individual bumps that make up a 2098basketball. 2099 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2100% 2101... bleakness ... desolation ... plastic forks ... 2102% 2103Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt. 2104 -- Herbert Hoover 2105% 2106Blessed are they who Go Around in Circles, 2107for they Shall be Known as Wheels. 2108% 2109BLISS is ignorance. 2110% 2111Blood flows down one leg and up the other. 2112% 2113Blood is thicker than water, and much tastier. 2114% 2115Blore's Razor: 2116 Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is 2117funnier. 2118% 2119Board the windows, up your car insurance, and don't leave any booze in 2120plain sight. It's St. Patrick's day in Chicago again. The legend has 2121it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. In fact, he was 2122arrested for drunk driving. The snakes left because people kept 2123throwing up on them. 2124% 2125Boling's postulate: 2126 If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. 2127% 2128Bolub's Fourth Law of Computerdom: 2129 Project teams detest weekly progress reporting because it so 2130vividly manifests their lack of progress. 2131% 2132Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: 2133 Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. 2134% 2135BOO! We changed Coke again! BLEAH! BLEAH! 2136% 2137Boob's Law: 2138 You always find something in the last place you look. 2139% 2140Bore, n.: 2141 A guy who wraps up a two-minute idea in a two-hour vocabulary. 2142 -- Walter Winchell 2143% 2144Bore, n.: 2145 A person who talks when you wish him to listen. 2146 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2147% 2148Boren's Laws: 2149 (1) When in charge, ponder. 2150 (2) When in trouble, delegate. 2151 (3) When in doubt, mumble. 2152% 2153Boss, n.: 2154 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the Middle Ages 2155the words "boss" and "botch" were largely synonymous, except that boss, 2156in addition to meaning "a supervisor of workers" also meant "an 2157ornamental stud." 2158% 2159Boston State House is the hub of the Solar System. You couldn't pry 2160that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation 2161straightened out for a crowbar. 2162 -- O. W. Holmes 2163% 2164Boston, n.: 2165 Ludwig van Beethoven being jeered by 50,000 sports fans for 2166finishing second in the Irish jig competition. 2167% 2168Boy, life takes a long time to live. 2169 -- Steven Wright 2170% 2171Boy, n.: 2172 A noise with dirt on it. 2173% 2174Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least 2175when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. 2176 -- James Thurber 2177% 2178Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. 2179 -- Kin Hubbard 2180% 2181Brace yourselves. We're about to try something that borders on the 2182unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only 2183(gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn, but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend 2184to think of it as `Constructive Snottiness.' 2185 -- Mike Padlipsky, Foreword to "Elements of Networking Style" 2186% 2187Bradley's Bromide: 2188 If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a 2189committee -- that will do them in. 2190% 2191Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: 2192 When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more 2193easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger have 2194handled this?" 2195% 2196Brain fried -- Core dumped 2197% 2198Brain, n.: 2199 The apparatus with which we think that we think. 2200 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2201% 2202Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: 2203 To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of 2204error in an opponent. 2205 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2206% 2207Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, 2208since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. 2209 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2210% 2211Bride, n.: 2212 A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. 2213 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2214% 2215Bringing computers into the home won't change either one, but may 2216revitalize the corner saloon. 2217% 2218British Israelites: 2219 The British Israelites believe the white Anglo-Saxons of 2220Britain to be descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel deported by 2221Sargon of Assyria on the fall of Sumeria in 721 B.C. ... They further 2222believe that the future can be foretold by the measurements of the 2223Great Pyramid, which probably means it will be big and yellow and in 2224the hand of the Arabs. They also believe that if you sleep with your 2225head under the pillow a fairy will come and take all your teeth. 2226 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2227% 2228Broad-mindedness, n.: 2229 The result of flattening high-mindedness out. 2230% 2231Brontosaurus Principle: 2232 Organizations can grow faster than their brains can manage them 2233in relation to their environment and to their own physiology: when 2234this occurs, they are an endangered species. 2235 -- Thomas K. Connellan 2236% 2237Brook's Law: 2238 Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later 2239% 2240Brooke's Law: 2241 Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool 2242discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it 2243beyond recognition. 2244% 2245Bubble Memory, n.: 2246 A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's 2247intelligence. See also "vacuum tube". 2248% 2249Bucy's Law: 2250 Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. 2251% 2252Bug, n.: 2253 An aspect of a computer program which exists because the 2254programmer was thinking about Jumbo Jacks or stock options when s/he 2255wrote the program. 2256 2257Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed. 2258 -- Ray Simard 2259% 2260Bugs, pl. n.: 2261 Small living things that small living boys throw on small 2262living girls. 2263% 2264BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the 2265 outfit." 2266GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" 2267BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive." 2268 -- Jay Ward 2269% 2270Bumper sticker: 2271 2272"All the parts falling off this car are of the very finest British 2273manufacture" 2274% 2275Bureaucrat, n.: 2276 A person who cuts red tape sideways. 2277 -- J. McCabe 2278% 2279Bureaucrat, n.: 2280 A politician who has tenure. 2281% 2282Bureaucrats cut red tape -- lengthwise. 2283% 2284Burn's Hog Weighing Method: 2285 (1) Get a perfectly symmetrical plank and balance it across a 2286 sawhorse. 2287 (2) Put the hog on one end of the plank. 2288 (3) Pile rocks on the other end until the plank is again 2289 perfectly balanced. 2290 (4) Carefully guess the weight of the rocks. 2291 -- Robert Burns 2292% 2293 But as records of courts and justice are admissible, it can 2294easily be proved that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed 2295and were a scourge to mankind. The evidence (including confession) 2296upon which certain women were convicted of witchcraft and executed was 2297without a flaw; it is still unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based 2298on it were sound in logic and in law. Nothing in any existing court 2299was ever more thoroughly proved than the charges of witchcraft and 2300sorcery for which so many suffered death. If there were no witches, 2301human testimony and human reason are alike destitute of value. 2302 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2303% 2304"But don't you worry, its for a cause -- feeding global corporations 2305paws." 2306% 2307"But I don't like Spam!!!!" 2308% 2309 But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human 2310intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as 2311we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues 2312that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding 2313of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard 2314example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- 2315makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing 2316whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a 2317finite or an infinite number. 2318 -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" 2319% 2320But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the 2321system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, 2322analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses. 2323 -- Bruce Leverett, "Register Allocation in Optimizing 2324 Compilers" 2325% 2326"But officer, I was only trying to gain enough speed so I could coast 2327to the nearest gas station." 2328% 2329But scientists, who ought to know 2330Assure us that it must be so. 2331Oh, let us never, never doubt 2332What nobody is sure about. 2333 -- Hilaire Belloc 2334% 2335But soft you, the fair Ophelia: 2336Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, 2337But get thee to a nunnery -- go! 2338 -- Mark "The Bard" Twain 2339% 2340But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who 2341was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal 2342education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 23431877, was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of 2344American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was 2345invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879, when he 2346invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant 2347adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends 2348electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the 2349electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant 2350part) sends it right back to the customer again. 2351 2352This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch 2353of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since 2354very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. 2355In fact the last year any new electricity was generated in the United 2356States was 1937; the electric companies have been merely re-selling it 2357ever since, which is why they have so much free time to apply for rate 2358increases. 2359 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 2360% 2361But this has taken us far afield from interface, which is not a bad 2362place to be, since I particularly want to move ahead to the kludge. 2363Why do people have so much trouble understanding the kludge? What is a 2364kludge, after all, but not enough Ks, not enough ROMs, not enough RAMs, 2365poor quality interface and too few bytes to go around? Have I 2366explained yet about the bytes? 2367% 2368... But we've only fondled the surface of that subject. 2369 -- Virginia Masters 2370% 2371"But what we need to know is, do people want nasally-insertable 2372computers?" 2373% 2374Buzz off, Banana Nose; Relieve mine eyes 2375Of hateful soreness, purge mine ears of corn; 2376Less dear than army ants in apple pies 2377Art thou, old prune-face, with thy chestnuts worn, 2378Dropt from thy peeling lips like lousy fruit; 2379Like honeybees upon the perfum'd rose 2380They suck, and like the double-breasted suit 2381Are out of date; therefore, Banana Nose, 2382Go fly a kite, thy welcome's overstayed; 2383And stem the produce of thy waspish wits: 2384Thy logick, like thy locks, is disarrayed; 2385Thy cheer, like thy complexion, is the pits. 2386Be off, I say; go bug somebody new, 2387Scram, beat it, get thee hence, and nuts to you. 2388% 2389By doing just a little every day, you can gradually let the task 2390completely overwhelm you. 2391% 2392By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, 2393it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to 2394invent. 2395 -- R. Emerson 2396 -- Quoted from a fortune cookie program 2397 (whose author claims, "Actually, stealing IS easier.") 2398 [to which I reply, "You think it's easy for me to 2399 misconstrue all these misquotations?!?"] 2400% 2401By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began 2402to suspect 'Hungry' ... 2403 -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side" 2404% 2405By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's, I 2406mean. 2407 -- Mark Twain 2408% 2409Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to 2410point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very 2411fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are 2412often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people 2413from point B are so keen to get there and what's so great about point B 2414that so many people from point A are so keen to get _____there. They often 2415wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell 2416they wanted to be. 2417 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 2418% 2419C, n.: 2420 A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more 2421like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or 2422anything else. It is either the best language available to the art 2423today, or it isn't. 2424 -- Ray Simard 2425% 2426Cabbage, n.: 2427 A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as 2428a man's head. 2429 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2430% 2431Cable is not a luxury, since many areas have poor TV reception. 2432 -- The mayor of Tucson, Arizona, 1989 2433% 2434Cahn's Axiom: 2435 When all else fails, read the instructions. 2436% 2437California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange. 2438 -- Fred Allen 2439% 2440California, n.: 2441 From Latin "calor", meaning "heat" (as in English "calorie" or 2442Spanish "caliente"); and "fornia'" for "sexual intercourse" or 2443"fornication." Hence: Tierra de California, "the land of hot sex." 2444 -- Ed Moran 2445% 2446Call on God, but row away from the rocks. 2447 -- Indian proverb 2448% 2449Calling J-Man Kink. Calling J-Man Kink. Hash missile sighted, target 2450Los Angeles. Disregard personal feelings about city and intercept. 2451% 2452Calvin Coolidge looks as if he had been weaned on a pickle. 2453 -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth 2454% 2455Calvin Coolidge was the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth 2456Corner, Vermont. 2457 -- Clarence Darrow 2458% 2459Campus sidewalks never exist as the straightest line between two 2460points. 2461 -- M. M. Johnston 2462% 2463Canada Bill Jone's Motto: 2464 It's morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money. 2465 2466Supplement: 2467 A .44 magnum beats four aces. 2468% 2469Canada Post doesn't really charge 32 cents for a stamp. It's 2 cents 2470for postage and 30 cents for storage. 2471 -- Gerald Regan, Cabinet Minister, 12/31/83 Financial Post 2472% 2473Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain? 2474Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes, 2475A root or two, a torus and a node: 2476The inverse of my verse, a null domain. 2477 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2478% 2479CANCER (June 21 - July 22) 2480 You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's 2481problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things 2482off. That's why you'll never make anything of yourself. Most welfare 2483recipients are Cancer people. 2484% 2485Canonical, adj.: 2486 The usual or standard state or manner of something. A true 2487story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some 2488annoyance at the use of jargon. Over his loud objections, we made a 2489point of using jargon as much as possible in his presence, and 2490eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used 2491the word "canonical" in jargon-like fashion without thinking. 2492 Steele: "Aha! We've finally got you talking jargon too!" 2493 Stallman: "What did he say?" 2494 Steele: "He just used `canonical' in the canonical way." 2495% 2496CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19) 2497 You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do 2498much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any 2499importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as 2500they take root and become trees. 2501% 2502Captain Penny's Law: 2503 You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of 2504the people all of the time, but you Can't Fool Mom. 2505% 2506Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than 2507expected. Carefully planned projects take four times longer to 2508complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their 2509planning to reduce the time it takes. 2510% 2511Carmel, New York, has an ordinance forbidding men to wear coats and 2512trousers that don't match. 2513% 2514Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun), n.: 2515 The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a 2516dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then 2517putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. 2518 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2519% 2520Cat, n.: 2521 Lapwarmer with built-in buzzer. 2522% 2523Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education. 2524 -- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson" 2525% 2526Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. 2527% 2528CChheecckk yyoouurr dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh.. 2529% 2530Cecil, you're my final hope 2531Of finding out the true Straight Dope 2532For I have been reading of Schrodinger's cat 2533But none of my cats are at all like that. 2534This unusual animal (so it is said) 2535Is simultaneously alive and dead! 2536What I don't understand is just why he 2537Can't be one or the other, unquestionably. 2538My future now hangs in between eigenstates. 2539In one I'm enlightened, in the other I ain't. 2540If *you* understand, Cecil, then show me the way 2541And rescue my psyche from quantum decay. 2542But if this queer thing has perplexed even you, 2543Then I will *___and* I won't see you in Schrodinger's zoo. 2544 -- Randy F., Chicago, "The Straight Dope, a compendium 2545 of human knowledge" by Cecil Adams 2546% 2547Celebrate Hannibal Day this year. Take an elephant to lunch. 2548% 2549Celestial navigation is based on the premise that the Earth is the 2550center of the universe. The premise is wrong, but the navigation 2551works. An incorrect model can be a useful tool. 2552 -- Kelvin Throop III 2553% 2554Census Taker to Housewife: Did you ever have the measles, and, if so, 2555how many? 2556% 2557Cerebus: I'd love to lick apricot brandy out of your navel. 2558Jaka: Look, Cerebus-- Jaka has to tell you ... something 2559Cerebus: If Cerebus had a navel, would you lick apricot brandy 2560 out of it? 2561Jaka: Ugh! 2562Cerebus: You don't like apricot brandy? 2563 -- Cerebus #6, "The Secret" 2564% 2565Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long 2566walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They 2567then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy 2568health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, 2569not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find 2570only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the 2571others who have tried it. 2572 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2573% 2574Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, 2575But it's very funny-- 2576 Did you ever try buying them without money? 2577 -- Ogden Nash 2578% 2579 Chapter 1 2580 2581The story so far: 2582 2583 In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot 2584of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. 2585% 2586Character Density, n.: 2587 The number of very weird people in the office. 2588% 2589Checkuary, n.: 2590 The thirteenth month of the year. Begins New Year's Day and 2591ends when a person stops absentmindedly writing the old year on his 2592checks. 2593% 2594Chef, n.: 2595 Any cook who swears in French. 2596% 2597Chemicals, n.: 2598 Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. 2599% 2600Chemistry is applied theology. 2601 -- Augustus Stanley Owsley III 2602% 2603Chicago law prohibits eating in a place that is on fire. 2604% 2605Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #36: 2606 Never ever ask the tough looking gentleman wearing El Rukn 2607headgear where he got his "pyramid powered pizza warmer". 2608 -- Chicago Reader 3/27/81 2609% 2610Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #84: 2611 The CTA has complimentary pop-up timers available on request 2612for overheated passengers. When your timer pops up, the driver will 2613cheerfully baste you. 2614 -- Chicago Reader 5/28/82 2615% 2616Chicago, n.: 2617 Where the dead still vote ... early and often! 2618% 2619Chicken Little only has to be right once. 2620% 2621Chicken Little was right. 2622% 2623Chicken Soup, n.: 2624 An ancient miracle drug containing equal parts of aureomycin, 2625cocaine, interferon, and TLC. The only ailment chicken soup can't cure 2626is neurotic dependence on one's mother. 2627 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 2628% 2629Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every 2630effort to teach them good manners. 2631% 2632Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're 2633going to catch you in next. 2634 -- Franklin P. Jones 2635% 2636Children aren't happy without something to ignore, 2637And that's what parents were created for. 2638 -- Ogden Nash 2639% 2640Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for 2641word what you shouldn't have said. 2642% 2643Chism's Law of Completion: 2644 The amount of time required to complete a government project is 2645precisely equal to the length of time already spent on it. 2646% 2647Chisolm's First Corollary to Murphy's Second Law: 2648 When things just can't possibly get any worse, they will. 2649% 2650Chivalry, Schmivalry! 2651 Roger the thief has a 2652 method he uses for 2653 sneaky attacks: 2654Folks who are reading are 2655 Characteristically 2656 Always Forgetting to 2657 Guard their own bac ... 2658% 2659Christ: 2660 A man who was born at least 5,000 years ahead of his time. 2661% 2662Churchill's Commentary on Man: 2663 Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the 2664time he will pick himself up and continue on. 2665% 2666Cigarette, n.: 2667 A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in 2668between. 2669% 2670Cinemuck, n.: 2671 The combination of popcorn, soda, and melted chocolate which 2672covers the floors of movie theaters. 2673 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2674% 2675Clairvoyant, n.: 2676 A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that 2677which is invisible to her patron -- namely, that he is a blockhead. 2678 -- Ambrose Bierce 2679% 2680Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like 2681shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. 2682 -- Phyllis Diller 2683% 2684Cleanliness is next to impossible. 2685% 2686Cleveland still lives. God ____must be dead. 2687% 2688"Cleveland? Yes, I spent a week there one day." 2689% 2690Cloning is the sincerest form of flattery. 2691% 2692Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on 2693society. 2694 -- Mark Twain 2695% 2696COBOL programs are an exercise in Artificial Inelegance. 2697% 2698Cocaine -- the thinking man's Dristan. 2699% 2700Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- 2701"I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." 2702 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2703% 2704"Cogito ergo I'm right and you're wrong." 2705 -- Blair Houghton 2706% 2707Coincidence, n.: 2708 You weren't paying attention to the other half of what was 2709going on. 2710% 2711Coincidences are spiritual puns. 2712 -- G. K. Chesterton 2713% 2714Cold, adj.: 2715 When the local flashers are handing out written descriptions. 2716% 2717Cold, adj.: 2718 When the politicians walk around with their hands in their own 2719pockets. 2720% 2721Collaboration, n.: 2722 A literary partnership based on the false assumption that the 2723other fellow can spell. 2724% 2725College football is a game which would be much more interesting if the 2726faculty played instead of the students, and even more interesting if 2727the trustees played. There would be a great increase in broken arms, 2728legs, and necks, and simultaneously an appreciable diminution in the 2729loss to humanity. 2730 -- H. L. Mencken 2731% 2732Colvard's Logical Premises: 2733 All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or it 2734 won't. 2735 2736Colvard's Unconscionable Commentary: 2737 This is especially true when dealing with someone you're 2738 attracted to. 2739 2740Grelb's Commentary 2741 Likelihoods, however, are 90% against you. 2742% 2743Come, every frustum longs to be a cone, 2744And every vector dreams of matrices. 2745Hark to the gentle gradient of the breeze: 2746It whispers of a more ergodic zone. 2747 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2748% 2749Come, let us hasten to a higher plane, 2750Where dyads tread the fairy fields of Venn, 2751Their indices bedecked from one to _n, 2752Commingled in an endless Markov chain! 2753 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2754% 2755Command, n.: 2756 Statement presented by a human and accepted by a computer in 2757such a manner as to make the human feel as if he is in control. 2758% 2759 COMMENT 2760 2761Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, 2762A medley of extemporanea; 2763And love is thing that can never go wrong; 2764And I am Marie of Roumania. 2765 -- Dorothy Parker 2766% 2767Commitment, n.: 2768 Commitment can be illustrated by a breakfast of ham and eggs. 2769The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. 2770% 2771Committee Rules: 2772 (1) Never arrive on time, or you will be stamped a beginner. 2773 (2) Don't say anything until the meeting is half over; this 2774 stamps you as being wise. 2775 (3) Be as vague as possible; this prevents irritating the 2776 others. 2777 (4) When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed. 2778 (5) Be the first to move for adjournment; this will make you 2779 popular -- it's what everyone is waiting for. 2780% 2781Committee, n.: 2782 A group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group 2783decide that nothing can be done. 2784 -- Fred Allen 2785% 2786Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to 2787be appointed to do the work. 2788% 2789Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at 2790different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. 2791 -- Clive James 2792% 2793Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius. 2794 -- Josh Billings 2795% 2796Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. 2797 -- Albert Einstein 2798% 2799Comparing information and knowledge is like asking whether the fatness 2800of a pig is more or less green than the designated hitter rule." 2801 -- David Guaspari 2802% 2803Computer programmers do it byte by byte. 2804% 2805Computer Science is merely the post-Turing decline in formal systems 2806theory. 2807% 2808Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. 2809% 2810Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. 2811 -- Pablo Picasso 2812% 2813Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in 2814the world that just don't add up. 2815% 2816Computers will not be perfected until they can compute how much more 2817than the estimate the job will cost. 2818% 2819Conceit causes more conversation than wit. 2820 -- LaRouchefoucauld 2821% 2822Concept, n.: 2823 Any "idea" for which an outside consultant billed you more than 2824$25,000. 2825% 2826... [concerning quotation marks] even if we *___did* quote anybody in this 2827business, it probably would be gibberish. 2828 -- Thom McLeod 2829% 2830Condense soup, not books! 2831% 2832Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is 2833good for dandruff. 2834 -- Peter de Vries 2835% 2836Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. 2837% 2838Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that 2839would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that 2840you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer 2841maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS 2842OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY 2843UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED 2844IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD 2845WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER AND 2846SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, 2847RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, 2848RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE 2849FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? 2850 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2851% 2852Connector Conspiracy, n: 2853 [probably came into prominence with the appearance of the 2854KL-10, none of whose connectors match anything else] The tendency of 2855manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of anything) 2856to come up with new products which don't fit together with the old 2857stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff or expensive 2858interface devices. 2859% 2860Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. 2861 -- H. L. Mencken 2862% 2863Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking. 2864 -- H. L. Mencken, "A Mencken Chrestomathy" 2865% 2866Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. 2867% 2868Conscious is when you are aware of something and conscience is when you 2869wish you weren't. 2870% 2871"Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich." 2872 -- "Ali Baba Bunny" [1957, Chuck Jones] 2873% 2874Consultants are mystical people who ask a company for a number and then 2875give it back to them. 2876% 2877"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and 2878if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" 2879 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 2880% 2881"Contrary to popular belief, penguins are not the salvation of modern 2882technology. Neither do they throw parties for the urban proletariat." 2883% 2884Conversation, n.: 2885 A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath 2886is called the listener. 2887% 2888Conway's Law: 2889 In any organization there will always be one person who knows 2890 what is going on. 2891 2892 This person must be fired. 2893% 2894Coronation, n.: 2895 The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outward and 2896visible signs of his divine right to be blown skyhigh with a dynamite 2897bomb. 2898 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2899% 2900Corrupt, adj.: 2901 In politics, holding an office of trust or profit. 2902% 2903Corrupt, stupid grasping functionaries will make at least as big a 2904muddle of socialism as stupid, selfish and acquisitive employers can 2905make of capitalism. 2906 -- Walter Lippmann 2907% 2908Corruption is not the #1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job 2909is to enforce the law and fight crime. 2910 -- P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan 2911% 2912Court, n.: 2913 A place where they dispense with justice. 2914 -- Arthur Train 2915% 2916Coward, n.: 2917 One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. 2918 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2919% 2920[Crash programs] fail because they are based on the theory that, with 2921nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month. 2922 -- Wernher von Braun 2923% 2924Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. 2925 -- A. E. Neuman 2926% 2927Critic, n.: 2928 A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries 2929to please him. 2930 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2931% 2932Croll's Query: 2933 If tin whistles are made of tin, what are foghorns made of? 2934% 2935cursor address, n: 2936 "Hello, cursor!" 2937 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 2938% 2939Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It 2940eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the 2941business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation. 2942 -- Johnny Hart 2943% 2944Cynic, n.: 2945 A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not 2946as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking 2947out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. 2948 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2949% 2950Cynic, n.: 2951 One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced eye. 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-E-MEM-BAD, bad memory 2968-VMS-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% 3031Death 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 Assoc. 3051% 3052 Deck Us All With Boston Charlie 3053 3054Deck us all with Boston Charlie, 3055Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! 3056Nora's freezin' on the trolley, 3057Swaller dollar cauliflower, alleygaroo! 3058 3059Don't we know archaic barrel, 3060Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou. 3061Trolley Molly don't love Harold, 3062Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo! 3063 -- Walt Kelly 3064% 3065"Deep" is a word like "theory" or "semantic" -- it implies all sorts of 3066marvelous things. It's one thing to be able to say "I've got a 3067theory", quite another to say "I've got a semantic theory", but, ah, 3068those who can claim "I've got a deep semantic theory", they are truly 3069blessed. 3070 -- Randy Davis 3071% 3072default, n.: 3073 [Possibly from Black English "De fault wid dis system is you, 3074mon."] The vain attempt to avoid errors by inactivity. "Nothing will 3075come of nothing: speak again." -- King Lear. 3076 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 3077% 3078#define BITCOUNT(x) (((BX_(x)+(BX_(x)>>4)) & 0x0F0F0F0F) % 255) 3079#define BX_(x) ((x) - (((x)>>1)&0x77777777) \ 3080 - (((x)>>2)&0x33333333) \ 3081 - (((x)>>3)&0x11111111)) 3082 3083 -- really weird C code to count the number of bits in a word 3084% 3085Definitions of hardware and software for dummies: 3086 Hardware is what you kick; 3087 Software is what you curse. 3088% 3089 DELETE A FORTUNE! 3090 3091Don't some of these fortunes just drive you nuts?! Wouldn't you like 3092to see some of them deleted from the system? You can! Just mail to 3093"fortune" with the fortune you hate most, and we MIGHT make sure it 3094gets expunged. 3095% 3096Deliberation, n.: 3097 The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is 3098buttered on. 3099 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3100% 3101"Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow." 3102% 3103Demand the establishment of the government 3104in its rightful home at Disneyland. 3105% 3106Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than 3107we deserve. 3108 -- George Bernard Shaw 3109% 3110Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder 3111aloud what the country could do under first-class management. 3112 -- Senator Soaper 3113% 3114Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the 3115incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. 3116 -- G. B. Shaw 3117% 3118Democracy is a government where you can say what you think even if you 3119don't think. 3120% 3121Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by 3122Jackasses. 3123 -- H. L. Mencken 3124% 3125Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse. 3126 -- Jawaharlal Nehru 3127% 3128Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people 3129are right more than half of the time. 3130 -- E. B. White 3131% 3132Democracy, n.: 3133 A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass 3134meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. 3135Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. 3136Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, 3137whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, 3138prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. 3139Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy. 3140 -- U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), 3141 since withdrawn. 3142% 3143Demographic polls show that you have lost credibility across the 3144board. Especially with those 14 year-old Valley girls. 3145% 3146Dentist, n.: 3147 A Prestidigitator who, putting metal in one's mouth, pulls 3148coins out of one's pockets. 3149 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3150% 3151Despising machines to a man, 3152The Luddites joined up with the Klan, 3153 And ride out by night 3154 In a sheeting of white 3155To lynch all the robots they can. 3156 -- C. M. and G. A. Maxson 3157% 3158Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will 3159be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over 3160the table. 3161 -- The Anarchist Cookbook 3162% 3163 DETERIORATA 3164 3165Go placidly amid the noise and waste, 3166And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. 3167Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. 3168Rotate your tires. 3169Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, 3170And heed well their advice -- even though they be turkeys. 3171Know what to kiss -- and when. 3172Remember that two wrongs never make a right, 3173But that three do. 3174Wherever possible, put people on "HOLD". 3175Be comforted, that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment, 3176And despite the changing fortunes of time, 3177There is always a big future in computer maintenance. 3178 3179 You are a fluke of the universe ... 3180 You have no right to be here. 3181 Whether you can hear it or not, the universe 3182 Is laughing behind your back. 3183 -- National Lampoon 3184% 3185DeVries's Dilemma: 3186 If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want 3187hits the paper. 3188% 3189Did I say 2? I lied. 3190% 3191Did you know ... 3192 3193That no-one ever reads these things? 3194% 3195Did you know that clones never use mirrors? 3196 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3197% 3198Did you know that if you took all the economists in the world and lined 3199them up end to end, they'd still point in the wrong direction? 3200% 3201Did you know that the voice tapes easily identify the Russian pilot 3202that shot down the Korean jet? At one point he definitely states: 3203 3204 "Natasha! First we shoot jet, then we go after moose and 3205 squirrel." 3206 3207 -- ihuxw!tommyo 3208% 3209Die, v.: 3210 To stop sinning suddenly. 3211 -- Elbert Hubbard 3212% 3213"Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a 3214conventional thing to happen to him." 3215 -- John Barrymore's dying words 3216% 3217Different all twisty a of in maze are you, passages little. 3218% 3219Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable term. 3220Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. 3221% 3222Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. 3223% 3224Disc space -- the final frontier! 3225% 3226Disclaimer: "These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be 3227yours too." 3228 -- Dave Haynie 3229% 3230Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above views and those of my 3231employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely 3232coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is 3233non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the 3234absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. 3235The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for 3236the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, 3237non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.) 3238% 3239Disco is to music what Etch-A-Sketch is to art. 3240% 3241Distinctive, adj.: 3242 A different color or shape than our competitors. 3243% 3244Distress, n.: 3245 A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. 3246 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3247% 3248District of Columbia pedestrians who leap over passing autos to escape 3249injury, and then strike the car as they come down, are liable for any 3250damage inflicted on the vehicle. 3251% 3252Do infants have as much fun in infancy as adults do in adultery? 3253% 3254Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? 3255% 3256Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. 3257% 3258Do not drink coffee in early a.m. It will keep you awake until noon. 3259% 3260Do not meddle in the affairs of troff, for it is subtle and quick to 3261anger. 3262% 3263"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good 3264with ketchup." 3265% 3266Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. 3267Violators will be prosecuted. 3268(Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.)) 3269% 3270Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight. 3271% 3272Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to dread each 3273day as it comes. 3274 -- Donald Kaul 3275% 3276Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. 3277% 3278Do what comes naturally now. Seethe and fume and throw a tantrum. 3279% 3280Do you have lysdexia? 3281% 3282Do you realize how many holes there could be if people would just take 3283the time to take the dirt out of them? 3284% 3285"Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" 3286"Of course it's wrong! It's illegal!" 3287"I've never done anything illegal before." 3288"I thought you said you were an accountant!" 3289% 3290Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and 3291when it is bad, it is better than nothing. 3292 -- Dick Brandon 3293% 3294Documentation is the castor oil of programming. Managers know it must 3295be good because the programmers hate it so much. 3296% 3297Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? 3298% 3299Don't abandon hope: your Tom Mix decoder ring arrives tomorrow. 3300% 3301Don't be humble ... you're not that great. 3302 -- Golda Meir 3303% 3304Don't believe everything you hear or anything you say. 3305% 3306Don't change the reason, just change the excuses! 3307 -- Joe Cointment 3308% 3309"Don't come back until you have him", the Tick-Tock Man said quietly, 3310sincerely, extremely dangerously. 3311 3312They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardio plate crossoffs. 3313They used teepers. They used bribery. They used stick tites. They 3314used intimidation. They used torment. They used torture. They used 3315finks. They used cops. They used search and seizure. They used 3316fallaron. They used betterment incentives. They used finger prints. 3317They used the bertillion system. They used cunning. They used guile. 3318They used treachery. They used Raoul-Mitgong but he wasn't much help. 3319They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology. And 3320what the hell, they caught him. 3321 3322 -- Harlan Ellison, "Repent, Harlequin, said the Tick-Tock Man" 3323% 3324Don't cook tonight -- starve a rat today! 3325% 3326Don't feed the bats tonight. 3327% 3328Don't get even -- get odd! 3329% 3330Don't get suckered in by the comments -- they can be terribly 3331misleading. Debug only code. 3332 -- Dave Storer 3333% 3334"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes 3335you nothing. It was here first. 3336 -- Mark Twain 3337% 3338Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while. 3339% 3340Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon. 3341% 3342Don't hit a man when he's down -- kick him; it's easier. 3343% 3344Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today. 3345% 3346Don't knock President Fillmore. He kept us out of Vietnam. 3347% 3348Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance. 3349% 3350Don't let your mind wander -- it's too little to be let out alone. 3351% 3352Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you. 3353% 3354Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy 3355it today you can do it again tomorrow. 3356% 3357Don't say yes until I finish talking. 3358 -- Darryl F. Zanuck 3359% 3360Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete successfully in business. 3361Cheat. 3362 -- Ambrose Bierce 3363% 3364Don't suspect your friends -- turn them in! 3365 -- "Brazil" 3366% 3367Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. 3368 -- Walt Kelly 3369% 3370Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out of it alive. 3371% 3372Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective. 3373% 3374"Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends -- tell me where to 3375get more wax!!" 3376% 3377Don't worry about avoiding temptation -- as you grow older, it starts 3378avoiding you. 3379 -- The Old Farmer's Almanac 3380% 3381Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any 3382good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. 3383 -- Howard Aiken 3384% 3385Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already 3386tomorrow in Australia. 3387 -- Charles Schultz 3388% 3389Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too 3390busy worrying over what you are thinking about them. 3391% 3392Don't you feel more like you do now than you did when you came in? 3393% 3394Don Ameche: I didn't know you had a cousin Penelope, Bill! Was she 3395 pretty? 3396W. C.: Well, her face was so wrinkled it looked like seven miles of 3397 bad road. She had so many gold teeth, Don, she use to have to 3398 sleep with her head in a safe. She died in Bolivia. 3399Don: Oh Bill, it must be hard to lose a relative. 3400W. C.: It's almost impossible. 3401 -- W. C. Fields, from "The Further Adventures of Larson 3402 E. Whipsnade and other Tarradiddles" 3403% 3404 Double Bucky 3405 (Sung to the tune of "Rubber Duckie") 3406 3407Double bucky, you're the one! 3408You make my keyboard lots of fun 3409 Double bucky, an additional bit or two: 3410(Vo-vo-de-o!) 3411Control and Meta side by side, 3412Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide! 3413 Double bucky, a half a thousand glyphs, plus a few! 3414 3415Oh, I sure wish that I, 3416Had a couple of bits more! 3417Perhaps a set of pedals to make the number of bits four. 3418 3419Double bucky, left and right 3420OR'd together, outta sight! 3421 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of 3422 Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of 3423 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you! 3424 3425 -- (C) 1978 by Guy L. Steele, Jr. 3426 (to Nicholas Wirth, who suggested that an extra bit 3427 be added to terminal codes on 36-bit machines for use 3428 by screen editors. [to the tune of "Rubber Ducky"]) 3429% 3430Double-Blind Experiment, n.: 3431 An experiment in which the chief researcher believes he is 3432fooling both the subject and the lab assistant. Often accompanied by a 3433strong belief in the tooth fairy. 3434% 3435Down with categorical imperative! 3436% 3437Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. 3438% 3439Drew's Law of Highway Biology: 3440 The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front 3441of your eyes. 3442% 3443Drink Canada Dry! You might not succeed, but it *__is* fun trying. 3444% 3445Drive defensively. Buy a tank. 3446% 3447Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic route! 3448% 3449Ducharme's Axiom: 3450 If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize 3451yourself as part of the problem. 3452% 3453Ducharme's Precept: 3454 Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. 3455% 3456Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and 3457it holds the universe together. 3458 -- Carl Zwanzig 3459% 3460Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders 3461has been discontinued. 3462% 3463Due to circumstances beyond your control, you are master of your fate 3464and captain of your soul. 3465% 3466Due to lack of disk space, this fortune database has been 3467discontinued. 3468% 3469 During a grouse hunt in North Carolina two intrepid sportsmen 3470were blasting away at a clump of trees near a stone wall. Suddenly a 3471red-faced country squire popped his head over the wall and shouted, 3472"Hey, you almost hit my wife." 3473 "Did I?" cried the hunter, aghast. "Terribly sorry. Have a 3474shot at mine, over there." 3475% 3476During the next two hours, the system will be going up and down several 3477times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4k**n~po_~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o 3478% 3479Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have 3480nothing whatever to do with it. 3481 -- W. Somerset Maugham (last words) 3482% 3483E Pluribus Unix 3484% 3485Eagleson's Law: 3486 Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more 3487months, might as well have been written by someone else. (Eagleson is 3488an optimist, the real number is more like three weeks.) 3489% 3490Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends 3491% 3492/earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. 3493% 3494Earth is a beta site. 3495% 3496Earth is a great, big funhouse without the fun. 3497 -- Jeff Berner 3498% 3499Easiest Color to Solve on a Rubik's Cube: 3500 Black. Simply remove all the little colored stickers on the 3501cube, and each of side of the cube will now be the original color of 3502the plastic underneath -- black. According to the instructions, this 3503means the puzzle is solved. 3504 -- Steve Rubenstein 3505% 3506 Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal. 3507% 3508"Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may work." 3509% 3510Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. 3511 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 3512% 3513Economics, n.: 3514 Economics is the study of the value and meaning of J. K. 3515Galbraith ... 3516 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3517% 3518Economists can certainly disappoint you. One said that the economy 3519would turn up by the last quarter. Well, I'm down to mine and it 3520hasn't. 3521 -- Robert Orben 3522% 3523Economists state their GNP growth projections to the nearest tenth of a 3524percentage point to prove they have a sense of humor. 3525 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 3526% 3527Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent. 3528 -- Fred Allen 3529% 3530Education is the process of casting false pearls before real swine. 3531 -- Irsin Edman 3532% 3533Eeny, Meeny, Jelly Beanie, the spirits are about to speak! 3534 -- Bullwinkle Moose 3535% 3536Eggheads unite! You have nothing to lose but your yolks. 3537 -- Adlai Stevenson 3538% 3539Eggnog is a traditional holiday drink invented by the English. Many 3540people wonder where the word "eggnog" comes from. The first syllable 3541comes from the English word "egg", meaning "egg". I don't know where 3542the "nog" comes from. 3543 3544To make eggnog, you'll need rum, whiskey, wine gin and, if they are in 3545season, eggs... 3546% 3547Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain 3548of being a damned fool. 3549 -- Bellamy Brooks 3550% 3551Egotist, n.: 3552 A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. 3553 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3554% 3555Ehrman's Commentary: 3556 (1) Things will get worse before they get better. 3557 (2) Who said things would get better? 3558% 3559Eighty percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees. 3560 -- Ronald Reagan, famous movie star 3561% 3562Eleanor Rigby 3563 Sits at the keyboard 3564 And waits for a line on the screen 3565Lives in a dream 3566Waits for a signal 3567 Finding some code 3568 That will make the machine do some more. 3569What is it for? 3570 3571All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3572All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3573 3574Hacker MacKensie 3575Writing the code for a program that no one will run 3576It's nearly done 3577Look at him working, fixing the bugs in the night when there's nobody there. 3578What does he care? 3579 3580All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3581All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3582Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3583Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3584% 3585Electrical Engineers do it with less resistance. 3586% 3587 Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles, 3588called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you 3589have been drinking. Electrons travel at the speed of light, which in 3590most American homes is 110 volts per hour. This is very fast. In the 3591time it has taken you to read this sentence so far, an electron could 3592have traveled all the way from San Francisco to Hackensack, New Jersey, 3593although God alone knows why it would want to. 3594 The five main kinds of electricity are alternating current, 3595direct current, lightning, static, and European. Most American homes 3596have alternating current, which means that the electricity goes in one 3597direction for a while, then goes in the other direction. This prevents 3598harmful electron buildup in the wires. 3599 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 3600% 3601Electrocution, n.: 3602 Burning at the stake with all the modern improvements. 3603% 3604Elevators smell different to midgets. 3605% 3606Emerson's Law of Contrariness: 3607 Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we 3608can. Having found them, we shall then hate them for it. 3609% 3610Encyclopedia Salesmen: 3611 Invite them all in. Nip out the back door. Phone the police 3612and tell them your house is being burgled. 3613 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3614% 3615Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless. 3616Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop. 3617 -- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary 3618% 3619Entropy isn't what it used to be. 3620% 3621Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which 3622otherwise require harder thinking. 3623 -- Jerome Lettvin 3624% 3625Epperson's law: 3626 When a man says it's a silly, childish game, it's probably 3627something his wife can beat him at. 3628% 3629Equal bytes for women. 3630% 3631Error in operator: add beer 3632% 3633Es brilig war. Die schlichte Toven 3634 Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben; 3635Und aller-m"umsige Burggoven 3636 Dir mohmen R"ath ausgraben. 3637 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 3638% 3639Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. 3640 -- Woody Allen 3641% 3642Etymology, n.: 3643 Some early etymological scholars came up with derivations that 3644were hard for the public to believe. The term "etymology" was formed 3645from the Latin "etus" ("eaten"), the root "mal" ("bad"), and "logy" 3646("study of"). It meant "the study of things that are hard to swallow." 3647 -- Mike Kellen 3648% 3649Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to 3650speak it to? 3651 -- Clarence Darrow 3652% 3653Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. 3654 -- Will Rogers 3655% 3656Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral. 3657 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 3658% 3659Even though they raised the rate for first class mail in the United 3660States we really shouldn't complain -- it's still only two cents a 3661day. 3662% 3663Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you 3664just how busy they are? 3665% 3666Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to understand what, 3667exactly, make people laugh. That's why they were called "wise men." 3668All the other prehistoric people were out puncturing each other with 3669spears, and the wise men were back in the cave saying: "How about: 3670Would you please take my wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please 3671take her right now. No How about: Would you like to take something? 3672My wife is available. No. How about ..." 3673 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 3674% 3675Every absurdity has a champion who will defend it. 3676% 3677Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to punt. 3678% 3679Every four seconds a woman has a baby. Our problem is to find this 3680woman and stop her. 3681% 3682Every group has a couple of experts. And every group has at least one 3683idiot. Thus are balance and harmony (and discord) maintained. It's 3684sometimes hard to remember this in the bulk of the flamewars that all 3685of the hassle and pain is generally caused by one or two 3686highly-motivated, caustic twits. 3687 -- Chuq Von Rospach, about Usenet 3688% 3689Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired 3690signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not 3691fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not 3692spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the 3693genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way 3694of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is 3695humanity hanging on a cross of iron. 3696 -- Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953 3697% 3698Every Horse has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation): 3699 3700Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs, and in 3701front they have fore-legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an 3702odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both even 3703and odd is infinity. Therefore, horses have an infinite number of 3704legs. Now to show this for the general case, suppose that somewhere, 3705there is a horse that has a finite number of legs. But that is a horse 3706of another color, and by the [above] lemma ["All horses are the same 3707color"], that does not exist. 3708% 3709Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible. 3710 -- Frank Moore Colby 3711% 3712Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. 3713% 3714Every little picofarad has a nanohenry all its own. 3715 -- Don Vonada 3716% 3717"Every man has his price. Mine is $3.95." 3718% 3719Every man is as God made him, ay, and often worse. 3720 -- Miguel de Cervantes 3721% 3722Every morning, I get up and look through the 'Forbes' list of the 3723richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. 3724 -- Robert Orben 3725% 3726Every nonzero finite dimensional inner product space has an orthonormal basis. 3727 3728It makes sense, when you don't think about it. 3729% 3730Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one 3731instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every 3732program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work. 3733% 3734Every program has two purposes -- one for which it was written and 3735another for which it wasn't. 3736% 3737Every program is a part of some other program, and rarely fits. 3738% 3739Every solution breeds new problems. 3740% 3741Every successful person has had failures but repeated failure is no 3742guarantee of eventual success. 3743% 3744"Every time I think I know where it's at, they move it." 3745% 3746Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness. 3747 -- Beckett 3748% 3749Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. 3750 -- Dykstra 3751% 3752Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. 3753% 3754Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be 3755taught how ___not to. So it is with the great programmers. 3756% 3757Everyone is a genius. It's just that some people are too stupid to 3758realize it. 3759% 3760Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic 3761formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the 3762scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact 3763wholly unconcerned with what ____does exist. Indeed, the banality of 3764existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to 3765discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the 3766problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the 3767mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, 3768one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely 3769different way ... 3770 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 3771% 3772Everyone talks about apathy, but no one ____does anything about it. 3773% 3774Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, 3775no one we know belongs. 3776% 3777Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being 3778that a belch is more satisfying. 3779 -- Ingmar Bergman 3780% 3781Everything journalists write is true, except when they write about 3782something you know. 3783 -- Dag-Erling Smorgrav, 3784 June 1999, FreeBSD-Stable Mailing List 3785% 3786Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. 3787% 3788Everything you know is wrong! 3789% 3790Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less 3791obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no 3792solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. 3793There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no 3794straight lines. 3795 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 3796% 3797 Excellence is THE trend of the '80s. Walk into any shopping 3798mall bookstore, go to the rack where they keep the best-sellers such as 3799"Garfield Gets Spayed", and you'll see a half-dozen books telling you 3800how to be excellent: "In Search of Excellence", "Finding Excellence", 3801"Grasping Hold of Excellence", "Where to Hide Your Excellence at Night 3802So the Cleaning Personnel Don't Steal It", etc. 3803 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 3804% 3805Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike the office water cooler. 3806% 3807Excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator. 3808% 3809Excellent day to have a rotten day. 3810% 3811Excellent time to become a missing person. 3812% 3813Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from 3814acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. 3815 -- W. Somerset Maugham 3816% 3817Excessive login or logout messages are a sure sign of senility. 3818% 3819Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do 3820the work. 3821 -- John G. Pollard 3822% 3823Expect the worst. It's the least you can do. 3824% 3825Expense Accounts, n.: 3826 Corporate food stamps. 3827% 3828Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 3829 -- Olivier 3830% 3831Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake 3832when you make it again. 3833 -- Franklin P. Jones 3834% 3835Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and 3836the instruction afterward. 3837% 3838Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old 3839ones. 3840% 3841Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. 3842% 3843Experience varies directly with equipment ruined. 3844% 3845Expert, n.: 3846 Someone who comes from out of town and shows slides. 3847% 3848Extract from Official Sweepstakes Rules: 3849 3850 NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE 3851 3852To claim your prize without purchase, do the following: (a) Carefully 3853cut out your computer-printed name and address from upper right hand 3854corner of the Prize Claim Form. (b) Affix computer-printed name and 3855address -- with glue or cellophane tape (no staples or paper clips) -- 3856to a 3x5 inch index card. (c) Also cut out the "No" paragraph (lower 3857left hand corner of Prize Claim Form) and affix it to the 3x5 card 3858below your address label. (d) Then print on your 3x5 card, above your 3859computer-printed name and address the words "CARTER & VAN PEEL 3860SWEEPSTAKES" (Use all capital letters.) (e) Finally place 3x5 card 3861(without bending) into a plain envelope [NOTE: do NOT use the 3862Official Prize Claim and CVP Perfume Reply Envelope or you may be 3863disqualified], and mail to: CVP, Box 1320, Westbury, NY 11595. Print 3864this address correctly. Comply with above instructions carefully and 3865completely or you may be disqualified from receiving your prize. 3866% 3867F u cn rd ths u cnt spl wrth a dm! 3868% 3869f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd. 3870% 3871f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng. 3872% 3873F: When into a room I plunge, I 3874 Sometimes find some VIOLET FUNGI. 3875 Then I linger, darkly brooding 3876 On the poison they're exuding. 3877 -- The Roguelet's ABC 3878% 3879Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. 3880% 3881Fairy Tale, n.: 3882 A horror story to prepare children for the newspapers. 3883% 3884Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic 3885without looking to see whether the seeds move. 3886% 3887Faith, n: 3888 That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be 3889untrue. 3890% 3891Fakir, n: 3892 A psychologist whose charismatic data have inspired almost 3893religious devotion in his followers, even though the sources seem to 3894have shinnied up a rope and vanished. 3895% 3896Familiarity breeds attempt. 3897% 3898Families, when a child is born 3899Want it to be intelligent. 3900I, through intelligence, 3901Having wrecked my whole life, 3902Only hope the baby will prove 3903Ignorant and stupid. 3904Then he will crown a tranquil life 3905By becoming a Cabinet Minister 3906 -- Su Tung-p'o 3907% 3908Famous last words: 3909% 3910Famous last words: 3911 (1) "Don't worry, I can handle it." 3912 (2) "You and what army?" 3913 (3) "If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be 3914 a cop." 3915% 3916Famous last words: 3917 (1) Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix. 3918 (2) Let's take the shortcut, he can't see us from there. 3919 (3) What happens if you touch these two wires tog-- 3920 (4) We won't need reservations. 3921 (5) It's always sunny there this time of the year. 3922 (6) Don't worry, it's not loaded. 3923 (7) They'd never (be stupid enough to) make him a manager. 3924 (8) Don't worry! Women love it! 3925% 3926Famous, adj.: 3927 Conspicuously miserable. 3928 -- Ambrose Bierce 3929% 3930Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the 3931Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. 3932Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an 3933utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life 3934forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches 3935are a pretty neat idea. 3936 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 3937% 3938Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it 3939every six months. 3940 -- Oscar Wilde 3941% 3942Fats Loves Madelyn. 3943% 3944Feel disillusioned? I've got some great new illusions ... 3945% 3946Fertility is hereditary. If your parents didn't have any children, 3947neither will you. 3948% 3949 Festivity Level 1: Your guests are chatting amiably with each 3950other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around 3951the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling hors 3952d'oeuvres. 3953 Festivity Level 2: Your guests are talking loudly -- sometimes 3954to each other, and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your 3955Christmas-tree ornaments, singing "I Gotta Be Me" around the upright 3956piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d'oeuvres. 3957 Festivity Level 3: Your guests are arguing violently with 3958inanimate objects, singing "I can't get no satisfaction," gulping down 3959other peoples' drinks, wolfing down Christmas tree ornaments and 3960placing hors d'oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when 3961the little hammers strike. 3962 Festivity Level 4: Your guests, hors d'oeuvres smeared all over 3963their naked bodies are performing a ritual dance around the burning 3964Christmas tree. The piano is missing. 3965 3966 You want to keep your party somewhere around level 3, unless 3967you rent your home and own Firearms, in which case you can go to level 39684. The best way to get to level 3 is egg-nog. 3969% 3970Fifth Law of Applied Terror: 3971 If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. 3972 3973Corollary: 3974 If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you live. 3975% 3976Fifth Law of Procrastination: 3977 Procrastination avoids boredom; one never has the feeling that 3978there is nothing important to do. 3979% 3980Fifty flippant frogs 3981Walked by on flippered feet 3982And with their slime they made the time 3983Unnaturally fleet. 3984% 3985 FIGHTING WORDS 3986 3987Say my love is easy had, 3988 Say I'm bitten raw with pride, 3989Say I am too often sad -- 3990 Still behold me at your side. 3991 3992Say I'm neither brave nor young, 3993 Say I woo and coddle care, 3994Say the devil touched my tongue -- 3995 Still you have my heart to wear. 3996 3997But say my verses do not scan, 3998 And I get me another man! 3999 -- Dorothy Parker 4000% 4001Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited by statute in Barber, North 4002Carolina. 4003% 4004Finagle's Creed: 4005 Science is true. Don't be misled by facts. 4006% 4007Finagle's First Law: 4008 If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. 4009% 4010Finagle's Fourth Law: 4011 Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes 4012it worse. 4013% 4014Finagle's Second Law: 4015 No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be 4016someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it 4017happened according to his own pet theory. 4018% 4019Finagle's Third Law: 4020 In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct, 4021 beyond all need of checking, is the mistake. 4022 4023Corollaries: 4024 (1) Nobody whom you ask for help will see it. 4025 (2) The first person who stops by, whose advice you really 4026 don't want to hear, will see it immediately. 4027% 4028Finding out what goes on in the C.I.A. is like performing acupuncture 4029on a rock. 4030 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 4031% 4032Fine day to throw a party. Throw him as far as you can. 4033% 4034Fine day to work off excess energy. Steal something heavy. 4035% 4036Fine's Corollary: 4037 Functionality breeds Contempt. 4038% 4039Finish the sentence below in 25 words or less: 4040 4041 "Love is what you feel just before you give someone a good ..." 4042 4043Mail your answer along with the top half of your supervisor to: 4044 4045 P.O. Box 35 4046 Baffled Greek, Michigan 4047% 4048First Corollary of Taber's Second Law: 4049 Machines that piss people off get murdered. 4050 -- Pat Taber 4051% 4052First Law of Bicycling: 4053 No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the 4054wind. 4055% 4056First Law of Procrastination: 4057 Procrastination shortens the job and places the responsibility 4058for its termination on someone else (i.e., the authority who imposed 4059the deadline). 