fortunes revision 1.25
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% 63355/113 -- 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 Xerxes, 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 Gashlycrumb Tinies" 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 them 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% 583A 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% 615A 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% 640A 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% 644A 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% 754A 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% 917Adopted 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% 982After 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% 1023Ah, 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% 1095All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us sane. 1096% 1097All my life I wanted to be someone; I guess I should have been more 1098specific. 1099 -- Jane Wagner 1100% 1101All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies. 1102 -- The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1103% 1104All other things being equal, a bald man cannot be elected President of 1105the United States. 1106 -- Vic Gold 1107% 1108All power corrupts, but we need electricity. 1109% 1110All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors. 1111% 1112All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of 1113every organism to live beyond its income. 1114 -- Samuel Butler, "Notebooks" 1115% 1116All science is either physics or stamp collecting. 1117 -- E. Rutherford 1118% 1119All snakes who wish to remain in Ireland will please raise their right 1120hands. 1121 -- Saint Patrick 1122% 1123All syllogisms have three parts; therefore this is not a syllogism. 1124% 1125All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, 1126too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you 1127subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you 1128can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. 1129Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax 1130decision: "Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What 1131if it rains?" 1132 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 1133% 1134... all the modern inconveniences ... 1135 -- Mark Twain 1136% 1137All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most 1138ridiculous ones. 1139 -- La Rochefoucauld 1140% 1141All the taxes paid over a lifetime by the average American are spent by 1142the government in less than a second. 1143 -- Jim Fiebig 1144% 1145All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. 1146 -- Sean O'Casey 1147% 1148All the world's a VAX, 1149And all the coders merely butchers; 1150They have their exits and their entrails; 1151And one int in his time plays many widths, 1152His sizeof being _N bytes. At first the infant, 1153Mewling and puking in the Regent's arms. 1154And then the whining schoolboy, with his Sun, 1155And shining morning face, creeping like slug 1156Unwillingly to school. 1157 -- A Very Annoyed PDP-11 1158% 1159All theoretical chemistry is really physics; 1160and all theoretical chemists know it. 1161 -- Richard P. Feynman 1162% 1163All things are possible, except skiing thru a revolving door. 1164% 1165All this wheeling and dealing around, why, it isn't for money, it's for 1166fun. Money's just the way we keep score. 1167 -- Henry Tyroon 1168% 1169All true wisdom is found on T-shirts. 1170% 1171All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers ... Each one owes 1172infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in 1173which he was born. 1174 -- Francois Fenelon 1175% 1176Alliance, n.: 1177 In international politics, the union of two thieves who have 1178their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot 1179separately plunder a third. 1180 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1181% 1182Alone, adj.: 1183 In bad company. 1184 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1185% 1186Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight 1187Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. 1188 -- Dave Barry 1189% 1190Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away. 1191% 1192Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, 1193mixers, etc., for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have 1194any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place 1195to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, 1196Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a 1197serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the 1198same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely 1199that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as "A 1200penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job 1201running the post office. 1202 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 1203% 1204Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been 1205reissued by the Grove Press, and this pictorial account of the 1206day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is full of considerable 1207interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on 1208pheasant-raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, 1209and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. 1210Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous 1211material in order to discover and savour those sidelights on the 1212management of a midland shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion 1213the book cannot take the place of J. R. Miller's "Practical 1214Gamekeeping." 1215 -- Ed Zern, "Field and Stream" (Nov. 1959) 1216% 1217Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid 1218back. 1219% 1220Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. 1221% 1222Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing 1223that way. 1224% 1225Am I ranting? I hope so. My ranting gets raves. 1226% 1227 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1228 1229If all the salmon caught in Canada in one year were laid end to end 1230across the Sahara Desert, the smell would be absolutely awful. 1231% 1232 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1233 1234There is so much sand in Northern Africa that if it were spread out it 1235would completely cover the Sahara Desert. 1236% 1237Ambidextrous, adj.: 1238 Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. 1239 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1240% 1241Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. 1242 -- Charlie McCarthy 1243% 1244America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism 1245to decadence without touching civilization. 1246 -- John O'Hara 1247% 1248America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, 1249until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and 1250changed its name to "America". 1251 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 1252% 1253American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective 1254employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for 1255employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference 1256between the men's room and the women's room without having little 1257pictures on the doors. 1258 -- Dave Barry, "Urine Trouble, Mister" 1259% 1260Amnesia used to be my favorite word, but then I forgot it. 1261% 1262An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because 1263people refuse to see it. 1264 -- James Michener, "Space" 1265% 1266An American's a person who isn't afraid to criticize the President but 1267is always polite to traffic cops. 1268% 1269An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to 1270New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they have Tide but 1271not new Tide with lemon-fresh Borax. 1272 -- David Letterman 1273% 1274An apple every eight hours will keep three doctors away. 1275% 1276 An architect's first work is apt to be spare and clean. He 1277knows he doesn't know what he's doing, so he does it carefully and with 1278great restraint. 1279 As he designs the first work, frill after frill and 1280embellishment after embellishment occur to him. These get stored away 1281to be used "next time". Sooner or later the first system is finished, 1282and the architect, with firm confidence and a demonstrated mastery of 1283that class of systems, is ready to build a second system. 1284 This second is the most dangerous system a man ever designs. 1285When he does his third and later ones, his prior experiences will 1286confirm each other as to the general characteristics of such systems, 1287and their differences will identify those parts of his experience that 1288are particular and not generalizable. 1289 The general tendency is to over-design the second system, using 1290all the ideas and frills that were cautiously sidetracked on the first 1291one. The result, as Ovid says, is a "big pile". 1292 -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month" 1293% 1294An artist should be fit for the best society and keep out of it. 1295% 1296An attorney was defending his client against a charge of first-degree 1297murder. "Your Honor, my client is accused of stuffing his lover's 1298mutilated body into a suitcase and heading for the Mexican border. 1299Just north of Tijuana a cop spotted her hand sticking out of the 1300suitcase. Now, I would like to stress that my client is *not* a 1301murderer. A sloppy packer, maybe..." 1302% 1303An authority is a person who can tell you more about something than you 1304really care to know. 1305% 1306An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible. 1307% 1308An elephant is a mouse with an operating system. 1309% 1310An English judge, growing weary of the barrister's long-winded 1311summation, leaned over the bench and remarked, "I've heard your 1312arguments, Sir Geoffrey, and I'm none the wiser!" Sir Geoffrey 1313responded, "That may be, Milord, but at least you're better informed!" 1314% 1315An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose. 1316 -- A. P. Herbert 1317% 1318An excellence-oriented '80s male does not wear a regular watch. He 1319wears a Rolex watch, because it weighs nearly six pounds and is 1320advertised only in excellence-oriented publications such as Fortune and 1321Rich Protestant Golfer Magazine. The advertisements are written in 1322incomplete sentences, which is how advertising copywriters denote 1323excellence: 1324 1325The Rolex Hyperion. An elegant new standard in quality excellence and 1326discriminating handcraftsmanship. For the individual who is truly able 1327to discriminate with regard to excellent quality standards of crafting 1328things by hand. Fabricated of 100 percent 24-karat gold. No watch 1329parts or anything. Just a great big chunk on your wrist. Truly a 1330timeless statement. For the individual who is very secure. Who 1331doesn't need to be reminded all the time that he is very successful. 1332Much more successful than the people who laughed at him in high 1333school. Because of his acne. People who are probably nowhere near as 1334successful as he is now. Maybe he'll go to his 20th reunion, and 1335they'll see his Rolex Hyperion. Hahahahahahahahaha. 1336 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 1337% 1338An exotic journey in downtown Newark is in your future. 1339% 1340... an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often 1341picturesque liar. 1342 -- Mark Twain 1343% 1344An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these 1345eyes we cannot bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as 1346possible. 1347 -- Russell Hoban, "Pilgermann" 1348% 1349An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. 1350% 1351 An old Jewish man reads about Einstein's theory of relativity 1352in the newspaper and asks his scientist grandson to explain it to him. 1353 "Well, zayda, it's sort of like this. Einstein says that if 1354you're having your teeth drilled without Novocain, a minute seems like 1355an hour. But if you're sitting with a beautiful woman on your lap, an 1356hour seems like a minute." 1357 The old man considers this profound bit of thinking for a 1358moment and says, "And from this he makes a living?" 1359 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 1360% 1361An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of purge. 1362% 1363Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it's better than no 1364government at all. 1365% 1366And as we stand on the edge of darkness 1367Let our chant fill the void 1368That others may know 1369 1370 In the land of the night 1371 The ship of the sun 1372 Is drawn by 1373 The grateful dead. 1374 1375 -- Tibetan "Book of the Dead," ca. 4000 BC. 1376% 1377... and furthermore ... I don't like your trousers. 1378% 1379And I heard Jeff exclaim, 1380As they strolled out of sight, 1381"Merry Christmas to all -- 1382You take credit cards, right?" 1383 -- "Outsiders" comic 1384% 1385... And malt does more than Milton can 1386To justify God's ways to man 1387 -- A. E. Housman 1388% 1389And on the seventh day, He exited from append mode. 1390% 1391... And remember: if you don't like the news, go out and make some of 1392your own. 1393 -- "Scoop" Nisker, KFOG radio reporter 1394 Preposterous Words 1395% 1396And so, men, we can see that human skin is an even more complex and 1397fascinating organ than we thought it was, and if we want to keep it 1398looking good, we have to care for it as though it were our own. One 1399approach is to undergo a painful surgical procedure wherein your skin 1400is turned inside-out, so the young cells are on the outside, but then 1401of course you have the unpleasant side effect that your insides 1402gradually fill up with dead old cells and you explode. So this 1403procedure is pretty much limited to top Hollywood stars for whom 1404youthful beauty is a career necessity, such as Elizabeth Taylor and 1405Orson Welles. 1406 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 1407% 1408...and the fully armed nuclear warheads, are, of course, merely a 1409courtesy detail. 1410% 1411And this is a table ma'am. What in essence it consists of is a 1412horizontal rectilinear plane surface maintained by four vertical 1413columnar supports, which we call legs. The tables in this laboratory, 1414ma'am, are as advanced in design as one will find anywhere in the 1415world. 1416 -- Michael Frayn, "The Tin Men" 1417% 1418 "And what will you do when you grow up to be as big as me?" 1419asked the father of his little son. 1420 "Diet." 1421% 1422And yet, seasons must be taken with a grain of salt, for they too have 1423a sense of humor, as does history. Corn stalks comedy, comedy stalks 1424tragedy, and this too is historic. And yet, still, when corn meets 1425tragedy face to face, we have politics. 1426 -- Dalglish, Larsen and Sutherland, "Root Crops and 1427 Ground Cover" 1428% 1429Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes. 1430Galileo: No, unhappy the land that _____needs heroes. 1431 -- Bertholt Brecht, "Life of Galileo" 1432% 1433Angels we have heard on High 1434Tell us to go out and Buy. 1435 -- Tom Lehrer 1436% 1437Ankh if you love Isis. 1438% 1439Anoint, v.: 1440 To grease a king or other great functionary already 1441sufficiently slippery. 1442 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1443% 1444 Another Glitch in the Call 1445 ------- ------ -- --- ---- 1446 (Sung to the tune of a recent Pink Floyd song.) 1447 1448We don't need no indirection 1449We don't need no flow control 1450No data typing or declarations 1451Did you leave the lists alone? 1452 1453 Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone! 1454 1455Chorus: 1456 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1457 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1458% 1459Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 1460% 1461Another possible source of guidance for teenagers is television, but 1462television's message has always been that the need for truth, wisdom 1463and world peace pales by comparison with the need for a toothpaste that 1464offers whiter teeth *___and* fresher breath. 1465 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 1466% 1467 Answers to Last Fortune's Questions: 1468 1469(1) None. (Moses didn't have an ark). 1470(2) Your mother, by the pigeonhole principle. 1471(3) I don't know. 1472(4) Who cares? 1473(5) 6 (or maybe 4, or else 3). Mr. Alfred J. Duncan of Podunk, 1474 Montana, submitted an interesting solution to Problem 5. 1475(6) There is an interesting solution to this problem on page 1029 of my 1476 book, which you can pick up for $23.95 at finer bookstores and 1477 bathroom supply outlets (or 99 cents at the table in front of 1478 Papyrus Books). 1479% 1480Anthony's Law of Force: 1481 Don't force it; get a larger hammer. 1482% 1483Anthony's Law of the Workshop: 1484 Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible 1485 corner of the workshop. 1486 1487Corollary: 1488 On the way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike 1489 your toes. 1490% 1491Antonym, n.: 1492 The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. 1493% 1494Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art. 1495 -- Charles McCabe 1496% 1497Any dramatic series the producers want us to take seriously as a 1498representation of contemporary reality cannot be taken seriously as a 1499representation of anything -- except a show to be ignored by anyone 1500capable of sitting upright in a chair and chewing gum simultaneously. 1501 -- Richard Schickel 1502% 1503Any excuse will serve a tyrant. 1504 -- Aesop 1505% 1506Any father who thinks he's all important should remind himself that 1507this country honors fathers only one day a year while pickles get a 1508whole week. 1509% 1510Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to 1511sell it. 1512% 1513Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche 1514-- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, 1515my grandmother used to say, "The black cat is always the last one off 1516the fence." I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was 1517undoubtedly true. 1518 -- Solomon Short 1519% 1520Any philosophy that can be put "in a nutshell" belongs there. 1521 -- Sydney J. Harris 1522% 1523Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a larger 1524object. 1525% 1526Any stone in your boot always migrates against the pressure gradient to 1527exactly the point of most pressure. 1528 -- Milt Barber 1529% 1530Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature. 1531 -- Rich Kulawiec 1532% 1533Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged 1534demo. 1535% 1536Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. 1537 -- Arthur C. Clarke 1538% 1539Any time things appear to be going better, you have overlooked 1540something. 1541% 1542Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours. 1543 -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1544% 1545Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry. 1546% 1547Anybody who doesn't cut his speed at the sight of a police car is 1548probably parked. 1549% 1550Anybody with money to burn will easily find someone to tend the fire. 1551% 1552Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is 1553supposed to be doing at the moment. 1554 -- Robert Benchley 1555% 1556Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. 1557 -- Publius Syrus 1558% 1559Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with 1560none. 1561% 1562Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he 1563is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not 1564make messes in the house. 1565 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1566% 1567Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. 1568 -- Samuel Goldwyn 1569% 1570Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. 1571 -- W. C. Fields 1572% 1573Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no 1574account be allowed to do the job. 1575 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 1576% 1577Anyone who uses the phrase "easy as taking candy from a baby" has never 1578tried taking candy from a baby. 1579 -- Robin Hood 1580% 1581Anything free is worth what you pay for it. 1582% 1583Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. 1584% 1585Anything labeled "NEW" and/or "IMPROVED" isn't. The label means the 1586price went up. The label "ALL NEW", "COMPLETELY NEW", or "GREAT NEW" 1587means the price went way up. 1588% 1589Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate. 1590% 1591Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. 1592% 1593Apathy is not the problem, it's the solution. 1594% 1595Aphorism, n.: 1596 A concise, clever statement. 1597Afterism, n.: 1598 A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late. 1599 -- James Alexander Thom 1600% 1601APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of 1602the future for the problems of the past: it creates a new generation of 1603coding bums. 1604% 1605APL is a write-only language. I can write programs in APL, but I 1606can't read any of them. 1607 -- Roy Keir 1608% 1609Aquadextrous, adj.: 1610 Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off 1611with your toes. 1612 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1613% 1614AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 1615 You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. 1616 You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to 1617 be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same 1618 mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. 1619% 1620Arbitrary systems, pl.n.: 1621 Systems about which nothing general can be said, save "nothing 1622general can be said." 1623% 1624ARCHDUKE FERDINAND FOUND ALIVE -- 1625 FIRST WORLD WAR A MISTAKE 1626% 1627Are you a turtle? 1628% 1629Arguments with furniture are rarely productive. 1630 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 1631% 1632ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) 1633 You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You 1634 are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are 1635 not very nice. 1636% 1637Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your 1638shoes. 1639 -- Mickey Mouse 1640% 1641Armadillo: 1642 To provide weapons to a Spanish pickle 1643% 1644Arnold's Laws of Documentation: 1645 (1) If it should exist, it doesn't. 1646 (2) If it does exist, it's out of date. 1647 (3) Only documentation for useless programs transcends the 1648 first two laws. 1649% 1650Around computers it is difficult to find the correct unit of time to 1651measure progress. Some cathedrals took a century to complete. Can you 1652imagine the grandeur and scope of a program that would take as long? 1653 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 1654% 1655Art is anything you can get away with. 1656 -- Marshall McLuhan. 1657% 1658Art is either plagiarism or revolution. 1659 -- Paul Gauguin 1660% 1661Arthur's Laws of Love: 1662 (1) People to whom you are attracted invariably think you 1663 remind them of someone else. 1664 (2) The love letter you finally got the courage to send will be 1665 delayed in the mail long enough for you to make a fool of 1666 yourself in person. 1667% 1668Artistic ventures highlighted. Rob a museum. 1669% 1670As a professional humorist, I often get letters from readers who are 1671interested in the basic nature of humor. "What kind of a sick 1672perverted disgusting person are you," these letters typically ask, 1673"that you make jokes about setting fire to a goat?" 1674 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 1675% 1676As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual 1677certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I 1678became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can 1679meet girls. 1680 -- Matt Cartmill 1681% 1682As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not 1683certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. 1684 -- Albert Einstein 1685% 1686As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error. 1687 -- Weisert 1688% 1689As I was going up Punch Card Hill, 1690 Feeling worse and worser, 1691There I met a C.R.T. 1692 And it drop't me a cursor. 1693 1694C.R.T., C.R.T., 1695 Phosphors light on you! 1696If I had fifty hours a day 1697 I'd spend them all at you. 1698 1699 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 1700% 1701As I was passing Project MAC, 1702I met a Quux with seven hacks. 1703Every hack had seven bugs; 1704Every bug had seven manifestations; 1705Every manifestation had seven symptoms. 1706Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and hacks, 1707How many losses at Project MAC? 1708% 1709As long as I am mayor of this city [Jersey City, New Jersey] the great 1710industries are secure. We hear about constitutional rights, free 1711speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to 1712myself, "That man is a Red, that man is a Communist". You never hear a 1713real American talk like that. 1714 -- Frank Hague (1896-1956) 1715% 1716As long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? 1717% 1718As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its 1719fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be 1720popular. 1721 -- Oscar Wilde 1722% 1723As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. 1724% 1725As part of the conversion, computer specialists rewrote 1,500 1726programs; a process that traditionally requires some debugging. 1727 -- USA Today, referring to the IRS switchover to a new 1728 computer system. 1729% 1730As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it 1731wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had 1732to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized 1733that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in 1734finding mistakes in my own programs. 1735 -- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949 1736% 1737As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" -- probably because it's 1738so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. 1739 -- Woody Allen 1740% 1741As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there 1742is always a future in Computer Maintenance. 1743 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1744% 1745As Will Rogers would have said, "There is no such thing as a free 1746variable." 1747% 1748As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple 1749memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time 1750to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, 1751E, or U is the proper time for chocolate. 1752 -- Sandra Boynton, "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" 1753% 1754As you know, birds do not have sexual organs because they would 1755interfere with flight. [In fact, this was the big breakthrough for the 1756Wright Brothers. They were watching birds one day, trying to figure 1757out how to get their crude machine to fly, when suddenly it dawned on 1758Wilbur. "Orville," he said, "all we have to do is remove the sexual 1759organs!" You should have seen their original design.] As a result, 1760birds are very, very difficult to arouse sexually. You almost never 1761see an aroused bird. So when they want to reproduce, birds fly up and 1762stand on telephone lines, where they monitor telephone conversations 1763with their feet. When they find a conversation in which people are 1764talking dirty, they grip the line very tightly until they are both 1765highly aroused, at which point the female gets pregnant. 1766 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 1767 Teen Should Know" 1768% 1769As you reach for the web, a venomous spider appears. Unable to pull 1770your hand away in time, the spider promptly, but politely, bites you. 1771The venom takes affect quickly causing your lips to turn plaid along 1772with your complexion. You become dazed, and in your stupor you fall 1773from the limbs of the tree. Snap! Your head falls off and rolls all 1774over the ground. The instant before you croak, you hear the whoosh of 1775a vacuum being filled by the air surrounding your head. Worse yet, the 1776spider is suing you for damages. 1777% 1778As Zeus said to Narcissus, "Watch yourself." 1779% 1780ASHes to ASHes, DOS to DOS. 1781% 1782Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if 1783one went to Harvard). 1784 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 1785% 1786Ask not for whom the <CONTROL-G> tolls. 1787% 1788Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the 1789Station-to-Station rate. 1790% 1791Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls ... if thou art in the 1792bathtub, it tolls for thee. 1793% 1794Ask your boss to reconsider -- it's so difficult to take "Go to hell" 1795for an answer. 1796% 1797Asked by reporters about his upcoming marriage to a forty-two-year-old 1798woman, director Roman Polanski told reporters, `The way I look at it, 1799she's the equivalent of three fourteen-year-olds.' 1800 -- David Letterman 1801% 1802Ass, n.: 1803 The masculine of "lass". 1804% 1805Associate with well-mannered persons and your manners will improve. 1806Run with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be 1807strengthened. Keep the company of bums and you will become a bum. 1808Hang around with rich people and you will end by picking up the check 1809and dying broke. 1810 -- Stanley Walker 1811% 1812At a recent meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, a participant from Los 1813Angeles fainted from hyperoxygenation, and we had to hold his head 1814under the exhaust of a bus until he revived. 1815% 1816At any given moment, an arrow must be either where it is or where it is 1817not. But obviously it cannot be where it is not. And if it is where 1818it is, that is equivalent to saying that it is at rest. 1819 -- Zeno's paradox of the moving (still?) arrow 1820% 1821At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial 1822challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. 1823 -- The Washington Post Magazine, June 9, 1985 1824% 1825... at least I thought I was dancing, 'til somebody stepped on my hand. 1826 -- J. B. White 1827% 1828At least they're ___________EXPERIENCED incompetents 1829% 1830At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his 1831thumb with a hammer. 1832 -- Marshall Lumsden 1833% 1834At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will 1835find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on 1836the computer. 1837% 1838Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole 1839or street lamp. 1840% 1841Atlee is a very modest man. And with reason. 1842 -- Winston Churchill 1843% 1844Authors (and perhaps columnists) eventually rise to the top of whatever 1845depths they were once able to plumb. 1846 -- Stanley Kaufman 1847% 1848Automobile, n.: 1849 A four-wheeled vehicle that runs up hills and down pedestrians. 1850% 1851Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep. 1852 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1853% 1854Avoid reality at all costs. 1855% 1856Avoid revolution or expect to get shot. Mother and I will grieve, but 1857we will gladly buy a dinner for the National Guardsman who shot you. 1858 -- Dr. Paul Williamson, father of a student entering 1859 school in the fall after the Kent State shootings 1860% 1861Bacchus, n.: 1862 A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for 1863getting drunk. 1864 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1865% 1866Bagbiter: 1867 1. n.; Equipment or program that fails, usually 1868intermittently. 2. adj.: Failing hardware or software. "This 1869bagbiting system won't let me get out of spacewar." Usage: verges on 1870obscenity. Grammatically separable; one may speak of "biting the 1871bag". Synonyms: LOSER, LOSING, CRETINOUS, BLETCHEROUS, BARFUCIOUS, 1872CHOMPER, CHOMPING. 1873% 1874Bagdikian's Observation: 1875 Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American 1876newspaper is like trying to play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on a 1877ukulele. 1878% 1879Baker's First Law of Federal Geometry: 1880 A block grant is a solid mass of money surrounded on all sides 1881by governors. 1882% 1883Ban the bomb. Save the world for conventional warfare. 1884% 1885Banectomy, n.: 1886 The removal of bruises on a banana. 1887 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1888% 1889Bank error in your favor. Collect $200. 1890% 1891Barach's Rule: 1892 An alcoholic is a person who drinks more than his own physician. 1893% 1894Bare feet magnetize sharp metal objects so they point upward from the 1895floor -- especially in the dark. 1896% 1897Barometer, n.: 1898 An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we 1899are having. 1900 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1901% 1902Barth's Distinction: 1903 There are two types of people: those who divide people into two 1904types, and those who don't. 1905% 1906Baruch's Observation: 1907 If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 1908% 1909Baseball is a skilled game. It's America's game -- it, and high 1910taxes. 1911 -- Will Rogers 1912% 1913Basic is a high level languish. 1914APL is a high level anguish. 1915% 1916BASIC is the Computer Science equivalent of `Scientific Creationism'. 1917% 1918BASIC, n.: 1919 A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in 1920that those who have it will not admit it in polite company. 1921% 1922Bathquake, n.: 1923 The violent quake that rattles the entire house when the water 1924faucet is turned on to a certain point. 1925 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1926% 1927Be a better psychiatrist and the world will beat a psychopath to your 1928door. 1929% 1930BE ALERT!!!! (The world needs more lerts ...) 1931% 1932Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most Souls would scarcely 1933get your Feet wet. Fall not in Love, therefore: it will stick to your 1934face. 1935 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1936% 1937Be braver -- you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 1938% 1939Be careful of reading health books. You might die of a misprint. 1940 -- Mark Twain 1941% 1942Be different: conform. 1943% 1944Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so 1945get used to it. 1946% 1947Be security conscious -- National Defense is at stake. 1948% 1949Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and 1950miss 1951 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1952% 1953Bees are very busy souls 1954They have no time for birth controls 1955And that is why in times like these 1956There are so many Sons of Bees. 1957% 1958 Before he became a hermit, Zarathud was a young Priest, and 1959took great delight in making fools of his opponents in front of his 1960followers. 1961 One day Zarathud took his students to a pleasant pasture and 1962there he confronted The Sacred Chao while She was contentedly grazing. 1963 "Tell me, you dumb beast," demanded the Priest in his 1964commanding voice, "why don't you do something worthwhile? What is your 1965Purpose in Life, anyway?" 1966 Munching the tasty grass, The Sacred Chao replied "MU". (The 1967Chinese ideogram for NO-THING.) 1968 Upon hearing this, absolutely nobody was enlightened. 1969 Primarily because nobody understood Chinese. 1970 -- Camden Benares, "Zen Without Zen Masters" 1971% 1972Before Xerox, five carbons were the maximum extension of anybody's ego. 1973% 1974Begathon, n.: 1975 A multi-day event on public television, used to raise money so 1976you won't have to watch commercials. 1977% 1978Behold the warranty ... the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh 1979away. 1980% 1981Beifeld's Principle: 1982 The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and 1983receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression when he is 1984already in the company of: (1) a date, (2) his wife, (3) a better 1985looking and richer male friend. 1986% 1987"Being disintegrated makes me ve-ry an-gry!" <huff, huff> 1988% 1989Bell Labs Unix -- Reach out and grep someone. 1990% 1991Bennett's Laws of Horticulture: 1992 (1) Houses are for people to live in. 1993 (2) Gardens are for plants to live in. 1994 (3) There is no such thing as a houseplant. 1995% 1996Benson, you are so free of the ravages of intelligence. 1997 -- Time Bandits 1998% 1999Besides the device, the box should contain: 2000 2001* Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING" 2002 2003* A plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and two 2004 club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns. 2005 2006YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram 2007cable. 2008 2009IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should turn to your 2010spouse and say: "Margaret, you know why this country can't make a car 2011that can get all the way through the drive-through at Burger King 2012without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody cares, that's 2013why." 2014 2015WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret. 2016 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2017% 2018Best of all is never to have been born. Second best is to die soon. 2019% 2020better !pout !cry 2021better watchout 2022lpr why 2023santa claus <north pole >town 2024 2025cat /etc/passwd >list 2026ncheck list 2027ncheck list 2028cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist 2029cat list | grep nice >giftlist 2030santa claus <north pole > town 2031 2032who | grep sleeping 2033who | grep awake 2034who | egrep 'bad|good' 2035for (goodness sake) { 2036 be good 2037} 2038% 2039Better dead than mellow. 2040% 2041Between 1950 and 1952, a bored weatherman, stationed north of Hudson 2042Bay, left a monument that neither government nor time can eradicate. 2043Using a bulldozer abandoned by the Air Force, he spent two years and 2044great effort pushing boulders into a single word. 2045 2046It can be seen from 10,000 feet, silhouetted against the snow. 2047Government officials exchanged memos full of circumlocutions (no Latin 2048equivalent exists) but failed to word an appropriation bill for the 2049destruction of this cairn, that wouldn't alert the press and embarrass 2050both Parliament and Party. 2051 2052It stands today, a monument to human spirit. If life exists on other 2053planets, this may be the first message received from us. 2054 -- The Realist, November, 1964. 2055% 2056Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not 2057tried it. 2058 -- Donald Knuth 2059% 2060Beware of computerized fortune-tellers! 2061% 2062Beware of low-flying butterflies. 2063% 2064Beware of Programmers who carry screwdrivers. 2065 -- Leonard Brandwein 2066% 2067Beware of self-styled experts: an ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a 2068drip under pressure. 2069% 2070Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and 2071finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of 2072murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by 2073their ignorance the hard way. 2074 -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle" 2075% 2076Beware of the Turing Tar-pit in which everything is possible but 2077nothing of interest is easy. 2078% 2079Binary, adj.: 2080 Possessing the ability to have friends of both sexes. 2081% 2082Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same 2083thing as division. 2084% 2085Bipolar, adj.: 2086 Refers to someone who has homes in Nome, Alaska, and Buffalo, 2087New York 2088% 2089Birth, n.: 2090 The first and direst of all disasters. 2091 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2092% 2093Bizarreness is the essence of the exotic. 2094% 2095Bizoos, n.: 2096 The millions of tiny individual bumps that make up a 2097basketball. 2098 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2099% 2100... bleakness ... desolation ... plastic forks ... 2101% 2102Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt. 2103 -- Herbert Hoover 2104% 2105Blessed are they who Go Around in Circles, 2106for they Shall be Known as Wheels. 2107% 2108BLISS is ignorance. 2109% 2110Blood flows down one leg and up the other. 2111% 2112Blood is thicker than water, and much tastier. 2113% 2114Blore's Razor: 2115 Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is 2116funnier. 2117% 2118Board the windows, up your car insurance, and don't leave any booze in 2119plain sight. It's St. Patrick's day in Chicago again. The legend has 2120it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. In fact, he was 2121arrested for drunk driving. The snakes left because people kept 2122throwing up on them. 2123% 2124Boling's postulate: 2125 If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. 2126% 2127Bolub's Fourth Law of Computerdom: 2128 Project teams detest weekly progress reporting because it so 2129vividly manifests their lack of progress. 2130% 2131Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: 2132 Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. 2133% 2134BOO! We changed Coke again! BLEAH! BLEAH! 2135% 2136Boob's Law: 2137 You always find something in the last place you look. 2138% 2139Bore, n.: 2140 A guy who wraps up a two-minute idea in a two-hour vocabulary. 2141 -- Walter Winchell 2142% 2143Bore, n.: 2144 A person who talks when you wish him to listen. 2145 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2146% 2147Boren's Laws: 2148 (1) When in charge, ponder. 2149 (2) When in trouble, delegate. 2150 (3) When in doubt, mumble. 2151% 2152Boss, n.: 2153 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the Middle Ages 2154the words "boss" and "botch" were largely synonymous, except that boss, 2155in addition to meaning "a supervisor of workers" also meant "an 2156ornamental stud." 2157% 2158Boston State House is the hub of the Solar System. You couldn't pry 2159that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation 2160straightened out for a crowbar. 2161 -- O. W. Holmes 2162% 2163Boston, n.: 2164 Ludwig van Beethoven being jeered by 50,000 sports fans for 2165finishing second in the Irish jig competition. 2166% 2167Boy, life takes a long time to live. 2168 -- Steven Wright 2169% 2170Boy, n.: 2171 A noise with dirt on it. 2172% 2173Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least 2174when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. 2175 -- James Thurber 2176% 2177Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. 2178 -- Kin Hubbard 2179% 2180Brace yourselves. We're about to try something that borders on the 2181unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only 2182(gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn, but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend 2183to think of it as `Constructive Snottiness.' 2184 -- Mike Padlipsky, Foreword to "Elements of Networking Style" 2185% 2186Bradley's Bromide: 2187 If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a 2188committee -- that will do them in. 2189% 2190Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: 2191 When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more 2192easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger have 2193handled this?" 2194% 2195Brain fried -- Core dumped 2196% 2197Brain, n.: 2198 The apparatus with which we think that we think. 2199 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2200% 2201Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: 2202 To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of 2203error in an opponent. 2204 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2205% 2206Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, 2207since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. 2208 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2209% 2210Bride, n.: 2211 A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. 2212 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2213% 2214Bringing computers into the home won't change either one, but may 2215revitalize the corner saloon. 2216% 2217British Israelites: 2218 The British Israelites believe the white Anglo-Saxons of 2219Britain to be descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel deported by 2220Sargon of Assyria on the fall of Sumeria in 721 B.C. ... They further 2221believe that the future can be foretold by the measurements of the 2222Great Pyramid, which probably means it will be big and yellow and in 2223the hand of the Arabs. They also believe that if you sleep with your 2224head under the pillow a fairy will come and take all your teeth. 2225 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2226% 2227Broad-mindedness, n.: 2228 The result of flattening high-mindedness out. 2229% 2230Brontosaurus Principle: 2231 Organizations can grow faster than their brains can manage them 2232in relation to their environment and to their own physiology: when 2233this occurs, they are an endangered species. 2234 -- Thomas K. Connellan 2235% 2236Brook's Law: 2237 Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later 2238% 2239Brooke's Law: 2240 Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool 2241discovers something which either abolishes the system or expands it 2242beyond recognition. 2243% 2244Bubble Memory, n.: 2245 A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's 2246intelligence. See also "vacuum tube". 2247% 2248Bucy's Law: 2249 Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. 2250% 2251Bug, n.: 2252 An aspect of a computer program which exists because the 2253programmer was thinking about Jumbo Jacks or stock options when s/he 2254wrote the program. 2255 2256Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed. 2257 -- Ray Simard 2258% 2259Bugs, pl. n.: 2260 Small living things that small living boys throw on small 2261living girls. 2262% 2263BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the 2264 outfit." 2265GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" 2266BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive." 2267 -- Jay Ward 2268% 2269Bumper sticker: 2270 2271All the parts falling off this car are of the very finest British 2272manufacture. 2273% 2274Bureaucrat, n.: 2275 A person who cuts red tape sideways. 2276 -- J. McCabe 2277% 2278Bureaucrat, n.: 2279 A politician who has tenure. 2280% 2281Bureaucrats cut red tape -- lengthwise. 2282% 2283Burn's Hog Weighing Method: 2284 (1) Get a perfectly symmetrical plank and balance it across a 2285 sawhorse. 2286 (2) Put the hog on one end of the plank. 2287 (3) Pile rocks on the other end until the plank is again 2288 perfectly balanced. 2289 (4) Carefully guess the weight of the rocks. 2290 -- Robert Burns 2291% 2292 But as records of courts and justice are admissible, it can 2293easily be proved that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed 2294and were a scourge to mankind. The evidence (including confession) 2295upon which certain women were convicted of witchcraft and executed was 2296without a flaw; it is still unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based 2297on it were sound in logic and in law. Nothing in any existing court 2298was ever more thoroughly proved than the charges of witchcraft and 2299sorcery for which so many suffered death. If there were no witches, 2300human testimony and human reason are alike destitute of value. 2301 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2302% 2303But don't you worry, its for a cause -- feeding global corporations paws. 2304% 2305But I don't like Spam!!!! 2306% 2307 But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human 2308intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as 2309we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues 2310that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding 2311of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard 2312example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- 2313makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing 2314whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a 2315finite or an infinite number. 2316 -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" 2317% 2318But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the 2319system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, 2320analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses. 2321 -- Bruce Leverett, "Register Allocation in Optimizing 2322 Compilers" 2323% 2324But officer, I was only trying to gain enough speed so I could coast 2325to the nearest gas station. 2326% 2327But scientists, who ought to know 2328Assure us that it must be so. 2329Oh, let us never, never doubt 2330What nobody is sure about. 2331 -- Hilaire Belloc 2332% 2333But soft you, the fair Ophelia: 2334Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, 2335But get thee to a nunnery -- go! 2336 -- Mark "The Bard" Twain 2337% 2338But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who 2339was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal 2340education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 23411877, was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of 2342American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was 2343invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879, when he 2344invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant 2345adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends 2346electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the 2347electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant 2348part) sends it right back to the customer again. 2349 2350This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch 2351of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since 2352very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. 2353In fact the last year any new electricity was generated in the United 2354States was 1937; the electric companies have been merely re-selling it 2355ever since, which is why they have so much free time to apply for rate 2356increases. 2357 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 2358% 2359But this has taken us far afield from interface, which is not a bad 2360place to be, since I particularly want to move ahead to the kludge. 2361Why do people have so much trouble understanding the kludge? What is a 2362kludge, after all, but not enough Ks, not enough ROMs, not enough RAMs, 2363poor quality interface and too few bytes to go around? Have I 2364explained yet about the bytes? 2365% 2366... But we've only fondled the surface of that subject. 2367 -- Virginia Masters 2368% 2369But what we need to know is, do people want nasally-insertable 2370computers? 2371% 2372Buzz off, Banana Nose; Relieve mine eyes 2373Of hateful soreness, purge mine ears of corn; 2374Less dear than army ants in apple pies 2375Art thou, old prune-face, with thy chestnuts worn, 2376Dropt from thy peeling lips like lousy fruit; 2377Like honeybees upon the perfum'd rose 2378They suck, and like the double-breasted suit 2379Are out of date; therefore, Banana Nose, 2380Go fly a kite, thy welcome's overstayed; 2381And stem the produce of thy waspish wits: 2382Thy logick, like thy locks, is disarrayed; 2383Thy cheer, like thy complexion, is the pits. 2384Be off, I say; go bug somebody new, 2385Scram, beat it, get thee hence, and nuts to you. 2386% 2387By doing just a little every day, you can gradually let the task 2388completely overwhelm you. 2389% 2390By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, 2391it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to 2392invent. 2393 -- R. Emerson 2394 -- Quoted from a fortune cookie program 2395 (whose author claims, "Actually, stealing IS easier.") 2396 [to which I reply, "You think it's easy for me to 2397 misconstrue all these misquotations?!?"] 2398% 2399By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began 2400to suspect 'Hungry' ... 2401 -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side" 2402% 2403By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's, I 2404mean. 2405 -- Mark Twain 2406% 2407Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to 2408point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very 2409fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are 2410often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people 2411from point B are so keen to get there and what's so great about point B 2412that so many people from point A are so keen to get _____there. They often 2413wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell 2414they wanted to be. 2415 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 2416% 2417C, n.: 2418 A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more 2419like assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or 2420anything else. It is either the best language available to the art 2421today, or it isn't. 2422 -- Ray Simard 2423% 2424Cabbage, n.: 2425 A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as 2426a man's head. 2427 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2428% 2429Cable is not a luxury, since many areas have poor TV reception. 2430 -- The mayor of Tucson, Arizona, 1989 2431% 2432Cahn's Axiom: 2433 When all else fails, read the instructions. 2434% 2435California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange. 2436 -- Fred Allen 2437% 2438California, n.: 2439 From Latin "calor", meaning "heat" (as in English "calorie" or 2440Spanish "caliente"); and "fornia'" for "sexual intercourse" or 2441"fornication." Hence: Tierra de California, "the land of hot sex." 2442 -- Ed Moran 2443% 2444Call on God, but row away from the rocks. 2445 -- Indian proverb 2446% 2447Calling J-Man Kink. Calling J-Man Kink. Hash missile sighted, target 2448Los Angeles. Disregard personal feelings about city and intercept. 2449% 2450Calvin Coolidge looks as if he had been weaned on a pickle. 2451 -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth 2452% 2453Calvin Coolidge was the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth 2454Corner, Vermont. 2455 -- Clarence Darrow 2456% 2457Campus sidewalks never exist as the straightest line between two 2458points. 2459 -- M. M. Johnston 2460% 2461Canada Bill Jone's Motto: 2462 It's morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money. 2463 2464Supplement: 2465 A .44 magnum beats four aces. 2466% 2467Canada Post doesn't really charge 32 cents for a stamp. It's 2 cents 2468for postage and 30 cents for storage. 2469 -- Gerald Regan, Cabinet Minister, 12/31/83 Financial Post 2470% 2471Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain? 2472Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes, 2473A root or two, a torus and a node: 2474The inverse of my verse, a null domain. 2475 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2476% 2477CANCER (June 21 - July 22) 2478 You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's 2479problems. They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things 2480off. That's why you'll never make anything of yourself. Most welfare 2481recipients are Cancer people. 2482% 2483Canonical, adj.: 2484 The usual or standard state or manner of something. A true 2485story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some 2486annoyance at the use of jargon. Over his loud objections, we made a 2487point of using jargon as much as possible in his presence, and 2488eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used 2489the word "canonical" in jargon-like fashion without thinking. 2490 Steele: "Aha! We've finally got you talking jargon too!" 2491 Stallman: "What did he say?" 2492 Steele: "He just used `canonical' in the canonical way." 2493% 2494CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19) 2495 You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do 2496much of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any 2497importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as 2498they take root and become trees. 2499% 2500Captain Penny's Law: 2501 You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of 2502the people all of the time, but you Can't Fool Mom. 2503% 2504Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than 2505expected. Carefully planned projects take four times longer to 2506complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their 2507planning to reduce the time it takes. 