4060% 4061First Law of Socio-Genetics: 4062 Celibacy is not hereditary. 4063% 4064First Rule of History: 4065 History doesn't repeat itself -- historians merely repeat each 4066other. 4067% 4068"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order" 4069 -- The Doctor, "Doctor Who" 4070% 4071First, a few words about tools. 4072 4073Basically, a tool is an object that enables you to take advantage of 4074the laws of physics and mechanics in such a way that you can seriously 4075injure yourself. Today, people tend to take tools for granted. If 4076you're ever walking down the street and you notice some people who look 4077particularly smug, the odds are that they are taking tools for 4078granted. If I were you, I'd walk right up and smack them in the face. 4079 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 4080% 4081Five is a sufficiently close approximation to infinity. 4082 -- Robert Firth 4083% 4084Flappity, floppity, flip 4085The mouse on the m"obius strip; 4086 The strip revolved, 4087 The mouse dissolved 4088In a chronodimensional skip. 4089% 4090FLASH! Intelligence of mankind decreasing. Details at ... uh, when 4091the little hand is on the .... 4092% 4093Flon's Law: 4094 There is not now, and never will be, a language in which it is 4095the least bit difficult to write bad programs. 4096% 4097Florence Flask was ... dressing for the opera when she turned to her 4098husband and screamed, "Erlenmeyer! My joules! Someone has stolen my 4099joules!" 4100 4101"Now, now, my dear," replied her husband, "keep your balance and reflux 4102a moment. Perhaps they're mislead." 4103 4104"No, I know they're stolen," cried Florence. "I remember putting them 4105in my burette ... We must call a copper." 4106 4107Erlenmeyer did so, and the flatfoot who turned up, one Sherlock Ohms, 4108said the outrage looked like the work of an arch-criminal by the name 4109of Lawrence Ium. 4110 4111"We must be careful -- he's a free radical, ultraviolet, and 4112dangerous. His girlfriend is a chlorine at the Palladium. Maybe I can 4113catch him there." With that, he jumped on his carbon cycle in an 4114activated state and sped off along the reaction pathway ... 4115 -- Daniel B. Murphy, "Precipitations" 4116% 4117flowchart, n. & v.: 4118 [From flow "to ripple down in rich profusion, as hair" + chart 4119"a cryptic hidden-treasure map designed to mislead the uninitiated."] 41201. n. The solution, if any, to a class of Mascheroni construction 4121problems in which given algorithms require geometrical representation 4122using only the 35 basic ideograms of the ANSI template. 2. n. Neronic 4123doodling while the system burns. 3. n. A low-cost substitute for 4124wallpaper. 4. n. The innumerate misleading the illiterate. "A 4125thousand pictures is worth ten lines of code." -- The Programmer's 4126Little Red Vade Mecum, Mao Tse T'umps. 5. v.intrans. To produce 4127flowcharts with no particular object in mind. 6. v.trans. To obfuscate 4128(a problem) with esoteric cartoons. 4129 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 4130% 4131Flugg's Law: 4132 When you need to knock on wood is when you realize that the 4133world is composed of vinyl, naugahyde and aluminum. 4134% 4135Flying saucers on occasion 4136 Show themselves to human eyes. 4137Aliens fume, put off invasion 4138 While they brand these tales as lies. 4139% 4140Fog Lamps, n.: 4141 Excessively (often obnoxiously) bright lamps mounted on the 4142fronts of automobiles; used on dry, clear nights to indicate that the 4143driver's brain is in a fog. 4144 4145See also "Idiot Lights". 4146% 4147Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing. 4148 -- Walt Kelly, "Putluck Pogo" 4149% 4150For 20 dollars, I'll give you a good fortune next time ... 4151% 4152For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a 4153cat. 4154% 4155For an adequate time call 555-3321. 4156% 4157For an idea to be fashionable is ominous, since it must afterwards be 4158always old-fashioned. 4159% 4160For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, 4161and wrong. 4162 -- H. L. Mencken 4163% 4164For every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill. 4165 -- R. Clopton 4166% 4167 "For I perceive that behind this seemingly unrelated sequence 4168of events, there lurks a singular, sinister attitude of mind." 4169 4170 "Whose?" 4171 4172 "MINE! HA-HA!" 4173% 4174For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two. 4175% 4176For my son, Robert, this is proving to be the high-point of his entire 4177life to date. He has had his pajamas on for two, maybe three days 4178now. He has the sense of joyful independence a 5-year-old child gets 4179when he suddenly realizes that he could be operating an acetylene torch 4180in the coat closet and neither parent [because of the flu] would have 4181the strength to object. He has been foraging for his own food, which 4182means his diet consists entirely of "food" substances which are 4183advertised only on Saturday-morning cartoon shows; substances that are 4184the color of jukebox lights and that, for legal reasons, have their 4185names spelled wrong, as in New Creemy Chok-'n'-Cheez Lumps o' Froot 4186("part of this complete breakfast"). 4187 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 4188% 4189For perfect happiness, remember two things: 4190 (1) Be content with what you've got. 4191 (2) Be sure you've got plenty. 4192% 4193For some reason a glaze passes over people's faces when you say 4194"Canada". Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something. 4195 -- Sandra Gotlieb, wife of the Canadian ambassador to 4196 the U.S. 4197% 4198For some reason, this fortune reminds everyone of Marvin Zelkowitz. 4199% 4200For that matter, compare your pocket computer with the massive jobs of 4201a thousand years ago. Why not, then, the last step of doing away with 4202computers altogether? 4203 -- Jehan Shuman 4204% 4205For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like. 4206 -- Abraham Lincoln 4207% 4208For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but 4209phone calls taper off. 4210 -- Johnny Carson 4211% 4212For years a secret shame destroyed my peace -- 4213I'd not read Eliot, Auden or MacNiece. 4214But now I think a thought that brings me hope: 4215Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope. 4216 -- Justin Richardson. 4217% 4218For your penance, say five Hail Marys and one loud BLAH! 4219% 4220Forgetfulness, n.: 4221 A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their 4222destitution of conscience. 4223% 4224Forms follow function, and often obliterate it. 4225% 4226FORTUNE DISCUSSES THE OBSCURE FILMS! #6 4227 4228RAZORBACK: Paul Harbride, 1984, 2 hours 25 min. 4229 One of the great Australian films of the early 1980's, and 4230 arguably the best movie ever made about a large, man-eating 4231 hog. Some violence. With Gregory Harrison. 4232% 4233fortune's Contribution of the Month to the Animal Rights Debate: 4234 4235 I'll stay out of animals' way if they'll stay out of mine. 4236 "Hey you, get off my plate" 4237 -- Roger Midnight 4238% 4239Fortune's Fictitious Country Song Title of the Week: 4240 "How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?" 4241% 4242Fortune's graffito of the week (or maybe even month): 4243 4244 Don't Write On Walls! 4245 4246 (and underneath) 4247 4248 You want I should type? 4249% 4250Fortune's Law of the Week (this week, from Kentucky): 4251 No female shall appear in a bathing suit at any airport in this 4252State unless she is escorted by two officers or unless she is armed 4253with a club. The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females 4254weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it 4255apply to female horses. 4256% 4257Fortune's nomination for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful 4258Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an 4259impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to "expand oyster and 4260clam research," a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following 4261exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan. 4262 4263DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are 4264 having to artificially propagate oysters and clams. 4265HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature's oysters? 4266DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter 4267 is that female oysters through their living habits cast out 4268 large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large 4269 amounts of fertilization ... 4270HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many 4271 teenagers who read The Congressional Record. 4272% 4273Fortune's Office Door Sign of the Week: 4274 4275 Incorrigible punster -- Do not incorrige. 4276% 4277FORTUNE'S PARTY TIPS #14 4278 4279Tired of finding that other people are helping themselves to your good 4280liquor at BYOB parties? Take along a candle, which you insert and 4281light after you've opened the bottle. No one ever expects anything 4282drinkable to be in a bottle which has a candle stuck in its neck. 4283% 4284Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #18: 4285 4286Q: Are you married? 4287A: No, I'm divorced. 4288Q: And what did your husband do before you divorced him? 4289A: A lot of things I didn't know about. 4290% 4291Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #19: 4292 4293Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? 4294A: All my autopsies have been performed on dead people. 4295% 4296Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #29: 4297 4298THE JUDGE: Now, as we begin, I must ask you to banish all present 4299 information and prejudice from your minds, if you have 4300 any ... 4301% 4302Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #32: 4303 4304Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are right now? 4305A: I will be three months November 8th. 4306Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was August 8th? 4307A: Yes. 4308Q: What were you and your husband doing at that time? 4309% 4310Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #37: 4311 4312Q: Did he pick the dog up by the ears? 4313A: No. 4314Q: What was he doing with the dog's ears? 4315A: Picking them up in the air. 4316Q: Where was the dog at this time? 4317A: Attached to the ears. 4318% 4319Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #3: 4320 4321Q: When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were 4322 able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to 4323 go, gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with 4324 him to the station? 4325MR. BROOKS: Objection. That question should be taken out and shot. 4326% 4327Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #41: 4328 4329Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? 4330A: By death. 4331Q: And by whose death was it terminated? 4332% 4333Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #52: 4334 4335Q: What is your name? 4336A: Ernestine McDowell. 4337Q: And what is your marital status? 4338A: Fair. 4339% 4340Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #7: 4341 4342Q: What happened then? 4343A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify 4344 me." 4345Q: Did he kill you? 4346A: No. 4347% 4348fortune: cpu time/usefulness ratio too high -- core dumped. 4349% 4350Fortune: You will be attacked next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. by six samurai 4351sword wielding purple fish glued to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 4352 4353Oh, and have a nice day! 4354 -- Bryce Nesbitt '84 4355% 4356Fourth Law of Applied Terror: 4357 The night before the English History mid-term, your Biology 4358instructor will assign 200 pages on planaria. 4359 4360Corollary: 4361 Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do 4362except study for that instructor's course. 4363% 4364Fourth Law of Revision: 4365 It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about 4366interferences -- if you have none, someone will make one for you. 4367% 4368Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: If the probability of success is not 4369almost one, it is damn near zero. 4370 -- David Ellis 4371% 4372Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a 4373policeman's tie. 4374% 4375Fresco's Discovery: 4376 If you knew what you were doing you'd probably be bored. 4377% 4378Friends, Romans, Hipsters, 4379Let me clue you in; 4380I come to put down Caesar, not to groove him. 4381The square kicks some cats are on stay with them; 4382The hip bits, like, go down under; so let it lay with Caesar. The cool Brutus 4383Gave you the message: Caesar had big eyes; 4384If that's the sound, someone's copping a plea, 4385And, like, old Caesar really set them straight. 4386Here, copacetic with Brutus and the studs, -- for Brutus is a real cool cat; 4387So are they all, all cool cats, -- 4388Come I to make this gig at Caesar's laying down. 4389% 4390Frisbeetarianism, n.: 4391 The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and 4392gets stuck. 4393% 4394Frobnicate, v.: 4395 To manipulate or adjust, to tweak. Derived from FROBNITZ. 4396Usually abbreviated to FROB. Thus one has the saying "to frob a 4397frob". See TWEAK and TWIDDLE. Usage: FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK 4398sometimes connote points along a continuum. FROB connotes aimless 4399manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse 4400search for a proper setting; TWEAK connotes fine-tuning. If someone is 4401turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it 4402he is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the 4403screen he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because 4404turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. 4405% 4406Frobnitz, pl. Frobnitzem (frob'nitsm) n.: 4407 An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers to 4408electronic black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated to 4409FROTZ, or more commonly to FROB. Also used are FROBNULE, FROBULE, and 4410FROBNODULE. Starting perhaps in 1979, FROBBOZ (fruh-bahz'), pl. 4411FROBBOTZIM, has also become very popular, largely due to its exposure 4412via the Adventure spin-off called Zork (Dungeon). These can also be 4413applied to non-physical objects, such as data structures. 4414% 4415[From an announcement of a congress of the International Ontopsychology 4416Association, in Rome]: 4417 4418The Ontopsychological school, availing itself of new research criteria 4419and of a new telematic epistemology, maintains that social modes do not 4420spring from dialectics of territory or of class, or of consumer goods, 4421or of means of power, but rather from dynamic latencies capillarized in 4422millions of individuals in system functions which, once they have 4423reached the event maturation, burst forth in catastrophic phenomenology 4424engaging a suitable stereotype protagonist or duty marionette (general, 4425president, political party, etc.) to consummate the act of social 4426schizophrenia in mass genocide. 4427% 4428From the "Guiness Book of World Records", 1973: 4429 4430Certain passages in several laws have always defied interpretation and 4431the most inexplicable must be a matter of opinion. A judge of the 4432Court of Session of Scotland has sent the editors of this book his 4433candidate which reads, "In the Nuts (unground), (other than ground 4434nuts) Order, the expression nuts shall have reference to such nuts, 4435other than ground nuts, as would but for this amending Order not 4436qualify as nuts (unground)(other than ground nuts) by reason of their 4437being nuts (unground)." 4438% 4439From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down I was 4440convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it. 4441 -- Groucho Marx, from "The Book of Insults" 4442% 4443[From the operation manual for the CI-300 Dot Matrix Line Printer, made 4444in Japan]: 4445 4446The excellent output machine of MODEL CI-300 as extraordinary DOT 4447MATRIX LINE PRINTER, built in two MICRO-PROCESSORs as well as EAROM, is 4448featured by permitting wonderful co-existence such as; "high quality 4449against low cost", "diversified functions with compact design", 4450"flexibility in accessibleness and durability of approx. 2000,000,00 4451Dot/Head", "being sophisticated in mechanism but possibly agile 4452operating under noises being extremely suppressed" etc. 4453 4454And as a matter of course, the final goal is just simply to help 4455achieve "super shuttle diplomacy" between cool data, perhaps earned by 4456HOST COMPUTER, and warm heart of human being. 4457% 4458From the Pro 350 Pocket Service Guide, p. 49, Step 5 of the 4459instructions on removing an I/O board from the card cage, comes a new 4460experience in sound: 4461 4462 5. Turn the handle to the right 90 degrees. The pin-spreading 4463 sound is normal for this type of connector. 4464% 4465From too much love of living, 4466From hope and fear set free, 4467We thank with brief thanksgiving, 4468Whatever gods may be, 4469That no life lives forever, 4470That dead men rise up never, 4471That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea. 4472 -- Swinburne 4473% 4474Fuch's Warning: 4475 If you actually look like your passport photo, you aren't well 4476enough to travel. 4477% 4478Fudd's First Law of Opposition: 4479 Push something hard enough and it will fall over. 4480% 4481Furbling, v.: 4482 Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank 4483even when you are the only person in line. 4484 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4485% 4486Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. 4487 -- H. H. Williams 4488% 4489Future looks spotty. You will spill soup in late evening. 4490% 4491G. B. Shaw to William Douglas Home: "Go on writing plays, my boy. One 4492of these days a London producer will go into his office and say to his 4493secretary, `Is there a play from Shaw this morning?' and when she says 4494`No,' he will say, `Well, then we'll have to start on the rubbish.' And 4495that's your chance, my boy." 4496% 4497Garbage In -- Gospel Out. 4498% 4499Garter, n.: 4500 An elastic band intended to keep a woman from coming out of her 4501stockings and desolating the country. 4502 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4503% 4504Gauls! We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall 4505on our heads tomorrow. But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!! 4506 -- Adventures of Asterix 4507% 4508Gay shlafen: Yiddish for "go to sleep". 4509 4510 Now doesn't "gay shlafen" have a softer, more soothing sound 4511than the harsh, staccato "go to sleep"? Listen to the difference: 4512 "Go to sleep, you little wretch!" ... "Gay shlafen, darling." 4513Obvious, isn't it? 4514 Clearly the best thing you can do for you children is to start 4515speaking Yiddish right now and never speak another word of English as 4516long as you live. This will, of course, entail teaching Yiddish to all 4517your friends, business associates, the people at the supermarket, and 4518so on, but that's just the point. It has to start with committed 4519individuals and then grow ... 4520 Some minor adjustments will have to be made, of course: those 4521signs written in what look like Yiddish letters won't be funny when 4522everything is written in Yiddish. And we'll have to start driving on 4523the left side of the road so we won't be reading the street signs 4524backwards. But is that too high a price to pay for world peace? I 4525think not, my friend, I think not. 4526 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4527% 4528 "Gee, Mudhead, everyone at More Science High has an 4529extracurricular activity except you." 4530 "Well, gee, doesn't Louise count?" 4531 "Only to ten, Mudhead." 4532 4533 -- Firesign Theater 4534% 4535"Gee, Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore." 4536% 4537GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) 4538 You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you 4539because you are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much 4540for too little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for 4541committing incest. 4542% 4543GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20) 4544 Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while 4545you can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy praise 4546and respect from those around you; everybody loves a sucker. A short 4547trip is in the stars, possibly to the men's room. 4548% 4549Genderplex, n.: 4550 The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to 4551determine his or her designated restroom (e.g., turtles and 4552tortoises). 4553 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4554% 4555Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why 4556you should. 4557% 4558Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus 4559handicapped. 4560 -- Elbert Hubbard 4561% 4562Genius, n.: 4563 A chemist who discovers a laundry additive that rhymes with 4564"bright". 4565% 4566George Orwell 1984. Northwestern 0. 4567 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 4568% 4569George Orwell was an optimist. 4570% 4571George Washington was first in war, first in peace -- and the first to 4572have his birthday juggled to make a long weekend. 4573 -- Ashley Cooper 4574% 4575Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics: 4576 (1) An object in motion will always be headed in the wrong 4577 direction. 4578 (2) An object at rest will always be in the wrong place. 4579 (3) The energy required to change either one of these states 4580 will always be more than you wish to expend, but never so 4581 much as to make the task totally impossible. 4582% 4583Get forgiveness now -- tomorrow you may no longer feel guilty. 4584% 4585 Get GUMMed 4586 --- ------ 4587The Gurus of Unix Meeting of Minds (GUMM) takes place Wednesday, April 45881, 2076 (check THAT in your perpetual calendar program), 14 feet above 4589the ground directly in front of the Milpitas Gumps. Members will grep 4590each other by the hand (after intro), yacc a lot, smoke filtered 4591chroots in pipes, chown with forks, use the wc (unless uuclean), fseek 4592nice zombie processes, strip, and sleep, but not, we hope, od. Three 4593days will be devoted to discussion of the ramifications of whodo. Two 4594seconds have been allotted for a complete rundown of all the user- 4595friendly features of Unix. Seminars include "Everything You Know is 4596Wrong", led by Tom Kempson, "Batman or Cat:man?" led by Richie Dennis 4597"cc C? Si! Si!" led by Kerwin Bernighan, and "Document Unix, Are You 4598Kidding?" led by Jan Yeats. No Reader Service No. is necessary because 4599all GUGUs (Gurus of Unix Group of Users) already know everything we 4600could tell them. 4601 -- Dr. Dobb's Journal, June '84 4602% 4603Get Revenge! Live long enough to be a problem for your children! 4604% 4605 -- Gifts for Children -- 4606 4607This is easy. You never have to figure out what to get for children, 4608because they will tell you exactly what they want. They spend months 4609and months researching these kinds of things by watching Saturday- 4610morning cartoon-show advertisements. Make sure you get your children 4611exactly what they ask for, even if you disapprove of their choices. If 4612your child thinks he wants Murderous Bob, the Doll with the Face You 4613Can Rip Right Off, you'd better get it. You may be worried that it 4614might help to encourage your child's antisocial tendencies, but believe 4615me, you have not seen antisocial tendencies until you've seen a child 4616who is convinced that he or she did not get the right gift. 4617 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4618% 4619 -- Gifts for Men -- 4620 4621Men are amused by almost any idiot thing -- that is why professional 4622ice hockey is so popular -- so buying gifts for them is easy. But you 4623should never buy them clothes. Men believe they already have all the 4624clothes they will ever need, and new ones make them nervous. For 4625example, your average man has 84 ties, but he wears, at most, only 4626three of them. He has learned, through humiliating trial and error, 4627that if he wears any of the other 81 ties, his wife will probably laugh 4628at him ("You're not going to wear THAT tie with that suit, are you?"). 4629So he has narrowed it down to three safe ties, and has gone several 4630years without being laughed at. If you give him a new tie, he will 4631pretend to like it, but deep inside he will hate you. 4632 4633If you want to give a man something practical, consider tires. More 4634than once, I would have gladly traded all the gifts I got for a new set 4635of tires. 4636 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4637% 4638 Gimmie That Old Time Religion 4639We will follow Zarathustra, We will worship like the Druids, 4640Zarathustra like we use to, Dancing naked in the woods, 4641I'm a Zarathustra booster, Drinking strange fermented fluids, 4642And he's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! 4643 (chorus) (chorus) 4644 4645In the church of Aphrodite, 4646The priestess wears a see-through nightie, 4647She's a mighty righteous sightie, 4648And she's good enough for me! 4649 (chorus) 4650 4651CHORUS: Give me that old time religion, 4652 Give me that old time religion, 4653 Give me that old time religion, 4654 'Cause it's good enough for me! 4655% 4656Ginsberg's Theorem: 4657 (1) You can't win. 4658 (2) You can't break even. 4659 (3) You can't even quit the game. 4660 4661Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem: 4662 Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem 4663 meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's 4664 Theorem. To wit: 4665 4666 (1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win. 4667 (2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break even. 4668 (3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the game. 4669% 4670Give me a Plumber's friend the size of the Pittsburgh dome, and a place 4671to stand, and I will drain the world. 4672% 4673"Give me enough medals, and I'll win any war." 4674 -- Napoleon 4675% 4676Give me the Luxuries, and the Hell with the Necessities! 4677% 4678Give thought to your reputation. Consider changing name and moving to 4679a new town. 4680% 4681Give your child mental blocks for Christmas. 4682% 4683Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying 4684around, I'd rather lie around. No contest. 4685 -- Eric Clapton 4686% 4687Giving up on assembly language was the apple in our Garden of Eden: 4688Languages whose use squanders machine cycles are sinful. The LISP 4689machine now permits LISP programmers to abandon bra and fig-leaf. 4690 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 4691% 4692Glib's Fourth Law of Unreliability: 4693 Investment in reliability will increase until it exceeds the 4694probable cost of errors, or until someone insists on getting some 4695useful work done. 4696% 4697Gnagloot, n.: 4698 A person who leaves all his ski passes on his jacket just to 4699impress people. 4700 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4701% 4702Go 'way! You're bothering me! 4703% 4704Go climb a gravity well! 4705% 4706Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what value there may 4707be in owning a piece thereof. 4708 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 4709% 4710//GO.SYSIN DD *, DOODAH, DOODAH 4711% 4712God did not create the world in seven days; he screwed around for six 4713days and then pulled an all-nighter. 4714% 4715God doesn't play dice. 4716 -- Albert Einstein 4717% 4718"God gives burdens; also shoulders" 4719 4720Jimmy Carter cited this Jewish saying in his concession speech at the 4721end of the 1980 election. At least he said it was a Jewish saying; I 4722can't find it anywhere. I'm sure he's telling the truth though; why 4723would he lie about a thing like that? 4724 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4725% 4726God has intended the great to be great and the little to be little ... 4727The trade unions, under the European system, destroy liberty ... I do 4728not mean to say that a dollar a day is enough to support a workingman 4729... not enough to support a man and five children if he insists on 4730smoking and drinking beer. But the man who cannot live on bread and 4731water is not fit to live! A family may live on good bread and water in 4732the morning, water and bread at midday, and good bread and water at 4733night! 4734 -- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 4735% 4736God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh. 4737% 4738God is a polytheist. 4739% 4740God is Dead 4741 -- Nietzsche 4742Nietzsche is Dead 4743 -- God 4744Nietzsche is God 4745 -- The Dead 4746% 4747God is not dead! He's alive and autographing bibles at Cody's 4748% 4749God is real, unless declared integer. 4750% 4751God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the 4752elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying 4753other things. 4754 -- Pablo Picasso 4755% 4756God is the tangential point between zero and infinity. 4757 -- Alfred Jarry 4758% 4759God isn't dead, he just couldn't find a parking place. 4760% 4761God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man. 4762% 4763God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board 4764 -- Mark Twain 4765% 4766God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. 4767 -- Kronecker 4768% 4769God made the world in six days, and was arrested on the seventh. 4770% 4771God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean. 4772 -- Albert Einstein 4773% 4774God must love the Common Man; He made so many of them. 4775% 4776God rest ye CS students now, 4777Let nothing you dismay. 4778The VAX is down and won't be up, 4779Until the first of May. 4780The program that was due this morn, 4781Won't be postponed, they say. 4782 4783 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 4784 Comfort and joy, 4785 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 4786 4787The bearings on the drum are gone, 4788The disk is wobbling, too. 4789We've found a bug in Lisp, and Algol 4790Can't tell false from true. 4791And now we find that we can't get 4792At Berkeley's 4.2. 4793 4794 (chorus) 4795% 4796Going to church does not make a person religious, nor does going to 4797school make a person educated, any more than going to a garage makes a 4798person a car. 4799% 4800Gold, n.: 4801 A soft malleable metal relatively scarce in distribution. It 4802is mined deep in the earth by poor men who then give it to rich men who 4803immediately bury it back in the earth in great prisons, although gold 4804hasn't done anything to them. 4805 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 4806% 4807Goldenstern's Rules: 4808 (1) Always hire a rich attorney. 4809 (2) Never buy from a rich salesman. 4810% 4811Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad 4812example. 4813 -- La Rouchefoucauld 4814% 4815Good day for a change of scene. Repaper the bedroom wall. 4816% 4817Good day for overcoming obstacles. Try a steeplechase. 4818% 4819Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to school. 4820% 4821Good day to let down old friends who need help. 4822% 4823Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed. 4824% 4825Good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance. 4826% 4827Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. 4828% 4829Good night to spend with family, but avoid arguments with your mate's 4830new lover. 4831% 4832Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored. 4833 -- George Saunders' dying words 4834% 4835Gordon's first law: 4836 If a research project is not worth doing, it is not worth doing 4837well. 4838% 4839"Gosh that takes me back... or is it forward? That's the trouble with 4840time travel, you never can tell." 4841 -- Doctor Who "Androids of Tara" 4842% 4843Got Mole problems? 4844Call Avogadro 6.02 x 10^23 4845% 4846Goto, n.: 4847 A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers 4848to complain about unstructured programmers. 4849 -- Ray Simard 4850% 4851Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage. 4852 -- John Updike, "Couples" 4853% 4854Government lies, and newspapers lie, but in a democracy they are 4855different lies. 4856% 4857Government spending? I don't know what it's all about. I don't know 4858any more about this thing than an economist does, and, God knows, he 4859doesn't know much. 4860 -- Will Rogers 4861% 4862Grabel's Law: 4863 2 is not equal to 3 -- not even for large values of 2. 4864% 4865Graduate life -- it's not just a job, it's an indenture. 4866% 4867Graduate life: It's not just a job. It's an indenture. 4868% 4869Grandpa Charnock's Law: 4870 You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. 4871% 4872Gravity is a myth: the Earth sucks. 4873% 4874Gray's Law of Programming: 4875 `_n+1' trivial tasks are expected to be accomplished in the same 4876time as `_n' tasks. 4877 4878Logg's Rebuttal to Gray's Law: 4879 `_n+1' trivial tasks take twice as long as `_n' trivial tasks. 4880% 4881Great minds run in great circles. 4882% 4883 GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY #21 -- July 30, 1917 4884 4885On this day, New York City hotel detectives burst in and caught then- 4886Senator Warren G. Harding in bed with an underage girl. He bought them 4887off with a $20 bribe, and later remarked thankfully, "I thought I 4888wouldn't get out of that under $1000!" Always one to learn from his 4889mistakes, in later years President Harding carried on his affairs in a 4890tiny closet in the White House Cabinet Room while Secret Service men 4891stood lookout. 4892% 4893Green light in A.M. for new projects. 4894Red light in P.M. for traffic tickets. 4895% 4896Greener's Law: 4897 Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel. 4898% 4899Grelb's Reminder: 4900 Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above 4901average drivers. 4902% 4903Grub first, then ethics. 4904 -- Bertholt Brecht 4905% 4906Gurmlish, n.: 4907 The red warning flag at the top of a club sandwich which 4908prevents the person from biting into it and puncturing the roof of his 4909mouth. 4910 -- Rich Hall & Friends, "Sniglets" 4911% 4912Gyroscope, n.: 4913 A wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also 4914free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each 4915other and the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two 4916mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the 4917other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus 4918offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any 4919torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin. 4920 -- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary 4921% 4922H. L. Mencken suffers from the hallucination that he is H. L. 4923Mencken -- there is no cure for a disease of that magnitude. 4924 -- Maxwell Bodenheim 4925% 4926H. L. Mencken's Law: 4927 Those who can -- do. 4928 Those who can't -- teach. 4929 4930Martin's Extension: 4931 Those who cannot teach -- administrate. 4932% 4933H: If a 'GOBLIN (HOB) waylays you, 4934 Slice him up before he slays you. 4935 Nothing makes you look a slob 4936 Like running from a HOB'LIN (GOB). 4937 -- The Roguelet's ABC 4938% 4939Hacker's Law: 4940 The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a 4941nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. 4942% 4943Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge. 4944% 4945Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, 4946and you would not have been informed. 4947% 4948Hail to the sun god 4949He sure is a fun god 4950Ra! Ra! Ra! 4951% 4952Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big 4953enough majority in any town? 4954 -- Mark Twain, "Huckleberry Finn" 4955% 4956Half Moon tonight. (At least it's better than no Moon at all.) 4957% 4958Half-done: 4959 This is the best way to eat a kosher dill -- when it's still 4960crunchy, light green, yet full of garlic flavor. The difference 4961between this and the typical soggy dark green cucumber corpse is like 4962the difference between life and death. 4963 You may find it difficult to find a good half-done kosher dill 4964there in Seattle, so what you should do is take a cab out to the 4965airport, fly to New York, take the JFK Express to Jay Street-Borough 4966Hall, transfer to an uptown F, get off at East Broadway, walk north on 4967Essex (along the park), make your first left onto Hester Street, walk 4968about fifteen steps, turn ninety degrees left, and stop. Say to the 4969man, "Let me have a nice half-done." 4970 Worth the trouble, wasn't it? 4971 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4972% 4973Hall's Laws of Politics: 4974 (1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending. 4975 (2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something 4976 fixed. 4977 (3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend 4978 military spending, and conservatives social spending in 4979 their own districts). 4980% 4981Hand, n.: 4982 A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and 4983commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. 4984 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4985% 4986Hanlon's Razor: 4987 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by 4988stupidity. 4989% 4990Hanson's Treatment of Time: 4991 There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days 4992before Saturday. 4993% 4994Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. 4995 -- Ogden Nash 4996% 4997Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. 4998 -- Oscar Levant 4999% 5000Happiness, n.: 5001 An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of 5002another. 5003 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5004% 5005Hard work may not kill you, but why take chances? 5006% 5007Hardware, n.: 5008 The parts of a computer system that can be kicked. 5009% 5010Hark ye, Clinker, you are a most notorious offender. You stand 5011convicted of sickness, hunger, wretchedness, and want. 5012 -- Tobias Smollet 5013% 5014Hark, Hark, the dogs do bark 5015The Duke is fond of kittens 5016He likes to take their insides out 5017And use them for his mittens 5018 From "The Thirteen Clocks" 5019% 5020Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, 5021Advertising wondrous things. 5022 -- Tom Lehrer 5023% 5024Harris's Lament: 5025 All the good ones are taken. 5026% 5027Harrisberger's Fourth Law of the Lab: 5028 Experience is directly proportional to the amount of equipment 5029ruined. 5030% 5031Harry is heavily into camping, and every year in the late fall, he 5032makes us all go to Assateague, which is an island on the Atlantic Ocean 5033famous for its wild horses. I realize that the concept of wild horses 5034probably stirs romantic notions in many of you, but this is because you 5035have never met any wild horses in person. In person, they are like 5036enormous hooved rats. They amble up to your camp site, and their 5037attitude is: "We're wild horses. We're going to eat your food, knock 5038down your tent and poop on your shoes. We're protected by federal law, 5039just like Richard Nixon." 5040 -- Dave Barry, "Tenting Grandpa Bob" 5041% 5042Hartley's First Law: 5043 You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float 5044on his back, you've got something. 5045% 5046Hartley's Second Law: 5047 Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. 5048% 5049Harvard Law: 5050 Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, 5051temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables, the organism will 5052do as it damn well pleases. 5053% 5054"Has anyone had problems with the computer accounts?" 5055"Yes, I don't have one." 5056"Okay, you can send mail to one of the tutors ..." 5057 -- E. D'Azevedo, Computer Science 372 5058% 5059Has everyone noticed that all the letters of the word "database" are 5060typed with the left hand? Now the layout of the QWERTYUIOP typewriter 5061keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the even use 5062of both hands. It follows, therefore, that writing about databases is 5063not only unnatural, but a lot harder than it appears. 5064% 5065 Has your family tried 'em? 5066 5067 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5068 5069 Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious! 5070 5071 They're made from whole wheat, to give shy persons the 5072 strength to get up and do what needs to be done. 5073 5074 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5075 5076 Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the 5077 biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains 5078 that indicate freshness. 5079% 5080Hatred, n.: 5081 A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's 5082superiority. 5083 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5084% 5085Have an adequate day. 5086% 5087Have people realized that the purpose of the fortune cookie program is 5088to defuse project tensions? When did you ever see a cheerful cookie, a 5089non-cynical, or even an informative cookie? 5090 5091Perhaps inadvertently, we have a channel for our aggressions. This 5092still begs the question of whether the cookie releases the pressure or 5093only serves to blunt the warning signs. 5094 5095 Long live the revolution! 5096 Have a nice day. 5097% 5098Have you ever noticed that the people who are always trying to tell 5099you, "There's a time for work and a time for play," never find the time 5100for play? 5101% 5102Have you ever wondered what makes Californians so calm? Besides drugs, 5103I mean. The answer is hot tubs. A hot tub is a redwood container 5104filled with water that you sit in naked with members of the opposite 5105sex, none of whom is necessarily your spouse. After a few hours in 5106their hot tubs, Californians don't give a damn about earthquakes or 5107mass murderers. They don't give a damn about anything , which is why 5108they are able to produce "Laverne and Shirley" week after week. 5109 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5110% 5111"Have you lived here all your life?" 5112"Oh, twice that long." 5113% 5114Have you noticed that all you need to grow healthy, vigorous grass is a 5115crack in your sidewalk? 5116% 5117Have you noticed the way people's intelligence capabilities decline 5118sharply the minute they start waving guns around? 5119 -- Dr. Who 5120% 5121Have you reconsidered a computer career? 5122% 5123He did decide, though, that with more time and a great deal of mental 5124effort, he could probably turn the activity into an acceptable 5125perversion. 5126 -- Mick Farren, "When Gravity Fails" 5127% 5128He flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions. 5129 -- Stephen Leacock 5130% 5131He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation 5132perfectly delightful. 5133 -- Sydney Smith 5134% 5135He had that rare weird electricity about him -- that extremely wild and 5136heavy presence that you only see in a person who has abandoned all hope 5137of ever behaving "normally." 5138 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing '72" 5139% 5140He hadn't a single redeeming vice. 5141 -- Oscar Wilde 5142% 5143He is now rising from affluence to poverty. 5144 -- Mark Twain 5145% 5146He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered. 5147% 5148He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. 5149 -- John Mason Brown, drama critic 5150% 5151He thought he saw an albatross 5152That fluttered 'round the lamp. 5153He looked again and saw it was 5154A penny postage stamp. 5155"You'd best be getting home," he said, 5156"The nights are rather damp." 5157% 5158He was a fiddler, and consequently a rogue. 5159 -- Jonathan Swift 5160% 5161He was a modest, good-humored boy. It was Oxford that made him insufferable. 5162% 5163He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes. 5164% 5165He who attacks the fundamentals of the American broadcasting industry 5166attacks democracy itself. 5167 -- William S. Paley, chairman of CBS 5168% 5169He who Laughs, Lasts. 5170% 5171"He's just a politician trying to save both his faces ..." 5172% 5173He's the kind of guy, that, well, if you were ever in a jam he'd be 5174there ... with two slices of bread and some chunky peanut butter. 5175% 5176He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is ... 5177% 5178HE: Let's end it all, bequeathin' our brains to science. 5179SHE: What?!? Science got enough trouble with their ___OWN brains. 5180 -- Walt Kelley 5181% 5182Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. 5183% 5184Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5185of nothing. 5186 -- Redd Foxx 5187% 5188Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5189of nothing. 5190 -- Redd Foxx 5191% 5192Heaven, n.: 5193 A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of 5194their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you 5195expound your own. 5196 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5197% 5198Heavy, adj.: 5199 Seduced by the chocolate side of the force. 5200% 5201"Heisenberg may have slept here" 5202% 5203Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. 5204 -- Milton Friedman 5205% 5206Heller's Law: 5207 The first myth of management is that it exists. 5208 5209Johnson's Corollary: 5210 Nobody really knows what is going on anywhere within the 5211organization. 5212% 5213"Hello," he lied. 5214 -- Don Carpenter quoting a Hollywood agent 5215% 5216Help a swallow land at Capistrano. 5217% 5218Help fight continental drift. 5219% 5220Help me, I'm a prisoner in a Fortune cookie file! 5221% 5222Help stamp out and abolish redundancy. 5223% 5224Help! I'm trapped in a PDP 11/70! 5225% 5226HELP! MY TYPEWRITER IS BROKEN! 5227 -- E. E. CUMMINGS 5228% 5229Her locks an ancient lady gave 5230Her loving husband's life to save; 5231And men -- they honored so the dame -- 5232Upon some stars bestowed her name. 5233 5234But to our modern married fair, 5235Who'd give their lords to save their hair, 5236No stellar recognition's given. 5237There are not stars enough in heaven. 5238% 5239"Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from 5240Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth ..." 5241% 5242Here I sit, broken-hearted, 5243All logged in, but work unstarted. 5244First net.this and net.that, 5245And a hot buttered bun for net.fat. 5246 5247The boss comes by, and I play the game, 5248Then I turn back to net.flame. 5249Is there a cure (I need your views), 5250For someone trapped in net.news? 5251 5252I need your help, I say 'tween sobs, 5253'Cause I'll soon be listed in net.jobs. 5254% 5255Here in my heart, I am Helen; 5256 I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least. 5257I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Sta"el; 5258 I'm Salome, moon of the East. 5259 5260Here in my soul I am Sappho; 5261 Lady Hamilton am I, as well. 5262In me R'ecamier vies with Kitty O'Shea, 5263 With Dido, and Eve, and poor nell. 5264 5265I'm all of the glamorous ladies 5266 At whose beckoning history shook. 5267But you are a man, and see only my pan, 5268 So I stay at home with a book. 5269 -- Dorothy Parker 5270% 5271Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical 5272lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach 5273your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. 5274Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in 5275pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, 5276but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an 5277important electrical lesson. 5278 5279It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed 5280your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small 5281objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpets so they will 5282attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and 5283collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your 5284friend's filling, then travels down to his feet and back into the 5285carpet, thus completing the circuit. 5286 5287Amazing Electronic Fact: If you scuffed your feet long enough without 5288touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your 5289finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you 5290have carpeting. 5291 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 5292% 5293 Here is the fact of the week, maybe even the fact of the 5294month. According to probably reliable sources, the Coca-Cola people 5295are experiencing severe marketing anxiety in China. 5296 The words "Coca-Cola" translate into Chinese as either 5297(depending on the inflection) "wax-fattened mare" or "bite the wax 5298tadpole". 5299 Bite the wax tadpole. 5300 There is a sort of rough justice, is there not? 5301 The trouble with this fact, as lovely as it is, is that it's 5302hard to get a whole column out of it. I'd like to teach the world to 5303bite a wax tadpole. Coke -- it's the real wax-fattened mare. Not bad, 5304but broad satiric vistas do not open up. 5305 -- John Carroll, San Francisco Chronicle 5306% 5307"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 5308`Psychic Wins Lottery'?" 5309 -- Jay Leno 5310% 5311Heuristics are bug ridden by definition. If they didn't have bugs, 5312then they'd be algorithms. 5313% 5314"Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??!" 5315 -- W. C. Fields 5316% 5317Hi there! This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person 5318reading this note, that I can't think up any more famous quotes, jokes, 5319nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home. 5320% 5321"Hi, I'm Preston A. Mantis, president of Consumers Retail Law Outlet. 5322As you can see by my suit and the fact that I have all these books of 5323equal height on the shelves behind me, I am a trained legal attorney. 5324Do you have a car or a job? Do you ever walk around? If so, you 5325probably have the makings of an excellent legal case. Although of 5326course every case is different, I would definitely say that based on my 5327experience and training, there's no reason why you shouldn't come out 5328of this thing with at least a cabin cruiser. 5329 5330"Remember, at the Preston A. Mantis Consumers Retail Law Outlet, our 5331motto is: 'It is very difficult to disprove certain kinds of pain.'" 5332 -- Dave Barry, "Pain and Suffering" 5333% 5334Hier liegt ein Mann ganz ohnegleich; 5335Im Leibe dick, an Suenden reich. 5336Wir haben ihn in das Grab gesteckt, Here lies a man with sundry flaws 5337Weil es uns duenkt er sei verreckt. And numerous Sins upon his head; 5338 We buried him today because 5339 As far as we can tell, he's dead. 5340 -- PDQ Bach's epitaph, as requested by his cousin Betty 5341 Sue Bach and written by the local doggerel catcher; 5342 "The Definitive Biography of PDQ Bach", Peter Schickele 5343% 5344Higgledy Piggledy, 5345Hamlet of Elsinore 5346Ruffled the critics by 5347Dropping this bomb: 5348"Phooey on Freud and his 5349Psychoanalysis -- 5350Oedipus, Shmoedipus, 5351I just loved Mom." 5352% 5353Hindsight is an exact science. 5354% 5355Hippogriff, n.: 5356 An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. 5357The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. 5358The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one quarter eagle, which 5359is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full 5360of surprises. 5361 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5362% 5363Hire the morally handicapped. 5364% 5365"His great aim was to escape from civilization, and, as soon as he had 5366money, he went to Southern California." 5367% 5368His mind is like a steel trap -- full of mice. 5369 -- Foghorn Leghorn 5370% 5371His super power is to turn into a scotch terrier. 5372% 5373History is curious stuff 5374 You'd think by now we had enough 5375Yet the fact remains I fear 5376 They make more of it every year. 5377% 5378History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history. 5379% 5380History, n.: 5381 Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we 5382learn nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from 5383what happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long 5384view. 5385 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 5386% 5387Hlade's Law: 5388 If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- they 5389will find an easier way to do it. 5390% 5391Hoare's Law of Large Problems: 5392 Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out. 5393% 5394Hofstadter's Law: 5395 It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take 5396Hofstadter's Law into account. 5397% 5398Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness you send out for it. 5399 -- Rex Reed 5400% 5401 Home centers are designed for the do-it-yourselfer who's 5402willing to pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop 5403for lumber, hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say 5404"shop for", as opposed to "obtain". This is the major drawback of home 5405centers: they are always out of everything except artificial Christmas 5406trees. The home center employees have no time to reorder merchandise 5407because they are too busy applying little price stickers to every 5408object -- every board, washer, nail and screw -- in the entire store ... 5409 Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the 5410broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has 5411a replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the 5412inside of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the 5413same way that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at 5414an electronic calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of 5415these sometime around the middle of next week". 5416 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5417% 5418Home of Doberman Propulsion Laboratories: 5419The ultimate in watchdog weaponry. 5420 -- Chris Shaw 5421% 5422Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. 5423% 5424Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people. 5425 -- F. M. Hubbard 5426% 5427Honk if you hate bumper stickers that say "Honk if ..." 5428% 5429Honk if you love peace and quiet. 5430% 5431Honorable, adj.: 5432 Afflicted with an impediment in one's reach. In legislative 5433bodies, it is customary to mention all members as honorable; as, "the 5434honorable gentleman is a scurvy cur." 5435 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5436% 5437Horngren's Observation: 5438 Among economists, the real world is often a special case. 5439% 5440Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on 5441people. 5442 -- W. C. Fields 5443% 5444Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. 5445% 5446"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." 5447 -- Neil Armstrong 5448% 5449How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all? 5450% 5451How come only your friends step on your new white sneakers? 5452% 5453How come wrong numbers are never busy? 5454% 5455How do I love thee? My accumulator overflows. 5456% 5457How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? 5458 -- Elliot, "E.T." 5459% 5460How doth the little crocodile 5461 Improve his shining tail, 5462And pour the waters of the Nile 5463 On every golden scale! 5464 5465How cheerfully he seems to grin, 5466 How neatly spreads his claws, 5467And welcomes little fishes in, 5468 With gently smiling jaws! 5469 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 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 their clothes to rags. 5480% 5481How I love to watch the morn, 5482 With golden sun that shines, 5483Up above to nicely warm 5484 These frosty toes of mine. 5485 5486The wind doth taste so bitter sweet, 5487 Like Jaspar wine and sugar, 5488It must have blown through someone's feet, 5489 Like those of ... Caspar Weinberger. 5490 -- P. Opus (Bloom County) 5491% 5492How doth the VAX's C-compiler 5493Improve its object code. 5494And even as we speak does it 5495Increase the system load. 5496 5497How patiently it seems to run 5498And spit out error flags, 5499While users, with frustration, all 5500Tear all their clothes to rags. 5501% 5502How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're 5503on. 5504% 5505How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5506None: "We'll fix it in software." 5507 5508How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5509None: "We'll document it in the manual." 5510 5511How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5512None: "The user can work it out." 5513% 5514How many hors d'oeuvres you are allowed to take off a tray being 5515carried by a waiter at a nice party? 5516 5517Two, but there are ways around it, depending on the style of the hors 5518d'oeuvre. If they're those little pastry things where you can't tell 5519what's inside, you take one, bite off about two-thirds of it, then 5520say: "This is cheese! I hate cheese!" Then you put the rest of it 5521back on the tray and bite another one and go, "Darn it! Another 5522cheese!" and so on. 5523 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 5524% 5525 How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 55263.155 x 10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, 5527who could forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is a 5528nanocentury. 5529 -- Tom Duff, Bell Labs 5530% 5531How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to Dayton? 5532 -- Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey 5533% 5534How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. 5535% 5536HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5537 #1040 Your income tax refund cheque bounces. 5538% 5539HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5540 #15 Your pet rock snaps at you. 5541% 5542HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5543 #32: You call your answering service and they've never heard of you. 5544% 5545Howe's Law: 5546 Everyone has a scheme that will not work. 5547% 5548However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity in my traditional 5549manner ... sulking and nausea. 5550 -- Tom K. Ryan 5551% 5552HR 3128. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation, Fiscal 1986. Martin, R-Ill., 5553motion that the House recede from its disagreement to the Senate 5554amendment making changes in the bill to reduce fiscal 1986 deficits. 5555The Senate amendment was an amendment to the House amendment to the 5556Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 5557bill. The original Senate amendment was the conference agreement on 5558the bill. Agreed to. 5559 -- Albuquerque Journal 5560% 5561 Hug O' War 5562 5563I will not play at tug o' war. 5564I'd rather play at hug o' war, 5565Where everyone hugs 5566Instead of tugs, 5567Where everyone giggles 5568And rolls on the rug, 5569Where everyone kisses, 5570And everyone grins, 5571And everyone cuddles, 5572And everyone wins. 5573 -- Shel Silverstein 5574% 5575Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill. 5576% 5577Human cardiac catheterization was introduced by Werner Forssman in 55781929. Ignoring his department chief, and tying his assistant to an 5579operating table to prevent his interference, he placed a urethral 5580catheter into a vein in his arm, advanced it to the right atrium [of 5581his heart], and walked upstairs to the x-ray department where he took 5582the confirmatory x-ray film. In 1956, Dr. Forssman was awarded the 5583Nobel Prize. 5584% 5585Hummingbirds never remember the words to songs. 5586% 5587Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse. 5588 -- William Gilbert 5589% 5590Hurewitz's Memory Principle: 5591 The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional 5592to ..... to ........ uh .............. 5593% 5594I also believe that academic freedom should protect the right of a 5595professor or student to advocate Marxism, socialism, communism, or any 5596other minority viewpoint -- no matter how distasteful to the majority. 5597 -- Richard M. Nixon 5598 5599What are our schools for if not indoctrination against Communism? 5600 -- Richard M. Nixon 5601% 5602"I am convinced that the manufacturers of carpet odor removing powder 5603have included encapsulated time released cat urine in their products. 5604This technology must be what prevented its distribution during my mom's 5605reign. My carpet smells like piss, and I don't have a cat. Better go 5606buy some more." 5607 -- timw@zeb.USWest.COM 5608% 5609I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work. 5610% 5611I am not an Economist. I am an honest man! 5612 -- Paul McCracken 5613% 5614I am not now, and never have been, a girlfriend of Henry Kissinger. 5615 -- Gloria Steinem 5616% 5617I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the demigodic party. 5618 -- Dennis Ritchie 5619% 5620I am not sure what this is, but an `F' would only dignify it. 5621 -- English Professor 5622% 5623I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the 5624great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. 5625 -- Winston Churchill 5626% 5627I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone 5628has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. 5629 -- English Professor, Ohio University 5630% 5631I am so optimistic about beef prices that I've just leased a pot roast 5632with an option to buy. 5633% 5634I am the mother of all things, and all things should wear a sweater. 5635% 5636I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, 5637of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell 5638you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial 5639atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something 5640inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering. 5641 -- Pooh-Bah, "The Mikado", Gilbert & Sullivan 5642% 5643I appreciate the fact that this draft was done in haste, but some of 5644the sentences that you are sending out in the world to do your work for 5645you are loitering in taverns or asleep beside the highway. 5646 -- Dr. Dwight Van de Vate, Professor of Philosophy, 5647 University of Tennessee at Knoxville 5648% 5649I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an 5650argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and 5651steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, 5652they don't even invite me. 5653 -- Dave Barry 5654% 5655I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean. 5656 -- G. K. Chesterton 5657% 5658I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat. 5659 -- Will Rogers 5660% 5661I bet the human brain is a kludge. 5662 -- Marvin Minsky 5663% 5664I brake for chezlogs! 5665% 5666I call them as I see them. If I can't see them, I make them up. 5667 -- Biff Barf 5668% 5669I can feel for her because, although I have never been an Alaskan 5670prostitute dancing on the bar in a spangled dress, I still get very 5671bored with washing and ironing and dishwashing and cooking day after 5672relentless day. 5673 -- Betty MacDonald 5674% 5675I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself. 5676% 5677I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and 567825 percent actor, but I can well see the day when the reverse could be 5679true. 5680 -- Harry Truman 5681% 5682I can resist anything but temptation. 5683% 5684I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. 5685 -- Joe Walsh 5686% 5687I can't decide whether to commit suicide or go bowling. 5688 -- Florence Henderson 5689% 5690I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can 5691understand it. 5692 -- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 5693% 5694I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a 5695novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. 5696 -- Fred Allen 5697% 5698I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions. 5699 -- Lillian Hellman 5700% 5701I cannot conceive that anybody will require multiplications at the rate 5702of 40,000 or even 4,000 per hour ... 5703 -- F. H. Wales (1936) 5704% 5705I cannot overemphasize the importance of good grammar. 5706 5707What a crock. I could easily overemphasize the importance of good 5708grammar. For example, I could say: "Bad grammar is the leading cause 5709of slow, painful death in North America," or "Without good grammar, the 5710United States would have lost World War II." 5711 -- Dave Barry, "An Utterly Absurd Look at Grammar" 5712% 5713 "I cannot read the fiery letters," said Frito Bugger in a 5714quavering voice. 5715 "No," said GoodGulf, "but I can. The letters are Elvish, of 5716course, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which 5717I will not utter here. They are lines of a verse long known in 5718Elven-lore: 5719 5720 "This Ring, no other, is made by the elves, 5721 Who'd pawn their own mother to grab it themselves. 5722 Ruler of creeper, mortal, and scallop, 5723 This is a sleeper that packs quite a wallop. 5724 The Power almighty rests in this Lone Ring. 5725 The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing. 5726 If broken or busted, it cannot be remade. 5727 If found, send to Sorhed (with postage prepaid)." 5728 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 5729% 5730I changed my headlights the other day. I put in strobe lights 5731instead! Now when I drive at night, it looks like everyone else is 5732standing still ... 5733 -- Steven Wright 5734% 5735I could dance till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather 5736dance with the cows till you come home. 5737 -- Groucho Marx 5738% 5739I couldn't remember when I had been so disappointed. Except perhaps 5740the time I found out that M&Ms really *do* melt in your hand ... 5741 -- Peter Oakley 5742% 5743I didn't know it was impossible when I did it. 5744% 5745I didn't like the play, but I saw it under adverse conditions. The 5746curtain was up. 5747% 5748 I disapprove of the F-word, not because it's dirty, but because 5749we use it as a substitute for thoughtful insults, and it frequently 5750leads to violence. What we ought to do, when we anger each other, say, 5751in traffic, is exchange phone numbers, so that later on, when we've had 5752time to think of witty and learned insults or look them up in the 5753library, we could call each other up: 5754 5755 You: Hello? Bob? 5756 Bob: Yes? 5757 You: This is Ed. Remember? The person whose parking space you 5758 took last Thursday? Outside of Sears? 5759 Bob: Oh yes! Sure! How are you, Ed? 5760 You: Fine, thanks. Listen, Bob, the reason I'm calling is: 5761 "Madam, you may be drunk, but I am ugly, and ..." No, wait. 5762 I mean: "you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill 5763 and ..." No, wait. (Sound of reference book thudding onto 5764 the floor.) S-word. Excuse me. Look, Bob, I'm going to 5765 have to get back to you. 5766 Bob: Fine. 5767 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 5768% 5769I do hate sums. There is no greater mistake than to call arithmetic an 5770exact science. There are permutations and aberrations discernible to 5771minds entirely noble like mine; subtle variations which ordinary 5772accountants fail to discover; hidden laws of number which it requires a 5773mind like mine to perceive. For instance, if you add a sum from the 5774bottom up, and then again from the top down, the result is always 5775different. 5776 -- Mrs. La Touche (19th cent.) 5777% 5778I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. 5779 -- Isaac Asimov 5780% 5781I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us 5782with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use. 5783 -- Galileo Galilei 5784% 5785I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should. 5786 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5787% 5788I don't believe in astrology. But then I'm an Aquarius, and Aquarians 5789don't believe in astrology. 5790 -- James R. F. Quirk 5791% 5792I don't believe there really IS a GAS SHORTAGE.. I think it's all just 5793a BIG HOAX on the part of the plastic sign salesmen -- to sell more 5794numbers!! 5795% 5796I don't care for the Sugar Smacks commercial. I don't like the idea of 5797a frog jumping on my Breakfast. 5798 -- Lowell, Chicago Reader 10/15/82 5799% 5800I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the 5801nominating. 5802 -- Boss Tweed 5803% 5804I don't have any solution but I certainly admire the problem. 5805 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 5806% 5807I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I've got hundreds of 5808people waiting to abuse me. 5809 -- Bill Murray, "Ghostbusters" 5810% 5811I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. 5812 -- Elvis Presley 5813% 5814 "I don't know what you mean by `glory,'" Alice said 5815 Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- 5816till I tell you. I meant `there's a nice knock-down argument for 5817you!'" 5818 "But glory doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice 5819objected. 5820 "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful 5821tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor 5822less." 5823 "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean 5824so many different things." 5825 "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-- 5826that's all." 5827 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 5828% 5829I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd 5830eat it, and I just hate it. 5831 -- Clarence Darrow 5832% 5833I don't mind going nowhere as long as it's an interesting path. 5834 -- Ronald Mabbitt 5835% 5836I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the 5837streets and frighten the horses. 5838 -- Victor Hugo 5839% 5840I don't object to sex before marriage, but two minutes before?!? 5841% 5842"I don't think so," said Ren'e Descartes. Just then, he vanished. 5843% 5844I don't think they could put him in a mental hospital. On the other 5845hand, if he were already in, I don't think they'd let him out. 5846% 5847I don't want to alarm anybody, but there is an excellent chance that 5848the Earth will be destroyed in the next several days. Congress is 5849thinking about eliminating a federal program under which scientists 5850broadcast signals to alien beings. This would be a large mistake. 5851Alien beings have nuclear blaster death cannons. You cannot cut off 5852their federal programs as if they were merely poor people ... 