2508% 2509Carmel, New York, has an ordinance forbidding men to wear coats and 2510trousers that don't match. 2511% 2512Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun), n.: 2513 The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a 2514dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then 2515putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. 2516 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2517% 2518Cat, n.: 2519 Lapwarmer with built-in buzzer. 2520% 2521Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education. 2522 -- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson" 2523% 2524Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. 2525% 2526CChheecckk yyoouurr dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh.. 2527% 2528Cecil, you're my final hope 2529Of finding out the true Straight Dope 2530For I have been reading of Schrodinger's cat 2531But none of my cats are at all like that. 2532This unusual animal (so it is said) 2533Is simultaneously alive and dead! 2534What I don't understand is just why he 2535Can't be one or the other, unquestionably. 2536My future now hangs in between eigenstates. 2537In one I'm enlightened, in the other I ain't. 2538If *you* understand, Cecil, then show me the way 2539And rescue my psyche from quantum decay. 2540But if this queer thing has perplexed even you, 2541Then I will *___and* I won't see you in Schrodinger's zoo. 2542 -- Randy F., Chicago, "The Straight Dope, a compendium 2543 of human knowledge" by Cecil Adams 2544% 2545Celebrate Hannibal Day this year. Take an elephant to lunch. 2546% 2547Celestial navigation is based on the premise that the Earth is the 2548center of the universe. The premise is wrong, but the navigation 2549works. An incorrect model can be a useful tool. 2550 -- Kelvin Throop III 2551% 2552Census Taker to Housewife: Did you ever have the measles, and, if so, 2553how many? 2554% 2555Cerebus: I'd love to lick apricot brandy out of your navel. 2556Jaka: Look, Cerebus-- Jaka has to tell you ... something 2557Cerebus: If Cerebus had a navel, would you lick apricot brandy 2558 out of it? 2559Jaka: Ugh! 2560Cerebus: You don't like apricot brandy? 2561 -- Cerebus #6, "The Secret" 2562% 2563Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long 2564walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They 2565then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy 2566health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, 2567not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find 2568only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the 2569others who have tried it. 2570 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2571% 2572Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, 2573But it's very funny-- 2574 Did you ever try buying them without money? 2575 -- Ogden Nash 2576% 2577 Chapter 1 2578 2579The story so far: 2580 2581 In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot 2582of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. 2583% 2584Character Density, n.: 2585 The number of very weird people in the office. 2586% 2587Checkuary, n.: 2588 The thirteenth month of the year. Begins New Year's Day and 2589ends when a person stops absentmindedly writing the old year on his 2590checks. 2591% 2592Chef, n.: 2593 Any cook who swears in French. 2594% 2595Chemicals, n.: 2596 Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. 2597% 2598Chemistry is applied theology. 2599 -- Augustus Stanley Owsley III 2600% 2601Chicago law prohibits eating in a place that is on fire. 2602% 2603Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #36: 2604 Never ever ask the tough looking gentleman wearing El Rukn 2605headgear where he got his "pyramid powered pizza warmer". 2606 -- Chicago Reader 3/27/81 2607% 2608Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #84: 2609 The CTA has complimentary pop-up timers available on request 2610for overheated passengers. When your timer pops up, the driver will 2611cheerfully baste you. 2612 -- Chicago Reader 5/28/82 2613% 2614Chicago, n.: 2615 Where the dead still vote ... early and often! 2616% 2617Chicken Little only has to be right once. 2618% 2619Chicken Little was right. 2620% 2621Chicken Soup, n.: 2622 An ancient miracle drug containing equal parts of aureomycin, 2623cocaine, interferon, and TLC. The only ailment chicken soup can't cure 2624is neurotic dependence on one's mother. 2625 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 2626% 2627Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every 2628effort to teach them good manners. 2629% 2630Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're 2631going to catch you in next. 2632 -- Franklin P. Jones 2633% 2634Children aren't happy without something to ignore, 2635And that's what parents were created for. 2636 -- Ogden Nash 2637% 2638Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for 2639word what you shouldn't have said. 2640% 2641Chism's Law of Completion: 2642 The amount of time required to complete a government project is 2643precisely equal to the length of time already spent on it. 2644% 2645Chisolm's First Corollary to Murphy's Second Law: 2646 When things just can't possibly get any worse, they will. 2647% 2648Chivalry, Schmivalry! 2649 Roger the thief has a 2650 method he uses for 2651 sneaky attacks: 2652Folks who are reading are 2653 Characteristically 2654 Always Forgetting to 2655 Guard their own bac ... 2656% 2657Christ: 2658 A man who was born at least 5,000 years ahead of his time. 2659% 2660Churchill's Commentary on Man: 2661 Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the 2662time he will pick himself up and continue on. 2663% 2664Cigarette, n.: 2665 A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in 2666between. 2667% 2668Cinemuck, n.: 2669 The combination of popcorn, soda, and melted chocolate which 2670covers the floors of movie theaters. 2671 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2672% 2673Clairvoyant, n.: 2674 A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that 2675which is invisible to her patron -- namely, that he is a blockhead. 2676 -- Ambrose Bierce 2677% 2678Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like 2679shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. 2680 -- Phyllis Diller 2681% 2682Cleanliness is next to impossible. 2683% 2684Cleveland still lives. God ____must be dead. 2685% 2686Cleveland? Yes, I spent a week there one day. 2687% 2688Cloning is the sincerest form of flattery. 2689% 2690Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on 2691society. 2692 -- Mark Twain 2693% 2694COBOL programs are an exercise in Artificial Inelegance. 2695% 2696Cocaine -- the thinking man's Dristan. 2697% 2698Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- 2699"I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." 2700 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2701% 2702Cogito ergo I'm right and you're wrong. 2703 -- Blair Houghton 2704% 2705Coincidence, n.: 2706 You weren't paying attention to the other half of what was 2707going on. 2708% 2709Coincidences are spiritual puns. 2710 -- G. K. Chesterton 2711% 2712Cold, adj.: 2713 When the local flashers are handing out written descriptions. 2714% 2715Cold, adj.: 2716 When the politicians walk around with their hands in their own 2717pockets. 2718% 2719Collaboration, n.: 2720 A literary partnership based on the false assumption that the 2721other fellow can spell. 2722% 2723College football is a game which would be much more interesting if the 2724faculty played instead of the students, and even more interesting if 2725the trustees played. There would be a great increase in broken arms, 2726legs, and necks, and simultaneously an appreciable diminution in the 2727loss to humanity. 2728 -- H. L. Mencken 2729% 2730Colvard's Logical Premises: 2731 All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or it 2732 won't. 2733 2734Colvard's Unconscionable Commentary: 2735 This is especially true when dealing with someone you're 2736 attracted to. 2737 2738Grelb's Commentary 2739 Likelihoods, however, are 90% against you. 2740% 2741Come, every frustum longs to be a cone, 2742And every vector dreams of matrices. 2743Hark to the gentle gradient of the breeze: 2744It whispers of a more ergodic zone. 2745 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2746% 2747Come, let us hasten to a higher plane, 2748Where dyads tread the fairy fields of Venn, 2749Their indices bedecked from one to _n, 2750Commingled in an endless Markov chain! 2751 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2752% 2753Command, n.: 2754 Statement presented by a human and accepted by a computer in 2755such a manner as to make the human feel as if he is in control. 2756% 2757 COMMENT 2758 2759Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, 2760A medley of extemporanea; 2761And love is thing that can never go wrong; 2762And I am Marie of Roumania. 2763 -- Dorothy Parker 2764% 2765Commitment, n.: 2766 Commitment can be illustrated by a breakfast of ham and eggs. 2767The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. 2768% 2769Committee Rules: 2770 (1) Never arrive on time, or you will be stamped a beginner. 2771 (2) Don't say anything until the meeting is half over; this 2772 stamps you as being wise. 2773 (3) Be as vague as possible; this prevents irritating the 2774 others. 2775 (4) When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed. 2776 (5) Be the first to move for adjournment; this will make you 2777 popular -- it's what everyone is waiting for. 2778% 2779Committee, n.: 2780 A group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group 2781decide that nothing can be done. 2782 -- Fred Allen 2783% 2784Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to 2785be appointed to do the work. 2786% 2787Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at 2788different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. 2789 -- Clive James 2790% 2791Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius. 2792 -- Josh Billings 2793% 2794Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. 2795 -- Albert Einstein 2796% 2797Comparing information and knowledge is like asking whether the fatness 2798of a pig is more or less green than the designated hitter rule." 2799 -- David Guaspari 2800% 2801Computer programmers do it byte by byte. 2802% 2803Computer Science is merely the post-Turing decline in formal systems 2804theory. 2805% 2806Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. 2807% 2808Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. 2809 -- Pablo Picasso 2810% 2811Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in 2812the world that just don't add up. 2813% 2814Computers will not be perfected until they can compute how much more 2815than the estimate the job will cost. 2816% 2817Conceit causes more conversation than wit. 2818 -- LaRouchefoucauld 2819% 2820Concept, n.: 2821 Any "idea" for which an outside consultant billed you more than 2822$25,000. 2823% 2824... [concerning quotation marks] even if we *___did* quote anybody in this 2825business, it probably would be gibberish. 2826 -- Thom McLeod 2827% 2828Condense soup, not books! 2829% 2830Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is 2831good for dandruff. 2832 -- Peter de Vries 2833% 2834Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. 2835% 2836Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that 2837would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that 2838you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer 2839maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS 2840OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY 2841UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED 2842IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD 2843WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER AND 2844SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, 2845RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, 2846RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE 2847FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? 2848 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2849% 2850Connector Conspiracy, n: 2851 [probably came into prominence with the appearance of the 2852KL-10, none of whose connectors match anything else] The tendency of 2853manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of anything) 2854to come up with new products which don't fit together with the old 2855stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff or expensive 2856interface devices. 2857% 2858Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. 2859 -- H. L. Mencken 2860% 2861Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking. 2862 -- H. L. Mencken, "A Mencken Chrestomathy" 2863% 2864Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. 2865% 2866Conscious is when you are aware of something and conscience is when you 2867wish you weren't. 2868% 2869Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich. 2870 -- "Ali Baba Bunny" [1957, Chuck Jones] 2871% 2872Consultants are mystical people who ask a company for a number and then 2873give it back to them. 2874% 2875"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and 2876if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" 2877 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 2878% 2879Contrary to popular belief, penguins are not the salvation of modern 2880technology. Neither do they throw parties for the urban proletariat. 2881% 2882Conversation, n.: 2883 A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath 2884is called the listener. 2885% 2886Conway's Law: 2887 In any organization there will always be one person who knows 2888 what is going on. 2889 2890 This person must be fired. 2891% 2892Coronation, n.: 2893 The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outward and 2894visible signs of his divine right to be blown skyhigh with a dynamite 2895bomb. 2896 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2897% 2898Corrupt, adj.: 2899 In politics, holding an office of trust or profit. 2900% 2901Corrupt, stupid grasping functionaries will make at least as big a 2902muddle of socialism as stupid, selfish and acquisitive employers can 2903make of capitalism. 2904 -- Walter Lippmann 2905% 2906Corruption is not the #1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job 2907is to enforce the law and fight crime. 2908 -- P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan 2909% 2910Court, n.: 2911 A place where they dispense with justice. 2912 -- Arthur Train 2913% 2914Coward, n.: 2915 One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. 2916 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2917% 2918[Crash programs] fail because they are based on the theory that, with 2919nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month. 2920 -- Wernher von Braun 2921% 2922Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. 2923 -- A. E. Neuman 2924% 2925Critic, n.: 2926 A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries 2927to please him. 2928 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2929% 2930Croll's Query: 2931 If tin whistles are made of tin, what are foghorns made of? 2932% 2933cursor address, n: 2934 "Hello, cursor!" 2935 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 2936% 2937Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It 2938eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the 2939business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation. 2940 -- Johnny Hart 2941% 2942Cynic, n.: 2943 A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not 2944as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking 2945out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. 2946 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2947% 2948Cynic, n.: 2949 One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced eye. 2950% 2951Dare to be naive. 2952 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 2953% 2954Darth Vader sleeps with a Teddywookie. 2955% 2956Dave Mack: "Your stupidity, Allen, is simply not up to par." 2957Allen Gwinn: "Yours is." 2958% 2959Dawn, n.: 2960 The time when men of reason go to bed. 2961 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2962% 2963Day of inquiry. You will be subpoenaed. 2964% 2965%DCL-E-MEM-BAD, bad memory 2966-VMS-F-PDGERS, pudding between the ears 2967% 2968Dealing with failure is easy: work hard to improve. Success is also 2969easy to handle: you've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to 2970improve. 2971% 2972Dear Lord: 2973 I just want *___one* one-armed manager so I never have to hear "On 2974the other hand", again. 2975% 2976Dear Miss Manners: 2977 My home economics teacher says that one must never place one's 2978elbows on the table. However, I have read that one elbow, in between 2979courses, is all right. Which is correct? 2980 2981Gentle Reader: 2982 For the purpose of answering examinations in your home 2983economics class, your teacher is correct. Catching on to this 2984principle of education may be of even greater importance to you now 2985than learning correct current table manners, vital as Miss Manners 2986believes that is. 2987% 2988Dear Miss Manners: 2989 Please list some tactful ways of removing a man's saliva from 2990your face. 2991 2992Gentle Reader: 2993 Please list some decent ways of acquiring a man's saliva on 2994your face ... 2995% 2996Dear Mister Language Person: I am curious about the expression, "Part 2997of this complete breakfast". The way it comes up is, my 5-year-old 2998will be watching TV cartoon shows in the morning, and they'll show a 2999commercial for a children's compressed breakfast compound such as 3000"Froot Loops" or "Lucky Charms", and they always show it sitting on a 3001table next to some actual food such as eggs, and the announcer always 3002says: "Part of this complete breakfast". Don't that really mean, 3003"Adjacent to this complete breakfast", or "On the same table as this 3004complete breakfast"? And couldn't they make essentially the same claim 3005if, instead of Froot Loops, they put a can of shaving cream there, or a 3006dead bat? 3007 3008Answer: Yes. 3009 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 3010% 3011Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe? 3012 3013Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business 3014signs to alert the reader than an "S" is coming up at the end of a 3015word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR 3016ANY ITEM'S. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when 3017creating hand- lettered small-business signs is that you should put 3018quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT 3019DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S. 3020 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 3021% 3022Death is God's way of telling you not to be such a wise guy. 3023% 3024Death is life's way of telling you you've been fired. 3025 -- R. Geis 3026% 3027Death is Nature's way of recycling human beings. 3028% 3029Death is nature's way of saying `Howdy'. 3030% 3031Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down. 3032% 3033Death is only a state of mind. 3034 3035Only it doesn't leave you much time to think about anything else. 3036% 3037Death to all fanatics! 3038% 3039Decision maker, n.: 3040 The person in your office who was unable to form a task force 3041before the music stopped. 3042% 3043Decisions of the judges will be final unless shouted down by a really 3044overwhelming majority of the crowd present. Abusive and obscene 3045language may not be used by contestants when addressing members of the 3046judging panel, or, conversely, by members of the judging panel when 3047addressing contestants (unless struck by a boomerang). 3048 -- Mudgeeraba Creek Emu-Riding and Boomerang-Throwing Assoc. 3049% 3050 Deck Us All With Boston Charlie 3051 3052Deck us all with Boston Charlie, 3053Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! 3054Nora's freezin' on the trolley, 3055Swaller dollar cauliflower, alleygaroo! 3056 3057Don't we know archaic barrel, 3058Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou. 3059Trolley Molly don't love Harold, 3060Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo! 3061 -- Walt Kelly 3062% 3063"Deep" is a word like "theory" or "semantic" -- it implies all sorts of 3064marvelous things. It's one thing to be able to say "I've got a 3065theory", quite another to say "I've got a semantic theory", but, ah, 3066those who can claim "I've got a deep semantic theory", they are truly 3067blessed. 3068 -- Randy Davis 3069% 3070default, n.: 3071 [Possibly from Black English "De fault wid dis system is you, 3072mon."] The vain attempt to avoid errors by inactivity. "Nothing will 3073come of nothing: speak again." -- King Lear. 3074 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 3075% 3076#define BITCOUNT(x) (((BX_(x)+(BX_(x)>>4)) & 0x0F0F0F0F) % 255) 3077#define BX_(x) ((x) - (((x)>>1)&0x77777777) \ 3078 - (((x)>>2)&0x33333333) \ 3079 - (((x)>>3)&0x11111111)) 3080 3081 -- really weird C code to count the number of bits in a word 3082% 3083Definitions of hardware and software for dummies: 3084 Hardware is what you kick; 3085 Software is what you curse. 3086% 3087 DELETE A FORTUNE! 3088 3089Don't some of these fortunes just drive you nuts?! Wouldn't you like 3090to see some of them deleted from the system? You can! Just mail to 3091"fortune" with the fortune you hate most, and we MIGHT make sure it 3092gets expunged. 3093% 3094Deliberation, n.: 3095 The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is 3096buttered on. 3097 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3098% 3099Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow. 3100% 3101Demand the establishment of the government 3102in its rightful home at Disneyland. 3103% 3104Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than 3105we deserve. 3106 -- George Bernard Shaw 3107% 3108Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder 3109aloud what the country could do under first-class management. 3110 -- Senator Soaper 3111% 3112Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the 3113incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. 3114 -- G. B. Shaw 3115% 3116Democracy is a government where you can say what you think even if you 3117don't think. 3118% 3119Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by 3120Jackasses. 3121 -- H. L. Mencken 3122% 3123Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse. 3124 -- Jawaharlal Nehru 3125% 3126Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people 3127are right more than half of the time. 3128 -- E. B. White 3129% 3130Democracy, n.: 3131 A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass 3132meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. 3133Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. 3134Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, 3135whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, 3136prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. 3137Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy. 3138 -- U. S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), 3139 since withdrawn. 3140% 3141Demographic polls show that you have lost credibility across the 3142board. Especially with those 14 year-old Valley girls. 3143% 3144Dentist, n.: 3145 A Prestidigitator who, putting metal in one's mouth, pulls 3146coins out of one's pockets. 3147 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3148% 3149Despising machines to a man, 3150The Luddites joined up with the Klan, 3151 And ride out by night 3152 In a sheeting of white 3153To lynch all the robots they can. 3154 -- C. M. and G. A. Maxson 3155% 3156Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will 3157be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over 3158the table. 3159 -- The Anarchist Cookbook 3160% 3161 DETERIORATA 3162 3163Go placidly amid the noise and waste, 3164And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. 3165Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. 3166Rotate your tires. 3167Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, 3168And heed well their advice -- even though they be turkeys. 3169Know what to kiss -- and when. 3170Remember that two wrongs never make a right, 3171But that three do. 3172Wherever possible, put people on "HOLD". 3173Be comforted, that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment, 3174And despite the changing fortunes of time, 3175There is always a big future in computer maintenance. 3176 3177 You are a fluke of the universe ... 3178 You have no right to be here. 3179 Whether you can hear it or not, the universe 3180 Is laughing behind your back. 3181 -- National Lampoon 3182% 3183DeVries's Dilemma: 3184 If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want 3185hits the paper. 3186% 3187Did I say 2? I lied. 3188% 3189Did you know ... 3190 3191That no-one ever reads these things? 3192% 3193Did you know that clones never use mirrors? 3194 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3195% 3196Did you know that if you took all the economists in the world and lined 3197them up end to end, they'd still point in the wrong direction? 3198% 3199Did you know that the voice tapes easily identify the Russian pilot 3200that shot down the Korean jet? At one point he definitely states: 3201 3202 "Natasha! First we shoot jet, then we go after moose and 3203 squirrel." 3204 3205 -- ihuxw!tommyo 3206% 3207Die, v.: 3208 To stop sinning suddenly. 3209 -- Elbert Hubbard 3210% 3211Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a 3212conventional thing to happen to him. 3213 -- John Barrymore's dying words 3214% 3215Different all twisty a of in maze are you, passages little. 3216% 3217Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable term. 3218Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. 3219% 3220Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. 3221% 3222Disc space -- the final frontier! 3223% 3224Disclaimer: "These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be 3225yours too." 3226 -- Dave Haynie 3227% 3228Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above views and those of my 3229employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely 3230coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is 3231non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the 3232absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. 3233The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for 3234the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, 3235non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.) 3236% 3237Disco is to music what Etch-A-Sketch is to art. 3238% 3239Distinctive, adj.: 3240 A different color or shape than our competitors. 3241% 3242Distress, n.: 3243 A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. 3244 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3245% 3246District of Columbia pedestrians who leap over passing autos to escape 3247injury, and then strike the car as they come down, are liable for any 3248damage inflicted on the vehicle. 3249% 3250Do infants have as much fun in infancy as adults do in adultery? 3251% 3252Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? 3253% 3254Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. 3255% 3256Do not drink coffee in early a.m. It will keep you awake until noon. 3257% 3258Do not meddle in the affairs of troff, for it is subtle and quick to 3259anger. 3260% 3261Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good 3262with ketchup. 3263% 3264Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. 3265Violators will be prosecuted. 3266(Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.)) 3267% 3268Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight. 3269% 3270Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to dread each 3271day as it comes. 3272 -- Donald Kaul 3273% 3274Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. 3275% 3276Do what comes naturally now. Seethe and fume and throw a tantrum. 3277% 3278Do you have lysdexia? 3279% 3280Do you realize how many holes there could be if people would just take 3281the time to take the dirt out of them? 3282% 3283"Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" 3284"Of course it's wrong! It's illegal!" 3285"I've never done anything illegal before." 3286"I thought you said you were an accountant!" 3287% 3288Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and 3289when it is bad, it is better than nothing. 3290 -- Dick Brandon 3291% 3292Documentation is the castor oil of programming. Managers know it must 3293be good because the programmers hate it so much. 3294% 3295Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? 3296% 3297Don't abandon hope: your Tom Mix decoder ring arrives tomorrow. 3298% 3299Don't be humble ... you're not that great. 3300 -- Golda Meir 3301% 3302Don't believe everything you hear or anything you say. 3303% 3304Don't change the reason, just change the excuses! 3305 -- Joe Cointment 3306% 3307"Don't come back until you have him", the Tick-Tock Man said quietly, 3308sincerely, extremely dangerously. 3309 3310They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardio plate crossoffs. 3311They used teepers. They used bribery. They used stick tites. They 3312used intimidation. They used torment. They used torture. They used 3313finks. They used cops. They used search and seizure. They used 3314fallaron. They used betterment incentives. They used finger prints. 3315They used the bertillion system. They used cunning. They used guile. 3316They used treachery. They used Raoul-Mitgong but he wasn't much help. 3317They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology. And 3318what the hell, they caught him. 3319 3320 -- Harlan Ellison, "Repent, Harlequin, said the Tick-Tock Man" 3321% 3322Don't cook tonight -- starve a rat today! 3323% 3324Don't feed the bats tonight. 3325% 3326Don't get even -- get odd! 3327% 3328Don't get suckered in by the comments -- they can be terribly 3329misleading. Debug only code. 3330 -- Dave Storer 3331% 3332Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes 3333you nothing. It was here first. 3334 -- Mark Twain 3335% 3336Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while. 3337% 3338Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon. 3339% 3340Don't hit a man when he's down -- kick him; it's easier. 3341% 3342Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today. 3343% 3344Don't knock President Fillmore. He kept us out of Vietnam. 3345% 3346Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance. 3347% 3348Don't let your mind wander -- it's too little to be let out alone. 3349% 3350Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you. 3351% 3352Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy 3353it today you can do it again tomorrow. 3354% 3355Don't say yes until I finish talking. 3356 -- Darryl F. Zanuck 3357% 3358Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete successfully in business. 3359Cheat. 3360 -- Ambrose Bierce 3361% 3362Don't suspect your friends -- turn them in! 3363 -- "Brazil" 3364% 3365Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. 3366 -- Walt Kelly 3367% 3368Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out of it alive. 3369% 3370Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective. 3371% 3372Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends -- tell me where to 3373get more wax!! 3374% 3375Don't worry about avoiding temptation -- as you grow older, it starts 3376avoiding you. 3377 -- The Old Farmer's Almanac 3378% 3379Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any 3380good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. 3381 -- Howard Aiken 3382% 3383Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already 3384tomorrow in Australia. 3385 -- Charles Schultz 3386% 3387Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too 3388busy worrying over what you are thinking about them. 3389% 3390Don't you feel more like you do now than you did when you came in? 3391% 3392Don Ameche: I didn't know you had a cousin Penelope, Bill! Was she 3393 pretty? 3394W. C.: Well, her face was so wrinkled it looked like seven miles of 3395 bad road. She had so many gold teeth, Don, she use to have to 3396 sleep with her head in a safe. She died in Bolivia. 3397Don: Oh Bill, it must be hard to lose a relative. 3398W. C.: It's almost impossible. 3399 -- W. C. Fields, from "The Further Adventures of Larson 3400 E. Whipsnade and other Tarradiddles" 3401% 3402 Double Bucky 3403 (Sung to the tune of "Rubber Duckie") 3404 3405Double bucky, you're the one! 3406You make my keyboard lots of fun 3407 Double bucky, an additional bit or two: 3408(Vo-vo-de-o!) 3409Control and Meta side by side, 3410Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide! 3411 Double bucky, a half a thousand glyphs, plus a few! 3412 3413Oh, I sure wish that I, 3414Had a couple of bits more! 3415Perhaps a set of pedals to make the number of bits four. 3416 3417Double bucky, left and right 3418OR'd together, outta sight! 3419 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of 3420 Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of 3421 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you! 3422 3423 -- (C) 1978 by Guy L. Steele, Jr. 3424 (to Nicholas Wirth, who suggested that an extra bit 3425 be added to terminal codes on 36-bit machines for use 3426 by screen editors. [to the tune of "Rubber Ducky"]) 3427% 3428Double-Blind Experiment, n.: 3429 An experiment in which the chief researcher believes he is 3430fooling both the subject and the lab assistant. Often accompanied by a 3431strong belief in the tooth fairy. 3432% 3433Down with categorical imperative! 3434% 3435Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. 3436% 3437Drew's Law of Highway Biology: 3438 The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front 3439of your eyes. 3440% 3441Drink Canada Dry! You might not succeed, but it *__is* fun trying. 3442% 3443Drive defensively. Buy a tank. 3444% 3445Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic route! 3446% 3447Ducharme's Axiom: 3448 If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize 3449yourself as part of the problem. 3450% 3451Ducharme's Precept: 3452 Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. 3453% 3454Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and 3455it holds the universe together. 3456 -- Carl Zwanzig 3457% 3458Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders 3459has been discontinued. 3460% 3461Due to circumstances beyond your control, you are master of your fate 3462and captain of your soul. 3463% 3464Due to lack of disk space, this fortune database has been 3465discontinued. 3466% 3467 During a grouse hunt in North Carolina two intrepid sportsmen 3468were blasting away at a clump of trees near a stone wall. Suddenly a 3469red-faced country squire popped his head over the wall and shouted, 3470"Hey, you almost hit my wife." 3471 "Did I?" cried the hunter, aghast. "Terribly sorry. Have a 3472shot at mine, over there." 3473% 3474During the next two hours, the system will be going up and down several 3475times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4k**n~po_~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o 3476% 3477Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have 3478nothing whatever to do with it. 3479 -- W. Somerset Maugham (last words) 3480% 3481E Pluribus Unix 3482% 3483Eagleson's Law: 3484 Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more 3485months, might as well have been written by someone else. (Eagleson is 3486an optimist, the real number is more like three weeks.) 3487% 3488Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends 3489% 3490/earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. 3491% 3492Earth is a beta site. 3493% 3494Earth is a great, big funhouse without the fun. 3495 -- Jeff Berner 3496% 3497Easiest Color to Solve on a Rubik's Cube: 3498 Black. Simply remove all the little colored stickers on the 3499cube, and each of side of the cube will now be the original color of 3500the plastic underneath -- black. According to the instructions, this 3501means the puzzle is solved. 3502 -- Steve Rubenstein 3503% 3504Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal. 3505% 3506Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may work. 3507% 3508Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. 3509 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 3510% 3511Economics, n.: 3512 Economics is the study of the value and meaning of J. K. 3513Galbraith ... 3514 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3515% 3516Economists can certainly disappoint you. One said that the economy 3517would turn up by the last quarter. Well, I'm down to mine and it 3518hasn't. 3519 -- Robert Orben 3520% 3521Economists state their GNP growth projections to the nearest tenth of a 3522percentage point to prove they have a sense of humor. 3523 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 3524% 3525Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent. 3526 -- Fred Allen 3527% 3528Education is the process of casting false pearls before real swine. 3529 -- Irsin Edman 3530% 3531Eeny, Meeny, Jelly Beanie, the spirits are about to speak! 3532 -- Bullwinkle Moose 3533% 3534Eggheads unite! You have nothing to lose but your yolks. 3535 -- Adlai Stevenson 3536% 3537Eggnog is a traditional holiday drink invented by the English. Many 3538people wonder where the word "eggnog" comes from. The first syllable 3539comes from the English word "egg", meaning "egg". I don't know where 3540the "nog" comes from. 3541 3542To make eggnog, you'll need rum, whiskey, wine gin and, if they are in 3543season, eggs... 3544% 3545Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain 3546of being a damned fool. 3547 -- Bellamy Brooks 3548% 3549Egotist, n.: 3550 A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. 3551 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3552% 3553Ehrman's Commentary: 3554 (1) Things will get worse before they get better. 3555 (2) Who said things would get better? 3556% 3557Eighty percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees. 3558 -- Ronald Reagan, famous movie star 3559% 3560Eleanor Rigby 3561 Sits at the keyboard 3562 And waits for a line on the screen 3563Lives in a dream 3564Waits for a signal 3565 Finding some code 3566 That will make the machine do some more. 3567What is it for? 3568 3569All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3570All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3571 3572Hacker MacKensie 3573Writing the code for a program that no one will run 3574It's nearly done 3575Look at him working, fixing the bugs in the night when there's nobody there. 3576What does he care? 3577 3578All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3579All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3580Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3581Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3582% 3583Electrical Engineers do it with less resistance. 3584% 3585 Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles, 3586called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you 3587have been drinking. Electrons travel at the speed of light, which in 3588most American homes is 110 volts per hour. This is very fast. In the 3589time it has taken you to read this sentence so far, an electron could 3590have traveled all the way from San Francisco to Hackensack, New Jersey, 3591although God alone knows why it would want to. 3592 The five main kinds of electricity are alternating current, 3593direct current, lightning, static, and European. Most American homes 3594have alternating current, which means that the electricity goes in one 3595direction for a while, then goes in the other direction. This prevents 3596harmful electron buildup in the wires. 3597 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 3598% 3599Electrocution, n.: 3600 Burning at the stake with all the modern improvements. 3601% 3602Elevators smell different to midgets. 3603% 3604Emerson's Law of Contrariness: 3605 Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we 3606can. Having found them, we shall then hate them for it. 3607% 3608Encyclopedia Salesmen: 3609 Invite them all in. Nip out the back door. Phone the police 3610and tell them your house is being burgled. 3611 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3612% 3613Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless. 3614Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop. 3615 -- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary 3616% 3617Entropy isn't what it used to be. 3618% 3619Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which 3620otherwise require harder thinking. 3621 -- Jerome Lettvin 3622% 3623Epperson's law: 3624 When a man says it's a silly, childish game, it's probably 3625something his wife can beat him at. 3626% 3627Equal bytes for women. 3628% 3629Error in operator: add beer 3630% 3631Es brilig war. Die schlichte Toven 3632 Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben; 3633Und aller-m"umsige Burggoven 3634 Dir mohmen R"ath ausgraben. 3635 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 3636% 3637Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. 3638 -- Woody Allen 3639% 3640Etymology, n.: 3641 Some early etymological scholars came up with derivations that 3642were hard for the public to believe. The term "etymology" was formed 3643from the Latin "etus" ("eaten"), the root "mal" ("bad"), and "logy" 3644("study of"). It meant "the study of things that are hard to swallow." 3645 -- Mike Kellen 3646% 3647Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to 3648speak it to? 3649 -- Clarence Darrow 3650% 3651Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. 3652 -- Will Rogers 3653% 3654Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral. 3655 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 3656% 3657Even though they raised the rate for first class mail in the United 3658States we really shouldn't complain -- it's still only two cents a 3659day. 3660% 3661Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you 3662just how busy they are? 3663% 3664Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to understand what, 3665exactly, make people laugh. That's why they were called "wise men." 3666All the other prehistoric people were out puncturing each other with 3667spears, and the wise men were back in the cave saying: "How about: 3668Would you please take my wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please 3669take her right now. No How about: Would you like to take something? 3670My wife is available. No. How about ..." 3671 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 3672% 3673Every absurdity has a champion who will defend it. 3674% 3675Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to punt. 3676% 3677Every four seconds a woman has a baby. Our problem is to find this 3678woman and stop her. 3679% 3680Every group has a couple of experts. And every group has at least one 3681idiot. Thus are balance and harmony (and discord) maintained. It's 3682sometimes hard to remember this in the bulk of the flamewars that all 3683of the hassle and pain is generally caused by one or two 3684highly-motivated, caustic twits. 3685 -- Chuq Von Rospach, about Usenet 3686% 3687Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired 3688signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not 3689fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not 3690spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the 3691genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way 3692of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is 3693humanity hanging on a cross of iron. 3694 -- Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953 3695% 3696Every Horse has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation): 3697 3698Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs, and in 3699front they have fore-legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an 3700odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both even 3701and odd is infinity. Therefore, horses have an infinite number of 3702legs. Now to show this for the general case, suppose that somewhere, 3703there is a horse that has a finite number of legs. But that is a horse 3704of another color, and by the [above] lemma ["All horses are the same 3705color"], that does not exist. 3706% 3707Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible. 3708 -- Frank Moore Colby 3709% 3710Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. 3711% 3712Every little picofarad has a nanohenry all its own. 3713 -- Don Vonada 3714% 3715Every man has his price. Mine is $3.95. 3716% 3717Every man is as God made him, ay, and often worse. 3718 -- Miguel de Cervantes 3719% 3720Every morning, I get up and look through the 'Forbes' list of the 3721richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. 3722 -- Robert Orben 3723% 3724Every nonzero finite dimensional inner product space has an orthonormal basis. 3725 3726It makes sense, when you don't think about it. 3727% 3728Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one 3729instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every 3730program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work. 3731% 3732Every program has two purposes -- one for which it was written and 3733another for which it wasn't. 3734% 3735Every program is a part of some other program, and rarely fits. 3736% 3737Every solution breeds new problems. 3738% 3739Every successful person has had failures but repeated failure is no 3740guarantee of eventual success. 3741% 3742Every time I think I know where it's at, they move it. 3743% 3744Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness. 3745 -- Beckett 3746% 3747Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. 3748 -- Dykstra 3749% 3750Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. 3751% 3752Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be 3753taught how ___not to. So it is with the great programmers. 3754% 3755Everyone is a genius. It's just that some people are too stupid to 3756realize it. 3757% 3758Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic 3759formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the 3760scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact 3761wholly unconcerned with what ____does exist. Indeed, the banality of 3762existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to 3763discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the 3764problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the 3765mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, 3766one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely 3767different way ... 3768 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 3769% 3770Everyone talks about apathy, but no one ____does anything about it. 3771% 3772Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, 3773no one we know belongs. 3774% 3775Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being 3776that a belch is more satisfying. 3777 -- Ingmar Bergman 3778% 3779Everything journalists write is true, except when they write about 3780something you know. 3781 -- Dag-Erling Smorgrav, 3782 June 1999, FreeBSD-Stable Mailing List 3783% 3784Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. 3785% 3786Everything you know is wrong! 3787% 3788Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less 3789obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no 3790solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. 3791There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no 3792straight lines. 3793 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 3794% 3795 Excellence is THE trend of the '80s. Walk into any shopping 3796mall bookstore, go to the rack where they keep the best-sellers such as 3797"Garfield Gets Spayed", and you'll see a half-dozen books telling you 3798how to be excellent: "In Search of Excellence", "Finding Excellence", 3799"Grasping Hold of Excellence", "Where to Hide Your Excellence at Night 3800So the Cleaning Personnel Don't Steal It", etc. 3801 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 3802% 3803Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike the office water cooler. 3804% 3805Excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator. 3806% 3807Excellent day to have a rotten day. 3808% 3809Excellent time to become a missing person. 3810% 3811Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from 3812acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. 3813 -- W. Somerset Maugham 3814% 3815Excessive login or logout messages are a sure sign of senility. 3816% 3817Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do 3818the work. 3819 -- John G. Pollard 3820% 3821Expect the worst. It's the least you can do. 3822% 3823Expense Accounts, n.: 3824 Corporate food stamps. 3825% 3826Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 3827 -- Olivier 3828% 3829Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake 3830when you make it again. 3831 -- Franklin P. Jones 3832% 3833Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and 3834the instruction afterward. 3835% 3836Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old 3837ones. 3838% 3839Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. 3840% 3841Experience varies directly with equipment ruined. 3842% 3843Expert, n.: 3844 Someone who comes from out of town and shows slides. 3845% 3846Extract from Official Sweepstakes Rules: 3847 3848 NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE 3849 3850To claim your prize without purchase, do the following: (a) Carefully 3851cut out your computer-printed name and address from upper right hand 3852corner of the Prize Claim Form. (b) Affix computer-printed name and 3853address -- with glue or cellophane tape (no staples or paper clips) -- 3854to a 3x5 inch index card. (c) Also cut out the "No" paragraph (lower 3855left hand corner of Prize Claim Form) and affix it to the 3x5 card 3856below your address label. (d) Then print on your 3x5 card, above your 3857computer-printed name and address the words "CARTER & VAN PEEL 3858SWEEPSTAKES" (Use all capital letters.) (e) Finally place 3x5 card 3859(without bending) into a plain envelope [NOTE: do NOT use the 3860Official Prize Claim and CVP Perfume Reply Envelope or you may be 3861disqualified], and mail to: CVP, Box 1320, Westbury, NY 11595. Print 3862this address correctly. Comply with above instructions carefully and 3863completely or you may be disqualified from receiving your prize. 3864% 3865F u cn rd ths u cnt spl wrth a dm! 3866% 3867f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd. 3868% 3869f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng. 3870% 3871F: When into a room I plunge, I 3872 Sometimes find some VIOLET FUNGI. 3873 Then I linger, darkly brooding 3874 On the poison they're exuding. 3875 -- The Roguelet's ABC 3876% 3877Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. 3878% 3879Fairy Tale, n.: 3880 A horror story to prepare children for the newspapers. 3881% 3882Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic 3883without looking to see whether the seeds move. 3884% 3885Faith, n: 3886 That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be 3887untrue. 3888% 3889Fakir, n: 3890 A psychologist whose charismatic data have inspired almost 3891religious devotion in his followers, even though the sources seem to 3892have shinnied up a rope and vanished. 3893% 3894Familiarity breeds attempt. 3895% 3896Families, when a child is born 3897Want it to be intelligent. 3898I, through intelligence, 3899Having wrecked my whole life, 3900Only hope the baby will prove 3901Ignorant and stupid. 3902Then he will crown a tranquil life 3903By becoming a Cabinet Minister 3904 -- Su Tung-p'o 3905% 3906Famous last words: 3907% 3908Famous last words: 3909 (1) "Don't worry, I can handle it." 3910 (2) "You and what army?" 3911 (3) "If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be 3912 a cop." 3913% 3914Famous last words: 3915 (1) Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix. 3916 (2) Let's take the shortcut, he can't see us from there. 3917 (3) What happens if you touch these two wires tog-- 3918 (4) We won't need reservations. 3919 (5) It's always sunny there this time of the year. 3920 (6) Don't worry, it's not loaded. 3921 (7) They'd never (be stupid enough to) make him a manager. 3922 (8) Don't worry! Women love it! 3923% 3924Famous, adj.: 3925 Conspicuously miserable. 3926 -- Ambrose Bierce 3927% 3928Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the 3929Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. 3930Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an 3931utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life 3932forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches 3933are a pretty neat idea. 3934 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 3935% 3936Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it 3937every six months. 3938 -- Oscar Wilde 3939% 3940Fats Loves Madelyn. 3941% 3942Feel disillusioned? I've got some great new illusions ... 3943% 3944Fertility is hereditary. If your parents didn't have any children, 3945neither will you. 3946% 3947 Festivity Level 1: Your guests are chatting amiably with each 3948other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around 3949the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling hors 3950d'oeuvres. 3951 Festivity Level 2: Your guests are talking loudly -- sometimes 3952to each other, and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your 3953Christmas-tree ornaments, singing "I Gotta Be Me" around the upright 3954piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d'oeuvres. 3955 Festivity Level 3: Your guests are arguing violently with 3956inanimate objects, singing "I can't get no satisfaction," gulping down 3957other peoples' drinks, wolfing down Christmas tree ornaments and 3958placing hors d'oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when 3959the little hammers strike. 3960 Festivity Level 4: Your guests, hors d'oeuvres smeared all over 3961their naked bodies are performing a ritual dance around the burning 3962Christmas tree. The piano is missing. 3963 3964 You want to keep your party somewhere around level 3, unless 3965you rent your home and own Firearms, in which case you can go to level 39664. The best way to get to level 3 is egg-nog. 3967% 3968Fifth Law of Applied Terror: 3969 If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. 3970 3971Corollary: 3972 If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you live. 3973% 3974Fifth Law of Procrastination: 3975 Procrastination avoids boredom; one never has the feeling that 3976there is nothing important to do. 3977% 3978Fifty flippant frogs 3979Walked by on flippered feet 3980And with their slime they made the time 3981Unnaturally fleet. 3982% 3983 FIGHTING WORDS 3984 3985Say my love is easy had, 3986 Say I'm bitten raw with pride, 3987Say I am too often sad -- 3988 Still behold me at your side. 3989 3990Say I'm neither brave nor young, 3991 Say I woo and coddle care, 3992Say the devil touched my tongue -- 3993 Still you have my heart to wear. 3994 3995But say my verses do not scan, 3996 And I get me another man! 3997 -- Dorothy Parker 3998% 3999Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited by statute in Barber, North 4000Carolina. 4001% 4002Finagle's Creed: 4003 Science is true. Don't be misled by facts. 4004% 4005Finagle's First Law: 4006 If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. 4007% 4008Finagle's Fourth Law: 4009 Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes 4010it worse. 4011% 4012Finagle's Second Law: 4013 No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be 4014someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it 4015happened according to his own pet theory. 4016% 4017Finagle's Third Law: 4018 In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct, 4019 beyond all need of checking, is the mistake. 4020 4021Corollaries: 4022 (1) Nobody whom you ask for help will see it. 4023 (2) The first person who stops by, whose advice you really 4024 don't want to hear, will see it immediately. 4025% 4026Finding out what goes on in the C.I.A. is like performing acupuncture 4027on a rock. 4028 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 4029% 4030Fine day to throw a party. Throw him as far as you can. 4031% 4032Fine day to work off excess energy. Steal something heavy. 4033% 4034Fine's Corollary: 4035 Functionality breeds Contempt. 4036% 4037Finish the sentence below in 25 words or less: 4038 4039 "Love is what you feel just before you give someone a good ..." 4040 4041Mail your answer along with the top half of your supervisor to: 4042 4043 P.O. Box 35 4044 Baffled Greek, Michigan 4045% 4046First Corollary of Taber's Second Law: 4047 Machines that piss people off get murdered. 4048 -- Pat Taber 4049% 4050First Law of Bicycling: 4051 No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the 4052wind. 4053% 4054First Law of Procrastination: 4055 Procrastination shortens the job and places the responsibility 4056for its termination on someone else (i.e., the authority who imposed 4057the deadline). 4058% 4059First Law of Socio-Genetics: 4060 Celibacy is not hereditary. 4061% 4062First Rule of History: 4063 History doesn't repeat itself -- historians merely repeat each 4064other. 4065% 4066First things first -- but not necessarily in that order 4067 -- The Doctor, "Doctor Who" 4068% 4069First, a few words about tools. 4070 4071Basically, a tool is an object that enables you to take advantage of 4072the laws of physics and mechanics in such a way that you can seriously 4073injure yourself. Today, people tend to take tools for granted. If 4074you're ever walking down the street and you notice some people who look 4075particularly smug, the odds are that they are taking tools for 4076granted. If I were you, I'd walk right up and smack them in the face. 4077 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 4078% 4079Five is a sufficiently close approximation to infinity. 4080 -- Robert Firth 4081% 4082Flappity, floppity, flip 4083The mouse on the m"obius strip; 4084 The strip revolved, 4085 The mouse dissolved 4086In a chronodimensional skip. 4087% 4088FLASH! Intelligence of mankind decreasing. Details at ... uh, when 4089the little hand is on the .... 4090% 4091Flon's Law: 4092 There is not now, and never will be, a language in which it is 4093the least bit difficult to write bad programs. 4094% 4095Florence Flask was ... dressing for the opera when she turned to her 4096husband and screamed, "Erlenmeyer! My joules! Someone has stolen my 4097joules!" 4098 4099"Now, now, my dear," replied her husband, "keep your balance and reflux 4100a moment. Perhaps they're mislead." 4101 4102"No, I know they're stolen," cried Florence. "I remember putting them 4103in my burette ... We must call a copper." 4104 4105Erlenmeyer did so, and the flatfoot who turned up, one Sherlock Ohms, 4106said the outrage looked like the work of an arch-criminal by the name 4107of Lawrence Ium. 4108 4109"We must be careful -- he's a free radical, ultraviolet, and 4110dangerous. His girlfriend is a chlorine at the Palladium. Maybe I can 4111catch him there." With that, he jumped on his carbon cycle in an 4112activated state and sped off along the reaction pathway ... 4113 -- Daniel B. Murphy, "Precipitations" 4114% 4115flowchart, n. & v.: 4116 [From flow "to ripple down in rich profusion, as hair" + chart 4117"a cryptic hidden-treasure map designed to mislead the uninitiated."] 41181. n. The solution, if any, to a class of Mascheroni construction 4119problems in which given algorithms require geometrical representation 4120using only the 35 basic ideograms of the ANSI template. 2. n. Neronic 4121doodling while the system burns. 3. n. A low-cost substitute for 4122wallpaper. 4. n. The innumerate misleading the illiterate. "A 4123thousand pictures is worth ten lines of code." -- The Programmer's 4124Little Red Vade Mecum, Mao Tse T'umps. 5. v.intrans. To produce 4125flowcharts with no particular object in mind. 6. v.trans. To obfuscate 4126(a problem) with esoteric cartoons. 4127 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 4128% 4129Flugg's Law: 4130 When you need to knock on wood is when you realize that the 4131world is composed of vinyl, naugahyde and aluminum. 4132% 4133Flying saucers on occasion 4134 Show themselves to human eyes. 4135Aliens fume, put off invasion 4136 While they brand these tales as lies. 4137% 4138Fog Lamps, n.: 4139 Excessively (often obnoxiously) bright lamps mounted on the 4140fronts of automobiles; used on dry, clear nights to indicate that the 4141driver's brain is in a fog. 4142 4143See also "Idiot Lights". 4144% 4145Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing. 4146 -- Walt Kelly, "Putluck Pogo" 4147% 4148For 20 dollars, I'll give you a good fortune next time ... 4149% 4150For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a 4151cat. 4152% 4153For an adequate time call 555-3321. 4154% 4155For an idea to be fashionable is ominous, since it must afterwards be 4156always old-fashioned. 4157% 4158For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, 4159and wrong. 4160 -- H. L. Mencken 4161% 4162For every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill. 4163 -- R. Clopton 4164% 4165 "For I perceive that behind this seemingly unrelated sequence 4166of events, there lurks a singular, sinister attitude of mind." 4167 4168 "Whose?" 4169 4170 "MINE! HA-HA!" 4171% 4172For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two. 4173% 4174For my son, Robert, this is proving to be the high-point of his entire 4175life to date. He has had his pajamas on for two, maybe three days 4176now. He has the sense of joyful independence a 5-year-old child gets 4177when he suddenly realizes that he could be operating an acetylene torch 4178in the coat closet and neither parent [because of the flu] would have 4179the strength to object. He has been foraging for his own food, which 4180means his diet consists entirely of "food" substances which are 4181advertised only on Saturday-morning cartoon shows; substances that are 4182the color of jukebox lights and that, for legal reasons, have their 4183names spelled wrong, as in New Creemy Chok-'n'-Cheez Lumps o' Froot 4184("part of this complete breakfast"). 4185 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 4186% 4187For perfect happiness, remember two things: 4188 (1) Be content with what you've got. 4189 (2) Be sure you've got plenty. 4190% 4191For some reason a glaze passes over people's faces when you say 4192"Canada". Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something. 4193 -- Sandra Gotlieb, wife of the Canadian ambassador to 4194 the U.S. 4195% 4196For some reason, this fortune reminds everyone of Marvin Zelkowitz. 4197% 4198For that matter, compare your pocket computer with the massive jobs of 4199a thousand years ago. Why not, then, the last step of doing away with 4200computers altogether? 4201 -- Jehan Shuman 4202% 4203For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like. 4204 -- Abraham Lincoln 4205% 4206For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but 4207phone calls taper off. 4208 -- Johnny Carson 4209% 4210For years a secret shame destroyed my peace -- 4211I'd not read Eliot, Auden or MacNiece. 4212But now I think a thought that brings me hope: 4213Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope. 4214 -- Justin Richardson. 4215% 4216For your penance, say five Hail Marys and one loud BLAH! 4217% 4218Forgetfulness, n.: 4219 A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their 4220destitution of conscience. 4221% 4222Forms follow function, and often obliterate it. 4223% 4224FORTUNE DISCUSSES THE OBSCURE FILMS! #6 4225 4226RAZORBACK: Paul Harbride, 1984, 2 hours 25 min. 4227 One of the great Australian films of the early 1980's, and 4228 arguably the best movie ever made about a large, man-eating 4229 hog. Some violence. With Gregory Harrison. 4230% 4231fortune's Contribution of the Month to the Animal Rights Debate: 4232 4233 I'll stay out of animals' way if they'll stay out of mine. 4234 "Hey you, get off my plate" 4235 -- Roger Midnight 4236% 4237Fortune's Fictitious Country Song Title of the Week: 4238 "How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?" 4239% 4240Fortune's graffito of the week (or maybe even month): 4241 4242 Don't Write On Walls! 4243 4244 (and underneath) 4245 4246 You want I should type? 4247% 4248Fortune's Law of the Week (this week, from Kentucky): 4249 No female shall appear in a bathing suit at any airport in this 4250State unless she is escorted by two officers or unless she is armed 4251with a club. The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females 4252weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it 4253apply to female horses. 4254% 4255Fortune's nomination for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful 4256Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an 4257impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to "expand oyster and 4258clam research," a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following 4259exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan. 4260 4261DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are 4262 having to artificially propagate oysters and clams. 4263HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature's oysters? 4264DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter 4265 is that female oysters through their living habits cast out 4266 large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large 4267 amounts of fertilization ... 4268HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many 4269 teenagers who read The Congressional Record. 4270% 4271Fortune's Office Door Sign of the Week: 4272 4273 Incorrigible punster -- Do not incorrige. 4274% 4275FORTUNE'S PARTY TIPS #14 4276 4277Tired of finding that other people are helping themselves to your good 4278liquor at BYOB parties? Take along a candle, which you insert and 4279light after you've opened the bottle. No one ever expects anything 4280drinkable to be in a bottle which has a candle stuck in its neck. 4281% 4282Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #18: 4283 4284Q: Are you married? 4285A: No, I'm divorced. 4286Q: And what did your husband do before you divorced him? 4287A: A lot of things I didn't know about. 4288% 4289Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #19: 4290 4291Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? 4292A: All my autopsies have been performed on dead people. 4293% 4294Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #29: 4295 4296THE JUDGE: Now, as we begin, I must ask you to banish all present 4297 information and prejudice from your minds, if you have 4298 any ... 4299% 4300Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #32: 4301 4302Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are right now? 4303A: I will be three months November 8th. 4304Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was August 8th? 4305A: Yes. 4306Q: What were you and your husband doing at that time? 4307% 4308Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #37: 4309 4310Q: Did he pick the dog up by the ears? 4311A: No. 4312Q: What was he doing with the dog's ears? 4313A: Picking them up in the air. 4314Q: Where was the dog at this time? 4315A: Attached to the ears. 4316% 4317Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #3: 4318 4319Q: When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were 4320 able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to 4321 go, gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with 4322 him to the station? 4323MR. BROOKS: Objection. That question should be taken out and shot. 4324% 4325Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #41: 4326 4327Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? 4328A: By death. 4329Q: And by whose death was it terminated? 4330% 4331Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #52: 4332 4333Q: What is your name? 4334A: Ernestine McDowell. 4335Q: And what is your marital status? 4336A: Fair. 4337% 4338Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #7: 4339 4340Q: What happened then? 4341A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify 4342 me." 4343Q: Did he kill you? 4344A: No. 4345% 4346fortune: cpu time/usefulness ratio too high -- core dumped. 4347% 4348Fortune: You will be attacked next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. by six samurai 4349sword wielding purple fish glued to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 4350 4351Oh, and have a nice day! 4352 -- Bryce Nesbitt '84 4353% 4354Fourth Law of Applied Terror: 4355 The night before the English History mid-term, your Biology 4356instructor will assign 200 pages on planaria. 4357 4358Corollary: 4359 Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do 4360except study for that instructor's course. 4361% 4362Fourth Law of Revision: 4363 It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about 4364interferences -- if you have none, someone will make one for you. 4365% 4366Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: If the probability of success is not 4367almost one, it is damn near zero. 4368 -- David Ellis 4369% 4370Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a 4371policeman's tie. 4372% 4373Fresco's Discovery: 4374 If you knew what you were doing you'd probably be bored. 4375% 4376Friends, Romans, Hipsters, 4377Let me clue you in; 4378I come to put down Caesar, not to groove him. 4379The square kicks some cats are on stay with them; 4380The hip bits, like, go down under; so let it lay with Caesar. The cool Brutus 4381Gave you the message: Caesar had big eyes; 4382If that's the sound, someone's copping a plea, 4383And, like, old Caesar really set them straight. 4384Here, copacetic with Brutus and the studs, -- for Brutus is a real cool cat; 4385So are they all, all cool cats, -- 4386Come I to make this gig at Caesar's laying down. 4387% 4388Frisbeetarianism, n.: 4389 The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and 4390gets stuck. 4391% 4392Frobnicate, v.: 4393 To manipulate or adjust, to tweak. Derived from FROBNITZ. 4394Usually abbreviated to FROB. Thus one has the saying "to frob a 4395frob". See TWEAK and TWIDDLE. Usage: FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK 4396sometimes connote points along a continuum. FROB connotes aimless 4397manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse 4398search for a proper setting; TWEAK connotes fine-tuning. If someone is 4399turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it 4400he is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the 4401screen he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because 4402turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. 4403% 4404Frobnitz, pl. Frobnitzem (frob'nitsm) n.: 4405 An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers to 4406electronic black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated to 4407FROTZ, or more commonly to FROB. Also used are FROBNULE, FROBULE, and 4408FROBNODULE. Starting perhaps in 1979, FROBBOZ (fruh-bahz'), pl. 4409FROBBOTZIM, has also become very popular, largely due to its exposure 4410via the Adventure spin-off called Zork (Dungeon). These can also be 4411applied to non-physical objects, such as data structures. 4412% 4413[From an announcement of a congress of the International Ontopsychology 4414Association, in Rome]: 4415 4416The Ontopsychological school, availing itself of new research criteria 4417and of a new telematic epistemology, maintains that social modes do not 4418spring from dialectics of territory or of class, or of consumer goods, 4419or of means of power, but rather from dynamic latencies capillarized in 4420millions of individuals in system functions which, once they have 4421reached the event maturation, burst forth in catastrophic phenomenology 4422engaging a suitable stereotype protagonist or duty marionette (general, 4423president, political party, etc.) to consummate the act of social 4424schizophrenia in mass genocide. 4425% 4426From the "Guiness Book of World Records", 1973: 4427 4428Certain passages in several laws have always defied interpretation and 4429the most inexplicable must be a matter of opinion. A judge of the 4430Court of Session of Scotland has sent the editors of this book his 4431candidate which reads, "In the Nuts (unground), (other than ground 4432nuts) Order, the expression nuts shall have reference to such nuts, 4433other than ground nuts, as would but for this amending Order not 4434qualify as nuts (unground)(other than ground nuts) by reason of their 4435being nuts (unground)." 4436% 4437From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down I was 4438convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it. 4439 -- Groucho Marx, from "The Book of Insults" 4440% 4441[From the operation manual for the CI-300 Dot Matrix Line Printer, made 4442in Japan]: 4443 4444The excellent output machine of MODEL CI-300 as extraordinary DOT 4445MATRIX LINE PRINTER, built in two MICRO-PROCESSORs as well as EAROM, is 4446featured by permitting wonderful co-existence such as; "high quality 4447against low cost", "diversified functions with compact design", 4448"flexibility in accessibleness and durability of approx. 2000,000,00 4449Dot/Head", "being sophisticated in mechanism but possibly agile 4450operating under noises being extremely suppressed" etc. 4451 4452And as a matter of course, the final goal is just simply to help 4453achieve "super shuttle diplomacy" between cool data, perhaps earned by 4454HOST COMPUTER, and warm heart of human being. 4455% 4456From the Pro 350 Pocket Service Guide, p. 49, Step 5 of the 4457instructions on removing an I/O board from the card cage, comes a new 4458experience in sound: 4459 4460 5. Turn the handle to the right 90 degrees. The pin-spreading 4461 sound is normal for this type of connector. 4462% 4463From too much love of living, 4464From hope and fear set free, 4465We thank with brief thanksgiving, 4466Whatever gods may be, 4467That no life lives forever, 4468That dead men rise up never, 4469That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea. 4470 -- Swinburne 4471% 4472Fuch's Warning: 4473 If you actually look like your passport photo, you aren't well 4474enough to travel. 4475% 4476Fudd's First Law of Opposition: 4477 Push something hard enough and it will fall over. 4478% 4479Furbling, v.: 4480 Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank 4481even when you are the only person in line. 4482 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4483% 4484Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. 4485 -- H. H. Williams 4486% 4487Future looks spotty. You will spill soup in late evening. 4488% 4489G. B. Shaw to William Douglas Home: "Go on writing plays, my boy. One 4490of these days a London producer will go into his office and say to his 4491secretary, `Is there a play from Shaw this morning?' and when she says 4492`No,' he will say, `Well, then we'll have to start on the rubbish.' And 4493that's your chance, my boy." 4494% 4495Garbage In -- Gospel Out. 4496% 4497Garter, n.: 4498 An elastic band intended to keep a woman from coming out of her 4499stockings and desolating the country. 4500 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4501% 4502Gauls! We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall 4503on our heads tomorrow. But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!! 4504 -- Adventures of Asterix 4505% 4506Gay shlafen: Yiddish for "go to sleep". 4507 4508 Now doesn't "gay shlafen" have a softer, more soothing sound 4509than the harsh, staccato "go to sleep"? Listen to the difference: 4510 "Go to sleep, you little wretch!" ... "Gay shlafen, darling." 4511Obvious, isn't it? 4512 Clearly the best thing you can do for you children is to start 4513speaking Yiddish right now and never speak another word of English as 4514long as you live. This will, of course, entail teaching Yiddish to all 4515your friends, business associates, the people at the supermarket, and 4516so on, but that's just the point. It has to start with committed 4517individuals and then grow ... 4518 Some minor adjustments will have to be made, of course: those 4519signs written in what look like Yiddish letters won't be funny when 4520everything is written in Yiddish. And we'll have to start driving on 4521the left side of the road so we won't be reading the street signs 4522backwards. But is that too high a price to pay for world peace? I 4523think not, my friend, I think not. 4524 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4525% 4526 "Gee, Mudhead, everyone at More Science High has an 4527extracurricular activity except you." 4528 "Well, gee, doesn't Louise count?" 4529 "Only to ten, Mudhead." 4530 4531 -- Firesign Theater 4532% 4533Gee, Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore. 4534% 4535GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) 4536 You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you 4537because you are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much 4538for too little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for 4539committing incest. 4540% 4541GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20) 4542 Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while 4543you can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy praise 4544and respect from those around you; everybody loves a sucker. A short 4545trip is in the stars, possibly to the men's room. 4546% 4547Genderplex, n.: 4548 The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to 4549determine his or her designated restroom (e.g., turtles and 4550tortoises). 4551 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4552% 4553Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why 4554you should. 4555% 4556Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus 4557handicapped. 4558 -- Elbert Hubbard 4559% 4560Genius, n.: 4561 A chemist who discovers a laundry additive that rhymes with 4562"bright". 4563% 4564George Orwell 1984. Northwestern 0. 4565 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 4566% 4567George Orwell was an optimist. 4568% 4569George Washington was first in war, first in peace -- and the first to 4570have his birthday juggled to make a long weekend. 4571 -- Ashley Cooper 4572% 4573Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics: 4574 (1) An object in motion will always be headed in the wrong 4575 direction. 4576 (2) An object at rest will always be in the wrong place. 4577 (3) The energy required to change either one of these states 4578 will always be more than you wish to expend, but never so 4579 much as to make the task totally impossible. 4580% 4581Get forgiveness now -- tomorrow you may no longer feel guilty. 4582% 4583 Get GUMMed 4584 --- ------ 4585The Gurus of Unix Meeting of Minds (GUMM) takes place Wednesday, April 45861, 2076 (check THAT in your perpetual calendar program), 14 feet above 4587the ground directly in front of the Milpitas Gumps. Members will grep 4588each other by the hand (after intro), yacc a lot, smoke filtered 4589chroots in pipes, chown with forks, use the wc (unless uuclean), fseek 4590nice zombie processes, strip, and sleep, but not, we hope, od. Three 4591days will be devoted to discussion of the ramifications of whodo. Two 4592seconds have been allotted for a complete rundown of all the user- 4593friendly features of Unix. Seminars include "Everything You Know is 4594Wrong", led by Tom Kempson, "Batman or Cat:man?" led by Richie Dennis 4595"cc C? Si! Si!" led by Kerwin Bernighan, and "Document Unix, Are You 4596Kidding?" led by Jan Yeats. No Reader Service No. is necessary because 4597all GUGUs (Gurus of Unix Group of Users) already know everything we 4598could tell them. 4599 -- Dr. Dobb's Journal, June '84 4600% 4601Get Revenge! Live long enough to be a problem for your children! 4602% 4603 -- Gifts for Children -- 4604 4605This is easy. You never have to figure out what to get for children, 4606because they will tell you exactly what they want. They spend months 4607and months researching these kinds of things by watching Saturday- 4608morning cartoon-show advertisements. Make sure you get your children 4609exactly what they ask for, even if you disapprove of their choices. If 4610your child thinks he wants Murderous Bob, the Doll with the Face You 4611Can Rip Right Off, you'd better get it. You may be worried that it 4612might help to encourage your child's antisocial tendencies, but believe 4613me, you have not seen antisocial tendencies until you've seen a child 4614who is convinced that he or she did not get the right gift. 4615 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4616% 4617 -- Gifts for Men -- 4618 4619Men are amused by almost any idiot thing -- that is why professional 4620ice hockey is so popular -- so buying gifts for them is easy. But you 4621should never buy them clothes. Men believe they already have all the 4622clothes they will ever need, and new ones make them nervous. For 4623example, your average man has 84 ties, but he wears, at most, only 4624three of them. He has learned, through humiliating trial and error, 4625that if he wears any of the other 81 ties, his wife will probably laugh 4626at him ("You're not going to wear THAT tie with that suit, are you?"). 4627So he has narrowed it down to three safe ties, and has gone several 4628years without being laughed at. If you give him a new tie, he will 4629pretend to like it, but deep inside he will hate you. 4630 4631If you want to give a man something practical, consider tires. More 4632than once, I would have gladly traded all the gifts I got for a new set 4633of tires. 4634 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4635% 4636 Gimmie That Old Time Religion 4637We will follow Zarathustra, We will worship like the Druids, 4638Zarathustra like we use to, Dancing naked in the woods, 4639I'm a Zarathustra booster, Drinking strange fermented fluids, 4640And he's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! 4641 (chorus) (chorus) 4642 4643In the church of Aphrodite, 4644The priestess wears a see-through nightie, 4645She's a mighty righteous sightie, 4646And she's good enough for me! 4647 (chorus) 4648 4649CHORUS: Give me that old time religion, 4650 Give me that old time religion, 4651 Give me that old time religion, 4652 'Cause it's good enough for me! 4653% 4654Ginsberg's Theorem: 4655 (1) You can't win. 4656 (2) You can't break even. 4657 (3) You can't even quit the game. 4658 4659Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem: 4660 Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem 4661 meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's 4662 Theorem. To wit: 4663 4664 (1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win. 4665 (2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break even. 4666 (3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the game. 4667% 4668Give me a Plumber's friend the size of the Pittsburgh dome, and a place 4669to stand, and I will drain the world. 4670% 4671Give me enough medals, and I'll win any war. 4672 -- Napoleon 4673% 4674Give me the Luxuries, and the Hell with the Necessities! 4675% 4676Give thought to your reputation. Consider changing name and moving to 4677a new town. 4678% 4679Give your child mental blocks for Christmas. 4680% 4681Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying 4682around, I'd rather lie around. No contest. 4683 -- Eric Clapton 4684% 4685Giving up on assembly language was the apple in our Garden of Eden: 4686Languages whose use squanders machine cycles are sinful. The LISP 4687machine now permits LISP programmers to abandon bra and fig-leaf. 4688 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 4689% 4690Glib's Fourth Law of Unreliability: 4691 Investment in reliability will increase until it exceeds the 4692probable cost of errors, or until someone insists on getting some 4693useful work done. 4694% 4695Gnagloot, n.: 4696 A person who leaves all his ski passes on his jacket just to 4697impress people. 4698 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4699% 4700Go 'way! You're bothering me! 4701% 4702Go climb a gravity well! 4703% 4704Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what value there may 4705be in owning a piece thereof. 4706 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 4707% 4708//GO.SYSIN DD *, DOODAH, DOODAH 4709% 4710God did not create the world in seven days; he screwed around for six 4711days and then pulled an all-nighter. 4712% 4713God doesn't play dice. 4714 -- Albert Einstein 4715% 4716"God gives burdens; also shoulders" 4717 4718Jimmy Carter cited this Jewish saying in his concession speech at the 4719end of the 1980 election. At least he said it was a Jewish saying; I 4720can't find it anywhere. I'm sure he's telling the truth though; why 4721would he lie about a thing like that? 4722 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4723% 4724God has intended the great to be great and the little to be little ... 4725The trade unions, under the European system, destroy liberty ... I do 4726not mean to say that a dollar a day is enough to support a workingman 4727... not enough to support a man and five children if he insists on 4728smoking and drinking beer. But the man who cannot live on bread and 4729water is not fit to live! A family may live on good bread and water in 4730the morning, water and bread at midday, and good bread and water at 4731night! 4732 -- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 4733% 4734God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh. 4735% 4736God is a polytheist. 4737% 4738God is Dead 4739 -- Nietzsche 4740Nietzsche is Dead 4741 -- God 4742Nietzsche is God 4743 -- The Dead 4744% 4745God is not dead! He's alive and autographing bibles at Cody's 4746% 4747God is real, unless declared integer. 4748% 4749God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the 4750elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying 4751other things. 4752 -- Pablo Picasso 4753% 4754God is the tangential point between zero and infinity. 4755 -- Alfred Jarry 4756% 4757God isn't dead, he just couldn't find a parking place. 4758% 4759God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man. 4760% 4761God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board 4762 -- Mark Twain 4763% 4764God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. 4765 -- Kronecker 4766% 4767God made the world in six days, and was arrested on the seventh. 4768% 4769God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean. 4770 -- Albert Einstein 4771% 4772God must love the Common Man; He made so many of them. 4773% 4774God rest ye CS students now, 4775Let nothing you dismay. 4776The VAX is down and won't be up, 4777Until the first of May. 4778The program that was due this morn, 4779Won't be postponed, they say. 4780 4781 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 4782 Comfort and joy, 4783 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 4784 4785The bearings on the drum are gone, 4786The disk is wobbling, too. 4787We've found a bug in Lisp, and Algol 4788Can't tell false from true. 4789And now we find that we can't get 4790At Berkeley's 4.2. 4791 4792 (chorus) 4793% 4794Going to church does not make a person religious, nor does going to 4795school make a person educated, any more than going to a garage makes a 4796person a car. 4797% 4798Gold, n.: 4799 A soft malleable metal relatively scarce in distribution. It 4800is mined deep in the earth by poor men who then give it to rich men who 4801immediately bury it back in the earth in great prisons, although gold 4802hasn't done anything to them. 4803 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 4804% 4805Goldenstern's Rules: 4806 (1) Always hire a rich attorney. 4807 (2) Never buy from a rich salesman. 4808% 4809Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad 4810example. 4811 -- La Rouchefoucauld 4812% 4813Good day for a change of scene. Repaper the bedroom wall. 4814% 4815Good day for overcoming obstacles. Try a steeplechase. 4816% 4817Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to school. 4818% 4819Good day to let down old friends who need help. 4820% 4821Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed. 4822% 4823Good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance. 4824% 4825Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. 4826% 4827Good night to spend with family, but avoid arguments with your mate's 4828new lover. 4829% 4830Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored. 4831 -- George Saunders' dying words 4832% 4833Gordon's first law: 4834 If a research project is not worth doing, it is not worth doing 4835well. 4836% 4837Gosh that takes me back... or is it forward? That's the trouble with 4838time travel, you never can tell. 4839 -- Doctor Who "Androids of Tara" 4840% 4841Got Mole problems? 4842Call Avogadro 6.02 x 10^23 4843% 4844Goto, n.: 4845 A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers 4846to complain about unstructured programmers. 4847 -- Ray Simard 4848% 4849Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage. 4850 -- John Updike, "Couples" 4851% 4852Government lies, and newspapers lie, but in a democracy they are 4853different lies. 4854% 4855Government spending? I don't know what it's all about. I don't know 4856any more about this thing than an economist does, and, God knows, he 4857doesn't know much. 4858 -- Will Rogers 4859% 4860Grabel's Law: 4861 2 is not equal to 3 -- not even for large values of 2. 4862% 4863Graduate life -- it's not just a job, it's an indenture. 4864% 4865Graduate life: It's not just a job. It's an indenture. 4866% 4867Grandpa Charnock's Law: 4868 You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. 4869% 4870Gravity is a myth: the Earth sucks. 4871% 4872Gray's Law of Programming: 4873 `_n+1' trivial tasks are expected to be accomplished in the same 4874time as `_n' tasks. 4875 4876Logg's Rebuttal to Gray's Law: 4877 `_n+1' trivial tasks take twice as long as `_n' trivial tasks. 4878% 4879Great minds run in great circles. 4880% 4881 GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY #21 -- July 30, 1917 4882 4883On this day, New York City hotel detectives burst in and caught then- 4884Senator Warren G. Harding in bed with an underage girl. He bought them 4885off with a $20 bribe, and later remarked thankfully, "I thought I 4886wouldn't get out of that under $1000!" Always one to learn from his 4887mistakes, in later years President Harding carried on his affairs in a 4888tiny closet in the White House Cabinet Room while Secret Service men 4889stood lookout. 4890% 4891Green light in A.M. for new projects. 4892Red light in P.M. for traffic tickets. 4893% 4894Greener's Law: 4895 Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel. 4896% 4897Grelb's Reminder: 4898 Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above 4899average drivers. 4900% 4901Grub first, then ethics. 4902 -- Bertholt Brecht 4903% 4904Gurmlish, n.: 4905 The red warning flag at the top of a club sandwich which 4906prevents the person from biting into it and puncturing the roof of his 4907mouth. 4908 -- Rich Hall & Friends, "Sniglets" 4909% 4910Gyroscope, n.: 4911 A wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also 4912free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each 4913other and the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two 4914mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the 4915other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus 4916offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any 4917torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin. 4918 -- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary 4919% 4920H. L. Mencken suffers from the hallucination that he is H. L. 4921Mencken -- there is no cure for a disease of that magnitude. 4922 -- Maxwell Bodenheim 4923% 4924H. L. Mencken's Law: 4925 Those who can -- do. 4926 Those who can't -- teach. 4927 4928Martin's Extension: 4929 Those who cannot teach -- administrate. 4930% 4931H: If a 'GOBLIN (HOB) waylays you, 4932 Slice him up before he slays you. 4933 Nothing makes you look a slob 4934 Like running from a HOB'LIN (GOB). 4935 -- The Roguelet's ABC 4936% 4937Hacker's Law: 4938 The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a 4939nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. 4940% 4941Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge. 4942% 4943Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, 4944and you would not have been informed. 4945% 4946Hail to the sun god 4947He sure is a fun god 4948Ra! Ra! Ra! 4949% 4950Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big 4951enough majority in any town? 4952 -- Mark Twain, "Huckleberry Finn" 4953% 4954Half Moon tonight. (At least it's better than no Moon at all.) 4955% 4956Half-done: 4957 This is the best way to eat a kosher dill -- when it's still 4958crunchy, light green, yet full of garlic flavor. The difference 4959between this and the typical soggy dark green cucumber corpse is like 4960the difference between life and death. 4961 You may find it difficult to find a good half-done kosher dill 4962there in Seattle, so what you should do is take a cab out to the 4963airport, fly to New York, take the JFK Express to Jay Street-Borough 4964Hall, transfer to an uptown F, get off at East Broadway, walk north on 4965Essex (along the park), make your first left onto Hester Street, walk 4966about fifteen steps, turn ninety degrees left, and stop. Say to the 4967man, "Let me have a nice half-done." 4968 Worth the trouble, wasn't it? 4969 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4970% 4971Hall's Laws of Politics: 4972 (1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending. 4973 (2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something 4974 fixed. 4975 (3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend 4976 military spending, and conservatives social spending in 4977 their own districts). 4978% 4979Hand, n.: 4980 A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and 4981commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. 4982 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4983% 4984Hanlon's Razor: 4985 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by 4986stupidity. 4987% 4988Hanson's Treatment of Time: 4989 There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days 4990before Saturday. 4991% 4992Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. 4993 -- Ogden Nash 4994% 4995Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. 4996 -- Oscar Levant 4997% 4998Happiness, n.: 4999 An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of 5000another. 5001 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5002% 5003Hard work may not kill you, but why take chances? 5004% 5005Hardware, n.: 5006 The parts of a computer system that can be kicked. 5007% 5008Hark ye, Clinker, you are a most notorious offender. You stand 5009convicted of sickness, hunger, wretchedness, and want. 5010 -- Tobias Smollet 5011% 5012Hark, Hark, the dogs do bark 5013The Duke is fond of kittens 5014He likes to take their insides out 5015And use them for his mittens 5016 From "The Thirteen Clocks" 5017% 5018Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, 5019Advertising wondrous things. 5020 -- Tom Lehrer 5021% 5022Harris's Lament: 5023 All the good ones are taken. 5024% 5025Harrisberger's Fourth Law of the Lab: 5026 Experience is directly proportional to the amount of equipment 5027ruined. 5028% 5029Harry is heavily into camping, and every year in the late fall, he 5030makes us all go to Assateague, which is an island on the Atlantic Ocean 5031famous for its wild horses. I realize that the concept of wild horses 5032probably stirs romantic notions in many of you, but this is because you 5033have never met any wild horses in person. In person, they are like 5034enormous hooved rats. They amble up to your camp site, and their 5035attitude is: "We're wild horses. We're going to eat your food, knock 5036down your tent and poop on your shoes. We're protected by federal law, 5037just like Richard Nixon." 5038 -- Dave Barry, "Tenting Grandpa Bob" 5039% 5040Hartley's First Law: 5041 You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float 5042on his back, you've got something. 5043% 5044Hartley's Second Law: 5045 Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. 5046% 5047Harvard Law: 5048 Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, 5049temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables, the organism will 5050do as it damn well pleases. 5051% 5052"Has anyone had problems with the computer accounts?" 5053"Yes, I don't have one." 5054"Okay, you can send mail to one of the tutors ..." 5055 -- E. D'Azevedo, Computer Science 372 5056% 5057Has everyone noticed that all the letters of the word "database" are 5058typed with the left hand? Now the layout of the QWERTYUIOP typewriter 5059keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the even use 5060of both hands. It follows, therefore, that writing about databases is 5061not only unnatural, but a lot harder than it appears. 5062% 5063 Has your family tried 'em? 5064 5065 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5066 5067 Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious! 5068 5069 They're made from whole wheat, to give shy persons the 5070 strength to get up and do what needs to be done. 5071 5072 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5073 5074 Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the 5075 biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains 5076 that indicate freshness. 5077% 5078Hatred, n.: 5079 A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's 5080superiority. 5081 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5082% 5083Have an adequate day. 5084% 5085Have people realized that the purpose of the fortune cookie program is 5086to defuse project tensions? When did you ever see a cheerful cookie, a 5087non-cynical, or even an informative cookie? 5088 5089Perhaps inadvertently, we have a channel for our aggressions. This 5090still begs the question of whether the cookie releases the pressure or 5091only serves to blunt the warning signs. 5092 5093 Long live the revolution! 5094 Have a nice day. 5095% 5096Have you ever noticed that the people who are always trying to tell 5097you, "There's a time for work and a time for play," never find the time 5098for play? 5099% 5100Have you ever wondered what makes Californians so calm? Besides drugs, 5101I mean. The answer is hot tubs. A hot tub is a redwood container 5102filled with water that you sit in naked with members of the opposite 5103sex, none of whom is necessarily your spouse. After a few hours in 5104their hot tubs, Californians don't give a damn about earthquakes or 5105mass murderers. They don't give a damn about anything , which is why 5106they are able to produce "Laverne and Shirley" week after week. 5107 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5108% 5109"Have you lived here all your life?" 5110"Oh, twice that long." 5111% 5112Have you noticed that all you need to grow healthy, vigorous grass is a 5113crack in your sidewalk? 5114% 5115Have you noticed the way people's intelligence capabilities decline 5116sharply the minute they start waving guns around? 5117 -- Dr. Who 5118% 5119Have you reconsidered a computer career? 5120% 5121He did decide, though, that with more time and a great deal of mental 5122effort, he could probably turn the activity into an acceptable 5123perversion. 5124 -- Mick Farren, "When Gravity Fails" 5125% 5126He flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions. 5127 -- Stephen Leacock 5128% 5129He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation 5130perfectly delightful. 5131 -- Sydney Smith 5132% 5133He had that rare weird electricity about him -- that extremely wild and 5134heavy presence that you only see in a person who has abandoned all hope 5135of ever behaving "normally." 5136 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing '72" 5137% 5138He hadn't a single redeeming vice. 5139 -- Oscar Wilde 5140% 5141He is now rising from affluence to poverty. 5142 -- Mark Twain 5143% 5144He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered. 5145% 5146He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. 5147 -- John Mason Brown, drama critic 5148% 5149He thought he saw an albatross 5150That fluttered 'round the lamp. 5151He looked again and saw it was 5152A penny postage stamp. 5153"You'd best be getting home," he said, 5154"The nights are rather damp." 5155% 5156He was a fiddler, and consequently a rogue. 5157 -- Jonathan Swift 5158% 5159He was a modest, good-humored boy. It was Oxford that made him insufferable. 5160% 5161He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes. 5162% 5163He who attacks the fundamentals of the American broadcasting industry 5164attacks democracy itself. 5165 -- William S. Paley, chairman of CBS 5166% 5167He who Laughs, Lasts. 5168% 5169He's just a politician trying to save both his faces ... 5170% 5171He's the kind of guy, that, well, if you were ever in a jam he'd be 5172there ... with two slices of bread and some chunky peanut butter. 5173% 5174He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is ... 5175% 5176HE: Let's end it all, bequeathin' our brains to science. 5177SHE: What?!? Science got enough trouble with their ___OWN brains. 5178 -- Walt Kelley 5179% 5180Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. 5181% 5182Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5183of nothing. 5184 -- Redd Foxx 5185% 5186Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5187of nothing. 5188 -- Redd Foxx 5189% 5190Heaven, n.: 5191 A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of 5192their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while you 5193expound your own. 5194 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5195% 5196Heavy, adj.: 5197 Seduced by the chocolate side of the force. 5198% 5199Heisenberg may have slept here. 5200% 5201Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. 5202 -- Milton Friedman 5203% 5204Heller's Law: 5205 The first myth of management is that it exists. 5206 5207Johnson's Corollary: 5208 Nobody really knows what is going on anywhere within the 5209organization. 5210% 5211"Hello," he lied. 5212 -- Don Carpenter quoting a Hollywood agent 5213% 5214Help a swallow land at Capistrano. 5215% 5216Help fight continental drift. 5217% 5218Help me, I'm a prisoner in a Fortune cookie file! 5219% 5220Help stamp out and abolish redundancy. 5221% 5222Help! I'm trapped in a PDP 11/70! 5223% 5224HELP! MY TYPEWRITER IS BROKEN! 5225 -- E. E. CUMMINGS 5226% 5227Her locks an ancient lady gave 5228Her loving husband's life to save; 5229And men -- they honored so the dame -- 5230Upon some stars bestowed her name. 5231 5232But to our modern married fair, 5233Who'd give their lords to save their hair, 5234No stellar recognition's given. 5235There are not stars enough in heaven. 5236% 5237Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from 5238Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth ... 5239% 5240Here I sit, broken-hearted, 5241All logged in, but work unstarted. 5242First net.this and net.that, 5243And a hot buttered bun for net.fat. 5244 5245The boss comes by, and I play the game, 5246Then I turn back to net.flame. 5247Is there a cure (I need your views), 5248For someone trapped in net.news? 5249 5250I need your help, I say 'tween sobs, 5251'Cause I'll soon be listed in net.jobs. 5252% 5253Here in my heart, I am Helen; 5254 I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least. 5255I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Sta"el; 5256 I'm Salome, moon of the East. 5257 5258Here in my soul I am Sappho; 5259 Lady Hamilton am I, as well. 5260In me R'ecamier vies with Kitty O'Shea, 5261 With Dido, and Eve, and poor nell. 5262 5263I'm all of the glamorous ladies 5264 At whose beckoning history shook. 5265But you are a man, and see only my pan, 5266 So I stay at home with a book. 5267 -- Dorothy Parker 5268% 5269Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical 5270lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach 5271your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. 5272Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in 5273pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, 5274but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an 5275important electrical lesson. 5276 5277It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed 5278your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small 5279objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpets so they will 5280attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and 5281collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your 5282friend's filling, then travels down to his feet and back into the 5283carpet, thus completing the circuit. 5284 5285Amazing Electronic Fact: If you scuffed your feet long enough without 5286touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your 5287finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you 5288have carpeting. 5289 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 5290% 5291 Here is the fact of the week, maybe even the fact of the 5292month. According to probably reliable sources, the Coca-Cola people 5293are experiencing severe marketing anxiety in China. 5294 The words "Coca-Cola" translate into Chinese as either 5295(depending on the inflection) "wax-fattened mare" or "bite the wax 5296tadpole". 5297 Bite the wax tadpole. 5298 There is a sort of rough justice, is there not? 5299 The trouble with this fact, as lovely as it is, is that it's 5300hard to get a whole column out of it. I'd like to teach the world to 5301bite a wax tadpole. Coke -- it's the real wax-fattened mare. Not bad, 5302but broad satiric vistas do not open up. 5303 -- John Carroll, San Francisco Chronicle 5304% 5305Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 5306`Psychic Wins Lottery'? 5307 -- Jay Leno 5308% 5309Heuristics are bug ridden by definition. If they didn't have bugs, 5310then they'd be algorithms. 5311% 5312Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??! 5313 -- W. C. Fields 5314% 5315Hi there! This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person 5316reading this note, that I can't think up any more famous quotes, jokes, 5317nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home. 5318% 5319"Hi, I'm Preston A. Mantis, president of Consumers Retail Law Outlet. 5320As you can see by my suit and the fact that I have all these books of 5321equal height on the shelves behind me, I am a trained legal attorney. 5322Do you have a car or a job? Do you ever walk around? If so, you 5323probably have the makings of an excellent legal case. Although of 5324course every case is different, I would definitely say that based on my 5325experience and training, there's no reason why you shouldn't come out 5326of this thing with at least a cabin cruiser. 5327 5328"Remember, at the Preston A. Mantis Consumers Retail Law Outlet, our 5329motto is: 'It is very difficult to disprove certain kinds of pain.'" 5330 -- Dave Barry, "Pain and Suffering" 5331% 5332Hier liegt ein Mann ganz ohnegleich; 5333Im Leibe dick, an Suenden reich. 5334Wir haben ihn in das Grab gesteckt, Here lies a man with sundry flaws 5335Weil es uns duenkt er sei verreckt. And numerous Sins upon his head; 5336 We buried him today because 5337 As far as we can tell, he's dead. 5338 -- PDQ Bach's epitaph, as requested by his cousin Betty 5339 Sue Bach and written by the local doggerel catcher; 5340 "The Definitive Biography of PDQ Bach", Peter Schickele 5341% 5342Higgledy Piggledy, 5343Hamlet of Elsinore 5344Ruffled the critics by 5345Dropping this bomb: 5346"Phooey on Freud and his 5347Psychoanalysis -- 5348Oedipus, Shmoedipus, 5349I just loved Mom." 5350% 5351Hindsight is an exact science. 5352% 5353Hippogriff, n.: 5354 An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. 5355The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. 5356The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one quarter eagle, which 5357is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full 5358of surprises. 5359 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5360% 5361Hire the morally handicapped. 5362% 5363His great aim was to escape from civilization, and, as soon as he had 5364money, he went to Southern California. 5365% 5366His mind is like a steel trap -- full of mice. 5367 -- Foghorn Leghorn 5368% 5369His super power is to turn into a scotch terrier. 5370% 5371History is curious stuff 5372 You'd think by now we had enough 5373Yet the fact remains I fear 5374 They make more of it every year. 5375% 5376History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history. 5377% 5378History, n.: 5379 Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we 5380learn nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from 5381what happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long 5382view. 5383 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 5384% 5385Hlade's Law: 5386 If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- they 5387will find an easier way to do it. 5388% 5389Hoare's Law of Large Problems: 5390 Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out. 5391% 5392Hofstadter's Law: 5393 It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take 5394Hofstadter's Law into account. 5395% 5396Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness you send out for it. 5397 -- Rex Reed 5398% 5399 Home centers are designed for the do-it-yourselfer who's 5400willing to pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop 5401for lumber, hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say 5402"shop for", as opposed to "obtain". This is the major drawback of home 5403centers: they are always out of everything except artificial Christmas 5404trees. The home center employees have no time to reorder merchandise 5405because they are too busy applying little price stickers to every 5406object -- every board, washer, nail and screw -- in the entire store ... 5407 Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the 5408broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has 5409a replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the 5410inside of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the 5411same way that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at 5412an electronic calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of 5413these sometime around the middle of next week". 5414 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5415% 5416Home of Doberman Propulsion Laboratories: 5417The ultimate in watchdog weaponry. 5418 -- Chris Shaw 5419% 5420Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. 5421% 5422Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people. 5423 -- F. M. Hubbard 5424% 5425Honk if you hate bumper stickers that say "Honk if ..." 5426% 5427Honk if you love peace and quiet. 5428% 5429Honorable, adj.: 5430 Afflicted with an impediment in one's reach. In legislative 5431bodies, it is customary to mention all members as honorable; as, "the 5432honorable gentleman is a scurvy cur." 5433 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5434% 5435Horngren's Observation: 5436 Among economists, the real world is often a special case. 5437% 5438Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on 5439people. 5440 -- W. C. Fields 5441% 5442Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. 5443% 5444Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed. 5445 -- Neil Armstrong 5446% 5447How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all? 5448% 5449How come only your friends step on your new white sneakers? 5450% 5451How come wrong numbers are never busy? 5452% 5453How do I love thee? My accumulator overflows. 