5853 -- Davy Barry, "THE ALIENS ARE COMING, THE ALIENS ARE 5854 COMING!" 5855% 5856I doubt, therefore I might be. 5857% 5858I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business 5859on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment 5860he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual 5861becoming, with a goal in front and not behind. 5862 -- George Bernard Shaw 5863% 5864I drink to make other people interesting. 5865 -- George Jean Nathan 5866% 5867I fell asleep reading a dull book, and I dreamt that I was reading on, 5868so I woke up from sheer boredom. 5869% 5870I for one cannot protest the recent M.T.A. fare hike and the 5871accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For 5872the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that 5873can't be measured in monetary terms. 5874 5875Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have 5876that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by 5877subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should 5878someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly 5879understand his long delay. 5880% 5881I found out why my car was humming. It had forgotten the words. 5882% 5883I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very 5884reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment. 5885 -- Gotama Buddha 5886% 5887I gave up Smoking, Drinking and Sex. It was the most *__________horrifying* 20 5888minutes of my life! 5889% 5890I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it. 5891 -- Mae West 5892% 5893I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5894 Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5895If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5896 So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5897% 5898I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5899Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5900If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5901So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5902 5903Oh, how do I know my youth is all spent? 5904My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. 5905But in spite of it all, I'm able to grin, 5906And think of the places my get-up has been. 5907 -- Pete Seeger 5908% 5909I had to censor everything my sons watched ... even on the Mary Tyler 5910Moore show I heard the word 'damn'! 5911 -- Mary Lou Bax 5912% 5913I had to hit him -- he was starting to make sense. 5914% 5915I hate it when my foot falls asleep during the day cause that means 5916it's going to be up all night. 5917 -- Steven Wright 5918% 5919I hate quotations. 5920 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 5921% 5922I have a simple philosophy: 5923 5924 Fill what's empty. 5925 Empty what's full. 5926 Scratch where it itches. 5927 -- A. R. Longworth 5928% 5929I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it 5930any time! 5931% 5932I have come up with a sure-fire concept for a hit television show, 5933which would be called `A Live Celebrity Gets Eaten by a Shark'. 5934 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 5935% 5936I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. I tell them the truth 5937and they never believe me. 5938 -- Camillo Di Cavour 5939% 5940I have great faith in fools -- self confidence my friends call it. 5941 -- Edgar Allan Poe 5942% 5943I have just read your lousy review buried in the back pages. You 5944sound like a frustrated old man who never made a success, an 5945eight-ulcer man on a four-ulcer job, and all four ulcers working. I 5946have never met you, but if I do you'll need a new nose and plenty of 5947beefsteak and perhaps a supporter below. Westbrook Pegler, a 5948guttersnipe, is a gentleman compared to you. You can take that as more 5949of an insult than as a reflection on your ancestry. 5950 -- President Harry S Truman 5951% 5952I have learned 5953To spell hors d'oeuvres 5954Which still grates on 5955Some people's n'oeuvres. 5956 -- Warren Knox 5957% 5958I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming 5959that I have never made one. 5960 -- James Gordon Bennett 5961% 5962I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to 5963make it shorter. 5964 -- Blaise Pascal 5965% 5966I have more humility in my little finger than you have in your whole 5967____BODY! 5968 -- from "Cerebus" #82 5969% 5970I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer. 5971 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 5972% 5973I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. 5974 -- Oscar Wilde 5975% 5976I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it 5977scattered around the beaches of the world ... Perhaps you've seen it. 5978 -- Steven Wright 5979% 5980I have to convince you, or at least snow you ... 5981 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 5982% 5983I have two very rare photographs: one is a picture of Houdini locking 5984his keys in his car; the other is a rare photograph of Norman Rockwell 5985beating up a child. 5986 -- Steven Wright 5987% 5988I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when looked 5989at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. 5990 -- Poul Anderson 5991% 5992I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere. 5993% 5994I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where I left it. 5995% 5996I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!! 5997% 5998I just need enough to tide me over until I need more. 5999 -- Bill Hoest 6000% 6001I know it all. I just can't remember it all at once. 6002% 6003I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World 6004War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. 6005 -- Albert Einstein 6006% 6007I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! 6008The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building. 6009 -- Charles Schulz 6010% 6011I like being single. I'm always there when I need me. 6012 -- Art Leo 6013% 6014I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to 6015promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want 6016peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of 6017the way and let them have it. 6018 -- Dwight D. Eisenhower 6019% 6020I like work ... I can sit and watch it for hours. 6021% 6022I like your game but we have to change the rules. 6023% 6024I love Saturday morning cartoons, what classic humour! This is what 6025entertainment is all about ... Idiots, explosives and falling anvils. 6026 -- Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson 6027% 6028"I love to eat them Smurfies 6029 Smurfies what I love to eat 6030 Bite they ugly heads off, 6031 Nibble on they bluish feet." 6032% 6033I may appear to be just sitting here like a bucket of tapioca, but 6034don't let appearances fool you. I'm approaching old age ... at the 6035speed of light. 6036 -- Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk 6037% 6038I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent. 6039 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 6040% 6041I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a 6042week sometimes to make it up. 6043 -- Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" 6044% 6045I must have slipped a disk -- my pack hurts 6046% 6047I never fail to convince an audience that the best thing they could do 6048was to go away. 6049% 6050I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like. 6051% 6052I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation. 6053 -- G. B. Shaw 6054% 6055I only touch base with reality on an as-needed basis! 6056 -- Royal Floyd Mengot (Klaus) 6057% 6058I played lead guitar in a band called The Federal Duck, which is the 6059kind of name that was popular in the '60s as a result of controlled 6060substances being in widespread use. Back then, there were no 6061restrictions, in terms of talent, on who could make an album, so we 6062made one, and it sounds like a group of people who have been given 6063powerful but unfamiliar instruments as a therapy for a degenerative 6064nerve disease. 6065 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 6066% 6067I predict that today will be remembered until tomorrow! 6068% 6069I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob. 6070 -- William F. Buckley 6071% 6072 "I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of 6073that is -- `Be what you would seem to be' -- or, if you'd like it put 6074more simply -- `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it 6075might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not 6076otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be 6077otherwise.'" 6078 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 6079% 6080I realize that the MX missile is none of our concern. I realize that 6081the whole point of living in a democracy is that we pay professional 6082congresspersons to concern themselves with things like the MX missile 6083so we can be free to concern ourselves with getting hold of the 6084plumber. 6085 6086But from time to time, I feel I must address major public issues such 6087as this, because in a free and open society, where the very future of 6088the world hinges on decisions made by our elected leaders, you never 6089win large cash journalism awards if you stick to the topics I usually 6090write about, such as nose-picking. 6091 -- Dave Barry, "At Last, the Ultimate Deterrent Against 6092 Political Fallout" 6093% 6094I really hate this damned machine 6095I wish that they would sell it. 6096It never does quite what I want 6097But only what I tell it. 6098% 6099I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person. 6100% 6101I see a good deal of talk from Washington about lowering taxes. I hope 6102they do get 'em lowered enough so people can afford to pay 'em. 6103 -- Will Rogers 6104% 6105I see the eigenvalue in thine eye, 6106I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh. 6107Bernoulli would have been content to die 6108Had he but known such _a-squared cos 2(phi)! 6109 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6110% 6111I sent a letter to the fish, 6112I told them, "This is what I wish." 6113The little fishes of the sea, 6114They sent an answer back to me. 6115The little fishes' answer was 6116"We cannot do it, sir, because ..." 6117I sent a letter back to say 6118It would be better to obey. 6119But someone came to me and said 6120"The little fishes are in bed." 6121I said to him, and I said it plain 6122"Then you must wake them up again." 6123I said it very loud and clear, 6124I went and shouted in his ear. 6125But he was very stiff and proud, 6126He said "You needn't shout so loud." 6127And he was very proud and stiff, 6128He said "I'll go and wake them if ..." 6129I took a kettle from the shelf, 6130I went to wake them up myself. 6131But when I found the door was locked 6132I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked, 6133And when I found the door was shut, 6134I tried to turn the handle, But ... 6135 6136 "Is that all?" asked Alice. 6137 "That is all." said Humpty Dumpty. "Goodbye." 6138 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 6139% 6140I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck. 6141 -- Graffito in Los Angeles 6142% 6143"... I should explain that I was wearing a black velvet cape that was 6144supposed to make me look like the dashing, romantic Zorro but which 6145actually made me look like a gigantic bat wearing glasses ..." 6146 -- Dave Barry, "The Wet Zorro Suit and Other Turning 6147 Points in l'Amour" 6148% 6149I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full 6150house and four people died. 6151 -- Steven Wright 6152% 6153I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to 6154see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. 6155 -- Shirley Temple 6156% 6157I suggest you locate your hot tub outside your house, so it won't do 6158too much damage if it catches fire or explodes. First you decide which 6159direction your hot tub should face for maximum solar energy. After 6160much trial and error, I have found that the best direction for a hot 6161tub to face is up. 6162 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 6163% 6164I think it is true for all _n. I was just playing it safe with _n >= 3 6165because I couldn't remember the proof. 6166 -- Baker, Pure Math 351a 6167% 6168I think sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it. 6169% 6170I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick 6171and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this 6172country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people 6173in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I'm certainly 6174not, and I'm sick and tired of being told that I am. 6175 -- Monty Python 6176% 6177I think that I shall never see 6178A billboard lovely as a tree. 6179Perhaps, unless the billboards fall 6180I'll never see a tree at all. 6181 -- Ogden Nash 6182% 6183I think that I shall never see 6184A thing as lovely as a tree. 6185But as you see the trees have gone 6186They went this morning with the dawn. 6187A logging firm from out of town 6188Came and chopped the trees all down. 6189But I will trick those dirty skunks 6190And write a brand new poem called 'Trunks'. 6191% 6192I think the sky is blue because it's a shift from black through purple 6193to blue, and it has to do with where the light is. You know, the 6194farther we get into darkness, and there's a shifting of color of light 6195into the blueness, and I think as you go farther and farther away from 6196the reflected light we have from the sun or the light that's bouncing 6197off this earth, uh, the darker it gets ... I think if you look at the 6198color scale, you start at black, move it through purple, move it on 6199out, it's the shifting of color. We mentioned before about the stars 6200singing, and that's one of the effects of the shifting of colors. 6201 -- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club 6202% 6203I think we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown 6204... HEY! PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU DAMMIT! I said I think 6205we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown today. 6206When we take the time to be courteous to each other, we find that we 6207are happier and less likely to engage in nuclear war. This point was 6208driven home by the recent summit talks, where Nancy Reagan and Raisa 6209Gorbachev, each of whose husband thinks the other's husband is vermin, 6210were able to sit down at a high-level tea and engage in courteous 6211conversation ... 6212 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 6213% 6214"I thought you were trying to get into shape." 6215"I am. The shape I've selected is a triangle." 6216% 6217 ... I told my doctor I got all the exercise I needed being a 6218pallbearer for all my friends who run and do exercises! 6219 -- Winston Churchill 6220% 6221I took a course in speed reading and was able to read War and Peace in 6222twenty minutes. It's about Russia. 6223 -- Woody Allen 6224% 6225I used to be an agnostic, but now I'm not so sure. 6226% 6227I used to get high on life but lately I've built up a resistance. 6228% 6229I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. 6230% 6231I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my 6232body. Then I realized who was telling me this. 6233 -- Emo Phillips 6234% 6235I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere 6236near the place. 6237 -- Steven Wright 6238% 6239I value kindness to human beings first of all, and kindness to 6240animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for 6241anything connected with society except that which makes the roads 6242safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and old men and women 6243warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer. 6244 -- Brendan Behan 6245% 6246I want to buy a husband who, every week when I sit down to watch `St. 6247Elsewhere', won't scream, `FORGET IT, BLANCHE ... IT'S TIME FOR "HEE 6248HAW"!!' 6249 -- Berke Breathed, "Bloom County" 6250% 6251I was born because it was a habit in those days, people didn't know 6252anything else ... I was not a Child Prodigy, because a Child Prodigy is 6253a child who knows as much when it is a child as it does when it grows 6254up. 6255 -- Will Rogers 6256% 6257I was drunk last night, crawled home across the lawn. By accident I 6258put the car key in the door lock. The house started up. So I figured 6259what the hell, and drove it around the block a few times. I thought I 6260should go park it in the middle of the freeway and yell at everyone to 6261get off my driveway. 6262 -- Steven Wright 6263% 6264I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I 6265didn't know. 6266 -- Mark Twain 6267% 6268I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending 6269their lives doing things they detest to make money they don't want to 6270buy things they don't need to impress people they dislike. 6271 -- Emile Henry Gauvreay 6272% 6273I was playing poker the other night ... with Tarot cards. I got a full 6274house and four people died. 6275 -- Steven Wright 6276% 6277I went into a general store, and they wouldn't sell me anything specific. 6278 -- Steven Wright 6279% 6280I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained 6281it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass 6282stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold. 6283I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be 6284absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had 6285developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case. 6286Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's 6287temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I 6288chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to 6289the point where it would not run at all. 6290 -- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black 6291 Holes and the Fate of Stars" 6292% 6293I went to a job interview the other day, the guy asked me if I had any 6294questions , I said yes, just one, if you're in a car traveling at the 6295speed of light and you turn your headlights on, does anything happen? 6296 6297He said he couldn't answer that, I told him sorry, but I couldn't work 6298for him then. 6299 -- Steven Wright 6300% 6301I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in 6302the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't 6303included. 6304 -- Steven Wright 6305% 6306I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the 6307statues that are in all the other museums. 6308 -- Steven Wright 6309% 6310I went to the race track once and bet on a horse that was so good that 6311it took seven others to beat him! 6312% 6313I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. 6314There's a knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work. 6315 -- Gallagher 6316% 6317I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've 6318always worked for me. 6319 -- Hunter S. Thompson 6320% 6321I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. 6322% 6323I'd love to go out with you, but I did my own thing and now I've got 6324to undo it. 6325% 6326I'd love to go out with you, but I have to floss my cat. 6327% 6328I'd love to go out with you, but I have to stay home and see if I snore. 6329% 6330I'd love to go out with you, but I never go out on days that end in `Y.' 6331% 6332I'd love to go out with you, but I want to spend more time with my blender. 6333% 6334I'd love to go out with you, but I'm attending the opening of my garage door. 6335% 6336I'd love to go out with you, but I'm converting my calendar watch from 6337Julian to Gregorian. 6338% 6339I'd love to go out with you, but I'm doing door-to-door collecting for 6340static cling. 6341% 6342I'd love to go out with you, but I'm having all my plants neutered. 6343% 6344I'd love to go out with you, but I'm staying home to work on my 6345cottage cheese sculpture. 6346% 6347I'd love to go out with you, but I'm taking punk totem pole carving. 6348% 6349I'd love to go out with you, but I've been scheduled for a karma transplant. 6350% 6351I'd love to go out with you, but it's my parakeet's bowling night. 6352% 6353I'd love to go out with you, but my favorite commercial is on TV. 6354% 6355I'd love to go out with you, but the last time I went out, I never came back. 6356% 6357I'd love to go out with you, but the man on television told me to stay tuned. 6358% 6359I'd love to go out with you, but there are important world issues that 6360need worrying about. 6361% 6362I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. 6363% 6364I'll carry your books, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over, 6365carry forward, Cary Grant, cash & carry, Carry Me Back To Old Virginia, 6366I'll even Hara Kari if you show me how, but I will *not* carry a gun. 6367 -- Hawkeye, M*A*S*H 6368% 6369I'll defend to the death your right to say that, but I never said I'd 6370listen to it! 6371 -- Tom Galloway with apologies to Voltaire 6372% 6373I'll grant thee random access to my heart, 6374Thoul't tell me all the constants of thy love; 6375And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove 6376And in our bound partition never part. 6377 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6378% 6379I'll rob that rich person and give it to some poor deserving slob. 6380That will *prove* I'm Robin Hood. 6381 -- Daffy Duck, "Robin Hood Daffy", [1958, Chuck Jones] 6382% 6383I'm a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from man. 6384% 6385I'm a Lisp variable -- bind me! 6386% 6387I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my sister. 6388% 6389I'm changing my name to Chrysler 6390I'm going down to Washington, D.C. 6391I'll tell some power broker 6392 What they did for Iacocca 6393Will be perfectly acceptable to me! 6394I'm changing my name to Chrysler, 6395I'm heading for that great receiving line. 6396When they hand a million grand out, 6397 I'll be standing with my hand out, 6398Yessir, I'll get mine! 6399 -- Tom Paxton 6400% 6401I'm defending her honor, which is more than she ever did. 6402% 6403I'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% 6416I'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% 6433I'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% 6436I'm prepared for all emergencies but totally unprepared for everyday life. 6437% 6438I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is 6439-- I could be just as proud for half the money. 6440 -- Arthur Godfrey 6441% 6442I'm rated PG-34!! 6443% 6444I'm really enjoying not talking to you ... Let's not talk again ____REAL 6445soon ... 6446% 6447I'm returning this note to you, instead of your paper, because it 6448(your paper) presently occupies the bottom of my bird cage. 6449 -- English Professor, Providence College 6450% 6451I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, 6452I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; 6453In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, 6454I am the very model of a modern Major-General. 6455 -- Gilbert & Sullivan, "Pirates of Penzance" 6456% 6457I'm willing to sacrifice anything for this cause, even other people's lives 6458% 6459I've built a better model than the one at Data General 6460For data bases vegetable, animal, and mineral 6461My OS handles CPUs with multiplexed duality; 6462My PL/1 compiler shows impressive functionality. 6463My storage system's better than magnetic core polarity, 6464You never have to bother checking out a bit for parity; 6465There isn't any reason to install non-static floor matting; 6466My disk drive has capacity for variable formatting. 6467 6468I feel compelled to mention what I know to be a gloating point: 6469There's lots of room in memory for variables floating-point, 6470Which shows for input vegetable, animal, and mineral 6471I've built a better model than the one at Data General. 6472 6473 -- Steve Levine, "A Computer Song" (To the tune of 6474 "Modern Major General", from "Pirates of Penzance", 6475 by Gilbert & Sullivan) 6476% 6477I've enjoyed just about as much of this as I can stand. 6478% 6479I've found my niche. If you're wondering why I'm not there, there was 6480this little hole in the bottom ... 6481 -- John Croll 6482% 6483I've given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself. 6484% 6485I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. 6486 -- Groucho Marx 6487% 6488I've known him as a man, as an adolescent and as a child -- sometimes 6489on the same day. 6490% 6491I've seen better heads on half a pint of beer. 6492% 6493I've seen, I SAY, I've seen better heads on a mug of beer. 6494 -- Senator Claghorn 6495% 6496I've touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; 6497And from that full meridian of my glory 6498I haste now to my setting. I shall fall, 6499Like a bright exhalation in the evening 6500And no man see me more. 6501 -- Shakespeare 6502% 6503IBM had a PL/I, 6504 Its syntax worse than JOSS; 6505And everywhere this language went, 6506 It was a total loss. 6507% 6508Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box 6509of candy weighing less than fifty pounds. 6510% 6511Ideas don't stay in some minds very long because they don't like 6512solitary confinement. 6513% 6514Idiot Box, n.: 6515 The part of the envelope that tells a person where to place the 6516stamp when they can't quite figure it out for themselves. 6517 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 6518% 6519Idiot, n.: 6520 A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human 6521affairs has always been dominant and controlling. 6522 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 6523% 6524If a 6600 used paper tape instead of core memory, it would use up tape 6525at about 30 miles/second. 6526 -- Grishman, Assembly Language Programming 6527% 6528If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law. 6529 -- Roy Santoro 6530% 6531If a camel flies, no one laughs if it doesn't get very far. 6532 -- Paul White 6533% 6534If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then a consensus 6535forecast is a camel's behind. 6536 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 6537% 6538If A equals success, then the formula is _A = _X + _Y + _Z. _X is work. _Y 6539is play. _Z is keep your mouth shut. 6540 -- Albert Einstein 6541% 6542If a group of _N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be _N-1 6543passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. 6544 -- T. Cheatham 6545% 6546If a jury in a criminal trial stays out for more than twenty-four 6547hours, it is certain to vote acquittal, save in those instances where 6548it votes guilty. 6549 -- Joseph C. Goulden 6550% 6551If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake 6552him up. 6553% 6554If a President doesn't do it to his wife, he'll do it to his country. 6555% 6556If a putt passes over the hole without dropping, it is deemed to have 6557dropped. The law of gravity holds that any object attempting to 6558maintain a position in the atmosphere without something to support it 6559must drop. The law of gravity supersedes the law of golf. 6560 -- Donald A. Metz 6561% 6562If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good 6563attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to 6564playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win -- 6565unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager 6566can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry? 6567 -- Sparky Anderson 6568% 6569If all be true that I do think, 6570There be Five Reasons why one should Drink; 6571Good friends, good wine, or being dry, 6572Or lest we should be by-and-by, 6573Or any other reason why. 6574% 6575If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular 6576error. 6577 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 6578% 6579If all the Chinese simultaneously jumped into the Pacific off a 10 foot 6580platform erected 10 feet off their coast, it would cause a tidal wave 6581that would destroy everything in this country west of Nebraska. 6582% 6583If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door. 6584 -- Paul Beatty 6585% 6586If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a 6587conclusion. 6588 -- William Baumol 6589% 6590If an S and an I and an O and a U 6591With an X at the end spell Su; 6592And an E and a Y and an E spell I, 6593Pray what is a speller to do? 6594Then, if also an S and an I and a G 6595And an HED spell side, 6596There's nothing much left for a speller to do 6597But to go commit siouxeyesighed. 6598 -- Charles Follen Adams, "An Orthographic Lament" 6599% 6600If anything can go wrong, it will. 6601% 6602If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use being a damn fool. 6603% 6604If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. 6605% 6606If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four 6607tellers? 6608% 6609If dolphins are so smart, why did Flipper work for television? 6610% 6611If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from? 6612% 6613If everybody minded their own business, the world would go 6614around a deal faster. 6615 -- The Duchess, "Through the Looking Glass" 6616% 6617If everything is coming your way then you're in the wrong lane. 6618% 6619... If forced to travel on an airplane, try and get in the cabin with 6620the Captain, so you can keep an eye on him and nudge him if he falls 6621asleep or point out any mountains looming up ahead ... 6622 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6623% 6624If God didn't mean for us to juggle, tennis balls wouldn't come three 6625to a can. 6626% 6627If God had intended Man to Smoke, He would have set him on Fire. 6628% 6629If God had intended Man to Walk, He would have given him Feet. 6630% 6631If God had intended Man to Watch TV, He would have given him Rabbit Ears. 6632% 6633If God had intended Men to Smoke, He would have put Chimneys in their Heads. 6634% 6635If God had meant for us to be in the Army, we would have been born with 6636green, baggy skin. 6637% 6638If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way. 6639% 6640If God had not given us sticky tape, it would have been necessary to 6641invent it. 6642% 6643If God had wanted you to go around nude, He would have given you bigger 6644hands. 6645% 6646If God is dead, who will save the Queen? 6647% 6648If God is perfect, why did He create discontinuous functions? 6649% 6650If God lived on Earth, people would knock out all His windows. 6651 -- Yiddish saying 6652% 6653If God wanted us to be brave, why did he give us legs? 6654 -- Marvin Kitman 6655% 6656If I am elected, the concrete barriers around the WHITE HOUSE will be 6657replaced by tasteful foam replicas of ANN MARGARET! 6658% 6659If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive! 6660 -- Samuel Goldwyn 6661% 6662If I don't drive around the park, 6663I'm pretty sure to make my mark. 6664If I'm in bed each night by ten, 6665I may get back my looks again. 6666If I abstain from fun and such, 6667I'll probably amount to much; 6668But I shall stay the way I am, 6669Because I do not give a damn. 6670 -- Dorothy Parker 6671% 6672If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture. 6673% 6674If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I'd sell the 6675plantation and go home. 6676 -- Eugene P. Gallagher 6677% 6678If I had any humility I would be perfect. 6679 -- Ted Turner 6680% 6681If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. 6682 -- Albert Einstein 6683% 6684If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the 6685shoulders of giants. 6686 -- Isaac Newton 6687 6688In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side 6689with the giants on whose shoulders we stand. 6690 -- Gerald Holton 6691 6692If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing 6693on my shoulders. 6694 -- Hal Abelson 6695 6696In computer science, we stand on each other's feet. 6697 -- Brian K. Reid 6698% 6699If I kiss you, that is a psychological interaction. 6700 6701On the other hand, if I hit you over the head with a brick, that is 6702also a psychological interaction. 6703 6704The difference is that one is friendly and the other is not so 6705friendly. 6706 6707The crucial point is if you can tell which is which. 6708 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 6709% 6710If I traveled to the end of the rainbow 6711As Dame Fortune did intend, 6712Murphy would be there to tell me 6713The pot's at the other end. 6714 -- Bert Whitney 6715% 6716If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people? 6717% 6718If it's Tuesday, this must be someone else's fortune. 6719% 6720If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. 6721They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun 6722of it. 6723 -- Thomas Carlyle 6724% 6725If just one piece of mail gets lost, well, they'll just think they 6726forgot to send it. But if *two* pieces of mail get lost, hell, they'll 6727just think the other guy hasn't gotten around to answering his mail. 6728And if *fifty* pieces of mail get lost, can you imagine it, if *fifty* 6729pieces of mail get lost, why they'll think someone *else* is broken! 6730And if 1Gb of mail gets lost, they'll just *know* that Arpa is down and 6731think it's a conspiracy to keep them from their God given right to 6732receive Net Mail ... 6733 -- Leith (Casey) Leedom 6734% 6735If life is a stage, I want some better lighting. 6736% 6737If little else, the brain is an educational toy. 6738 -- Tom Robbins 6739% 6740If little green men land in your back yard, hide any little green women 6741you've got in the house. 6742 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6743% 6744If mathematically you end up with the wrong answer, try multiplying by 6745the page number. 6746% 6747If money can't buy happiness, I guess you'll just have to rent it. 6748% 6749If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think 6750little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and 6751Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination. 6752 -- Thomas De Quincey (1785 - 1859) 6753% 6754If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants. 6755 -- A. Einstein. 6756% 6757If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit 6758in my name at a Swiss bank. 6759 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 6760% 6761If only I could be respected without having to be respectable. 6762% 6763If only one could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment without 6764having to accomplish anything. 6765% 6766If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, 6767he should see how bad it is with representation. 6768% 6769If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of 6770arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the 6771physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker 6772entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. 6773 -- Vannevar Bush 6774% 6775If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied 6776harder. 6777 -- Pope John Paul I 6778% 6779If that makes any sense to you, you have a big problem. 6780 -- C. Durance, Computer Science 234 6781% 6782If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would 6783presumably flunk it. 6784 -- Stanley Garn 6785% 6786If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong. 6787 -- Norm Schryer 6788% 6789If the colleges were better, if they really had it, you would need to 6790get the police at the gates to keep order in the inrushing multitude. 6791See in college how we thwart the natural love of learning by leaving 6792the natural method of teaching what each wishes to learn, and insisting 6793that you shall learn what you have no taste or capacity for. The 6794college, which should be a place of delightful labor, is made odious 6795and unhealthy, and the young men are tempted to frivolous amusements to 6796rally their jaded spirits. I would have the studies elective. 6797Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure 6798interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by 6799opening to his pupils precisely the attractions the study has for 6800himself. The marking is a system for schools, not for the college; for 6801boys, not for men; and it is an ungracious work to put on a professor. 6802 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 6803% 6804If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me! 6805 -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa 1920) 6806% 6807If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances 6808are 50-50 it will. 6809% 6810If the weather is extremely bad, church attendance will be down. 6811If the weather is extremely good, church attendance will be down. 6812If the bulletin covers are in short supply, however, church attendance 6813will exceed all expectations. 6814 -- Reverend Chichester 6815% 6816If there are epigrams, there must be meta-epigrams. 6817% 6818If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that 6819will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. 6820% 6821If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? 6822 -- Art Hoppe 6823% 6824If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make 6825something out of you. 6826 -- Muhammad Ali 6827% 6828If this fortune didn't exist, somebody would have invented it. 6829% 6830If this is timesharing, give me my share right now. 6831% 6832If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? 6833% 6834If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what the hell was 6835yesterday? 6836% 6837If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is 6838doing the thinking. 6839 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson 6840% 6841If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. 6842 -- Laurence J. Peter 6843% 6844If value corrupts then absolute value corrupts absolutely 6845% 6846If we were meant to fly, we wouldn't keep losing our luggage. 6847% 6848If while you are in school, there is a shortage of qualified personnel 6849in a particular field, then by the time you graduate with the necessary 6850qualifications, that field's employment market is glutted. 6851 -- Marguerite Emmons 6852% 6853If you are a fatalist, what can you do about it? 6854 -- Ann Edwards-Duff 6855% 6856If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. 6857 -- J. Paul Getty 6858% 6859If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse. 6860% 6861If you can read this, you're too close. 6862% 6863If you can survive death, you can probably survive anything. 6864% 6865If you can't be good, be careful. 6866If you can't be careful, give me a call. 6867% 6868If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly. 6869% 6870If you cannot convince them, confuse them. 6871 -- Harry S Truman 6872% 6873If you didn't get caught, did you really do it? 6874% 6875If you don't care where you are, then you ain't lost. 6876% 6877If you don't go to other men's funerals they won't go to yours. 6878 -- Clarence Day 6879% 6880If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. 6881 -- Freeman Dyson 6882% 6883If you don't want your dog to have bad breath, do what I do: Pour a little 6884Lavoris in the toilet. 6885 -- Jay Leno 6886% 6887If you eat a live frog in the morning, nothing worse will happen to 6888either of you for the rest of the day. 6889% 6890If you ever want to get anywhere in politics, my boy, you're going to 6891have to get a toehold in the public eye. 6892% 6893If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody 6894will. 6895% 6896If you give Congress a chance to vote on both sides of an issue, it 6897will always do it. 6898 -- Les Aspin, D., Wisconsin 6899% 6900If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is 6901make the rubble bounce. 6902 -- Winston Churchill 6903% 6904If you had any brains, you'd be dangerous. 6905% 6906If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some. 6907% 6908If you have to hate, hate gently. 6909% 6910If you just try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to 6911boot yourself in the posterior. 6912 -- A. J. Liebling, "The Press" 6913% 6914If you keep anything long enough, you can throw it away. 6915% 6916If you live in a country run by committee, be on the committee. 6917 -- Graham Summer 6918% 6919If you live to the age of a hundred you have it made because very few 6920people die past the age of a hundred. 6921 -- George Burns 6922% 6923If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; 6924but if you really make them think they'll hate you. 6925% 6926If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. 6927 -- Maslow 6928% 6929If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure 6930can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly 6931develop. 6932% 6933If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite 6934you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. 6935 -- Mark Twain 6936% 6937If you push the "extra ice" button on the soft drink vending machine, 6938you won't get any ice. If you push the "no ice" button, you'll get 6939ice, but no cup. 6940% 6941If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But 6942this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is 6943somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it. 6944% 6945If you sit down at a poker game and don't see a sucker, get up. You're 6946the sucker. 6947% 6948If you stand on your head, you will get footprints in your hair. 6949% 6950If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker, 6951It is slick to stick a lock upon your stock. 6952 Or some joker who is slicker, 6953 Will trick you of your liquor, 6954If you fail to lock your liquor with a lock. 6955% 6956If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. 6957 -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard 6958% 6959If you think last Tuesday was a drag, wait till you see what happens 6960tomorrow! 6961% 6962If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car 6963payments. 6964 -- Earl Wilson 6965% 6966If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it. 6967 -- Arthur Kasspe 6968% 6969If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest 6970shopping center in the world? 6971 -- Richard M. Nixon 6972% 6973If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would 6974be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call 6975you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw 6976another party next year. 6977 6978What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up 6979several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've 6980been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to 6981avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning 6982parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from 6983having another one ... 6984 6985If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless 6986your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas 6987through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure 6988that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting 6989someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you ... 6990 -- Dave Barry 6991% 6992If you took all the students that felt asleep in class and laid them 6993end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. 6994 -- "Graffiti in the Big Ten" 6995% 6996If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything. 6997 -- A. L. 6998% 6999If you want divine justice, die. 7000 -- Nick Seldon 7001% 7002If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people 7003he gave it to. 7004 -- Dorothy Parker 7005% 7006If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the 7007Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's 7008statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington 7009telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with 7010titles beginning with the word "National". 7011 -- George Will 7012% 7013If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every 7014word you say, talk in your sleep. 7015% 7016If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some 7017memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' it, 7018even if they don't know what it means. 7019 -- Walt Kelly, "The Pogo Party" 7020% 7021If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings -- including this one. 7022% 7023If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for 7024tomorrow morning, sleep late. 7025 -- Henny Youngman 7026% 7027If you're happy, you're successful. 7028% 7029 If you're like most homeowners, you're afraid that many repairs 7030around your home are too difficult to tackle. So, when your furnace 7031explodes, you call in a so-called professional to fix it. The 7032"professional" arrives in a truck with lettering on the sides and 7033deposits a large quantity of tools and two assistants who spend the 7034better part of the week in your basement whacking objects at random 7035with heavy wrenches, after which the "professional" returns and gives 7036you a bill for slightly more money than it would cost you to run a 7037successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. 7038 And that's why you've decided to start doing things yourself. 7039You figure, "If those guys can fix my furnace, then so can I. How 7040difficult can it be?" 7041 Very difficult. In fact, most home projects are impossible, 7042which is why you should do them yourself. There is no point in paying 7043other people to screw things up when you can easily screw them up 7044yourself for far less money. This article can help you. 7045 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 7046% 7047If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. 7048% 7049If you're not very clever you should be conciliatory. 7050 -- Benjamin Disraeli 7051% 7052If you're right 90% of the time, why quibble about the remaining 3%? 7053% 7054If you've done six impossible things before breakfast, why not round it 7055off with dinner at Milliway's, the restaurant at the end of the universe? 7056% 7057If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all. 7058 -- Ronald Reagan 7059% 7060Ignisecond, n.: 7061 The overlapping moment of time when the hand is locking the car 7062door even as the brain is saying, "my keys are in there!" 7063 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 7064% 7065Il brilgue: les t^oves libricilleux 7066 Se gyrent et frillant dans le guave, 7067Enm^im'es sont les gougebosquex, 7068 Et le m^omerade horgrave. 7069 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 7070% 7071Iles's Law: 7072 There is always an easier way to do it. When looking directly 7073at the easy way, especially for long periods, you will not see it. 7074Neither will Iles. 7075% 7076Illinois isn't exactly the land that God forgot -- it's more like the 7077land He's trying to ignore. 7078% 7079Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. 7080 -- Jules de Gaultier 7081% 7082Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the 7083usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody 7084thinks of complaining. 7085 -- Jeff Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal 7086% 7087Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has 7088a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk 7089storage, a screen resolution of 4096 x 4096 pixels, relies entirely on 7090voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300. 7091What's the first question that the computer community asks? 7092 7093"Is it PC compatible?" 7094% 7095Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery. 7096 -- Jack Paar 7097% 7098Immortality -- a fate worse than death. 7099 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 7100% 7101Impartial, adj.: 7102 Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from 7103espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two 7104conflicting opinions. 7105 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7106% 7107Important letters which contain no errors will develop errors in the 7108mail. Corresponding errors will show up in the duplicate while the 7109Boss is reading it. 7110% 7111Impossible, adj.: 7112 (1) I wouldn't like it and when it happens I won't approve; 7113 (2) I can't be bothered; 7114 (3) God can't be bothered. 7115Meaning (3) may perhaps be valid but the others are 101% whaledreck. 7116 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 7117% 7118In 1750 Issac Newton became discouraged when he fell up a flight of 7119stairs. 7120% 7121In 1869 the waffle iron was invented for people who had wrinkled waffles. 7122% 7123In 1880 the French captured Detroit but gave it back ... they couldn't 7124get parts. 7125% 7126In 1914, the first crossword puzzle was printed in a newspaper. The 7127creator received $4000 down ... and $3000 across. 7128% 7129In 1915 pancake make-up was invented but most people still preferred 7130syrup. 7131% 7132In a five year period we can get one superb programming language. Only 7133we can't control when the five year period will begin. 7134% 7135 In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi, 7136junior, what are you up to?" 7137 "I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the 7138rabbit. 7139 "Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!" 7140 "Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the 7141rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied 7142expression on his face. 7143 Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?" 7144 "I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits 7145devour wolves." 7146 "Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?" 7147 "Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes 7148out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw. 7149Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody 7150should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting 7151next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox. 7152 7153The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important -- 7154it's your PhD advisor that really counts. 7155% 7156In a medium in which a News Piece takes a minute and an "In-Depth" 7157Piece takes two minutes, the Simple will drive out the Complex. 7158 -- Frank Mankiewicz 7159% 7160In a museum in Havana, there are two skulls of Christopher Columbus, 7161"one when he was a boy and one when he was a man." 7162 -- Mark Twain 7163% 7164In Africa some of the native tribes have a custom of beating the ground 7165with clubs and uttering spine chilling cries. Anthropologists call 7166this a form of primitive self-expression. In America we call it golf. 7167% 7168In America today ... we have Woody Allen, whose humor has become so 7169sophisticated that nobody gets it any more except Mia Farrow. All 7170those who think Mia Farrow should go back to making movies where the 7171devil gets her pregnant and Woody Allen should go back to dressing up 7172as a human sperm, please raise your hands. Thank you. 7173 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 7174% 7175In America, any boy may become president and I suppose that's just one 7176of the risks he takes. 7177 -- Adlai Stevenson 7178% 7179In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own 7180incompetency 7181 -- The Peter Principle 7182% 7183In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) 7184are to be treated as variables. 7185% 7186In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of 7187nations -- it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir. 7188 -- Stuart Keate 7189% 7190In Blythe, California, a city ordinance declares that a person must own 7191at least two cows before he can wear cowboy boots in public. 7192% 7193In Boston, it is illegal to hold frog-jumping contests in nightclubs. 7194% 7195In case of atomic attack, the federal ruling against prayer in schools 7196will be temporarily canceled. 7197% 7198In case of injury notify your superior immediately. He'll kiss it and 7199make it better. 7200% 7201In Columbia, Pennsylvania, it is against the law for a pilot to tickle 7202a female flying student under her chin with a feather duster in order 7203to get her attention. 7204% 7205In Corning, Iowa, it's a misdemeanor for a man to ask his wife to ride 7206in any motor vehicle. 7207% 7208In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable. 7209 -- Winston Churchill, of Montgomery 7210% 7211In Denver it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door 7212neighbor. 7213% 7214In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. 7215% 7216In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last 7217resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but 7218inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first. 7219 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7220% 7221In English, every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our 7222programming languages. 7223% 7224In Greene, New York, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on 7225the sidewalks when a concert is on. 7226% 7227In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come 7228into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish 7229between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which 7230will only make it mushy. 7231 -- Mark Twain 7232% 7233In Lexington, Kentucky, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your 7234pocket. 7235% 7236In Lowes Crossroads, Delaware, it is a violation of local law for any 7237pilot or passenger to carry an ice cream cone in their pocket while 7238either flying or waiting to board a plane. 7239% 7240In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless 7241there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red 7242flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians. 7243% 7244In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as 7245to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the 7246speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. 7247% 7248In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the 7249universe. 7250 -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos 7251% 7252In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, 7253intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from 7254the cares of office. 7255 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7256% 7257In Pocataligo, Georgia, it is a violation for a woman over 200 pounds 7258and attired in shorts to pilot or ride in an airplane. 7259% 7260In Pocatello, Idaho, a law passed in 1912 provided that "The carrying 7261of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public 7262view." 7263% 7264In Riemann, Hilbert or in Banach space 7265Let superscripts and subscripts go their ways. 7266Our asymptotes no longer out of phase, 7267We shall encounter, counting, face to face. 7268 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 7269% 7270In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that 7271is over six feet in length. 7272% 7273In seeking the unattainable, simplicity only gets in the way. 7274 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 7275% 7276In short, _N is Richardian if, and only if, _N is not Richardian. 7277% 7278In specifications, Murphy's Law supersedes Ohm's. 7279% 7280In Tennessee, it is illegal to shoot any game other than whales from a 7281moving automobile. 7282% 7283[In the 60's] there was madness in any direction, at any hour ... You 7284could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense 7285that whatever we were doing was `right', that we were winning ... 7286 7287And that, I think, was the handle -- the sense of inevitable victory 7288over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we 7289didn't need that. Our energy would simply `prevail'. There was no 7290point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; 7291we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave .... 7292 7293So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in 7294Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost 7295___see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and 7296rolled back. 7297 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 7298% 7299In the beginning was the word. 7300But by the time the second word was added to it, 7301there was trouble. 7302For with it came syntax ... 7303 -- John Simon 7304% 7305In the days when Sussman was a novice Minsky once came to him as he sat 7306hacking at the PDP-6. "What are you doing?", asked Minsky. "I am 7307training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe." "Why is the 7308net wired randomly?", asked Minsky. "I do not want it to have any 7309preconceptions of how to play." Minsky shut his eyes. "Why do you 7310close your eyes?", Sussman asked his teacher. "So the room will be 7311empty." At that moment, Sussman was enlightened. 7312% 7313In the force if Yoda's so strong, construct a sentence with words in 7314the proper order then why can't he? 7315% 7316In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful 7317Dead. 7318 -- Egyptian Book of the Dead 7319% 7320In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. 7321 -- Alan Perlis 7322% 7323In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or 7324a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole a loaf of bread and gave it 7325to you, you would only be tried for receiving, a crime punishable by 7326forty lashes with the cat or the dog, whichever was handy. If you 7327stole a dog and were caught, you were punished with twelve rabbit 7328punches, although it was hard to find rabbits big enough or strong 7329enough to punch you. 7330 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 7331% 7332In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Mississippi has 7333shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. Therefore ... in the 7334Old Silurian Period the Mississippi River was upward of one million 7335three hundred thousand miles long ... seven hundred and forty-two years 7336from now the Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. 7337... There is something fascinating about science. One gets such 7338wholesome returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of 7339fact. 7340 -- Mark Twain 7341% 7342In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to 7343drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at 7344discotheques. 7345 -- Art Linkletter 7346% 7347In those days he was wiser than he is now -- he used to frequently take 7348my advice. 7349 -- Winston Churchill 7350% 7351In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without 7352the supervision of a licensed engineer. 7353% 7354In West Union, Ohio, No married man can go flying without his spouse 7355along at any time, unless he has been married for more than 12 months. 7356% 7357Incumbent, n.: 7358 Person of liveliest interest to the outcumbents. 7359 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7360% 7361... indifference is a militant thing ... when it goes away it leaves 7362smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayonetted through the throat. It is 7363not a children's pastime like mere highway robbery. 7364 -- Stephen Crane 7365% 7366Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? 7367% 7368Individualists unite! 7369% 7370Infancy, n.: 7371 The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, "Heaven 7372lies about us." The world begins lying about us pretty soon 7373afterward. 7374 -- Ambrose Bierce 7375% 7376Information Center, n.: 7377 A room staffed by professional computer people whose job it is 7378to tell you why you cannot have the information you require. 7379% 7380Ingrate, n.: 7381 A man who bites the hand that feeds him, and then complains of 7382indigestion. 7383% 7384Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 7385 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. 7386% 7387Ink, n.: 7388 A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic, and 7389water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote 7390intellectual crime. 7391 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7392% 7393Innovation is hard to schedule. 7394 -- Dan Fylstra 7395% 7396Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. 7397% 7398Insanity is the final defense ... It's hard to get a refund when the 7399salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon. 7400% 7401Interpreter, n.: 7402 One who enables two persons of different languages to 7403understand each other by repeating to each what it would have been to 7404the interpreter's advantage for the other to have said. 7405 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7406% 7407Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure. 7408% 7409 INVENTORY 7410Four be the things I am wiser to know: 7411Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. 7412 7413Four be the things I'd been better without: 7414Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. 7415 7416Three be the things I shall never attain: 7417Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. 7418 7419Three be the things I shall have till I die: 7420Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye. 7421% 7422Iron Law of Distribution: 7423 Them that has, gets. 7424% 7425Irrationality is the square root of all evil 7426 -- Douglas Hofstadter 7427% 7428Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is 7429meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a 7430soap bubble? 7431% 7432Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the 7433beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get 7434out, and such as are out wish to get in? 7435 -- Ralph Emerson 7436% 7437Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! 7438% 7439Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction 7440listen to weather forecasts and economists? 7441 -- Kelvin Throop III 7442% 7443Isn't it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune 7444tellers take economists seriously? 7445% 7446Issawi's Laws of Progress: 7447 7448 The Course of Progress: 7449 Most things get steadily worse. 7450 7451 The Path of Progress: 7452 A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. 7453% 7454It appears that after his death, Albert Einstein found himself working 7455as the doorkeeper at the Pearly Gates. One slow day, he found that he 7456had time to chat with the new entrants. To the first one he asked, 7457"What's your IQ?" The new arrival replied, "190". They discussed 7458Einstein's theory of relativity for hours. When the second new arrival 7459came, Einstein once again inquired as to the newcomer's IQ. The answer 7460this time came "120". To which Einstein replied, "Tell me, how did the 7461Cubs do this year?" and they proceeded to talk for half an hour or so. 7462To the final arrival, Einstein once again posed the question, "What's 7463your IQ?". Upon receiving the answer "70", Einstein smiled and asked, 7464"Got a minute to tell me about VMS 4.0?" 7465% 7466It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown 7467came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and 7468applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I 7469think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the 7470wits, who believe that it is a joke. 7471 -- S. A. Kierkegaard (1813-1855) 7472% 7473It has been observed that one's nose is never so happy as when it is 7474thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have 7475drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell. 7476 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7477% 7478It has been said [by Anatole France], "it is not by amusing oneself 7479that one learns," and, in reply: "it is *____only* by amusing oneself that 7480one can learn." 7481 -- Edward Kasner and James R. Newman 7482% 7483It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have 7484been searching for evidence which could support this. 7485 -- Bertrand Russell 7486% 7487It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats. 7488% 7489It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to 7490program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in 7491organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be 7492self-critical? 7493 -- Alan Perlis 7494% 7495It is against the law for a monster to enter the corporate limits of 7496Urbana, Illinois. 7497% 7498It is always preferable to visit home with a friend. Your parents will 7499not be pleased with this plan, because they want you all to themselves 7500and because in the presence of your friend, they will have to act like 7501mature human beings ... 7502 -- Playboy, January 1983 7503% 7504It is amusing that a virtue is made of the vice of chastity; and it's a 7505pretty odd sort of chastity at that, which leads men straight into the 7506sin of Onan, and girls to the waning of their color. 7507 -- Voltaire 7508% 7509It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what 7510they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed 7511that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so 7512much -- the wheel, New York wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins 7513had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But 7514conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more 7515intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. 7516 7517Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending 7518destruction of the of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to 7519alert mankind to the danger; but most of their communications were 7520misinterpreted ... 7521 -- Douglas Adams "The Hitch-Hikers' Guide To The Galaxy" 7522% 7523It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be 7524coming up it. 7525 -- Henry Allen 7526% 7527It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? 7528One in a million, perhaps. 7529% 7530It is better to kiss an avocado than to get in a fight with an aardvark 7531% 7532It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three 7533benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never 7534to use either. 7535 -- Mark Twain 7536% 7537It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both 7538incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by 7539twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. 7540 -- Rod Serling 7541% 7542It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is 7543lightly greased. 7544 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 7545% 7546It is easier to be a "humanitarian" than to render your own country its 7547proper due; it is easier to be a "patriot" than to make your community 7548a better place to live in; it is easier to be a "civic leader" than to 7549treat your own family with loving understanding; for the smaller the 7550focus of attention, the harder the task. 7551 -- Sydney J. Harris 7552% 7553It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa. 7554% 7555It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. 7556% 7557It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one. 7558% 7559It is generally agreed that "Hello" is an appropriate greeting because 7560if you entered a room and said "Goodbye," it could confuse a lot of 7561people. 7562 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 7563% 7564It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood 7565Boulevard at one time. 7566% 7567It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia. 7568% 7569It is impossible to experience one's death objectively and still carry 7570a tune. 7571 -- Woody Allen 7572% 7573It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so 7574ingenious. 7575% 7576It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not 7577desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. 7578 -- Woody Allen 7579% 7580It is Mr. Mellon's credo that $200,000,000 can do no wrong. Our 7581offense consists in doubting it. 7582 -- Justice Robert H. Jackson 7583% 7584It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the 7585problem. 7586% 7587It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be 7588privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to 7589corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles. 7590 -- George Bernard Shaw 7591% 7592It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. 7593 -- Gore Vidal 7594% 7595It is not true that life is one damn thing after another -- it's one 7596damn thing over and over. 7597 -- Edna St. Vincent Millay 7598% 7599It is now 10 p.m. Do you know where Henry Kissinger is? 7600 -- Elizabeth Carpenter 7601% 7602It is now pitch dark. If you proceed, you will likely fall into a pit. 7603% 7604It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that 7605virginity could be a virtue. 7606 -- Voltaire 7607% 7608It is only people of small moral stature who have to stand on their 7609dignity. 7610% 7611It is only the great men who are truly obscene. If they had not dared 7612to be obscene, they could never have dared to be great. 7613 -- Havelock Ellis 7614% 7615It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to 7616students that have had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential 7617programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of 7618regeneration. 7619 -- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 7620% 7621It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the 7622lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as 7623high as the eagle? 7624% 7625It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a 7626statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more 7627glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through 7628which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the 7629day, that is the highest of arts. 7630 -- Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Live" 7631% 7632It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad 7633crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed 7634until the other has gone. 7635% 7636It is the business of little minds to shrink. 7637 -- Carl Sandburg 7638% 7639It is the business of the future to be dangerous. 7640 -- Hawkwind 7641% 7642It is true that if your paperboy throws your paper into the bushes for 7643five straight days it can be explained by Newton's Law of Gravity. But 7644it takes Murphy's law to explain why it is happening to you. 7645% 7646It is very difficult to prophesy, especially when it pertains to the 7647future. 