5454% 5455How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? 5456 -- Elliot, "E.T." 5457% 5458How doth the little crocodile 5459 Improve his shining tail, 5460And pour the waters of the Nile 5461 On every golden scale! 5462 5463How cheerfully he seems to grin, 5464 How neatly spreads his claws, 5465And welcomes little fishes in, 5466 With gently smiling jaws! 5467 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 5468% 5469How doth the VAX's C compiler 5470Improve its object code. 5471And even as we speak does it 5472Increase the system load. 5473 5474How patiently it seems to run 5475And spit out error flags, 5476While users, with frustration, all 5477Tear their clothes to rags. 5478% 5479How I love to watch the morn, 5480 With golden sun that shines, 5481Up above to nicely warm 5482 These frosty toes of mine. 5483 5484The wind doth taste so bitter sweet, 5485 Like Jaspar wine and sugar, 5486It must have blown through someone's feet, 5487 Like those of ... Caspar Weinberger. 5488 -- P. Opus (Bloom County) 5489% 5490How doth the VAX's C-compiler 5491Improve its object code. 5492And even as we speak does it 5493Increase the system load. 5494 5495How patiently it seems to run 5496And spit out error flags, 5497While users, with frustration, all 5498Tear all their clothes to rags. 5499% 5500How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're 5501on. 5502% 5503How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5504None: "We'll fix it in software." 5505 5506How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5507None: "We'll document it in the manual." 5508 5509How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5510None: "The user can work it out." 5511% 5512How many hors d'oeuvres you are allowed to take off a tray being 5513carried by a waiter at a nice party? 5514 5515Two, but there are ways around it, depending on the style of the hors 5516d'oeuvre. If they're those little pastry things where you can't tell 5517what's inside, you take one, bite off about two-thirds of it, then 5518say: "This is cheese! I hate cheese!" Then you put the rest of it 5519back on the tray and bite another one and go, "Darn it! Another 5520cheese!" and so on. 5521 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 5522% 5523 How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 55243.155 x 10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, 5525who could forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is a 5526nanocentury. 5527 -- Tom Duff, Bell Labs 5528% 5529How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to Dayton? 5530 -- Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey 5531% 5532How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. 5533% 5534HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5535 #1040 Your income tax refund cheque bounces. 5536% 5537HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5538 #15 Your pet rock snaps at you. 5539% 5540HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5541 #32: You call your answering service and they've never heard of you. 5542% 5543Howe's Law: 5544 Everyone has a scheme that will not work. 5545% 5546However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity in my traditional 5547manner ... sulking and nausea. 5548 -- Tom K. Ryan 5549% 5550HR 3128. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation, Fiscal 1986. Martin, R-Ill., 5551motion that the House recede from its disagreement to the Senate 5552amendment making changes in the bill to reduce fiscal 1986 deficits. 5553The Senate amendment was an amendment to the House amendment to the 5554Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 5555bill. The original Senate amendment was the conference agreement on 5556the bill. Agreed to. 5557 -- Albuquerque Journal 5558% 5559 Hug O' War 5560 5561I will not play at tug o' war. 5562I'd rather play at hug o' war, 5563Where everyone hugs 5564Instead of tugs, 5565Where everyone giggles 5566And rolls on the rug, 5567Where everyone kisses, 5568And everyone grins, 5569And everyone cuddles, 5570And everyone wins. 5571 -- Shel Silverstein 5572% 5573Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill. 5574% 5575Human cardiac catheterization was introduced by Werner Forssman in 55761929. Ignoring his department chief, and tying his assistant to an 5577operating table to prevent his interference, he placed a urethral 5578catheter into a vein in his arm, advanced it to the right atrium [of 5579his heart], and walked upstairs to the x-ray department where he took 5580the confirmatory x-ray film. In 1956, Dr. Forssman was awarded the 5581Nobel Prize. 5582% 5583Hummingbirds never remember the words to songs. 5584% 5585Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse. 5586 -- William Gilbert 5587% 5588Hurewitz's Memory Principle: 5589 The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional 5590to ..... to ........ uh .............. 5591% 5592I also believe that academic freedom should protect the right of a 5593professor or student to advocate Marxism, socialism, communism, or any 5594other minority viewpoint -- no matter how distasteful to the majority. 5595 -- Richard M. Nixon 5596 5597What are our schools for if not indoctrination against Communism? 5598 -- Richard M. Nixon 5599% 5600I am convinced that the manufacturers of carpet odor removing powder 5601have included encapsulated time released cat urine in their products. 5602This technology must be what prevented its distribution during my mom's 5603reign. My carpet smells like piss, and I don't have a cat. Better go 5604buy some more. 5605 -- timw@zeb.USWest.COM 5606% 5607I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work. 5608% 5609I am not an Economist. I am an honest man! 5610 -- Paul McCracken 5611% 5612I am not now, and never have been, a girlfriend of Henry Kissinger. 5613 -- Gloria Steinem 5614% 5615I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the demigodic party. 5616 -- Dennis Ritchie 5617% 5618I am not sure what this is, but an `F' would only dignify it. 5619 -- English Professor 5620% 5621I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the 5622great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. 5623 -- Winston Churchill 5624% 5625I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone 5626has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. 5627 -- English Professor, Ohio University 5628% 5629I am so optimistic about beef prices that I've just leased a pot roast 5630with an option to buy. 5631% 5632I am the mother of all things, and all things should wear a sweater. 5633% 5634I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, 5635of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell 5636you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial 5637atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something 5638inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering. 5639 -- Pooh-Bah, "The Mikado", Gilbert & Sullivan 5640% 5641I appreciate the fact that this draft was done in haste, but some of 5642the sentences that you are sending out in the world to do your work for 5643you are loitering in taverns or asleep beside the highway. 5644 -- Dr. Dwight Van de Vate, Professor of Philosophy, 5645 University of Tennessee at Knoxville 5646% 5647I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an 5648argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and 5649steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, 5650they don't even invite me. 5651 -- Dave Barry 5652% 5653I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean. 5654 -- G. K. Chesterton 5655% 5656I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat. 5657 -- Will Rogers 5658% 5659I bet the human brain is a kludge. 5660 -- Marvin Minsky 5661% 5662I brake for chezlogs! 5663% 5664I call them as I see them. If I can't see them, I make them up. 5665 -- Biff Barf 5666% 5667I can feel for her because, although I have never been an Alaskan 5668prostitute dancing on the bar in a spangled dress, I still get very 5669bored with washing and ironing and dishwashing and cooking day after 5670relentless day. 5671 -- Betty MacDonald 5672% 5673I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself. 5674% 5675I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and 567625 percent actor, but I can well see the day when the reverse could be 5677true. 5678 -- Harry Truman 5679% 5680I can resist anything but temptation. 5681% 5682I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. 5683 -- Joe Walsh 5684% 5685I can't decide whether to commit suicide or go bowling. 5686 -- Florence Henderson 5687% 5688I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can 5689understand it. 5690 -- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 5691% 5692I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a 5693novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. 5694 -- Fred Allen 5695% 5696I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions. 5697 -- Lillian Hellman 5698% 5699I cannot conceive that anybody will require multiplications at the rate 5700of 40,000 or even 4,000 per hour ... 5701 -- F. H. Wales (1936) 5702% 5703I cannot overemphasize the importance of good grammar. 5704 5705What a crock. I could easily overemphasize the importance of good 5706grammar. For example, I could say: "Bad grammar is the leading cause 5707of slow, painful death in North America," or "Without good grammar, the 5708United States would have lost World War II." 5709 -- Dave Barry, "An Utterly Absurd Look at Grammar" 5710% 5711 "I cannot read the fiery letters," said Frito Bugger in a 5712quavering voice. 5713 "No," said GoodGulf, "but I can. The letters are Elvish, of 5714course, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which 5715I will not utter here. They are lines of a verse long known in 5716Elven-lore: 5717 5718 "This Ring, no other, is made by the elves, 5719 Who'd pawn their own mother to grab it themselves. 5720 Ruler of creeper, mortal, and scallop, 5721 This is a sleeper that packs quite a wallop. 5722 The Power almighty rests in this Lone Ring. 5723 The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing. 5724 If broken or busted, it cannot be remade. 5725 If found, send to Sorhed (with postage prepaid)." 5726 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 5727% 5728I changed my headlights the other day. I put in strobe lights 5729instead! Now when I drive at night, it looks like everyone else is 5730standing still ... 5731 -- Steven Wright 5732% 5733I could dance till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather 5734dance with the cows till you come home. 5735 -- Groucho Marx 5736% 5737I couldn't remember when I had been so disappointed. Except perhaps 5738the time I found out that M&Ms really *do* melt in your hand ... 5739 -- Peter Oakley 5740% 5741I didn't know it was impossible when I did it. 5742% 5743I didn't like the play, but I saw it under adverse conditions. The 5744curtain was up. 5745% 5746 I disapprove of the F-word, not because it's dirty, but because 5747we use it as a substitute for thoughtful insults, and it frequently 5748leads to violence. What we ought to do, when we anger each other, say, 5749in traffic, is exchange phone numbers, so that later on, when we've had 5750time to think of witty and learned insults or look them up in the 5751library, we could call each other up: 5752 5753 You: Hello? Bob? 5754 Bob: Yes? 5755 You: This is Ed. Remember? The person whose parking space you 5756 took last Thursday? Outside of Sears? 5757 Bob: Oh yes! Sure! How are you, Ed? 5758 You: Fine, thanks. Listen, Bob, the reason I'm calling is: 5759 "Madam, you may be drunk, but I am ugly, and ..." No, wait. 5760 I mean: "you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill 5761 and ..." No, wait. (Sound of reference book thudding onto 5762 the floor.) S-word. Excuse me. Look, Bob, I'm going to 5763 have to get back to you. 5764 Bob: Fine. 5765 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 5766% 5767I do hate sums. There is no greater mistake than to call arithmetic an 5768exact science. There are permutations and aberrations discernible to 5769minds entirely noble like mine; subtle variations which ordinary 5770accountants fail to discover; hidden laws of number which it requires a 5771mind like mine to perceive. For instance, if you add a sum from the 5772bottom up, and then again from the top down, the result is always 5773different. 5774 -- Mrs. La Touche (19th cent.) 5775% 5776I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. 5777 -- Isaac Asimov 5778% 5779I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us 5780with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use. 5781 -- Galileo Galilei 5782% 5783I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should. 5784 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5785% 5786I don't believe in astrology. But then I'm an Aquarius, and Aquarians 5787don't believe in astrology. 5788 -- James R. F. Quirk 5789% 5790I don't believe there really IS a GAS SHORTAGE.. I think it's all just 5791a BIG HOAX on the part of the plastic sign salesmen -- to sell more 5792numbers!! 5793% 5794I don't care for the Sugar Smacks commercial. I don't like the idea of 5795a frog jumping on my Breakfast. 5796 -- Lowell, Chicago Reader 10/15/82 5797% 5798I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the 5799nominating. 5800 -- Boss Tweed 5801% 5802I don't have any solution but I certainly admire the problem. 5803 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 5804% 5805I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I've got hundreds of 5806people waiting to abuse me. 5807 -- Bill Murray, "Ghostbusters" 5808% 5809I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. 5810 -- Elvis Presley 5811% 5812 "I don't know what you mean by `glory,'" Alice said 5813 Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- 5814till I tell you. I meant `there's a nice knock-down argument for 5815you!'" 5816 "But glory doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice 5817objected. 5818 "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful 5819tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor 5820less." 5821 "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean 5822so many different things." 5823 "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-- 5824that's all." 5825 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 5826% 5827I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd 5828eat it, and I just hate it. 5829 -- Clarence Darrow 5830% 5831I don't mind going nowhere as long as it's an interesting path. 5832 -- Ronald Mabbitt 5833% 5834I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the 5835streets and frighten the horses. 5836 -- Victor Hugo 5837% 5838I don't object to sex before marriage, but two minutes before?!? 5839% 5840"I don't think so," said Ren'e Descartes. Just then, he vanished. 5841% 5842I don't think they could put him in a mental hospital. On the other 5843hand, if he were already in, I don't think they'd let him out. 5844% 5845I don't want to alarm anybody, but there is an excellent chance that 5846the Earth will be destroyed in the next several days. Congress is 5847thinking about eliminating a federal program under which scientists 5848broadcast signals to alien beings. This would be a large mistake. 5849Alien beings have nuclear blaster death cannons. You cannot cut off 5850their federal programs as if they were merely poor people ... 5851 -- Davy Barry, "THE ALIENS ARE COMING, THE ALIENS ARE 5852 COMING!" 5853% 5854I doubt, therefore I might be. 5855% 5856I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business 5857on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment 5858he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual 5859becoming, with a goal in front and not behind. 5860 -- George Bernard Shaw 5861% 5862I drink to make other people interesting. 5863 -- George Jean Nathan 5864% 5865I fell asleep reading a dull book, and I dreamt that I was reading on, 5866so I woke up from sheer boredom. 5867% 5868I for one cannot protest the recent M.T.A. fare hike and the 5869accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For 5870the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that 5871can't be measured in monetary terms. 5872 5873Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have 5874that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by 5875subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should 5876someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly 5877understand his long delay. 5878% 5879I found out why my car was humming. It had forgotten the words. 5880% 5881I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very 5882reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment. 5883 -- Gotama Buddha 5884% 5885I gave up Smoking, Drinking and Sex. It was the most *__________horrifying* 20 5886minutes of my life! 5887% 5888I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it. 5889 -- Mae West 5890% 5891I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5892 Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5893If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5894 So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5895% 5896I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5897Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5898If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5899So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5900 5901Oh, how do I know my youth is all spent? 5902My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. 5903But in spite of it all, I'm able to grin, 5904And think of the places my get-up has been. 5905 -- Pete Seeger 5906% 5907I had to censor everything my sons watched ... even on the Mary Tyler 5908Moore show I heard the word 'damn'! 5909 -- Mary Lou Bax 5910% 5911I had to hit him -- he was starting to make sense. 5912% 5913I hate it when my foot falls asleep during the day cause that means 5914it's going to be up all night. 5915 -- Steven Wright 5916% 5917I hate quotations. 5918 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 5919% 5920I have a simple philosophy: 5921 5922 Fill what's empty. 5923 Empty what's full. 5924 Scratch where it itches. 5925 -- A. R. Longworth 5926% 5927I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it 5928any time! 5929% 5930I have come up with a sure-fire concept for a hit television show, 5931which would be called `A Live Celebrity Gets Eaten by a Shark'. 5932 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 5933% 5934I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. I tell them the truth 5935and they never believe me. 5936 -- Camillo Di Cavour 5937% 5938I have great faith in fools -- self confidence my friends call it. 5939 -- Edgar Allan Poe 5940% 5941I have just read your lousy review buried in the back pages. You 5942sound like a frustrated old man who never made a success, an 5943eight-ulcer man on a four-ulcer job, and all four ulcers working. I 5944have never met you, but if I do you'll need a new nose and plenty of 5945beefsteak and perhaps a supporter below. Westbrook Pegler, a 5946guttersnipe, is a gentleman compared to you. You can take that as more 5947of an insult than as a reflection on your ancestry. 5948 -- President Harry S Truman 5949% 5950I have learned 5951To spell hors d'oeuvres 5952Which still grates on 5953Some people's n'oeuvres. 5954 -- Warren Knox 5955% 5956I have made mistakes but I have never made the mistake of claiming 5957that I have never made one. 5958 -- James Gordon Bennett 5959% 5960I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to 5961make it shorter. 5962 -- Blaise Pascal 5963% 5964I have more humility in my little finger than you have in your whole 5965____BODY! 5966 -- from "Cerebus" #82 5967% 5968I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer. 5969 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 5970% 5971I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. 5972 -- Oscar Wilde 5973% 5974I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it 5975scattered around the beaches of the world ... Perhaps you've seen it. 5976 -- Steven Wright 5977% 5978I have to convince you, or at least snow you ... 5979 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 5980% 5981I have two very rare photographs: one is a picture of Houdini locking 5982his keys in his car; the other is a rare photograph of Norman Rockwell 5983beating up a child. 5984 -- Steven Wright 5985% 5986I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when looked 5987at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. 5988 -- Poul Anderson 5989% 5990I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere. 5991% 5992I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where I left it. 5993% 5994I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!! 5995% 5996I just need enough to tide me over until I need more. 5997 -- Bill Hoest 5998% 5999I know it all. I just can't remember it all at once. 6000% 6001I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World 6002War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. 6003 -- Albert Einstein 6004% 6005I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! 6006The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building. 6007 -- Charles Schulz 6008% 6009I like being single. I'm always there when I need me. 6010 -- Art Leo 6011% 6012I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to 6013promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want 6014peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of 6015the way and let them have it. 6016 -- Dwight D. Eisenhower 6017% 6018I like work ... I can sit and watch it for hours. 6019% 6020I like your game but we have to change the rules. 6021% 6022I love Saturday morning cartoons, what classic humour! This is what 6023entertainment is all about ... Idiots, explosives and falling anvils. 6024 -- Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson 6025% 6026"I love to eat them Smurfies 6027 Smurfies what I love to eat 6028 Bite they ugly heads off, 6029 Nibble on they bluish feet." 6030% 6031I may appear to be just sitting here like a bucket of tapioca, but 6032don't let appearances fool you. I'm approaching old age ... at the 6033speed of light. 6034 -- Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk 6035% 6036I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent. 6037 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 6038% 6039I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a 6040week sometimes to make it up. 6041 -- Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" 6042% 6043I must have slipped a disk -- my pack hurts 6044% 6045I never fail to convince an audience that the best thing they could do 6046was to go away. 6047% 6048I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like. 6049% 6050I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation. 6051 -- G. B. Shaw 6052% 6053I only touch base with reality on an as-needed basis! 6054 -- Royal Floyd Mengot (Klaus) 6055% 6056I played lead guitar in a band called The Federal Duck, which is the 6057kind of name that was popular in the '60s as a result of controlled 6058substances being in widespread use. Back then, there were no 6059restrictions, in terms of talent, on who could make an album, so we 6060made one, and it sounds like a group of people who have been given 6061powerful but unfamiliar instruments as a therapy for a degenerative 6062nerve disease. 6063 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 6064% 6065I predict that today will be remembered until tomorrow! 6066% 6067I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob. 6068 -- William F. Buckley 6069% 6070 "I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of 6071that is -- `Be what you would seem to be' -- or, if you'd like it put 6072more simply -- `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it 6073might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not 6074otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be 6075otherwise.'" 6076 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 6077% 6078I realize that the MX missile is none of our concern. I realize that 6079the whole point of living in a democracy is that we pay professional 6080congresspersons to concern themselves with things like the MX missile 6081so we can be free to concern ourselves with getting hold of the 6082plumber. 6083 6084But from time to time, I feel I must address major public issues such 6085as this, because in a free and open society, where the very future of 6086the world hinges on decisions made by our elected leaders, you never 6087win large cash journalism awards if you stick to the topics I usually 6088write about, such as nose-picking. 6089 -- Dave Barry, "At Last, the Ultimate Deterrent Against 6090 Political Fallout" 6091% 6092I really hate this damned machine 6093I wish that they would sell it. 6094It never does quite what I want 6095But only what I tell it. 6096% 6097I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person. 6098% 6099I see a good deal of talk from Washington about lowering taxes. I hope 6100they do get 'em lowered enough so people can afford to pay 'em. 6101 -- Will Rogers 6102% 6103I see the eigenvalue in thine eye, 6104I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh. 6105Bernoulli would have been content to die 6106Had he but known such _a-squared cos 2(phi)! 6107 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6108% 6109I sent a letter to the fish, 6110I told them, "This is what I wish." 6111The little fishes of the sea, 6112They sent an answer back to me. 6113The little fishes' answer was 6114"We cannot do it, sir, because ..." 6115I sent a letter back to say 6116It would be better to obey. 6117But someone came to me and said 6118"The little fishes are in bed." 6119I said to him, and I said it plain 6120"Then you must wake them up again." 6121I said it very loud and clear, 6122I went and shouted in his ear. 6123But he was very stiff and proud, 6124He said "You needn't shout so loud." 6125And he was very proud and stiff, 6126He said "I'll go and wake them if ..." 6127I took a kettle from the shelf, 6128I went to wake them up myself. 6129But when I found the door was locked 6130I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked, 6131And when I found the door was shut, 6132I tried to turn the handle, But ... 6133 6134 "Is that all?" asked Alice. 6135 "That is all." said Humpty Dumpty. "Goodbye." 6136 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 6137% 6138I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck. 6139 -- Graffito in Los Angeles 6140% 6141"... I should explain that I was wearing a black velvet cape that was 6142supposed to make me look like the dashing, romantic Zorro but which 6143actually made me look like a gigantic bat wearing glasses ..." 6144 -- Dave Barry, "The Wet Zorro Suit and Other Turning 6145 Points in l'Amour" 6146% 6147I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full 6148house and four people died. 6149 -- Steven Wright 6150% 6151I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to 6152see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. 6153 -- Shirley Temple 6154% 6155I suggest you locate your hot tub outside your house, so it won't do 6156too much damage if it catches fire or explodes. First you decide which 6157direction your hot tub should face for maximum solar energy. After 6158much trial and error, I have found that the best direction for a hot 6159tub to face is up. 6160 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 6161% 6162I think it is true for all _n. I was just playing it safe with _n >= 3 6163because I couldn't remember the proof. 6164 -- Baker, Pure Math 351a 6165% 6166I think sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it. 6167% 6168I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick 6169and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this 6170country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people 6171in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I'm certainly 6172not, and I'm sick and tired of being told that I am. 6173 -- Monty Python 6174% 6175I think that I shall never see 6176A billboard lovely as a tree. 6177Perhaps, unless the billboards fall 6178I'll never see a tree at all. 6179 -- Ogden Nash 6180% 6181I think that I shall never see 6182A thing as lovely as a tree. 6183But as you see the trees have gone 6184They went this morning with the dawn. 6185A logging firm from out of town 6186Came and chopped the trees all down. 6187But I will trick those dirty skunks 6188And write a brand new poem called 'Trunks'. 6189% 6190I think the sky is blue because it's a shift from black through purple 6191to blue, and it has to do with where the light is. You know, the 6192farther we get into darkness, and there's a shifting of color of light 6193into the blueness, and I think as you go farther and farther away from 6194the reflected light we have from the sun or the light that's bouncing 6195off this earth, uh, the darker it gets ... I think if you look at the 6196color scale, you start at black, move it through purple, move it on 6197out, it's the shifting of color. We mentioned before about the stars 6198singing, and that's one of the effects of the shifting of colors. 6199 -- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club 6200% 6201I think we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown 6202... HEY! PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU DAMMIT! I said I think 6203we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown today. 6204When we take the time to be courteous to each other, we find that we 6205are happier and less likely to engage in nuclear war. This point was 6206driven home by the recent summit talks, where Nancy Reagan and Raisa 6207Gorbachev, each of whose husband thinks the other's husband is vermin, 6208were able to sit down at a high-level tea and engage in courteous 6209conversation ... 6210 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 6211% 6212"I thought you were trying to get into shape." 6213"I am. The shape I've selected is a triangle." 6214% 6215 ... I told my doctor I got all the exercise I needed being a 6216pallbearer for all my friends who run and do exercises! 6217 -- Winston Churchill 6218% 6219I took a course in speed reading and was able to read War and Peace in 6220twenty minutes. It's about Russia. 6221 -- Woody Allen 6222% 6223I used to be an agnostic, but now I'm not so sure. 6224% 6225I used to get high on life but lately I've built up a resistance. 6226% 6227I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. 6228% 6229I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my 6230body. Then I realized who was telling me this. 6231 -- Emo Phillips 6232% 6233I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere 6234near the place. 6235 -- Steven Wright 6236% 6237I value kindness to human beings first of all, and kindness to 6238animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for 6239anything connected with society except that which makes the roads 6240safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and old men and women 6241warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer. 6242 -- Brendan Behan 6243% 6244I want to buy a husband who, every week when I sit down to watch `St. 6245Elsewhere', won't scream, `FORGET IT, BLANCHE ... IT'S TIME FOR "HEE 6246HAW"!!' 6247 -- Berke Breathed, "Bloom County" 6248% 6249I was born because it was a habit in those days, people didn't know 6250anything else ... I was not a Child Prodigy, because a Child Prodigy is 6251a child who knows as much when it is a child as it does when it grows 6252up. 6253 -- Will Rogers 6254% 6255I was drunk last night, crawled home across the lawn. By accident I 6256put the car key in the door lock. The house started up. So I figured 6257what the hell, and drove it around the block a few times. I thought I 6258should go park it in the middle of the freeway and yell at everyone to 6259get off my driveway. 6260 -- Steven Wright 6261% 6262I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I 6263didn't know. 6264 -- Mark Twain 6265% 6266I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending 6267their lives doing things they detest to make money they don't want to 6268buy things they don't need to impress people they dislike. 6269 -- Emile Henry Gauvreay 6270% 6271I was playing poker the other night ... with Tarot cards. I got a full 6272house and four people died. 6273 -- Steven Wright 6274% 6275I went into a general store, and they wouldn't sell me anything specific. 6276 -- Steven Wright 6277% 6278I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained 6279it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass 6280stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold. 6281I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be 6282absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had 6283developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case. 6284Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's 6285temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I 6286chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to 6287the point where it would not run at all. 6288 -- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black 6289 Holes and the Fate of Stars" 6290% 6291I went to a job interview the other day, the guy asked me if I had any 6292questions , I said yes, just one, if you're in a car traveling at the 6293speed of light and you turn your headlights on, does anything happen? 6294 6295He said he couldn't answer that, I told him sorry, but I couldn't work 6296for him then. 6297 -- Steven Wright 6298% 6299I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in 6300the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't 6301included. 6302 -- Steven Wright 6303% 6304I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the 6305statues that are in all the other museums. 6306 -- Steven Wright 6307% 6308I went to the race track once and bet on a horse that was so good that 6309it took seven others to beat him! 6310% 6311I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. 6312There's a knob called `brightness', but it doesn't work. 6313 -- Gallagher 6314% 6315I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've 6316always worked for me. 6317 -- Hunter S. Thompson 6318% 6319I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. 6320% 6321I'd love to go out with you, but I did my own thing and now I've got 6322to undo it. 6323% 6324I'd love to go out with you, but I have to floss my cat. 6325% 6326I'd love to go out with you, but I have to stay home and see if I snore. 6327% 6328I'd love to go out with you, but I never go out on days that end in `Y.' 6329% 6330I'd love to go out with you, but I want to spend more time with my blender. 6331% 6332I'd love to go out with you, but I'm attending the opening of my garage door. 6333% 6334I'd love to go out with you, but I'm converting my calendar watch from 6335Julian to Gregorian. 6336% 6337I'd love to go out with you, but I'm doing door-to-door collecting for 6338static cling. 6339% 6340I'd love to go out with you, but I'm having all my plants neutered. 6341% 6342I'd love to go out with you, but I'm staying home to work on my 6343cottage cheese sculpture. 6344% 6345I'd love to go out with you, but I'm taking punk totem pole carving. 6346% 6347I'd love to go out with you, but I've been scheduled for a karma transplant. 6348% 6349I'd love to go out with you, but it's my parakeet's bowling night. 6350% 6351I'd love to go out with you, but my favorite commercial is on TV. 6352% 6353I'd love to go out with you, but the last time I went out, I never came back. 6354% 6355I'd love to go out with you, but the man on television told me to stay tuned. 6356% 6357I'd love to go out with you, but there are important world issues that 6358need worrying about. 6359% 6360I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. 6361% 6362I'll carry your books, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over, 6363carry forward, Cary Grant, cash & carry, Carry Me Back To Old Virginia, 6364I'll even Hara Kari if you show me how, but I will *not* carry a gun. 6365 -- Hawkeye, M*A*S*H 6366% 6367I'll defend to the death your right to say that, but I never said I'd 6368listen to it! 6369 -- Tom Galloway with apologies to Voltaire 6370% 6371I'll grant thee random access to my heart, 6372Thoul't tell me all the constants of thy love; 6373And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove 6374And in our bound partition never part. 6375 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6376% 6377I'll rob that rich person and give it to some poor deserving slob. 6378That will *prove* I'm Robin Hood. 6379 -- Daffy Duck, "Robin Hood Daffy", [1958, Chuck Jones] 6380% 6381I'm a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from man. 6382% 6383I'm a Lisp variable -- bind me! 6384% 6385I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my sister. 6386% 6387I'm changing my name to Chrysler 6388I'm going down to Washington, D.C. 6389I'll tell some power broker 6390 What they did for Iacocca 6391Will be perfectly acceptable to me! 6392I'm changing my name to Chrysler, 6393I'm heading for that great receiving line. 6394When they hand a million grand out, 6395 I'll be standing with my hand out, 6396Yessir, I'll get mine! 6397 -- Tom Paxton 6398% 6399I'm defending her honor, which is more than she ever did. 6400% 6401I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to 6402die in. 6403 -- George McGovern 6404% 6405I'm going to Boston to see my doctor. He's a very sick man. 6406 -- Fred Allen 6407% 6408I'm going to live forever, or die trying! 6409 -- Spider Robinson 6410% 6411... I'm IMAGINING a sensuous GIRAFFE, CAVORTING in the BACK ROOM of a 6412KOSHER DELI!! 6413% 6414I'm in Pittsburgh. Why am I here? 6415 -- Harold Urey, Nobel Laureate 6416% 6417I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be 6418living apart. 6419 -- e. e. cummings 6420% 6421I'm N-ary the tree, I am, 6422N-ary the tree, I am, I am. 6423I'm getting traversed by the parser next door, 6424She's traversed me seven times before. 6425And ev'ry time it was an N-ary (N-ary!) 6426Never wouldn't ever do a binary. (No sir!) 6427I'm 'er eighth tree that was N-ary. 6428N-ary the tree I am, I am, 6429N-ary the tree I am. 6430% 6431I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. 6432It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get. 6433% 6434I'm prepared for all emergencies but totally unprepared for everyday life. 6435% 6436I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is 6437-- I could be just as proud for half the money. 6438 -- Arthur Godfrey 6439% 6440I'm rated PG-34!! 6441% 6442I'm really enjoying not talking to you ... Let's not talk again ____REAL 6443soon ... 6444% 6445I'm returning this note to you, instead of your paper, because it 6446(your paper) presently occupies the bottom of my bird cage. 6447 -- English Professor, Providence College 6448% 6449I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, 6450I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; 6451In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, 6452I am the very model of a modern Major-General. 6453 -- Gilbert & Sullivan, "Pirates of Penzance" 6454% 6455I'm willing to sacrifice anything for this cause, even other people's lives 6456% 6457I've built a better model than the one at Data General 6458For data bases vegetable, animal, and mineral 6459My OS handles CPUs with multiplexed duality; 6460My PL/1 compiler shows impressive functionality. 6461My storage system's better than magnetic core polarity, 6462You never have to bother checking out a bit for parity; 6463There isn't any reason to install non-static floor matting; 6464My disk drive has capacity for variable formatting. 6465 6466I feel compelled to mention what I know to be a gloating point: 6467There's lots of room in memory for variables floating-point, 6468Which shows for input vegetable, animal, and mineral 6469I've built a better model than the one at Data General. 6470 6471 -- Steve Levine, "A Computer Song" (To the tune of 6472 "Modern Major General", from "Pirates of Penzance", 6473 by Gilbert & Sullivan) 6474% 6475I've enjoyed just about as much of this as I can stand. 6476% 6477I've found my niche. If you're wondering why I'm not there, there was 6478this little hole in the bottom ... 6479 -- John Croll 6480% 6481I've given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself. 6482% 6483I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. 6484 -- Groucho Marx 6485% 6486I've known him as a man, as an adolescent and as a child -- sometimes 6487on the same day. 6488% 6489I've seen better heads on half a pint of beer. 6490% 6491I've seen, I SAY, I've seen better heads on a mug of beer. 6492 -- Senator Claghorn 6493% 6494I've touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; 6495And from that full meridian of my glory 6496I haste now to my setting. I shall fall, 6497Like a bright exhalation in the evening 6498And no man see me more. 6499 -- Shakespeare 6500% 6501IBM had a PL/I, 6502 Its syntax worse than JOSS; 6503And everywhere this language went, 6504 It was a total loss. 6505% 6506Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box 6507of candy weighing less than fifty pounds. 6508% 6509Ideas don't stay in some minds very long because they don't like 6510solitary confinement. 6511% 6512Idiot Box, n.: 6513 The part of the envelope that tells a person where to place the 6514stamp when they can't quite figure it out for themselves. 6515 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 6516% 6517Idiot, n.: 6518 A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human 6519affairs has always been dominant and controlling. 6520 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 6521% 6522If a 6600 used paper tape instead of core memory, it would use up tape 6523at about 30 miles/second. 6524 -- Grishman, Assembly Language Programming 6525% 6526If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law. 6527 -- Roy Santoro 6528% 6529If a camel flies, no one laughs if it doesn't get very far. 6530 -- Paul White 6531% 6532If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then a consensus 6533forecast is a camel's behind. 6534 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 6535% 6536If A equals success, then the formula is _A = _X + _Y + _Z. _X is work. _Y 6537is play. _Z is keep your mouth shut. 6538 -- Albert Einstein 6539% 6540If a group of _N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be _N-1 6541passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. 6542 -- T. Cheatham 6543% 6544If a jury in a criminal trial stays out for more than twenty-four 6545hours, it is certain to vote acquittal, save in those instances where 6546it votes guilty. 6547 -- Joseph C. Goulden 6548% 6549If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake 6550him up. 6551% 6552If a President doesn't do it to his wife, he'll do it to his country. 6553% 6554If a putt passes over the hole without dropping, it is deemed to have 6555dropped. The law of gravity holds that any object attempting to 6556maintain a position in the atmosphere without something to support it 6557must drop. The law of gravity supersedes the law of golf. 6558 -- Donald A. Metz 6559% 6560If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good 6561attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to 6562playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win -- 6563unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager 6564can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry? 6565 -- Sparky Anderson 6566% 6567If all be true that I do think, 6568There be Five Reasons why one should Drink; 6569Good friends, good wine, or being dry, 6570Or lest we should be by-and-by, 6571Or any other reason why. 6572% 6573If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular 6574error. 6575 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 6576% 6577If all the Chinese simultaneously jumped into the Pacific off a 10 foot 6578platform erected 10 feet off their coast, it would cause a tidal wave 6579that would destroy everything in this country west of Nebraska. 6580% 6581If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door. 6582 -- Paul Beatty 6583% 6584If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a 6585conclusion. 6586 -- William Baumol 6587% 6588If an S and an I and an O and a U 6589With an X at the end spell Su; 6590And an E and a Y and an E spell I, 6591Pray what is a speller to do? 6592Then, if also an S and an I and a G 6593And an HED spell side, 6594There's nothing much left for a speller to do 6595But to go commit siouxeyesighed. 6596 -- Charles Follen Adams, "An Orthographic Lament" 6597% 6598If anything can go wrong, it will. 6599% 6600If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use being a damn fool. 6601% 6602If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. 6603% 6604If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four 6605tellers? 6606% 6607If dolphins are so smart, why did Flipper work for television? 6608% 6609If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from? 6610% 6611If everybody minded their own business, the world would go 6612around a deal faster. 6613 -- The Duchess, "Through the Looking Glass" 6614% 6615If everything is coming your way then you're in the wrong lane. 6616% 6617... If forced to travel on an airplane, try and get in the cabin with 6618the Captain, so you can keep an eye on him and nudge him if he falls 6619asleep or point out any mountains looming up ahead ... 6620 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6621% 6622If God didn't mean for us to juggle, tennis balls wouldn't come three 6623to a can. 6624% 6625If God had intended Man to Smoke, He would have set him on Fire. 6626% 6627If God had intended Man to Walk, He would have given him Feet. 6628% 6629If God had intended Man to Watch TV, He would have given him Rabbit Ears. 6630% 6631If God had intended Men to Smoke, He would have put Chimneys in their Heads. 6632% 6633If God had meant for us to be in the Army, we would have been born with 6634green, baggy skin. 6635% 6636If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way. 6637% 6638If God had not given us sticky tape, it would have been necessary to 6639invent it. 6640% 6641If God had wanted you to go around nude, He would have given you bigger 6642hands. 6643% 6644If God is dead, who will save the Queen? 6645% 6646If God is perfect, why did He create discontinuous functions? 6647% 6648If God lived on Earth, people would knock out all His windows. 6649 -- Yiddish saying 6650% 6651If God wanted us to be brave, why did he give us legs? 6652 -- Marvin Kitman 6653% 6654If I am elected, the concrete barriers around the WHITE HOUSE will be 6655replaced by tasteful foam replicas of ANN MARGARET! 6656% 6657If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive! 6658 -- Samuel Goldwyn 6659% 6660If I don't drive around the park, 6661I'm pretty sure to make my mark. 6662If I'm in bed each night by ten, 6663I may get back my looks again. 6664If I abstain from fun and such, 6665I'll probably amount to much; 6666But I shall stay the way I am, 6667Because I do not give a damn. 6668 -- Dorothy Parker 6669% 6670If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture. 6671% 6672If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I'd sell the 6673plantation and go home. 6674 -- Eugene P. Gallagher 6675% 6676If I had any humility I would be perfect. 6677 -- Ted Turner 6678% 6679If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. 6680 -- Albert Einstein 6681% 6682If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the 6683shoulders of giants. 6684 -- Isaac Newton 6685 6686In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side 6687with the giants on whose shoulders we stand. 6688 -- Gerald Holton 6689 6690If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing 6691on my shoulders. 6692 -- Hal Abelson 6693 6694In computer science, we stand on each other's feet. 6695 -- Brian K. Reid 6696% 6697If I kiss you, that is a psychological interaction. 6698 6699On the other hand, if I hit you over the head with a brick, that is 6700also a psychological interaction. 6701 6702The difference is that one is friendly and the other is not so 6703friendly. 6704 6705The crucial point is if you can tell which is which. 6706 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 6707% 6708If I traveled to the end of the rainbow 6709As Dame Fortune did intend, 6710Murphy would be there to tell me 6711The pot's at the other end. 6712 -- Bert Whitney 6713% 6714If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people? 6715% 6716If it's Tuesday, this must be someone else's fortune. 6717% 6718If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. 6719They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun 6720of it. 6721 -- Thomas Carlyle 6722% 6723If just one piece of mail gets lost, well, they'll just think they 6724forgot to send it. But if *two* pieces of mail get lost, hell, they'll 6725just think the other guy hasn't gotten around to answering his mail. 6726And if *fifty* pieces of mail get lost, can you imagine it, if *fifty* 6727pieces of mail get lost, why they'll think someone *else* is broken! 6728And if 1Gb of mail gets lost, they'll just *know* that Arpa is down and 6729think it's a conspiracy to keep them from their God given right to 6730receive Net Mail ... 6731 -- Leith (Casey) Leedom 6732% 6733If life is a stage, I want some better lighting. 6734% 6735If little else, the brain is an educational toy. 6736 -- Tom Robbins 6737% 6738If little green men land in your back yard, hide any little green women 6739you've got in the house. 6740 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6741% 6742If mathematically you end up with the wrong answer, try multiplying by 6743the page number. 6744% 6745If money can't buy happiness, I guess you'll just have to rent it. 6746% 6747If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think 6748little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and 6749Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination. 6750 -- Thomas De Quincey (1785 - 1859) 6751% 6752If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants. 6753 -- A. Einstein. 6754% 6755If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit 6756in my name at a Swiss bank. 6757 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 6758% 6759If only I could be respected without having to be respectable. 6760% 6761If only one could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment without 6762having to accomplish anything. 6763% 6764If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, 6765he should see how bad it is with representation. 6766% 6767If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of 6768arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the 6769physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker 6770entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. 6771 -- Vannevar Bush 6772% 6773If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied 6774harder. 6775 -- Pope John Paul I 6776% 6777If that makes any sense to you, you have a big problem. 6778 -- C. Durance, Computer Science 234 6779% 6780If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would 6781presumably flunk it. 6782 -- Stanley Garn 6783% 6784If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong. 6785 -- Norm Schryer 6786% 6787If the colleges were better, if they really had it, you would need to 6788get the police at the gates to keep order in the inrushing multitude. 6789See in college how we thwart the natural love of learning by leaving 6790the natural method of teaching what each wishes to learn, and insisting 6791that you shall learn what you have no taste or capacity for. The 6792college, which should be a place of delightful labor, is made odious 6793and unhealthy, and the young men are tempted to frivolous amusements to 6794rally their jaded spirits. I would have the studies elective. 6795Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure 6796interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by 6797opening to his pupils precisely the attractions the study has for 6798himself. The marking is a system for schools, not for the college; for 6799boys, not for men; and it is an ungracious work to put on a professor. 6800 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 6801% 6802If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me! 6803 -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa 1920) 6804% 6805If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances 6806are 50-50 it will. 6807% 6808If the weather is extremely bad, church attendance will be down. 6809If the weather is extremely good, church attendance will be down. 6810If the bulletin covers are in short supply, however, church attendance 6811will exceed all expectations. 6812 -- Reverend Chichester 6813% 6814If there are epigrams, there must be meta-epigrams. 6815% 6816If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that 6817will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. 6818% 6819If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? 6820 -- Art Hoppe 6821% 6822If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make 6823something out of you. 6824 -- Muhammad Ali 6825% 6826If this fortune didn't exist, somebody would have invented it. 6827% 6828If this is timesharing, give me my share right now. 6829% 6830If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? 6831% 6832If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what the hell was 6833yesterday? 6834% 6835If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is 6836doing the thinking. 6837 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson 6838% 6839If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. 6840 -- Laurence J. Peter 6841% 6842If value corrupts then absolute value corrupts absolutely 6843% 6844If we were meant to fly, we wouldn't keep losing our luggage. 6845% 6846If while you are in school, there is a shortage of qualified personnel 6847in a particular field, then by the time you graduate with the necessary 6848qualifications, that field's employment market is glutted. 6849 -- Marguerite Emmons 6850% 6851If you are a fatalist, what can you do about it? 6852 -- Ann Edwards-Duff 6853% 6854If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. 6855 -- J. Paul Getty 6856% 6857If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse. 6858% 6859If you can read this, you're too close. 6860% 6861If you can survive death, you can probably survive anything. 6862% 6863If you can't be good, be careful. 6864If you can't be careful, give me a call. 6865% 6866If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly. 6867% 6868If you cannot convince them, confuse them. 6869 -- Harry S Truman 6870% 6871If you didn't get caught, did you really do it? 6872% 6873If you don't care where you are, then you ain't lost. 6874% 6875If you don't go to other men's funerals they won't go to yours. 6876 -- Clarence Day 6877% 6878If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. 6879 -- Freeman Dyson 6880% 6881If you don't want your dog to have bad breath, do what I do: Pour a little 6882Lavoris in the toilet. 6883 -- Jay Leno 6884% 6885If you eat a live frog in the morning, nothing worse will happen to 6886either of you for the rest of the day. 6887% 6888If you ever want to get anywhere in politics, my boy, you're going to 6889have to get a toehold in the public eye. 6890% 6891If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody 6892will. 6893% 6894If you give Congress a chance to vote on both sides of an issue, it 6895will always do it. 6896 -- Les Aspin, D., Wisconsin 6897% 6898If you go on with this nuclear arms race, all you are going to do is 6899make the rubble bounce. 6900 -- Winston Churchill 6901% 6902If you had any brains, you'd be dangerous. 6903% 6904If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some. 6905% 6906If you have to hate, hate gently. 6907% 6908If you just try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to 6909boot yourself in the posterior. 6910 -- A. J. Liebling, "The Press" 6911% 6912If you keep anything long enough, you can throw it away. 6913% 6914If you live in a country run by committee, be on the committee. 6915 -- Graham Summer 6916% 6917If you live to the age of a hundred you have it made because very few 6918people die past the age of a hundred. 6919 -- George Burns 6920% 6921If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; 6922but if you really make them think they'll hate you. 6923% 6924If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. 6925 -- Maslow 6926% 6927If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure 6928can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly 6929develop. 6930% 6931If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite 6932you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. 6933 -- Mark Twain 6934% 6935If you push the "extra ice" button on the soft drink vending machine, 6936you won't get any ice. If you push the "no ice" button, you'll get 6937ice, but no cup. 6938% 6939If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But 6940this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is 6941somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it. 6942% 6943If you sit down at a poker game and don't see a sucker, get up. You're 6944the sucker. 6945% 6946If you stand on your head, you will get footprints in your hair. 6947% 6948If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker, 6949It is slick to stick a lock upon your stock. 6950 Or some joker who is slicker, 6951 Will trick you of your liquor, 6952If you fail to lock your liquor with a lock. 6953% 6954If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. 6955 -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard 6956% 6957If you think last Tuesday was a drag, wait till you see what happens 6958tomorrow! 6959% 6960If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car 6961payments. 6962 -- Earl Wilson 6963% 6964If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it. 6965 -- Arthur Kasspe 6966% 6967If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest 6968shopping center in the world? 6969 -- Richard M. Nixon 6970% 6971If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would 6972be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call 6973you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw 6974another party next year. 6975 6976What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up 6977several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've 6978been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to 6979avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning 6980parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from 6981having another one ... 6982 6983If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless 6984your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas 6985through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure 6986that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting 6987someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you ... 6988 -- Dave Barry 6989% 6990If you took all the students that felt asleep in class and laid them 6991end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. 6992 -- "Graffiti in the Big Ten" 6993% 6994If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything. 6995 -- A. L. 6996% 6997If you want divine justice, die. 6998 -- Nick Seldon 6999% 7000If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people 7001he gave it to. 7002 -- Dorothy Parker 7003% 7004If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the 7005Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's 7006statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington 7007telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with 7008titles beginning with the word "National". 7009 -- George Will 7010% 7011If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every 7012word you say, talk in your sleep. 7013% 7014If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some 7015memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' it, 7016even if they don't know what it means. 7017 -- Walt Kelly, "The Pogo Party" 7018% 7019If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings -- including this one. 7020% 7021If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for 7022tomorrow morning, sleep late. 7023 -- Henny Youngman 7024% 7025If you're happy, you're successful. 7026% 7027 If you're like most homeowners, you're afraid that many repairs 7028around your home are too difficult to tackle. So, when your furnace 7029explodes, you call in a so-called professional to fix it. The 7030"professional" arrives in a truck with lettering on the sides and 7031deposits a large quantity of tools and two assistants who spend the 7032better part of the week in your basement whacking objects at random 7033with heavy wrenches, after which the "professional" returns and gives 7034you a bill for slightly more money than it would cost you to run a 7035successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. 7036 And that's why you've decided to start doing things yourself. 7037You figure, "If those guys can fix my furnace, then so can I. How 7038difficult can it be?" 7039 Very difficult. In fact, most home projects are impossible, 7040which is why you should do them yourself. There is no point in paying 7041other people to screw things up when you can easily screw them up 7042yourself for far less money. This article can help you. 7043 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 7044% 7045If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. 7046% 7047If you're not very clever you should be conciliatory. 7048 -- Benjamin Disraeli 7049% 7050If you're right 90% of the time, why quibble about the remaining 3%? 7051% 7052If you've done six impossible things before breakfast, why not round it 7053off with dinner at Milliway's, the restaurant at the end of the universe? 7054% 7055If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all. 7056 -- Ronald Reagan 7057% 7058Ignisecond, n.: 7059 The overlapping moment of time when the hand is locking the car 7060door even as the brain is saying, "my keys are in there!" 7061 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 7062% 7063Il brilgue: les t^oves libricilleux 7064 Se gyrent et frillant dans le guave, 7065Enm^im'es sont les gougebosquex, 7066 Et le m^omerade horgrave. 7067 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 7068% 7069Iles's Law: 7070 There is always an easier way to do it. When looking directly 7071at the easy way, especially for long periods, you will not see it. 7072Neither will Iles. 7073% 7074Illinois isn't exactly the land that God forgot -- it's more like the 7075land He's trying to ignore. 7076% 7077Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. 7078 -- Jules de Gaultier 7079% 7080Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the 7081usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody 7082thinks of complaining. 7083 -- Jeff Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal 7084% 7085Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has 7086a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk 7087storage, a screen resolution of 4096 x 4096 pixels, relies entirely on 7088voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300. 7089What's the first question that the computer community asks? 7090 7091"Is it PC compatible?" 7092% 7093Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery. 7094 -- Jack Paar 7095% 7096Immortality -- a fate worse than death. 7097 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 7098% 7099Impartial, adj.: 7100 Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from 7101espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two 7102conflicting opinions. 7103 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7104% 7105Important letters which contain no errors will develop errors in the 7106mail. Corresponding errors will show up in the duplicate while the 7107Boss is reading it. 7108% 7109Impossible, adj.: 7110 (1) I wouldn't like it and when it happens I won't approve; 7111 (2) I can't be bothered; 7112 (3) God can't be bothered. 7113Meaning (3) may perhaps be valid but the others are 101% whaledreck. 7114 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 7115% 7116In 1750 Issac Newton became discouraged when he fell up a flight of 7117stairs. 7118% 7119In 1869 the waffle iron was invented for people who had wrinkled waffles. 7120% 7121In 1880 the French captured Detroit but gave it back ... they couldn't 7122get parts. 7123% 7124In 1914, the first crossword puzzle was printed in a newspaper. The 7125creator received $4000 down ... and $3000 across. 7126% 7127In 1915 pancake make-up was invented but most people still preferred 7128syrup. 7129% 7130In a five year period we can get one superb programming language. Only 7131we can't control when the five year period will begin. 7132% 7133 In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi, 7134junior, what are you up to?" 7135 "I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the 7136rabbit. 7137 "Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!" 7138 "Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the 7139rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied 7140expression on his face. 7141 Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?" 7142 "I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits 7143devour wolves." 7144 "Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?" 7145 "Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes 7146out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw. 7147Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody 7148should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting 7149next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox. 7150 7151The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important -- 7152it's your PhD advisor that really counts. 7153% 7154In a medium in which a News Piece takes a minute and an "In-Depth" 7155Piece takes two minutes, the Simple will drive out the Complex. 7156 -- Frank Mankiewicz 7157% 7158In a museum in Havana, there are two skulls of Christopher Columbus, 7159"one when he was a boy and one when he was a man." 7160 -- Mark Twain 7161% 7162In Africa some of the native tribes have a custom of beating the ground 7163with clubs and uttering spine chilling cries. Anthropologists call 7164this a form of primitive self-expression. In America we call it golf. 7165% 7166In America today ... we have Woody Allen, whose humor has become so 7167sophisticated that nobody gets it any more except Mia Farrow. All 7168those who think Mia Farrow should go back to making movies where the 7169devil gets her pregnant and Woody Allen should go back to dressing up 7170as a human sperm, please raise your hands. Thank you. 7171 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 7172% 7173In America, any boy may become president and I suppose that's just one 7174of the risks he takes. 7175 -- Adlai Stevenson 7176% 7177In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own 7178incompetency 7179 -- The Peter Principle 7180% 7181In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) 7182are to be treated as variables. 7183% 7184In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of 7185nations -- it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir. 7186 -- Stuart Keate 7187% 7188In Blythe, California, a city ordinance declares that a person must own 7189at least two cows before he can wear cowboy boots in public. 7190% 7191In Boston, it is illegal to hold frog-jumping contests in nightclubs. 7192% 7193In case of atomic attack, the federal ruling against prayer in schools 7194will be temporarily canceled. 7195% 7196In case of injury notify your superior immediately. He'll kiss it and 7197make it better. 7198% 7199In Columbia, Pennsylvania, it is against the law for a pilot to tickle 7200a female flying student under her chin with a feather duster in order 7201to get her attention. 7202% 7203In Corning, Iowa, it's a misdemeanor for a man to ask his wife to ride 7204in any motor vehicle. 7205% 7206In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable. 7207 -- Winston Churchill, of Montgomery 7208% 7209In Denver it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door 7210neighbor. 7211% 7212In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. 7213% 7214In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last 7215resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but 7216inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first. 7217 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7218% 7219In English, every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our 7220programming languages. 7221% 7222In Greene, New York, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on 7223the sidewalks when a concert is on. 7224% 7225In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come 7226into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish 7227between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which 7228will only make it mushy. 7229 -- Mark Twain 7230% 7231In Lexington, Kentucky, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your 7232pocket. 7233% 7234In Lowes Crossroads, Delaware, it is a violation of local law for any 7235pilot or passenger to carry an ice cream cone in their pocket while 7236either flying or waiting to board a plane. 7237% 7238In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless 7239there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red 7240flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians. 7241% 7242In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as 7243to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the 7244speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. 7245% 7246In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the 7247universe. 7248 -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos 7249% 7250In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, 7251intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from 7252the cares of office. 7253 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7254% 7255In Pocataligo, Georgia, it is a violation for a woman over 200 pounds 7256and attired in shorts to pilot or ride in an airplane. 7257% 7258In Pocatello, Idaho, a law passed in 1912 provided that "The carrying 7259of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public 7260view." 7261% 7262In Riemann, Hilbert or in Banach space 7263Let superscripts and subscripts go their ways. 7264Our asymptotes no longer out of phase, 7265We shall encounter, counting, face to face. 7266 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 7267% 7268In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that 7269is over six feet in length. 7270% 7271In seeking the unattainable, simplicity only gets in the way. 7272 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 7273% 7274In short, _N is Richardian if, and only if, _N is not Richardian. 7275% 7276In specifications, Murphy's Law supersedes Ohm's. 7277% 7278In Tennessee, it is illegal to shoot any game other than whales from a 7279moving automobile. 7280% 7281[In the 60's] there was madness in any direction, at any hour ... You 7282could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense 7283that whatever we were doing was `right', that we were winning ... 7284 7285And that, I think, was the handle -- the sense of inevitable victory 7286over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we 7287didn't need that. Our energy would simply `prevail'. There was no 7288point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; 7289we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave .... 7290 7291So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in 7292Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost 7293___see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and 7294rolled back. 7295 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 7296% 7297In the beginning was the word. 7298But by the time the second word was added to it, 7299there was trouble. 7300For with it came syntax ... 7301 -- John Simon 7302% 7303In the days when Sussman was a novice Minsky once came to him as he sat 7304hacking at the PDP-6. "What are you doing?", asked Minsky. "I am 7305training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe." "Why is the 7306net wired randomly?", asked Minsky. "I do not want it to have any 7307preconceptions of how to play." Minsky shut his eyes. "Why do you 7308close your eyes?", Sussman asked his teacher. "So the room will be 7309empty." At that moment, Sussman was enlightened. 7310% 7311In the force if Yoda's so strong, construct a sentence with words in 7312the proper order then why can't he? 7313% 7314In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful 7315Dead. 7316 -- Egyptian Book of the Dead 7317% 7318In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. 7319 -- Alan Perlis 7320% 7321In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or 7322a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole a loaf of bread and gave it 7323to you, you would only be tried for receiving, a crime punishable by 7324forty lashes with the cat or the dog, whichever was handy. If you 7325stole a dog and were caught, you were punished with twelve rabbit 7326punches, although it was hard to find rabbits big enough or strong 7327enough to punch you. 7328 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 7329% 7330In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Mississippi has 7331shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. Therefore ... in the 7332Old Silurian Period the Mississippi River was upward of one million 7333three hundred thousand miles long ... seven hundred and forty-two years 7334from now the Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. 7335... There is something fascinating about science. One gets such 7336wholesome returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of 7337fact. 7338 -- Mark Twain 7339% 7340In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to 7341drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at 7342discotheques. 7343 -- Art Linkletter 7344% 7345In those days he was wiser than he is now -- he used to frequently take 7346my advice. 7347 -- Winston Churchill 7348% 7349In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without 7350the supervision of a licensed engineer. 7351% 7352In West Union, Ohio, No married man can go flying without his spouse 7353along at any time, unless he has been married for more than 12 months. 7354% 7355Incumbent, n.: 7356 Person of liveliest interest to the outcumbents. 7357 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7358% 7359... indifference is a militant thing ... when it goes away it leaves 7360smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayonetted through the throat. It is 7361not a children's pastime like mere highway robbery. 7362 -- Stephen Crane 7363% 7364Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? 7365% 7366Individualists unite! 7367% 7368Infancy, n.: 7369 The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, "Heaven 7370lies about us." The world begins lying about us pretty soon 7371afterward. 7372 -- Ambrose Bierce 7373% 7374Information Center, n.: 7375 A room staffed by professional computer people whose job it is 7376to tell you why you cannot have the information you require. 7377% 7378Ingrate, n.: 7379 A man who bites the hand that feeds him, and then complains of 7380indigestion. 7381% 7382Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 7383 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. 7384% 7385Ink, n.: 7386 A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic, and 7387water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and promote 7388intellectual crime. 7389 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7390% 7391Innovation is hard to schedule. 7392 -- Dan Fylstra 7393% 7394Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. 7395% 7396Insanity is the final defense ... It's hard to get a refund when the 7397salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon. 7398% 7399Interpreter, n.: 7400 One who enables two persons of different languages to 7401understand each other by repeating to each what it would have been to 7402the interpreter's advantage for the other to have said. 7403 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7404% 7405Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure. 7406% 7407 INVENTORY 7408Four be the things I am wiser to know: 7409Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. 7410 7411Four be the things I'd been better without: 7412Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. 7413 7414Three be the things I shall never attain: 7415Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. 7416 7417Three be the things I shall have till I die: 7418Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye. 7419% 7420Iron Law of Distribution: 7421 Them that has, gets. 7422% 7423Irrationality is the square root of all evil 7424 -- Douglas Hofstadter 7425% 7426Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is 7427meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a 7428soap bubble? 7429% 7430Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the 7431beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get 7432out, and such as are out wish to get in? 7433 -- Ralph Emerson 7434% 7435Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! 7436% 7437Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction 7438listen to weather forecasts and economists? 7439 -- Kelvin Throop III 7440% 7441Isn't it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune 7442tellers take economists seriously? 7443% 7444Issawi's Laws of Progress: 7445 7446 The Course of Progress: 7447 Most things get steadily worse. 7448 7449 The Path of Progress: 7450 A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. 7451% 7452It appears that after his death, Albert Einstein found himself working 7453as the doorkeeper at the Pearly Gates. One slow day, he found that he 7454had time to chat with the new entrants. To the first one he asked, 7455"What's your IQ?" The new arrival replied, "190". They discussed 7456Einstein's theory of relativity for hours. When the second new arrival 7457came, Einstein once again inquired as to the newcomer's IQ. The answer 7458this time came "120". To which Einstein replied, "Tell me, how did the 7459Cubs do this year?" and they proceeded to talk for half an hour or so. 7460To the final arrival, Einstein once again posed the question, "What's 7461your IQ?". Upon receiving the answer "70", Einstein smiled and asked, 7462"Got a minute to tell me about VMS 4.0?" 7463% 7464It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown 7465came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and 7466applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I 7467think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the 7468wits, who believe that it is a joke. 7469 -- S. A. Kierkegaard (1813-1855) 7470% 7471It has been observed that one's nose is never so happy as when it is 7472thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have 7473drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell. 7474 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7475% 7476It has been said [by Anatole France], "it is not by amusing oneself 7477that one learns," and, in reply: "it is *____only* by amusing oneself that 7478one can learn." 7479 -- Edward Kasner and James R. Newman 7480% 7481It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have 7482been searching for evidence which could support this. 7483 -- Bertrand Russell 7484% 7485It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats. 7486% 7487It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to 7488program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in 7489organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be 7490self-critical? 7491 -- Alan Perlis 7492% 7493It is against the law for a monster to enter the corporate limits of 7494Urbana, Illinois. 7495% 7496It is always preferable to visit home with a friend. Your parents will 7497not be pleased with this plan, because they want you all to themselves 7498and because in the presence of your friend, they will have to act like 7499mature human beings ... 7500 -- Playboy, January 1983 7501% 7502It is amusing that a virtue is made of the vice of chastity; and it's a 7503pretty odd sort of chastity at that, which leads men straight into the 7504sin of Onan, and girls to the waning of their color. 7505 -- Voltaire 7506% 7507It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what 7508they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed 7509that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so 7510much -- the wheel, New York wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins 7511had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But 7512conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more 7513intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. 7514 7515Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending 7516destruction of the of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to 7517alert mankind to the danger; but most of their communications were 7518misinterpreted ... 7519 -- Douglas Adams "The Hitch-Hikers' Guide To The Galaxy" 7520% 7521It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be 7522coming up it. 7523 -- Henry Allen 7524% 7525It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? 7526One in a million, perhaps. 7527% 7528It is better to kiss an avocado than to get in a fight with an aardvark 7529% 7530It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three 7531benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never 7532to use either. 7533 -- Mark Twain 7534% 7535It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both 7536incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by 7537twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. 7538 -- Rod Serling 7539% 7540It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is 7541lightly greased. 7542 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 7543% 7544It is easier to be a "humanitarian" than to render your own country its 7545proper due; it is easier to be a "patriot" than to make your community 7546a better place to live in; it is easier to be a "civic leader" than to 7547treat your own family with loving understanding; for the smaller the 7548focus of attention, the harder the task. 7549 -- Sydney J. Harris 7550% 7551It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa. 7552% 7553It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. 7554% 7555It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one. 7556% 7557It is generally agreed that "Hello" is an appropriate greeting because 7558if you entered a room and said "Goodbye," it could confuse a lot of 7559people. 7560 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 7561% 7562It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood 7563Boulevard at one time. 7564% 7565It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia. 7566% 7567It is impossible to experience one's death objectively and still carry 7568a tune. 7569 -- Woody Allen 7570% 7571It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so 7572ingenious. 7573% 7574It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not 7575desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. 7576 -- Woody Allen 7577% 7578It is Mr. Mellon's credo that $200,000,000 can do no wrong. Our 7579offense consists in doubting it. 7580 -- Justice Robert H. Jackson 7581% 7582It is much easier to suggest solutions when you know nothing about the 7583problem. 7584% 7585It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be 7586privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to 7587corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles. 7588 -- George Bernard Shaw 7589% 7590It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. 7591 -- Gore Vidal 7592% 7593It is not true that life is one damn thing after another -- it's one 7594damn thing over and over. 7595 -- Edna St. Vincent Millay 7596% 7597It is now 10 p.m. Do you know where Henry Kissinger is? 7598 -- Elizabeth Carpenter 7599% 7600It is now pitch dark. If you proceed, you will likely fall into a pit. 7601% 7602It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that 7603virginity could be a virtue. 7604 -- Voltaire 7605% 7606It is only people of small moral stature who have to stand on their 7607dignity. 7608% 7609It is only the great men who are truly obscene. If they had not dared 7610to be obscene, they could never have dared to be great. 7611 -- Havelock Ellis 7612% 7613It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to 7614students that have had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential 7615programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of 7616regeneration. 7617 -- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 7618% 7619It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the 7620lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as 7621high as the eagle? 7622% 7623It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a 7624statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more 7625glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through 7626which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the 7627day, that is the highest of arts. 7628 -- Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Live" 7629% 7630It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad 7631crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed 7632until the other has gone. 7633% 7634It is the business of little minds to shrink. 7635 -- Carl Sandburg 7636% 7637It is the business of the future to be dangerous. 7638 -- Hawkwind 7639% 7640It is true that if your paperboy throws your paper into the bushes for 7641five straight days it can be explained by Newton's Law of Gravity. But 7642it takes Murphy's law to explain why it is happening to you. 7643% 7644It is very difficult to prophesy, especially when it pertains to the 7645future. 7646% 7647It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. 7648% 7649It may be bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but it isn't too 7650good either if you speak when your head is empty. 7651% 7652It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a 7653warning to others. 7654% 7655It runs like _x, where _x is something unsavory 7656 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 7657% 7658It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the 7659flag. 7660% 7661It shall be unlawful for any suspicious person to be within the 7662municipality. 7663 -- Local ordinance, Euclid Ohio 7664% 7665It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, 7666but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous. 7667 -- Robert Benchly 7668% 7669It was a book to kill time for those who liked it better dead. 7670% 7671It was a virgin forest, a place where the Hand of Man had never set foot. 7672% 7673It was one of those perfect summer days -- the sun was shining, a 7674breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, and the lawn mower was 7675broken ... 7676 -- James Dent 7677% 7678It was pleasant to me to get a letter from you the other day. Perhaps 7679I should have found it pleasanter if I had been able to decipher it. I 7680don't think that I mastered anything beyond the date (which I knew) and 7681the signature (which I guessed at). There's a singular and a perpetual 7682charm in a letter of yours; it never grows old, it never loses its 7683novelty .... Other letters are read and thrown away and forgotten, but 7684yours are kept forever -- unread. One of them will last a reasonable 7685man a lifetime. 7686 -- Thomas Aldrich 7687% 7688 It was the next morning that the armies of Twodor marched east 7689laden with long lances, sharp swords, and death-dealing hangovers. The 7690thousands were led by Arrowroot, who sat limply in his sidesaddle, 7691nursing a whopper. Goodgulf, Gimlet, and the rest rode by him, praying 7692for their fate to be quick, painless, and if possible, someone else's. 7693 Many an hour the armies forged ahead, the war-merinos bleating 7694under their heavy burdens and the soldiers bleating under their melting 7695icepacks. 7696 -- The Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 7697% 7698It wasn't that she had a rose in her teeth, exactly. It was more like 7699the rose and the teeth were in the same glass. 7700% 7701It will be advantageous to cross the great stream ... the Dragon is on 7702the wing in the Sky ... the Great Man rouses himself to his Work. 7703% 7704It will be generally found that those who sneer habitually at human 7705nature and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant 7706examples. 7707 -- Charles Dickens 7708% 7709It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing 7710warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or 7711two things still safe to eat. 7712 -- Robert Fuoss 7713% 7714It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. 7715 -- Andrew Jackson 7716% 7717It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear. 7718 -- Cheers 7719% 7720It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for. 7721% 7722It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it. 7723 -- Steven Wright 7724% 7725"It's a summons." 7726"What's a summons?" 7727"It means summon's in trouble." 7728 -- Rocky and Bullwinkle 7729% 7730It's a very *__UN*lucky week in which to be took dead. 7731 -- Churchy La Femme 7732% 7733It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black. 7734% 7735It's bad luck to be superstitious. 7736 -- Andrew W. Mathis 7737% 7738It's better to be wanted for murder than not to be wanted at all. 7739 -- Marty Winch 7740% 7741"It's easier said than done." 7742 7743... and if you don't believe it, try proving that it's easier done than 7744said, and you'll see that "it's easier said that `it's easier done than 7745said' than it is done", which really proves that "it's easier said than 7746done". 7747% 7748It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. 7749% 7750It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than forgiveness for 7751being right. 7752% 7753It's Fabulous! We haven't seen anything like it in the last half an hour! 7754 -- Macy's 7755% 7756It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse. 7757% 7758It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it 7759is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It 7760isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. 7761 -- Oxford University Press, "Edpress News" 7762% 7763It's just a jump to the left 7764 And then a step to the right. 7765Put your hands on your hips 7766 And pull your knees in tight. 7767But it's the pelvic thrust 7768 That really drives you insa-a-a-a-a-ane! 7769 7770 LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! 7771 7772 -- Rocky Horror Picture Show 7773% 7774It's kind of fun to do the impossible. 7775 -- Walt Disney 7776% 7777"It's Like This" 7778 7779Even the samurai 7780have teddy bears, 7781and even the teddy bears 7782get drunk. 7783% 7784It's lucky you're going so slowly, because you're going in the wrong 7785direction. 7786% 7787It's men like him that give the Y chromosome a bad name. 7788% 7789It's more than magnificent -- it's mediocre. 7790 -- Sam Goldwyn 7791% 7792It's no surprise that things are so screwed up: everyone that knows how 7793to run a government is either driving taxicabs or cutting hair. 7794 -- George Burns 7795% 7796It's not an optical illusion, it just looks like one. 7797 -- Phil White 7798% 7799It's not Camelot, but it's not Cleveland, either. 7800 -- Kevin White, mayor of Boston 7801% 7802It's not enough to be Hungarian; you must have talent too. 7803 -- Alexander Korda 7804% 7805It's not just a computer -- it's your ass. 7806 -- Cal Keegan 7807% 7808It's not reality or how you perceive things that's important -- it's 7809what you're taking for it... 7810% 7811It's not so hard to lift yourself by your bootstraps once you're off 7812the ground. 7813 -- Daniel B. Luten 7814% 7815It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it 7816happens. 7817 -- Woody Allen 7818% 7819It's not the valleys in life I dread so much as the dips. 7820 -- Garfield 7821% 7822It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that 7823English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many 7824other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case. 7825 -- Sydney J. Harris 7826% 7827It's raisins that make Post Raisin Bran so raisiny ... 7828% 7829It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles. 7830% 7831It's so stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the 7832Devil when he is the only explanation of it. 7833% 7834It's the opinion of some that crops could be grown on the moon. Which 7835raises the fear that it may not be long before we're paying somebody 7836not to. 7837 -- Franklin P. Jones 7838% 7839It's the thought, if any, that counts! 7840% 7841 JACK AND THE BEANSTACK 7842 by Mark Isaak 7843 7844 Long ago, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL 7845character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their 7846hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices 7847are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some 7848BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it 7849to him. 7850 So Jack set out. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, 7851he met the traveling salesman. 7852 "Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman 7853in high-level language. 7854 "I'm going to the market to exchange this RAM for some chips 7855and Apples," commented Jack. 7856 "I have a much better algorithm. You needn't join a queue 7857there; I will swap your RAM for these magic kernels now." 7858 Jack made the trade, then backtracked to his house. But when 7859he told his busy-waiting parent of the deal, she became so angry she 7860started thrashing. 7861 "Don't you even have any artificial intelligence? All these 7862kernels together hardly make up one byte," and she popped them out the 7863window ... 7864% 7865Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Government: 7866 No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the 7867legislature is in session. 7868% 7869James Joyce -- an essentially private man who wished his total 7870indifference to public notice to be universally recognized. 7871 -- Tom Stoppard 7872% 7873Jenkinson's Law: 7874 It won't work. 7875% 7876Jesus Saves, 7877Moses Invests, 7878But only Buddha pays Dividends. 7879% 7880Job Placement, n.: 7881 Telling your boss what he can do with your job. 7882% 7883Joe's sister puts spaghetti in her shoes! 7884% 7885Johnson's First Law: 7886 When any mechanical contrivance fails, it will do so at the 7887most inconvenient possible time. 7888% 7889Join in the new game that's sweeping the country. It's called 7890"Bureaucracy". Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do 7891anything loses. 7892% 7893Join the march to save individuality! 7894% 7895Jone's Law: 7896 The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone 7897to blame it on. 7898% 7899Jone's Motto: 7900 Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. 7901% 7902Jones's First Law: 7903 Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of 7904endeavor, and stays in that field long enough, becomes an obstruction 7905to its progress -- in direct proportion to the importance of their 7906original contribution. 7907% 7908Just about every computer on the market today runs Unix, except the Mac 7909(and nobody cares about it). 7910 -- Bill Joy 6/21/85 7911% 7912Just as most issues are seldom black or white, so are most good 7913solutions seldom black or white. Beware of the solution that requires 7914one side to be totally the loser and the other side to be totally the 7915winner. The reason there are two sides to begin with usually is 7916because neither side has all the facts. Therefore, when the wise 7917mediator effects a compromise, he is not acting from political 7918motivation. Rather, he is acting from a deep sense of respect for the 7919whole truth. 7920 -- Stephen R. Schwambach 7921% 7922Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has 7923changed. 7924 -- Irene Peter 7925% 7926Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. 7927% 7928Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn't mean he 7929knows what it is. 7930% 7931Just go with the flow control, roll with the crunches, and, when you 7932get a prompt, type like hell. 7933% 7934Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't 7935immune to bullets. 7936 -- The Brigader, "Dr. Who" 7937% 7938Just out of curiosity does this actually mean something or have some 7939of the few remaining bits of your brain just evaporated? 7940 -- Patricia O Tuama, rissa@killer.DALLAS.TX.US 7941% 7942Just remember, it all started with a mouse. 7943 -- Walt Disney 7944% 7945Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to 7946twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! 7947% 7948`Just the place for a Snark!' the Bellman cried, 7949 As he landed his crew with care; 7950Supporting each man on the top of the tide 7951 By a finger entwined in his hair. 7952 7953'Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: 7954 That alone should encourage the crew. 7955Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: 7956 What I tell you three times is true.' 7957% 7958Just when you thought you were winning the rat race, along comes a 7959faster rat!!! 7960% 7961Justice always prevails ... three times out of seven! 7962 -- Michael J. Wagner 7963% 7964Justice is incidental to law and order. 7965 -- J. Edgar Hoover 7966% 7967Justice, n.: 7968 A decision in your favor. 7969% 7970K: Cobalt's metal, hard and shining; 7971 Cobol's wordy and confining; 7972 KOBOLDS topple when you strike them; 7973 Don't feel bad, it's hard to like them. 7974 -- The Roguelet's ABC 7975% 7976Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to 7977wear tail lights. 7978% 7979Katz' Law: 7980 Man and nations will act rationally when all other 7981possibilities have been exhausted. 7982% 7983Keep America beautiful. Swallow your beer cans. 7984% 7985Keep Cool, but Don't Freeze 7986 - Hellman's Mayonnaise 7987% 7988Keep emotionally active. Cater to your favorite neurosis. 7989% 7990Keep grandma off the streets -- legalize bingo. 7991% 7992Keep in mind always the two constant Laws of Frisbee: 7993 (1) The most powerful force in the world is that of a disc 7994 straining to land under a car, just out of reach (this 7995 force is technically termed "car suck"). 7996 (2) Never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive 7997 than "Watch this!" 7998% 7999Keep your Eye on the Ball, 8000Your Shoulder to the Wheel, 8001Your Nose to the Grindstone, 8002Your Feet on the Ground, 8003Your Head on your Shoulders. 8004Now ... try to get something DONE! 8005% 8006Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most 8007automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the 8008numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the 8009driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the 8010dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know 8011what's wrong." 8012% 8013Kerr's Three Rules for a Successful College: 8014 Have plenty of football for the alumni, sex for the students, 8015and parking for the faculty. 8016% 8017Kids have *_____never* taken guidance from their parents. If you could 8018travel back in time and observe the original primate family in the 8019original tree, you would see the primate parents yelling at the primate 8020teenager for sitting around and sulking all day instead of hunting for 8021grubs and berries like dad primate. Then you'd see the primate 8022teenager stomp up to his branch and slam the leaves. 8023 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 8024% 8025Kin, n.: 8026 An affliction of the blood 8027% 8028Kinkler's First Law: 8029 Responsibility always exceeds authority. 8030 8031Kinkler's Second Law: 8032 All the easy problems have been solved. 8033% 8034Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack. 8035% 8036Kirkland, Illinois, law forbids bees to fly over the village or through 8037any of its streets. 8038% 8039Kiss me twice. I'm schizophrenic. 8040% 8041Kiss your keyboard goodbye! 8042% 8043Klein bottle for rent -- inquire within. 8044% 8045Kleptomaniac, n.: 8046 A rich thief. 8047 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8048% 8049Know thyself. If you need help, call the C.I.A. 8050% 8051Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. 8052 -- Henry N. Camp 8053% 8054Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr): 8055 The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards. 8056 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8057% 8058Labor, n.: 8059 One of the processes by which A acquires property for B. 8060 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8061% 8062Lackland's Laws: 8063 (1) Never be first. 8064 (2) Never be last. 8065 (3) Never volunteer for anything 8066% 8067Lactomangulation, n.: 8068 Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly 8069that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side. 8070 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8071% 8072Ladybug, ladybug, 8073Look to your stern! 8074Your house is on fire, 8075Your children will burn! 8076So jump ye and sing, for 8077The very first time 8078The four lines above 8079Have been put into rhyme. 8080 -- Walt Kelly 8081% 8082Laetrile is the pits 8083% 8084Langsam's Laws: 8085 (1) Everything depends. 8086 (2) Nothing is always. 8087 (3) Everything is sometimes. 8088% 8089Larkinson's Law: 8090 All laws are basically false. 8091% 8092Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with 8093was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting 8094pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the 8095farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their 8096sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do 8097you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? 8098What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead 8099of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under 8100the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops 8101whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which 8102Lassie filed the applications for. 8103 -- Dave Barry 8104% 8105Last night, I came home and realized that everything in my apartment 8106had been stolen and replaced with an exact duplicate. I told this to 8107my friend -- he said, `Do I know you?' 8108 -- Steven Wright 8109% 8110Last week a cop stopped me in my car. He asked me if I had a police 8111record. I said, no, but I have the new DEVO album. Cops have no sense 8112of humor. 8113% 8114Last yeer I kudn't spel Engineer. Now I are won. 8115% 8116Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. 8117% 8118Laughter is the closest distance between two people." 8119 -- Victor Borge 8120% 8121Law of Communications: 8122 The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications 8123between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased area of 8124misunderstanding. 8125% 8126Law of Probable Dispersal: 8127 Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly 8128distributed. 8129% 8130Law of Selective Gravity: 8131 An object will fall so as to do the most damage. 8132 8133Jenning's Corollary: 8134 The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is 8135directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. 8136 8137Law of the Perversity of Nature: 8138 You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the 8139bread to butter. 8140% 8141Laws of Serendipity: 8142 8143 (1) In order to discover anything, you must be looking for 8144 something. 8145 (2) If you wish to make an improved product, you must already 8146 be engaged in making an inferior one. 8147% 8148Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: 8149 No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats -- 8150approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less. 8151% 8152Learned men are the cisterns of knowledge, not the fountainheads. 8153% 8154Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and 8155everything else follows in the same way. 8156 -- Alan J. Perlis 8157% 8158Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. 8159% 8160Legalize free-enterprise murder: why should governments have all the 8161fun? 8162% 8163Legislation proposed in the Illinois State Legislature, May, 1907: 8164 "Speed upon county roads will be limited to ten miles an hour 8165unless the motorist sees a bailiff who does not appear to have had a 8166drink in 30 days, when the driver will be permitted to make what he 8167can." 8168% 8169Leibowitz's Rule: 8170 When hammering a nail, you will never hit your finger if you 8171hold the hammer with both hands. 8172% 8173LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8174 You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are 8175 pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike 8176 honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people 8177 are thieves. 8178% 8179LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8180 Your determination and sense of humor will come to the fore. 8181 Your ability to laugh at adversity will be a blessing because 8182 you've got a day coming you wouldn't believe. As a matter of 8183 fact, if you can laugh at what happens to you today, you've got 8184 a sick sense of humor. 8185% 8186Let He who taketh the Plunge Remember to return it by Tuesday. 8187% 8188Let me assure you that to us here at First National, you're not just a 8189number. You're two numbers, a dash, three more numbers, another dash 8190and another number. 8191 -- James Estes 8192% 8193Let us live!!! 8194Let us love!!! 8195Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!! 8196 8197You first. 8198% 8199Let's just say that where a change was required, I adjusted. In every 8200relationship that exists, people have to seek a way to survive. If you 8201really care about the person, you do what's necessary, or that's the 8202end. For the first time, I found that I really could change, and the 8203qualities I most admired in myself I gave up. I stopped being loud and 8204bossy ... Oh, all right. I was still loud and bossy, but only behind 8205his back. 8206 -- Kate Hepburn, on Tracy and Hepburn 8207% 8208Let's say your wedding ring falls into your toaster, and when you stick 8209your hand in to retrieve it, you suffer Pain and Suffering as well as 8210Mental Anguish. You would sue: 8211 8212* The toaster manufacturer, for failure to include, in the instructions 8213 section that says you should never never never ever stick you hand 8214 into the toaster, the statement "Not even if your wedding ring falls 8215 in there". 8216 8217* The store where you bought the toaster, for selling it to an obvious 8218 cretin like yourself. 8219 8220* Union Carbide Corporation, which is not directly responsible in this 8221 case, but which is feeling so guilty that it would probably send you 8222 a large cash settlement anyway. 8223 -- Dave Barry 8224% 8225Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often 8226overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of 8227dollars: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your 8228tax return around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to 8229spend hours poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe 8230money, you can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will 8231probably give it to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? 8232It's not his money. 8233 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 8234% 8235LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Times of London) 8236 8237Dear Sir, 8238 8239I am firmly opposed to the spread of microchips either to the home or 8240to the office. We have more than enough of them foisted upon us in 8241public places. They are a disgusting Americanism, and can only result 8242in the farmers being forced to grow smaller potatoes, which in turn 8243will cause massive unemployment in the already severely depressed 8244agricultural industry. 8245 8246Yours faithfully, 8247 Capt. Quinton D'Arcy, J. P. 8248 Sevenoaks 8249% 8250Lewis's Law of Travel: 8251 The first piece of luggage out of the chute doesn't belong to 8252anyone, ever. 8253% 8254Liar, n.: 8255 A lawyer with a roving commission. 8256 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8257% 8258Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. 8259 -- Harry Emerson Fosdick 8260% 8261LIBRA (Sep. 23 to Oct. 22) 8262 Your desire for justice and truth will be overshadowed by your 8263 desire for filthy lucre and a decent meal. Be gracious and 8264 polite. Someone is watching you, so stop staring like that. 8265% 8266LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22) 8267 You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with 8268 reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely gay. 8269 Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most 8270 Libra women are prostitutes. All Libra people die of venereal 8271 disease. 8272% 8273Lie, n.: 8274 A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one 8275discovered to date. 8276% 8277Lieberman's Law: 8278 Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens. 8279% 8280Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while. 8281% 8282Life is a yo-yo, and mankind ties knots in the string. 8283% 8284Life is like a bowl of soup with hairs floating on it. You have to 8285eat it nevertheless. 8286 -- Flaubert 8287% 8288Life is like a buffet; it's not good but there's plenty of it. 8289% 8290Life is like a simile. 8291% 8292Life is like an analogy. 8293% 8294Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, then you find 8295there is nothing in it. 8296% 8297Life is too important to take seriously. 8298 -- Corky Siegel 8299% 8300Life may have no meaning -- or even worse, it may have a meaning of 8301which I disapprove. 8302% 8303Life to you is a bold and dashing responsibility. 8304 -- a Mary Chung's fortune cookie 8305% 8306Life would be much simpler and things would get done much faster if it 8307weren't for other people. 8308 -- Blore 8309% 8310Life would be so much easier if we could just look at the source code. 8311% 8312Life, loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it. 8313 -- Marvin, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 8314% 8315Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made 8316sense from things she found in gift shops. 8317 -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 8318% 8319Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking 8320for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem. 8321 -- Alan McKay 8322% 8323Limericks are art forms complex, 8324Their topics run chiefly to sex. 8325 They usually have virgins, 8326 And masculine urgin's, 8327And other erotic effects. 8328% 8329Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations. 8330% 8331Linus: I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe 8332 we should think only about today. 8333Charlie Brown: 8334 No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get 8335 better. 8336% 8337Living in LA is like not having a date on Saturday night. 8338 -- Candice Bergen 8339% 8340Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip 8341around the Sun. 8342% 8343Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted 8344before. 