7648% 7649It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. 7650% 7651It may be bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but it isn't too 7652good either if you speak when your head is empty. 7653% 7654It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a 7655warning to others. 7656% 7657It runs like _x, where _x is something unsavory 7658 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 7659% 7660It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the 7661flag. 7662% 7663It shall be unlawful for any suspicious person to be within the 7664municipality. 7665 -- Local ordinance, Euclid Ohio 7666% 7667It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, 7668but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous. 7669 -- Robert Benchly 7670% 7671It was a book to kill time for those who liked it better dead. 7672% 7673It was a virgin forest, a place where the Hand of Man had never set foot. 7674% 7675It was one of those perfect summer days -- the sun was shining, a 7676breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, and the lawn mower was 7677broken ... 7678 -- James Dent 7679% 7680It was pleasant to me to get a letter from you the other day. Perhaps 7681I should have found it pleasanter if I had been able to decipher it. I 7682don't think that I mastered anything beyond the date (which I knew) and 7683the signature (which I guessed at). There's a singular and a perpetual 7684charm in a letter of yours; it never grows old, it never loses its 7685novelty .... Other letters are read and thrown away and forgotten, but 7686yours are kept forever -- unread. One of them will last a reasonable 7687man a lifetime. 7688 -- Thomas Aldrich 7689% 7690 It was the next morning that the armies of Twodor marched east 7691laden with long lances, sharp swords, and death-dealing hangovers. The 7692thousands were led by Arrowroot, who sat limply in his sidesaddle, 7693nursing a whopper. Goodgulf, Gimlet, and the rest rode by him, praying 7694for their fate to be quick, painless, and if possible, someone else's. 7695 Many an hour the armies forged ahead, the war-merinos bleating 7696under their heavy burdens and the soldiers bleating under their melting 7697icepacks. 7698 -- The Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 7699% 7700It wasn't that she had a rose in her teeth, exactly. It was more like 7701the rose and the teeth were in the same glass. 7702% 7703It will be advantageous to cross the great stream ... the Dragon is on 7704the wing in the Sky ... the Great Man rouses himself to his Work. 7705% 7706It will be generally found that those who sneer habitually at human 7707nature and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant 7708examples. 7709 -- Charles Dickens 7710% 7711It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing 7712warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or 7713two things still safe to eat. 7714 -- Robert Fuoss 7715% 7716It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. 7717 -- Andrew Jackson 7718% 7719It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear. 7720 -- Cheers 7721% 7722It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for. 7723% 7724"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it." 7725 -- Steven Wright 7726% 7727"It's a summons." 7728"What's a summons?" 7729"It means summon's in trouble." 7730 -- Rocky and Bullwinkle 7731% 7732It's a very *__UN*lucky week in which to be took dead. 7733 -- Churchy La Femme 7734% 7735It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black. 7736% 7737It's bad luck to be superstitious. 7738 -- Andrew W. Mathis 7739% 7740It's better to be wanted for murder than not to be wanted at all. 7741 -- Marty Winch 7742% 7743"It's easier said than done." 7744 7745... and if you don't believe it, try proving that it's easier done than 7746said, and you'll see that "it's easier said that `it's easier done than 7747said' than it is done", which really proves that "it's easier said than 7748done". 7749% 7750It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. 7751% 7752It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than forgiveness for 7753being right. 7754% 7755It's Fabulous! We haven't seen anything like it in the last half an hour! 7756 -- Macy's 7757% 7758It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse. 7759% 7760It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it 7761is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It 7762isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. 7763 -- Oxford University Press, "Edpress News" 7764% 7765It's just a jump to the left 7766 And then a step to the right. 7767Put your hands on your hips 7768 And pull your knees in tight. 7769But it's the pelvic thrust 7770 That really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane! 7771 7772 LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! 7773 7774 -- Rocky Horror Picture Show 7775% 7776It's kind of fun to do the impossible. 7777 -- Walt Disney 7778% 7779"It's Like This" 7780 7781Even the samurai 7782have teddy bears, 7783and even the teddy bears 7784get drunk. 7785% 7786It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong 7787direction. 7788% 7789It's men like him that give the Y chromosome a bad name. 7790% 7791It's more than magnificent -- it's mediocre. 7792 -- Sam Goldwyn 7793% 7794It's no surprise that things are so screwed up: everyone that knows how 7795to run a government is either driving taxicabs or cutting hair. 7796 -- George Burns 7797% 7798It's not an optical illusion, it just looks like one. 7799 -- Phil White 7800% 7801It's not Camelot, but it's not Cleveland, either. 7802 -- Kevin White, mayor of Boston 7803% 7804It's not enough to be Hungarian; you must have talent too. 7805 -- Alexander Korda 7806% 7807It's not just a computer -- it's your ass. 7808 -- Cal Keegan 7809% 7810It's not reality or how you perceive things that's important -- it's 7811what you're taking for it... 7812% 7813It's not so hard to lift yourself by your bootstraps once you're off 7814the ground. 7815 -- Daniel B. Luten 7816% 7817It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it 7818happens. 7819 -- Woody Allen 7820% 7821It's not the valleys in life I dread so much as the dips. 7822 -- Garfield 7823% 7824It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that 7825English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many 7826other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case. 7827 -- Sydney J. Harris 7828% 7829It's raisins that make Post Raisin Bran so raisiny ... 7830% 7831It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles. 7832% 7833It's so stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the 7834Devil when he is the only explanation of it. 7835% 7836It's the opinion of some that crops could be grown on the moon. Which 7837raises the fear that it may not be long before we're paying somebody 7838not to. 7839 -- Franklin P. Jones 7840% 7841It's the thought, if any, that counts! 7842% 7843 JACK AND THE BEANSTACK 7844 by Mark Isaak 7845 7846 Long ago, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL 7847character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their 7848hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices 7849are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some 7850BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it 7851to him. 7852 So Jack set out. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, 7853he met the traveling salesman. 7854 "Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman 7855in high-level language. 7856 "I'm going to the market to exchange this RAM for some chips 7857and Apples," commented Jack. 7858 "I have a much better algorithm. You needn't join a queue 7859there; I will swap your RAM for these magic kernels now." 7860 Jack made the trade, then backtracked to his house. But when 7861he told his busy-waiting parent of the deal, she became so angry she 7862started thrashing. 7863 "Don't you even have any artificial intelligence? All these 7864kernels together hardly make up one byte," and she popped them out the 7865window ... 7866% 7867Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Government: 7868 No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the 7869legislature is in session. 7870% 7871James Joyce -- an essentially private man who wished his total 7872indifference to public notice to be universally recognized. 7873 -- Tom Stoppard 7874% 7875Jenkinson's Law: 7876 It won't work. 7877% 7878Jesus Saves, 7879Moses Invests, 7880But only Buddha pays Dividends. 7881% 7882Job Placement, n.: 7883 Telling your boss what he can do with your job. 7884% 7885Joe's sister puts spaghetti in her shoes! 7886% 7887Johnson's First Law: 7888 When any mechanical contrivance fails, it will do so at the 7889most inconvenient possible time. 7890% 7891Join in the new game that's sweeping the country. It's called 7892"Bureaucracy". Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do 7893anything loses. 7894% 7895Join the march to save individuality! 7896% 7897Jone's Law: 7898 The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone 7899to blame it on. 7900% 7901Jone's Motto: 7902 Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. 7903% 7904Jones's First Law: 7905 Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of 7906endeavor, and stays in that field long enough, becomes an obstruction 7907to its progress -- in direct proportion to the importance of their 7908original contribution. 7909% 7910Just about every computer on the market today runs Unix, except the Mac 7911(and nobody cares about it). 7912 -- Bill Joy 6/21/85 7913% 7914Just as most issues are seldom black or white, so are most good 7915solutions seldom black or white. Beware of the solution that requires 7916one side to be totally the loser and the other side to be totally the 7917winner. The reason there are two sides to begin with usually is 7918because neither side has all the facts. Therefore, when the wise 7919mediator effects a compromise, he is not acting from political 7920motivation. Rather, he is acting from a deep sense of respect for the 7921whole truth. 7922 -- Stephen R. Schwambach 7923% 7924Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has 7925changed. 7926 -- Irene Peter 7927% 7928Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. 7929% 7930Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn't mean he 7931knows what it is. 7932% 7933Just go with the flow control, roll with the crunches, and, when you 7934get a prompt, type like hell. 7935% 7936Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't 7937immune to bullets. 7938 -- The Brigader, "Dr. Who" 7939% 7940Just out of curiosity does this actually mean something or have some 7941of the few remaining bits of your brain just evaporated? 7942 -- Patricia O Tuama, rissa@killer.DALLAS.TX.US 7943% 7944Just remember, it all started with a mouse. 7945 -- Walt Disney 7946% 7947Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to 7948twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! 7949% 7950`Just the place for a Snark!' the Bellman cried, 7951 As he landed his crew with care; 7952Supporting each man on the top of the tide 7953 By a finger entwined in his hair. 7954 7955'Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: 7956 That alone should encourage the crew. 7957Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: 7958 What I tell you three times is true.' 7959% 7960Just when you thought you were winning the rat race, along comes a 7961faster rat!!! 7962% 7963Justice always prevails ... three times out of seven! 7964 -- Michael J. Wagner 7965% 7966Justice is incidental to law and order. 7967 -- J. Edgar Hoover 7968% 7969Justice, n.: 7970 A decision in your favor. 7971% 7972K: Cobalt's metal, hard and shining; 7973 Cobol's wordy and confining; 7974 KOBOLDS topple when you strike them; 7975 Don't feel bad, it's hard to like them. 7976 -- The Roguelet's ABC 7977% 7978Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to 7979wear tail lights. 7980% 7981Katz' Law: 7982 Man and nations will act rationally when all other 7983possibilities have been exhausted. 7984% 7985Keep America beautiful. Swallow your beer cans. 7986% 7987Keep Cool, but Don't Freeze 7988 - Hellman's Mayonnaise 7989% 7990Keep emotionally active. Cater to your favorite neurosis. 7991% 7992Keep grandma off the streets -- legalize bingo. 7993% 7994Keep in mind always the two constant Laws of Frisbee: 7995 (1) The most powerful force in the world is that of a disc 7996 straining to land under a car, just out of reach (this 7997 force is technically termed "car suck"). 7998 (2) Never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive 7999 than "Watch this!" 8000% 8001Keep your Eye on the Ball, 8002Your Shoulder to the Wheel, 8003Your Nose to the Grindstone, 8004Your Feet on the Ground, 8005Your Head on your Shoulders. 8006Now ... try to get something DONE! 8007% 8008Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most 8009automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the 8010numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the 8011driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the 8012dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know 8013what's wrong." 8014% 8015Kerr's Three Rules for a Successful College: 8016 Have plenty of football for the alumni, sex for the students, 8017and parking for the faculty. 8018% 8019Kids have *_____never* taken guidance from their parents. If you could 8020travel back in time and observe the original primate family in the 8021original tree, you would see the primate parents yelling at the primate 8022teenager for sitting around and sulking all day instead of hunting for 8023grubs and berries like dad primate. Then you'd see the primate 8024teenager stomp up to his branch and slam the leaves. 8025 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 8026% 8027Kin, n.: 8028 An affliction of the blood 8029% 8030Kinkler's First Law: 8031 Responsibility always exceeds authority. 8032 8033Kinkler's Second Law: 8034 All the easy problems have been solved. 8035% 8036Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack. 8037% 8038Kirkland, Illinois, law forbids bees to fly over the village or through 8039any of its streets. 8040% 8041Kiss me twice. I'm schizophrenic. 8042% 8043Kiss your keyboard goodbye! 8044% 8045Klein bottle for rent -- inquire within. 8046% 8047Kleptomaniac, n.: 8048 A rich thief. 8049 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8050% 8051Know thyself. If you need help, call the C.I.A. 8052% 8053Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. 8054 -- Henry N. Camp 8055% 8056Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr): 8057 The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards. 8058 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8059% 8060Labor, n.: 8061 One of the processes by which A acquires property for B. 8062 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8063% 8064Lackland's Laws: 8065 (1) Never be first. 8066 (2) Never be last. 8067 (3) Never volunteer for anything 8068% 8069Lactomangulation, n.: 8070 Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly 8071that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side. 8072 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8073% 8074Ladybug, ladybug, 8075Look to your stern! 8076Your house is on fire, 8077Your children will burn! 8078So jump ye and sing, for 8079The very first time 8080The four lines above 8081Have been put into rhyme. 8082 -- Walt Kelly 8083% 8084Laetrile is the pits 8085% 8086Langsam's Laws: 8087 (1) Everything depends. 8088 (2) Nothing is always. 8089 (3) Everything is sometimes. 8090% 8091Larkinson's Law: 8092 All laws are basically false. 8093% 8094Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with 8095was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting 8096pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the 8097farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their 8098sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do 8099you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? 8100What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead 8101of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under 8102the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops 8103whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which 8104Lassie filed the applications for. 8105 -- Dave Barry 8106% 8107Last night, I came home and realized that everything in my apartment 8108had been stolen and replaced with an exact duplicate. I told this to 8109my friend -- he said, `Do I know you?' 8110 -- Steven Wright 8111% 8112Last week a cop stopped me in my car. He asked me if I had a police 8113record. I said, no, but I have the new DEVO album. Cops have no sense 8114of humor. 8115% 8116Last yeer I kudn't spel Engineer. Now I are won. 8117% 8118Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. 8119% 8120Laughter is the closest distance between two people." 8121 -- Victor Borge 8122% 8123Law of Communications: 8124 The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications 8125between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased area of 8126misunderstanding. 8127% 8128Law of Probable Dispersal: 8129 Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly 8130distributed. 8131% 8132Law of Selective Gravity: 8133 An object will fall so as to do the most damage. 8134 8135Jenning's Corollary: 8136 The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is 8137directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. 8138 8139Law of the Perversity of Nature: 8140 You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the 8141bread to butter. 8142% 8143Laws of Serendipity: 8144 8145 (1) In order to discover anything, you must be looking for 8146 something. 8147 (2) If you wish to make an improved product, you must already 8148 be engaged in making an inferior one. 8149% 8150Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: 8151 No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats -- 8152approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less. 8153% 8154Learned men are the cisterns of knowledge, not the fountainheads. 8155% 8156Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and 8157everything else follows in the same way. 8158 -- Alan J. Perlis 8159% 8160Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. 8161% 8162Legalize free-enterprise murder: why should governments have all the 8163fun? 8164% 8165Legislation proposed in the Illinois State Legislature, May, 1907: 8166 "Speed upon county roads will be limited to ten miles an hour 8167unless the motorist sees a bailiff who does not appear to have had a 8168drink in 30 days, when the driver will be permitted to make what he 8169can." 8170% 8171Leibowitz's Rule: 8172 When hammering a nail, you will never hit your finger if you 8173hold the hammer with both hands. 8174% 8175LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8176 You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are 8177 pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike 8178 honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people 8179 are thieves. 8180% 8181LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8182 Your determination and sense of humor will come to the fore. 8183 Your ability to laugh at adversity will be a blessing because 8184 you've got a day coming you wouldn't believe. As a matter of 8185 fact, if you can laugh at what happens to you today, you've got 8186 a sick sense of humor. 8187% 8188Let He who taketh the Plunge Remember to return it by Tuesday. 8189% 8190Let me assure you that to us here at First National, you're not just a 8191number. You're two numbers, a dash, three more numbers, another dash 8192and another number. 8193 -- James Estes 8194% 8195Let us live!!! 8196Let us love!!! 8197Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!! 8198 8199You first. 8200% 8201Let's just say that where a change was required, I adjusted. In every 8202relationship that exists, people have to seek a way to survive. If you 8203really care about the person, you do what's necessary, or that's the 8204end. For the first time, I found that I really could change, and the 8205qualities I most admired in myself I gave up. I stopped being loud and 8206bossy ... Oh, all right. I was still loud and bossy, but only behind 8207his back. 8208 -- Kate Hepburn, on Tracy and Hepburn 8209% 8210Let's say your wedding ring falls into your toaster, and when you stick 8211your hand in to retrieve it, you suffer Pain and Suffering as well as 8212Mental Anguish. You would sue: 8213 8214* The toaster manufacturer, for failure to include, in the instructions 8215 section that says you should never never never ever stick you hand 8216 into the toaster, the statement "Not even if your wedding ring falls 8217 in there". 8218 8219* The store where you bought the toaster, for selling it to an obvious 8220 cretin like yourself. 8221 8222* Union Carbide Corporation, which is not directly responsible in this 8223 case, but which is feeling so guilty that it would probably send you 8224 a large cash settlement anyway. 8225 -- Dave Barry 8226% 8227Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often 8228overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of 8229dollars: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your 8230tax return around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to 8231spend hours poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe 8232money, you can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will 8233probably give it to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? 8234It's not his money. 8235 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 8236% 8237LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Times of London) 8238 8239Dear Sir, 8240 8241I am firmly opposed to the spread of microchips either to the home or 8242to the office. We have more than enough of them foisted upon us in 8243public places. They are a disgusting Americanism, and can only result 8244in the farmers being forced to grow smaller potatoes, which in turn 8245will cause massive unemployment in the already severely depressed 8246agricultural industry. 8247 8248Yours faithfully, 8249 Capt. Quinton D'Arcy, J. P. 8250 Sevenoaks 8251% 8252Lewis's Law of Travel: 8253 The first piece of luggage out of the chute doesn't belong to 8254anyone, ever. 8255% 8256Liar, n.: 8257 A lawyer with a roving commission. 8258 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8259% 8260Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. 8261 -- Harry Emerson Fosdick 8262% 8263LIBRA (Sep. 23 to Oct. 22) 8264 Your desire for justice and truth will be overshadowed by your 8265 desire for filthy lucre and a decent meal. Be gracious and 8266 polite. Someone is watching you, so stop staring like that. 8267% 8268LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22) 8269 You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with 8270 reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely gay. 8271 Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most 8272 Libra women are prostitutes. All Libra people die of venereal 8273 disease. 8274% 8275Lie, n.: 8276 A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one 8277discovered to date. 8278% 8279Lieberman's Law: 8280 Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens. 8281% 8282Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while. 8283% 8284Life is a yo-yo, and mankind ties knots in the string. 8285% 8286Life is like a bowl of soup with hairs floating on it. You have to 8287eat it nevertheless. 8288 -- Flaubert 8289% 8290Life is like a buffet; it's not good but there's plenty of it. 8291% 8292Life is like a simile. 8293% 8294Life is like an analogy. 8295% 8296Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, then you find 8297there is nothing in it. 8298% 8299Life is too important to take seriously. 8300 -- Corky Siegel 8301% 8302Life may have no meaning -- or even worse, it may have a meaning of 8303which I disapprove. 8304% 8305Life to you is a bold and dashing responsibility. 8306 -- a Mary Chung's fortune cookie 8307% 8308Life would be much simpler and things would get done much faster if it 8309weren't for other people. 8310 -- Blore 8311% 8312Life would be so much easier if we could just look at the source code. 8313% 8314Life, loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it. 8315 -- Marvin, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 8316% 8317Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made 8318sense from things she found in gift shops. 8319 -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 8320% 8321Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking 8322for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem. 8323 -- Alan McKay 8324% 8325Limericks are art forms complex, 8326Their topics run chiefly to sex. 8327 They usually have virgins, 8328 And masculine urgin's, 8329And other erotic effects. 8330% 8331Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations. 8332% 8333Linus: I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe 8334 we should think only about today. 8335Charlie Brown: 8336 No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get 8337 better. 8338% 8339Living in LA is like not having a date on Saturday night. 8340 -- Candice Bergen 8341% 8342Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip 8343around the Sun. 8344% 8345Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted 8346before. 8347% 8348Lizzie Borden took an axe, 8349And plunged it deep into the VAX; 8350Don't you envy people who 8351Do all the things ___YOU want to do? 8352% 8353Loan-department manager: "There isn't any fine print. At these 8354interest rates, we don't need it." 8355% 8356Lobster: 8357 Everyone loves these delectable crustaceans, but many cooks are 8358squeamish about placing them into boiling water alive, which is the 8359only proper method of preparing them. Frankly, the easiest way to 8360eliminate your guilt is to establish theirs by putting them on trial 8361before they're cooked. The fact is, lobsters are among the most 8362ferocious predators on the sea floor, and you're helping reduce crime 8363in the reefs. Grasp the lobster behind the head, look it right in its 8364unmistakably guilty eyestalks and say, "Where were you on the night of 8365the 21st?", then flourish a picture of a scallop or a sole and shout, 8366"Perhaps this will refresh that crude neural apparatus you call a 8367memory!" The lobster will squirm noticeably. It may even take a swipe 8368at you with one of its claws. Incorrigible. Pop it into the pot. 8369Justice has been served, and shortly you and your friends will be, 8370too. 8371 -- Dave Barry, "Cooking: The Art of Using Appliances and 8372 Utensils into Excuses and Apologies" 8373% 8374Lockwood's Long Shot: 8375 The chances of getting eaten up by a lion on Main Street aren't 8376one in a million, but once would be enough. 8377% 8378Logic is a little bird, sitting in a tree; that smells *_____awful*. 8379% 8380... Logically incoherent, semantically incomprehensible, and 8381legally ... impeccable! 8382% 8383Logicians have but ill defined 8384As rational the human kind. 8385Logic, they say, belongs to man, 8386But let them prove it if they can. 8387 -- Oliver Goldsmith 8388% 8389Look out! Behind you! 8390% 8391Look, we play the Star Spangled Banner before every game. You want us 8392to pay income taxes, too? 8393 -- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox 8394% 8395Loose bits sink chips. 8396% 8397Losing your drivers' license is just God's way of saying 8398"BOOGA, BOOGA!" 8399% 8400Lost interest? It's so bad I've lost apathy. 8401% 8402Loud burping while walking around the airport is prohibited in 8403Halstead, Kansas. 8404% 8405Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. 8406% 8407Love at first sight is one of the greatest labor-saving devices the 8408world has ever seen. 8409% 8410Love cannot be much younger than the lust for murder. 8411 -- Sigmund Freud 8412% 8413Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it 8414flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come. 8415 -- Matt Groening 8416% 8417Love is a word that is constantly heard, 8418Hate is a word that is not. 8419Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. 8420Love, I have read, is hot. 8421But hate is the verb that to me is superb, 8422And Love but a drug on the mart. 8423Any kiddie in school can love like a fool, 8424But Hating, my boy, is an Art. 8425 -- Ogden Nash 8426% 8427Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with 8428the ideal never goes unpunished. 8429 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8430% 8431Love is sentimental measles. 8432% 8433Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. 8434 -- H. L. Mencken 8435% 8436Love means having to say you're sorry every five minutes. 8437% 8438Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighborhood. 8439 -- Louise Beal 8440% 8441Love your enemies: they'll go crazy trying to figure out what you're up to. 8442% 8443 Love's Drug 8444 8445My love is like an iron wand 8446 That conks me on the head, 8447My love is like the valium 8448 That I take before my bed, 8449My love is like the pint of scotch 8450 That I drink when I be dry; 8451And I shall love thee still, my dear, 8452 Until my wife is wise. 8453% 8454Lowery's Law: 8455 If it jams -- force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing 8456anyway. 8457% 8458LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand. 8459% 8460Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: 8461 There's always one more bug. 8462% 8463Lunatic Asylum, n.: 8464 The place where optimism most flourishes. 8465% 8466Lysistrata had a good idea. 8467% 8468MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into 8469the smallest amount of thoughts. 8470 -- Winston Churchill 8471% 8472Machine-Independent, adj.: 8473 Does not run on any existing machine. 8474% 8475Machines certainly can solve problems, store information, correlate, 8476and play games -- but not with pleasure. 8477 -- Leo Rosten 8478% 8479Mad, adj.: 8480 Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence. 8481 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8482% 8483Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child -- if you parboil them 8484first for seven hours, they always come out tender. 8485 -- W. C. Fields 8486% 8487MAFIA, n: 8488 [Acronym for Mechanized Applications in Forced Insurance 8489Accounting.] An extensive network with many on-line and offshore 8490subsystems running under OS, DOS, and IOS. MAFIA documentation is 8491rather scanty, and the MAFIA sales office exhibits that testy 8492reluctance to bona fide inquiries which is the hallmark of so many DP 8493operations. From the little that has seeped out, it would appear that 8494MAFIA operates under a non-standard protocol, OMERTA, a tight-lipped 8495variant of SNA, in which extended handshakes also perform complex 8496security functions. The known timesharing aspects of MAFIA point to a 8497more than usually autocratic operating system. Screen prompts carry an 8498imperative, nonrefusable weighting (most menus offer simple YES/YES 8499options, defaulting to YES) that precludes indifference or delay. 8500Uniquely, all editing under MAFIA is performed centrally, using a 8501powerful rubout feature capable of erasing files, filors, filees, and 8502entire nodal aggravations. 8503 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 8504% 8505Magnet, n.: Something acted upon by magnetism. 8506 8507Magnetism, n.: Something acting upon a magnet. 8508 8509The two definition immediately preceding are condensed from the works 8510of one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject 8511with a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human 8512knowledge. 8513 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8514% 8515Magnocartic, adj.: 8516 Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping carts. 8517 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 8518% 8519Magpie, n.: 8520 A bird whose thievish disposition suggested to someone that it 8521might be taught to talk. 8522 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8523% 8524Maier's Law: 8525 If the facts don't conform to the theory, they must be disposed of. 8526 8527Corollaries: 8528 (1) The bigger the theory, the better. 8529 (2) The experiment may be considered a success if no more than 8530 50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to 8531 obtain a correspondence with the theory. 8532% 8533Main's Law: 8534 For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. 8535% 8536Maintainer's Motto: 8537 If we can't fix it, it ain't broke. 8538% 8539Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly 8540 as one man. 8541 8542Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds. 8543 8544Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. 8545 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8546% 8547Majority, n.: 8548 That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law. 8549% 8550Make it myself? But I'm a physical organic chemist! 8551% 8552Making files is easy under the UNIX operating system. Therefore, users 8553tend to create numerous files using large amounts of file space. It 8554has been said that the only standard thing about all UNIX systems is 8555the message-of-the-day telling users to clean up their files. 8556 -- System V.2 administrator's guide 8557% 8558Malek's Law: 8559 Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way. 8560% 8561Man 1: Ask me the what the most important thing about telling a good 8562 joke is. 8563 8564Man 2: OK, what is the most impo -- 8565 8566Man 1: ______TIMING! 8567% 8568Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. 8569 -- Lily Tomlin 8570% 8571Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called 8572upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 8573 -- Oscar Wilde 8574% 8575Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the 8576only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. 8577 -- Wernher von Braun 8578% 8579Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. 8580 -- Mark Twain 8581% 8582Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the 8583victims he intends to eat until he eats them. 8584 -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) 8585% 8586Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- unless it 8587is an enemy. 8588 -- Albert Einstein 8589% 8590Man, n.: 8591 An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks 8592he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief 8593occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, 8594however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole 8595habitable earth and Canada. 8596 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8597% 8598Mandrell: "You know what I think?" 8599Doctor: "Ah, ah that's a catch question. With a brain your size you 8600 don't think, right?" 8601 -- Dr. Who 8602% 8603Mankind's yearning to engage in sports is older than recorded history, 8604dating back to the time millions of years ago, when the first primitive 8605man picked up a crude club and a round rock, tossed the rock into the 8606air, and whomped the club into the sloping forehead of the first 8607primitive umpire. 8608 8609What inner force drove this first athlete? Your guess is as good as 8610mine. Better, probably, because you haven't had four beers. 8611 -- Dave Barry, "Sports is a Drag" 8612% 8613Manual, n.: 8614 A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a 8615given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The 8616information you need is in the others. 8617 -- Ray Simard 8618% 8619Many years ago in a period commonly know as Next Friday Afternoon, 8620there lived a King who was very Gloomy on Tuesday mornings because he 8621was so Sad thinking about how Unhappy he had been on Monday and how 8622completely Mournful he would be on Wednesday ... 8623 -- Walt Kelly 8624% 8625Mark's Dental-Chair Discovery: 8626 Dentists are incapable of asking questions that require a 8627simple yes or no answer. 8628% 8629Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. 8630 -- Voltaire 8631% 8632Maryel brought her bat into Exit once and started whacking people on 8633the dance floor. Now everyone's doing it. It's called grand slam 8634dancing. 8635 -- Ransford, Chicago Reader 10/7/83 8636% 8637Maternity pay? Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will get pregnant. 8638 -- Malcolm Smith 8639% 8640Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. 8641 -- R. Drabek 8642% 8643Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they 8644translate into their own language, and forthwith it is something 8645entirely different. 8646 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8647% 8648Mathematicians often resort to something called Hilbert space, which is 8649described as being n-dimensional. Like modern sex, any number can 8650play. 8651 -- Dr. Thor Wald, in "Beep/The Quincunx of Time", by 8652 James Blish 8653% 8654Matrimony isn't a word, it's a sentence. 8655% 8656Matter cannot be created or destroyed, 8657nor can it be returned without a receipt. 8658% 8659Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. 8660 -- Jules Feiffer 8661% 8662May a Misguided Platypus lay its Eggs in your Jockey Shorts. 8663% 8664May Euell Gibbons eat your only copy of the manual! 8665% 8666May the Fleas of a Thousand Camels infest one of your Erogenous Zones. 8667% 8668May your Tongue stick to the Roof of your Mouth with the Force of a 8669Thousand Caramels. 8670% 8671Maybe Computer Science should be in the College of Theology. 8672 -- R. S. Barton 8673% 8674Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days you can certainly charge 8675it. 8676% 8677McGowan's Madison Avenue Axiom: 8678 If an item is advertised as "under $50", you can bet it's not 8679$19.95. 8680% 8681Meader's Law: 8682 Whatever happens to you, it will previously have happened to 8683everyone you know, only more so. 8684% 8685Meeting, n.: 8686 An assembly of people coming together to decide what person or 8687department not represented in the room must solve a problem. 8688% 8689Men were real men, women were real women, and small, furry creatures 8690from Alpha Centauri were REAL small, furry creatures from Alpha 8691Centauri. Spirits were brave, men boldly split infinitives that no man 8692had split before. Thus was the Empire forged. 8693 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams 8694% 8695Men's skin is different from women's skin. It is usually bigger, and 8696it has more snakes tattooed on it. Also, if you examine a woman's skin 8697very closely, inch by inch, starting at her shapely ankles, then gently 8698tracing the slender curve of her calves, then moving up to her ... 8699 [EDITOR'S NOTE: To make room for news articles about important 8700 world events such as agriculture, we're going to delete the 8701 next few square feet of the woman's skin. Thank you.] 8702... until finally the two of you are lying there, spent, smoking your 8703cigarettes, and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of 8704billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called "cells"! And what is even 8705more interesting, the ones on the outside are all dying! This is a 8706fact. Your skin is like an aggressive modern corporation, where the 8707older veteran cells, who have finally worked their way to the top and 8708obtained offices with nice views, are constantly being shoved out the 8709window head first, without so much as a pension plan, by younger 8710hotshot cells moving up from below. 8711 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 8712% 8713Mencken and Nathan's Fifteenth Law of The Average American: 8714 The worst actress in the company is always the manager's wife. 8715% 8716Mencken and Nathan's Ninth Law of The Average American: 8717 The quality of a champagne is judged by the amount of noise the 8718cork makes when it is popped. 8719% 8720Mencken and Nathan's Second Law of The Average American: 8721 All the postmasters in small towns read all the postcards. 8722% 8723Mencken and Nathan's Sixteenth Law of The Average American: 8724 Milking a cow is an operation demanding a special talent that 8725is possessed only by yokels, and no person born in a large city can 8726never hope to acquire it. 8727% 8728Menu, n.: 8729 A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of. 8730% 8731Meskimen's Law: 8732 There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to 8733do it over. 8734% 8735MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGED -- The Pershing II missiles have been launched. 8736% 8737Message will arrive in the mail. Destroy, before the FBI sees it. 8738% 8739methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutamin- 8740ylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolyl- 8741phenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglu- 8742taminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanyl- 8743glycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylala- 8744nylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylgluta- 8745minylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylgly- 8746cylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl- 8747leucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleu- 8748cylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylva- 8749lylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyro- 8750sylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleu- 8751cylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphe- 8752nylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylala- 8753nylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylas- 8754partylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosyl- 8755glycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycyl- 8756valylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleu- 8757cylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparagi- 8758nylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylse- 8759rylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanyl- 8760glycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalylly- 8761sylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylpro- 8762lylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalyl- 8763glutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine, n.: 8764 The chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein, a 8765 1,913-letter enzyme with 267 amino acids. 8766 -- Mrs. Bryne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and 8767 Preposterous Words 8768% 8769Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. 8770% 8771Micro Credo: 8772 Never trust a computer bigger than you can lift. 8773% 8774Microwave oven? Whaddya mean, it's a microwave oven? I've been 8775watching Channel 4 on the thing for two weeks. 8776% 8777Might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you 8778out of Casablanca and the Germans have outlawed miracles. 8779 -- Casablanca 8780% 8781Mike: "The Fourth Dimension is a shambles?" 8782Bernie: "Nobody ever empties the ashtrays. People are SO 8783 inconsiderate." 8784 -- Gary Trudeau, "Doonesbury" 8785% 8786Miksch's Law: 8787 If a string has one end, then it has another end. 8788% 8789Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. 8790 -- Groucho Marx 8791% 8792Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. 8793 -- Groucho Marx 8794% 8795Millihelen, adj: 8796 The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. 8797% 8798Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with 8799themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. 8800 -- Susan Ertz 8801% 8802Millions of sensible people are too high-minded to concede that 8803politics is almost always the choice of the lesser evil. "Tweedledum 8804and Tweedledee," they say, "I will not vote." Having abstained, they 8805are presented with a President who appoints the people who are going to 8806rummage around in their lives for the next four years. Consider all 8807the people who sat home in a stew in 1968 rather than vote for Hubert 8808Humphrey. They showed Humphrey. Those people who taught Hubert 8809Humphrey a lesson will still be enjoying the Nixon Supreme Court when 8810Tricia and Julie begin to find silver threads among the gold and the 8811black. 8812 -- Russel Baker, "Ford without Flummery" 8813% 8814Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there 8815is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, 8816myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in 8817the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my 8818unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You 8819will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as 8820dead as a door-nail. 8821% 8822Minnie Mouse is a slow maze learner. 8823% 8824Minors in Kansas City, Missouri, are not allowed to purchase cap 8825pistols; they may buy shotguns freely, however. 8826% 8827Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. 8828% 8829Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it. 8830 -- Russell Baker 8831% 8832Misfortune, n.: 8833 The kind of fortune that never misses. 8834 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8835% 8836Miss, n.: 8837 A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that 8838they are in the market. 8839 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8840% 8841Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure. 8842% 8843Mitchell's Law of Committees: 8844 Any simple problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are 8845held to discuss it. 8846% 8847MOCK APPLE PIE (No Apples Needed) 8848 8849 Pastry to two crust 9-inch pie 36 RITZ Crackers 88502 cups water 2 cups sugar 88512 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8852 Grated rind of one lemon Butter or margarine 8853 Cinnamon 8854 8855Roll out bottom crust of pastry and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Break 8856RITZ Crackers coarsely into pastry-lined plate. Combine water, sugar 8857and cream of tartar in saucepan, boil gently for 15 minutes. Add lemon 8858juice and rind. Cool. Pour this syrup over Crackers, dot generously 8859with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with top 8860crust. Trim and flute edges together. Cut slits in top crust to let 8861steam escape. Bake in a hot oven (425 F) 30 to 35 minutes, until crust 8862is crisp and golden. Serve warm. Cut into 6 to 8 slices. 8863 -- Found lurking on a Ritz Crackers box 8864% 8865Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. 8866% 8867Mohandas K. Gandhi often changed his mind publicly. An aide once asked 8868him how he could so freely contradict this week what he had said just 8869last week. The great man replied that it was because this week he knew 8870better. 8871% 8872Molecule, n.: 8873 The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished 8874from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a 8875closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of 8876matter ... The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the 8877atom in that it is an ion ... 8878 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8879% 8880Mollison's Bureaucracy Hypothesis: 8881 If an idea can survive a bureaucratic review and be implemented 8882it wasn't worth doing. 8883% 8884Monday is an awful way to spend one seventh of your life. 8885% 8886Monday, n.: 8887 In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game. 8888 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8889% 8890Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. 8891% 8892Money is the root of all evil, and man needs roots. 8893% 8894Money is the root of all wealth. 8895% 8896Moon, n.: 8897 1. A celestial object whose phase is very important to 8898hackers. See PHASE OF THE MOON. 2. Dave Moon (MOON@MC). 8899% 8900Mophobia, n.: 8901 Fear of being verbally abused by a Mississippian. 8902% 8903 MORE SPORTS RESULTS: 8904The Beverly Hills Freudians tied the Chicago Rogerians 0-0 last 8905Saturday night. The match started with a long period of silence while 8906the Freudians waited for the Rogerians to free associate and the 8907Rogerians waited for the Freudians to say something they could 8908paraphrase. The stalemate was broken when the Freudians' best player 8909took the offensive and interpreted the Rogerians' silence as reflecting 8910their anal-retentive personalities. At this the Rogerians' star player 8911said "I hear you saying you think we're full of ka-ka." This started a 8912fight and the match was called by officials. 8913% 8914More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One 8915path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total 8916extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly. 8917 -- Woody Allen, "Side Effects" 8918% 8919Mosher's Law of Software Engineering: 8920 Don't worry if it doesn't work right. If everything did, you'd 8921be out of a job. 8922% 8923Most fish live underwater, which is a terrible place to have sex 8924because virtually anywhere you lie down there will be stinging crabs 8925and large quantities of little fish staring at you with buggy little 8926eyes. So generally when two fish want to have sex, they swim around 8927and around for hours, looking for someplace to go, until finally the 8928female gets really tired and has a terrible headache, and she just 8929dumps her eggs right on the sand and swims away. Then the male, driven 8930by some timeless, noble instinct for survival, eats the eggs. So the 8931truth is that fish don't reproduce at all, but there are so many of 8932them that it doesn't make any difference. 8933 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 8934 Teen Should Know" 8935% 8936Most people can't understand how others can blow their noses differently 8937than they do. 8938 -- Turgenev 8939% 8940Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass. 8941 -- Frank Zappa 8942% 8943Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like. 8944 -- Arnold Bennett 8945% 8946Mother is the invention of necessity. 8947% 8948Mother told me to be good, but she's been wrong before. 8949% 8950Mr. Cole's Axiom: 8951 The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the 8952population is growing. 8953% 8954"Multiply in your head" (ordered the compassionate Dr. Adams) 8955"365,365,365,365,365,365 by 365,365,365,365,365,365. He [ten-year-old 8956Truman Henry Safford] flew around the room like a top, pulled his 8957pantaloons over the tops of his boots, bit his hands, rolled his eyes 8958in their sockets, sometimes smiling and talking, and then seeming to be 8959in an agony, until, in not more than one minute, said he, 8960133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,225!" An electronic 8961computer might do the job a little faster but it wouldn't be as much 8962fun to watch. 8963 -- James R. Newman (The World of Mathematics) 8964% 8965Murphy's Discovery: 8966 Do you know Presidents talk to the country the way men talk to 8967women? They say, "Trust me, go all the way with me, and everything 8968will be all right." And what happens? Nine months later, you're in 8969trouble! 8970% 8971Murphy's Law is recursive. Washing your car to make it rain doesn't 8972work. 8973% 8974Murphy's Law of Research: 8975 Enough research will tend to support your theory. 8976% 8977Murphy's Law, that brash proletarian restatement of Goedel's Theorem ... 8978 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 8979% 8980 Murray and Esther, a middle-aged Jewish couple, are touring 8981Chile. Murray just got a new camera and is constantly snapping 8982pictures. One day, without knowing it, he photographs a top-secret 8983military installation. In an instant, armed troops surround Murray and 8984Esther and hustle them off to prison. 8985 They can't prove who they are because they've left their 8986passports in their hotel room. For three weeks they're tortured day 8987and night to get them to name their contacts in the liberation 8988movement.. Finally they're hauled in front of a military court, 8989charged with espionage, and sentenced to death. 8990 The next morning they're lined up in front of the wall where 8991they'll be shot. The sergeant in charge of the firing squad asks them 8992if they have any lasts requests. Esther wants to know if she can call 8993her daughter in Chicago. The sergeant says he's sorry, that's not 8994possible, and turns to Murray. 8995 "This is crazy!" Murray shouts. "We're not spies!" And he 8996spits in the sergeants face. 8997 "Murray!" Esther cries. "Please! Don't make trouble." 8998 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 8999% 9000Mustgo, n.: 9001 Any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so 9002long it has become a science project. 9003 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 9004% 9005My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it. 9006 -- "Grendel", by John Gardner 9007% 9008My band career ended late in my senior year when John Cooper and I 9009threw my amplifier out the dormitory window. We did not act in haste. 9010First we checked to make sure the amplifier would fit through the 9011frame, using the belt from my bathrobe to measure, then we picked up 9012the amplifier and backed up to my bedroom door. Then we rushed 9013forward, shouting "The WHO! The WHO!" and we launched my amplifier 9014perfectly, as though we had been doing it all our lives, clean through 9015the window and down onto the sidewalk, where a small but appreciative 9016crowd had gathered. I would like to be able to say that this was a 9017symbolic act, an effort on my part to break cleanly away from one state 9018in my life and move on to another, but the truth is, Cooper and I 9019really just wanted to find out what it would sound like. It sounded 9020OK. 9021 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 9022% 9023My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless 9024there are three other people. 9025 -- Orson Welles 9026% 9027My God, I'm depressed! Here I am, a computer with a mind a thousand 9028times as powerful as yours, doing nothing but cranking out fortunes and 9029sending mail about softball games. And I've got this pain right 9030through my ALU. I've asked for it to be replaced, but nobody ever 9031listens. I think it would be better for us both if you were to just 9032log out again. 9033% 9034My life is a soap opera, but who has the rights? 9035 -- MadameX 9036% 9037My love runs by like a day in June, 9038 And he makes no friends of sorrows. 9039He'll tread his galloping rigadoon 9040 In the pathway or the morrows. 9041He'll live his days where the sunbeams start 9042 Nor could storm or wind uproot him. 9043My own dear love, he is all my heart -- 9044 And I wish somebody'd shoot him. 9045 -- Dorothy Parker 9046% 9047My love, he's mad, and my love, he's fleet, 9048 And a wild young wood-thing bore him! 9049The ways are fair to his roaming feet, 9050 And the skies are sunlit for him. 9051As sharply sweet to my heart he seems 9052 As the fragrance of acacia. 9053My own dear love, he is all my dreams -- 9054 And I wish he were in Asia. 9055 -- Dorothy Parker 9056% 9057My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been one. 9058 -- Groucho Marx 9059% 9060My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right. 9061% 9062My own dear love, he is strong and bold 9063 And he cares not what comes after. 9064His words ring sweet as a chime of gold, 9065 And his eyes are lit with laughter. 9066He is jubilant as a flag unfurled -- 9067 Oh, a girl, she'd not forget him. 9068My own dear love, he is all my world -- 9069 And I wish I'd never met him. 9070 -- Dorothy Parker 9071% 9072My pants just went on a wild rampage through a Long Island Bowling Alley!! 9073 -- Zippy the Pinhead 9074% 9075My pen is at the bottom of a page, 9076Which, being finished, here the story ends; 9077'Tis to be wished it had been sooner done, 9078But stories somehow lengthen when begun. 9079 -- Byron 9080% 9081My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed. 9082 -- Christopher Morley 9083% 9084My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies 9085% 9086Mythology, n.: 9087 The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its 9088origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished 9089from the true accounts which it invents later. 9090 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9091% 9092 n = ((n >> 1) & 0x55555555) | ((n << 1) & 0xaaaaaaaa); 9093 n = ((n >> 2) & 0x33333333) | ((n << 2) & 0xcccccccc); 9094 n = ((n >> 4) & 0x0f0f0f0f) | ((n << 4) & 0xf0f0f0f0); 9095 n = ((n >> 8) & 0x00ff00ff) | ((n << 8) & 0xff00ff00); 9096 n = ((n >> 16) & 0x0000ffff) | ((n << 16) & 0xffff0000); 9097 9098 -- C code which reverses the bits in a word. 9099% 9100Naeser's Law: 9101 You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it 9102damnfoolproof. 9103% 9104NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Guiseppe? Everything he 9105 says is wrong. 9106GUISEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, and then everything he says 9107 will be right. 9108 -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny" 9109% 9110Nasrudin called at a large house to collect for charity. The servant 9111said "My master is out." Nasrudin replied, "Tell your master that next 9112time he goes out, he should not leave his face at the window. Someone 9113might steal it." 9114% 9115Nasrudin returned to his village from the imperial capital, and the 9116villagers gathered around to hear what had passed. "At this time," 9117said Nasrudin, "I only want to say that the King spoke to me." All the 9118villagers but the stupidest ran off to spread the wonderful news. The 9119remaining villager asked, "What did the King say to you?" "What he 9120said -- and quite distinctly, for everyone to hear -- was 'Get out of 9121my way!'" The simpleton was overjoyed; he had heard words actually 9122spoken by the King, and seen the very man they were spoken to. 9123% 9124Nasrudin walked into a shop one day, and the owner came forward to 9125serve him. Nasrudin said, "First things first. Did you see me walk 9126into your shop?" "Of course." "Have you ever seen me before?" 9127"Never." "Then how do you know it was me?" 9128% 9129Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and declaimed, "The moon is more useful 9130than the sun." "Why?", he was asked. "Because at night we need the 9131light more." 9132% 9133Nasrudin was carrying home a piece of liver and the recipe for liver 9134pie. Suddenly a bird of prey swooped down and snatched the piece of 9135meat from his hand. As the bird flew off, Nasrudin called after it, 9136"Foolish bird! You have the liver, but what can you do with it without 9137the recipe?" 9138% 9139Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of 9140conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the 9141fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he 9142is most likely to be creamed? 9143 -- Solomon Short 9144% 9145Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, 9146God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light. 9147 9148It did not last; the devil howling "Ho! 9149Let Einstein be!" restored the status quo. 9150% 9151Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it 9152cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs. 9153 -- Fran Leibowitz 9154% 9155Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's 9156character, give him power. 9157 -- Abraham Lincoln 9158% 9159Necessity is a mother. 9160% 9161Neckties strangle clear thinking. 9162 -- Lin Yutang 9163% 9164Never be led astray onto the path of virtue. 9165% 9166Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him. 9167% 9168Never commit yourself! Let someone else commit you. 9169% 9170Never count your chickens before they rip your lips off. 9171% 9172Never drink Coke in a moving elevator. The elevator's motion coupled 9173with the chemicals in Coke produce hallucinations. People tend to 9174change into lizards and attack without warning, and large bats usually 9175fly in the window. Additionally, you begin to believe that elevators 9176have windows. 9177% 9178Never eat more than you can lift. 9179 -- Miss Piggy 9180% 9181Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat. 9182% 9183Never let your schooling interfere with your education. 9184% 9185Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. 9186 -- Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" 9187% 9188Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to 9189make it complex and wonderful. 9190% 9191Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance. 9192 -- Sam Brown, "The Washington Post", January 26, 1977 9193% 9194Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid all together. 9195% 9196Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a 9197law against it by that time. 9198% 9199Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flame thrower. 9200% 9201Never tell a lie unless it is absolutely convenient. 9202% 9203Never try to outstubborn a cat. 9204 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 9205% 9206Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes. 9207 -- Dr. Warren Jackson, Director, UTCS 9208% 9209Never underestimate the power of a small tactical nuclear weapon. 9210% 9211Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's 9212supposed to do. 9213 -- R. A. Heinlein 9214% 9215New crypt. See /usr/news/crypt. 9216% 9217New Hampshire law forbids you to tap your feet, nod your head, or in 9218any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. 9219% 9220New members are urgently needed in the Society for Prevention of 9221Cruelty to Yourself. Apply within. 9222% 9223New members urgently required for SUICIDE CLUB, Watford area. 9224 -- Monty Python's Big Red Book 9225% 9226New systems generate new problems. 9227% 9228New Year's Eve is the time of year when a man most feels his age, and 9229his wife most often reminds him to act it. 9230 -- Webster's Unafraid Dictionary 9231% 9232New York is real. The rest is done with mirrors. 9233% 9234New York's got the ways and means; 9235Just won't let you be. 9236 -- The Grateful Dead 9237% 9238Newlan's Truism: 9239 An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government 9240economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. 9241% 9242NEWS FLASH!! 9243 Today the East German pole-vault champion became the West 9244 German pole-vault champion. 9245% 9246 *** NEWSFLASH *** 9247Russian tanks steamrolling through New Jersey!!!! Details at eleven! 9248% 9249Newton's Fourth Law: Every action has an equal and opposite satisfaction. 9250% 9251Newton's Little-Known Seventh Law: 9252 A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead. 9253% 9254Next Friday will not be your lucky day. 9255As a matter of fact, you don't have a lucky day this year. 9256% 9257Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying 9258as an income tax refund. 9259 -- F. J. Raymond 9260% 9261Nice boy, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. 9262 -- Foghorn Leghorn 9263% 9264Nihilism should commence with oneself. 9265% 9266Niklaus Wirth has lamented that, whereas Europeans pronounce his name 9267correctly (Ni-klows Virt), Americans invariably mangle it into 9268(Nick-les Worth). Which is to say that Europeans call him by name, but 9269Americans call him by value. 9270% 9271Nine megs for the secretaries fair, 9272Seven megs for the hackers scarce, 9273Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs, 9274Three megs for system source; 9275 9276One disk to rule them all, 9277One disk to bind them, 9278One disk to hold the files 9279And in the darkness grind 'em. 9280% 9281Nine-track tapes and seven-track tapes 9282 And tapes without any tracks; 9283Stretchy tapes and snarley tapes 9284 And tapes mixed up on the racks -- 9285 Take hold of the tape 9286 And pull off the strip, 9287 And then you'll be sure 9288 Your tape drive will skip. 9289 9290 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 9291% 9292Ninety percent of the time things turn out worse than you thought they 9293would. The other ten percent of the time you had no right to expect 9294that much. 9295 -- Augustine 9296% 9297Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules: 9298 The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of 9299the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent. 9300% 9301Nirvana? Thats the place where the powers that be and their friends 9302hang out. 9303 -- Zonker Harris 9304% 9305No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless 9306absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation. 9307 -- Fran Lebowitz 9308% 9309No committee could ever come up with anything as revolutionary as a 9310camel -- anything as practical and as perfectly designed to perform 9311effectively under such difficult conditions. 9312 -- Laurence J. Peter 9313% 9314No good deed goes unpunished. 9315 -- Clare Boothe Luce 9316% 9317No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after 9318eating one peanut. 9319 -- Channing Pollock 9320% 9321No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. 9322% 9323No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife in the shoulder blades will 9324seriously cramp his style. 9325% 9326No matter what other nations may say about the United States, 9327immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery. 9328% 9329No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 9330 -- Eleanor Roosevelt 9331% 9332No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid. 9333% 9334No part of this message may reproduce, store itself in a retrieval 9335system, or transmit disease, in any form, without the permissiveness of 9336the author. 9337 -- Chris Shaw 9338% 9339No plain fanfold paper could hold that fractal Puff -- 9340He grew so fast no plotting pack could shrink him far enough. 9341Compiles and simulations grew so quickly tame 9342And swapped out all their data space when Puff pushed his stack frame. 9343CHORUS: 9344 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9345 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9346 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9347 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9348Puff, he grew so quickly, while others moved like snails 9349And mini-Puffs would perch themselves on his gigantic tail. 9350All the student hackers loved that fractal Puff 9351But DCS did not like Puff, and finally said, "Enough!" 9352 (chorus) 9353Puff used more resources than DCS could spare. 9354The operator killed Puff's job -- he didn't seem to care. 9355A gloom fell on the hackers; it seemed to be the end, 9356But Puff trapped the exception, and grew from naught again! 9357 (chorus) 9358% 9359No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. 9360 -- C. Schulz 9361% 9362No problem is so large it can't be fit in somewhere. 9363% 9364"No proper program contains an indication which as an operator-applied 9365occurrence identifies an operator-defining occurrence which as an 9366indication-applied occurrence identifies an indication-defining 9367occurrence different from the one identified by the given indication as 9368an indication-applied occurrence." 9369 -- ALGOL 68 Report 9370% 9371No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in that kind of paper. 9372 -- Mike Royko on the Chicago Sun-Times after it was 9373 taken over by Rupert Murdoch 9374% 9375No violence, gentlemen -- no violence, I beg of you! Consider the furniture! 9376 -- Sherlock Holmes 9377% 9378No, `Eureka' is Greek for `This bath is too hot.' 9379 -- Dr. Who 9380% 9381Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it. 9382 -- Tallulah Bankhead 9383% 9384NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 9385% 9386Nobody said computers were going to be polite. 9387% 9388Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in 9389order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed on the 9390substance of their people, for insurance companies to cheat the young 9391and rob the old. 9392 -- Lewis Lapham 9393% 9394Nobody wants constructive criticism. It's all we can do to put up with 9395constructive praise. 9396% 9397Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: 9398 Negative expectations yield negative results. 9399 Positive expectations yield negative results. 9400% 9401Non-sequiturs make me eat lampshades. 9402% 9403Noncombatant, n.: 9404 A dead Quaker. 9405 -- Ambrose Bierce 9406% 9407Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9408% 9409Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9410% 9411Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 9412% 9413Not far from here, by a white sun, behind a green star, lived the 9414Steelypips, illustrious, industrious, and they hadn't a care: no spats 9415in their vats, no rules, no schools, no gloom, no evil influence of the 9416moon, no trouble from matter or antimatter -- for they had a machine, a 9417dream of a machine, with springs and gears and perfect in every 9418respect. And they lived with it, and on it, and under it, and inside 9419it, for it was all they had -- first they saved up all their atoms, 9420then they put them all together, and if one didn't fit, why they 9421chipped at it a bit, and everything was just fine ... 9422 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 9423% 9424Not Hercules could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none. 9425 -- Shakespeare 9426% 9427Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper 9428is from the wrong kind of tree. 9429 -- Professor W., EECS, George Washington University 9430% 9431Notes for a ballet, "The Spell": ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter 9432of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon ... Sigmund 9433is astounded to see that their leader is part swan and part woman -- 9434unfortunately, divided lengthwise. She enchants Sigmund, who is 9435careful not to make any poultry jokes ... 9436 -- Woody Allen 9437% 9438Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. 