8345% 8346Lizzie Borden took an axe, 8347And plunged it deep into the VAX; 8348Don't you envy people who 8349Do all the things ___YOU want to do? 8350% 8351Loan-department manager: "There isn't any fine print. At these 8352interest rates, we don't need it." 8353% 8354Lobster: 8355 Everyone loves these delectable crustaceans, but many cooks are 8356squeamish about placing them into boiling water alive, which is the 8357only proper method of preparing them. Frankly, the easiest way to 8358eliminate your guilt is to establish theirs by putting them on trial 8359before they're cooked. The fact is, lobsters are among the most 8360ferocious predators on the sea floor, and you're helping reduce crime 8361in the reefs. Grasp the lobster behind the head, look it right in its 8362unmistakably guilty eyestalks and say, "Where were you on the night of 8363the 21st?", then flourish a picture of a scallop or a sole and shout, 8364"Perhaps this will refresh that crude neural apparatus you call a 8365memory!" The lobster will squirm noticeably. It may even take a swipe 8366at you with one of its claws. Incorrigible. Pop it into the pot. 8367Justice has been served, and shortly you and your friends will be, 8368too. 8369 -- Dave Barry, "Cooking: The Art of Using Appliances and 8370 Utensils into Excuses and Apologies" 8371% 8372Lockwood's Long Shot: 8373 The chances of getting eaten up by a lion on Main Street aren't 8374one in a million, but once would be enough. 8375% 8376Logic is a little bird, sitting in a tree; that smells *_____awful*. 8377% 8378... Logically incoherent, semantically incomprehensible, and 8379legally ... impeccable! 8380% 8381Logicians have but ill defined 8382As rational the human kind. 8383Logic, they say, belongs to man, 8384But let them prove it if they can. 8385 -- Oliver Goldsmith 8386% 8387Look out! Behind you! 8388% 8389Look, we play the Star Spangled Banner before every game. You want us 8390to pay income taxes, too? 8391 -- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox 8392% 8393Loose bits sink chips. 8394% 8395Losing your drivers' license is just God's way of saying 8396"BOOGA, BOOGA!" 8397% 8398Lost interest? It's so bad I've lost apathy. 8399% 8400Loud burping while walking around the airport is prohibited in 8401Halstead, Kansas. 8402% 8403Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. 8404% 8405Love at first sight is one of the greatest labor-saving devices the 8406world has ever seen. 8407% 8408Love cannot be much younger than the lust for murder. 8409 -- Sigmund Freud 8410% 8411Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it 8412flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come. 8413 -- Matt Groening 8414% 8415Love is a word that is constantly heard, 8416Hate is a word that is not. 8417Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. 8418Love, I have read, is hot. 8419But hate is the verb that to me is superb, 8420And Love but a drug on the mart. 8421Any kiddie in school can love like a fool, 8422But Hating, my boy, is an Art. 8423 -- Ogden Nash 8424% 8425Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with 8426the ideal never goes unpunished. 8427 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8428% 8429Love is sentimental measles. 8430% 8431Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. 8432 -- H. L. Mencken 8433% 8434Love means having to say you're sorry every five minutes. 8435% 8436Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighborhood. 8437 -- Louise Beal 8438% 8439Love your enemies: they'll go crazy trying to figure out what you're up to. 8440% 8441 Love's Drug 8442 8443My love is like an iron wand 8444 That conks me on the head, 8445My love is like the valium 8446 That I take before my bed, 8447My love is like the pint of scotch 8448 That I drink when I be dry; 8449And I shall love thee still, my dear, 8450 Until my wife is wise. 8451% 8452Lowery's Law: 8453 If it jams -- force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing 8454anyway. 8455% 8456LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand. 8457% 8458Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: 8459 There's always one more bug. 8460% 8461Lunatic Asylum, n.: 8462 The place where optimism most flourishes. 8463% 8464Lysistrata had a good idea. 8465% 8466MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into 8467the smallest amount of thoughts. 8468 -- Winston Churchill 8469% 8470Machine-Independent, adj.: 8471 Does not run on any existing machine. 8472% 8473Machines certainly can solve problems, store information, correlate, 8474and play games -- but not with pleasure. 8475 -- Leo Rosten 8476% 8477Mad, adj.: 8478 Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence. 8479 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8480% 8481Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child -- if you parboil them 8482first for seven hours, they always come out tender. 8483 -- W. C. Fields 8484% 8485MAFIA, n: 8486 [Acronym for Mechanized Applications in Forced Insurance 8487Accounting.] An extensive network with many on-line and offshore 8488subsystems running under OS, DOS, and IOS. MAFIA documentation is 8489rather scanty, and the MAFIA sales office exhibits that testy 8490reluctance to bona fide inquiries which is the hallmark of so many DP 8491operations. From the little that has seeped out, it would appear that 8492MAFIA operates under a non-standard protocol, OMERTA, a tight-lipped 8493variant of SNA, in which extended handshakes also perform complex 8494security functions. The known timesharing aspects of MAFIA point to a 8495more than usually autocratic operating system. Screen prompts carry an 8496imperative, nonrefusable weighting (most menus offer simple YES/YES 8497options, defaulting to YES) that precludes indifference or delay. 8498Uniquely, all editing under MAFIA is performed centrally, using a 8499powerful rubout feature capable of erasing files, filors, filees, and 8500entire nodal aggravations. 8501 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 8502% 8503Magnet, n.: Something acted upon by magnetism. 8504 8505Magnetism, n.: Something acting upon a magnet. 8506 8507The two definition immediately preceding are condensed from the works 8508of one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject 8509with a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human 8510knowledge. 8511 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8512% 8513Magnocartic, adj.: 8514 Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping carts. 8515 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 8516% 8517Magpie, n.: 8518 A bird whose thievish disposition suggested to someone that it 8519might be taught to talk. 8520 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8521% 8522Maier's Law: 8523 If the facts don't conform to the theory, they must be disposed of. 8524 8525Corollaries: 8526 (1) The bigger the theory, the better. 8527 (2) The experiment may be considered a success if no more than 8528 50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to 8529 obtain a correspondence with the theory. 8530% 8531Main's Law: 8532 For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. 8533% 8534Maintainer's Motto: 8535 If we can't fix it, it ain't broke. 8536% 8537Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly 8538 as one man. 8539 8540Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds. 8541 8542Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. 8543 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8544% 8545Majority, n.: 8546 That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law. 8547% 8548Make it myself? But I'm a physical organic chemist! 8549% 8550Making files is easy under the UNIX operating system. Therefore, users 8551tend to create numerous files using large amounts of file space. It 8552has been said that the only standard thing about all UNIX systems is 8553the message-of-the-day telling users to clean up their files. 8554 -- System V.2 administrator's guide 8555% 8556Malek's Law: 8557 Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way. 8558% 8559Man 1: Ask me the what the most important thing about telling a good 8560 joke is. 8561 8562Man 2: OK, what is the most impo -- 8563 8564Man 1: ______TIMING! 8565% 8566Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. 8567 -- Lily Tomlin 8568% 8569Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called 8570upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 8571 -- Oscar Wilde 8572% 8573Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the 8574only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. 8575 -- Wernher von Braun 8576% 8577Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. 8578 -- Mark Twain 8579% 8580Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the 8581victims he intends to eat until he eats them. 8582 -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) 8583% 8584Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- unless it 8585is an enemy. 8586 -- Albert Einstein 8587% 8588Man, n.: 8589 An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks 8590he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief 8591occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, 8592however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole 8593habitable earth and Canada. 8594 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8595% 8596Mandrell: "You know what I think?" 8597Doctor: "Ah, ah that's a catch question. With a brain your size you 8598 don't think, right?" 8599 -- Dr. Who 8600% 8601Mankind's yearning to engage in sports is older than recorded history, 8602dating back to the time millions of years ago, when the first primitive 8603man picked up a crude club and a round rock, tossed the rock into the 8604air, and whomped the club into the sloping forehead of the first 8605primitive umpire. 8606 8607What inner force drove this first athlete? Your guess is as good as 8608mine. Better, probably, because you haven't had four beers. 8609 -- Dave Barry, "Sports is a Drag" 8610% 8611Manual, n.: 8612 A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a 8613given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The 8614information you need is in the others. 8615 -- Ray Simard 8616% 8617Many years ago in a period commonly know as Next Friday Afternoon, 8618there lived a King who was very Gloomy on Tuesday mornings because he 8619was so Sad thinking about how Unhappy he had been on Monday and how 8620completely Mournful he would be on Wednesday ... 8621 -- Walt Kelly 8622% 8623Mark's Dental-Chair Discovery: 8624 Dentists are incapable of asking questions that require a 8625simple yes or no answer. 8626% 8627Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. 8628 -- Voltaire 8629% 8630Maryel brought her bat into Exit once and started whacking people on 8631the dance floor. Now everyone's doing it. It's called grand slam 8632dancing. 8633 -- Ransford, Chicago Reader 10/7/83 8634% 8635Maternity pay? Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will get pregnant. 8636 -- Malcolm Smith 8637% 8638Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. 8639 -- R. Drabek 8640% 8641Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they 8642translate into their own language, and forthwith it is something 8643entirely different. 8644 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8645% 8646Mathematicians often resort to something called Hilbert space, which is 8647described as being n-dimensional. Like modern sex, any number can 8648play. 8649 -- Dr. Thor Wald, in "Beep/The Quincunx of Time", by 8650 James Blish 8651% 8652Matrimony isn't a word, it's a sentence. 8653% 8654Matter cannot be created or destroyed, 8655nor can it be returned without a receipt. 8656% 8657Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. 8658 -- Jules Feiffer 8659% 8660May a Misguided Platypus lay its Eggs in your Jockey Shorts. 8661% 8662May Euell Gibbons eat your only copy of the manual! 8663% 8664May the Fleas of a Thousand Camels infest one of your Erogenous Zones. 8665% 8666May your Tongue stick to the Roof of your Mouth with the Force of a 8667Thousand Caramels. 8668% 8669Maybe Computer Science should be in the College of Theology. 8670 -- R. S. Barton 8671% 8672Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days you can certainly charge 8673it. 8674% 8675McGowan's Madison Avenue Axiom: 8676 If an item is advertised as "under $50", you can bet it's not 8677$19.95. 8678% 8679Meader's Law: 8680 Whatever happens to you, it will previously have happened to 8681everyone you know, only more so. 8682% 8683Meeting, n.: 8684 An assembly of people coming together to decide what person or 8685department not represented in the room must solve a problem. 8686% 8687Men were real men, women were real women, and small, furry creatures 8688from Alpha Centauri were REAL small, furry creatures from Alpha 8689Centauri. Spirits were brave, men boldly split infinitives that no man 8690had split before. Thus was the Empire forged. 8691 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Douglas Adams 8692% 8693Men's skin is different from women's skin. It is usually bigger, and 8694it has more snakes tattooed on it. Also, if you examine a woman's skin 8695very closely, inch by inch, starting at her shapely ankles, then gently 8696tracing the slender curve of her calves, then moving up to her ... 8697 [EDITOR'S NOTE: To make room for news articles about important 8698 world events such as agriculture, we're going to delete the 8699 next few square feet of the woman's skin. Thank you.] 8700... until finally the two of you are lying there, spent, smoking your 8701cigarettes, and suddenly it hits you: Human skin is actually made up of 8702billions of tiny units of protoplasm, called "cells"! And what is even 8703more interesting, the ones on the outside are all dying! This is a 8704fact. Your skin is like an aggressive modern corporation, where the 8705older veteran cells, who have finally worked their way to the top and 8706obtained offices with nice views, are constantly being shoved out the 8707window head first, without so much as a pension plan, by younger 8708hotshot cells moving up from below. 8709 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 8710% 8711Mencken and Nathan's Fifteenth Law of The Average American: 8712 The worst actress in the company is always the manager's wife. 8713% 8714Mencken and Nathan's Ninth Law of The Average American: 8715 The quality of a champagne is judged by the amount of noise the 8716cork makes when it is popped. 8717% 8718Mencken and Nathan's Second Law of The Average American: 8719 All the postmasters in small towns read all the postcards. 8720% 8721Mencken and Nathan's Sixteenth Law of The Average American: 8722 Milking a cow is an operation demanding a special talent that 8723is possessed only by yokels, and no person born in a large city can 8724never hope to acquire it. 8725% 8726Menu, n.: 8727 A list of dishes which the restaurant has just run out of. 8728% 8729Meskimen's Law: 8730 There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to 8731do it over. 8732% 8733MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGED -- The Pershing II missiles have been launched. 8734% 8735Message will arrive in the mail. Destroy, before the FBI sees it. 8736% 8737methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutamin- 8738ylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolyl- 8739phenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglu- 8740taminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanyl- 8741glycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylala- 8742nylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylgluta- 8743minylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylgly- 8744cylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl- 8745leucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleu- 8746cylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylva- 8747lylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyro- 8748sylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleu- 8749cylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphe- 8750nylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylala- 8751nylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylas- 8752partylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosyl- 8753glycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycyl- 8754valylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleu- 8755cylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparagi- 8756nylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylse- 8757rylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanyl- 8758glycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalylly- 8759sylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylpro- 8760lylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalyl- 8761glutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine, n.: 8762 The chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein, a 8763 1,913-letter enzyme with 267 amino acids. 8764 -- Mrs. Bryne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and 8765 Preposterous Words 8766% 8767Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. 8768% 8769Micro Credo: 8770 Never trust a computer bigger than you can lift. 8771% 8772Microwave oven? Whaddya mean, it's a microwave oven? I've been 8773watching Channel 4 on the thing for two weeks. 8774% 8775Might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you 8776out of Casablanca and the Germans have outlawed miracles. 8777 -- Casablanca 8778% 8779Mike: "The Fourth Dimension is a shambles?" 8780Bernie: "Nobody ever empties the ashtrays. People are SO 8781 inconsiderate." 8782 -- Gary Trudeau, "Doonesbury" 8783% 8784Miksch's Law: 8785 If a string has one end, then it has another end. 8786% 8787Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. 8788 -- Groucho Marx 8789% 8790Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. 8791 -- Groucho Marx 8792% 8793Millihelen, adj: 8794 The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. 8795% 8796Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with 8797themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. 8798 -- Susan Ertz 8799% 8800Millions of sensible people are too high-minded to concede that 8801politics is almost always the choice of the lesser evil. "Tweedledum 8802and Tweedledee," they say, "I will not vote." Having abstained, they 8803are presented with a President who appoints the people who are going to 8804rummage around in their lives for the next four years. Consider all 8805the people who sat home in a stew in 1968 rather than vote for Hubert 8806Humphrey. They showed Humphrey. Those people who taught Hubert 8807Humphrey a lesson will still be enjoying the Nixon Supreme Court when 8808Tricia and Julie begin to find silver threads among the gold and the 8809black. 8810 -- Russel Baker, "Ford without Flummery" 8811% 8812Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there 8813is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, 8814myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in 8815the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my 8816unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You 8817will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as 8818dead as a door-nail. 8819% 8820Minnie Mouse is a slow maze learner. 8821% 8822Minors in Kansas City, Missouri, are not allowed to purchase cap 8823pistols; they may buy shotguns freely, however. 8824% 8825Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. 8826% 8827Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it. 8828 -- Russell Baker 8829% 8830Misfortune, n.: 8831 The kind of fortune that never misses. 8832 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8833% 8834Miss, n.: 8835 A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that 8836they are in the market. 8837 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8838% 8839Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure. 8840% 8841Mitchell's Law of Committees: 8842 Any simple problem can be made insoluble if enough meetings are 8843held to discuss it. 8844% 8845MOCK APPLE PIE (No Apples Needed) 8846 8847 Pastry to two crust 9-inch pie 36 RITZ Crackers 88482 cups water 2 cups sugar 88492 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8850 Grated rind of one lemon Butter or margarine 8851 Cinnamon 8852 8853Roll out bottom crust of pastry and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Break 8854RITZ Crackers coarsely into pastry-lined plate. Combine water, sugar 8855and cream of tartar in saucepan, boil gently for 15 minutes. Add lemon 8856juice and rind. Cool. Pour this syrup over Crackers, dot generously 8857with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with top 8858crust. Trim and flute edges together. Cut slits in top crust to let 8859steam escape. Bake in a hot oven (425 F) 30 to 35 minutes, until crust 8860is crisp and golden. Serve warm. Cut into 6 to 8 slices. 8861 -- Found lurking on a Ritz Crackers box 8862% 8863Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. 8864% 8865Mohandas K. Gandhi often changed his mind publicly. An aide once asked 8866him how he could so freely contradict this week what he had said just 8867last week. The great man replied that it was because this week he knew 8868better. 8869% 8870Molecule, n.: 8871 The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished 8872from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a 8873closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of 8874matter ... The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the 8875atom in that it is an ion ... 8876 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8877% 8878Mollison's Bureaucracy Hypothesis: 8879 If an idea can survive a bureaucratic review and be implemented 8880it wasn't worth doing. 8881% 8882Monday is an awful way to spend one seventh of your life. 8883% 8884Monday, n.: 8885 In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game. 8886 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8887% 8888Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. 8889% 8890Money is the root of all evil, and man needs roots. 8891% 8892Money is the root of all wealth. 8893% 8894Moon, n.: 8895 1. A celestial object whose phase is very important to 8896hackers. See PHASE OF THE MOON. 2. Dave Moon (MOON@MC). 8897% 8898Mophobia, n.: 8899 Fear of being verbally abused by a Mississippian. 8900% 8901 MORE SPORTS RESULTS: 8902The Beverly Hills Freudians tied the Chicago Rogerians 0-0 last 8903Saturday night. The match started with a long period of silence while 8904the Freudians waited for the Rogerians to free associate and the 8905Rogerians waited for the Freudians to say something they could 8906paraphrase. The stalemate was broken when the Freudians' best player 8907took the offensive and interpreted the Rogerians' silence as reflecting 8908their anal-retentive personalities. At this the Rogerians' star player 8909said "I hear you saying you think we're full of ka-ka." This started a 8910fight and the match was called by officials. 8911% 8912More than any time in history, mankind now faces a crossroads. One 8913path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total 8914extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly. 8915 -- Woody Allen, "Side Effects" 8916% 8917Mosher's Law of Software Engineering: 8918 Don't worry if it doesn't work right. If everything did, you'd 8919be out of a job. 8920% 8921Most fish live underwater, which is a terrible place to have sex 8922because virtually anywhere you lie down there will be stinging crabs 8923and large quantities of little fish staring at you with buggy little 8924eyes. So generally when two fish want to have sex, they swim around 8925and around for hours, looking for someplace to go, until finally the 8926female gets really tired and has a terrible headache, and she just 8927dumps her eggs right on the sand and swims away. Then the male, driven 8928by some timeless, noble instinct for survival, eats the eggs. So the 8929truth is that fish don't reproduce at all, but there are so many of 8930them that it doesn't make any difference. 8931 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 8932 Teen Should Know" 8933% 8934Most people can't understand how others can blow their noses differently 8935than they do. 8936 -- Turgenev 8937% 8938Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass. 8939 -- Frank Zappa 8940% 8941Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like. 8942 -- Arnold Bennett 8943% 8944Mother is the invention of necessity. 8945% 8946Mother told me to be good, but she's been wrong before. 8947% 8948Mr. Cole's Axiom: 8949 The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the 8950population is growing. 8951% 8952"Multiply in your head" (ordered the compassionate Dr. Adams) 8953"365,365,365,365,365,365 by 365,365,365,365,365,365. He [ten-year-old 8954Truman Henry Safford] flew around the room like a top, pulled his 8955pantaloons over the tops of his boots, bit his hands, rolled his eyes 8956in their sockets, sometimes smiling and talking, and then seeming to be 8957in an agony, until, in not more than one minute, said he, 8958133,491,850,208,566,925,016,658,299,941,583,225!" An electronic 8959computer might do the job a little faster but it wouldn't be as much 8960fun to watch. 8961 -- James R. Newman (The World of Mathematics) 8962% 8963Murphy's Discovery: 8964 Do you know Presidents talk to the country the way men talk to 8965women? They say, "Trust me, go all the way with me, and everything 8966will be all right." And what happens? Nine months later, you're in 8967trouble! 8968% 8969Murphy's Law is recursive. Washing your car to make it rain doesn't 8970work. 8971% 8972Murphy's Law of Research: 8973 Enough research will tend to support your theory. 8974% 8975Murphy's Law, that brash proletarian restatement of Goedel's Theorem ... 8976 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 8977% 8978 Murray and Esther, a middle-aged Jewish couple, are touring 8979Chile. Murray just got a new camera and is constantly snapping 8980pictures. One day, without knowing it, he photographs a top-secret 8981military installation. In an instant, armed troops surround Murray and 8982Esther and hustle them off to prison. 8983 They can't prove who they are because they've left their 8984passports in their hotel room. For three weeks they're tortured day 8985and night to get them to name their contacts in the liberation 8986movement.. Finally they're hauled in front of a military court, 8987charged with espionage, and sentenced to death. 8988 The next morning they're lined up in front of the wall where 8989they'll be shot. The sergeant in charge of the firing squad asks them 8990if they have any lasts requests. Esther wants to know if she can call 8991her daughter in Chicago. The sergeant says he's sorry, that's not 8992possible, and turns to Murray. 8993 "This is crazy!" Murray shouts. "We're not spies!" And he 8994spits in the sergeants face. 8995 "Murray!" Esther cries. "Please! Don't make trouble." 8996 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 8997% 8998Mustgo, n.: 8999 Any item of food that has been sitting in the refrigerator so 9000long it has become a science project. 9001 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 9002% 9003My advice to you, my violent friend, is to seek out gold and sit on it. 9004 -- "Grendel", by John Gardner 9005% 9006My band career ended late in my senior year when John Cooper and I 9007threw my amplifier out the dormitory window. We did not act in haste. 9008First we checked to make sure the amplifier would fit through the 9009frame, using the belt from my bathrobe to measure, then we picked up 9010the amplifier and backed up to my bedroom door. Then we rushed 9011forward, shouting "The WHO! The WHO!" and we launched my amplifier 9012perfectly, as though we had been doing it all our lives, clean through 9013the window and down onto the sidewalk, where a small but appreciative 9014crowd had gathered. I would like to be able to say that this was a 9015symbolic act, an effort on my part to break cleanly away from one state 9016in my life and move on to another, but the truth is, Cooper and I 9017really just wanted to find out what it would sound like. It sounded 9018OK. 9019 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 9020% 9021My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless 9022there are three other people. 9023 -- Orson Welles 9024% 9025My God, I'm depressed! Here I am, a computer with a mind a thousand 9026times as powerful as yours, doing nothing but cranking out fortunes and 9027sending mail about softball games. And I've got this pain right 9028through my ALU. I've asked for it to be replaced, but nobody ever 9029listens. I think it would be better for us both if you were to just 9030log out again. 9031% 9032My life is a soap opera, but who has the rights? 9033 -- MadameX 9034% 9035My love runs by like a day in June, 9036 And he makes no friends of sorrows. 9037He'll tread his galloping rigadoon 9038 In the pathway or the morrows. 9039He'll live his days where the sunbeams start 9040 Nor could storm or wind uproot him. 9041My own dear love, he is all my heart -- 9042 And I wish somebody'd shoot him. 9043 -- Dorothy Parker 9044% 9045My love, he's mad, and my love, he's fleet, 9046 And a wild young wood-thing bore him! 9047The ways are fair to his roaming feet, 9048 And the skies are sunlit for him. 9049As sharply sweet to my heart he seems 9050 As the fragrance of acacia. 9051My own dear love, he is all my dreams -- 9052 And I wish he were in Asia. 9053 -- Dorothy Parker 9054% 9055My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been one. 9056 -- Groucho Marx 9057% 9058My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right. 9059% 9060My own dear love, he is strong and bold 9061 And he cares not what comes after. 9062His words ring sweet as a chime of gold, 9063 And his eyes are lit with laughter. 9064He is jubilant as a flag unfurled -- 9065 Oh, a girl, she'd not forget him. 9066My own dear love, he is all my world -- 9067 And I wish I'd never met him. 9068 -- Dorothy Parker 9069% 9070My pants just went on a wild rampage through a Long Island Bowling Alley!! 9071 -- Zippy the Pinhead 9072% 9073My pen is at the bottom of a page, 9074Which, being finished, here the story ends; 9075'Tis to be wished it had been sooner done, 9076But stories somehow lengthen when begun. 9077 -- Byron 9078% 9079My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed. 9080 -- Christopher Morley 9081% 9082My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies 9083% 9084Mythology, n.: 9085 The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its 9086origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished 9087from the true accounts which it invents later. 9088 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9089% 9090 n = ((n >> 1) & 0x55555555) | ((n << 1) & 0xaaaaaaaa); 9091 n = ((n >> 2) & 0x33333333) | ((n << 2) & 0xcccccccc); 9092 n = ((n >> 4) & 0x0f0f0f0f) | ((n << 4) & 0xf0f0f0f0); 9093 n = ((n >> 8) & 0x00ff00ff) | ((n << 8) & 0xff00ff00); 9094 n = ((n >> 16) & 0x0000ffff) | ((n << 16) & 0xffff0000); 9095 9096 -- C code which reverses the bits in a word. 9097% 9098Naeser's Law: 9099 You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it 9100damnfoolproof. 9101% 9102NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Guiseppe? Everything he 9103 says is wrong. 9104GUISEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, and then everything he says 9105 will be right. 9106 -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny" 9107% 9108Nasrudin called at a large house to collect for charity. The servant 9109said "My master is out." Nasrudin replied, "Tell your master that next 9110time he goes out, he should not leave his face at the window. Someone 9111might steal it." 9112% 9113Nasrudin returned to his village from the imperial capital, and the 9114villagers gathered around to hear what had passed. "At this time," 9115said Nasrudin, "I only want to say that the King spoke to me." All the 9116villagers but the stupidest ran off to spread the wonderful news. The 9117remaining villager asked, "What did the King say to you?" "What he 9118said -- and quite distinctly, for everyone to hear -- was 'Get out of 9119my way!'" The simpleton was overjoyed; he had heard words actually 9120spoken by the King, and seen the very man they were spoken to. 9121% 9122Nasrudin walked into a shop one day, and the owner came forward to 9123serve him. Nasrudin said, "First things first. Did you see me walk 9124into your shop?" "Of course." "Have you ever seen me before?" 9125"Never." "Then how do you know it was me?" 9126% 9127Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and declaimed, "The moon is more useful 9128than the sun." "Why?", he was asked. "Because at night we need the 9129light more." 9130% 9131Nasrudin was carrying home a piece of liver and the recipe for liver 9132pie. Suddenly a bird of prey swooped down and snatched the piece of 9133meat from his hand. As the bird flew off, Nasrudin called after it, 9134"Foolish bird! You have the liver, but what can you do with it without 9135the recipe?" 9136% 9137Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of 9138conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the 9139fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he 9140is most likely to be creamed? 9141 -- Solomon Short 9142% 9143Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, 9144God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light. 9145 9146It did not last; the devil howling "Ho! 9147Let Einstein be!" restored the status quo. 9148% 9149Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it 9150cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs. 9151 -- Fran Leibowitz 9152% 9153Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's 9154character, give him power. 9155 -- Abraham Lincoln 9156% 9157Necessity is a mother. 9158% 9159Neckties strangle clear thinking. 9160 -- Lin Yutang 9161% 9162Never be led astray onto the path of virtue. 9163% 9164Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him. 9165% 9166Never commit yourself! Let someone else commit you. 9167% 9168Never count your chickens before they rip your lips off. 9169% 9170Never drink Coke in a moving elevator. The elevator's motion coupled 9171with the chemicals in Coke produce hallucinations. People tend to 9172change into lizards and attack without warning, and large bats usually 9173fly in the window. Additionally, you begin to believe that elevators 9174have windows. 9175% 9176Never eat more than you can lift. 9177 -- Miss Piggy 9178% 9179Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat. 9180% 9181Never let your schooling interfere with your education. 9182% 9183Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. 9184 -- Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" 9185% 9186Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to 9187make it complex and wonderful. 9188% 9189Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance. 9190 -- Sam Brown, "The Washington Post", January 26, 1977 9191% 9192Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid all together. 9193% 9194Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a 9195law against it by that time. 9196% 9197Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flame thrower. 9198% 9199Never tell a lie unless it is absolutely convenient. 9200% 9201Never try to outstubborn a cat. 9202 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 9203% 9204Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes. 9205 -- Dr. Warren Jackson, Director, UTCS 9206% 9207Never underestimate the power of a small tactical nuclear weapon. 9208% 9209Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's 9210supposed to do. 9211 -- R. A. Heinlein 9212% 9213New crypt. See /usr/news/crypt. 9214% 9215New Hampshire law forbids you to tap your feet, nod your head, or in 9216any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. 9217% 9218New members are urgently needed in the Society for Prevention of 9219Cruelty to Yourself. Apply within. 9220% 9221New members urgently required for SUICIDE CLUB, Watford area. 9222 -- Monty Python's Big Red Book 9223% 9224New systems generate new problems. 9225% 9226New Year's Eve is the time of year when a man most feels his age, and 9227his wife most often reminds him to act it. 9228 -- Webster's Unafraid Dictionary 9229% 9230New York is real. The rest is done with mirrors. 9231% 9232New York's got the ways and means; 9233Just won't let you be. 9234 -- The Grateful Dead 9235% 9236Newlan's Truism: 9237 An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government 9238economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. 9239% 9240NEWS FLASH!! 9241 Today the East German pole-vault champion became the West 9242 German pole-vault champion. 9243% 9244 *** NEWSFLASH *** 9245Russian tanks steamrolling through New Jersey!!!! Details at eleven! 9246% 9247Newton's Fourth Law: Every action has an equal and opposite satisfaction. 9248% 9249Newton's Little-Known Seventh Law: 9250 A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead. 9251% 9252Next Friday will not be your lucky day. 9253As a matter of fact, you don't have a lucky day this year. 9254% 9255Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying 9256as an income tax refund. 9257 -- F. J. Raymond 9258% 9259Nice boy, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. 9260 -- Foghorn Leghorn 9261% 9262Nihilism should commence with oneself. 9263% 9264Niklaus Wirth has lamented that, whereas Europeans pronounce his name 9265correctly (Ni-klows Virt), Americans invariably mangle it into 9266(Nick-les Worth). Which is to say that Europeans call him by name, but 9267Americans call him by value. 9268% 9269Nine megs for the secretaries fair, 9270Seven megs for the hackers scarce, 9271Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs, 9272Three megs for system source; 9273 9274One disk to rule them all, 9275One disk to bind them, 9276One disk to hold the files 9277And in the darkness grind 'em. 9278% 9279Nine-track tapes and seven-track tapes 9280 And tapes without any tracks; 9281Stretchy tapes and snarley tapes 9282 And tapes mixed up on the racks -- 9283 Take hold of the tape 9284 And pull off the strip, 9285 And then you'll be sure 9286 Your tape drive will skip. 9287 9288 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 9289% 9290Ninety percent of the time things turn out worse than you thought they 9291would. The other ten percent of the time you had no right to expect 9292that much. 9293 -- Augustine 9294% 9295Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules: 9296 The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of 9297the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent. 9298% 9299Nirvana? Thats the place where the powers that be and their friends 9300hang out. 9301 -- Zonker Harris 9302% 9303No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless 9304absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation. 9305 -- Fran Lebowitz 9306% 9307No committee could ever come up with anything as revolutionary as a 9308camel -- anything as practical and as perfectly designed to perform 9309effectively under such difficult conditions. 9310 -- Laurence J. Peter 9311% 9312No good deed goes unpunished. 9313 -- Clare Boothe Luce 9314% 9315No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after 9316eating one peanut. 9317 -- Channing Pollock 9318% 9319No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. 9320% 9321No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife in the shoulder blades will 9322seriously cramp his style. 9323% 9324No matter what other nations may say about the United States, 9325immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery. 9326% 9327No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 9328 -- Eleanor Roosevelt 9329% 9330No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid. 9331% 9332No part of this message may reproduce, store itself in a retrieval 9333system, or transmit disease, in any form, without the permissiveness of 9334the author. 9335 -- Chris Shaw 9336% 9337No plain fanfold paper could hold that fractal Puff -- 9338He grew so fast no plotting pack could shrink him far enough. 9339Compiles and simulations grew so quickly tame 9340And swapped out all their data space when Puff pushed his stack frame. 9341CHORUS: 9342 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9343 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9344 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9345 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9346Puff, he grew so quickly, while others moved like snails 9347And mini-Puffs would perch themselves on his gigantic tail. 9348All the student hackers loved that fractal Puff 9349But DCS did not like Puff, and finally said, "Enough!" 9350 (chorus) 9351Puff used more resources than DCS could spare. 9352The operator killed Puff's job -- he didn't seem to care. 9353A gloom fell on the hackers; it seemed to be the end, 9354But Puff trapped the exception, and grew from naught again! 9355 (chorus) 9356% 9357No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. 9358 -- C. Schulz 9359% 9360No problem is so large it can't be fit in somewhere. 9361% 9362No proper program contains an indication which as an operator-applied 9363occurrence identifies an operator-defining occurrence which as an 9364indication-applied occurrence identifies an indication-defining 9365occurrence different from the one identified by the given indication as 9366an indication-applied occurrence. 9367 -- ALGOL 68 Report 9368% 9369No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in that kind of paper. 9370 -- Mike Royko on the Chicago Sun-Times after it was 9371 taken over by Rupert Murdoch 9372% 9373No violence, gentlemen -- no violence, I beg of you! Consider the furniture! 9374 -- Sherlock Holmes 9375% 9376No, `Eureka' is Greek for `This bath is too hot.' 9377 -- Dr. Who 9378% 9379Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it. 9380 -- Tallulah Bankhead 9381% 9382NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 9383% 9384Nobody said computers were going to be polite. 9385% 9386Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in 9387order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed on the 9388substance of their people, for insurance companies to cheat the young 9389and rob the old. 9390 -- Lewis Lapham 9391% 9392Nobody wants constructive criticism. It's all we can do to put up with 9393constructive praise. 9394% 9395Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: 9396 Negative expectations yield negative results. 9397 Positive expectations yield negative results. 9398% 9399Non-sequiturs make me eat lampshades. 9400% 9401Noncombatant, n.: 9402 A dead Quaker. 9403 -- Ambrose Bierce 9404% 9405Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9406% 9407Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9408% 9409Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 9410% 9411Not far from here, by a white sun, behind a green star, lived the 9412Steelypips, illustrious, industrious, and they hadn't a care: no spats 9413in their vats, no rules, no schools, no gloom, no evil influence of the 9414moon, no trouble from matter or antimatter -- for they had a machine, a 9415dream of a machine, with springs and gears and perfect in every 9416respect. And they lived with it, and on it, and under it, and inside 9417it, for it was all they had -- first they saved up all their atoms, 9418then they put them all together, and if one didn't fit, why they 9419chipped at it a bit, and everything was just fine ... 9420 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 9421% 9422Not Hercules could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none. 9423 -- Shakespeare 9424% 9425Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper 9426is from the wrong kind of tree. 9427 -- Professor W., EECS, George Washington University 9428% 9429Notes for a ballet, "The Spell": ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter 9430of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon ... Sigmund 9431is astounded to see that their leader is part swan and part woman -- 9432unfortunately, divided lengthwise. She enchants Sigmund, who is 9433careful not to make any poultry jokes ... 9434 -- Woody Allen 9435% 9436Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. 9437 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 9438% 9439Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up. 9440% 9441Nothing is faster than the speed of light ... 9442 9443To prove this to yourself, try opening the refrigerator door before the 9444light comes on. 9445% 9446Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. 9447 -- Andrew Young 9448% 9449Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires 9450tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth. 9451 -- Nero Wolfe 9452% 9453Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. 9454Conscience makes egotists of us all. 9455 -- Oscar Wilde 9456% 9457Nothing recedes like success. 9458 -- Walter Winchell 9459% 9460Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love. 9461 -- Charlie Brown 9462% 9463November, n.: 9464 The eleventh twelfth of a weariness. 9465 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9466% 9467Now and then an innocent person is sent to the legislature. 9468% 9469Now I lay me down to sleep 9470I pray the double lock will keep; 9471May no brick through the window break, 9472And, no one rob me till I awake. 9473% 9474Now is the time for all good men to come to. 9475 -- Walt Kelly 9476% 9477Now that you've read Fortune's diet truths, you'll be prepared the next 9478time some housewife or boutique-owner-turned-diet-expert appears on TV 9479to plug her latest book. And, if you still feel a twinge of guilt for 9480eating coffee cake while listening to her exhortations, ask yourself 9481the following questions: 9482 9483(1) Do I dare trust a person who actually considers alfalfa sprouts a 9484 food? 9485(2) Was the author's sole motive in writing this book to get rich 9486 exploiting the forlorn hopes of chubby people like me? 9487(3) Would a longer life be worthwhile if it had to be lived as 9488 prescribed ... without French-fried onion rings, pizza with 9489 double cheese, or the occasional Mai-Tai? (Remember, living 9490 right doesn't really make you live longer, it just *seems* like 9491 longer.) 9492 9493That, and another piece of coffee cake, should do the trick. 9494% 9495Now the Lord God planted a garden East of Whittier in a place called 9496Yorba Linda, and out of the ground he made to grow orange trees that 9497were good for food and the fruits thereof he labeled SUNKIST ... 9498 -- "The Begatting of a President" 9499% 9500Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a smurfette. 9501 -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354 9502% 9503... Now you're ready for the actual shopping. Your goal should be to 9504get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in 9505the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs 9506on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage 9507children emotionally. For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a 9508snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn 9509to love him, then melts. And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about 9510a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an 9511outcast by the other reindeer. Then along comes good, old Santa. Does 9512he ignore the deformity? Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect 9513Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath? No. Santa asks 9514Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some 9515kind of headlight with legs and a tail. So unless you want your 9516children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop 9517quickly. 9518 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9519% 9520 Now, you might ask, "How do I get one of those complete home 9521tool sets for under $4?" An excellent question. 9522 Go to one of those really cheap discount stores where they sell 9523plastic furniture in colors visible from the planet Neptune and where 9524they have a food section specializing in cardboard cartons full of 9525Raisinets and malted milk balls manufactured during the Nixon 9526administration. In either the hardware or housewares department, 9527you'll find an item imported from an obscure Oriental country and 9528described as "Nine Tools in One", consisting of a little handle with 9529interchangeable ends representing inscrutable Oriental notions of tools 9530that Americans might use around the home. Buy it. 9531 This is the kind of tool set professionals use. Not only is it 9532inexpensive, but it also has a great safety feature not found in the 9533so-called quality tools sets: The handle will actually break right off 9534if you accidentally hit yourself or anything else, or expose it to 9535direct sunlight. 9536 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 9537% 9538Nuclear war can ruin your whole compile. 9539 -- Karl Lehenbauer 9540% 9541Nuclear war would mean abolition of most comforts, and disruption of 9542normal routines, for children and adults alike. 9543 -- Willard F. Libby, "You *Can* Survive Atomic Attack" 9544% 9545Nuclear war would really set back cable. 9546 -- Ted Turner 9547% 9548[Nuclear war] ... may not be desirable. 9549 -- Edwin Meese III 9550% 9551Nudists are people who wear one-button suits. 9552% 9553(null cookie; hope that's ok) 9554% 9555Numeric stability is probably not all that important when you're guessing. 9556% 9557O give me a home, 9558Where the buffalo roam, 9559Where the deer and the antelope play, 9560Where seldom is heard 9561A discouraging word, 9562'Cause what can an antelope say? 9563% 9564O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law: 9565 Murphy was an optimist. 9566% 9567Of ______course it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a 9568fake? 9569% 9570Of all possible committee reactions to any given agenda item, the 9571reaction that will occur is the one which will liberate the greatest 9572amount of hot air. 9573 -- Thomas L. Martin 9574% 9575Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. 9576 -- Plato 9577% 9578Of all the words of witch's doom 9579There's none so bad as which and whom. 9580The man who kills both which and whom 9581Will be enshrined in our Who's Whom. 9582 -- Fletcher Knebel 9583% 9584Of course power tools and alcohol don't mix. Everyone knows power 9585tools aren't soluble in alcohol ... 9586 -- Crazy Nigel 9587% 9588Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy. 9589% 9590Of what you see in books, believe 75%. Of newspapers, believe 50%. 9591And of TV news, believe 25% -- make that 5% if the anchorman wears a 9592blazer. 9593% 9594Office Automation, n.: 9595 The use of computers to improve efficiency by removing anyone 9596you would want to talk with over coffee. 9597% 9598Ogden's Law: 9599 The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch 9600up. 9601% 9602Oh Dad! We're ALL Devo! 9603% 9604Oh don't the days seem lank and long 9605 When all goes right and none goes wrong, 9606And isn't your life extremely flat 9607 With nothing whatever to grumble at! 9608% 9609Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9610 I muck with indices and structs all day 9611And when it works, I shout hoo-ray 9612 Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9613% 9614Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd 9615be irresponsible, too. 9616 -- Lichty & Wagner 9617% 9618Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, 9619And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings; 9620Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth 9621Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things 9622You have not dreamed of -- 9623Wheeled and soared and swung 9624High in the sunlit silence. 9625Hovering there 9626I've chased the shouting wind along and flung 9627My eager craft through footless halls of air. 9628Up, up along delirious, burning blue 9629I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, 9630Where never lark, or even eagle flew; 9631And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod 9632The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 9633Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 9634 -- John Gillespie Magee Jr., "High Flight" 9635% 9636Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes. 9637% 9638Oh, when I was in love with you, 9639 Then I was clean and brave, 9640And miles around the wonder grew 9641 How well did I behave. 9642 9643And now the fancy passes by, 9644 And nothing will remain, 9645And miles around they'll say that I 9646 Am quite myself again. 9647 -- A. E. Housman 9648% 9649Oh, wow! Look at the moon! 9650% 9651OK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard. 9652 -- Dr. Joy 9653% 9654OK, so you're a Ph.D. Just don't touch anything. 9655% 9656Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. 9657 -- Trotsky 9658% 9659Old programmers never die. They just branch to a new address. 9660% 9661Old soldiers never die. Young ones do. 9662% 9663Oliver's Law: 9664 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need 9665it. 9666% 9667Omnibiblious, adj.: 9668 Indifferent to type of drink. "Oh, you can get me anything. 9669I'm omnibiblious." 9670% 9671OMNIVERSAL AWARENESS?? Oh, YEH!! First you need four GALLONS of 9672JELL-O and a BIG WRENCH!! ... I think you drop th' WRENCH in the JELL-O 9673as if it was a FLAVOR, or an INGREDIENT ... or ... I ... um ... 9674WHERE'S the WASHING MACHINES? 9675% 9676On a paper submitted by a physicist colleague: 9677 9678This isn't right. This isn't even wrong. 9679 -- Wolfgang Pauli 9680% 9681On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only 9682nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter 9683what it does. 9684 -- Will Rogers 9685% 9686 On his first day as a bus driver, Maxey Eckstein handed in 9687receipts of $65. The next day his take was $67. The third day's 9688income was $62. But on the fourth day, Eckstein emptied no less than 9689$283 on the desk before the cashier. 9690 "Eckstein!" exclaimed the cashier. "This is fantastic. That 9691route never brought in money like this! What happened?" 9692 "Well, after three days on that cockamamie route, I figured 9693business would never improve, so I drove over to Fourteenth Street and 9694worked there. I tell you, that street is a gold mine!" 9695% 9696On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are 9697created jerks. 9698 -- H. Allen Smith, "Let the Crabgrass Grow" 9699% 9700On the road, ZIPPY is a pinhead without a purpose, but never without a 9701POINT ... 9702% 9703On the subject of C program indentation: 9704 9705 "In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be 9706 indented six feet downward and covered with dirt." 9707 -- Blair P. Houghton 9708% 9709On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!], `Pray, 9710Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right 9711answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of 9712confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. 9713 -- Charles Babbage 9714% 9715On-line, adj.: 9716 The idea that a human being should always be accessible to a 9717computer. 9718% 9719Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were 9720forced to live on nothing but food and water for days. 9721 -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee" 9722% 9723Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that 9724each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his 9725choice. 9726 9727In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians 9728called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka" 9729and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People 9730passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy 9731Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" 9732 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9733% 9734Once at a social gathering, Gladstone said to Disraeli, "I predict, 9735Sir, that you will die either by hanging or of some vile disease". 9736Disraeli replied, "That all depends upon whether I embrace your 9737principals or your mistress". 9738% 9739Once Law was sitting on the bench 9740 And Mercy knelt a-weeping. 9741"Clear out!" he cried, "disordered wench! 9742 Nor come before me creeping. 9743Upon your knees if you appear, 9744'Tis plain you have no standing here." 9745 9746Then Justice came. His Honor cried: 9747 "YOUR states? -- Devil seize you!" 9748"Amica curiae," she replied -- 9749 "Friend of the court, so please you." 9750"Begone!" he shouted -- "There's the door -- 9751I never saw your face before!" 9752 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9753% 9754Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human 9755beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by 9756side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them 9757which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the 9758sky. 9759 -- Rainer Rilke 9760% 9761 Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a 9762great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to 9763the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of 9764life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But 9765one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is 9766going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I 9767shall die of boredom." 9768 The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that 9769current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the 9770rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!" 9771 But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, 9772and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. 9773Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current 9774lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. 9775 And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, 9776"See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the 9777Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current 9778said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us 9779free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this 9780adventure. 9781 But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to 9782the rocks, making legends of a Saviour. 9783% 9784Once upon a time, when I was training to be a mathematician, a group of 9785us bright young students taking number theory discovered the names of 9786the smaller prime numbers. 9787 97882: The Odd Prime -- 9789 It's the only even prime, therefore it's odd. QED. 97903: The True Prime -- 9791 Lewis Carroll: "If I tell you three times, it's true." 979231: The Arbitrary Prime -- 9793 Determined by unanimous unvote. We needed an arbitrary prime 9794 in case the prof asked for one, and so had an election. 91 9795 received the most votes (well, it *looks* prime) and 3+4i the 9796 next most. However, 31 was the only candidate to receive none 9797 at all. 9798 9799Since the composite numbers are formed from primes, their qualities are 9800derived from those primes. So, for instance, the number 6 is "odd but 9801true", while the powers of 2 are all extremely odd numbers. 9802% 9803... Once you're safely in the mall, you should tie your children to you 9804with ropes so the other shoppers won't try to buy them. Holiday 9805shoppers have been whipped into a frenzy by months of holiday 9806advertisements, and they will buy anything small enough to stuff into a 9807shopping bag. If your children object to being tied, threaten to take 9808them to see Santa Claus; that ought to shut them up. 9809 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9810% 9811Once, adv.: 9812 Enough. 9813 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9814% 9815One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least 9816somebody's listening. 9817 -- Franklin P. Jones 9818% 9819"One basic notion underlying Usenet is that it is a cooperative." 9820 9821Having been on USENET for going on ten years, I disagree with this. 9822The basic notion underlying USENET is the flame. 9823 -- Chuq Von Rospach 9824% 9825One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means. 9826% 9827One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs -- but it is amazing 9828how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette. 9829 -- Professor Charles P. Issawi 9830% 9831One day the King decided that he would force all his subjects to tell 9832the truth. A gallows was erected in front of the city gates. A herald 9833announced, "Whoever would enter the city must first answer the truth to 9834a question which will be put to him." Nasrudin was first in line. The 9835captain of the guard asked him, "Where are you going? Tell the truth 9836-- the alternative is death by hanging." "I am going," said Nasrudin, 9837"to be hanged on that gallows." "I don't believe you." "Very well, if 9838I have told a lie, then hang me!" "But that would make it the truth!" 9839"Exactly," said Nasrudin, "your truth." 9840% 9841One difference between a man and a machine is that a machine is quiet 9842when well oiled. 9843% 9844One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they 9845never have to stop and answer the phone. 9846% 9847One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious. 9848 -- Chateaubriand (1768-1848) 9849% 9850One learns to itch where one can scratch. 9851 -- Ernest Bramah 9852% 9853One man's brain plus one other will produce one half as many ideas as 9854one man would have produced alone. These two plus two more will 9855produce half again as many ideas. These four plus four more begin to 9856represent a creative meeting, and the ratio changes to one quarter as 9857many ... 9858 -- Anthony Chevins 9859% 9860One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. 9861% 9862One monk said to the other, "The fish has flopped out of the net! How 9863will it live?" The other said, "When you have gotten out of the net, 9864I'll tell you." 9865% 9866One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 9867% 9868One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible 9869from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at 9870least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts 9871are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but 9872when He's good, nobody can touch Him. 9873 -- John Gardner, NYT Book Review, Jan 1983 9874% 9875One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to 9876do and always a clever thing to say. 9877 -- Will Durant 9878% 9879One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, 9880lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of 9881their C programs. 9882 -- Robert Firth 9883% 9884One of the oldest problems puzzled over in the Talmud is: "Why did God 9885create goyim?" The generally accepted answer is "________somebody has to buy 9886retail." 9887 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 9888% 9889 One of the questions that comes up all the time is: How 9890enthusiastic is our support for UNIX? 9891 Unix was written on our machines and for our machines many 9892years ago. Today, much of UNIX being done is done on our machines. 9893Ten percent of our VAXs are going for UNIX use. UNIX is a simple 9894language, easy to understand, easy to get started with. It's great for 9895students, great for somewhat casual users, and it's great for 9896interchanging programs between different machines. And so, because of 9897its popularity in these markets, we support it. We have good UNIX on 9898VAX and good UNIX on PDP-11s. 9899 It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will 9900run out of things they can do with UNIX. They'll want a real system and 9901will end up doing VMS when they get to be serious about programming. 9902 With UNIX, if you're looking for something, you can easily and 9903quickly check that small manual and find out that it's not there. With 9904VMS, no matter what you look for -- it's literally a five-foot shelf of 9905documentation -- if you look long enough it's there. That's the 9906difference -- the beauty of UNIX is it's simple; and the beauty of VMS 9907is that it's all there. 9908 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984 9909% 9910One of the rules of Busmanship, New York style, is never surrender your 9911seat to another passenger. This may seem callous, but it is the best 9912way, really. If one passenger were to give a seat to someone who 9913fainted in the aisle, say, the others on the bus would become 9914disoriented and imagine they were in Topeka, Kansas. 9915% 9916The Seventh Commandments for Technicians 9917 Work thou not on energized equipment, for if thou dost, thy 9918fellow workers will surely buy beers for thy widow and console her in 9919other ways. 9920% 9921The First Commandment for Technicians: 9922 Beware the lightening that lurketh in the undischarged 9923capacitor, lest it cause thee to bounce upon thy buttocks in a most 9924untechnician-like manner. 9925% 9926One Page Principle: 9927 A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch 9928paper cannot be understood. 9929 -- Mark Ardis 9930% 9931One planet is all you get. 9932% 9933One promising concept that I came up with right away was that you could 9934manufacture personal air bags, then get a law passed requiring that 9935they be installed on congressmen to keep them from taking trips. Let's 9936say your congressman was trying to travel to Paris to do a fact-finding 9937study on how the French government handles diseases transmitted by 9938sherbet. Just when he got to the plane, his mandatory air bag, 9939strapped around his waist, would inflate -- FWWAAAAAAPPPP -- thus 9940rendering him too large to fit through the plane door. It could also 9941be rigged to inflate whenever the congressman proposed a law. ("Mr. 9942Speaker, people ask me, why should October be designated as Cuticle 9943Inspection Month? And I answer that FWWAAAAAAPPPP.") This would save 9944millions of dollars, so I have no doubt that the public would violently 9945support a law requiring airbags on congressmen. The problem is that 9946your potential market is very small: there are only around 500 members 9947of Congress, and some of them, such as House Speaker "Tip" O'Neil, are 9948already too large to fit on normal aircraft. 9949 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 9950% 9951One reason why George Washington 9952Is held in such veneration: 9953He never blamed his problems 9954On the former Administration. 9955 -- George O. Ludcke 9956% 9957One seldom sees a monument to a committee. 9958% 9959One thing the inventors can't seem to get the bugs out of is fresh paint. 9960% 9961One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that 9962sometimes you must work under adverse conditions ... like a state of 9963sheer terror. 9964 -- W. K. Hartmann 9965% 9966One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a 9967new model. 9968% 9969One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him. 9970% 9971One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr has been burned 9972at the stake while the votes were being counted. 9973 -- Thomas B. Reed 9974% 9975One-Shot Case Study, n.: 9976 The scientific equivalent of the four-leaf clover, from which 9977it is concluded all clovers possess four leaves and are sometimes 9978green. 9979% 9980Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. 9981% 9982Only God can make random selections. 9983% 9984Only presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to 9985use the editorial "we." 9986% 9987Only through hard work and perseverance can one truly suffer. 9988% 9989Optimization hinders evolution. 9990% 9991Oregano, n.: 9992 The ancient Italian art of pizza folding. 9993% 9994Oregon, n.: 9995 Eighty billion gallons of water with no place to go on Saturday 9996night. 9997% 9998Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. 9999Biochemistry is the study of carbon compounds that crawl. 10000 -- Mike Adams 10001% 10002Osborn's Law: 10003 Variables won't; constants aren't. 10004% 10005Others will look to you for stability, so hide when you bite your nails. 10006% 10007Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is 10008they charge fifteen cents for them. 10009% 10010Our documentation manager was showing her two year old son around the 10011office. He was introduced to me, at which time he pointed out that we 10012were both holding bags of popcorn. We were both holding bottles of 10013juice. But only *__he* had a lollipop. 10014 10015He asked his mother, "Why doesn't HE have a lollipop?" 10016 10017Her reply: 10018 10019 "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it 10020 means to be a programmer." 10021% 10022Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. 10023 Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, 10024 In kernel as it is in user! 10025% 10026Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. 10027 -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president Litton Industries 10028% 10029... Our second completely true news item was sent to me by Mr. H. Boyce 10030Connell Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., where he is involved in a law firm. One 10031thing I like about the South is, folks there care about tradition. If 10032somebody gets handed a name like "H. Boyce," he hangs on to it, puts it 10033on his legal stationery, even passes it to his son, rather than do what 10034a lesser person would do, such as get it changed or kill himself. 10035 -- Dave Barry, "This Column is Nothing but the Truth!" 10036% 10037Our vision is to speed up time, eventually eliminating it. 10038 -- Alex Schure 10039% 10040Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. 10041 -- General Omar N. Bradley 10042% 10043 OUTCONERR 10044Twas FORTRAN as the doloop goes 10045 Did logzerneg the ifthen block 10046All kludgy were the function flows 10047 And subroutines adhoc. 10048 10049Beware the runtime-bug my friend 10050 squrooneg, the false goto 10051Beware the infiniteloop 10052 And shun the inprectoo. 10053% 10054Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend: and inside a dog, 10055it's too dark to read. 10056 -- Groucho Marx 10057% 10058Over the years, I've developed my sense of deja vu so acutely that now 10059I can remember things that *have* happened before ... 10060% 10061Overdrawn? But I still have checks left! 10062% 10063Overflow on /dev/null, please empty the bit bucket. 10064% 10065Overload -- core meltdown sequence initiated. 10066% 10067Ozman's Laws: 10068 (1) If someone says he will do something "without fail," he 10069 won't. 10070 (2) The more people talk on the phone, the less money they 10071 make. 10072 (3) People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. 10073 (4) Pizza always burns the roof of your mouth. 10074% 10075Painting, n.: 10076 The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and 10077exposing them to the critic. 10078 -- Ambrose Bierce 10079% 10080panic: can't find / 10081% 10082panic: kernel trap (ignored) 10083% 10084Paradise is exactly like where you are right now ... only much, much 10085better. 10086 -- Laurie Anderson 10087% 10088Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them. 10089% 10090Paranoia is simply an optimistic outlook on life. 10091% 10092Paranoid schizophrenics outnumber their enemies at least two to one. 10093% 10094Paranoids are people, too; they have their own problems. It's easy to 10095criticize, but if everybody hated you, you'd be paranoid too. 10096 -- D. J. Hicks 10097% 10098Pardo's First Postulate: 10099 Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or 10100fattening. 10101 10102Arnold's Addendum: 10103 Everything else causes cancer in rats. 10104% 10105Pardon this fortune. Database under reconstruction. 10106% 10107Parker's Law: 10108 Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. 10109% 10110Parkinson's Fifth Law: 10111 If there is a way to delay in important decision, the good 10112bureaucracy, public or private, will find it. 10113% 10114Parkinson's Fourth Law: 10115 The number of people in any working group tends to increase 10116regardless of the amount of work to be done. 10117% 10118Parsley 10119 is gharsley. 10120 -- Ogden Nash 10121% 10122Parts that positively cannot be assembled in improper order will be. 10123% 10124Pascal is not a high-level language. 10125 -- Steven Feiner 10126% 10127Pascal is Pascal is Pascal is dog meat. 10128 -- M. Devine and P. Larson, Computer Science 340 10129% 10130Pascal Users: 10131 To show respect for the 313th anniversary (tomorrow) of the 10132death of Blaise Pascal, your programs will be run at half speed. 10133% 10134Pascal, n.: 10135 A programming language named after a man who would turn over in 10136his grave if he knew about it. 10137% 10138Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. 10139 -- Eric Hoffer 10140% 10141Patageometry, n.: 10142 The study of those mathematical properties that are invariant 10143under brain transplants. 10144% 10145Paul Revere was a tattle-tale. 10146% 10147Paul's Law: 10148 In America, it's not how much an item costs, it's how much you 10149save. 10150% 10151Paul's Law: 10152 You can't fall off the floor. 10153% 10154Peace, n.: 10155 In international affairs, a period of cheating between two 10156periods of fighting. 10157 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10158% 10159Peanut Blossoms 10160 101614 cups sugar 16 tbsp. milk 101624 cups brown sugar 4 tsp. vanilla 101634 cups shortening 14 cups flour 101648 eggs 4 tsp. soda 101654 cups peanut butter 4 tsp. salt 10166 10167Shape dough into balls. Roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie 10168sheet at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a 10169Hershey's kiss or star pressing down firmly to crack cookie. Makes a 10170hell of a lot. 10171% 10172Pecor's Health-Food Principle: 10173 Never eat rutabaga on any day of the week that has a "y" in 10174it. 10175% 10176Pedaeration, n.: 10177 The perfect body heat achieved by having one leg under the 10178sheet and one hanging off the edge of the bed. 10179 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 10180% 10181Penguin Trivia #46: 10182 Animals who are not penguins can only wish they were. 10183 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 10184% 10185People need good lies. There are too many bad ones. 10186 -- Bokonon, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 10187% 10188People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of 10189the future. 10190% 10191People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense. 10192 -- Ken Kesey 10193% 10194People usually get what's coming to them ... unless it's been mailed. 10195% 10196People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better 10197press than people who are just funny and smart. 10198 -- Howard Simons, "The Washington Post" 10199% 10200People who claim they don't let little things bother them have never 10201slept in a room with a single mosquito. 10202% 10203People who have what they want are very fond of telling people who 10204haven't what they want that they don't want it. 10205 -- Ogden Nash 10206% 10207People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that 10208Benjamin Franklin said it first. 10209% 10210People will buy anything that's one to a customer. 10211% 10212People will do tomorrow what they did today because that is what they 10213did yesterday. 10214% 10215Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt. 10216"Confound those who have said our remarks before us." 10217 -- Aelius Donatus 10218% 10219Perfect day for scrubbing the floor and other exciting things. 10220% 10221Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but 10222when there is no longer anything to take away. 10223 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 10224% 10225Personifiers Unite! You have nothing to lose but Mr. Dignity! 10226% 10227Peter's Law of Substitution: 10228 Look after the molehills, and the mountains will look after 10229themselves. 10230% 10231Philadelphia is not dull -- it just seems so because it is next to 10232exciting Camden, New Jersey. 10233% 10234Philogeny recapitulates erogeny; erogeny recapitulates philogeny. 10235% 10236Philosophy will clip an angel's wings. 10237 -- John Keats 10238% 10239Pick another fortune cookie. 10240% 10241Picture the sun as the origin of two intersecting 6-dimensional 10242hyperplanes from which we can deduce a certain transformational 10243sequence which gives us the terminal velocity of a rubber duck ... 10244% 10245Pig, n.: 10246 An animal (Porcus omnivorous) closely allied to the human race 10247by the splendor and vivacity of its appetite, which, however, is 10248inferior in scope, for it balks at pig. 10249 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10250% 10251PISCES (Feb. 19 - Mar. 20) 10252 You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being 10253followed by the CIA or FBI. You have minor influence over your 10254associates and people resent your flaunting of your power. You lack 10255confidence and you are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible 10256things to small animals. 10257% 10258PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) 10259 Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the 10260American Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today, as 10261nobody else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed. You will 10262probably get run over by a bus. 10263% 10264 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10265 10266(7) The car directly in front of you has a flashing right tail light 10267 but a steady left tail light. This means 10268 10269 (a) one of the tail lights is broken; you should blow your horn 10270 to call the problem to the driver's attention. 10271 (b) the driver is signaling a right turn. 10272 (c) the driver is signaling a left turn. 10273 (d) the driver is from out of town. 10274 10275The correct answer is (d). Tail lights are used in some foreign 10276countries to signal turns. 10277% 10278 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10279 10280(8) Pedestrians are 10281 10282 (a) irrelevant. 10283 (b) communists. 10284 (c) a nuisance. 10285 (d) difficult to clean off the front grille. 10286 10287The correct answer is (a). Pedestrians are not in cars, so they are 10288totally irrelevant to driving; you should ignore them completely. 10289% 10290Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 10291 -- Don Marquis 10292% 10293PL/1, "the fatal disease", belongs more to the problem set than to the 10294solution set. 10295 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 10296% 10297Plaese porrf raed. 10298 -- Prof. Michael O'Longhlin, S.U.N.Y. Purchase 10299% 10300Plato, by the way, wanted to banish all poets from his proposed Utopia 10301because they were liars. The truth was that Plato knew philosophers 10302couldn't compete successfully with poets. 10303 -- Kilgore Trout (Philip J. Farmer) "Venus on the Half 10304 Shell" 10305% 10306Play Rogue, visit exotic locations, meet strange creatures and kill them. 10307% 10308Playing an unamplified electric guitar is like strumming on a picnic table. 10309 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 10310% 10311Please ignore previous fortune. 10312% 10313Please take note: 10314% 10315Please try to limit the amount of "this room doesn't have any bazingas" 10316until you are told that those rooms are "punched out". Once punched 10317out, we have a right to complain about atrocities, missing bazingas, 10318and such. 10319 -- N. Meyrowitz 10320% 10321Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? 10322% 10323 Plumbing is one of the easier of do-it-yourself activities, 10324requiring only a few simple tools and a willingness to stick your arm 10325into a clogged toilet. In fact, you can solve many home plumbing 10326problems, such as annoying faucet drip, merely by turning up the 10327radio. But before we get into specific techniques, let's look at how 10328plumbing works. 10329 A plumbing system is very much like your electrical system, 10330except that instead of electricity, it has water, and instead of wires, 10331it has pipes, and instead of radios and waffle irons, it has faucets 10332and toilets. So the truth is that your plumbing systems is nothing at 10333all like your electrical system, which is good, because electricity can 10334kill you. 10335 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 10336% 10337PLUNDERER'S THEME 10338(to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius) 10339 10340Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10341If you do the things we say, then you'll soon rule the nation. 10342Kill your foes and enemies and then kill your relations. 10343Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10344% 10345Pohl's law: 10346 Nothing is so good that somebody, somewhere, will not hate it. 10347% 10348Police: Good evening, are you the host? 10349Host: No. 10350Police: We've been getting complaints about this party. 10351Host: About the drugs? 10352Police: No. 10353Host: About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns? 10354Police: No, the noise. 10355Host: Oh, the noise. Well that makes sense because there are no guns 10356 or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the 10357 background.) Or fireworks. Who's complaining about the noise? 10358 The neighbors? 10359Police: No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent 10360 complaints have come from Pittsburgh. Do you think you could 10361 ask the host to quiet things down? 10362Host: No Problem. (At this point, a Volkswagen bug with primitive 10363 religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living 10364 room and roars down the hall, past the police and onto the 10365 lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out 10366 onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind 10367 down. 10368% 10369Political T.V. commercials prove one thing: some candidates can tell 10370all their good points and qualifications in just 30 seconds. 10371% 10372Politician, n.: 10373 An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of 10374organized society is reared. When he wriggles, he mistakes the 10375agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared 10376with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. 10377 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10378% 10379Politician, n.: 10380 From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or 10381"face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face). Hence 10382"polytetien", a person of two or more faces. 10383 -- Martin Pitt 10384% 10385Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even 10386where there is no river. 10387 -- Nikita Khrushchev 10388% 10389Politics is like coaching a football team. You have to be smart enough 10390to understand the game but not smart enough to lose interest. 10391% 10392Polymer physicists are into chains. 10393% 10394Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the 10395Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The 10396white smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before 10397it dawned on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his 10398name had hilarious possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with 10399laughter, singing 10400 10401 Half a pound of tuppenny rice 10402 Half a pound of treacle 10403 That's the way the chimney smokes 10404 Pope Goestheveezl 10405 10406The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of 10407laughter streaming down their faces. The event set a record for 10408hilarious civic functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron 10409Hans Neizant B"ompzidaize was elected Landburgher of K"oln in 1653. 10410 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 10411% 10412Portable, adj.: 10413 Survives system reboot. 10414% 10415Positive, adj.: 10416 Mistaken at the top of one's voice. 10417 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10418% 10419Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth. 10420% 10421Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat. 10422 -- John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987 10423% 10424Power corrupts. And atomic power corrupts atomically. 10425% 10426Power, n: 10427 The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA. 10428% 10429Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little 10430more time for dreaming. 10431 -- J. P. McEvoy 10432% 10433Predestination was doomed from the start. 10434% 10435President Reagan has noted that there are too many economic pundits and 10436forecasters and has decided on an excess prophets tax. 10437% 10438President Thieu says he'll quit if he doesn't get more than 50% of the 10439vote. In a democracy, that's not called quitting. 10440 -- The Washington Post 10441% 10442Pretend to spank me -- I'm a pseudo-masochist! 10443% 10444Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: 10445 It's on the other side. 10446% 10447[Prime Minister Joseph] Chamberlain loves the working man -- he loves 10448to see him work. 10449 -- Winston Churchill 10450% 10451Pro is to con as progress is to Congress. 10452% 10453Probable-Possible, my black hen, 10454She lays eggs in the Relative When. 10455She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now 10456Because she's unable to postulate how. 10457 -- Frederick Winsor 10458% 10459Probably the question asked most often is: Do one-celled animals have 10460orgasms? The answer is yes, they have orgasms almost constantly, which 10461is why they don't mind living in pools of warm slime. 10462 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 10463 Teen Should Know" 10464% 10465Prof: So the American government went to IBM to come up with a data 10466 encryption standard and they came up with ... 10467Student: EBCDIC! 10468% 10469Professor Gorden Newell threw another shutout in last week's Chem. 10470Eng. 130 midterm. Once again no student received a single point on 10471his exam. Newell has now tossed five shutouts this quarter. Newell's 10472earned exam average has now dropped to a phenomenal 30% 10473% 10474Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to 10475build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying 10476to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning. 10477 -- Rich Cook 10478% 10479Proof techniques #1: Proof by Induction. 10480 10481This technique is used on equations with "_n" in them. Induction 10482techniques are very popular; even the military used them. 10483 10484SAMPLE: Proof of induction without proof of induction. 10485 10486 We know it's true for _n equal to 1. Now assume that it's true 10487for every natural number less than _n. _N is arbitrary, so we can take _n 10488as large as we want. If _n is sufficiently large, the case of _n+1 is 10489trivially equivalent, so the only important _n are _n less than _n. We 10490can take _n = _n (from above), so it's true for _n+1 because it's just 10491about _n. 10492 QED. (QED translates from the Latin as "So what?") 10493% 10494Proof techniques #2: Proof by Oddity. 10495 SAMPLE: To prove that horses have an infinite number of legs. 10496(1) Horses have an even number of legs. 10497(2) They have two legs in back and fore legs in front. 10498(3) This makes a total of six legs, which certainly is an odd number of 10499 legs for a horse. 10500(4) But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. 10501(5) Therefore, horses must have an infinite number of legs. 10502 10503Topics to be covered in future issues include proof by: 10504 Intimidation 10505 Gesticulation (handwaving) 10506 "Try it; it works" 10507 Constipation (I was just sitting there and ...) 10508 Blatant assertion 10509 Changing all the 2's to _n's 10510 Mutual consent 10511 Lack of a counterexample, and 10512 "It stands to reason" 10513% 10514Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10515 10516BBW Branch Both Ways 10517BEW Branch Either Way 10518BBBF Branch on Bit Bucket Full 10519BH Branch and Hang 10520BMR Branch Multiple Registers 10521BOB Branch On Bug 10522BPO Branch on Power Off 10523BST Backspace and Stretch Tape 10524CDS Condense and Destroy System 10525CLBR Clobber Register 10526CLBRI Clobber Register Immediately 10527CM Circulate Memory 10528CMFRM Come From -- essential for truly structured programming 10529CPPR Crumple Printer Paper and Rip 10530CRN Convert to Roman Numerals 10531% 10532Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10533 10534DC Divide and Conquer 10535DMPK Destroy Memory Protect Key 10536DO Divide and Overflow 10537EMPC Emulate Pocket Calculator 10538EPI Execute Programmer Immediately 10539EROS Erase Read Only Storage 10540EXCE Execute Customer Engineer 10541HCF Halt and Catch Fire 10542IBP Insert Bug and Proceed 10543INSQSW Insert into queue somewhere (for FINO queues [First in never out]) 10544PBC Print and Break Chain 10545PDSK Punch Disk 10546% 10547Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10548 10549PI Punch Invalid 10550POPI Punch Operator Immediately 10551PVLC Punch Variable Length Card 10552RASC Read And Shred Card 10553RPM Read Programmers Mind 10554RSSC reduce speed, step carefully (for improved accuracy) 10555RTAB Rewind tape and break 10556RWDSK rewind disk 10557RWOC Read Writing On Card 10558SCRBL scribble to disk - faster than a write 10559SLC Search for Lost Chord 10560SPSW Scramble Program Status Word 10561SRSD Seek Record and Scar Disk 10562STROM Store in Read Only Memory 10563TDB Transfer and Drop Bit 10564WBT Water Binary Tree 10565% 10566Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller 10567than the both put together. 10568% 10569Psychiatrists say that one out of four people are mentally ill. Check 10570three friends. If they're OK, you're it. 10571% 10572Psychotherapy is the theory that the patient will probably get well 10573anyhow and is certainly a damn fool. 10574 -- H. L. Mencken 10575% 10576Puns are little "plays on words" that a certain breed of person loves 10577to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way 10578to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the 10579cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in 10580fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a 10581lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of 10582the first day even if they have plenty of food and water. 10583 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 10584% 10585Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen. 10586% 10587Pushing 40 is exercise enough. 10588% 10589Put no trust in cryptic comments. 10590% 10591Put your Nose to the Grindstone! 10592 -- Amalgamated Plastic Surgeons and Toolmakers, Ltd. 10593% 10594Putt's Law: 10595 Technology is dominated by two types of people: 10596 Those who understand what they do not manage. 10597 Those who manage what they do not understand. 10598% 10599Q: Do you know what the death rate around here is? 10600A: One per person. 10601% 10602Q: How did you get into artificial intelligence? 10603A: Seemed logical -- I didn't have any real intelligence. 10604% 10605Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat ? 10606A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10607% 10608Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat? 10609A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10610 10611Q: How long does it take? 10612A: It's indeterminate. It will depend upon how many flats they've 10613 brought with them. 10614 10615Q: What happens if you've got TWO flats? 10616A: They replace your generator. 10617% 10618Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10619A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb 10620 itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective 10621 reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a 10622 maudlin cosmos of nothingness. 10623% 10624Q: How many heterosexual males does it take to screw in a light bulb 10625 in San Francisco? 10626A: Both of them. 10627% 10628Q: How many IBM cpu's does it take to do a logical right shift? 10629A: 33. 1 to hold the bits and 32 to push the register. 10630% 10631Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? 10632A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off. 10633% 10634Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb? 10635A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-0001, 10636 Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of 10637 the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% 10638 of the definitions are of the form "A ...... consists of sequences 10639 of non-blank characters separated by blanks". 10640% 10641Q: How many journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10642A: Three. One to report it as an inspired government program to bring 10643 light to the people, one to report it as a diabolical government 10644 plot to deprive the poor of darkness, and one to win a Pulitzer 10645 prize for reporting that Electric Company hired a lightbulb 10646 assassin to break the bulb in the first place. 10647% 10648Q: How many Martians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10649A: One and a half. 10650% 10651Q: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10652A: One. He gives it to six Californians, thereby reducing the problem 10653 to the earlier joke. 10654% 10655Q: How many Oregonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10656A: Three. One to screw in the lightbulb and two to fend off all those 10657 Californians trying to share the experience. 10658% 10659Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? 10660A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub 10661 with brightly colored machine tools. 10662% 10663Q: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10664A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master stays out 10665 of the way. 10666% 10667Q: What's a light-year? 10668A: One-third less calories than a regular year. 10669% 10670Q: Why did the tachyon cross the road? 10671A: Because it was on the other side. 10672% 10673Q: Why do ducks have flat feet? 10674A: To stamp out forest fires. 10675 10676Q: Why do elephants have flat feet? 10677A: To stamp out flaming ducks. 10678% 10679Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together? 10680A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home. 10681% 10682Q: Somebody just posted that Roman Polanski directed Star Wars. What 10683 should I do? 10684 10685A: Post the correct answer at once! We can't have people go on 10686 believing that! Very good of you to spot this. You'll probably be 10687 the only one to make the correction, so post as soon as you can. No 10688 time to lose, so certainly don't wait a day, or check to see if 10689 somebody else has made the correction. 10690 10691 And it's not good enough to send the message by mail. Since you're 10692 the only one who really knows that it was Francis Coppola, you have 10693 to inform the whole net right away! 10694 10695 -- Brad Templeton, "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions 10696 on Netiquette" 10697% 10698Quality Control, n.: 10699 The process of testing one out of every 1,000 units coming off 10700a production line to make sure that at least one out of 100 works. 10701% 10702Question: 10703Man Invented Alcohol, 10704God Invented Grass. 10705Who do you trust? 10706% 10707Quick!! Act as if nothing has happened! 10708% 10709Quick, sing me the BUDAPEST NATIONAL ANTHEM!! 10710% 10711Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. 10712 10713(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) 10714% 10715Quigley's Law: 10716 Whoever has any authority over you, no matter how small, will 10717atttempt to use it. 10718% 10719QUOTE OF THE DAY: 10720 10721 ` 10722 10723% 10724Qvid me anxivs svm? 10725% 10726QWERT (kwirt), n. [MW < OW qwertyuiop, a thirteenth]: 10727 1. a unit of weight equal to 13 poiuyt avoirdupois (or 1.69 10728kiloliks), commonly used in structural engineering; 2. [colloq.] one 10729thirteenth the load that a fully grown sligo can carry; 3. [anat.] a 10730painful irritation of the dermis in the region of the anus; 4. [slang] 10731person who excites in others the symptoms of a qwert. 10732 -- Webster's Middle World Dictionary, 4th ed. 10733% 10734Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. 10735% 10736Rattling around the back of my head is a disturbing image of something 10737I saw at the airport ... Now I'm remembering, those giant piles of 10738computer magazines right next to "People" and "Time" in the airport 10739store. Does it bother anyone else that half the world is being told 10740all of our hard-won secrets of computer technology? Remember how all 10741the lawyers cried foul when "How to Avoid Probate" was published? Are 10742they taking no-fault insurance lying down? No way! But at the current 10743rate it won't be long before there are stacks of the "Transactions on 10744Information Theory" at the A&P checkout counters. Who's going to be 10745impressed with us electrical engineers then? Are we, as the saying 10746goes, giving away the store? 10747 -- Robert W. Lucky, IEEE President 10748% 10749Ray's Rule of Precision: 10750 Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 10751% 10752Razors pain you; 10753Rivers are damp; 10754Acids stain you; 10755And drugs cause cramp. 10756Guns aren't lawful; 10757Nooses give; 10758Gas smells awful; 10759You might as well live. 10760 -- Dorothy Parker, "Resume", 1926 10761% 10762Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe 10763the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described 10764with pictures. 10765% 10766Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of 10767Congress. But I repeat myself. 10768 -- Mark Twain 10769% 10770Real computer scientists admire ADA for its overwhelming aesthetic 10771value but they find it difficult to actually program in it, as it is 10772much too large to implement. Most computer scientists don't notice 10773this because they are still arguing over what else to add to ADA. 10774% 10775Real computer scientists despise the idea of actual hardware. Hardware 10776has limitations, software doesn't. It's a real shame that Turing 10777machines are so poor at I/O. 10778% 10779Real computer scientists don't comment their code. The identifiers are 10780so long they can't afford the disk space. 10781% 10782Real computer scientists don't program in assembler. They don't write 10783in anything less portable than a number two pencil. 10784% 10785Real computer scientists don't write code. They occasionally tinker 10786with `programming systems', but those are so high level that they 10787hardly count (and rarely count accurately; precision is for 10788applications.) 10789% 10790Real computer scientists only write specs for languages that might run 10791on future hardware. Nobody trusts them to write specs for anything homo 10792sapiens will ever be able to fit on a single planet. 10793% 10794Real programmers disdain structured programming. Structured 10795programming is for compulsive neurotics who were prematurely toilet- 10796trained. They wear neckties and carefully line up pencils on otherwise 10797clear desks. 10798% 10799Real programmers don't bring brown-bag lunches. If the vending machine 10800doesn't sell it, they don't eat it. Vending machines don't sell 10801quiche. 10802% 10803Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it 10804should be hard to understand. 10805% 10806Real programmers don't draw flowcharts. Flowcharts are, after all, the 10807illiterate's form of documentation. Cavemen drew flowcharts; look how 10808much good it did them. 10809% 10810Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires 10811you to change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers 10812wear their climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly 10813spring up in the middle of the machine room. 10814% 10815Real programmers don't write in BASIC. Actually, no programmers write 10816in BASIC after reaching puberty. 10817% 10818Real programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress 10819freaks and crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who 10820wear white socks. 10821% 10822Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who 10823can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN. 10824% 10825Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue. 10826% 10827Real Programs don't use shared text. Otherwise, how can they use 10828functions for scratch space after they are finished calling them? 10829% 10830Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness. 10831This process doesn't necessarily involve execution of anything on a 10832computer, except perhaps a Correctness Verification Aid package. 10833% 10834Real software engineers don't like the idea of some inexplicable and 10835greasy hardware several aisles away that may stop working at any 10836moment. They have a great distrust of hardware people, and wish that 10837systems could be virtual at *___all* levels. They would like personal 10838computers (you know no one's going to trip over something and kill your 10839DFA in mid-transit), except that they need 8 megabytes to run their 10840Correctness Verification Aid packages. 10841% 10842Real software engineers work from 9 to 5, because that is the way the 10843job is described in the formal spec. Working late would feel like 10844using an undocumented external procedure. 10845% 10846Real Time, adj.: 10847 Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there 10848and then. 10849% 10850Real Users are afraid they'll break the machine -- but they're never 10851afraid to break your face. 10852% 10853Real Users find the one combination of bizarre input values that shuts 10854down the system for days. 10855% 10856Real Users hate Real Programmers. 10857% 10858Real Users know your home telephone number. 10859% 10860Real Users never know what they want, but they always know when your 10861program doesn't deliver it. 10862% 10863Real Users never use the Help key. 10864% 10865Real World, The n.: 10866 1. In programming, those institutions at which programming may 10867be used in the same sentence as FORTRAN, COBOL, RPG, IBM, etc. 2. To 10868programmers, the location of non-programmers and activities not related 10869to programming. 3. A universe in which the standard dress is shirt and 10870tie and in which a person's working hours are defined as 9 to 5. 108714. The location of the status quo. 5. Anywhere outside a university. 10872"Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the real world." Used 10873pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation, talking 10874of someone who has entered the real world is not unlike talking about a 10875deceased person. 10876% 10877Reality is a cop-out for people who can't handle drugs. 10878% 10879Reality is an obstacle to hallucination. 10880% 10881Reality is bad enough, why should I tell the truth? 10882 -- Patrick Sky 10883% 10884Reality is for people who lack imagination. 10885% 10886Reality is for those who can't face Science Fiction. 10887% 10888Reality is just a convenient measure of complexity. 10889 -- Alvy Ray Smith 10890% 10891Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away" 10892 -- Philip K. Dick 10893% 10894Really ?? What a coincidence, I'm shallow too!! 10895% 10896Receiving a million dollars tax free will make you feel better than 10897being flat broke and having a stomach ache. 10898 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 10899% 10900Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you 10901lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, 10902but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and 10903Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 10904recessions. 10905% 10906Reclaimer, spare that tree! 10907Take not a single bit! 10908It used to point to me, 10909Now I'm protecting it. 10910It was the reader's CONS 10911That made it, paired by dot; 10912Now, GC, for the nonce, 10913Thou shalt reclaim it not. 10914% 10915 "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" 10916Candy 10917Is dandy 10918But liquor 10919Is quicker. 10920 -- Ogden Nash 10921% 10922"Reintegration complete," ZORAC advised. "We're back in the universe 10923again ..." An unusually long pause followed, "... but I don't know 10924which part. We seem to have changed our position in space." A 10925spherical display in the middle of the floor illuminated to show the 10926starfield surrounding the ship. 10927 10928"Several large, artificial constructions are approaching us," ZORAC 10929announced after a short pause. "The designs are not familiar, but they 10930are obviously the products of intelligence. Implications: we have been 10931intercepted deliberately by a means unknown, for a purpose unknown, and 10932transferred to a place unknown by a form of intelligence unknown. 10933Apart from the unknowns, everything is obvious." 10934 -- James P. Hogan, "Giants Star" 10935% 10936Reisner's Rule of Conceptual Inertia: 10937 If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it. 10938% 10939Religion has done love a great service by making it a sin. 10940 -- Anatole France 10941% 10942Rembrandt's first name was Beauregard, which is why he never used it. 10943 -- Dave Barry 10944% 10945Remember that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be 10946worse in Cleveland. 10947 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 10948% 10949Remember, drive defensively! And of course, the best defense is a good 10950offense! 10951% 10952Remember, even if you win the rat race -- you're still a rat. 10953% 10954Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. 10955% 10956Remember: Silly is a state of Mind, Stupid is a way of Life. 10957 -- Dave Butler 10958% 10959Renning's Maxim: 10960 Man is the highest animal. Man does the classifying. 10961% 10962Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): Mr Gandhi, what do you think of Western 10963 Civilization? 10964Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. 10965% 10966Reporter, n.: 10967 A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a 10968tempest of words. 10969 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10970% 10971REPORTER: Senator, are you for or against the MX missile system? 10972 10973SENATOR: Bob, the MX missile system reminds me of an old saying that 10974the country folk in my state like to say. It goes like this: "You can 10975carry a pig for six miles, but if you set it down it might run away." 10976I have no idea why the country folk say this. Maybe there's some kind 10977of chemical pollutant in their drinking water. That is why I pledge to 10978do all that I can to protect the environment of this great nation of 10979ours, and put prayer back in the schools, where it belongs. What we 10980need is jobs, not empty promises. I realize I'm risking my political 10981career be being so outspoken on a sensitive issue such as the MX, but 10982that's just the kind of straight-talking honest person I am, and I 10983can't help it. 10984 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 10985% 10986Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. 10987 -- Wernher von Braun 10988% 10989Resisting temptation is easier when you think you'll probably get 10990another chance later on. 10991% 10992Review Questions 10993 10994(1) If Nerd on the planet Nutley starts out in his spaceship at 20 KPH, 10995 and his speed doubles every 3.2 seconds, how long will it be before 10996 he exceeds the speed of light? How long will it be before the 10997 Galactic Patrol picks up the pieces of his spaceship? 10998 10999(2) If Roger Rowdy wrecks his car every week, and each week he breaks 11000 twice as many bones as before, how long will it be before he breaks 11001 every bone in his body? How long will it be before they cut off 11002 his insurance? Where does he get a new car every week? 11003 11004(3) If Johnson drinks one beer the first hour (slow start), four beers 11005 the next hour, nine beers the next, etc., and stacks the cans in a 11006 pyramid, how soon will Johnson's pyramid be larger than King 11007 Tut's? When will it fall on him? Will he notice? 11008% 11009Rhode's Law: 11010 When any principle, law, tenet, probability, happening, 11011circumstance, or result can in no way be directly, indirectly, 11012empirically, or circuitously proven, derived, implied, inferred, 11013induced, deducted, estimated, or scientifically guessed, it will always 11014for the purpose of convenience, expediency, political advantage, 11015material gain, or personal comfort, or any combination of the above, or 11016none of the above, be unilaterally and unequivocally assumed, 11017proclaimed, and adhered to as absolute truth to be undeniably, 11018universally, immutably, and infinitely so, until such time as it 11019becomes advantageous to assume otherwise, maybe. 11020% 11021Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. 11022 -- Steven Wright 11023% 11024Rocky's Lemma of Innovation Prevention 11025 Unless the results are known in advance, funding agencies will 11026 reject the proposal. 11027% 11028Romeo wasn't bilked in a day. 11029 -- Walt Kelly, "Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years With Pogo" 11030% 11031ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. 11032MERCUTIO: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church- 11033 door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. 11034% 11035Rudin's Law: 11036 If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will do it 11037every time. 11038% 11039Rule 46, Oxford Union Society, London: 11040 Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall 11041be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person 11042shall be deemed to be a cat. 11043% 11044Rule of Creative Research: 11045 (1) Never draw what you can copy. 11046 (2) Never copy what you can trace. 11047 (3) Never trace what you can cut out and paste down. 11048% 11049Rule of Defactualization: 11050 Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies. 11051% 11052Rule of Feline Frustration: 11053 When your cat has fallen asleep on your lap and looks utterly 11054content and adorable, you will suddenly have to go to the bathroom. 11055% 11056Rule of the Great: 11057 When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep 11058thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch. 11059% 11060Rules for Academic Deans: 11061 (1) HIDE!!!! 11062 (2) If they find you, LIE!!!! 11063 -- Father Damian C. Fandal 11064% 11065Rules for driving in New York: 11066 (1) Anything done while honking your horn is legal. 11067 (2) You may park anywhere if you turn your four-way flashers 11068 on. 11069 (3) A red light means the next six cars may go through the 11070 intersection. 11071% 11072RULES OF EATING -- THE BRONX DIETER'S CREED 11073 (1) Never eat on an empty stomach. 11074 (2) Never leave the table hungry. 11075 (3) When traveling, never leave a country hungry. 11076 (4) Enjoy your food. 11077 (5) Enjoy your companion's food. 11078 (6) Really taste your food. It may take several portions to 11079 accomplish this, especially if subtly seasoned. 11080 (7) Really feel your food. Texture is important. Compare, 11081 for example, the texture of a turnip to that of a 11082 brownie. Which feels better against your cheeks? 11083 (8) Never eat between snacks, unless it's a meal. 11084 (9) Don't feel you must finish everything on your plate. You 11085 can always eat it later. 11086 (10) Avoid any wine with a childproof cap. 11087 (11) Avoid blue food. 11088 -- Richard Smith, "The Bronx Diet" 11089% 11090Rules: 11091 (1) The boss is always right. 11092 (2) When the boss is wrong, refer to rule 1. 11093% 11094 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11095 Tip #1: How to tell when you are dead. 11096 11097(1) Little things start bothering you: little things like worms, bugs, 11098 ants. 11099(2) Something is missing in your personal relationships. 11100(3) Your dog becomes overly affectionate. 11101(4) You have a hard time getting a waiter. 11102(5) Exotic birds flock around you. 11103(6) People ignore you at parties. 