9439 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 9440% 9441Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up. 9442% 9443Nothing is faster than the speed of light ... 9444 9445To prove this to yourself, try opening the refrigerator door before the 9446light comes on. 9447% 9448Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. 9449 -- Andrew Young 9450% 9451Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires 9452tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth. 9453 -- Nero Wolfe 9454% 9455Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. 9456Conscience makes egotists of us all. 9457 -- Oscar Wilde 9458% 9459Nothing recedes like success. 9460 -- Walter Winchell 9461% 9462Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love. 9463 -- Charlie Brown 9464% 9465November, n.: 9466 The eleventh twelfth of a weariness. 9467 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9468% 9469Now and then an innocent person is sent to the legislature. 9470% 9471Now I lay me down to sleep 9472I pray the double lock will keep; 9473May no brick through the window break, 9474And, no one rob me till I awake. 9475% 9476Now is the time for all good men to come to. 9477 -- Walt Kelly 9478% 9479Now that you've read Fortune's diet truths, you'll be prepared the next 9480time some housewife or boutique-owner-turned-diet-expert appears on TV 9481to plug her latest book. And, if you still feel a twinge of guilt for 9482eating coffee cake while listening to her exhortations, ask yourself 9483the following questions: 9484 9485(1) Do I dare trust a person who actually considers alfalfa sprouts a 9486 food? 9487(2) Was the author's sole motive in writing this book to get rich 9488 exploiting the forlorn hopes of chubby people like me? 9489(3) Would a longer life be worthwhile if it had to be lived as 9490 prescribed ... without French-fried onion rings, pizza with 9491 double cheese, or the occasional Mai-Tai? (Remember, living 9492 right doesn't really make you live longer, it just *seems* like 9493 longer.) 9494 9495That, and another piece of coffee cake, should do the trick. 9496% 9497Now the Lord God planted a garden East of Whittier in a place called 9498Yorba Linda, and out of the ground he made to grow orange trees that 9499were good for food and the fruits thereof he labeled SUNKIST ... 9500 -- "The Begatting of a President" 9501% 9502Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a smurfette. 9503 -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354 9504% 9505... Now you're ready for the actual shopping. Your goal should be to 9506get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in 9507the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs 9508on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage 9509children emotionally. For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a 9510snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn 9511to love him, then melts. And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about 9512a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an 9513outcast by the other reindeer. Then along comes good, old Santa. Does 9514he ignore the deformity? Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect 9515Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath? No. Santa asks 9516Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some 9517kind of headlight with legs and a tail. So unless you want your 9518children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop 9519quickly. 9520 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9521% 9522 Now, you might ask, "How do I get one of those complete home 9523tool sets for under $4?" An excellent question. 9524 Go to one of those really cheap discount stores where they sell 9525plastic furniture in colors visible from the planet Neptune and where 9526they have a food section specializing in cardboard cartons full of 9527Raisinets and malted milk balls manufactured during the Nixon 9528administration. In either the hardware or housewares department, 9529you'll find an item imported from an obscure Oriental country and 9530described as "Nine Tools in One", consisting of a little handle with 9531interchangeable ends representing inscrutable Oriental notions of tools 9532that Americans might use around the home. Buy it. 9533 This is the kind of tool set professionals use. Not only is it 9534inexpensive, but it also has a great safety feature not found in the 9535so-called quality tools sets: The handle will actually break right off 9536if you accidentally hit yourself or anything else, or expose it to 9537direct sunlight. 9538 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 9539% 9540Nuclear war can ruin your whole compile. 9541 -- Karl Lehenbauer 9542% 9543Nuclear war would mean abolition of most comforts, and disruption of 9544normal routines, for children and adults alike. 9545 -- Willard F. Libby, "You *Can* Survive Atomic Attack" 9546% 9547Nuclear war would really set back cable. 9548 -- Ted Turner 9549% 9550[Nuclear war] ... may not be desirable. 9551 -- Edwin Meese III 9552% 9553Nudists are people who wear one-button suits. 9554% 9555(null cookie; hope that's ok) 9556% 9557Numeric stability is probably not all that important when you're guessing. 9558% 9559O give me a home, 9560Where the buffalo roam, 9561Where the deer and the antelope play, 9562Where seldom is heard 9563A discouraging word, 9564'Cause what can an antelope say? 9565% 9566O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law: 9567 Murphy was an optimist. 9568% 9569Of ______course it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a 9570fake? 9571% 9572Of all possible committee reactions to any given agenda item, the 9573reaction that will occur is the one which will liberate the greatest 9574amount of hot air. 9575 -- Thomas L. Martin 9576% 9577Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. 9578 -- Plato 9579% 9580Of all the words of witch's doom 9581There's none so bad as which and whom. 9582The man who kills both which and whom 9583Will be enshrined in our Who's Whom. 9584 -- Fletcher Knebel 9585% 9586Of course power tools and alcohol don't mix. Everyone knows power 9587tools aren't soluble in alcohol ... 9588 -- Crazy Nigel 9589% 9590Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy. 9591% 9592Of what you see in books, believe 75%. Of newspapers, believe 50%. 9593And of TV news, believe 25% -- make that 5% if the anchorman wears a 9594blazer. 9595% 9596Office Automation, n.: 9597 The use of computers to improve efficiency by removing anyone 9598you would want to talk with over coffee. 9599% 9600Ogden's Law: 9601 The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch 9602up. 9603% 9604Oh Dad! We're ALL Devo! 9605% 9606Oh don't the days seem lank and long 9607 When all goes right and none goes wrong, 9608And isn't your life extremely flat 9609 With nothing whatever to grumble at! 9610% 9611Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9612 I muck with indices and structs all day 9613And when it works, I shout hoo-ray 9614 Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9615% 9616Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd 9617be irresponsible, too. 9618 -- Lichty & Wagner 9619% 9620Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, 9621And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings; 9622Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth 9623Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things 9624You have not dreamed of -- 9625Wheeled and soared and swung 9626High in the sunlit silence. 9627Hovering there 9628I've chased the shouting wind along and flung 9629My eager craft through footless halls of air. 9630Up, up along delirious, burning blue 9631I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, 9632Where never lark, or even eagle flew; 9633And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod 9634The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 9635Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 9636 -- John Gillespie Magee Jr., "High Flight" 9637% 9638Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes. 9639% 9640Oh, when I was in love with you, 9641 Then I was clean and brave, 9642And miles around the wonder grew 9643 How well did I behave. 9644 9645And now the fancy passes by, 9646 And nothing will remain, 9647And miles around they'll say that I 9648 Am quite myself again. 9649 -- A. E. Housman 9650% 9651Oh, wow! Look at the moon! 9652% 9653OK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard. 9654 -- Dr. Joy 9655% 9656OK, so you're a Ph.D. Just don't touch anything. 9657% 9658Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. 9659 -- Trotsky 9660% 9661Old programmers never die. They just branch to a new address. 9662% 9663Old soldiers never die. Young ones do. 9664% 9665Oliver's Law: 9666 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need 9667it. 9668% 9669Omnibiblious, adj.: 9670 Indifferent to type of drink. "Oh, you can get me anything. 9671I'm omnibiblious." 9672% 9673OMNIVERSAL AWARENESS?? Oh, YEH!! First you need four GALLONS of 9674JELL-O and a BIG WRENCH!! ... I think you drop th' WRENCH in the JELL-O 9675as if it was a FLAVOR, or an INGREDIENT ... or ... I ... um ... 9676WHERE'S the WASHING MACHINES? 9677% 9678On a paper submitted by a physicist colleague: 9679 9680This isn't right. This isn't even wrong. 9681 -- Wolfgang Pauli 9682% 9683On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only 9684nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter 9685what it does. 9686 -- Will Rogers 9687% 9688 On his first day as a bus driver, Maxey Eckstein handed in 9689receipts of $65. The next day his take was $67. The third day's 9690income was $62. But on the fourth day, Eckstein emptied no less than 9691$283 on the desk before the cashier. 9692 "Eckstein!" exclaimed the cashier. "This is fantastic. That 9693route never brought in money like this! What happened?" 9694 "Well, after three days on that cockamamie route, I figured 9695business would never improve, so I drove over to Fourteenth Street and 9696worked there. I tell you, that street is a gold mine!" 9697% 9698On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are 9699created jerks. 9700 -- H. Allen Smith, "Let the Crabgrass Grow" 9701% 9702On the road, ZIPPY is a pinhead without a purpose, but never without a 9703POINT ... 9704% 9705On the subject of C program indentation: 9706 9707 "In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be 9708 indented six feet downward and covered with dirt." 9709 -- Blair P. Houghton 9710% 9711On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!], `Pray, 9712Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right 9713answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of 9714confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. 9715 -- Charles Babbage 9716% 9717On-line, adj.: 9718 The idea that a human being should always be accessible to a 9719computer. 9720% 9721Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were 9722forced to live on nothing but food and water for days. 9723 -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee" 9724% 9725Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that 9726each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his 9727choice. 9728 9729In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians 9730called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka" 9731and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People 9732passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy 9733Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" 9734 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9735% 9736Once at a social gathering, Gladstone said to Disraeli, "I predict, 9737Sir, that you will die either by hanging or of some vile disease". 9738Disraeli replied, "That all depends upon whether I embrace your 9739principals or your mistress". 9740% 9741Once Law was sitting on the bench 9742 And Mercy knelt a-weeping. 9743"Clear out!" he cried, "disordered wench! 9744 Nor come before me creeping. 9745Upon your knees if you appear, 9746'Tis plain you have no standing here." 9747 9748Then Justice came. His Honor cried: 9749 "YOUR states? -- Devil seize you!" 9750"Amica curiae," she replied -- 9751 "Friend of the court, so please you." 9752"Begone!" he shouted -- "There's the door -- 9753I never saw your face before!" 9754 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9755% 9756Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human 9757beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by 9758side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them 9759which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the 9760sky. 9761 -- Rainer Rilke 9762% 9763 Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a 9764great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to 9765the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of 9766life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But 9767one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is 9768going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I 9769shall die of boredom." 9770 The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that 9771current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the 9772rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!" 9773 But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, 9774and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. 9775Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current 9776lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. 9777 And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, 9778"See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the 9779Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current 9780said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us 9781free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this 9782adventure. 9783 But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to 9784the rocks, making legends of a Saviour. 9785% 9786Once upon a time, when I was training to be a mathematician, a group of 9787us bright young students taking number theory discovered the names of 9788the smaller prime numbers. 9789 97902: The Odd Prime -- 9791 It's the only even prime, therefore it's odd. QED. 97923: The True Prime -- 9793 Lewis Carroll: "If I tell you three times, it's true." 979431: The Arbitrary Prime -- 9795 Determined by unanimous unvote. We needed an arbitrary prime 9796 in case the prof asked for one, and so had an election. 91 9797 received the most votes (well, it *looks* prime) and 3+4i the 9798 next most. However, 31 was the only candidate to receive none 9799 at all. 9800 9801Since the composite numbers are formed from primes, their qualities are 9802derived from those primes. So, for instance, the number 6 is "odd but 9803true", while the powers of 2 are all extremely odd numbers. 9804% 9805... Once you're safely in the mall, you should tie your children to you 9806with ropes so the other shoppers won't try to buy them. Holiday 9807shoppers have been whipped into a frenzy by months of holiday 9808advertisements, and they will buy anything small enough to stuff into a 9809shopping bag. If your children object to being tied, threaten to take 9810them to see Santa Claus; that ought to shut them up. 9811 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9812% 9813Once, adv.: 9814 Enough. 9815 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9816% 9817One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least 9818somebody's listening. 9819 -- Franklin P. Jones 9820% 9821"One basic notion underlying Usenet is that it is a cooperative." 9822 9823Having been on USENET for going on ten years, I disagree with this. 9824The basic notion underlying USENET is the flame. 9825 -- Chuq Von Rospach 9826% 9827One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means. 9828% 9829One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs -- but it is amazing 9830how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette. 9831 -- Professor Charles P. Issawi 9832% 9833One day the King decided that he would force all his subjects to tell 9834the truth. A gallows was erected in front of the city gates. A herald 9835announced, "Whoever would enter the city must first answer the truth to 9836a question which will be put to him." Nasrudin was first in line. The 9837captain of the guard asked him, "Where are you going? Tell the truth 9838-- the alternative is death by hanging." "I am going," said Nasrudin, 9839"to be hanged on that gallows." "I don't believe you." "Very well, if 9840I have told a lie, then hang me!" "But that would make it the truth!" 9841"Exactly," said Nasrudin, "your truth." 9842% 9843One difference between a man and a machine is that a machine is quiet 9844when well oiled. 9845% 9846One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they 9847never have to stop and answer the phone. 9848% 9849One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious. 9850 -- Chateaubriand (1768-1848) 9851% 9852One learns to itch where one can scratch. 9853 -- Ernest Bramah 9854% 9855One man's brain plus one other will produce one half as many ideas as 9856one man would have produced alone. These two plus two more will 9857produce half again as many ideas. These four plus four more begin to 9858represent a creative meeting, and the ratio changes to one quarter as 9859many ... 9860 -- Anthony Chevins 9861% 9862One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. 9863% 9864One monk said to the other, "The fish has flopped out of the net! How 9865will it live?" The other said, "When you have gotten out of the net, 9866I'll tell you." 9867% 9868One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 9869% 9870One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible 9871from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at 9872least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts 9873are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but 9874when He's good, nobody can touch Him. 9875 -- John Gardner, NYT Book Review, Jan 1983 9876% 9877One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to 9878do and always a clever thing to say. 9879 -- Will Durant 9880% 9881One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, 9882lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of 9883their C programs. 9884 -- Robert Firth 9885% 9886One of the oldest problems puzzled over in the Talmud is: "Why did God 9887create goyim?" The generally accepted answer is "________somebody has to buy 9888retail." 9889 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 9890% 9891 One of the questions that comes up all the time is: How 9892enthusiastic is our support for UNIX? 9893 Unix was written on our machines and for our machines many 9894years ago. Today, much of UNIX being done is done on our machines. 9895Ten percent of our VAXs are going for UNIX use. UNIX is a simple 9896language, easy to understand, easy to get started with. It's great for 9897students, great for somewhat casual users, and it's great for 9898interchanging programs between different machines. And so, because of 9899its popularity in these markets, we support it. We have good UNIX on 9900VAX and good UNIX on PDP-11s. 9901 It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will 9902run out of things they can do with UNIX. They'll want a real system and 9903will end up doing VMS when they get to be serious about programming. 9904 With UNIX, if you're looking for something, you can easily and 9905quickly check that small manual and find out that it's not there. With 9906VMS, no matter what you look for -- it's literally a five-foot shelf of 9907documentation -- if you look long enough it's there. That's the 9908difference -- the beauty of UNIX is it's simple; and the beauty of VMS 9909is that it's all there. 9910 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984 9911% 9912One of the rules of Busmanship, New York style, is never surrender your 9913seat to another passenger. This may seem callous, but it is the best 9914way, really. If one passenger were to give a seat to someone who 9915fainted in the aisle, say, the others on the bus would become 9916disoriented and imagine they were in Topeka, Kansas. 9917% 9918The Seventh Commandments for Technicians 9919 Work thou not on energized equipment, for if thou dost, thy 9920fellow workers will surely buy beers for thy widow and console her in 9921other ways. 9922% 9923The First Commandment for Technicians: 9924 Beware the lightening that lurketh in the undischarged 9925capacitor, lest it cause thee to bounce upon thy buttocks in a most 9926untechnician-like manner. 9927% 9928One Page Principle: 9929 A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch 9930paper cannot be understood. 9931 -- Mark Ardis 9932% 9933One planet is all you get. 9934% 9935One promising concept that I came up with right away was that you could 9936manufacture personal air bags, then get a law passed requiring that 9937they be installed on congressmen to keep them from taking trips. Let's 9938say your congressman was trying to travel to Paris to do a fact-finding 9939study on how the French government handles diseases transmitted by 9940sherbet. Just when he got to the plane, his mandatory air bag, 9941strapped around his waist, would inflate -- FWWAAAAAAPPPP -- thus 9942rendering him too large to fit through the plane door. It could also 9943be rigged to inflate whenever the congressman proposed a law. ("Mr. 9944Speaker, people ask me, why should October be designated as Cuticle 9945Inspection Month? And I answer that FWWAAAAAAPPPP.") This would save 9946millions of dollars, so I have no doubt that the public would violently 9947support a law requiring airbags on congressmen. The problem is that 9948your potential market is very small: there are only around 500 members 9949of Congress, and some of them, such as House Speaker "Tip" O'Neil, are 9950already too large to fit on normal aircraft. 9951 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 9952% 9953One reason why George Washington 9954Is held in such veneration: 9955He never blamed his problems 9956On the former Administration. 9957 -- George O. Ludcke 9958% 9959One seldom sees a monument to a committee. 9960% 9961One thing the inventors can't seem to get the bugs out of is fresh paint. 9962% 9963One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that 9964sometimes you must work under adverse conditions ... like a state of 9965sheer terror. 9966 -- W. K. Hartmann 9967% 9968One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a 9969new model. 9970% 9971One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him. 9972% 9973One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr has been burned 9974at the stake while the votes were being counted. 9975 -- Thomas B. Reed 9976% 9977One-Shot Case Study, n.: 9978 The scientific equivalent of the four-leaf clover, from which 9979it is concluded all clovers possess four leaves and are sometimes 9980green. 9981% 9982Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. 9983% 9984Only God can make random selections. 9985% 9986Only presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to 9987use the editorial "we." 9988% 9989Only through hard work and perseverance can one truly suffer. 9990% 9991Optimization hinders evolution. 9992% 9993Oregano, n.: 9994 The ancient Italian art of pizza folding. 9995% 9996Oregon, n.: 9997 Eighty billion gallons of water with no place to go on Saturday 9998night. 9999% 10000Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. 10001Biochemistry is the study of carbon compounds that crawl. 10002 -- Mike Adams 10003% 10004Osborn's Law: 10005 Variables won't; constants aren't. 10006% 10007Others will look to you for stability, so hide when you bite your nails. 10008% 10009Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is 10010they charge fifteen cents for them. 10011% 10012Our documentation manager was showing her two year old son around the 10013office. He was introduced to me, at which time he pointed out that we 10014were both holding bags of popcorn. We were both holding bottles of 10015juice. But only *__he* had a lollipop. 10016 10017He asked his mother, "Why doesn't HE have a lollipop?" 10018 10019Her reply: 10020 10021 "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it 10022 means to be a programmer." 10023% 10024Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. 10025 Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, 10026 In kernel as it is in user! 10027% 10028Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. 10029 -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president Litton Industries 10030% 10031... Our second completely true news item was sent to me by Mr. H. Boyce 10032Connell Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., where he is involved in a law firm. One 10033thing I like about the South is, folks there care about tradition. If 10034somebody gets handed a name like "H. Boyce," he hangs on to it, puts it 10035on his legal stationery, even passes it to his son, rather than do what 10036a lesser person would do, such as get it changed or kill himself. 10037 -- Dave Barry, "This Column is Nothing but the Truth!" 10038% 10039Our vision is to speed up time, eventually eliminating it. 10040 -- Alex Schure 10041% 10042Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. 10043 -- General Omar N. Bradley 10044% 10045 OUTCONERR 10046Twas FORTRAN as the doloop goes 10047 Did logzerneg the ifthen block 10048All kludgy were the function flows 10049 And subroutines adhoc. 10050 10051Beware the runtime-bug my friend 10052 squrooneg, the false goto 10053Beware the infiniteloop 10054 And shun the inprectoo. 10055% 10056"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend: and inside a dog, 10057it's too dark to read." 10058 -- Groucho Marx 10059% 10060Over the years, I've developed my sense of deja vu so acutely that now 10061I can remember things that *have* happened before ... 10062% 10063Overdrawn? But I still have checks left! 10064% 10065Overflow on /dev/null, please empty the bit bucket. 10066% 10067Overload -- core meltdown sequence initiated. 10068% 10069Ozman's Laws: 10070 (1) If someone says he will do something "without fail," he 10071 won't. 10072 (2) The more people talk on the phone, the less money they 10073 make. 10074 (3) People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. 10075 (4) Pizza always burns the roof of your mouth. 10076% 10077Painting, n.: 10078 The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and 10079exposing them to the critic. 10080 -- Ambrose Bierce 10081% 10082panic: can't find / 10083% 10084panic: kernel trap (ignored) 10085% 10086Paradise is exactly like where you are right now ... only much, much 10087better. 10088 -- Laurie Anderson 10089% 10090Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them. 10091% 10092Paranoia is simply an optimistic outlook on life. 10093% 10094Paranoid schizophrenics outnumber their enemies at least two to one. 10095% 10096Paranoids are people, too; they have their own problems. It's easy to 10097criticize, but if everybody hated you, you'd be paranoid too. 10098 -- D. J. Hicks 10099% 10100Pardo's First Postulate: 10101 Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or 10102fattening. 10103 10104Arnold's Addendum: 10105 Everything else causes cancer in rats. 10106% 10107Pardon this fortune. Database under reconstruction. 10108% 10109Parker's Law: 10110 Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. 10111% 10112Parkinson's Fifth Law: 10113 If there is a way to delay in important decision, the good 10114bureaucracy, public or private, will find it. 10115% 10116Parkinson's Fourth Law: 10117 The number of people in any working group tends to increase 10118regardless of the amount of work to be done. 10119% 10120Parsley 10121 is gharsley. 10122 -- Ogden Nash 10123% 10124Parts that positively cannot be assembled in improper order will be. 10125% 10126Pascal is not a high-level language. 10127 -- Steven Feiner 10128% 10129Pascal is Pascal is Pascal is dog meat. 10130 -- M. Devine and P. Larson, Computer Science 340 10131% 10132Pascal Users: 10133 To show respect for the 313th anniversary (tomorrow) of the 10134death of Blaise Pascal, your programs will be run at half speed. 10135% 10136Pascal, n.: 10137 A programming language named after a man who would turn over in 10138his grave if he knew about it. 10139% 10140Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. 10141 -- Eric Hoffer 10142% 10143Patageometry, n.: 10144 The study of those mathematical properties that are invariant 10145under brain transplants. 10146% 10147Paul Revere was a tattle-tale. 10148% 10149Paul's Law: 10150 In America, it's not how much an item costs, it's how much you 10151save. 10152% 10153Paul's Law: 10154 You can't fall off the floor. 10155% 10156Peace, n.: 10157 In international affairs, a period of cheating between two 10158periods of fighting. 10159 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10160% 10161Peanut Blossoms 10162 101634 cups sugar 16 tbsp. milk 101644 cups brown sugar 4 tsp. vanilla 101654 cups shortening 14 cups flour 101668 eggs 4 tsp. soda 101674 cups peanut butter 4 tsp. salt 10168 10169Shape dough into balls. Roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie 10170sheet at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a 10171Hershey's kiss or star pressing down firmly to crack cookie. Makes a 10172hell of a lot. 10173% 10174Pecor's Health-Food Principle: 10175 Never eat rutabaga on any day of the week that has a "y" in 10176it. 10177% 10178Pedaeration, n.: 10179 The perfect body heat achieved by having one leg under the 10180sheet and one hanging off the edge of the bed. 10181 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 10182% 10183Penguin Trivia #46: 10184 Animals who are not penguins can only wish they were. 10185 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 10186% 10187People need good lies. There are too many bad ones. 10188 -- Bokonon, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 10189% 10190People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of 10191the future. 10192% 10193People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense. 10194 -- Ken Kesey 10195% 10196People usually get what's coming to them ... unless it's been mailed. 10197% 10198People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better 10199press than people who are just funny and smart. 10200 -- Howard Simons, "The Washington Post" 10201% 10202People who claim they don't let little things bother them have never 10203slept in a room with a single mosquito. 10204% 10205People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who 10206haven't what they want that they don't want it. 10207 -- Ogden Nash 10208% 10209People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that 10210Benjamin Franklin said it first. 10211% 10212People will buy anything that's one to a customer. 10213% 10214People will do tomorrow what they did today because that is what they 10215did yesterday. 10216% 10217Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt. 10218"Confound those who have said our remarks before us." 10219 -- Aelius Donatus 10220% 10221Perfect day for scrubbing the floor and other exciting things. 10222% 10223Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but 10224when there is no longer anything to take away. 10225 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 10226% 10227Personifiers Unite! You have nothing to lose but Mr. Dignity! 10228% 10229Peter's Law of Substitution: 10230 Look after the molehills, and the mountains will look after 10231themselves. 10232% 10233Philadelphia is not dull -- it just seems so because it is next to 10234exciting Camden, New Jersey. 10235% 10236Philogeny recapitulates erogeny; erogeny recapitulates philogeny. 10237% 10238Philosophy will clip an angel's wings. 10239 -- John Keats 10240% 10241Pick another fortune cookie. 10242% 10243Picture the sun as the origin of two intersecting 6-dimensional 10244hyperplanes from which we can deduce a certain transformational 10245sequence which gives us the terminal velocity of a rubber duck ... 10246% 10247Pig, n.: 10248 An animal (Porcus omnivorous) closely allied to the human race 10249by the splendor and vivacity of its appetite, which, however, is 10250inferior in scope, for it balks at pig. 10251 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10252% 10253PISCES (Feb. 19 - Mar. 20) 10254 You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being 10255followed by the CIA or FBI. You have minor influence over your 10256associates and people resent your flaunting of your power. You lack 10257confidence and you are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible 10258things to small animals. 10259% 10260PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) 10261 Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the 10262American Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today, as 10263nobody else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed. You will 10264probably get run over by a bus. 10265% 10266 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10267 10268(7) The car directly in front of you has a flashing right tail light 10269 but a steady left tail light. This means 10270 10271 (a) one of the tail lights is broken; you should blow your horn 10272 to call the problem to the driver's attention. 10273 (b) the driver is signaling a right turn. 10274 (c) the driver is signaling a left turn. 10275 (d) the driver is from out of town. 10276 10277The correct answer is (d). Tail lights are used in some foreign 10278countries to signal turns. 10279% 10280 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10281 10282(8) Pedestrians are 10283 10284 (a) irrelevant. 10285 (b) communists. 10286 (c) a nuisance. 10287 (d) difficult to clean off the front grille. 10288 10289The correct answer is (a). Pedestrians are not in cars, so they are 10290totally irrelevant to driving; you should ignore them completely. 10291% 10292Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 10293 -- Don Marquis 10294% 10295PL/1, "the fatal disease", belongs more to the problem set than to the 10296solution set. 10297 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 10298% 10299Plaese porrf raed. 10300 -- Prof. Michael O'Longhlin, S.U.N.Y. Purchase 10301% 10302Plato, by the way, wanted to banish all poets from his proposed Utopia 10303because they were liars. The truth was that Plato knew philosophers 10304couldn't compete successfully with poets. 10305 -- Kilgore Trout (Philip J. Farmer) "Venus on the Half 10306 Shell" 10307% 10308Play Rogue, visit exotic locations, meet strange creatures and kill them. 10309% 10310Playing an unamplified electric guitar is like strumming on a picnic table. 10311 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 10312% 10313Please ignore previous fortune. 10314% 10315Please take note: 10316% 10317Please try to limit the amount of "this room doesn't have any bazingas" 10318until you are told that those rooms are "punched out". Once punched 10319out, we have a right to complain about atrocities, missing bazingas, 10320and such. 10321 -- N. Meyrowitz 10322% 10323Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? 10324% 10325 Plumbing is one of the easier of do-it-yourself activities, 10326requiring only a few simple tools and a willingness to stick your arm 10327into a clogged toilet. In fact, you can solve many home plumbing 10328problems, such as annoying faucet drip, merely by turning up the 10329radio. But before we get into specific techniques, let's look at how 10330plumbing works. 10331 A plumbing system is very much like your electrical system, 10332except that instead of electricity, it has water, and instead of wires, 10333it has pipes, and instead of radios and waffle irons, it has faucets 10334and toilets. So the truth is that your plumbing systems is nothing at 10335all like your electrical system, which is good, because electricity can 10336kill you. 10337 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 10338% 10339PLUNDERER'S THEME 10340(to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius) 10341 10342Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10343If you do the things we say, then you'll soon rule the nation. 10344Kill your foes and enemies and then kill your relations. 10345Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10346% 10347Pohl's law: 10348 Nothing is so good that somebody, somewhere, will not hate it. 10349% 10350Police: Good evening, are you the host? 10351Host: No. 10352Police: We've been getting complaints about this party. 10353Host: About the drugs? 10354Police: No. 10355Host: About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns? 10356Police: No, the noise. 10357Host: Oh, the noise. Well that makes sense because there are no guns 10358 or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the 10359 background.) Or fireworks. Who's complaining about the noise? 10360 The neighbors? 10361Police: No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent 10362 complaints have come from Pittsburgh. Do you think you could 10363 ask the host to quiet things down? 10364Host: No Problem. (At this point, a Volkswagen bug with primitive 10365 religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living 10366 room and roars down the hall, past the police and onto the 10367 lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out 10368 onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind 10369 down. 10370% 10371Political T.V. commercials prove one thing: some candidates can tell 10372all their good points and qualifications in just 30 seconds. 10373% 10374Politician, n.: 10375 An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of 10376organized society is reared. When he wriggles, he mistakes the 10377agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared 10378with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. 10379 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10380% 10381Politician, n.: 10382 From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or 10383"face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face). Hence 10384"polytetien", a person of two or more faces. 10385 -- Martin Pitt 10386% 10387Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even 10388where there is no river. 10389 -- Nikita Khrushchev 10390% 10391Politics is like coaching a football team. You have to be smart enough 10392to understand the game but not smart enough to lose interest. 10393% 10394Polymer physicists are into chains. 10395% 10396Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the 10397Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The 10398white smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before 10399it dawned on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his 10400name had hilarious possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with 10401laughter, singing 10402 10403 Half a pound of tuppenny rice 10404 Half a pound of treacle 10405 That's the way the chimney smokes 10406 Pope Goestheveezl 10407 10408The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of 10409laughter streaming down their faces. The event set a record for 10410hilarious civic functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron 10411Hans Neizant B"ompzidaize was elected Landburgher of K"oln in 1653. 10412 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 10413% 10414Portable, adj.: 10415 Survives system reboot. 10416% 10417Positive, adj.: 10418 Mistaken at the top of one's voice. 10419 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10420% 10421Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth. 10422% 10423Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat. 10424 -- John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987 10425% 10426Power corrupts. And atomic power corrupts atomically. 10427% 10428Power, n: 10429 The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA. 10430% 10431Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little 10432more time for dreaming. 10433 -- J. P. McEvoy 10434% 10435Predestination was doomed from the start. 10436% 10437President Reagan has noted that there are too many economic pundits and 10438forecasters and has decided on an excess prophets tax. 10439% 10440President Thieu says he'll quit if he doesn't get more than 50% of the 10441vote. In a democracy, that's not called quitting. 10442 -- The Washington Post 10443% 10444Pretend to spank me -- I'm a pseudo-masochist! 10445% 10446Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: 10447 It's on the other side. 10448% 10449[Prime Minister Joseph] Chamberlain loves the working man -- he loves 10450to see him work. 10451 -- Winston Churchill 10452% 10453Pro is to con as progress is to Congress. 10454% 10455Probable-Possible, my black hen, 10456She lays eggs in the Relative When. 10457She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now 10458Because she's unable to postulate how. 10459 -- Frederick Winsor 10460% 10461Probably the question asked most often is: Do one-celled animals have 10462orgasms? The answer is yes, they have orgasms almost constantly, which 10463is why they don't mind living in pools of warm slime. 10464 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 10465 Teen Should Know" 10466% 10467Prof: So the American government went to IBM to come up with a data 10468 encryption standard and they came up with ... 10469Student: EBCDIC! 10470% 10471Professor Gorden Newell threw another shutout in last week's Chem. 10472Eng. 130 midterm. Once again no student received a single point on 10473his exam. Newell has now tossed five shutouts this quarter. Newell's 10474earned exam average has now dropped to a phenomenal 30% 10475% 10476Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to 10477build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying 10478to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. 10479 -- Rich Cook 10480% 10481Proof techniques #1: Proof by Induction. 10482 10483This technique is used on equations with "_n" in them. Induction 10484techniques are very popular; even the military used them. 10485 10486SAMPLE: Proof of induction without proof of induction. 10487 10488 We know it's true for _n equal to 1. Now assume that it's true 10489for every natural number less than _n. _N is arbitrary, so we can take _n 10490as large as we want. If _n is sufficiently large, the case of _n+1 is 10491trivially equivalent, so the only important _n are _n less than _n. We 10492can take _n = _n (from above), so it's true for _n+1 because it's just 10493about _n. 10494 QED. (QED translates from the Latin as "So what?") 10495% 10496Proof techniques #2: Proof by Oddity. 10497 SAMPLE: To prove that horses have an infinite number of legs. 10498(1) Horses have an even number of legs. 10499(2) They have two legs in back and fore legs in front. 10500(3) This makes a total of six legs, which certainly is an odd number of 10501 legs for a horse. 10502(4) But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. 10503(5) Therefore, horses must have an infinite number of legs. 10504 10505Topics to be covered in future issues include proof by: 10506 Intimidation 10507 Gesticulation (handwaving) 10508 "Try it; it works" 10509 Constipation (I was just sitting there and ...) 10510 Blatant assertion 10511 Changing all the 2's to _n's 10512 Mutual consent 10513 Lack of a counterexample, and 10514 "It stands to reason" 10515% 10516Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10517 10518BBW Branch Both Ways 10519BEW Branch Either Way 10520BBBF Branch on Bit Bucket Full 10521BH Branch and Hang 10522BMR Branch Multiple Registers 10523BOB Branch On Bug 10524BPO Branch on Power Off 10525BST Backspace and Stretch Tape 10526CDS Condense and Destroy System 10527CLBR Clobber Register 10528CLBRI Clobber Register Immediately 10529CM Circulate Memory 10530CMFRM Come From -- essential for truly structured programming 10531CPPR Crumple Printer Paper and Rip 10532CRN Convert to Roman Numerals 10533% 10534Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10535 10536DC Divide and Conquer 10537DMPK Destroy Memory Protect Key 10538DO Divide and Overflow 10539EMPC Emulate Pocket Calculator 10540EPI Execute Programmer Immediately 10541EROS Erase Read Only Storage 10542EXCE Execute Customer Engineer 10543HCF Halt and Catch Fire 10544IBP Insert Bug and Proceed 10545INSQSW Insert into queue somewhere (for FINO queues [First in never out]) 10546PBC Print and Break Chain 10547PDSK Punch Disk 10548% 10549Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10550 10551PI Punch Invalid 10552POPI Punch Operator Immediately 10553PVLC Punch Variable Length Card 10554RASC Read And Shred Card 10555RPM Read Programmers Mind 10556RSSC reduce speed, step carefully (for improved accuracy) 10557RTAB Rewind tape and break 10558RWDSK rewind disk 10559RWOC Read Writing On Card 10560SCRBL scribble to disk - faster than a write 10561SLC Search for Lost Chord 10562SPSW Scramble Program Status Word 10563SRSD Seek Record and Scar Disk 10564STROM Store in Read Only Memory 10565TDB Transfer and Drop Bit 10566WBT Water Binary Tree 10567% 10568Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller 10569than the both put together. 10570% 10571Psychiatrists say that one out of four people are mentally ill. Check 10572three friends. If they're OK, you're it. 10573% 10574Psychotherapy is the theory that the patient will probably get well 10575anyhow and is certainly a damn fool. 10576 -- H. L. Mencken 10577% 10578Puns are little "plays on words" that a certain breed of person loves 10579to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way 10580to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the 10581cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in 10582fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a 10583lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of 10584the first day even if they have plenty of food and water. 10585 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 10586% 10587Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen. 10588% 10589Pushing 40 is exercise enough. 10590% 10591Put no trust in cryptic comments. 10592% 10593Put your Nose to the Grindstone! 10594 -- Amalgamated Plastic Surgeons and Toolmakers, Ltd. 10595% 10596Putt's Law: 10597 Technology is dominated by two types of people: 10598 Those who understand what they do not manage. 10599 Those who manage what they do not understand. 10600% 10601Q: Do you know what the death rate around here is? 10602A: One per person. 10603% 10604Q: How did you get into artificial intelligence? 10605A: Seemed logical -- I didn't have any real intelligence. 10606% 10607Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat ? 10608A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10609% 10610Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat? 10611A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10612 10613Q: How long does it take? 10614A: It's indeterminate. It will depend upon how many flats they've 10615 brought with them. 10616 10617Q: What happens if you've got TWO flats? 10618A: They replace your generator. 10619% 10620Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10621A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb 10622 itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective 10623 reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a 10624 maudlin cosmos of nothingness. 10625% 10626Q: How many heterosexual males does it take to screw in a light bulb 10627 in San Francisco? 10628A: Both of them. 10629% 10630Q: How many IBM cpu's does it take to do a logical right shift? 10631A: 33. 1 to hold the bits and 32 to push the register. 10632% 10633Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? 10634A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off. 10635% 10636Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb? 10637A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-0001, 10638 Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of 10639 the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% 10640 of the definitions are of the form "A ...... consists of sequences 10641 of non-blank characters separated by blanks". 10642% 10643Q: How many journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10644A: Three. One to report it as an inspired government program to bring 10645 light to the people, one to report it as a diabolical government 10646 plot to deprive the poor of darkness, and one to win a Pulitzer 10647 prize for reporting that Electric Company hired a lightbulb 10648 assassin to break the bulb in the first place. 10649% 10650Q: How many Martians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10651A: One and a half. 10652% 10653Q: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10654A: One. He gives it to six Californians, thereby reducing the problem 10655 to the earlier joke. 10656% 10657Q: How many Oregonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10658A: Three. One to screw in the lightbulb and two to fend off all those 10659 Californians trying to share the experience. 10660% 10661Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? 10662A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub 10663 with brightly colored machine tools. 10664% 10665Q: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10666A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master stays out 10667 of the way. 10668% 10669Q: What's a light-year? 10670A: One-third less calories than a regular year. 10671% 10672Q: Why did the tachyon cross the road? 10673A: Because it was on the other side. 10674% 10675Q: Why do ducks have flat feet? 10676A: To stamp out forest fires. 10677 10678Q: Why do elephants have flat feet? 10679A: To stamp out flaming ducks. 10680% 10681Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together? 10682A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home. 10683% 10684Q: Somebody just posted that Roman Polanski directed Star Wars. What 10685 should I do? 10686 10687A: Post the correct answer at once! We can't have people go on 10688 believing that! Very good of you to spot this. You'll probably be 10689 the only one to make the correction, so post as soon as you can. No 10690 time to lose, so certainly don't wait a day, or check to see if 10691 somebody else has made the correction. 10692 10693 And it's not good enough to send the message by mail. Since you're 10694 the only one who really knows that it was Francis Coppola, you have 10695 to inform the whole net right away! 10696 10697 -- Brad Templeton, "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions 10698 on Netiquette" 10699% 10700Quality Control, n.: 10701 The process of testing one out of every 1,000 units coming off 10702a production line to make sure that at least one out of 100 works. 10703% 10704Question: 10705Man Invented Alcohol, 10706God Invented Grass. 10707Who do you trust? 10708% 10709Quick!! Act as if nothing has happened! 10710% 10711Quick, sing me the BUDAPEST NATIONAL ANTHEM!! 10712% 10713Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. 10714 10715(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) 10716% 10717Quigley's Law: 10718 Whoever has any authority over you, no matter how small, will 10719atttempt to use it. 10720% 10721QUOTE OF THE DAY: 10722 10723 ` 10724 10725% 10726Qvid me anxivs svm? 10727% 10728QWERT (kwirt), n. [MW < OW qwertyuiop, a thirteenth]: 10729 1. a unit of weight equal to 13 poiuyt avoirdupois (or 1.69 10730kiloliks), commonly used in structural engineering; 2. [colloq.] one 10731thirteenth the load that a fully grown sligo can carry; 3. [anat.] a 10732painful irritation of the dermis in the region of the anus; 4. [slang] 10733person who excites in others the symptoms of a qwert. 10734 -- Webster's Middle World Dictionary, 4th ed. 10735% 10736Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. 10737% 10738Rattling around the back of my head is a disturbing image of something 10739I saw at the airport ... Now I'm remembering, those giant piles of 10740computer magazines right next to "People" and "Time" in the airport 10741store. Does it bother anyone else that half the world is being told 10742all of our hard-won secrets of computer technology? Remember how all 10743the lawyers cried foul when "How to Avoid Probate" was published? Are 10744they taking no-fault insurance lying down? No way! But at the current 10745rate it won't be long before there are stacks of the "Transactions on 10746Information Theory" at the A&P checkout counters. Who's going to be 10747impressed with us electrical engineers then? Are we, as the saying 10748goes, giving away the store? 10749 -- Robert W. Lucky, IEEE President 10750% 10751Ray's Rule of Precision: 10752 Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 10753% 10754Razors pain you; 10755Rivers are damp; 10756Acids stain you; 10757And drugs cause cramp. 10758Guns aren't lawful; 10759Nooses give; 10760Gas smells awful; 10761You might as well live. 10762 -- Dorothy Parker, "Resume", 1926 10763% 10764Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe 10765the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described 10766with pictures. 10767% 10768Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of 10769Congress. But I repeat myself. 10770 -- Mark Twain 10771% 10772Real computer scientists admire ADA for its overwhelming aesthetic 10773value but they find it difficult to actually program in it, as it is 10774much too large to implement. Most computer scientists don't notice 10775this because they are still arguing over what else to add to ADA. 10776% 10777Real computer scientists despise the idea of actual hardware. Hardware 10778has limitations, software doesn't. It's a real shame that Turing 10779machines are so poor at I/O. 10780% 10781Real computer scientists don't comment their code. The identifiers are 10782so long they can't afford the disk space. 10783% 10784Real computer scientists don't program in assembler. They don't write 10785in anything less portable than a number two pencil. 10786% 10787Real computer scientists don't write code. They occasionally tinker 10788with `programming systems', but those are so high level that they 10789hardly count (and rarely count accurately; precision is for 10790applications.) 10791% 10792Real computer scientists only write specs for languages that might run 10793on future hardware. Nobody trusts them to write specs for anything homo 10794sapiens will ever be able to fit on a single planet. 10795% 10796Real programmers disdain structured programming. Structured 10797programming is for compulsive neurotics who were prematurely toilet- 10798trained. They wear neckties and carefully line up pencils on otherwise 10799clear desks. 10800% 10801Real programmers don't bring brown-bag lunches. If the vending machine 10802doesn't sell it, they don't eat it. Vending machines don't sell 10803quiche. 10804% 10805Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it 10806should be hard to understand. 10807% 10808Real programmers don't draw flowcharts. Flowcharts are, after all, the 10809illiterate's form of documentation. Cavemen drew flowcharts; look how 10810much good it did them. 10811% 10812Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires 10813you to change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers 10814wear their climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly 10815spring up in the middle of the machine room. 10816% 10817Real programmers don't write in BASIC. Actually, no programmers write 10818in BASIC after reaching puberty. 10819% 10820Real programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress 10821freaks and crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who 10822wear white socks. 10823% 10824Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who 10825can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN. 10826% 10827Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue. 10828% 10829Real Programs don't use shared text. Otherwise, how can they use 10830functions for scratch space after they are finished calling them? 10831% 10832Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness. 10833This process doesn't necessarily involve execution of anything on a 10834computer, except perhaps a Correctness Verification Aid package. 10835% 10836Real software engineers don't like the idea of some inexplicable and 10837greasy hardware several aisles away that may stop working at any 10838moment. They have a great distrust of hardware people, and wish that 10839systems could be virtual at *___all* levels. They would like personal 10840computers (you know no one's going to trip over something and kill your 10841DFA in mid-transit), except that they need 8 megabytes to run their 10842Correctness Verification Aid packages. 10843% 10844Real software engineers work from 9 to 5, because that is the way the 10845job is described in the formal spec. Working late would feel like 10846using an undocumented external procedure. 10847% 10848Real Time, adj.: 10849 Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there 10850and then. 10851% 10852Real Users are afraid they'll break the machine -- but they're never 10853afraid to break your face. 10854% 10855Real Users find the one combination of bizarre input values that shuts 10856down the system for days. 10857% 10858Real Users hate Real Programmers. 10859% 10860Real Users know your home telephone number. 10861% 10862Real Users never know what they want, but they always know when your 10863program doesn't deliver it. 10864% 10865Real Users never use the Help key. 10866% 10867Real World, The n.: 10868 1. In programming, those institutions at which programming may 10869be used in the same sentence as FORTRAN, COBOL, RPG, IBM, etc. 2. To 10870programmers, the location of non-programmers and activities not related 10871to programming. 3. A universe in which the standard dress is shirt and 10872tie and in which a person's working hours are defined as 9 to 5. 108734. The location of the status quo. 5. Anywhere outside a university. 10874"Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the real world." Used 10875pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation, talking 10876of someone who has entered the real world is not unlike talking about a 10877deceased person. 10878% 10879Reality is a cop-out for people who can't handle drugs. 10880% 10881Reality is an obstacle to hallucination. 10882% 10883Reality is bad enough, why should I tell the truth? 10884 -- Patrick Sky 10885% 10886Reality is for people who lack imagination. 10887% 10888Reality is for those who can't face Science Fiction. 10889% 10890Reality is just a convenient measure of complexity. 10891 -- Alvy Ray Smith 10892% 10893Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away" 10894 -- Philip K. Dick 10895% 10896Really ?? What a coincidence, I'm shallow too!! 10897% 10898Receiving a million dollars tax free will make you feel better than 10899being flat broke and having a stomach ache. 10900 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 10901% 10902Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you 10903lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, 10904but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and 10905Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 10906recessions. 10907% 10908Reclaimer, spare that tree! 10909Take not a single bit! 10910It used to point to me, 10911Now I'm protecting it. 10912It was the reader's CONS 10913That made it, paired by dot; 10914Now, GC, for the nonce, 10915Thou shalt reclaim it not. 10916% 10917 "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" 10918Candy 10919Is dandy 10920But liquor 10921Is quicker. 10922 -- Ogden Nash 10923% 10924"Reintegration complete," ZORAC advised. "We're back in the universe 10925again ..." An unusually long pause followed, "... but I don't know 10926which part. We seem to have changed our position in space." A 10927spherical display in the middle of the floor illuminated to show the 10928starfield surrounding the ship. 10929 10930"Several large, artificial constructions are approaching us," ZORAC 10931announced after a short pause. "The designs are not familiar, but they 10932are obviously the products of intelligence. Implications: we have been 10933intercepted deliberately by a means unknown, for a purpose unknown, and 10934transferred to a place unknown by a form of intelligence unknown. 10935Apart from the unknowns, everything is obvious." 10936 -- James P. Hogan, "Giants Star" 10937% 10938Reisner's Rule of Conceptual Inertia: 10939 If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it. 10940% 10941Religion has done love a great service by making it a sin. 10942 -- Anatole France 10943% 10944Rembrandt's first name was Beauregard, which is why he never used it. 10945 -- Dave Barry 10946% 10947Remember that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be 10948worse in Cleveland. 10949 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 10950% 10951Remember, drive defensively! And of course, the best defense is a good 10952offense! 10953% 10954Remember, even if you win the rat race -- you're still a rat. 10955% 10956Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. 10957% 10958Remember: Silly is a state of Mind, Stupid is a way of Life. 10959 -- Dave Butler 10960% 10961Renning's Maxim: 10962 Man is the highest animal. Man does the classifying. 10963% 10964Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): Mr Gandhi, what do you think of Western 10965 Civilization? 10966Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. 10967% 10968Reporter, n.: 10969 A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a 10970tempest of words. 10971 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10972% 10973REPORTER: Senator, are you for or against the MX missile system? 10974 10975SENATOR: Bob, the MX missile system reminds me of an old saying that 10976the country folk in my state like to say. It goes like this: "You can 10977carry a pig for six miles, but if you set it down it might run away." 10978I have no idea why the country folk say this. Maybe there's some kind 10979of chemical pollutant in their drinking water. That is why I pledge to 10980do all that I can to protect the environment of this great nation of 10981ours, and put prayer back in the schools, where it belongs. What we 10982need is jobs, not empty promises. I realize I'm risking my political 10983career be being so outspoken on a sensitive issue such as the MX, but 10984that's just the kind of straight-talking honest person I am, and I 10985can't help it. 10986 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 10987% 10988Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. 10989 -- Wernher von Braun 10990% 10991Resisting temptation is easier when you think you'll probably get 10992another chance later on. 10993% 10994Review Questions 10995 10996(1) If Nerd on the planet Nutley starts out in his spaceship at 20 KPH, 10997 and his speed doubles every 3.2 seconds, how long will it be before 10998 he exceeds the speed of light? How long will it be before the 10999 Galactic Patrol picks up the pieces of his spaceship? 11000 11001(2) If Roger Rowdy wrecks his car every week, and each week he breaks 11002 twice as many bones as before, how long will it be before he breaks 11003 every bone in his body? How long will it be before they cut off 11004 his insurance? Where does he get a new car every week? 11005 11006(3) If Johnson drinks one beer the first hour (slow start), four beers 11007 the next hour, nine beers the next, etc., and stacks the cans in a 11008 pyramid, how soon will Johnson's pyramid be larger than King 11009 Tut's? When will it fall on him? Will he notice? 11010% 11011Rhode's Law: 11012 When any principle, law, tenet, probability, happening, 11013circumstance, or result can in no way be directly, indirectly, 11014empirically, or circuitously proven, derived, implied, inferred, 11015induced, deducted, estimated, or scientifically guessed, it will always 11016for the purpose of convenience, expediency, political advantage, 11017material gain, or personal comfort, or any combination of the above, or 11018none of the above, be unilaterally and unequivocally assumed, 11019proclaimed, and adhered to as absolute truth to be undeniably, 11020universally, immutably, and infinitely so, until such time as it 11021becomes advantageous to assume otherwise, maybe. 11022% 11023Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. 11024 -- Steven Wright 11025% 11026Rocky's Lemma of Innovation Prevention 11027 Unless the results are known in advance, funding agencies will 11028 reject the proposal. 11029% 11030Romeo wasn't bilked in a day. 11031 -- Walt Kelly, "Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years With Pogo" 11032% 11033ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. 11034MERCUTIO: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church- 11035 door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. 11036% 11037Rudin's Law: 11038 If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will do it 11039every time. 11040% 11041Rule 46, Oxford Union Society, London: 11042 Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall 11043be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person 11044shall be deemed to be a cat. 11045% 11046Rule of Creative Research: 11047 (1) Never draw what you can copy. 11048 (2) Never copy what you can trace. 11049 (3) Never trace what you can cut out and paste down. 11050% 11051Rule of Defactualization: 11052 Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies. 11053% 11054Rule of Feline Frustration: 11055 When your cat has fallen asleep on your lap and looks utterly 11056content and adorable, you will suddenly have to go to the bathroom. 11057% 11058Rule of the Great: 11059 When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep 11060thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch. 11061% 11062Rules for Academic Deans: 11063 (1) HIDE!!!! 11064 (2) If they find you, LIE!!!! 11065 -- Father Damian C. Fandal 11066% 11067Rules for driving in New York: 11068 (1) Anything done while honking your horn is legal. 11069 (2) You may park anywhere if you turn your four-way flashers 11070 on. 11071 (3) A red light means the next six cars may go through the 11072 intersection. 11073% 11074RULES OF EATING -- THE BRONX DIETER'S CREED 11075 (1) Never eat on an empty stomach. 11076 (2) Never leave the table hungry. 11077 (3) When traveling, never leave a country hungry. 11078 (4) Enjoy your food. 11079 (5) Enjoy your companion's food. 11080 (6) Really taste your food. It may take several portions to 11081 accomplish this, especially if subtly seasoned. 11082 (7) Really feel your food. Texture is important. Compare, 11083 for example, the texture of a turnip to that of a 11084 brownie. Which feels better against your cheeks? 11085 (8) Never eat between snacks, unless it's a meal. 11086 (9) Don't feel you must finish everything on your plate. You 11087 can always eat it later. 11088 (10) Avoid any wine with a childproof cap. 11089 (11) Avoid blue food. 11090 -- Richard Smith, "The Bronx Diet" 11091% 11092Rules: 11093 (1) The boss is always right. 11094 (2) When the boss is wrong, refer to rule 1. 11095% 11096 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11097 Tip #1: How to tell when you are dead. 11098 11099(1) Little things start bothering you: little things like worms, bugs, 11100 ants. 11101(2) Something is missing in your personal relationships. 11102(3) Your dog becomes overly affectionate. 11103(4) You have a hard time getting a waiter. 11104(5) Exotic birds flock around you. 11105(6) People ignore you at parties. 11106(7) You have a hard time getting up in the morning. 11107(8) You no longer get off on cocaine. 11108% 11109 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11110(1) Never use an elevator in a building that has been hit by a nuclear 11111 bomb; use the stairs. 11112(2) When you're flying through the air, remember to roll when you hit 11113 the ground. 11114(3) If you're on fire, avoid gasoline and other flammable materials. 11115(4) Don't attempt communication with dead people; it will only lead to 11116 psychological problems. 11117(5) Food will be scarce; you will have to scavenge. Learn to 11118 recognize foods that will be available after the bomb: mashed 11119 potatoes, shredded wheat, tossed salad, ground beef, etc. 11120(6) Put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze; internal organs 11121 will be scarce in the post-nuclear age. 11122(7) Try to be neat; fall only in designated piles. 11123(8) Drive carefully in "Heavy Fallout" areas; people could be 11124 staggering illegally. 11125(9) Nutritionally, hundred dollar bills are equal to ones, but more 11126 sanitary due to limited circulation. 11127(10) Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on 11128 D-Day. 11129% 11130SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21) 11131 You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless 11132 tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority 11133 of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends or both. People 11134 laugh at you a great deal. 11135% 11136San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was. 11137 -- Herb Caen 11138% 11139San Francisco, n.: 11140 Marcel Proust editing an issue of Penthouse. 11141% 11142Sanity is the trademark of a weak mind. 11143 -- Mark Harrold 11144% 11145Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, 11146 He must be a communist. 11147And a beard and long hair, 11148 Must be a pacifist. 11149 11150 What's in that pipe that he's smoking? 11151 -- Arlo Guthrie 11152% 11153Satellite Safety Tip #14: 11154 If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck. 11155% 11156Sattinger's Law: 11157 It works better if you plug it in. 11158% 11159Saturday night in Toledo Ohio, 11160 Is like being nowhere at all, 11161All through the day how the hours rush by, 11162 You sit in the park and you watch the grass die. 11163 -- John Denver, "Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio" 11164% 11165Sauron is alive in Argentina! 11166% 11167Save energy: be apathetic. 11168% 11169Save the Whales -- Harpoon a Honda. 11170% 11171Save the whales. Collect the whole set. 11172% 11173Saw a sign on a restaurant that said Breakfast, any time -- so I 11174ordered French Toast in the Renaissance. 11175 -- Steven Wright 11176% 11177SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out! 11178 -- Ken Thompson 11179% 11180Schapiro's Explanation: 11181 The grass is always greener on the other side -- but that's 11182because they use more manure. 11183% 11184Schizophrenia beats being alone. 11185% 11186Schlattwhapper, n.: 11187 The window shade that allows itself to be pulled down, 11188hesitates for a second, then snaps up in your face. 11189 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11190% 11191Schnuffel, n.: 11192 A dog's practice of continuously nuzzling in your crotch in 11193mixed company. 11194 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11195% 11196Schwiggle, n.: 11197 The amusing rotation of one's bottom while sharpening a 11198pencil. 11199 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11200% 11201Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made 11202of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts 11203is not necessarily science. 11204 -- Henri Poincair'e 11205% 11206Science is what happens when preconception meets verification. 11207% 11208Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it. 11209 -- William Buckley 11210 11211% 11212SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21) 11213 You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will 11214 achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of 11215 ethics. Most Scorpio people are murdered. 11216% 11217Scott's first Law: 11218 No matter what goes wrong, it will probably look right. 11219% 11220Scott's second Law: 11221 When an error has been detected and corrected, it will be found 11222to have been wrong in the first place. 11223 11224Corollary: 11225 After the correction has been found in error, it will be 11226impossible to fit the original quantity back into the equation. 11227% 11228Scotty: Captain, we din' can reference it! 11229Kirk: Analysis, Mr. Spock? 11230Spock: Captain, it doesn't appear in the symbol table. 11231Kirk: Then it's of external origin? 11232Spock: Affirmative. 11233Kirk: Mr. Sulu, go to pass two. 11234Sulu: Aye aye, sir, going to pass two. 11235% 11236Screw up your courage! You've screwed up everything else. 11237% 11238Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the 11239Presidency. 11240 -- Richard Nixon 11241% 11242Second Law of Business Meetings: 11243 If there are two possible ways to spell a person's name, you 11244will pick the wrong one. 11245 11246Corollary: 11247 If there is only one way to spell a name, you will spell it 11248wrong, anyway. 11249% 11250Section 2.4.3.5 AWNS (Acceptor Wait for New Cycle State). 11251 In AWNS the AH function indicates that it has received a 11252multiline message byte. 11253 In AWNS the RFD message must be sent false and the DAC message 11254must be sent passive true. 11255 The AH function must exit the AWNS and enter: 11256 (1) The ANRS if DAV is false 11257 (2) The AIDS if the ATN message is false and neither: 11258 (a) The LADS is active 11259 (b) Nor LACS is active 11260 11261 -- from the IEEE Standard Digital Interface for 11262 Programmable Instrumentation 11263% 11264Security check: INTRUDER ALERT! 11265% 11266Seduced, shaggy Samson snored. 11267She scissored short. Sorely shorn, 11268Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed, 11269Silently scheming, 11270Sightlessly seeking 11271Some savage, spectacular suicide. 11272 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 11273% 11274See - the thing is - I'm an absolutist. I mean, kind of ... in a way ... 11275% 11276Seleznick's Theory of Holistic Medicine: 11277 Ice Cream cures all ills. 11278% 11279Self Test for Paranoia: 11280 You know you have it when you can't think of anything that's 11281your own fault. 11282% 11283Seminars, n.: 11284 From "semi" and "arse", hence, any half-assed discussion. 11285% 11286Sen. Danforth: "There is nothing on the face of the album which would 11287 notify you if the record has pornographic material or 11288 material glorifying violence?" 11289Tipper Gore: "No, there is nothing that would suggest that to me." 11290Frank Zappa: "I would say that a buzz saw blade between the guy's 11291 legs on the album cover is good indication that it's 11292 not for little Johnny." 11293 11294 -- The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rock 11295 lyrics, from The Village Voice, 6 Oct 1985 11296% 11297Senate, n.: 11298 A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and 11299misdemeanors. 11300 -- Ambrose Bierce 11301% 11302Serenity through viciousness. 11303% 11304Serocki's Stricture: 11305 Marriage is always a bachelor's last option. 11306% 11307Serving coffee on aircraft causes turbulence. 11308% 11309 "Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated 11310thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked MY 11311advice, I'd have said `Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now." 11312 "I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly. 11313 "Too proud?" the other enquired. 11314 Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," 11315she said, "that one can't help growing older." 11316 "ONE can't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but TWO can. With 11317proper assistance, you might have left off at seven." 11318 -- Lewis Carroll 11319% 11320Several years ago, some smart businessmen had an idea: Why not build a 11321big store where a do-it-yourselfer could get everything he needed at 11322reasonable prices? Then they decided, nah, the hell with that, let's 11323build a home center. And before long home centers were springing up 11324like crabgrass all over the United States. 11325 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 11326% 11327Sex is a natural bodily process, like a stroke. 11328% 11329Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer. 11330 -- Swami X 11331% 11332Sex is the mathematics urge sublimated. 11333 -- M. C. Reed. 11334% 11335Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, 11336it's one of the best. 11337 -- Woody Allen 11338% 11339Shamus, n. [Yiddish]: 11340 A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the 11341temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. 11342 A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagogue 11343functionaries, and there's a joke about that: 11344 A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the 11345middle of a service, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" The cantor, not to be 11346bested, also cries out, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" 11347 The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, "Oh, Lord, I 11348am nobody!" The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, "Look who thinks 11349he's nobody!" 11350 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 11351% 11352Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off 11353during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. 11354 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 11355 Teen Should Know" 11356% 11357Shaw's Principle: 11358 Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will 11359want to use it. 11360% 11361She is descended from a long line that her mother listened to. 11362 -- Gypsy Rose Lee 11363% 11364She is not refined. She is not unrefined. She keeps a parrot. 11365 -- Mark Twain 11366% 11367She liked him; he was a man of many qualities, even if most of them 11368were bad. 11369% 11370She missed an invaluable opportunity to give him a look that you could 11371have poured on a waffle ... 11372% 11373She said, `I know you ... you cannot sing'. I said, `That's nothing, 11374you should hear me play piano.' 11375 -- Morrisey 11376% 11377She's genuinely bogus. 11378% 11379Sherry [Thomas Sheridan] is dull, naturally dull; but it must have 11380taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an 11381excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature. 11382 -- Samuel Johnson 11383% 11384SHIFT TO THE LEFT! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT! 11385POP UP, PUSH DOWN, BYTE, BYTE, BYTE! 11386% 11387Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is 11388playing golf with his boss. 11389% 11390Show respect for age. Drink good Scotch for a change. 11391% 11392Signs of crime: screaming or cries for help. 11393 -- from the Brown University Security Crime Prevention Pamphlet 11394% 11395Silverman's Law: 11396 If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will. 11397% 11398Simon's Law: 11399 Everything put together falls apart sooner or later. 11400% 11401Since I hurt my pendulum 11402My life is all erratic. 11403My parrot, who was cordial, 11404Is now transmitting static. 11405The carpet died, a palm collapsed, 11406The cat keeps doing poo. 11407The only thing that keeps me sane 11408Is talking to my shoe. 11409 -- My Shoe 11410% 11411Since we have to speak well of the dead, let's knock them while they're 11412alive. 11413 -- John Sloan 11414% 11415Since we're all here, we must not be all there. 11416 -- Bob "Mountain" Beck 11417% 11418[Sir Stafford Cripps] has all the virtues I dislike and none of the 11419vices I admire. 11420 -- Winston Churchill 11421% 11422Sixtus V, Pope from 1585 to 1590 authorized a printing of the Vulgate 11423Bible. Taking no chances, the pope issued a papal bull automatically 11424excommunicating any printer who might make an alteration in the text. 11425This he ordered printed at the beginning of the Bible. He personally 11426examined every sheet as it came off the press. Yet the published 11427Vulgate Bible contained so many errors that corrected scraps had to be 11428printed and pasted over them in every copy. The result provoked wry 11429comments on the rather patchy papal infallibility, and Pope Sixtus had 11430no recourse but to order the return and destruction of every copy. 11431% 11432Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor): 11433 That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, 11434or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you should 11435have gotten. 11436% 11437Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and goes 11438to work. 11439% 11440Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work ... I did not, 11441when a slave, understand the deep meanings of those rude, and 11442apparently incoherent songs. I was myself within the circle, so that I 11443neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear. They told a 11444tale which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension: they 11445were tones, loud, long and deep, breathing the prayer and complaint of 11446souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a 11447testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from 11448chains. 11449 -- Frederick Douglass 11450% 11451Slick's Three Laws of the Universe: 11452 (1) Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad 11453 check. 11454 (2) A quarter-ounce of chocolate = four pounds of fat. 11455 (3) There are two types of dirt: the dark kind, which is 11456 attracted to light objects, and the light kind, which is 11457 attracted to dark objects. 11458% 11459Slowly and surely the unix crept up on the Nintendo user ... 11460% 11461Slurm, n.: 11462 The slime that accumulates on the underside of a soap bar when 11463it sits in the dish too long. 11464 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11465% 11466Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. 11467 -- Fletcher Knebel 11468% 11469Snacktrek, n.: 11470 The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly 11471returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have 11472materialized. 11473 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11474% 11475So as your consumer electronics adviser, I am advising you to donate 11476your current VCR to a grate resident, who will laugh sardonically and 11477hurl it into a dumpster. Then I want you to go out and purchase a vast 11478array of 8-millimeter video equipment. 11479 11480... OK! Got everything? Well, *too bad, sucker*, because while you 11481were gone the electronics industry came up with an even newer format 11482that makes your 8-millimeter VCR look as technologically advanced as 11483toenail dirt. This format is called "3.5 hectare" and it will not be 11484made available until it is outmoded, sometime early next week, by a 11485format called "Elroy", so *order yours now*. 11486 -- Dave Barry, "No Surrender in the Electronics 11487 Revolution" 11488% 11489So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in 11490praise of intelligence. 11491 -- Bertrand Russell 11492% 11493... so long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those 11494who wish to tyranize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, 11495and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious 11496and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. 11497 -- Voltarine de Cleyre 11498% 11499 So Richard and I decided to try to catch [the small shark]. 11500With a great deal of strategy and effort and shouting, we managed to 11501maneuver the shark, over the course of about a half-hour, to a sort of 11502corner of the lagoon, so that it had no way to escape other than to 11503flop up onto the land and evolve. Richard and I were inching toward 11504it, sort of crouched over, when all of a sudden it turned around and -- 11505I can still remember the sensation I felt at that moment, primarily in 11506the armpit area -- headed right straight toward us. 11507 Many people would have panicked at this point. But Richard and 11508I were not "many people." We were experienced waders, and we kept our 11509heads. We did exactly what the textbook says you should do when you're 11510unarmed and a shark that is nearly two feet long turns on you in water 11511up to your lower calves: We sprinted I would say 600 yards in the 11512opposite direction, using a sprinting style such that the bottoms of 11513our feet never once went below the surface of the water. We ran all 11514the way to the far shore, and if we had been in a Warner Brothers 11515cartoon we would have run right INTO the beach, and you would have seen 11516these two mounds of sand racing across the island until they bonked 11517into trees and coconuts fell onto their heads. 11518 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11519% 11520So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple 11521pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street pops 11522its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very 11523imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, 11524and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, 11525and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the 11526gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots. 11527 -- Samuel Foote 11528% 11529... So the documentary-makers stick with sharks. Generally, their 11530procedure is to scatter bleeding fish pieces around their boat, so as 11531to infest the waters. I would estimate that the primary food source of 11532sharks today is bleeding fish pieces scattered by people making 11533documentaries. Once the sharks arrive, they are generally fairly 11534listless. The general shark attitude seems to be: "Oh God, another 11535documentary." So the divers have to somehow goad them into attacking, 11536under the guise of Scientific Research. "We know very little about the 11537effect of electricity on sharks," the narrator will say, in a deeply 11538scientific voice. "That is why Todd is going to jab this Great White 11539in the testicles with a cattle prod." The divers keep this kind of 11540thing up until the shark finally gets irritated and snaps at them, and 11541then they act as though this was a totally unexpected and very 11542dangerous development, although clearly it is what they wanted all 11543along. 11544 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11545% 11546So, what's with this guy Gideon, anyway? 11547And why can't he ever remember his Bible? 11548% 11549Sodd's Second Law: 11550 Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is 11551bound to occur. 11552% 11553Software, n.: 11554 Formal evening attire for female computer analysts. 11555% 11556Some don't prefer the pursuit of happiness to the happiness of pursuit. 11557% 11558Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. 11559 -- Ed Howe 11560% 11561Some of you ... may have decided that, this year, you're going to 11562celebrate it the old-fashioned way, with your family sitting around 11563stringing cranberries and exchanging humble, handmade gifts, like on 11564"The Waltons". Well, you can forget it. If everybody pulled that kind 11565of subversive stunt, the economy would collapse overnight. The 11566government would have to intervene: it would form a cabinet-level 11567Department of Holiday Gift-Giving, which would spend billions and 11568billions of tax dollars to buy Barbie dolls and electronic games, which 11569it would drop on the populace from Air Force jets, killing and maiming 11570thousands. So, for the good of the nation, you should go along with 11571the Holiday Program. This means you should get a large sum of money 11572and go to a mall. 11573 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 11574% 11575Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some 11576people have mediocrity thrust upon them. 11577 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 11578% 11579Some people have a way about them that seems to say: "If I have only 11580one life to live, let me live it as a jerk." 11581% 11582Some people in this department wouldn't recognize subtlety if it hit 11583them on the head. 11584% 11585Some people live life in the fast lane. You're in oncoming traffic. 11586% 11587Some performers on television appear to be horrible people, but when 11588you finally get to know them in person, they turn out to be even 11589worse. 11590 -- Avery 11591% 11592Some points to remember [about animals]: 11593 11594(1) Don't go to sleep under big animals, e.g., elephants, rhinoceri, 11595 hippopotamuses; 11596(2) Don't put animals with sharp teeth or poisonous fangs down the 11597 front of your clothes; 11598(3) Don't pat certain animals, e.g., crocodiles and scorpions or dogs 11599 you have just kicked. 11600 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 11601% 11602Some primal termite knocked on wood. 11603And tasted it, and found it good. 11604And that is why your Cousin May 11605Fell through the parlor floor today. 11606 -- Ogden Nash 11607% 11608Some programming languages manage to absorb change but withstand 11609progress. 11610% 11611Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand 11612progress. 11613 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11614% 11615Somebody ought to cross ball point pens with coat hangers so that the 11616pens will multiply instead of disappear. 11617% 11618Someone will try to honk your nose today. 11619% 11620Sometimes I simply feel that the whole world is a cigarette and I'm 11621the only ashtray. 11622% 11623Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world. 11624 -- Lily Tomlin 11625% 11626"Somewhere", said Father Vittorini, "did Blake not speak of the 11627Machineries of Joy? That is, did not God promote environments, then 11628intimidate these Natures by provoking the existence of flesh, toy men 11629and women, such as are we all? And thus happily sent forth, at our 11630best, with good grace and fine wit, on calm noons, in fair climes, are 11631we not God's Machineries of Joy?" 11632 11633"If Blake said that", said Father Brian, "he never lived in Dublin." 11634 -- R. Bradbury, "The Machineries of Joy" 11635% 11636Somewhere, just out of sight, the unicorns are gathering. 11637% 11638Song Title of the Week: 11639 "They're putting dimes in the hole in my head to see the change 11640in me." 11641% 11642Sooner or later you must pay for your sins. 11643(Those who have already paid may disregard this fortune). 11644% 11645Sorry, no fortune this time. 11646% 11647Sorry. I forget what I was going to say. 11648% 11649Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- 11650bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the 11651road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. 11652 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 11653% 11654Spare no expense to save money on this one. 11655 -- Samuel Goldwyn 11656% 11657Spark's Sixth Rule for Managers: 11658 If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as 11659if he had lost his senses. When he looks down, paraphrase the question 11660back at him. 11661% 11662Speak roughly to your little boy, 11663 And beat him when he sneezes: 11664He only does it to annoy 11665 Because he knows it teases. 11666 11667 Wow! wow! wow! 11668 11669I speak severely to my boy, 11670 And beat him when he sneezes: 11671For he can thoroughly enjoy 11672 The pepper when he pleases! 11673 11674 Wow! wow! wow! 11675 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 11676% 11677Speak roughly to your little VAX, 11678 And boot it when it crashes; 11679It knows that one cannot relax 11680 Because the paging thrashes! 11681 11682 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11683 11684I speak severely to my VAX, 11685 And boot it when it crashes; 11686In spite of all my favorite hacks 11687 My jobs it always thrashes! 11688 11689 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11690% 11691Speak softly and carry a +6 two-handed sword. 11692% 11693Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. 11694 -- Dave Millman 11695% 11696Speaking as someone who has delved into the intricacies of PL/I, I am 11697sure that only Real Men could have written such a machine-hogging, 11698cycle-grabbing, all-encompassing monster. Allocate an array and free 11699the middle third? Sure! Why not? Multiply a character string times a 11700bit string and assign the result to a float decimal? Go ahead! Free a 11701controlled variable procedure parameter and reallocate it before 11702passing it back? Overlay three different types of variable on the same 11703memory location? Anything you say! Write a recursive macro? Well, 11704no, but Real Men use rescan. How could a language so obviously 11705designed and written by Real Men not be intended for Real Man use? 11706% 11707Speaking of Godzilla and other things that convey horror: 11708 11709 With a purposeful grimace and a Mongo-like flair 11710 He throws the spinning disk drives in the air! 11711 And he picks up a Vax and he throws it back down 11712 As he wades through the lab making terrible sounds! 11713 Helpless users with projects due 11714 Scream "My God!" as he stomps on the tape drives, too! 11715 11716 Oh, no! He says Unix runs too slow! Go, go, DECzilla! 11717 Oh, yes! He's gonna bring up VMS! Go, go, DECzilla!" 11718 11719* VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation 11720* DECzilla is a trademark of Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of Death, Inc. 11721 -- Curtis Jackson 11722% 11723Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently 11724these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people 11725to communicate with the people they love; Husbands and wives who can't 11726communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so 11727on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on (and in real 11728life, I might add) spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't 11729communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very _____least 11730he can do is to Shut Up! 11731 -- Tom Lehrer, "That Was the Year that Was" 11732% 11733Speed is subsittute fo accurancy. 11734% 11735Speer's 1st Law of Proofreading: 11736 The visibility of an error is inversely proportional to the 11737number of times you have looked at it. 11738% 11739Spelling is a lossed art. 11740% 11741Spend extra time on hobby. Get plenty of rolling papers. 11742% 11743Spirtle, n.: 11744 The fine stream from a grapefruit that always lands right in 11745your eye. 11746 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 11747% 11748Spouse, n.: 11749 Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you 11750wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. 11751% 11752Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist 11753drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to pur'ee of bat guano; and the 11754greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll 11755take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up! 11756 -- Harlan Ellison 11757% 11758Stay away from flying saucers today. 11759% 11760Stay away from hurricanes for a while. 11761% 11762Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly. 11763% 11764Steele's Plagiarism of Somebody's Philosophy: 11765 Everybody should believe in something -- I believe I'll have 11766another drink. 11767% 11768Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming: 11769 Never test for an error condition you don't know how to 11770handle. 11771% 11772Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11773% 11774Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11775Now, if they'd only take a bath ... 11776% 11777Stult's Report: 11778 Our problems are mostly behind us. What we have to do now is 11779fight the solutions. 11780% 11781Stupid, n.: 11782 Losing $25 on the game and $25 on the instant replay. 11783% 11784Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out? 11785% 11786Sturgeon's Law: 11787 90% of everything is crud. 11788% 11789Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your 11790editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. 11791 -- Mark Twain 11792% 11793Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way 11794before it is understood. 11795% 11796Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring. 11797% 11798Suddenly, Professor Liebowitz realizes he has come to the seminar 11799without his duck ... 11800% 11801(Sung to the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA) 11802 11803 To code the impossible code, 11804 To bring up a virgin machine, 11805 To pop out of endless recursion, 11806 To grok what appears on the screen, 11807 11808 To right the unrightable bug, 11809 To endlessly twiddle and thrash, 11810 To mount the unmountable magtape, 11811 To stop the unstoppable crash! 11812% 11813Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have! 11814% 11815Support wildlife -- vote for an orgy. 11816% 11817Support your local police force -- steal!! 11818% 11819Support your local Search and Rescue unit -- get lost. 11820% 11821Sure he's sharp as a razor ... he's a two-dimensional pinhead! 11822% 11823Surprise due today. Also the rent. 11824% 11825Surprise your boss. Get to work on time. 11826% 11827Surprise! You are the lucky winner of random I.R.S. Audit! Just type 11828in your name and social security number. Please remember that leaving 11829the room is punishable under law: 11830 11831Name # 11832 11833 11834% 11835Swahili, n.: 11836 The language used by the National Enquirer to print their retractions. 11837 -- Johnny Hart 11838% 11839Sweater, n.: 11840 A garment worn by a child when its mother feels chilly. 11841% 11842Swipple's Rule of Order: 11843 He who shouts the loudest has the floor. 11844% 11845Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon. 11846 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11847% 11848System/3! System/3! 11849See how it runs! See how it runs! 11850 Its monitor loses so totally! 11851 It runs all its programs in RPG! 11852 It's made by our favorite monopoly! 11853System/3! 11854% 11855Systems have sub-systems and sub-systems have sub-systems and so on ad 11856infinitum -- which is why we're always starting over. 11857 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11858% 11859 _ 11860 _ / \ o 11861 / \ | | o o o 11862 | | | | _ o o o o 11863 | \_| | / \ o o o 11864 \__ | | | o o 11865 | | | | ______ ~~~~ _____ 11866 | |__/ | / ___--\\ ~~~ __/_____\__ 11867 | ___/ / \--\\ \\ \ ___ <__ x x __\ 11868 | | / /\\ \\ )) \ ( " ) 11869 | | -------(---->>(@)--(@)-------\----------< >----------- 11870 | | // | | //__________ / \ ____) (___ \\ 11871 | | // __|_| ( --------- ) //// ______ /////\ \\ 11872 // | ( \ ______ / <<<< <>-----<<<<< / \\ 11873 // ( ) / / \` \__ \\ 11874 //-------------------------------------------------------------\\ 11875 11876Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels 11877start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and 11878then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the 11879music at top volume and at least a pint of ether. 11880 -- H.S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 11881% 11882T: One big monster, he called TROLL. 11883 He don't rock, and he don't roll; 11884 Drink no wine, and smoke no stogies. 11885 He just Love To Eat Them Roguies. 11886 -- The Roguelet's ABC 11887% 11888Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a 11889hole in his head. 11890% 11891Tact, n.: 11892 The unsaid part of what you're thinking. 11893% 11894Take everything in stride. Trample anyone who gets in your way. 11895% 11896Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting 11897enough cheese. 11898 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 11899% 11900Take it easy, we're in a hurry. 11901% 11902Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it 11903needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. 11904 -- Kipling 11905% 11906Take the folks at Coca-Cola. For many years, they were content to sit 11907back and make the same old carbonated beverage. It was a good 11908beverage, no question about it; generations of people had grown up 11909drinking it and doing the experiment in sixth grade where you put a 11910nail into a glass of Coke and after a couple of days the nail dissolves 11911and the teacher says: "Imagine what it does to your TEETH!" So 11912Coca-Cola was solidly entrenched in the market, and the management saw 11913no need to improve ... 11914 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 11915% 11916Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to 11917your execution is not generally understood by less advanced life forms, 11918and they'll call you crazy. 11919 -- "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul" 11920% 11921Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. 11922 -- Euripides 11923% 11924Talkers are no good doers. 11925 -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI" 11926% 11927Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. 11928 -- Friedrich Nietzsche 11929% 11930TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) 11931 You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged 11932 determination and work like hell. Most people think you are 11933 stubborn and bull headed. You are a Communist. 11934% 11935Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind 11936the tree." 11937 -- Russell Long 11938% 11939Taxes are going up so fast, the government is likely to price itself 11940out of the market. 11941% 11942Taxes, n.: 11943 Of life's two certainties, the only one for which you can get 11944an extension. 11945% 11946Teach children to be polite and courteous in the home, and, when they 11947grows up, they will never be able to edge their car onto a freeway. 11948% 11949Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else. 11950% 11951Technological progress has merely provided us 11952with more efficient means for going backwards. 11953 -- Aldous Huxley 11954% 11955Telephone, n.: 11956 An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the 11957advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. 11958 -- Ambrose Bierce 11959% 11960Tell me, O Octopus, I begs, 11961Is those things arms, or is they legs? 11962I marvel at thee, Octopus; 11963If I were thou, I'd call me us. 11964 -- Ogden Nash 11965% 11966Ten years of rejection slips is nature's way of telling you to stop 11967writing. 11968 -- R. Geis 11969% 11970Terence, this is stupid stuff: 11971You eat your victuals fast enough; 11972There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, 11973To see the rate you drink your beer. 11974But oh, good Lord, the verse you make, 11975It gives a chap the belly-ache. 11976The cow, the old cow, she is dead; 11977It sleeps well the horned head: 11978We poor lads, 'tis our turn now 11979To hear such tunes as killed the cow. 11980Pretty friendship 'tis to rhyme 11981Your friends to death before their time. 11982Moping, melancholy mad: 11983Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad. 11984 -- A. E. Housman 11985% 11986Termiter's argument that God is His own grandmother generated a 11987surprising amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one 11988hand considered the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other 11989hand were unwilling to risk offending God's grandmother. 11990 -- Len Cool, "American Pie" 11991% 11992Tertullian was born in Carthage somewhere about 160 A.D. He was a 11993pagan, and he abandoned himself to the lascivious life of his city 11994until about his 35th year, when he became a Christian .... To him is 11995ascribed the sublime confession: Credo quia absurdum est (I believe 11996because it is absurd). This does not altogether accord with historical 11997fact, for he merely said: 11998 11999 "And the Son of God died, which is immediately credible because 12000 it is absurd. And buried he rose again, which is certain 12001 because it is impossible." 12002 12003Thanks to the acuteness of his mind, he saw through the poverty of 12004philosophical and Gnostic knowledge, and contemptuously rejected it. 12005 -- C. G. Jung, in Psychological Types 12006 12007(Tertullian was one of the founders of the Catholic Church). 12008% 12009Test-tube babies shouldn't throw stones. 12010% 12011Texas law forbids anyone to have a pair of pliers in his possession. 12012% 12013Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even 12014one which cannot be justified on any other grounds. 12015 -- J. Finnegan, USC. 12016% 12017Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future. 12018 -- Pogo, by Walt Kelly 12019% 12020That boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver. 12021 -- Foghorn Leghorn 12022% 12023That must be wonderful! I don't understand it at all. 12024 -- Moliere 12025% 12026That secret you've been guarding, isn't. 12027% 12028That woman speaks eight languages and can't say "no" in any of them. 12029 -- Dorothy Parker 12030% 12031The 80's -- when you can't tell hairstyles from chemotherapy. 12032% 12033The [Ford Foundation] is a large body of money completely surrounded by 12034people who want some. 12035 -- Dwight MacDonald 12036% 12037The Abrams' Principle: 12038 The shortest distance between two points is off the wall. 12039% 12040The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper 12041 -- Thomas Jefferson 12042% 12043The Advertising Agency Song: 12044 12045 When your client's hopping mad, 12046 Put his picture in the ad. 12047 If he still should prove refractory, 12048 Add a picture of his factory. 12049% 12050The algorithm to do that is extremely nasty. You might want to mug 12051someone with it. 12052 -- M. Devine, Computer Science 340 12053% 12054... The Anarchists' [national] anthem is an international anthem that 12055consists of 365 raspberries blown in very quick succession to the tune 12056of "Camptown Races". Nobody has to stand up for it, nobody has to 12057listen to it, and, even better, nobody has to play it. 12058 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12059% 12060The Arkansas legislature passed a law that states that the Arkansas 12061River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little 12062Rock. 12063% 12064The Army has carried the American ... ideal to its logical conclusion. 12065Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed 12066and color, but also on ability. 12067 -- T. Lehrer 12068% 12069The Army needs leaders the way a foot needs a big toe. 12070 -- Bill Murray 12071% 12072The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use 12073in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the 12074Declaration not for that, but for future use. 12075 -- Abraham Lincoln 12076% 12077The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 a.m. 12078% 12079The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the 12080average man can see better than he can think. 12081% 12082The bad reputation UNIX has gotten is totally undeserved, laid on by 12083people who don't understand, who have not gotten in there and tried 12084anything. 12085 -- Jim Joyce, owner of Jim Joyce's UNIX Bookstore 12086% 12087The basic idea behind malls is that they are more convenient than 12088cities. Cities contain streets, which are dangerous and crowded and 12089difficult to park in. Malls, on the other hand, have parking lots, 12090which are also dangerous and crowded and difficult to park in, but -- 12091here is the big difference -- in mall parking lots, THERE ARE NO 12092RULES. You're allowed to do anything. You can drive as fast as you 12093want in any direction you want. I was once driving in a mall parking 12094lot when my car was struck by a pickup truck being driven backward by a 12095squat man with a tattoo that said "Charlie" on his forearm, who got out 12096and explained to me, in great detail, why the accident was my fault, 12097his reasoning being that he was violent and muscular, whereas I was 12098neither. This kind of reasoning is legally valid in mall parking 12099lots. 12100 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 12101% 12102The basic menu item, in fact the ONLY menu item, would be a food unit 12103called the "patty," consisting of -- this would be guaranteed in 12104writing -- "100 percent animal matter of some kind." All patties would 12105be heated up and then cooled back down in electronic devices 12106immediately before serving. The Breakfast Patty would be a patty on a 12107bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Ba-Ko-Bits, Cheez Whiz, a Special 12108Sauce made by pouring ketchup out of a bottle and a little slip of 12109paper stating: "Inspected by Number 12". The Lunch or Dinner Patty 12110would be any Breakfast Patties that didn't get sold in the morning. 12111The Seafood Lover's Patty would be any patties that were starting to 12112emit a serious aroma. Patties that were too rank even to be Seafood 12113Lover's Patties would be compressed into wads and sold as "Nuggets." 12114 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12115% 12116The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; 12117but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman. 12118% 12119The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. 12120 -- W. C. Fields 12121% 12122The best defense against logic is ignorance. 12123% 12124The best thing about growing older is that it takes such a long time. 12125% 12126"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and 12127blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. 12128You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at 12129night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only 12130love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or 12131know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only 12132one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what 12133wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, 12134never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never 12135dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a 12136lot of things there are to learn." 12137 -- T.H. White, "The Once and Future King" 12138% 12139The best way to make a fire with two sticks is to make sure one of them 12140is a match. 12141 -- Will Rogers 12142% 12143The bigger the theory the better. 12144% 12145The biggest difference between time and space is that you can't reuse 12146time. 12147 -- Merrick Furst 12148% 12149The birds are singing, the flowers are budding, and it is time for Miss 12150Manners to tell young lovers to stop necking in public. 12151 12152It's not that Miss Manners is immune to romance. Miss Manners has been 12153known to squeeze a gentleman's arm while being helped over a curb, and, 12154in her wild youth, even to press a dainty slipper against a foot or two 12155under the dinner table. Miss Manners also believes that the sight of 12156people strolling hand in hand or arm in arm or arm in hand dresses up a 12157city considerably more than the more familiar sight of people shaking 12158umbrellas at one another. What Miss Manners objects to is the kind of 12159activity that frightens the horses on the street ... 12160% 12161The bland leadeth the bland and they both shall fall into the kitsch. 12162% 12163The bogosity meter just pegged. 12164% 12165The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up 12166in the morning, and does not stop until you get to school. 12167% 12168The Briggs/Chase Law of Program Development: 12169 To determine how long it will take to write and debug a 12170program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add one, and 12171convert to the next higher units. 12172% 12173The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. 12174Statistics prove that in the United States more Americans are killed in 12175automobile accidents than are killed by buffalo. 12176 -- Art Buchwald 12177% 12178The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding 12179bureaucracy. 12180% 12181The C Programming Language -- A language which combines the 12182flexibility and power of assembly language with the readability 12183of assembly language. 12184% 12185The camel has a single hump; 12186The dromedary two; 12187Or else the other way around. 12188I'm never sure. Are you? 12189 -- Ogden Nash 12190% 12191The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly 12192greater than that of any other animals. Some of their most esteemed 12193inventions have no other apparent purpose, for example, the dinner 12194party of more than two, the epic poem, and the science of metaphysics. 12195 -- H. L. Mencken 12196% 12197The chain which can be yanked is not the eternal chain. 12198 -- G. Fitch 12199% 12200The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to show up 12201at the steam fitters' picnic. 12202% 12203The chief cause of problems is solutions. 12204 -- Eric Sevareid 12205% 12206The chief danger in life is that you may take too may precautions. 12207 -- Alfred Adler 12208% 12209The church is near but the road is icy; the bar is far away but I will 12210walk carefully. 12211 -- Russian Proverb 12212% 12213The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live elsewhere. 12214% 12215The Computer made me do it. 12216% 12217The computing field is always in need of new cliches. 12218 -- Alan Perlis 12219% 12220The confusion of a staff member is measured by the length of his 12221memos. 12222 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 12223% 12224The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other 12225subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up 12226every bird watcher in the country. 12227 -- John Mitchell, Atty. General 1969-1972 12228% 12229The Consultant's Curse: 12230 When the customer has beaten upon you long enough, give him 12231what he asks for, instead of what he needs. This is very strong 12232medicine, and is normally only required once. 12233% 12234The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: "Of course it is 12235none of my business, but --" is to place a period after the word "but." 12236Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. 12237Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you 12238talked about. 12239 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 12240% 12241The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. 12242% 12243The cost of living is going up, and the chance of living is going down. 12244% 12245The cow is nothing but a machine which makes grass fit for us people to 12246eat. 12247 -- John McNulty 12248% 12249The Crown is full of it! 12250 -- Nate Harris, 1775 12251% 12252The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should 12253therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could 12254hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to 12255declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny ... In war, 12256then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press. 12257Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges. 12258 -- William Ellery Channing 12259% 12260The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life. 12261% 12262The day-to-day travails of the IBM programmer are so amusing to most of 12263us who are fortunate enough never to have been one -- like watching 12264Charlie Chaplin trying to cook a shoe. 12265% 12266The debate rages on: Is PL/I Bachtrian or Dromedary? 12267% 12268The devil finds work for idle circuits to do. 12269% 12270The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell 12271into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him 12272out again, it would be a calamity. 12273 -- Benjamin Disraeli 12274% 12275The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science 12276requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship. 12277 -- Robert Heinlein 12278% 12279The distinction between Jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, as the 12280following quote from Lenny Bruce illustrates: 12281 12282 "I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. 12283Eddie Cantor's goyish. The B'nai Brith is goyish. The Hadassah is 12284Jewish. Marine Corps -- heavy goyish, dangerous. 12285 "Kool-Aid is goyish. All Drake's Cakes are goyish. 12286Pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. 12287Instant potatoes -- goyish. Black cherry soda's very Jewish. 12288Macaroons are ____very Jewish. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime Jell-O is 12289goyish. Lime soda is ____very goyish. Trailer parks are so goyish that 12290Jews won't go near them ..." 12291 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 12292% 12293The District of Columbia has a law forbidding you to exert pressure on 12294a balloon and thereby cause a whistling sound on the streets. 12295% 12296The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man 12297really clever who has not found that he is stupid. 12298 -- Gilbert K. Chesterson 12299% 12300The duck hunter trained his retriever to walk on water. Eager to show 12301off this amazing accomplishment, he asked a friend to go along on his 12302next hunting trip. Saying nothing, he fired his first shot and, as the 12303duck fell, the dog walked on the surface of the water, retrieved the 12304duck and returned it to his master. 12305 "Notice anything?" the owner asked eagerly. 12306 "Yes," said his friend, "I see that fool dog of yours can't swim." 12307% 12308The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late 12309and owns the worm farm. 12310 -- Travis McGee 12311% 12312The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier. 12313% 12314The easiest way to figure the cost of living is to take your income and 12315add ten percent. 12316% 12317The economy depends about as much on economists as the weather does on 12318weather forecasters. 12319 -- Jean-Paul Kauffmann 12320% 12321The eleventh commandment was `Thou Shalt Compute' or `Thou Shalt Not 12322Compute' -- I forget which. 12323 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 12324% 12325The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of 12326civilization. 12327 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 12328% 12329The end of the world will occur at 3:00 p.m., this Friday, with 12330symposium to follow. 12331% 12332The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach 12333their children to speak it. 12334 -- G. B. Shaw 12335% 12336The fact that boys are allowed to exist at all is evidence of a 12337remarkable Christian forbearance among men. 12338 -- Ambrose Bierce 12339% 12340The fact that it works is immaterial. 12341 -- L. Ogborn 12342% 12343The faster we go, the rounder we get. 12344 -- The Grateful Dead 12345% 12346The Fifth Rule: 12347 You have taken yourself too seriously. 12348% 12349The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. 12350 -- Abbie Hoffman 12351% 12352The first Great Steward, Parrafin the Climber, was employed in King 12353Chloroplast's kitchen as second scullery boy when the old King met a 12354tragic death. He apparently fell backward by accident on a dozen salad 12355forks. Simultaneously the true heir, his son Carotene, mysteriously 12356fled the city, complaining of some sort of plot and a lot of 12357threatening notes left on his breakfast tray. At the time, this looked 12358suspicious what with his father's death, and Carotene was suspected of 12359foul play. Then the rest of the King's relatives began to drop dead 12360one after the other in an odd fashion. Some were found strangled with 12361dishrags and some succumbed to food poisoning. A few were found 12362drowned in the soup vats, and one was attacked by assailants unknown 12363and beaten to death with a pot roast. At least three appear to have 12364thrown themselves backward on salad forks, perhaps in a noble gesture 12365of grief over the King's untimely end. Finally there was no one left 12366in Minas Troney who was either eligible or willing to wear the accursed 12367crown, and the rule of Twodor was up for grabs. The scullery slave 12368Parrafin bravely accepted the Stewardship of Twodor until that day when 12369a lineal descendant of Carotene's returns to reclaim his rightful 12370throne, conquer Twodor's enemies, and revamp the postal system. 12371 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 12372% 12373The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of 12374management is that success equals skill. 12375 -- Robert Heller 12376% 12377The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish 12378child, was propounded to me by my father: 12379 "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and 12380whistles?" 12381 I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity 12382gave up. 12383 "A herring," said my father. 12384 "A herring," I echoed. "A herring doesn't hang on the wall!" 12385 "So hang it there." 12386 "But a herring isn't green!" I protested. 12387 "Paint it." 12388 "But a herring isn't wet." 12389 "If it's just painted it's still wet." 12390 "But -- " I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, "-- a herring 12391doesn't whistle!!" 12392 "Right, " smiled my father. "I just put that in to make it 12393hard." 12394 -- Leo Rosten, "The Joys of Yiddish" 12395% 12396The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your 12397hands and hoping when a rock or a club will do. 12398 -- McCloctnik the Lucid 12399% 12400The First Rule of Program Optimization: 12401 Don't do it. 12402 12403The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): 12404 Don't do it yet. 12405 -- Michael Jackson 12406% 12407The first time, it's a KLUDGE! 12408The second, a trick. 12409Later, it's a well-established technique! 12410 -- Mike Broido, Intermetrics 12411% 12412The following quote is from page 4-27 of the MSCP Basic Disk Functions 12413Manual which is part of the UDA50 Programmers Doc Kit manuals: 12414 12415As stated above, the host area of a disk is structured as a vector of 12416logical blocks. From a performance viewpoint, however, it is more 12417appropriate to view the host area as a four dimensional hyper-cube, the 12418four dimensions being cylinder, group, track, and sector. 12419 . . . 12420Referring to our hyper-cube analogy, the set of potentially accessible 12421blocks form a line parallel to the track axis. This line moves 12422parallel to the sector axis, wrapping around when it reaches the edge 12423of the hyper-cube. 12424% 12425The fortune program is supported, in part, by user contributions and by 12426a major grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. 12427% 12428The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl. 12429 -- Dave Barry 12430% 12431The full impact of parenthood doesn't hit you until you multiply the 12432number of your kids by 32 teeth. 12433% 12434The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to 12435chance. 12436% 12437The gentlemen looked one another over with microscopic carelessness. 12438% 12439The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the 12440center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South 12441Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South 12442End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. 12443% 12444The giraffe you thought you offended last week is willing to be nuzzled 12445today. 12446% 12447The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at 12448least until we've finished building it. 12449% 12450The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. 12451The goal of nature is to build better mice. 12452% 12453The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him 12454love and he invented marriage. 12455% 12456THE GOLDEN RULE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 12457 The one who has the gold makes the rules. 12458% 12459The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who 12460make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians 12461have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine 12462man in the bonds of Hell. 12463 -- St. Augustine 12464% 12465The good die young -- because they see it's no use living if you've got 12466to be good. 12467% 12468 "The Good Ship Enterprise" (to the tune of "The Good Ship Lollipop") 12469 12470On the good ship Enterprise 12471Every week there's a new surprise 12472Where the Romulans lurk 12473And the Klingons often go berserk. 12474 12475Yes, the good ship Enterprise 12476There's excitement anywhere it flies 12477Where Tribbles play 12478And Nurse Chapel never gets her way. 12479 12480 See Captain Kirk standing on the bridge, 12481 Mr. Spock is at his side. 12482 The weekly menace, ooh-ooh 12483 It gets fried, scattered far and wide. 12484 12485It's the good ship Enterprise 12486Heading out where danger lies 12487And you live in dread 12488If you're wearing a shirt that's red. 12489 -- Doris Robin and Karen Trimble of The L.A. Filkharmonics 12490% 12491The government [is] extremely fond of amassing great quantities of 12492statistics. These are raised to the _nth degree, the cube roots are 12493extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive 12494displays. What must be kept ever in mind, however, is that in every 12495case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts 12496down anything he damn well pleases. 12497 -- Sir Josiah Stamp 12498% 12499The grand leap of the whale up the Fall of Niagara is esteemed, by all 12500who have seen it, as one of the finest spectacles in nature. 12501 -- Benjamin Franklin. 12502% 12503The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog: 12504 The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog of Billericay displays, in 12505courtship, his single prickle and does impressions of Holiday Inn desk 12506clerks. Since this means him standing motionless for enormous periods 12507of time he is often eaten in full display by The Great Bald Swamp 12508Hedgehog Eater. 12509 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12510% 12511The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men 12512of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. 12513 -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis 12514% 12515The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. 12516 -- Albert Einstein 12517% 12518The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue, a 12519custom whereof the memory of man runneth not howsomever to the 12520contrary, nohow. 12521% 12522The Heineken Uncertainty Principle: 12523 You can never be sure how many beers you had last night. 12524% 12525The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent 12526thinkers. 12527% 12528The hieroglyphics are all unreadable except for a notation on the back, 12529which reads "Genuine authentic Egyptian papyrus. Guaranteed to be at 12530least 5000 years old." 12531% 12532The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for 12533lists of "Ten Best". 12534 -- H. Allen Smith 12535% 12536The human brain is like an enormous fish -- it is flat and slimy and 12537has gills through which it can see. 12538 -- Monty Python 12539% 12540The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its 12541capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. 12542% 12543The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange 12544protein -- it rejects it. 12545 -- P. Medawar 12546% 12547The human race has been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can 12548remember. Just like the bluebird feeding its young, or the spider 12549struggling to weave its perfect web, or the buttercup blooming in 12550spring, the shark reveals to us yet another of the infinite and 12551wonderful facets of nature, namely the facet that it can bite your head 12552off. This causes us humans to feel a certain degree of awe. 12553 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 12554% 12555The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. 12556 -- Mark Twain 12557% 12558The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that 12559procession but carrying a banner. 12560 -- Mark Twain 12561% 12562The idea is to die young as late as possible. 12563 -- Ashley Montague 12564% 12565The idea there was that consumers would bring their broken electronic 12566devices, such as television sets and VCR's, to the destruction centers, 12567where trained personnel would whack them (the devices) with 12568sledgehammers. With their devices thus permanently destroyed, 12569consumers would then be free to go out and buy new devices, rather than 12570have to fritter away years of their lives trying to have the old ones 12571repaired at so-called "factory service centers," which in fact consist 12572of two men named Lester poking at the insides of broken electronic 12573devices with cheap cigars and going, "Lookit all them WIRES in there!" 12574 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12575% 12576The identical is equal to itself, since it is different. 12577 -- Franco Spisani 12578% 12579The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit longer. 12580 -- Henry Kissinger 12581% 12582The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf 12583has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know 12584when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr. 12585 -- Will Rogers 12586% 12587The individual choice of garnishment of a burger can be an important 12588point to the consumer in this day when individualism is an increasingly 12589important thing to people. 12590 -- Donald N. Smith, president of Burger King 12591% 12592The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the 12593number of participants. 12594 -- Adam Walinsky 12595% 12596The IQ of the group is the lowest IQ of a member of the group divided 12597by the number of people in the group. 12598% 12599The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free 12600information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a 12601dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a 12602real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. 12603 12604So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never 12605pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big 12606consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes... 12607 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 12608% 12609The Kennedy Constant: 12610 Don't get mad -- get even. 12611% 12612The Killer Ducks are coming!!! 12613% 12614The ladies men admire, I've heard, 12615Would shudder at a wicked word. 12616Their candle gives a single light; 12617They'd rather stay at home at night. 12618They do not keep awake till three, 12619Nor read erotic poetry. 12620They never sanction the impure, 12621Nor recognize an overture. 12622They shrink from powders and from paints ... 12623So far, I've had no complaints. 12624 -- Dorothy Parker 12625% 12626The last time somebody said, "I find I can write much better with a 12627word processor," I replied, "They used to say the same thing about 12628drugs." 12629 -- Roy Blount, Jr. 12630% 12631The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the 12632law free. 12633 -- Henry David Thoreau 12634% 12635The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the 12636poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal 12637bread. 12638 -- Anatole France 12639% 12640The lawgiver, of all beings, most owes the law allegiance. He of all 12641men should behave as though the law compelled him. But it is the 12642universal weakness of mankind that what we are given to administer we 12643presently imagine we own. 12644 -- H.G. Wells 12645% 12646 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #10: SIMPLE 12647 12648SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiot's Monopurpose Programming Language 12649Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover College for 12650Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write code 12651with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, 12652END and STOP. No matter how you arrange the statements, you can't make 12653a syntax error. Programs written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. Thus 12654they achieve the results of programs written in other languages without 12655the tedious, frustrating process of testing and debugging. 12656% 12657 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12: LITHP 12658 12659This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of 12660an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said 12661to be useful in protheththing lithtth. 12662% 12663 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #13: SLOBOL 12664 12665SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its compiler. 12666Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they 12667compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the 12668coffee. Forty-three programmers are known to have died of boredom 12669sitting at their terminals while waiting for a SLOBOL program to 12670compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often turn to a related (but 12671infinitely faster) language, COCAINE. 12672% 12673 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17: SARTRE 12674 12675Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an extremely 12676unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; they just 12677are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own functions. 12678SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are no fun at 12679parties. 12680% 12681 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18: C- 12682 12683This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he 12684submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is 12685best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the 12686language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code 12687statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very 12688similar to COBOL. 12689% 12690 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18a: FIFTH 12691 12692FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the data types 12693refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT, and 12694JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and 12695BLOTTO. Commands refer to ingredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, 12696CABERNET, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH, and WHATEVERSAROUND. 12697 12698The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and 12699financial status of its users. Commands in the ELITE dialect include 12700VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER dialect include HOOTCH 12701and RIPPLE. The latter is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers 12702who end up using this language. 12703% 12704 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #2: RENE 12705 12706Named after the famous French philosopher and mathematician Rene 12707DesCartes, RENE is a language used for artificial intelligence. The 12708language is being developed at the Chicago Center of Machine Politics 12709and Programming under a grant from the Jane Byrne Victory Fund. A 12710spokesman described the language as "Just as great as dis [sic] city of 12711ours." 12712 12713The center is very pleased with progress to date. They say they have 12714almost succeeded in getting a VAX to think. However, sources inside the 12715organization say that each time the machine fails to think it ceases to 12716exist. 12717% 12718 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #5: VALGOL 12719From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, 12720VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of popularity across the industry. 12721 12722Here is a sample program: 12723 LIKE, Y*KNOW(I MEAN)START 12724 IF PIZZA = LIKE BITCHEN AND GUY = LIKE TUBULAR AND 12725 VALLEY GIRL = LIKE GRODY**MAX(FERSURE)**2 THEN 12726 FOR I = LIKE 1 TO OH*MAYBE 100 12727 DO*WAH - (DITTY**2) 12728 BARF(I)=TOTALLY GROSS(OUT) 12729 SURE 12730 LIKE BAG THIS PROGRAM 12731 REALLY 12732 LIKE TOTALLY (Y*KNOW) 12733 IM*SURE 12734 GOTO THE MALL 12735 12736When the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter displays the message: 12737 12738 GAG ME WITH A SPOON!! 12739% 12740 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #8: LAIDBACK 12741 12742This language was developed at the Marin County Center for T'ai Chi, 12743Mellowness and Computer Programming (now defunct), as an alternative to 12744the more intense atmosphere in nearby Silicon Valley. 12745 12746The center was ideal for programmers who liked to soak in hot tubs 12747while they worked. Unfortunately few programmers could survive there 12748because the center outlawed Pizza and Coca-Cola in favor of Tofu and 12749Perrier. 12750 12751Many mourn the demise of LAIDBACK because of its reputation as a gentle 12752and non-threatening language since all error messages are in lower 12753case. For example, LAIDBACK responded to syntax errors with the 12754message: 12755 "i hate to bother you, but i just can't relate to that. can 12756 you find the time to try it again?" 12757% 12758The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an approaching 12759train. 12760% 12761The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming dragon. 12762% 12763The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get 12764much sleep. 12765 -- Woody Allen 12766% 12767The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. 12768 -- Henry Kissinger 12769% 12770The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as 12771we could with both of them. 12772 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 12773% 12774The makers may make 12775And the users may use, 12776But the fixers must fix 12777With but minimal clues 12778% 12779The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the 12780crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no 12781one has ever been. 12782 -- Alan Ashley-Pitt 12783% 12784The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that 12785will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful. 12786 -- Mark Twain. 12787% 12788The marvels of today's modern technology include the development of a 12789soda can, when discarded will last forever ... and a $7,000 car which 12790when properly cared for will rust out in two or three years. 12791% 12792"... the Mayo Clinic, named after its founder, Dr. Ted Clinic ..." 12793 -- Dave Barry 12794% 12795The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse. 12796% 12797 The men sat sipping their tea in silence. After a while the 12798klutz said, "Life is like a bowl of sour cream." 12799 12800 "Like a bowl of sour cream?" asked the other. "Why?" 12801 12802 "How should I know? What am I, a philosopher?" 12803% 12804The meta-Turing test counts a thing as intelligent if it seeks to 12805devise and apply Turing tests to objects of its own creation. 12806 -- Lew Mammel, Jr. 12807% 12808The misnaming of fields of study is so common as to lead to what might 12809be general systems laws. For example, Frank Harary once suggested the 12810law that any field that had the word "science" in its name was 12811guaranteed thereby not to be a science. He would cite as examples 12812Military Science, Library Science, Political Science, Homemaking 12813Science, Social Science, and Computer Science. Discuss the generality 12814of this law, and possible reasons for its predictive 12815power. 12816 -- Gerald Weinberg, "An Introduction to General Systems 12817 Thinking." 12818% 12819The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything. 12820 -- Laurence J. Peter 12821% 12822The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me. 12823 -- Nicol Williamson 12824% 12825The moon is a planet just like the Earth, only it is even deader. 12826% 12827The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away. 12828% 12829The more data I punch in this card, the lighter it becomes, and the 12830lower the mailing cost. 12831 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 12832% 12833The more laws and order are made prominent, 12834the more thieves and robbers there will be. 12835 -- Lao Tsu 12836% 12837The more things change, the more they stay insane. 12838% 12839The more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us 12840is right. 12841% 12842The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey. 12843 -- Andy Warhol 12844% 12845The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and 12846to watch someone else do it wrong without comment. 12847 -- Theodore H. White 12848% 12849The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new 12850discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." 12851 -- Isaac Asimov 12852% 12853The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. 12854% 12855... the MYSTERIANS are in here with my CORDUROY SOAP DISH!! 12856% 12857 "... The name of the song is called 'Haddocks' Eyes'!" 12858 "Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to 12859feel interested. 12860 "No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little 12861vexed. "That's what the name is called. The name really is, 'The Aged 12862Aged Man.'" 12863 "Then I ought to have said "That's what the song is called'?" 12864Alice corrected herself. 12865 "No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is 12866called 'Ways and Means': but that's only what it is called you know!" 12867 "Well, what is the song then?" said Alice, who was by this time 12868completely bewildered. 12869 "I was coming to that," the Knight said. "The song really is 12870"A-sitting on a Gate": and the tune's my own invention." 12871 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 12872% 12873The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 128741986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert. 12875 -- D. Letterman 12876% 12877The National Short-Sleeved Shirt Association says: 12878 Support your right to bare arms! 12879% 12880The net of law is spread so wide, 12881No sinner from its sweep may hide. 12882Its meshes are so fine and strong, 12883They take in every child of wrong. 12884O wondrous web of mystery! 12885Big fish alone escape from thee! 12886 -- James Jeffrey Roche 12887% 12888The new Congressmen say they're going to turn the government around. I 12889hope I don't get run over again. 12890% 12891The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, 12892in the form of an affirmation of the binary number system. 12893 12894 But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for 12895 whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 12896 -- Matthew 5:37 12897% 12898The New York Times is read by the people who run the country. The 12899Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. 12900The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive 12901and running the country ... 12902 -- Robert J Woodhead 12903% 12904The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to 12905choose from. 12906 -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum 12907% 12908The notion of a "record" is an obsolete remnant of the days of the 1290980-column card. 12910 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 12911% 12912The notion that the church, the press, and the universities should 12913serve the state is essentially a Communist notion ... In a free society 12914these institutions must be wholly free -- which is to say that their 12915function is to serve as checks upon the state. 12916 -- Alan Barth 12917% 12918The number of arguments is unimportant unless some of them are 12919correct. 12920 -- Ralph Hartley 12921% 12922The objective of all dedicated employees should be to thoroughly 12923analyze all situations, anticipate all problems prior to their 12924occurrence, have answers for these problems, and move swiftly to solve 12925these problems when called upon. 12926 12927However, when you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to 12928remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp. 12929% 12930The Official MBA Handbook on business cards: 12931 Avoid overly pretentious job titles such as "Lord of the Realm, 12932Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" or "Director of Corporate 12933Planning." 12934% 12935The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. 12936% 12937The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age 12938brings wisdom. 12939 -- H. L. Mencken 12940% 12941The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader 12942catch his own breath. 12943 -- Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart 12944% 12945The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when 12946to cringe. 12947% 12948The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 12949`social sciences' is: some do, some don't. 12950 -- Ernest Rutherford 12951% 12952The only problem with being a man of leisure is that you can never stop 12953and take a rest. 12954% 12955"The only real way to look younger is not to be born so soon." 12956 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 12957 Over and Over" 12958% 12959The only really decent thing to do behind a person's back is pat it. 12960% 12961The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber 12962has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, 12963finished, and put inside boxes. 12964 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 12965% 12966The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. 12967It is never any use to oneself. 12968 -- Oscar Wilde 12969% 12970The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. 12971 -- Hegel 12972 12973I know guys can't learn from yesterday ... Hegel must be taking the 12974long view. 12975 -- John Brunner, "Stand on Zanzibar" 12976% 12977The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. 12978 -- Oscar Wilde 12979% 12980The opossum is a very sophisticated animal. It doesn't even get up 12981until 5 or 6 p.m. 12982% 12983The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. 12984 -- Bohr 12985% 12986The optimum committee has no members. 12987 -- Norman Augustine 12988% 12989The other day I put instant coffee in my microwave oven ... I almost 12990went back in time. 12991 -- Steven Wright 12992% 12993The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because 12994it isn't here. 12995 -- Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley) 12996% 12997The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it 12998were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence. 12999 -- H. L. Mencken 13000% 13001 The people of Halifax invented the trampoline. During the 13002Victorian period the tripe-dressers of Halifax stretched tripe across a 13003large wooden frame and jumped up and down on it to `tender and dress' 13004it. The tripoline, as they called it, degenerated into becoming the 13005apparatus for a spectator sport. 13006 13007 The people of Halifax also invented the harmonium, a device for 13008castrating pigs during Sunday service. 13009 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13010% 13011The Pig, if I am not mistaken, 13012Gives us ham and pork and Bacon. 13013Let others think his heart is big, 13014I think it stupid of the Pig. 13015 -- Ogden Nash 13016% 13017The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter 13018swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the 13019batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The 13020center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute 13021his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. 13022 -- Dizzy Dean 13023% 13024The plot was designed in a light vein that somehow became varicose. 13025 -- David Lardner 13026% 13027The polite thing to do has always been to address people as they wish 13028to be addressed, to treat them in a way they think dignified. But it 13029is equally important to accept and tolerate different standards of 13030courtesy, not expecting everyone else to adapt to one's own 13031preferences. Only then can we hope to restore the insult to its proper 13032social function of expressing true distaste. 13033 -- Judith Martin, "Miss Manners' Guide to 13034 Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" 13035% 13036The porcupine with the sharpest quills gets stuck on a tree more often. 13037% 13038The Preacher, the Politician, the Teacher, 13039 Were each of them once a kiddie. 13040A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature. 13041 Do I want one? God Forbiddie! 13042 -- Ogden Nash 13043% 13044The President publicly apologized today to all those offended by his 13045brother's remark, "There's more Arabs in this country than there is 13046Jews!". Those offended include Arabs, Jews, and English teachers. 13047 -- Baltimore, Channel 11 News, on Jimmy Carter 13048% 13049The price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that someday 13050they might force their beliefs on us. 13051 -- Mario Cuomo 13052% 13053The primary cause of failure in electrical appliances is an expired 13054warranty. Often, you can get an appliance running again simply by 13055changing the warranty expiration date with a 15/64-inch felt-tipped 13056marker. 13057 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13058% 13059The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to 13060constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every 13061appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA 13062statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This 13063also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change. 13064 -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers 13065% 13066The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough 13067voters to win the next election. 13068% 13069The primary theme of SoupCon is communication. The acronym "LEO" 13070represents the secondary theme: 13071 13072 Law Enforcement Officials 13073 13074The overall theme of SoupCon shall be: 13075 13076 Avoiding Communication with Law Enforcement Officials 13077 13078 -- M. Gallaher 13079% 13080... the privileged being which we call human is distinguished from 13081other animals only by certain double-edged manifestations which in 13082charity we can only call "inhuman." 13083 -- R. A. Lafferty 13084% 13085The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the 13086stupidity of your action. 13087% 13088The problem ... is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. 13089Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil 13090using other animals; they've piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle 13091Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, 13092etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous 13093bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons. None 13094of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats 13095developed cancer. 13096 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13097% 13098The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go 13099to erase it. 13100 -- Glaser and Way 13101% 13102The problem with engineers is that they tend to cheat in order to get 13103results. 13104 13105The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy 13106problems in order to get results. 13107 13108The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at toy 13109problems in order to get results. 13110% 13111The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be 13112pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. 13113 -- Elizabeth Taylor 13114% 13115The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 13116% 13117The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's 13118outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by 13119mistake since its colors are those of the London Reform Club. Once 13120tied around its victim's neck, it strangles him gently and then claims 13121the insurance before running off to Germany where it lives in hiding. 13122 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13123% 13124"The pyramid is opening!" 13125"Which one?" 13126"The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" 13127 -- Firesign Theater, "How Can You Be In Two Places At 13128 Once When You're Not Anywhere At All" 13129% 13130The qotc (quote of the con) was Liz's: 13131 "My brain is paged out to my liver" 13132% 13133The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is 13134it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, 13135that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of 13136industrial waste? 13137 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 13138% 13139The rain it raineth on the just 13140 And also on the unjust fella, 13141But chiefly on the just, because 13142 The unjust steals the just's umbrella. 13143 --Lord Bowen 13144% 13145The reader this message encounters not failing to understand is 13146cursed. 13147% 13148The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much. 13149% 13150The reason it's called "Grape Nuts" is that it contains "dextrose", 13151which is also sometimes called "grape sugar", and also because "Grape 13152Nuts" is catchier, in terms of marketing, than "A Cross Between Gerbil 13153Food and Gravel", which is what it tastes like. 13154 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 13155% 13156The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one 13157persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all 13158progress depends on the unreasonable man. 13159 -- George Bernard Shaw 13160% 13161The revolution will not be televised. 13162% 13163The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. 13164 -- Emerson 13165% 13166The rhino is a homely beast, 13167For human eyes he's not a feast. 13168Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros, 13169I'll stare at something less prepoceros. 13170 -- Ogden Nash 13171% 13172The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This 13173means that only left handed people are in their right mind. 13174% 13175The Right Honorable Gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests 13176and to his imagination for his facts. 13177 -- Sheridan 13178% 13179The right to revolt has sources deep in our history. 13180 -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas 13181% 13182The rights you have are the rights given you by this Committee [the 13183House Un-American Activities Committee]. We will determine what rights 13184you have and what rights you have not got. 13185 -- J. Parnell Thomas 13186% 13187The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And littered with 13188sloppy analysis! 13189% 13190The Roman Rule 13191 The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the 13192 one who is doing it. 13193% 13194The Ruffed Pandanga of Borneo and Rotherham spreads out his feathers in 13195his courtship dance and imitates Winston Churchill and Tommy Cooper on 13196one leg. The padanga is dying out because the female padanga doesn't 13197take it too seriously. 13198 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13199% 13200The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or 13201give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once. 13202 -- Jane Bryant Quinn 13203% 13204"The Schizophrenic: An Unauthorized Autobiography" 13205% 13206The Schwine-Kitzenger Institute study of 47 men over the age of 100 13207showed that all had these things in common: 13208 13209 (1) They all had moderate appetites. 13210 (2) They all came from middle class homes 13211 (3) All but two of them were dead. 13212% 13213The scum also rises. 13214 -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 13215% 13216The seven deadly sins ... Food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes, 13217respectability and children. Nothing can lift those seven milestones 13218from man's neck but money; and the spirit cannot soar until the 13219milestones are lifted. 13220 -- George Bernard Shaw 13221% 13222 The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood 13223as he reported to Fafhrd: "I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. 13224The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in 13225the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in 13226twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. 13227 13228 "Now about Lankhmar. She's been invaded, her walls breached 13229everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a 13230fierce host which out-numbers Lankhmar's inhabitants by fifty to one -- 13231and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city." 13232 13233 "How?" demanded Fafhrd. 13234 13235 Ningauble shrugged. "You're a hero. You should know." 13236 -- Fritz Leiber, from "The Swords of Lankhmar" 13237% 13238The sheep that fly over your head are soon to land. 13239% 13240The shortest distance between two points is under construction. 13241 -- Noelie Alito 13242% 13243The Sixth Commandment of Frisbee: 13244 The greatest single aid to distance is for the disc to be going 13245in a direction you did not want. (Goes the wrong way = Goes a long 13246way.) 13247 -- Dan Roddick 13248% 13249The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity 13250and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted 13251activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ... 13252neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. 13253% 13254The sooner all the animals are dead, the sooner we'll find their 13255money. 13256 -- Ed Bluestone, "The National Lampoon" 13257% 13258The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up! 13259% 13260The sooner you make your first 5000 mistakes, the sooner you will be 13261able to correct them. 13262 -- Nicolaides 13263% 13264The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. 13265% 13266The Soviet pre-eminence in chess can be traced to the average Russian's 13267readiness to brood obsessively over anything, even the arrangement of 13268some pieces of wood. Indeed, the Russians' predisposition for quiet 13269reflection followed by sudden preventive action explains why they led 13270the field for many years in both chess and ax murders. It is well 13271known that as early as 1970, the U.S.S.R., aware of what a defeat at 13272Reykjavik would do to national prestige, implemented a vigorous program 13273of preparation and incentive. Every day for an entire year, a team of 13274psychologists, chess analysts and coaches met with the top three 13275Russian grand masters and threatened them with a pointy stick. That 13276these tactics proved fruitless is now a part of chess history and a 13277further testament to the American way, which provides that if you want 13278something badly enough, you can always go to Iceland and get it from 13279the Russians. 13280 -- Marshall Brickman, Playboy, April, 1973 13281% 13282 The STAR WARS Song 13283 Sung to the tune of "Lola", by the Kinks: 13284 13285I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah 13286Where it bubbles all the time like a giant cabinet soda 13287 S-O-D-A soda 13288I saw the little runt sitting there on a log 13289I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said Yoda 13290 Y-O-D-A Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13291 13292Well I've been around but I ain't never seen 13293A guy who looks like a Muppet but he's wrinkled and green 13294 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13295Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand 13296How he can raise me in the air just by raising his hand 13297 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13298% 13299The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. 13300% 13301The steady state of disks is full. 13302 -- Ken Thompson 13303% 13304 THE STORY OF CREATION 13305 or 13306 THE MYTH OF URK 13307 13308In the beginning there was data. The data was without form and null, 13309and darkness was upon the face of the console; and the Spirit of IBM 13310was moving over the face of the market. And DEC said, "Let there be 13311registers"; and there were registers. And DEC saw that they carried; 13312and DEC separated the data from the instructions. DEC called the data 13313Stack, and the instructions they called Code. And there was evening 13314and there was morning, one interrupt. 13315 -- Rico Tudor 13316% 13317The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it's only the people who make 13318them unsafe. 13319 -- Mayor Frank Rizzo 13320% 13321The student in question is performing minimally for his peer group and 13322is an emerging underachiever. 13323% 13324The study of non-linear physics is like the study of non-elephant 13325biology. 13326% 13327"The subspace _W inherits the other 8 properties of _V. And there aren't 13328even any property taxes." 13329 -- J. MacKay, Mathematics 134b 13330% 13331The sum of the Universe is zero. 13332% 13333The sun was shining on the sea, 13334Shining with all his might: 13335He did his very best to make 13336The billows smooth and bright -- 13337And this was very odd, because it was 13338The middle of the night. 13339 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 13340% 13341The superfluous is very necessary. 13342 -- Voltaire 13343% 13344The surest protection against temptation is cowardice. 13345 -- Mark Twain 13346% 13347The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our 13348authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as 13349the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as 13350the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much 13351radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much 13352as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we 13353receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the 13354Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will 13355heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to 13356the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much 13357heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for 13358radiation, (_H/_E)^4 = 50, where _E is the absolute temperature of the 13359earth (-300K), gives _H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell 13360cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the 13361fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which 13362burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means 13363that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We 13364have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. 13365 -- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972 13366% 13367The Third Law of Photography: 13368 If you did manage to get any good shots, they will be ruined 13369when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of the dark 13370leaks out. 13371% 13372The Three Laws of Thermodynamics: 13373 13374The First Law: You can't get anything without working for it. 13375The Second Law: The most you can accomplish by working is to break 13376 even. 13377The Third Law: You can only break even at absolute zero. 13378% 13379 The Three Major Kind of Tools 13380 13381* Tools for hittings things to make them loose or to tighten them up or 13382 jar their many complex, sophisticated electrical parts in such a 13383 manner that they function perfectly. (These are your hammers, maces, 13384 bludgeons, and truncheons.) 13385 13386* Tools that, if dropped properly, can penetrate your foot. (Awls) 13387 13388* Tools that nobody should ever use because the potential danger is far 13389 greater than the value of any project that could possibly result. 13390 (Power saws, power drills, power staplers, any kind of tool that uses 13391 any kind of power more advanced than flashlight batteries.) 13392 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13393% 13394The trouble with a kitten is that 13395When it grows up, it's always a cat 13396 -- Ogden Nash. 13397% 13398The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. 13399% 13400The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate 13401it. 13402 -- Franklin P. Jones 13403% 13404The trouble with being punctual is that people think you have nothing 13405more important to do. 13406% 13407The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody 13408appreciates how difficult it was. 13409% 13410The trouble with superheros is what to do between phone booths. 13411 -- Ken Kesey 13412% 13413The truth is what is; what should be is a dirty lie. 13414 -- Lenny Bruce 13415% 13416The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. 13417And vice versa. 13418% 13419The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks 13420Which practically conceal its sex. 13421I think it clever of the turtle 13422In such a fix to be so fertile. 13423 -- Ogden Nash 13424% 13425The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. 13426% 13427The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more 13428annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. 13429 -- Oscar Wilde 13430% 13431The United States also has its native Fascists who say that they are 13432"100 percent American"... 13433 -- U. S. Army (1945) 13434% 13435The United States is like the guy at the party who gives cocaine to 13436everybody and still nobody likes him. 13437 -- Jim Samuels 13438% 13439The universe does not have laws -- it has habits, and habits can be 13440broken. 13441% 13442The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination -- but the 13443combination is locked up in the safe. 13444 -- Peter DeVries 13445% 13446The University of California Bears announced the signing of Reggie 13447Philbin to a letter of intent to attend Cal next Fall. Philbin is said 13448to make up for no talent by cheating well. Says Philbin of his 13449decision to attend Cal, "I'm in it for the free ride." 13450% 13451The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and 13452religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging 13453from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its 13454yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledygook than the rest of the 13455world put together. 13456 -- Sir Peter Medawar 13457% 13458The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be 13459regarded as a criminal offense. 13460 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 13461% 13462The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes 13463the worst cigars. 13464 -- H. L. Mencken 13465% 13466The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid 13467prejudice. 13468 -- Mark Twain 13469% 13470The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. 13471Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts 13472to fit their views ... which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to 13473be one of the facts that needs altering. 13474 -- Doctor Who, "Face of Evil" 13475% 13476The voters have spoken, the bastards ... 13477% 13478The wages of sin are death; but after they're done taking out taxes, 13479it's just a tired feeling: 13480% 13481The wages of sin are high but you get your money's worth. 13482% 13483The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity 13484that would be clearly understood. 13485 -- Alexander Haig 13486% 13487The way to make a small fortune in the commodities market is to start 13488with a large fortune. 13489% 13490 THE WOMBAT 13491 13492The wombat lives across the seas, 13493Among the far Antipodes. 13494He may exist on nuts and berries, 13495Or then again, on missionaries; 13496His distant habitat precludes 13497Conclusive knowledge of his moods. 13498But I would not engage the wombat 13499In any form of mortal combat. 13500% 13501The world is coming to an end ... SAVE YOUR BUFFERS!!! 13502% 13503The world is coming to an end! Repent and return those library books! 13504% 13505The world is coming to an end. Please log off. 13506% 13507The world's as ugly as sin, 13508And almost as delightful. 13509 -- Frederick Locker-Lampson 13510% 13511The years of peak mental activity are undoubtedly between the ages of 13512four and eighteen. At four we know all the questions, at eighteen all 13513the answers. 13514% 13515Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations. 13516 13517He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan, 13518then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open 13519market. 13520 13521If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should 13522not accept of the Earth that which he refuses to give of himself. 13523 13524Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree. 13525Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg. 13526Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. 13527 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 13528% 13529Then here's to the City of Boston, 13530The town of the cries and the groans. 13531Where the Cabots can't see the Kabotschniks, 13532And the Lowells won't speak to the Cohns. 13533 -- Franklin Pierce Adams 13534% 13535 THEORY 13536Into love and out again, 13537 Thus I went and thus I go. 13538Spare your voice, and hold your pen: 13539 Well and bitterly I know 13540All the songs were ever sung, 13541 All the words were ever said; 13542Could it be, when I was young, 13543 Someone dropped me on my head? 13544 -- Dorothy Parker 13545% 13546There *__is* intelligent life on Earth, but I leave for Texas on Monday. 13547% 13548There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, 13549and praiseworthy ... 13550 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 13551% 13552There are many intelligent species in the universe. They all own 13553cats. 13554% 13555There are no data that cannot be plotted on a straight line if the axis 13556are chosen correctly. 13557% 13558There are no games on this system. 13559% 13560There are no physicists in the hottest parts of hell, because the 13561existence of a "hottest part" implies a temperature difference, and any 13562marginally competent physicist would immediately use this to run a heat 13563engine and make some other part of hell comfortably cool. This is 13564obviously impossible. 13565 -- Richard Davisson 13566% 13567There are people so addicted to exaggeration 13568that they can't tell the truth without lying. 13569 -- Josh Billings 13570% 13571There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a 13572vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone. 13573 -- Gloria Steinem 13574% 13575 There are some goyisha names that just about guarantee that 13576someone isn't Jewish. For example, you'll never meet a Jew named 13577Johnson or Wright or Jones or Sinclair or Ricks or Stevenson or Reid or 13578Larsen or Jenks. But some goyisha names just about guarantee that 13579every other person you meet with that name will be Jewish. Why is 13580this? 13581 Who knows? Learned rabbis have pondered this question for 13582centuries and have failed to come up with an answer, and you think ___you 13583can find one? Get serious. You don't even understand why it's 13584forbidden to eat crab -- fresh cold crab with mayonnaise -- or lobster 13585-- soft tender morsels of lobster dipped in melted butter. You don't 13586even understand a simple thing like that, and yet you hope to discover 13587why there are more Jews named Miller than Katz? Fat Chance. 13588 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 13589% 13590There are some micro-organisms that exhibit characteristics of both 13591plants and animals. When exposed to light they undergo photosynthesis; 13592and when the lights go out, they turn into animals. But then again, 13593don't we all? 13594% 13595There are those who claim that magic is like the tide; that it swells 13596and fades over the surface of the earth, collecting in concentrated 13597pools here and there, almost disappearing from other spots, leaving 13598them parched for wonder. There are also those who believe that if you 13599stick your fingers up your nose and blow, it will increase your 13600intelligence. 13601 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VII 13602% 13603There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. 13604 -- Disraeli 13605% 13606There are three possibilities: 13607Pioneer's solar panel has turned away from the sun; 13608there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or 13609someone loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor. 13610% 13611There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be 13612offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin 13613a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount 13614of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of 13615affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. 13616When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. 13617Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. 13618 -- Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior 13619% 13620There are three principal ways to lose money: wine, women, and 13621engineers. While the first two are more pleasant, the third is by far 13622the more certain. 13623 -- Baron Rothschild, ca. 1800 13624% 13625There are three schools of magic. One: State a tautology, then ring 13626the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy. Two: Record many 13627facts. Try to find a pattern. Then make a wrong guess at the next 13628fact; that's science. Three: Be aware that you live in a malevolent 13629Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's 13630Factor; that's engineering. 13631% 13632There are three things I always forget. Names, faces -- the third I 13633can't remember. 13634 -- Italo Svevo 13635% 13636There are three ways to get something done: 13637 (1) Do it yourself. 13638 (2) Hire someone to do it for you. 13639 (3) Forbid your kids to do it. 13640% 13641There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire 13642someone, or forbid your kids to do it. 13643% 13644There are times when truth is stranger than fiction and lunch time is 13645one of them. 13646% 13647There are two kinds of solar-heat systems: "passive" systems collect 13648the sunlight that hits your home, and "active" systems collect the 13649sunlight that hits your neighbors' homes, too. 13650 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13651% 13652There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good 13653sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. 13654 -- Woody Allen 13655% 13656There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to 13657make is so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the 13658other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious 13659deficiencies. 13660 -- C. A. R. Hoare 13661% 13662There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the 13663other is to read Pope. 13664 -- Oscar Wilde 13665% 13666There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one 13667works. 13668% 13669There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a 13670suitable application of high explosives. 13671% 13672There can be no twisted thought without a twisted molecule. 13673 -- R. W. Gerard 13674% 13675There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. 13676 -- Henry Kissinger 13677% 13678There exist tasks which cannot be done by more than 10 men or fewer 13679than 100. 13680 -- Steele's Law 13681% 13682There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know 13683nothing about. 13684% 13685There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself to be burned for an 13686opinion. 13687 -- Anatole France 13688% 13689There is a great discovery still to be made in Literature: that of 13690paying literary men by the quantity they do NOT write. 13691% 13692There is a green, multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. 13693% 13694There is a Massachusetts law requiring all dogs to have their hind legs 13695tied during the month of April. 13696% 13697There is a natural hootchy-kootchy to a goldfish. 13698 -- Walt Disney 13699% 13700There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, 13701Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and 13702love of the Fatherland. 13703 -- Adolf Hitler 13704% 13705There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly 13706what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly 13707disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and 13708inexplicable. 13709 13710There is another theory which states that this has already happened. 13711 13712 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 13713% 13714There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum. 13715 -- Arthur C. Clarke 13716% 13717There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. 13718 -- Mark Twain 13719% 13720There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the 13721tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not 13722abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards -- only physics and 13723war hold him in check. And also the wife who wants him home by five, 13724of course. 13725 -- Encyclopedia Apocryphia, 1990 ed. 13726% 13727There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. 13728 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, World Future Society 13729 Convention, 1977 13730% 13731There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it. 13732 -- G. B. Shaw 13733% 13734There is no substitute for good manners, except, perhaps, fast reflexes. 13735% 13736There is no such thing as fortune. Try again. 13737% 13738There is no time like the pleasant. 13739% 13740There is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be 13741doing. 13742% 13743There is no TRUTH. There is no REALITY. There is no CONSISTENCY. 13744There are no ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS I'm very probably wrong. 13745% 13746"There is nothing which cannot be answered by means of my doctrine," 13747said a monk, coming into a teahouse where Nasrudin sat. "And yet just 13748a short time ago, I was challenged by a scholar with an unanswerable 13749question," said Nasrudin. "I could have answered it if I had been 13750there." "Very well. He asked, 'Why are you breaking into my house in 13751the middle of the night?'" 13752% 13753There is nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the 13754ocean level wouldn't cure. 13755 -- Ross MacDonald 13756% 13757There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and 13758that is not being talked about. 13759 -- Oscar Wilde 13760% 13761There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale 13762returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. 13763 -- Mark Twain 13764% 13765There once was a girl named Irene 13766Who lived on distilled kerosene 13767 But she started absorbin' 13768 A new hydrocarbon 13769And since then has never benzene. 13770% 13771There once was a member of Mensa 13772Who was a most excellent fencer. 13773 The sword that he used 13774 Was his -- (line is refused, 13775And has now been removed by the censor). 13776% 13777There once was an old man from Esser, 13778Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser. 13779 It at last grew so small, 13780 He knew nothing at all, 13781And now he's a College Professor. 13782% 13783There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. 13784 -- C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia 13785% 13786There was a plane crash over mid-ocean, and only three survivors were 13787left in the life-raft: the Pope, the President, and Mayor Daley. 13788Unfortunately, it was a one-man life-raft, and quickly sinking, so they 13789started debating who should be allowed to stay. 13790 13791The Pope pointed out that he was the spiritual leader of millions all 13792over the world, the President explained that if he died then America 13793would be stuck with the Vice-President, and so forth. Then Mayor Daley 13794said, "Look! We're not solving anything like this! The only fair 13795thing to do is to vote on it." So they did, and Mayor Daley won by 97 13796votes. 13797% 13798There was a young lady from Hyde 13799Who ate a green apple and died. 13800 While her lover lamented 13801 The apple fermented 13802And made cider inside her inside. 13803% 13804There was a young man who said "God, 13805I find it exceedingly odd, 13806 That the willow oak tree 13807 Continues to be, 13808When there's no one about in the Quad." 13809 13810"Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd, 13811For I'm always about in the Quad; 13812 And that's why the tree, 13813 Continues to be," 13814Signed "Yours faithfully, God." 13815% 13816There was a young poet named Dan, 13817Whose poetry never would scan. 13818 When told this was so, 13819 He said, "Yes, I know. 13820It's because I try to put every possible syllable into that last line that I can." 13821% 13822There was an interesting development in the CBS-Westmoreland trial: 13823both sides agreed that after the trial, Andy Rooney would be allowed to 13824talk to the jury for three minutes about little things that annoyed him 13825during the trial. 13826 -- David Letterman 13827% 13828There were in this country two very large monopolies. The larger of 13829the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double- 13830digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the 138318-cent postcard. The second was responsible for such things as the 13832transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity 13833stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative 13834feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching 13835systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the 13836first electrical digital computer, and the first communications 13837satellite. Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the 13838telephone business? 13839% 13840There's a fine line between courage and foolishness. Too bad it's not 13841a fence. 13842% 13843There's an old proverb that says just about whatever you want it to. 13844% 13845There's little in taking or giving, 13846 There's little in water or wine: 13847This living, this living, this living, 13848 Was never a project of mine. 13849Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is 13850 The gain of the one at the top, 13851For art is a form of catharsis, 13852 And love is a permanent flop, 13853And work is the province of cattle, 13854 And rest's for a clam in a shell, 13855So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -- 13856 Would you kindly direct me to hell? 13857 -- Dorothy Parker 13858% 13859There's no easy quick way out, we're gonna have to live through our 13860whole lives, win, lose, or draw. 13861 -- Walt Kelly 13862% 13863There's no future in time travel. 13864% 13865There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. 13866 -- Dr. Who 13867% 13868There's no real need to do housework -- after four years it doesn't get 13869any worse. 13870% 13871There's no room in the drug world for amateurs. 13872% 13873There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government 13874working for you. 13875 -- Will Rodgers 13876% 13877There's nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and 13878dead armadillos. 13879 -- Jim Hightower, Texas Agricultural Commissioner 13880% 13881There's nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them 13882won't aggravate. 13883% 13884There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn 13885what it is I'll get married again. 13886 -- Clint Eastwood 13887% 13888There's so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is 13889becoming an endangered synthetic. 13890 -- Lily Tomlin 13891% 13892"These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!" 13893"These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!" 13894"These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP 13895out of MEGATON MAN!" 13896% 13897These days the necessities of life cost you about three times what they 13898used to, and half the time they aren't even fit to drink. 13899% 13900They also surf who only stand on waves. 13901% 13902They make a desert and call it peace. 13903 -- Tacitus (55?-120?) 13904% 13905They spell it "da Vinci" and pronounce it "da Vinchy". Foreigners 13906always spell better than they pronounce. 13907 -- Mark Twain 13908% 13909They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 13910safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. 13911 -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 13912% 13913They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them! 13914% 13915They told me you had proven it When they discovered our results 13916 About a month before. Their hair began to curl 13917The proof was valid, more or less Instead of understanding it 13918 But rather less than more. We'd run the thing through PRL. 13919 13920He sent them word that we would try Don't tell a soul about all this 13921 To pass where they had failed For it must ever be 13922And after we were done, to them A secret, kept from all the rest 13923 The new proof would be mailed. Between yourself and me. 13924 13925My notion was to start again 13926 Ignoring all they'd done 13927We quickly turned it into code 13928 To see if it would run. 13929% 13930They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! 13931% 13932They're unfriendly, which is fortunate, really. They'd be difficult to like. 13933 -- Avon 13934% 13935Things are more like they used to be than they are now. 13936% 13937Things will be bright in P.M. A cop will shine a light in your face. 13938% 13939Think big. Pollute the Mississippi. 13940% 13941Think honk if you're a telepath. 13942% 13943Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! 13944% 13945Think of your family tonight. Try to crawl home after the computer 13946crashes. 13947% 13948Think twice before speaking, but don't say "think think click click". 13949% 13950"Thirty days hath Septober, 13951April, June, and no wonder. 13952all the rest have peanut butter 13953except my father who wears red suspenders." 13954% 13955This Fortue Examined By INSPECTOR NO. 2-14 13956% 13957This fortune cookie program out of order. For those in desperate need, 13958please use the program "________randchar". This program generates random 13959characters, and, given enough time, will undoubtedly come up with 13960something profound. It will, however, take it no time at all to be 13961more profound than THIS program has ever been. 13962% 13963This fortune intentionally not included. 13964% 13965This fortune is false. 13966% 13967This fortune is inoperative. Please try another. 13968% 13969This is a country where people are free to practice their religion, 13970regardless of race, creed, color, obesity, or number of dangling keys... 13971% 13972This is a job for BOB VIOLENCE and SCUM, the INCREDIBLY STUPID MUTANT DOG. 13973 -- Bob Violence 13974% 13975This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. If this had been an 13976actual emergency, do you really think we'd stick around to tell you? 13977% 13978This is an especially good time for you vacationers who plan to fly, 13979because the Reagan administration, as part of the same policy under 13980which it recently sold Yellowstone National Park to Wayne Newton, has 13981"deregulated" the airline industry. What this means for you, the 13982consumer, is that the airlines are no longer required to follow any 13983rules whatsoever. They can show snuff movies. They can charge for 13984oxygen. They can hire pilots right out of Vending Machine Refill 13985Person School. They can conserve fuel by ejecting husky passengers 13986over water. They can ram competing planes in mid-air. These 13987innovations have resulted in tremendous cost savings which have been 13988passed along to you, the consumer, in the form of flights with 13989amazingly low fares, such as $29. Of course, certain restrictions do 13990apply, the main one being that all these flights take you to Newark, 13991and you must pay thousands of dollars if you want to fly back out. 13992 -- Dave Barry, "Iowa -- Land of Secure Vacations" 13993% 13994This is an unauthorized cybernetic announcement. 13995% 13996This is for all ill-treated fellows 13997 Unborn and unbegot, 13998For them to read when they're in trouble 13999 And I am not. 14000 -- A. E. Housman 14001% 14002This is lemma 1.1. We start a new chapter so the numbers all go back 14003to one. 14004 -- Prof. Seager, C&O 351 14005% 14006This is National Non-Dairy Creamer Week. 14007% 14008THIS IS PLEDGE WEEK FOR THE FORTUNE PROGRAM 14009 14010If you like the fortune program, why not support it now with your 14011contribution of a pithy fortune, clean or obscene? We cannot continue 14012without your support. Less than 14% of all fortune users are 14013contributors. That means that 86% of you are getting a free ride. We 14014can't go on like this much longer. Federal cutbacks mean less money 14015for fortunes, and unless user contributions increase to make up the 14016difference, the fortune program will have to shut down between midnight 14017and 8 a.m. Don't let this happen. Mail your fortunes right now to 14018"fortune". Just type in your favorite pithy saying. Do it now before 14019you forget. Our target is 300 new fortunes by the end of the week. 14020Don't miss out. All fortunes will be acknowledged. If you contribute 1402130 fortunes or more, you will receive a free subscription to "The 14022Fortune Hunter", our monthly program guide. If you contribute 50 or 14023more, you will receive a free "Fortune Hunter" coffee mug .... 14024% 14025This is the ____LAST time I take travel suggestions from Ray Bradbury! 14026% 14027This is the first numerical problem I ever did. It demonstrates the 14028power of computers: 14029 14030Enter lots of data on calorie & nutritive content of foods. Instruct 14031the thing to maximize a function describing nutritive content, with a 14032minimum level of each component, for fixed caloric content. The 14033results are that one should eat each day: 14034 14035 1/2 chicken 14036 1 egg 14037 1 glass of skim milk 14038 27 heads of lettuce. 14039 -- Rev. Adrian Melott 14040% 14041This is the story of the bee 14042Whose sex is very hard to see 14043 14044You cannot tell the he from the she 14045But she can tell, and so can he 14046 14047The little bee is never still 14048She has no time to take the pill 14049 14050And that is why, in times like these 14051There are so many sons of bees. 14052% 14053This is your fortune. 14054% 14055This land is full of trousers! 14056this land is full of mausers! 14057 And pussycats to eat them when the sun goes down! 14058 -- Firesign Theater 14059% 14060This land is made of mountains, 14061This land is made of mud, 14062This land has lots of everything, 14063For me and Elmer Fudd. 14064 14065This land has lots of trousers, 14066This land has lots of mousers, 14067And pussycats to eat them 14068When the sun goes down. 14069% 14070This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, 14071you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where 14072to go. 14073% 14074This login session: $13.99, but for you $11.88 14075% 14076This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with 14077great force. 14078 -- Dorothy Parker 14079% 14080This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of 14081the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many 14082solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were 14083largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, 14084which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of 14085paper that were unhappy. 14086 -- Douglas Adams 14087% 14088This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does 14089something child-like. 14090 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 14091% 14092This quote is taken from the Diamondback, the University of Maryland 14093student newspaper, of Tuesday, 3/10/87. 14094 14095 One disadvantage of the Univac system is that it does not use 14096 Unix, a recently developed program which translates from one 14097 computer language to another and has a built-in editing system 14098 which identifies errors in the original program. 14099% 14100This sentence contradicts itself -- no actually it doesn't. 14101 -- Hofstadter 14102% 14103... This striving for excellence extends into people's personal lives 14104as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the best one, as 14105determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. Eighties people 14106buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking soda. If an '80s 14107couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a reservation three 14108weeks in advance, and they are informed that their table is available, 14109they stalk out immediately, because they know it is not an excellent 14110restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous crowd of 14111excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their beepers going 14112off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant wouldn't have 14113a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of Liza Minnelli. 14114 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 14115% 14116This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget it. 14117% 14118 Thompson, if he is to be believed, has sampled the entire 14119rainbow of legal and illegal drugs in heroic efforts to feel better 14120than he does. 14121 As for the truth about his health: I have asked around about 14122it. I am told that he appears to be strong and rosy, and steadily 14123sane. But we will be doing what he wants us to do, I think, if we 14124consider his exterior a sort of Dorian Gray facade. Inwardly, he is 14125being eaten alive by tinhorn politicians. 14126 The disease is fatal. There is no known cure. The most we can 14127do for the poor devil, it seems to me, is to name his disease in his 14128honor. From this moment on, let all those who feel that Americans can 14129be as easily led to beauty as to ugliness, to truth as to public 14130relations, to joy as to bitterness, be said to be suffering from Hunter 14131Thompson's disease. I don't have it this morning. It comes and goes. 14132This morning I don't have Hunter Thompson's disease. 14133 -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Excerpt 14134 from "A Political Disease", Vonnegut's review of "Fear 14135 and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" 14136% 14137Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those 14138of us who do. 14139% 14140Those who can't write, write manuals. 14141% 14142Those who can, do. Those who can't, simulate. 14143% 14144Those who do not do politics will be done in by politics. 14145 -- French Proverb 14146% 14147Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly. 14148 -- Henry Spencer 14149% 14150Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, 14151for these only gave life, those the art of living well. 14152 -- Aristotle 14153% 14154Those who express random thoughts to legislative committees are often 14155surprised and appalled to find themselves the instigators of law. 14156 -- Mark B. Cohen 14157% 14158Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose. 14159% 14160Those who make peaceful revolution impossible 14161will make violent revolution inevitable. 14162 -- John F. Kennedy 14163% 14164Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are 14165men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean 14166without the roar of its many waters. 14167 -- Frederick Douglass 14168% 14169Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are 14170the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with 14171Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether -- 14172whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A 14173fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any 14174more about the matter than the others. 14175 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14176% 14177Time flies like an arrow 14178Fruit flies like a banana 14179% 14180Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. 14181% 14182Time is an illusion; lunchtime, doubly so. 14183 -- Ford Prefect 14184% 14185Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at 14186once. 14187% 14188'Tis the dream of each programmer, 14189Before his life is done, 14190To write three lines of APL, 14191And make the damn things run. 14192% 14193 (to "The Caissons Go Rolling Along") 14194Scratch the disks, dump the core, Shut it down, pull the plug 14195Roll the tapes across the floor, Give the core an extra tug 14196And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14197Teletypes smashed to bits. Mem'ry cards, one and all, 14198Give the scopes some nasty hits Toss out halfway down the hall 14199And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14200And we've also found Just flip one switch 14201When you turn the power down, And the lights will cease to twitch 14202You turn the disk readers into trash. And the tape drives will crumble 14203 in a flash. 14204Oh, it's so much fun, When the CPU 14205Now the CPU won't run Can print nothing out but "foo," 14206And the system is going to crash. The system is going to crash. 14207% 14208 To A Quick Young Fox: 14209Why jog exquisite bulk, fond crazy vamp, 14210Daft buxom jonquil, zephyr's gawky vice? 14211Guy fed by work, quiz Jove's xanthic lamp -- 14212Zow! Qualms by deja vu gyp fox-kin thrice. 14213 -- Lazy Dog 14214% 14215To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it. 14216% 14217To be is to do. 14218 -- I. Kant 14219To do is to be. 14220 -- A. Sartre 14221Yabba-Dabba-Doo! 14222 -- F. Flintstone 14223% 14224"To be responsive at this time, though I will simply say, and therefore 14225this is a repeat of what I said previously, that which I am unable to 14226offer in response is based on information available to make no such 14227statement." 14228% 14229To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and, whatever you hit, 14230call it the target. 14231% 14232To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy. 14233% 14234To err is human, to forgive, beyond the scope of the Operating System 14235% 14236To err is human, to moo bovine. 14237% 14238To every Ph.D. there is an equal and opposite Ph.D. 14239 -- B. Duggan 14240% 14241To generalize is to be an idiot. 14242 -- William Blake 14243% 14244To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three 14245men, two of them absent. 14246% 14247To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. 14248 -- Thomas Edison 14249% 14250To iterate is human, to recurse, divine. 14251 -- Robert Heller 14252% 14253To the best of my recollection, Senator, I can't recall. 14254% 14255To the systems programmer, users and applications serve only to provide 14256a test load. 14257% 14258To those accustomed to the precise, structured methods of conventional 14259system development, exploratory development techniques may seem messy, 14260inelegant, and unsatisfying. But it's a question of congruence: 14261precision and flexibility may be just as dysfunctional in novel, 14262uncertain situations as sloppiness and vacillation are in familiar, 14263well-defined ones. Those who admire the massive, rigid bone structures 14264of dinosaurs should remember that jellyfish still enjoy their very 14265secure ecological niche. 14266 -- Beau Sheil, "Power Tools for Programmers" 14267% 14268To understand this important story, you have to understand how the 14269telephone company works. Your telephone is connected to a local 14270computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is 14271in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the 14272lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan. 14273 14274Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in. If it 14275suspects you're going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the 14276computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the 14277one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe 14278break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid 14279incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor's spouse, 14280an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca 14281pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna's 14282loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen 14283and drink gin and laugh themselves silly. 14284 -- Dave Barry, "Won't It Be Just Great Owning Our Own 14285 Phones?" 14286% 14287To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question ... or is it? 14288% 14289To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition. 14290 -- Woody Allen 14291% 14292Today is a good day to bribe a high-ranking public official. 14293% 14294Today is National Existential Ennui Awareness Day. 14295% 14296Today is the first day of the rest of the mess. 14297% 14298Today is the first day of the rest of your lossage. 14299% 14300Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. 14301% 14302Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? 14303 14304And where does it go after it leaves the toaster? 14305 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 14306% 14307Today's thrilling story has been brought to you by Mushies, the great new 14308cereal that gets soggy even without milk or cream. Join us soon for more 14309spectacular adventure starring ... Tippy, the Wonder Dog. 14310 -- Bob & Ray 14311% 14312Today, of course, it is considered very poor taste to use the F-word 14313except in major motion pictures. 14314 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 14315% 14316Toilet Toup'ee, n.: 14317 Any shag carpet that causes the lid to become top-heavy, thus 14318creating endless annoyance to male users. 14319 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 14320% 14321Tomorrow will be canceled due to lack of interest. 14322% 14323Tonight's the night: Sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 14324% 14325Too clever is dumb. 14326 -- Ogden Nash 14327% 14328Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL. 14329 -- Mae West 14330% 14331Too much of everything is just enough. 14332 -- Bob Wier 14333% 14334Too often I find that the volume of paper expands to fill the available 14335briefcases. 14336 -- Governor Jerry Brown 14337% 14338Top 10 things likely to be overheard if you had a Klingon Programmer: 14339 10) Specifications are for the weak and timid! 14340 9) You question the worthiness of my code? I should kill you where you stand! 14341 8) Indentation?! - I will show you how to indent when I indent your skull! 14342 7) What is this talk of 'release'? Klingons do not make software 'releases'. 14343 Our software 'escapes' leaving a bloody trail of designers and quality 14344 assurance people in its wake. 14345 6) Klingon function calls do not have 'parameters' - they have 'arguments' 14346 - and they ALWAYS WIN THEM. 14347 5) Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Our software does not coddle the weak. 14348 4) A TRUE Klingon Warrior does not comment his code! 14349 3) Klingon software does NOT have BUGS. It has FEATURES, and those features 14350 are too sophisticated for a Romulan pig like you to understand. 14351 2) You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert unless you've read it in the 14352 original Klingon. 14353 1) Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! 14354 Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are! 14355% 14356Top scientists agree that with the present rate of consumption, the 14357earth's supply of gravity will be exhausted before the 24th century. 14358As man struggles to discover cheaper alternatives, we need your help. 14359Please... 14360 14361 CONSERVE GRAVITY 14362 14363Follow these simple suggestions: 14364 14365(1) Walk with a light step. Carry helium balloons if possible. 14366(2) Use tape, magnets, or glue instead of paperweights. 14367(3) Give up skiing and skydiving for more horizontal sports like 14368 curling. 14369(4) Avoid showers .. take baths instead. 14370(5) Don't hang all your clothes in the closet ... Keep them in one big 14371 pile. 14372(6) Stop flipping pancakes 14373% 14374Travel important today; Internal Revenue men arrive tomorrow. 14375% 14376Troubled day for virgins over 16 who are beautiful, wealthy, and live 14377in eucalyptus trees. 14378% 14379Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant intelligence. 14380 -- Henrik Tikkanen 14381% 14382Truth is the most valuable thing we have -- so let us economize it. 14383 -- Mark Twain 14384% 14385Truth will be out this morning. (Which may really mess things up.) 14386% 14387Truthful, adj.: 14388 Dumb and illiterate. 14389 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14390% 14391Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational. 14392 -- Charles Schulz 14393% 14394Try to be the best of whatever you are, even if what you are is no good. 14395% 14396Try to find the real tense of the report you are reading: Was it done, 14397is it being done, or is something to be done? Reports are now written 14398in four tenses: past tense, present tense, future tense, and 14399pretense. Watch for novel uses of CONGRAM (CONtractor GRAMmer), 14400defined by the imperfect past, the insufficient present, and the 14401absolutely perfect future. 14402 -- Amrom Katz 14403% 14404Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. 14405% 14406Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only 14407specification is that it should run noiselessly. 14408% 14409Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. 14410 -- Alan Watts 14411% 14412Trying to establish voice contact ... please ____yell into keyboard. 14413% 14414Turnaucka's Law: 14415 The attention span of a computer is only as long as its 14416electrical cord. 14417% 14418Tussman's Law: 14419 Nothing is as inevitable as a mistake whose time has come. 14420% 14421TV is chewing gum for the eyes. 14422 -- Frank Lloyd Wright 14423% 14424'Twas midnight, and the UNIX hacks 14425Did gyre and gimble in their cave 14426All mimsy was the CS-VAX 14427And Cory raths outgrabe. 14428 14429"Beware the software rot, my son! 14430The faults that bite, the jobs that thrash! 14431Beware the broken pipe, and shun 14432The frumious system crash!" 14433% 14434 'Twas the Night before Crisis 14435 14436'Twas the night before crisis, and all through the house, 14437 Not a program was working not even a browse. 14438The programmers were wrung out too mindless to care, 14439 Knowing chances of cutover hadn't a prayer. 14440The users were nestled all snug in their beds, 14441 While visions of inquiries danced in their heads. 14442When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, 14443 I sprang from my tube to see what was the matter. 14444And what to my wondering eyes should appear, 14445 But a Super Programmer, oblivious to fear. 14446More rapid than eagles, his programs they came, 14447 And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; 14448On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete! 14449 On Batch Jobs! On Closing! On Functions Complete! 14450His eyes were glazed over, his fingers were lean, 14451 From Weekends and nights in front of a screen. 14452A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, 14453 Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread... 14454% 14455'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period 14456 preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, And 14457 throughout our place of residence, 14458Kinetic activity was not in evidence among the 14459 possessors of this potential, including that 14460 species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. 14461Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward 14462 edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus, 14463Pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an 14464 imminent visitation from an eccentric 14465 philanthropist among whose folkloric appelations 14466 is the honorific title of St. Nicklaus ... 14467% 14468Twenty Percent of Zero is Better than Nothing. 14469 -- Walt Kelly 14470% 14471Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. 14472 -- Howard Kandel 14473% 14474Two men came before Nasrudin when he was magistrate. The first man 14475said, "This man has bitten my ear -- I demand compensation." The 14476second man said, "He bit it himself." Nasrudin withdrew to his 14477chambers, and spent an hour trying to bite his own ear. He succeeded 14478only in falling over and bruising his forehead. Returning to the 14479courtroom, Nasrudin pronounced, "Examine the man whose ear was bitten. 14480If his forehead is bruised, he did it himself and the case is 14481dismissed. If his forehead is not bruised, the other man did it and 14482must pay three silver pieces." 14483% 14484Two percent of zero is almost nothing. 14485% 14486Two sure ways to tell a sexy male; the first is, he has a bad memory. 14487I forget the second. 14488% 14489Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. 14490% 14491U: There's a U -- a Unicorn! 14492 Run right up and rub its horn. 14493 Look at all those points you're losing! 14494 UMBER HULKS are so confusing. 14495 -- The Roguelet's ABC 14496% 14497"Ubi non accusator, ibi non judex." 14498 14499(Where there is no police, there is no speed limit.) 14500 -- Roman Law, trans. Petr Beckmann (1971) 14501% 14502UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist. 14503% 14504"Uncle Cosmo ... why do they call this a word processor?" 14505 14506"It's simple, Skyler ... you've seen what food processors do to food, 14507right?" 14508 -- MacNelley, "Shoe" 14509% 14510Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: 14511 Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a 14512hammer or get a splinter in it. 14513% 14514Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14515just man is also a prison. 14516% 14517Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it 14518can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic ... 14519% 14520Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: 14521 Superiority is recessive. 14522% 14523Unfair animal names: 14524 14525-- tsetse fly -- bullhead 14526-- booby -- duck-billed platypus 14527-- sapsucker -- Clarence 14528 -- Gary Larson 14529% 14530United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the 14531Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of 14532all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of 14533all the patriots of every persuasion. 14534 14535Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the 14536world. 14537 -- Isaac Asimov 14538% 14539Universe, n.: 14540 The problem. 14541% 14542University, n.: 14543 Like a software house, except the software's free, and it's 14544usable, and it works, and if it breaks they'll quickly tell you how to 14545fix it, and ... 14546% 14547unix soit qui mal y pense 14548% 14549UNIX was half a billion (500000000) seconds old on 14550Tue Nov 5 00:53:20 1985 GMT (measuring since the time(2) epoch). 14551 -- Andy Tannenbaum 14552% 14553Unnamed Law: 14554 If it happens, it must be possible. 14555% 14556Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out 14557twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. 14558 -- H. L. Mencken 14559% 14560Usage: fortune -P [] -a [xsz] [Q: [file]] [rKe9] -v6[+] dataspec ... inputdir 14561% 14562User n.: 14563 A programmer who will believe anything you tell him. 14564% 14565USER, n.: 14566 The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." 14567 -- Dave Barry, "Claw Your Way to the Top" 14568% 14569Using TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach. 14570 -- S. C. Johnson 14571% 14572Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, 14573opulence is when you have three -- and paradise is when you have none. 14574 -- Doug Larson 14575% 14576Vail's Second Axiom: 14577 The amount of work to be done increases in proportion to the 14578amount of work already completed. 14579% 14580Valerie: Aww, Tom, you're going maudlin on me ... 14581Tom: I reserve the right to wax maudlin as I wane eloquent ... 14582 -- Tom Chapin 14583% 14584Van Roy's Law: 14585 An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. 14586% 14587Vanilla, adj.: 14588 Ordinary flavor, standard. See FLAVOR. When used of food, 14589very often does not mean that the food is flavored with vanilla 14590extract! For example, "vanilla-flavored won ton soup" (or simply 14591"vanilla won ton soup") means ordinary won ton soup, as opposed to hot 14592and sour won ton soup. 14593% 14594Velilind's Laws of Experimentation: 14595 (1) If reproducibility may be a problem, conduct the test only 14596 once. 14597 (2) If a straight line fit is required, obtain only two data 14598 points. 14599% 14600Veni, Vidi, Visa. 14601% 14602 "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past 14603year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley 14604reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their 14605artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue 14606moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon 14607Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the 14608entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the 14609sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips." 14610 14611 "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito. 14612 14613 "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made 14614good copy." 14615 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 14616% 14617Very few profundities can be expressed in less than 80 characters. 14618% 14619Vila: "I think I have just made the biggest mistake of my life." 14620Orac: "It is unlikely. I would predict there are far greater mistakes 14621 waiting to be made by someone with your obvious talent for it." 14622% 14623Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. 14624 -- Salvor Hardin 14625% 14626Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the 14627yard. 14628% 14629VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14630 Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to 14631 ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this 14632 morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you 14633 wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of 14634 that old underwear you own. 14635% 14636VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14637 You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nitpicking is 14638 sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and 14639 sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus 14640 drivers. 14641% 14642"Virtual" means never knowing where your next byte is coming from. 14643% 14644Virtue is its own punishment. 14645% 14646Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving 14647from where you left them to where you can't find them. 14648% 14649Vitamin C deficiency is apauling. 14650% 14651VMS is like a nightmare about RSX-11M. 14652% 14653Vote anarchist. 14654% 14655Vote for ME -- I'm well-tapered, half-cocked, ill-conceived and 14656TAX-DEFERRED! 14657% 14658VYARZERZOMANIMORORSEZASSEZANSERAREORSES? 14659% 14660 14661 *** System shutdown message from root *** 14662 14663System going down in 60 seconds 14664 14665 14666% 14667Wagner's music is better than it sounds. 14668 -- Mark Twain 14669% 14670Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?" 146711st customer: "I'll have tea." 146722nd customer: "Me, too -- and be sure the glass is clean!" 14673 (Waiter exits, returns) 14674Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?" 14675% 14676Walk softly and carry a megawatt laser. 14677% 14678War hath no fury like a non-combatant. 14679 -- Charles Edward Montague 14680% 14681War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ketchup is a vegetable. 14682% 14683 WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: 14684 14685Firings will continue until morale improves. 14686% 14687WARNING: 14688 Reading this fortune can affect the dimensionality of your 14689mind, change the curvature of your spine, cause the growth of hair on 14690your palms, and make a difference in the outcome of your favorite war. 14691% 14692Warning: Listening to WXRT on April Fools' Day is not recommended for 14693those who are slightly disoriented the first few hours after waking 14694up. 14695 -- Chicago Reader 4/22/83 14696% 14697Warp 7 -- It's a law we can live with. 14698% 14699Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. 14700 -- John F. Kennedy 14701% 14702Waste not, get your budget cut next year. 14703% 14704Wasting time is an important part of living. 14705% 14706Watson's Law: 14707 The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the 14708number and significance of any persons watching it. 14709% 14710We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which 14711divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being 14712correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough. 14713 -- Niels Bohr 14714% 14715We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 14716 -- Oscar Wilde 14717% 14718We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm. 14719 -- Winston Churchill 14720% 14721We ARE as gods and might as well get good at it. 14722 -- Whole Earth Catalog 14723% 14724We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. 14725 -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" 14726% 14727We are going to give a little something, a few little years more, to 14728socialism, because socialism is defunct. It dies all by itself. The 14729bad thing is that socialism, being a victim of its ... Did I say 14730socialism? 14731 -- Fidel Castro 14732% 14733We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat's next-to-last theorem. 14734 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 14735% 14736We are upping our standards ... so up yours. 14737 -- Pat Paulsen for President, 1988. 14738% 14739We can defeat gravity. The problem is the paperwork involved. 14740% 14741We can predict everything, except the future. 14742% 14743We cannot put the face of a person on a stamp unless said person is 14744deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead. 14745 -- James E. Day, Postmaster General 14746% 14747We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty! 14748 -- Vroomfondel 14749% 14750We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company. 14751% 14752We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a 14753fish. 14754% 14755We don't understand the software, and sometimes we don't understand the 14756hardware, but we can *___see* the blinking lights! 14757% 14758We gave you an atomic bomb, what do you want, mermaids? 14759 -- I. I. Rabi to the Atomic Energy Commission 14760% 14761We had it tough ... I had to get up at 9 o'clock at night, half an 14762hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of dry poison, work 29 hours down 14763mill, and when we came home our Dad would kill us, and dance about on 14764our grave singing Haleleuia ... 14765 -- Monty Python 14766% 14767We have met the enemy, and he is us. 14768 -- Walt Kelly 14769% 14770We have only two things to worry about: That things will never get 14771back to normal, and that they already have. 14772% 14773We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his 14774hands for masturbation. 14775 -- Lily Tomlin 14776% 14777We have the flu. I don't know if this particular strain has an 14778official name, but if it does, it must be something like "Martian Death 14779Flu". You may have had it yourself. The main symptom is that you wish 14780you had another setting on your electric blanket, up past "HIGH", that 14781said "ELECTROCUTION". 14782 14783Another symptom is that you cease brushing your teeth, because (a) your 14784teeth hurt, and (b) you lack the strength. Midway through the brushing 14785process, you'd have to lie down in front of the sink to rest for a 14786couple of hours, and rivulets of toothpaste foam would dribble sideways 14787out of your mouth, eventually hardening into crusty little toothpaste 14788stalagmites that would bond your head permanently to the bathroom 14789floor, which is how the police would find you. 14790 14791You know the kind of flu I'm talking about. 14792 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 14793% 14794We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all 14795purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start 14796with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the 14797playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is 14798best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can 14799buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. 14800 -- Alan M. Turing 14801% 14802We may not return the affection of those who like us, but we always 14803respect their good judgement. 14804% 14805We must remember the First Amendment which protects any shrill jackass 14806no matter how self-seeking. 14807 -- F. G. Withington 14808% 14809We ought to be very grateful that we have tools. Millions of years ago 14810people did not have them, and home projects were extremely difficult. 14811For example, when a primitive person wanted to put up paneling, he had 14812to drive the little paneling nails into the cave wall with his bare 14813fist, so generally the paneling wound up getting spattered with 14814primitive blood, which isn't really all that bad when you consider how 14815ugly paneling is to begin with. 14816 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 14817% 14818We really don't have any enemies. It's just that some of our best 14819friends are trying to kill us. 14820% 14821 We were young and our happiness dazzled us with its strength. 14822But there was also a terrible betrayal that lay within me like a Merle 14823Haggard song at a French restaurant. ... 14824 I could not tell the girl about the woman of the tollway, of 14825her milk white BMW and her Jordache smile. There had been a fight. I 14826had punched her boyfriend, who fought the mechanical bulls. Everyone 14827told him, "You ride the bull, senor. You do not fight it." But he was 14828lean and tough like a bad rib-eye and he fought the bull. And then he 14829fought me. And when we finished there were no winners, just men doing 14830what men must do. ... 14831 "Stop the car," the girl said. There was a look of terrible 14832sadness in her eyes. She knew about the woman of the tollway. I knew 14833not how. I started to speak, but she raised an arm and spoke with a 14834quiet and peace I will never forget. 14835 "I do not ask for whom's the tollway belle," she said, "the 14836tollway belle's for thee." 14837 The next morning our youth was a memory, and our happiness was 14838a lie. Life is like a bad margarita with good tequila, I thought as I 14839poured whiskey onto my granola and faced a new day. 14840 -- Peter Applebome, International Imitation Hemingway 14841 Competition 14842% 14843We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one 14844technical problem -- how to run a sunbeam through a meter. 14845% 14846We will invent new lullabies, new songs, new acts of love, 14847we will cry over things we used to laugh & 14848our new wisdom will bring tears to eyes of gentile 14849creatures from other planets who were afraid of us till then & 14850in the end a summer with wild winds & 14851new friends will be. 14852% 14853We wish you a Hare Krishna 14854We wish you a Hare Krishna 14855We wish you a Hare Krishna 14856And a Sun Myung Moon! 14857 -- Maxwell Smart 14858% 14859We'll cross out that bridge when we come back to it later. 14860% 14861We're deep into the holiday gift-giving season, as you can tell from 14862the fact that everywhere you look, you see jolly old St. Nick urging 14863you to purchase things, to the point where you want to slug him right 14864in his bowl full of jelly. 14865 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 14866% 14867We're only in it for the volume. 14868 -- Black Sabbath 14869% 14870We've sent a man to the moon, and that's 29,000 miles away. The center 14871of the Earth is only 4,000 miles away. You could drive that in a week, 14872but for some reason nobody's ever done it. 14873 -- Andy Rooney 14874% 14875Weiler's Law: 14876 Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself. 14877% 14878Weinberg's First Law: 14879 Progress is made on alternate Fridays. 14880% 14881Weinberg's Principle: 14882 An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while 14883sweeping on to the grand fallacy. 14884% 14885Weinberg's Second Law: 14886 If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, 14887then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization. 14888% 14889Weiner's Law of Libraries: 14890 There are no answers, only cross references. 14891% 14892Welcome thy neighbor into thy fallout shelter. He'll come in handy if 14893you run out of food. 14894 -- Dean McLaughlin. 14895% 14896Well, here it is, 1983, so it won't be long before you start reading a 14897lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke. Hartke is a 14898governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the 14899reason you'll be reading about him is that he's one of the 50 top 14900contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. These men 14901will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the 14902most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and 14903appearing on "Meet the Press". "Meet the Press" is one of those Sunday 14904morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit 14905interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a 14906guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through 14907the entire show without answering a single question ... 14908 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 14909% 14910Well, I would -- if they realized that we -- again if -- if we led them 14911back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, 14912or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they 14913they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off. 14914 -- President Ronald Reagan, on the MX missile 14915% 14916Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *___can* 14917you believe?! 14918 -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward] 14919% 14920Well, my terminal's locked up, and I ain't got any Mail, 14921 And I can't recall the last time that my program didn't fail; 14922I've got stacks in my structs, I've got arrays in my queues, 14923 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14924 14925If you think that it's nice that you get what you C, 14926 Then go : illogical statement with your whole family, 14927'Cause the Supreme Court ain't the only place with : Bus error views. 14928 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14929 14930On a PDP-11, life should be a breeze, 14931 But with VAXen in the house even magnetic tapes would freeze. 14932Now you might think that unlike VAXen I'd know who I abuse, 14933 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14934 -- Core Dumped Blues 14935% 14936"Well, that was a piece of cake, eh K-9?" 14937 14938"Piece of cake, Master? Radial slice of baked confection ... 14939coefficient of relevance to Key of Time: zero." 14940 -- Dr. Who 14941% 14942"Well," Brahma said, "even after ten thousand explanations, a fool is 14943no wiser, but an intelligent man requires only two thousand five 14944hundred." 14945 -- The Mahabharata. 14946% 14947Westheimer's Discovery: 14948 A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a 14949couple of hours in the library. 14950% 14951Wethern's Law: 14952 Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. 14953% 14954"What are we going to do?" 14955 14956"Me, I'm examining the major Western religions. I'm looking for 14957something that's soft on morality, generous with holidays, and has a 14958short initiation period." 14959% 14960"What are you doing?" 14961 14962"Examining the world's major religions. I'm looking for something 14963that's light on morals, has lots of holidays, and with a short 14964initiation period." 14965% 14966What color is a chameleon on a mirror? 14967% 14968 "What do you give a man who has everything?" the pretty 14969teenager asked her mother. 14970 "Encouragement, dear," she replied. 14971% 14972What does "it" mean in the sentence "What time is it?"? 14973% 14974What does it mean if there is no fortune for you? 14975% 14976What garlic is to food, insanity is to art. 14977% 14978What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. 14979% 14980What George Washington did for us was to throw out the British, so 14981that we wouldn't have a fat, insensitive government running our 14982country. Nice try anyway, George. 14983 -- D.J. on KSFO/KYA 14984% 14985What good is a ticket to the good life, if you can't find the 14986entrance? 14987% 14988What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow 14989in his footsteps? 14990% 14991What I do, first thing [in the morning], is I hop into the shower 14992stall. Then I hop right back out, because when I hopped in I landed 14993barefoot right on top of See Threepio, a little plastic robot character 14994from "Star Wars" whom my son, Robert, likes to pull the legs off of 14995while he showers. Then I hop right back into the stall because our 14996dog, Earnest, who has been alone in the basement all night building up 14997powerful dog emotions, has come bounding and quivering into the 14998bathroom and wants to greet me with 60 or 70 thousand playful nips, any 14999one of which -- bear in mind that I am naked and, without my contact 15000lenses, essentially blind -- could result in the kind of injury where 15001you have to learn a whole new part if you want to sing the "Messiah", 15002if you get my drift. Then I hop right back out, because Robert, with 15003that uncanny sixth sense some children have -- you cannot teach it; 15004they either have it or they don't -- has chosen exactly that moment to 15005flush one of the toilets. Perhaps several of them. 15006 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 15007% 15008What I tell you three times is true. 15009% 15010What I think is that the F-word is basically just a convenient nasty- 15011sounding word that we tend to use when we would really like to come up 15012with a terrifically witty insult, the kind Winston Churchill always 15013came up with when enormous women asked him stupid questions at 15014parties. 15015 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15016% 15017What I want is all of the power and none of the responsibility. 15018% 15019What I've done, of course, is total garbage. 15020 -- R. Willard, Pure Math 430a 15021% 15022What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I 15023definitely overpaid for my carpet. 15024 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15025% 15026What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's 15027worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists? 15028 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15029% 15030What is a magician but a practicing theorist? 15031 -- Obi-Wan Kenobi 15032% 15033What is mind? No matter. 15034What is matter? Never mind. 15035 -- Thomas Hewitt Key, 1799-1875 15036% 15037What is the difference between a Turing machine and the modern 15038computer? It's the same as that between Hillary's ascent of Everest 15039and the establishment of a Hilton on its peak. 15040% 15041"What is the Nature of God?" 15042 15043 CLICK...CLICK...WHIRRR...CLICK...=BEEP!= 15044 1 QT. SOUR CREAM 15045 1 TSP. SAUERKRAUT 15046 1/2 CUT CHIVES. 15047 STIR AND SPRINKLE WITH BACON BITS. 15048 15049"I've just GOT to start labeling my software..." 15050 -- Bloom County 15051% 15052What is the robbing of a bank compared to the FOUNDING of a bank? 15053 -- Berthold Brecht 15054% 15055What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, 15056which is the exact opposite. 15057 -- Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical_Essays", 1928 15058% 15059What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do. 15060% 15061What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing 15062to compare it with. 15063% 15064What publishers are looking for these days isn't radical feminism. 15065It's corporate feminism -- a brand of feminism designed to sell books 15066and magazines, three-piece suits, airline tickets, Scotch, cigarettes 15067and, most important, corporate America's message, which runs: "Yes, 15068women were discriminated against in the past, but that unfortunate 15069mistake has been remedied; now every woman can attain wealth, prestige 15070and power by dint of individual rather than collective effort." 15071 -- Susan Gordon 15072% 15073What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? 15074 -- Ursula K. LeGuin 15075% 15076What the hell, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. 15077% 15078What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away. 15079% 15080What the world *really* needs is a good Automatic Bicycle Sharpener. 15081% 15082What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent bagel. 15083% 15084What this country needs is a good five cent ANYTHING! 15085% 15086What this country needs is a good five cent microcomputer. 15087% 15088What this country needs is a good five cent nickel. 15089% 15090What this country needs is a good five dollar plasma weapon. 15091% 15092What this world needs is a good five-dollar plasma weapon. 15093% 15094What use is magic if it can't save a unicorn? 15095 -- Peter S. Beagle, "The Last Unicorn" 15096% 15097What we need in this country, instead of Daylight Savings Time, which 15098nobody really understands anyway, is a new concept called Weekday 15099Morning Time, whereby at 7 a.m. every weekday we go into a space- 15100launch-style "hold" for two to three hours, during which it just 15101remains 7 a.m. This way we could all wake up via a civilized gradual 15102process of stretching and belching and scratching, and it would still 15103be only 7 a.m. when we were ready to actually emerge from bed. 15104 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15105% 15106What you don't know can hurt you, only you won't know it. 15107% 15108What's another word for Thesaurus? 15109 -- Steven Wright 15110% 15111 "What's that thing?" 15112 "Well, it's a highly technical, sensitive instrument we use in 15113computer repair. Being a layman, you probably can't grasp exactly what 15114it does. We call it a two-by-four." 15115 -- Jeff MacNelley, "Shoe" 15116% 15117What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it? 15118 -- Dr. Who 15119% 15120Whatever became of eternal truth? 15121% 15122Whatever became of Strange de Jim? Well, he found a substitute for 15123cocaine: "You cover Q-tips with sandpaper and ram them up your nostrils 15124as far as they will go. Then you sniff talcum powder while shredding 15125hundred dollar bills." 15126 -- Herb Caen 15127% 15128Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not 15129nailed down. 15130 -- Collis P. Huntingdon 15131% 15132Whatever the missing mass of the universe is, I hope it's not cockroaches! 15133 -- Mom 15134% 15135When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him -- that's where the 15136money is. 15137 -- Robespierre 15138% 15139When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the 15140thing," it's the money. 15141 -- Kim Hubbard 15142% 15143When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half 15144loop? 15145% 15146When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is 15147not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space 15148travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere. 15149 -- Robert Heinlein, "Time Enough For Love" 15150% 15151When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the 15152sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain 15153relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. 15154 -- Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" 15155% 15156When all other means of communication fail, try words. 15157% 15158When are you BUTTHEADS gonna learn that you can't oppose Gestapo 15159tactics *with* Gestapo tactics? 15160 -- Reuben Flagg 15161% 15162When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before 15163the white men came, an Indian said simply "Ours." 15164 -- Vine Deloria, Jr. 15165% 15166When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask? Well, last year, I 15167think it was a Tuesday. 15168% 15169When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to 15170guarantee them. 15171% 15172When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great 15173parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if 15174I'm leaving. 15175 -- Steven Wright 15176% 15177When I heated my home with oil, I used an average of 800 gallons a 15178year. I have found that I can keep comfortably warm for an entire 15179winter with slightly over half that quantity of beer. 15180 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15181% 15182When I said "we", officer, I was referring to myself, the four young 15183ladies, and, of course, the goat. 15184% 15185When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now 15186I'm beginning to believe it. 15187 -- Clarence Darrow 15188% 15189When I was a kid I said to my father one afternoon, "Daddy, will you 15190take me to the zoo?" He answered, "If the zoo wants you let them come 15191and get you." 15192 -- Jerry Lewis 15193% 15194When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked if I had any 15195firearms with me. I said, `Well, what do you need?' 15196 -- Steven Wright 15197% 15198When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: I looked into 15199the soul of the boy sitting next to me. 15200 -- Woody Allen 15201% 15202When I was seven years old, I was once reprimanded by my mother for an 15203act of collective brutality in which I had been involved at school. A 15204group of seven-year-olds had been teasing and tormenting a 15205six-year-old. "It is always so," my mother said. "You do things 15206together which not one of you would think of doing alone." ... 15207Wherever one looks in the world of human organization, collective 15208responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards. The military 15209establishment is an extreme case, an organization which seems to have 15210been expressly designed to make it possible for people to do things 15211together which nobody in his right mind would do alone. 15212 -- Freeman Dyson, "Weapons and Hope" 15213% 15214When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened 15215or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I 15216cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to 15217go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. 15218 -- Mark Twain 15219% 15220When in doubt, do what the President does -- guess. 15221% 15222When in doubt, tell the truth. 15223 -- Mark Twain 15224% 15225When in doubt, use brute force. 15226 -- Ken Thompson 15227% 15228When in panic, fear and doubt, 15229Drink in barrels, eat, and shout. 15230% 15231When love is gone, there's always justice. 15232And when justice is gone, there's always force. 15233And when force is gone, there's always Mom. 15234Hi, Mom! 15235 -- Laurie Anderson 15236% 15237When Marriage is Outlawed, 15238Only Outlaws will have Inlaws. 15239% 15240When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment 15241results. 15242 -- Calvin Coolidge 15243% 15244When one woman was asked how long she had been going to symphony 15245concerts, she paused to calculate and replied, "Forty-seven years -- 15246and I find I mind it less and less." 15247 -- Louise Andrews Kent 15248% 15249When properly administered, vacations do not diminish productivity: 15250for every week you're away and get nothing done, there's another when 15251your boss is away and you get twice as much done. 15252 -- Daniel B. Luten 15253% 15254When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only 15255say what I wish done," give him a lollipop. 15256% 15257When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical. 15258 -- Jon Carroll 15259% 15260When the government bureau's remedies don't match your problem, you 15261modify the problem, not the remedy. 15262% 15263When the Ngdanga tribe of West Africa hold their moon love ceremonies, 15264the men of the tribe bang their heads on sacred trees until they get a 15265nose bleed, which usually cures them of ____that. 15266 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 15267% 15268When the speaker and he to whom he is speaks do not understand, that is 15269metaphysics. 15270 -- Voltaire 15271% 15272When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the 15273stars were lined up in their proper places, you could easily count them 15274from left to right, or top to bottom, and the larger and bluer ones 15275were set apart, and the smaller yellowing types pushed off to the 15276corners as bodies of a lower grade ... 15277 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 15278% 15279When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, the 15280plane will fly. 15281 -- Donald Douglas 15282% 15283When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most 15284insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are 15285required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and 15286exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. 15287 -- George Bernard Shaw 15288% 15289When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is 15290not hereditary. 15291 -- Thomas Paine 15292% 15293When we understand knowledge-based systems, it will be as before -- 15294except our fingertips will have been singed. 15295 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 15296% 15297When you are about to do an objective and scientific piece of 15298investigation of a topic, it is well to have the answer firmly in hand, 15299so that you can proceed forthrightly, without being deflected or 15300swayed, directly to the goal. 15301 -- Amrom Katz 15302% 15303When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut. 15304% 15305When you don't know what you are doing, do it neatly. 15306% 15307When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. 15308 -- Harry Truman 15309% 15310 When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure 15311clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer 15312to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. 15313 In a way, the next move is up to him. 15314 -- R. A. Lafferty 15315% 15316When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." 15317 -- Winston Churchill, On formal declarations of war 15318% 15319When you know absolutely nothing about the topic, make your forecast by 15320asking a carefully selected probability sample of 300 others who don't 15321know the answer either. 15322 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 15323% 15324When you make your mark in the world, watch out for guys with erasers. 15325 -- The Wall Street Journal 15326% 15327When you try to make an impression, the chances are that is the 15328impression you will make. 15329% 15330When you're away, I'm restless, lonely, 15331Wretched, bored, dejected; only 15332Here's the rub, my darling dear 15333I feel the same when you are near. 15334 -- Samuel Hoffenstein, "When You're Away" 15335% 15336When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. 15337% 15338Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really". 15339 -- Dave Parnas 15340% 15341Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to 15342see it tried on him personally. 15343 -- A. Lincoln 15344% 15345Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. 15346 -- Oscar Wilde 15347% 15348Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last 15349you are going to see of him until he emerges on the other side of his 15350Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. 15351 -- Mark Twain 15352 "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" 15353% 15354Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time 15355to reform. 15356 -- Mark Twain 15357% 15358WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE 15359 15360 Oh, dear, where can the matter be 15361 When it's converted to energy? 15362 There is a slight loss of parity. 15363 Johnny's so long at the fair. 15364% 15365Where humor is concerned there are no standards -- no one can say what 15366is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. 15367 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 15368% 15369Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax. 15370% 15371Whether you can hear it or not 15372The Universe is laughing behind your back 15373 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 15374% 15375Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? Who knows? Who cares? 15376% 15377While anyone can admit to themselves they were wrong, the true test is 15378admission to someone else. 15379% 15380While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, 15381The fate of empires and the fall of kings; 15382While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 15383And even children lisp the Rights of Man; 15384Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, 15385The Rights of Woman merit some attention. 15386 -- Robert Burns, Address on "The Rights of Woman", 15387 November 26, 1792 15388% 15389While having never invented a sin, I'm trying to perfect several. 15390% 15391While it may be true that a watched pot never boils, the one you don't 15392keep an eye on can make an awful mess of your stove. 15393 -- Edward Stevenson 15394% 15395While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own 15396form of misery. 15397% 15398While money doesn't buy love, it puts you in a great bargaining position. 15399% 15400While most peoples' opinions change, the conviction of their 15401correctness never does. 15402% 15403While you don't greatly need the outside world, it's still very 15404reassuring to know that it's still there. 15405% 15406While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are 15407safe, for you can watch both of his. 15408 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15409% 15410Whistler's Law: 15411 You never know who is right, but you always know who is in 15412charge. 15413% 15414"Who cares if it doesn't do anything? It was made with our new 15415Triple-Iso-Bifurcated-Krypton-Gate-MOS process ..." 15416% 15417Who made the world I cannot tell; 15418'Tis made, and here am I in hell. 15419My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, 15420I never soiled with such a deed. 15421 -- A. E. Housman 15422% 15423Who messed with my anti-paranoia shot? 15424% 15425Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink? 15426% 15427Who's on first? 15428% 15429"Whom are you?" said he, for he had been to night school. 15430 -- George Ade 15431% 15432Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. 15433% 15434Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. 15435% 15436Why are we importing all these highbrow plays like `Amadeus'? I could 15437have told you Mozart was a jerk for nothing. 15438 -- Ian Shoales 15439% 15440Why be a man when you can be a success? 15441 -- Berthold Brecht 15442% 15443Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we 15444have? 15445% 15446Why can't you be a non-conformist like everyone else? 15447% 15448Why did the Lord give us so much quickness of movement unless it was to 15449avoid responsibility with? 15450% 15451Why did the Roman Empire collapse? 15452What is the Latin for office automation? 15453% 15454Why do we have two eyes? To watch 3-D movies with. 15455% 15456Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently 15457there must be a beverage. 15458 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15459% 15460Why does New Jersey have more toxic waste dumps and California have 15461more lawyers? 15462 15463New Jersey had first choice. 15464% 15465Why don't elephants eat penguins ? 15466 15467Because they can't get the wrappers off ... 15468% 15469Why I Can't Go Out With You: 15470 15471I'd LOVE to, but ... 15472 -- I have to floss my cat. 15473 -- I've dedicated my life to linguini. 15474 -- I need to spend more time with my blender. 15475 -- it wouldn't be fair to the other Beautiful People. 15476 -- it's my night to pet the dog/ferret/goldfish. 15477 -- I'm going downtown to try on some gloves. 15478 -- I have to check the freshness dates on my dairy products. 15479 -- I'm going down to the bakery to watch the buns rise. 15480 -- I have an appointment with a cuticle specialist. 15481 -- I have some really hard words to look up. 15482 -- I've got a Friends of the Lowly Rutabaga meeting. 15483 -- I promised to help a friend fold road maps. 15484% 15485Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is 15486because we are not the person involved 15487 -- Mark Twain 15488% 15489Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 15490% 15491Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet? 15492 -- Lily Tomlin 15493% 15494Why must you tell me all your secrets when it's hard enough to love 15495you knowing nothing? 15496 -- Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 15497% 15498Why not have an old-fashioned Christmas for your family this year? 15499Just picture the scene in your living room on Christmas morning as your 15500children open their old-fashioned presents. 15501 15502Your 11-year-old son: "What the heck is this?" 15503 15504You: "A spinning top! You spin it around, and then eventually it 15505 falls down. What fun! Ha, ha!" 15506 15507Son: "Is this a joke? Jason Thompson's parents got him a computer 15508 with two disk drives and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory, 15509 and I get this cretin TOP?" 15510 15511Your 8-year-old daughter: "You think that's bad? Look at this." 15512 15513You: "It's figgy pudding! What a treat!" 15514 15515Daughter: "It looks like goat barf." 15516 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15517% 15518Why was I born with such contemporaries? 15519 -- Oscar Wilde 15520% 15521Why You Can't Run When There's Trouble in the Office: 15522 No matter where you stand, no matter how far or fast you flee, 15523when it hits the fan, as much as possible will be propelled in your 15524direction, and almost none will be returned to the source. 15525 -- John L. Shelton 15526% 15527Wiker's Law: 15528 Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. 15529% 15530 William Safire's Rules for Writers: 15531 15532Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never 15533be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to 15534agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words 15535out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal 15536of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must 15537not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a 15538conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a 15539sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as 15540close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more 15541words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles 15542must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a 15543linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing 15544metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should 15545be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their 15546writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows 15547the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek 15548viable alternatives. 15549% 15550Williams and Holland's Law: 15551 If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by 15552statistical methods. 15553% 15554Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as 15555it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. 15556% 15557Wit, n.: 15558 The salt with which the American Humorist spoils his cookery 15559... by leaving it out. 15560 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15561% 15562With a gentleman I try to be a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I 15563try to be a fraud and a half. 15564 -- Otto von Bismark 15565% 15566With a rubber duck, one's never alone. 15567 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15568% 15569With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once 15570build a nuclear balm? 15571% 15572With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand 15573miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and 15574still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no 15575such thing as progress. 15576 -- Ransom K. Ferm 15577% 15578Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless. 15579% 15580Wombat's Laws of Computer Selection: 15581 (1) If it doesn't run Unix, forget it. 15582 (2) Any computer design over 10 years old is obsolete. 15583 (3) Anything made by IBM is junk. (See number 2) 15584 (4) The minimum acceptable CPU power for a single user is a 15585 VAX/780 with a floating point accelerator. 15586 (5) Any computer with a mouse is worthless. 15587 -- Rich Kulawiec 15588% 15589Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If 15590you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut 15591down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that 15592tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with 15593long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit 15594there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you 15595come back. 15596 15597Wood heat is not new. It dates back to a day millions of years ago, 15598when a group of cavemen were sitting around, watching dinosaurs rot. 15599Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby log and set it on fire. One of the 15600cavemen stared at the fire for a few minutes, then said: "Hey! Wood 15601heat!" The other cavemen, who did not understand English, immediately 15602beat him to death with stones. But the key discovery had been made, 15603and from that day forward, the cavemen had all the heat they needed, 15604although their insurance rates went way up. 15605 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15606% 15607Work Rule: Leave of Absence (for an Operation): 15608 We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage 15609any thoughts that you may not need all of whatever you have, and you 15610should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are, 15611and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we 15612bargained for. 15613% 15614Workers of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your chairs. 15615% 15616World War Three can be averted by adherence to a strictly enforced 15617dress code! 15618% 15619Worst Month of 1981 for Downhill Skiing: 15620 August. The lines are the shortest, though. 15621 -- Steve Rubenstein 15622% 15623Worst Month of the Year: 15624 February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if 15625you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't 15626get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible. 15627 -- Steve Rubenstein 15628% 15629Worst Response To A Crisis, 1985: 15630 From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved 15631in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding bombs 15632damage my videotapes?" 15633% 15634Worst Vegetable of the Year: 15635 The brussels sprout. This is also the worst vegetable of next 15636year. 15637 -- Steve Rubenstein 15638% 15639"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" 15640 15641"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. 15642 -- Lewis Carroll 15643% 15644Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish 15645and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign' have been clearer 15646if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and 15647and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and 15648and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips? 15649% 15650Write-Protect Tab, n.: 15651 A small sticker created to cover the unsightly notch carelessly 15652left by disk manufacturers. The use of the tab creates an error 15653message once in a while, but its aesthetic value far outweighs the 15654momentary inconvenience. 15655 -- Robb Russon 15656% 15657Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. 15658 -- Frank Zappa 15659% 15660"Wrong," said Renner. 15661 15662"The tactful way," Rod said quietly, "the polite way to disagree with 15663the Senator would be to say, `That turns out not to be the case.'" 15664% 15665X-rated movies are all alike -- the only thing they leave to the 15666imagination is the plot. 15667% 15668Xerox does it again and again and again and ... 15669% 15670Xerox never comes up with anything original. 15671% 15672XIIdigitation, n.: 15673 The practice of trying to determine the year a movie was made 15674by deciphering the Roman numerals at the end of the credits. 15675 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15676% 15677"Yacc" owes much to a most stimulating collection of users, who have 15678goaded me beyond my inclination, and frequently beyond my ability in 15679their endless search for "one more feature". Their irritating 15680unwillingness to learn how to do things my way has usually led to my 15681doing things their way; most of the time, they have been right. 15682 -- Stephen C. Johnson, "Yacc guide acknowledgements" 15683% 15684Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of APL, I shall 15685fear no evil, for I can string six primitive monadic and dyadic 15686operators together. 15687 -- Steve Higgins 15688% 15689Yeah, but you're taking the universe out of context. 15690% 15691Year, n.: 15692 A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. 15693 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15694% 15695Yes, but every time I try to see things your way, I get a headache. 15696% 15697Yes, but which self do you want to be? 15698% 15699Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. 15700Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. 15701Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. 15702 -- Snoopy 15703% 15704Yesterday upon the stair 15705I met a man who wasn't there. 15706He wasn't there again today -- 15707I think he's from the CIA. 15708% 15709Yield to Temptation ... it may not pass your way again. 15710 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 15711% 15712Yinkel, n.: 15713 A person who combs his hair over his bald spot, hoping no one 15714will notice. 15715 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15716% 15717You are a very redundant person, that's what kind of person you are. 15718% 15719You are here: 15720 *** 15721 *** 15722 ********* 15723 ******* 15724 ***** 15725 *** 15726 * 15727 15728 But you're not all there. 15729% 15730"You are old, Father William," the young man said, 15731 "All your papers these days look the same; 15732Those William's would be better unread -- 15733 Do these facts never fill you with shame?" 15734 15735"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, 15736 "I wrote wonderful papers galore; 15737But the great reputation I found that I'd won, 15738 Made it pointless to think any more." 15739% 15740"You are old, father William," the young man said, 15741 "And your hair has become very white; 15742And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- 15743 Do you think, at your age, it is right?" 15744 15745"In my youth," father William replied to his son, 15746 "I feared it might injure the brain; 15747But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, 15748 Why, I do it again and again." 15749 -- Lewis Carroll 15750% 15751"You are old," said the youth, "and I'm told by my peers 15752 That your lectures bore people to death. 15753Yet you talk at one hundred conventions per year -- 15754 Don't you think that you should save your breath?" 15755 15756"I have answered three questions and that is enough," 15757 Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs! 15758Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15759 Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" 15760% 15761"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak 15762 For anything tougher than suet; 15763Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- 15764 Pray, how did you manage to do it?" 15765 15766"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, 15767 And argued each case with my wife; 15768And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw, 15769 Has lasted the rest of my life." 15770 -- Lewis Carroll 15771% 15772"You are old," said the youth, "and your programs don't run, 15773 And there isn't one language you like; 15774Yet of useful suggestions for help you have none -- 15775 Have you thought about taking a hike?" 15776 15777"Since I never write programs," his father replied, 15778 "Every language looks equally bad; 15779Yet the people keep paying to read all my books 15780 And don't realize that they've been had." 15781% 15782"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15783 And have grown most uncommonly fat; 15784Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- 15785 Pray what is the reason of that?" 15786 15787"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 15788 "I kept all my limbs very supple 15789By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- 15790 Allow me to sell you a couple?" 15791 -- Lewis Carroll 15792% 15793"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15794 And make errors few people could bear; 15795You complain about everyone's English but yours -- 15796 Do you really think this is quite fair?" 15797 15798"I make lots of mistakes," Father William declared, 15799 "But my stature these days is so great 15800That no critic can hurt me -- I've got them all scared, 15801 And to stop me it's now far too late." 15802% 15803"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose 15804 That your eye was as steady as ever; 15805Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- 15806 What made you so awfully clever?" 15807 15808"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," 15809 Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! 15810Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15811 Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" 15812 -- Lewis Carroll 15813% 15814You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. 15815% 15816You are the only person to ever get this message. 15817% 15818You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading 15819this sort of trash. 15820% 15821You buttered your bread, now lie in it! 15822% 15823You can always tell the Christmas season is here when you start getting 15824incredibly dense, tinfoil-and-ribbon- wrapped lumps in the mail. 15825Fruitcakes make ideal gifts because the Postal Service has been unable 15826to find a way to damage them. They last forever, largely because 15827nobody ever eats them. In fact, many smart people save the fruitcakes 15828they receive and send them back to the original givers the next year; 15829some fruitcakes have been passed back and forth for hundreds of years. 15830 15831The easiest way to make a fruitcake is to buy a darkish cake, then 15832pound some old, hard fruit into it with a mallet. Be sure to wear 15833safety glasses. 15834 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15835% 15836You can bring any calculator you like to the midterm, as long as it 15837doesn't dim the lights when you turn it on. 15838 -- Hepler, Systems Design 182 15839% 15840You can create your own opportunities this week. 15841Blackmail a senior executive. 15842% 15843You can do this in a number of ways. IBM chose to do all of them. 15844Why do you find that funny? 15845 -- D. Taylor, Computer Science 350, University of Washington 15846% 15847You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you 15848can with just a kind word. 15849 -- Bumper Sticker 15850% 15851You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, 15852for instance. 15853 -- Franklin P. Jones 15854% 15855You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular. 15856% 15857You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on 15858the continuing viability of FORTRAN. 15859 -- Alan Perlis 15860% 15861You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. 15862% 15863You can take all the impact that science considerations have on funding 15864decisions at NASA, put them in the navel of a flea, and have room left 15865over for a caraway seed and Tony Calio's heart. 15866 -- F. Allen 15867% 15868You can tell how far we have to go, when FORTRAN is the language of 15869supercomputers. 15870 -- Steven Feiner 15871% 15872You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish. 15873% 15874You can write a small letter to Grandma in the filename. 15875 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 15876% 15877You can't carve your way to success without cutting remarks. 15878% 15879You can't have everything. Where would you put it? 15880 -- Steven Wright 15881% 15882You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. 15883 -- Booker T. Washington 15884% 15885You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair. 15886% 15887You can't make a program without broken egos. 15888% 15889You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic 15890enough worrying about what's happening now. 15891 -- Lauren Bacall 15892% 15893You can't survive by sucking the juice from a wet mitten. 15894 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 15895 Over and Over" 15896% 15897You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they don't. 15898 -- Dagwood Bumstead 15899% 15900You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd. 15901% 15902You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. 15903% 15904You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. 15905% 15906You could get a new lease on life -- if only you didn't need the first 15907and last month in advance. 15908% 15909You couldn't even prove the White House staff sane beyond a reasonable 15910doubt. 15911 -- Ed Meese, on the Hinckley verdict 15912% 15913You do not have mail. 15914% 15915You don't have to think too hard when you talk to teachers. 15916 -- J. D. Salinger 15917% 15918You don't sew with a fork, so I see no reason to eat with knitting 15919needles. 15920 -- Miss Piggy, on eating Chinese Food 15921% 15922You first have to decide whether to use the short or the long form. 15923The short form is what the Internal Revenue Service calls "simplified", 15924which means it is designed for people who need the help of a Sears 15925tax-preparation expert to distinguish between their first and last 15926names. Here's the complete text: 15927 15928 "(1) How much did you make? (AMOUNT) 15929 "(2) How much did we here at the government take out? (AMOUNT) 15930 "(3) Hey! Sounds like we took too much! So we're going to 15931 send an official government check for (ONE-FIFTEENTH OF 15932 THE AMOUNT WE TOOK) directly to the (YOUR LAST NAME) 15933 household at (YOUR ADDRESS), for you to spend in any way 15934 you please! Which just goes to show you, (YOUR FIRST 15935 NAME), that it pays to file the short form!" 15936 15937The IRS wants you to use this form because it gets to keep most of your 15938money. So unless you have pond silt for brains, you want the long 15939form. 15940 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 15941% 15942You have a tendency to feel you are superior to most computers. 15943% 15944You have acquired a scroll entitled 'irk gleknow mizk'(n).--More-- 15945 15946This is an IBM Manual scroll.--More-- 15947 15948You are permanently confused. 15949 -- Dave Decot 15950% 15951You have an unusual magnetic personality. Don't walk too close to 15952metal objects which are not fastened down. 15953% 15954You have junk mail. 15955% 15956You have the body of a 19 year old. Please return it before it gets 15957wrinkled. 15958% 15959You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You'll learn a lot today. 15960% 15961You know it's going to be a bad day when you want to put on the clothes 15962you wore home from the party and there aren't any. 15963% 15964You know the great thing about TV? If something important happens 15965anywhere at all in the world, no matter what time of the day or night, 15966you can always change the channel. 15967 -- Jim Ignatowski 15968% 15969You know you have a small apartment when Rice Krispies echo. 15970 -- S. Rickly Christian 15971% 15972You know you're a little fat if you have stretch marks on your car. 15973 -- Cyrus, Chicago Reader 1/22/82 15974% 15975You know you've been spending too much time on the computer when your 15976friend misdates a check, and you suggest adding a "++" to fix it. 15977% 15978You know you've landed gear-up when it takes full power to taxi. 15979% 15980 "You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon 15981airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in 15982deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me 15983when I was young!" 15984 "Why, what did she tell you?" 15985 "I don't know, I didn't listen!" 15986 -- Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15987% 15988You look like a million dollars. All green and wrinkled. 15989% 15990You may be recognized soon. Hide. 15991% 15992You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a "realist," he 15993is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing. 15994 -- Sydney Harris 15995% 15996You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue -- agree with 15997him. 15998 -- Ed Howe 15999% 16000You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog. 16001 -- Alfred Kahn 16002% 16003You men out there probably think you already know how to dress for 16004success. You know, for example, that you should not wear leisure suits 16005or white plastic belts and shoes, unless you are going to a costume 16006party disguised as a pig farmer vacationing at Disney World. 16007 -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" 16008% 16009You might have mail. 16010% 16011You might have had mail. 16012% 16013You must realize that the computer has it in for you. The irrefutable 16014proof of this is that the computer always does what you tell it to do. 16015% 16016You need no longer worry about the future. This time tomorrow you'll 16017be dead. 16018% 16019You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a 16020reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating 16021the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for 16022independence. 16023 -- Charles A. Beard 16024% 16025You never know how many friends you have until you rent a house on the 16026beach. 16027% 16028You or I must yield up his life to Ahrimanes. I would rather it were 16029you. I should have no hesitation in sacrificing my own life to spare 16030yours, but we take stock next week, and it would not be fair on the 16031company. 16032 -- J. Wellington Wells 16033% 16034You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained. 16035% 16036You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could 16037know how seldom they do. 16038 -- Olin Miller. 16039% 16040You should emulate your heros, but don't carry it too far. Especially 16041if they are dead. 16042% 16043You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than 16044about 10^12 to 1. 16045 -- Ernest Rutherford 16046% 16047You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for 16048freedom and liberty. 16049 -- Henrik Ibsen 16050% 16051You should not use your fireplace, because scientists now believe that, 16052contrary to popular opinion, fireplaces actually remove heat from 16053houses. Really, that's what scientists believe. In fact many 16054scientists actually use their fireplaces to cool their houses in the 16055summer. If you visit a scientist's house on a sultry August day, 16056you'll find a cheerful fire roaring on the hearth and the scientist 16057sitting nearby, remarking on how cool he is and drinking heavily. 16058 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 16059% 16060You should tip the waiter $10, minus $2 if he tells you his name, 16061another $2 if he claims it will be His Pleasure to serve you and 16062another $2 for each "special" he describes involving confusing terms 16063such as "shallots," and $4 if the menu contains the word "fixin's." In 16064many restaurants, this means the waiter will actually owe you money. 16065If you are traveling with a child aged six months to three years, you 16066should leave an additional amount equal to twice the bill to compensate 16067for the fact that they will have to take the banquette out and burn it 16068because the cracks are wedged solid with gobbets made of partially 16069chewed former restaurant rolls saturated with baby spit. 16070 16071In New York, tip the taxicab driver $40 if he does not mention his 16072hemorrhoids. 16073 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 16074% 16075You should, without hesitation, pound your typewriter into a 16076plowshare, your paper into fertilizer, and enter agriculture. 16077 -- Business Professor, University of Georgia 16078% 16079You think Oedipus had a problem -- Adam was Eve's mother. 16080% 16081 YOU TOO CAN MAKE BIG MONEY IN THE EXCITING FIELD OF 16082 PAPER SHUFFLING! 16083 16084Mr. TAA of Muddle, Mass. says: "Before I took this course I used to be 16085a lowly bit twiddler. Now with what I learned at MIT Tech I feel 16086really important and can obfuscate and confuse with the best." 16087 16088Mr. MARC had this to say: "Ten short days ago all I could look forward 16089to was a dead-end job as a engineer. Now I have a promising future and 16090make really big Zorkmids." 16091 16092MIT Tech can't promise these fantastic results to everyone, but when 16093you earn your MDL degree from MIT Tech your future will be brighter. 16094 16095 SEND FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE TODAY! 16096% 16097You too can wear a nose mitten. 16098% 16099You will be a winner today. Pick a fight with a four-year-old. 16100% 16101You will be attacked by a beast who has the body of a wolf, the tail of 16102a lion, and the face of Donald Duck. 16103% 16104You will be surprised by a loud noise. 16105% 16106You will be Told about it Tomorrow. Go Home and Prepare Thyself. 16107% 16108You will feel hungry again in another hour. 16109% 16110You will lose your present job and have to become a door to door 16111mayonnaise salesman. 16112% 16113 You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the 16114Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the 16115parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day. 16116 -- Sherlock Holmes 16117% 16118You will think of something funnier than this to add to the fortunes. 16119% 16120You worry too much about your job. Stop it. You're not paid enough to 16121worry. 16122% 16123You'd better beat it. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a 16124taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a 16125minute and a huff. 16126 -- Groucho Marx 16127% 16128"You'll never be the man your mother was!" 16129% 16130You're at the end of the road again. 16131% 16132You're being followed. Cut out the hanky-panky for a few days. 16133% 16134You're never too old to become younger. 16135 -- Mae West 16136% 16137You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. 16138 -- Dean Martin 16139% 16140You're not my type. For that matter, you're not even my species!!! 16141% 16142You've been leading a dog's life. Stay off the furniture. 16143% 16144You've got to have a gimmick if your band sucks. 16145 -- Gary Giddens 16146% 16147"You've got to think about tomorrow!" 16148 16149"TOMORROW! I haven't even prepared for *_________yesterday* yet!" 16150% 16151Your analyst has you mixed up with another patient. Don't believe a 16152thing he tells you. 16153% 16154Your conscience never stops you from doing anything. It just stops you 16155from enjoying it. 16156% 16157Your fault: core dumped 16158% 16159 Your home electrical system is basically a bunch of wires that 16160bring electricity into your home and take if back out before it has a 16161chance to kill you. This is called a "circuit". The most common home 16162electrical problem is when the circuit is broken by a "circuit 16163breaker"; this causes the electricity to back up in one of the wires 16164until it bursts out of an outlet in the form of sparks, which can 16165damage your carpet. The best way to avoid broken circuits is to change 16166your fuses regularly. 16167 Another common problem is that the lights flicker. This 16168sometimes means that your electrical system is inadequate, but more 16169often it means that your home is possessed by demons, in which case 16170you'll need to get a caulking gun and some caulking. If you're not 16171sure whether your house is possessed, see "The Amityville Horror", a 16172fine documentary film based on an actual book. Or call in a licensed 16173electrician, who is trained to spot the signs of demonic possession, 16174such as blood coming down the stairs, enormous cats on the dinette 16175table, etc. 16176 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 16177% 16178Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret. 16179% 16180Your lucky color has faded. 16181% 16182Your lucky number has been disconnected. 16183% 16184Your lucky number is 3552664958674928. Watch for it everywhere. 16185% 16186Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with. 16187% 16188Yow! Am I having fun yet? 16189 -- Zippy the Pinhead 16190% 16191YOW!! Everybody out of the GENETIC POOL! 16192% 16193Zero Defects, n.: 16194 The result of shutting down a production line. 16195% 16196Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words 16197since I first called my brother's father dad. 16198 -- William Shakespeare, "King John" 16199% 16200Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor: 16201 People are always available for work in the past tense. 16202% 16203 THE LAST BUG 16204 16205"But you're out of your mind," It still wasn't perfect, 16206They said with a shrug. As year followed year, 16207"The customer's happy; And strangers would comment, 16208What's one little bug?" "Is that guy still here?" 16209 16210But he was determined. He died at the console, 16211The others went home. Of hunger and thirst. 16212He spread out the program, Next day he was buried, 16213Deserted, alone. Face down, nine-edge first. 16214 16215The cleaning men came, And the last bug in sight, 16216The whole room was cluttered An ant passing by, 16217With memory-dumps, punch cards. Saluted his tombstone, 16218"I'm close," he muttered. And whispered, "Nice try." 16219 16220The mumbling got louder, 16221Simple deduction, 16222"I've got it, it's right, 16223Just change one instruction." 16224% 16225Speaking of the philosophy involved in moving humanity into space: 16226 16227Furniture will be a largely obsolete concept. Take for example the dresser my 16228mom bought for me when I was a kid. I still have it, and by the standards of 16229its era, it's an admirable household fixture. It is a massive construction of 16230maple wood, expertly joined with cunningly fit pieces, fitted and glued with 16231the strength of iron. It is set with massive brass fixtures, and looks today 16232-- discounting the dust -- as new as the day it was purchased, a quarter 16233century ago. So far, so good; a fine piece of furniture, you might say. But 16234let's look at it objectively, as a machine, as an object with a purpose. Here 16235sit a hundred pounds of hardwood with a compressive strength of 1500 psi, 16236jointed by an expert craftsman into a rigid box that would easily support a 16237bull elephant. And what is the sole purpose of this massive crate, this 16238monument to a dead tree? -- it holds my socks. 16239 16240Not only is it blind engineering overkill of epic proportions, it is also an 16241environmental disaster. The home to generations of squirrels, a sentinel post 16242for falcons, an autumnal banner of golden glory, a living creature, was chopped 16243down to enshrine some underwear. This, my friends, is no way to run a planet. 16244 -- Marshall T. Savage, from The Millennial Project: 16245 Colonizing the Galaxy -- In Eight Easy Steps 16246% 16247Nearly every software professional has heard the term spaghetti code as a 16248pejorative description for complicated, difficult to understand, and impossible 16249to maintain, software. However, many people may not know the other two 16250elements of the complete Pasta Theory of Software. 16251 16252Lasagna code is used to describe software that has a simple, understandable, 16253and layered structure. Lasagna code, although structured, is unfortunately 16254monolithic and not easy to modify. An attempt to change one layer conceptually 16255simple, is often very difficult in actual practice. 16256 16257The ideal software structure is one having components that are small and 16258loosely coupled; this ideal structure is called ravioli code. In ravioli 16259code, each of the components, or objects, is a package containing some meat 16260or other nourishment for the system; any component can be modified or replaced 16261without significantly affecting other components. 16262 16263We need to go beyond the condemnation of spaghetti code to the active 16264encouragement of ravioli code. 16265 -- Raymond J. Rubey, in a letter to the editor of Crosstalk 16266 magazine 16267% 1626863,000 bugs in the code, 63,000 bugs, 16269ya get 1 whacked with a service pack, 16270now there's 63,005 bugs in the code!! 16271