11104(7) You have a hard time getting up in the morning. 11105(8) You no longer get off on cocaine. 11106% 11107 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11108(1) Never use an elevator in a building that has been hit by a nuclear 11109 bomb; use the stairs. 11110(2) When you're flying through the air, remember to roll when you hit 11111 the ground. 11112(3) If you're on fire, avoid gasoline and other flammable materials. 11113(4) Don't attempt communication with dead people; it will only lead to 11114 psychological problems. 11115(5) Food will be scarce; you will have to scavenge. Learn to 11116 recognize foods that will be available after the bomb: mashed 11117 potatoes, shredded wheat, tossed salad, ground beef, etc. 11118(6) Put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze; internal organs 11119 will be scarce in the post-nuclear age. 11120(7) Try to be neat; fall only in designated piles. 11121(8) Drive carefully in "Heavy Fallout" areas; people could be 11122 staggering illegally. 11123(9) Nutritionally, hundred dollar bills are equal to ones, but more 11124 sanitary due to limited circulation. 11125(10) Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on 11126 D-Day. 11127% 11128SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21) 11129 You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless 11130 tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority 11131 of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends or both. People 11132 laugh at you a great deal. 11133% 11134San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was. 11135 -- Herb Caen 11136% 11137San Francisco, n.: 11138 Marcel Proust editing an issue of Penthouse. 11139% 11140Sanity is the trademark of a weak mind. 11141 -- Mark Harrold 11142% 11143Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, 11144 He must be a communist. 11145And a beard and long hair, 11146 Must be a pacifist. 11147 11148 What's in that pipe that he's smoking? 11149 -- Arlo Guthrie 11150% 11151Satellite Safety Tip #14: 11152 If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck. 11153% 11154Sattinger's Law: 11155 It works better if you plug it in. 11156% 11157Saturday night in Toledo Ohio, 11158 Is like being nowhere at all, 11159All through the day how the hours rush by, 11160 You sit in the park and you watch the grass die. 11161 -- John Denver, "Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio" 11162% 11163Sauron is alive in Argentina! 11164% 11165Save energy: be apathetic. 11166% 11167Save the Whales -- Harpoon a Honda. 11168% 11169Save the whales. Collect the whole set. 11170% 11171Saw a sign on a restaurant that said Breakfast, any time -- so I 11172ordered French Toast in the Renaissance. 11173 -- Steven Wright 11174% 11175SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out! 11176 -- Ken Thompson 11177% 11178Schapiro's Explanation: 11179 The grass is always greener on the other side -- but that's 11180because they use more manure. 11181% 11182Schizophrenia beats being alone. 11183% 11184Schlattwhapper, n.: 11185 The window shade that allows itself to be pulled down, 11186hesitates for a second, then snaps up in your face. 11187 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11188% 11189Schnuffel, n.: 11190 A dog's practice of continuously nuzzling in your crotch in 11191mixed company. 11192 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11193% 11194Schwiggle, n.: 11195 The amusing rotation of one's bottom while sharpening a 11196pencil. 11197 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11198% 11199Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made 11200of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts 11201is not necessarily science. 11202 -- Henri Poincair'e 11203% 11204Science is what happens when preconception meets verification. 11205% 11206Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it. 11207 -- William Buckley 11208 11209% 11210SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21) 11211 You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will 11212 achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of 11213 ethics. Most Scorpio people are murdered. 11214% 11215Scott's first Law: 11216 No matter what goes wrong, it will probably look right. 11217% 11218Scott's second Law: 11219 When an error has been detected and corrected, it will be found 11220to have been wrong in the first place. 11221 11222Corollary: 11223 After the correction has been found in error, it will be 11224impossible to fit the original quantity back into the equation. 11225% 11226Scotty: Captain, we din' can reference it! 11227Kirk: Analysis, Mr. Spock? 11228Spock: Captain, it doesn't appear in the symbol table. 11229Kirk: Then it's of external origin? 11230Spock: Affirmative. 11231Kirk: Mr. Sulu, go to pass two. 11232Sulu: Aye aye, sir, going to pass two. 11233% 11234Screw up your courage! You've screwed up everything else. 11235% 11236Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the 11237Presidency. 11238 -- Richard Nixon 11239% 11240Second Law of Business Meetings: 11241 If there are two possible ways to spell a person's name, you 11242will pick the wrong one. 11243 11244Corollary: 11245 If there is only one way to spell a name, you will spell it 11246wrong, anyway. 11247% 11248Section 2.4.3.5 AWNS (Acceptor Wait for New Cycle State). 11249 In AWNS the AH function indicates that it has received a 11250multiline message byte. 11251 In AWNS the RFD message must be sent false and the DAC message 11252must be sent passive true. 11253 The AH function must exit the AWNS and enter: 11254 (1) The ANRS if DAV is false 11255 (2) The AIDS if the ATN message is false and neither: 11256 (a) The LADS is active 11257 (b) Nor LACS is active 11258 11259 -- from the IEEE Standard Digital Interface for 11260 Programmable Instrumentation 11261% 11262Security check: INTRUDER ALERT! 11263% 11264Seduced, shaggy Samson snored. 11265She scissored short. Sorely shorn, 11266Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed, 11267Silently scheming, 11268Sightlessly seeking 11269Some savage, spectacular suicide. 11270 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 11271% 11272See - the thing is - I'm an absolutist. I mean, kind of ... in a way ... 11273% 11274Seleznick's Theory of Holistic Medicine: 11275 Ice Cream cures all ills. 11276% 11277Self Test for Paranoia: 11278 You know you have it when you can't think of anything that's 11279your own fault. 11280% 11281Seminars, n.: 11282 From "semi" and "arse", hence, any half-assed discussion. 11283% 11284Sen. Danforth: "There is nothing on the face of the album which would 11285 notify you if the record has pornographic material or 11286 material glorifying violence?" 11287Tipper Gore: "No, there is nothing that would suggest that to me." 11288Frank Zappa: "I would say that a buzz saw blade between the guy's 11289 legs on the album cover is good indication that it's 11290 not for little Johnny." 11291 11292 -- The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rock 11293 lyrics, from The Village Voice, 6 Oct 1985 11294% 11295Senate, n.: 11296 A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and 11297misdemeanors. 11298 -- Ambrose Bierce 11299% 11300Serenity through viciousness. 11301% 11302Serocki's Stricture: 11303 Marriage is always a bachelor's last option. 11304% 11305Serving coffee on aircraft causes turbulence. 11306% 11307 "Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated 11308thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked MY 11309advice, I'd have said `Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now." 11310 "I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly. 11311 "Too proud?" the other enquired. 11312 Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," 11313she said, "that one can't help growing older." 11314 "ONE can't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but TWO can. With 11315proper assistance, you might have left off at seven." 11316 -- Lewis Carroll 11317% 11318Several years ago, some smart businessmen had an idea: Why not build a 11319big store where a do-it-yourselfer could get everything he needed at 11320reasonable prices? Then they decided, nah, the hell with that, let's 11321build a home center. And before long home centers were springing up 11322like crabgrass all over the United States. 11323 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 11324% 11325Sex is a natural bodily process, like a stroke. 11326% 11327Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer. 11328 -- Swami X 11329% 11330Sex is the mathematics urge sublimated. 11331 -- M. C. Reed. 11332% 11333Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, 11334it's one of the best. 11335 -- Woody Allen 11336% 11337Shamus, n. [Yiddish]: 11338 A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the 11339temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. 11340 A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagogue 11341functionaries, and there's a joke about that: 11342 A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the 11343middle of a service, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" The cantor, not to be 11344bested, also cries out, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" 11345 The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, "Oh, Lord, I 11346am nobody!" The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, "Look who thinks 11347he's nobody!" 11348 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 11349% 11350Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off 11351during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. 11352 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 11353 Teen Should Know" 11354% 11355Shaw's Principle: 11356 Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will 11357want to use it. 11358% 11359She is descended from a long line that her mother listened to. 11360 -- Gypsy Rose Lee 11361% 11362She is not refined. She is not unrefined. She keeps a parrot. 11363 -- Mark Twain 11364% 11365She liked him; he was a man of many qualities, even if most of them 11366were bad. 11367% 11368She missed an invaluable opportunity to give him a look that you could 11369have poured on a waffle ... 11370% 11371She said, `I know you ... you cannot sing'. I said, `That's nothing, 11372you should hear me play piano.' 11373 -- Morrisey 11374% 11375She's genuinely bogus. 11376% 11377Sherry [Thomas Sheridan] is dull, naturally dull; but it must have 11378taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an 11379excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature. 11380 -- Samuel Johnson 11381% 11382SHIFT TO THE LEFT! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT! 11383POP UP, PUSH DOWN, BYTE, BYTE, BYTE! 11384% 11385Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is 11386playing golf with his boss. 11387% 11388Show respect for age. Drink good Scotch for a change. 11389% 11390Signs of crime: screaming or cries for help. 11391 -- from the Brown University Security Crime Prevention Pamphlet 11392% 11393Silverman's Law: 11394 If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will. 11395% 11396Simon's Law: 11397 Everything put together falls apart sooner or later. 11398% 11399Since I hurt my pendulum 11400My life is all erratic. 11401My parrot, who was cordial, 11402Is now transmitting static. 11403The carpet died, a palm collapsed, 11404The cat keeps doing poo. 11405The only thing that keeps me sane 11406Is talking to my shoe. 11407 -- My Shoe 11408% 11409Since we have to speak well of the dead, let's knock them while they're 11410alive. 11411 -- John Sloan 11412% 11413Since we're all here, we must not be all there. 11414 -- Bob "Mountain" Beck 11415% 11416[Sir Stafford Cripps] has all the virtues I dislike and none of the 11417vices I admire. 11418 -- Winston Churchill 11419% 11420Sixtus V, Pope from 1585 to 1590 authorized a printing of the Vulgate 11421Bible. Taking no chances, the pope issued a papal bull automatically 11422excommunicating any printer who might make an alteration in the text. 11423This he ordered printed at the beginning of the Bible. He personally 11424examined every sheet as it came off the press. Yet the published 11425Vulgate Bible contained so many errors that corrected scraps had to be 11426printed and pasted over them in every copy. The result provoked wry 11427comments on the rather patchy papal infallibility, and Pope Sixtus had 11428no recourse but to order the return and destruction of every copy. 11429% 11430Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor): 11431 That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, 11432or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you should 11433have gotten. 11434% 11435Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and goes 11436to work. 11437% 11438Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work ... I did not, 11439when a slave, understand the deep meanings of those rude, and 11440apparently incoherent songs. I was myself within the circle, so that I 11441neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear. They told a 11442tale which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension: they 11443were tones, loud, long and deep, breathing the prayer and complaint of 11444souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a 11445testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from 11446chains. 11447 -- Frederick Douglass 11448% 11449Slick's Three Laws of the Universe: 11450 (1) Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad 11451 check. 11452 (2) A quarter-ounce of chocolate = four pounds of fat. 11453 (3) There are two types of dirt: the dark kind, which is 11454 attracted to light objects, and the light kind, which is 11455 attracted to dark objects. 11456% 11457Slowly and surely the unix crept up on the Nintendo user ... 11458% 11459Slurm, n.: 11460 The slime that accumulates on the underside of a soap bar when 11461it sits in the dish too long. 11462 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11463% 11464Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. 11465 -- Fletcher Knebel 11466% 11467Snacktrek, n.: 11468 The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly 11469returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have 11470materialized. 11471 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11472% 11473So as your consumer electronics adviser, I am advising you to donate 11474your current VCR to a grate resident, who will laugh sardonically and 11475hurl it into a dumpster. Then I want you to go out and purchase a vast 11476array of 8-millimeter video equipment. 11477 11478... OK! Got everything? Well, *too bad, sucker*, because while you 11479were gone the electronics industry came up with an even newer format 11480that makes your 8-millimeter VCR look as technologically advanced as 11481toenail dirt. This format is called "3.5 hectare" and it will not be 11482made available until it is outmoded, sometime early next week, by a 11483format called "Elroy", so *order yours now*. 11484 -- Dave Barry, "No Surrender in the Electronics 11485 Revolution" 11486% 11487So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in 11488praise of intelligence. 11489 -- Bertrand Russell 11490% 11491... so long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those 11492who wish to tyranize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, 11493and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious 11494and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. 11495 -- Voltarine de Cleyre 11496% 11497 So Richard and I decided to try to catch [the small shark]. 11498With a great deal of strategy and effort and shouting, we managed to 11499maneuver the shark, over the course of about a half-hour, to a sort of 11500corner of the lagoon, so that it had no way to escape other than to 11501flop up onto the land and evolve. Richard and I were inching toward 11502it, sort of crouched over, when all of a sudden it turned around and -- 11503I can still remember the sensation I felt at that moment, primarily in 11504the armpit area -- headed right straight toward us. 11505 Many people would have panicked at this point. But Richard and 11506I were not "many people." We were experienced waders, and we kept our 11507heads. We did exactly what the textbook says you should do when you're 11508unarmed and a shark that is nearly two feet long turns on you in water 11509up to your lower calves: We sprinted I would say 600 yards in the 11510opposite direction, using a sprinting style such that the bottoms of 11511our feet never once went below the surface of the water. We ran all 11512the way to the far shore, and if we had been in a Warner Brothers 11513cartoon we would have run right INTO the beach, and you would have seen 11514these two mounds of sand racing across the island until they bonked 11515into trees and coconuts fell onto their heads. 11516 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11517% 11518So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple 11519pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street pops 11520its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very 11521imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, 11522and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, 11523and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the 11524gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots. 11525 -- Samuel Foote 11526% 11527... So the documentary-makers stick with sharks. Generally, their 11528procedure is to scatter bleeding fish pieces around their boat, so as 11529to infest the waters. I would estimate that the primary food source of 11530sharks today is bleeding fish pieces scattered by people making 11531documentaries. Once the sharks arrive, they are generally fairly 11532listless. The general shark attitude seems to be: "Oh God, another 11533documentary." So the divers have to somehow goad them into attacking, 11534under the guise of Scientific Research. "We know very little about the 11535effect of electricity on sharks," the narrator will say, in a deeply 11536scientific voice. "That is why Todd is going to jab this Great White 11537in the testicles with a cattle prod." The divers keep this kind of 11538thing up until the shark finally gets irritated and snaps at them, and 11539then they act as though this was a totally unexpected and very 11540dangerous development, although clearly it is what they wanted all 11541along. 11542 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11543% 11544So, what's with this guy Gideon, anyway? 11545And why can't he ever remember his Bible? 11546% 11547Sodd's Second Law: 11548 Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is 11549bound to occur. 11550% 11551Software, n.: 11552 Formal evening attire for female computer analysts. 11553% 11554Some don't prefer the pursuit of happiness to the happiness of pursuit. 11555% 11556Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. 11557 -- Ed Howe 11558% 11559Some of you ... may have decided that, this year, you're going to 11560celebrate it the old-fashioned way, with your family sitting around 11561stringing cranberries and exchanging humble, handmade gifts, like on 11562"The Waltons". Well, you can forget it. If everybody pulled that kind 11563of subversive stunt, the economy would collapse overnight. The 11564government would have to intervene: it would form a cabinet-level 11565Department of Holiday Gift-Giving, which would spend billions and 11566billions of tax dollars to buy Barbie dolls and electronic games, which 11567it would drop on the populace from Air Force jets, killing and maiming 11568thousands. So, for the good of the nation, you should go along with 11569the Holiday Program. This means you should get a large sum of money 11570and go to a mall. 11571 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 11572% 11573Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some 11574people have mediocrity thrust upon them. 11575 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 11576% 11577Some people have a way about them that seems to say: "If I have only 11578one life to live, let me live it as a jerk." 11579% 11580Some people in this department wouldn't recognize subtlety if it hit 11581them on the head. 11582% 11583Some people live life in the fast lane. You're in oncoming traffic. 11584% 11585Some performers on television appear to be horrible people, but when 11586you finally get to know them in person, they turn out to be even 11587worse. 11588 -- Avery 11589% 11590Some points to remember [about animals]: 11591 11592(1) Don't go to sleep under big animals, e.g., elephants, rhinoceri, 11593 hippopotamuses; 11594(2) Don't put animals with sharp teeth or poisonous fangs down the 11595 front of your clothes; 11596(3) Don't pat certain animals, e.g., crocodiles and scorpions or dogs 11597 you have just kicked. 11598 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 11599% 11600Some primal termite knocked on wood. 11601And tasted it, and found it good. 11602And that is why your Cousin May 11603Fell through the parlor floor today. 11604 -- Ogden Nash 11605% 11606Some programming languages manage to absorb change but withstand 11607progress. 11608% 11609Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand 11610progress. 11611 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11612% 11613Somebody ought to cross ball point pens with coat hangers so that the 11614pens will multiply instead of disappear. 11615% 11616Someone will try to honk your nose today. 11617% 11618Sometimes I simply feel that the whole world is a cigarette and I'm 11619the only ashtray. 11620% 11621Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world. 11622 -- Lily Tomlin 11623% 11624"Somewhere", said Father Vittorini, "did Blake not speak of the 11625Machineries of Joy? That is, did not God promote environments, then 11626intimidate these Natures by provoking the existence of flesh, toy men 11627and women, such as are we all? And thus happily sent forth, at our 11628best, with good grace and fine wit, on calm noons, in fair climes, are 11629we not God's Machineries of Joy?" 11630 11631"If Blake said that", said Father Brian, "he never lived in Dublin." 11632 -- R. Bradbury, "The Machineries of Joy" 11633% 11634Somewhere, just out of sight, the unicorns are gathering. 11635% 11636Song Title of the Week: 11637 "They're putting dimes in the hole in my head to see the change 11638in me." 11639% 11640Sooner or later you must pay for your sins. 11641(Those who have already paid may disregard this fortune). 11642% 11643Sorry, no fortune this time. 11644% 11645Sorry. I forget what I was going to say. 11646% 11647Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- 11648bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the 11649road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. 11650 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 11651% 11652Spare no expense to save money on this one. 11653 -- Samuel Goldwyn 11654% 11655Spark's Sixth Rule for Managers: 11656 If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as 11657if he had lost his senses. When he looks down, paraphrase the question 11658back at him. 11659% 11660Speak roughly to your little boy, 11661 And beat him when he sneezes: 11662He only does it to annoy 11663 Because he knows it teases. 11664 11665 Wow! wow! wow! 11666 11667I speak severely to my boy, 11668 And beat him when he sneezes: 11669For he can thoroughly enjoy 11670 The pepper when he pleases! 11671 11672 Wow! wow! wow! 11673 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 11674% 11675Speak roughly to your little VAX, 11676 And boot it when it crashes; 11677It knows that one cannot relax 11678 Because the paging thrashes! 11679 11680 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11681 11682I speak severely to my VAX, 11683 And boot it when it crashes; 11684In spite of all my favorite hacks 11685 My jobs it always thrashes! 11686 11687 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11688% 11689Speak softly and carry a +6 two-handed sword. 11690% 11691Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. 11692 -- Dave Millman 11693% 11694Speaking as someone who has delved into the intricacies of PL/I, I am 11695sure that only Real Men could have written such a machine-hogging, 11696cycle-grabbing, all-encompassing monster. Allocate an array and free 11697the middle third? Sure! Why not? Multiply a character string times a 11698bit string and assign the result to a float decimal? Go ahead! Free a 11699controlled variable procedure parameter and reallocate it before 11700passing it back? Overlay three different types of variable on the same 11701memory location? Anything you say! Write a recursive macro? Well, 11702no, but Real Men use rescan. How could a language so obviously 11703designed and written by Real Men not be intended for Real Man use? 11704% 11705Speaking of Godzilla and other things that convey horror: 11706 11707 With a purposeful grimace and a Mongo-like flair 11708 He throws the spinning disk drives in the air! 11709 And he picks up a Vax and he throws it back down 11710 As he wades through the lab making terrible sounds! 11711 Helpless users with projects due 11712 Scream "My God!" as he stomps on the tape drives, too! 11713 11714 Oh, no! He says Unix runs too slow! Go, go, DECzilla! 11715 Oh, yes! He's gonna bring up VMS! Go, go, DECzilla!" 11716 11717* VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation 11718* DECzilla is a trademark of Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of Death, Inc. 11719 -- Curtis Jackson 11720% 11721Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently 11722these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people 11723to communicate with the people they love; Husbands and wives who can't 11724communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so 11725on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on (and in real 11726life, I might add) spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't 11727communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very _____least 11728he can do is to Shut Up! 11729 -- Tom Lehrer, "That Was the Year that Was" 11730% 11731Speed is subsittute fo accurancy. 11732% 11733Speer's 1st Law of Proofreading: 11734 The visibility of an error is inversely proportional to the 11735number of times you have looked at it. 11736% 11737Spelling is a lossed art. 11738% 11739Spend extra time on hobby. Get plenty of rolling papers. 11740% 11741Spirtle, n.: 11742 The fine stream from a grapefruit that always lands right in 11743your eye. 11744 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 11745% 11746Spouse, n.: 11747 Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you 11748wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. 11749% 11750Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist 11751drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to pur'ee of bat guano; and the 11752greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll 11753take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up! 11754 -- Harlan Ellison 11755% 11756Stay away from flying saucers today. 11757% 11758Stay away from hurricanes for a while. 11759% 11760Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly. 11761% 11762Steele's Plagiarism of Somebody's Philosophy: 11763 Everybody should believe in something -- I believe I'll have 11764another drink. 11765% 11766Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming: 11767 Never test for an error condition you don't know how to 11768handle. 11769% 11770Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11771% 11772Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11773Now, if they'd only take a bath ... 11774% 11775Stult's Report: 11776 Our problems are mostly behind us. What we have to do now is 11777fight the solutions. 11778% 11779Stupid, n.: 11780 Losing $25 on the game and $25 on the instant replay. 11781% 11782Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out? 11783% 11784Sturgeon's Law: 11785 90% of everything is crud. 11786% 11787Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your 11788editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. 11789 -- Mark Twain 11790% 11791Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way 11792before it is understood. 11793% 11794Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring. 11795% 11796Suddenly, Professor Liebowitz realizes he has come to the seminar 11797without his duck ... 11798% 11799(Sung to the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA) 11800 11801 To code the impossible code, 11802 To bring up a virgin machine, 11803 To pop out of endless recursion, 11804 To grok what appears on the screen, 11805 11806 To right the unrightable bug, 11807 To endlessly twiddle and thrash, 11808 To mount the unmountable magtape, 11809 To stop the unstoppable crash! 11810% 11811Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have! 11812% 11813Support wildlife -- vote for an orgy. 11814% 11815Support your local police force -- steal!! 11816% 11817Support your local Search and Rescue unit -- get lost. 11818% 11819Sure he's sharp as a razor ... he's a two-dimensional pinhead! 11820% 11821Surprise due today. Also the rent. 11822% 11823Surprise your boss. Get to work on time. 11824% 11825Surprise! You are the lucky winner of random I.R.S. Audit! Just type 11826in your name and social security number. Please remember that leaving 11827the room is punishable under law: 11828 11829Name # 11830 11831 11832% 11833Swahili, n.: 11834 The language used by the National Enquirer to print their retractions. 11835 -- Johnny Hart 11836% 11837Sweater, n.: 11838 A garment worn by a child when its mother feels chilly. 11839% 11840Swipple's Rule of Order: 11841 He who shouts the loudest has the floor. 11842% 11843Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon. 11844 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11845% 11846System/3! System/3! 11847See how it runs! See how it runs! 11848 Its monitor loses so totally! 11849 It runs all its programs in RPG! 11850 It's made by our favorite monopoly! 11851System/3! 11852% 11853Systems have sub-systems and sub-systems have sub-systems and so on ad 11854infinitum -- which is why we're always starting over. 11855 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11856% 11857 _ 11858 _ / \ o 11859 / \ | | o o o 11860 | | | | _ o o o o 11861 | \_| | / \ o o o 11862 \__ | | | o o 11863 | | | | ______ ~~~~ _____ 11864 | |__/ | / ___--\\ ~~~ __/_____\__ 11865 | ___/ / \--\\ \\ \ ___ <__ x x __\ 11866 | | / /\\ \\ )) \ ( " ) 11867 | | -------(---->>(@)--(@)-------\----------< >----------- 11868 | | // | | //__________ / \ ____) (___ \\ 11869 | | // __|_| ( --------- ) //// ______ /////\ \\ 11870 // | ( \ ______ / <<<< <>-----<<<<< / \\ 11871 // ( ) / / \` \__ \\ 11872 //-------------------------------------------------------------\\ 11873 11874Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels 11875start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and 11876then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the 11877music at top volume and at least a pint of ether. 11878 -- H.S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 11879% 11880T: One big monster, he called TROLL. 11881 He don't rock, and he don't roll; 11882 Drink no wine, and smoke no stogies. 11883 He just Love To Eat Them Roguies. 11884 -- The Roguelet's ABC 11885% 11886Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a 11887hole in his head. 11888% 11889Tact, n.: 11890 The unsaid part of what you're thinking. 11891% 11892Take everything in stride. Trample anyone who gets in your way. 11893% 11894Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting 11895enough cheese. 11896 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 11897% 11898Take it easy, we're in a hurry. 11899% 11900Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it 11901needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. 11902 -- Kipling 11903% 11904Take the folks at Coca-Cola. For many years, they were content to sit 11905back and make the same old carbonated beverage. It was a good 11906beverage, no question about it; generations of people had grown up 11907drinking it and doing the experiment in sixth grade where you put a 11908nail into a glass of Coke and after a couple of days the nail dissolves 11909and the teacher says: "Imagine what it does to your TEETH!" So 11910Coca-Cola was solidly entrenched in the market, and the management saw 11911no need to improve ... 11912 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 11913% 11914Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to 11915your execution is not generally understood by less advanced life forms, 11916and they'll call you crazy. 11917 -- "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul" 11918% 11919Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. 11920 -- Euripides 11921% 11922Talkers are no good doers. 11923 -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI" 11924% 11925Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. 11926 -- Friedrich Nietzsche 11927% 11928TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) 11929 You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged 11930 determination and work like hell. Most people think you are 11931 stubborn and bull headed. You are a Communist. 11932% 11933Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind 11934the tree." 11935 -- Russell Long 11936% 11937Taxes are going up so fast, the government is likely to price itself 11938out of the market. 11939% 11940Taxes, n.: 11941 Of life's two certainties, the only one for which you can get 11942an extension. 11943% 11944Teach children to be polite and courteous in the home, and, when they 11945grows up, they will never be able to edge their car onto a freeway. 11946% 11947Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else. 11948% 11949Technological progress has merely provided us 11950with more efficient means for going backwards. 11951 -- Aldous Huxley 11952% 11953Telephone, n.: 11954 An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the 11955advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. 11956 -- Ambrose Bierce 11957% 11958Tell me, O Octopus, I begs, 11959Is those things arms, or is they legs? 11960I marvel at thee, Octopus; 11961If I were thou, I'd call me us. 11962 -- Ogden Nash 11963% 11964Ten years of rejection slips is nature's way of telling you to stop 11965writing. 11966 -- R. Geis 11967% 11968Terence, this is stupid stuff: 11969You eat your victuals fast enough; 11970There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, 11971To see the rate you drink your beer. 11972But oh, good Lord, the verse you make, 11973It gives a chap the belly-ache. 11974The cow, the old cow, she is dead; 11975It sleeps well the horned head: 11976We poor lads, 'tis our turn now 11977To hear such tunes as killed the cow. 11978Pretty friendship 'tis to rhyme 11979Your friends to death before their time. 11980Moping, melancholy mad: 11981Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad. 11982 -- A. E. Housman 11983% 11984Termiter's argument that God is His own grandmother generated a 11985surprising amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one 11986hand considered the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other 11987hand were unwilling to risk offending God's grandmother. 11988 -- Len Cool, "American Pie" 11989% 11990Tertullian was born in Carthage somewhere about 160 A.D. He was a 11991pagan, and he abandoned himself to the lascivious life of his city 11992until about his 35th year, when he became a Christian .... To him is 11993ascribed the sublime confession: Credo quia absurdum est (I believe 11994because it is absurd). This does not altogether accord with historical 11995fact, for he merely said: 11996 11997 "And the Son of God died, which is immediately credible because 11998 it is absurd. And buried he rose again, which is certain 11999 because it is impossible." 12000 12001Thanks to the acuteness of his mind, he saw through the poverty of 12002philosophical and Gnostic knowledge, and contemptuously rejected it. 12003 -- C. G. Jung, in Psychological Types 12004 12005(Tertullian was one of the founders of the Catholic Church). 12006% 12007Test-tube babies shouldn't throw stones. 12008% 12009Texas law forbids anyone to have a pair of pliers in his possession. 12010% 12011Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even 12012one which cannot be justified on any other grounds. 12013 -- J. Finnegan, USC. 12014% 12015Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future. 12016 -- Pogo, by Walt Kelly 12017% 12018That boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver. 12019 -- Foghorn Leghorn 12020% 12021That must be wonderful! I don't understand it at all. 12022 -- Moliere 12023% 12024That secret you've been guarding, isn't. 12025% 12026That woman speaks eight languages and can't say "no" in any of them. 12027 -- Dorothy Parker 12028% 12029The 80's -- when you can't tell hairstyles from chemotherapy. 12030% 12031The [Ford Foundation] is a large body of money completely surrounded by 12032people who want some. 12033 -- Dwight MacDonald 12034% 12035The Abrams' Principle: 12036 The shortest distance between two points is off the wall. 12037% 12038The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper 12039 -- Thomas Jefferson 12040% 12041The Advertising Agency Song: 12042 12043 When your client's hopping mad, 12044 Put his picture in the ad. 12045 If he still should prove refractory, 12046 Add a picture of his factory. 12047% 12048The algorithm to do that is extremely nasty. You might want to mug 12049someone with it. 12050 -- M. Devine, Computer Science 340 12051% 12052... The Anarchists' [national] anthem is an international anthem that 12053consists of 365 raspberries blown in very quick succession to the tune 12054of "Camptown Races". Nobody has to stand up for it, nobody has to 12055listen to it, and, even better, nobody has to play it. 12056 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12057% 12058The Arkansas legislature passed a law that states that the Arkansas 12059River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little 12060Rock. 12061% 12062The Army has carried the American ... ideal to its logical conclusion. 12063Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed 12064and color, but also on ability. 12065 -- T. Lehrer 12066% 12067The Army needs leaders the way a foot needs a big toe. 12068 -- Bill Murray 12069% 12070The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use 12071in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the 12072Declaration not for that, but for future use. 12073 -- Abraham Lincoln 12074% 12075The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 a.m. 12076% 12077The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the 12078average man can see better than he can think. 12079% 12080The bad reputation UNIX has gotten is totally undeserved, laid on by 12081people who don't understand, who have not gotten in there and tried 12082anything. 12083 -- Jim Joyce, owner of Jim Joyce's UNIX Bookstore 12084% 12085The basic idea behind malls is that they are more convenient than 12086cities. Cities contain streets, which are dangerous and crowded and 12087difficult to park in. Malls, on the other hand, have parking lots, 12088which are also dangerous and crowded and difficult to park in, but -- 12089here is the big difference -- in mall parking lots, THERE ARE NO 12090RULES. You're allowed to do anything. You can drive as fast as you 12091want in any direction you want. I was once driving in a mall parking 12092lot when my car was struck by a pickup truck being driven backward by a 12093squat man with a tattoo that said "Charlie" on his forearm, who got out 12094and explained to me, in great detail, why the accident was my fault, 12095his reasoning being that he was violent and muscular, whereas I was 12096neither. This kind of reasoning is legally valid in mall parking 12097lots. 12098 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 12099% 12100The basic menu item, in fact the ONLY menu item, would be a food unit 12101called the "patty," consisting of -- this would be guaranteed in 12102writing -- "100 percent animal matter of some kind." All patties would 12103be heated up and then cooled back down in electronic devices 12104immediately before serving. The Breakfast Patty would be a patty on a 12105bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Ba-Ko-Bits, Cheez Whiz, a Special 12106Sauce made by pouring ketchup out of a bottle and a little slip of 12107paper stating: "Inspected by Number 12". The Lunch or Dinner Patty 12108would be any Breakfast Patties that didn't get sold in the morning. 12109The Seafood Lover's Patty would be any patties that were starting to 12110emit a serious aroma. Patties that were too rank even to be Seafood 12111Lover's Patties would be compressed into wads and sold as "Nuggets." 12112 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12113% 12114The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; 12115but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman. 12116% 12117The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. 12118 -- W. C. Fields 12119% 12120The best defense against logic is ignorance. 12121% 12122The best thing about growing older is that it takes such a long time. 12123% 12124"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and 12125blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. 12126You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at 12127night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only 12128love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or 12129know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only 12130one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what 12131wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, 12132never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never 12133dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a 12134lot of things there are to learn." 12135 -- T.H. White, "The Once and Future King" 12136% 12137The best way to make a fire with two sticks is to make sure one of them 12138is a match. 12139 -- Will Rogers 12140% 12141The bigger the theory the better. 12142% 12143The biggest difference between time and space is that you can't reuse 12144time. 12145 -- Merrick Furst 12146% 12147The birds are singing, the flowers are budding, and it is time for Miss 12148Manners to tell young lovers to stop necking in public. 12149 12150It's not that Miss Manners is immune to romance. Miss Manners has been 12151known to squeeze a gentleman's arm while being helped over a curb, and, 12152in her wild youth, even to press a dainty slipper against a foot or two 12153under the dinner table. Miss Manners also believes that the sight of 12154people strolling hand in hand or arm in arm or arm in hand dresses up a 12155city considerably more than the more familiar sight of people shaking 12156umbrellas at one another. What Miss Manners objects to is the kind of 12157activity that frightens the horses on the street ... 12158% 12159The bland leadeth the bland and they both shall fall into the kitsch. 12160% 12161The bogosity meter just pegged. 12162% 12163The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up 12164in the morning, and does not stop until you get to school. 12165% 12166The Briggs/Chase Law of Program Development: 12167 To determine how long it will take to write and debug a 12168program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, add one, and 12169convert to the next higher units. 12170% 12171The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. 12172Statistics prove that in the United States more Americans are killed in 12173automobile accidents than are killed by buffalo. 12174 -- Art Buchwald 12175% 12176The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding 12177bureaucracy. 12178% 12179The C Programming Language -- A language which combines the 12180flexibility and power of assembly language with the readability 12181of assembly language. 12182% 12183The camel has a single hump; 12184The dromedary two; 12185Or else the other way around. 12186I'm never sure. Are you? 12187 -- Ogden Nash 12188% 12189The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly 12190greater than that of any other animals. Some of their most esteemed 12191inventions have no other apparent purpose, for example, the dinner 12192party of more than two, the epic poem, and the science of metaphysics. 12193 -- H. L. Mencken 12194% 12195The chain which can be yanked is not the eternal chain. 12196 -- G. Fitch 12197% 12198The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to show up 12199at the steam fitters' picnic. 12200% 12201The chief cause of problems is solutions. 12202 -- Eric Sevareid 12203% 12204The chief danger in life is that you may take too may precautions. 12205 -- Alfred Adler 12206% 12207The church is near but the road is icy; the bar is far away but I will 12208walk carefully. 12209 -- Russian Proverb 12210% 12211The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live elsewhere. 12212% 12213The Computer made me do it. 12214% 12215The computing field is always in need of new cliches. 12216 -- Alan Perlis 12217% 12218The confusion of a staff member is measured by the length of his 12219memos. 12220 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 12221% 12222The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other 12223subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up 12224every bird watcher in the country. 12225 -- John Mitchell, Atty. General 1969-1972 12226% 12227The Consultant's Curse: 12228 When the customer has beaten upon you long enough, give him 12229what he asks for, instead of what he needs. This is very strong 12230medicine, and is normally only required once. 12231% 12232The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: "Of course it is 12233none of my business, but --" is to place a period after the word "but." 12234Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. 12235Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you 12236talked about. 12237 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 12238% 12239The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. 12240% 12241The cost of living is going up, and the chance of living is going down. 12242% 12243The cow is nothing but a machine which makes grass fit for us people to 12244eat. 12245 -- John McNulty 12246% 12247The Crown is full of it! 12248 -- Nate Harris, 1775 12249% 12250The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should 12251therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could 12252hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to 12253declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny ... In war, 12254then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press. 12255Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges. 12256 -- William Ellery Channing 12257% 12258The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life. 12259% 12260The day-to-day travails of the IBM programmer are so amusing to most of 12261us who are fortunate enough never to have been one -- like watching 12262Charlie Chaplin trying to cook a shoe. 12263% 12264The debate rages on: Is PL/I Bachtrian or Dromedary? 12265% 12266The devil finds work for idle circuits to do. 12267% 12268The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell 12269into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him 12270out again, it would be a calamity. 12271 -- Benjamin Disraeli 12272% 12273The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science 12274requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship. 12275 -- Robert Heinlein 12276% 12277The distinction between Jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, as the 12278following quote from Lenny Bruce illustrates: 12279 12280 "I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. 12281Eddie Cantor's goyish. The B'nai Brith is goyish. The Hadassah is 12282Jewish. Marine Corps -- heavy goyish, dangerous. 12283 "Kool-Aid is goyish. All Drake's Cakes are goyish. 12284Pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. 12285Instant potatoes -- goyish. Black cherry soda's very Jewish. 12286Macaroons are ____very Jewish. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime Jell-O is 12287goyish. Lime soda is ____very goyish. Trailer parks are so goyish that 12288Jews won't go near them ..." 12289 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 12290% 12291The District of Columbia has a law forbidding you to exert pressure on 12292a balloon and thereby cause a whistling sound on the streets. 12293% 12294The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man 12295really clever who has not found that he is stupid. 12296 -- Gilbert K. Chesterson 12297% 12298The duck hunter trained his retriever to walk on water. Eager to show 12299off this amazing accomplishment, he asked a friend to go along on his 12300next hunting trip. Saying nothing, he fired his first shot and, as the 12301duck fell, the dog walked on the surface of the water, retrieved the 12302duck and returned it to his master. 12303 "Notice anything?" the owner asked eagerly. 12304 "Yes," said his friend, "I see that fool dog of yours can't swim." 12305% 12306The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late 12307and owns the worm farm. 12308 -- Travis McGee 12309% 12310The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier. 12311% 12312The easiest way to figure the cost of living is to take your income and 12313add ten percent. 12314% 12315The economy depends about as much on economists as the weather does on 12316weather forecasters. 12317 -- Jean-Paul Kauffmann 12318% 12319The eleventh commandment was `Thou Shalt Compute' or `Thou Shalt Not 12320Compute' -- I forget which. 12321 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 12322% 12323The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of 12324civilization. 12325 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 12326% 12327The end of the world will occur at 3:00 p.m., this Friday, with 12328symposium to follow. 12329% 12330The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach 12331their children to speak it. 12332 -- G. B. Shaw 12333% 12334The fact that boys are allowed to exist at all is evidence of a 12335remarkable Christian forbearance among men. 12336 -- Ambrose Bierce 12337% 12338The fact that it works is immaterial. 12339 -- L. Ogborn 12340% 12341The faster we go, the rounder we get. 12342 -- The Grateful Dead 12343% 12344The Fifth Rule: 12345 You have taken yourself too seriously. 12346% 12347The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. 12348 -- Abbie Hoffman 12349% 12350The first Great Steward, Parrafin the Climber, was employed in King 12351Chloroplast's kitchen as second scullery boy when the old King met a 12352tragic death. He apparently fell backward by accident on a dozen salad 12353forks. Simultaneously the true heir, his son Carotene, mysteriously 12354fled the city, complaining of some sort of plot and a lot of 12355threatening notes left on his breakfast tray. At the time, this looked 12356suspicious what with his father's death, and Carotene was suspected of 12357foul play. Then the rest of the King's relatives began to drop dead 12358one after the other in an odd fashion. Some were found strangled with 12359dishrags and some succumbed to food poisoning. A few were found 12360drowned in the soup vats, and one was attacked by assailants unknown 12361and beaten to death with a pot roast. At least three appear to have 12362thrown themselves backward on salad forks, perhaps in a noble gesture 12363of grief over the King's untimely end. Finally there was no one left 12364in Minas Troney who was either eligible or willing to wear the accursed 12365crown, and the rule of Twodor was up for grabs. The scullery slave 12366Parrafin bravely accepted the Stewardship of Twodor until that day when 12367a lineal descendant of Carotene's returns to reclaim his rightful 12368throne, conquer Twodor's enemies, and revamp the postal system. 12369 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 12370% 12371The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of 12372management is that success equals skill. 12373 -- Robert Heller 12374% 12375The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish 12376child, was propounded to me by my father: 12377 "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and 12378whistles?" 12379 I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity 12380gave up. 12381 "A herring," said my father. 12382 "A herring," I echoed. "A herring doesn't hang on the wall!" 12383 "So hang it there." 12384 "But a herring isn't green!" I protested. 12385 "Paint it." 12386 "But a herring isn't wet." 12387 "If it's just painted it's still wet." 12388 "But -- " I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, "-- a herring 12389doesn't whistle!!" 12390 "Right, " smiled my father. "I just put that in to make it 12391hard." 12392 -- Leo Rosten, "The Joys of Yiddish" 12393% 12394The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your 12395hands and hoping when a rock or a club will do. 12396 -- McCloctnik the Lucid 12397% 12398The First Rule of Program Optimization: 12399 Don't do it. 12400 12401The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): 12402 Don't do it yet. 12403 -- Michael Jackson 12404% 12405The first time, it's a KLUDGE! 12406The second, a trick. 12407Later, it's a well-established technique! 12408 -- Mike Broido, Intermetrics 12409% 12410The following quote is from page 4-27 of the MSCP Basic Disk Functions 12411Manual which is part of the UDA50 Programmers Doc Kit manuals: 12412 12413As stated above, the host area of a disk is structured as a vector of 12414logical blocks. From a performance viewpoint, however, it is more 12415appropriate to view the host area as a four dimensional hyper-cube, the 12416four dimensions being cylinder, group, track, and sector. 12417 . . . 12418Referring to our hyper-cube analogy, the set of potentially accessible 12419blocks form a line parallel to the track axis. This line moves 12420parallel to the sector axis, wrapping around when it reaches the edge 12421of the hyper-cube. 12422% 12423The fortune program is supported, in part, by user contributions and by 12424a major grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. 12425% 12426The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and vinyl. 12427 -- Dave Barry 12428% 12429The full impact of parenthood doesn't hit you until you multiply the 12430number of your kids by 32 teeth. 12431% 12432The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to 12433chance. 12434% 12435The gentlemen looked one another over with microscopic carelessness. 12436% 12437The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the 12438center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South 12439Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South 12440End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. 12441% 12442The giraffe you thought you offended last week is willing to be nuzzled 12443today. 12444% 12445The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at 12446least until we've finished building it. 12447% 12448The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. 12449The goal of nature is to build better mice. 12450% 12451The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him 12452love and he invented marriage. 12453% 12454THE GOLDEN RULE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 12455 The one who has the gold makes the rules. 12456% 12457The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who 12458make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians 12459have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine 12460man in the bonds of Hell. 12461 -- St. Augustine 12462% 12463The good die young -- because they see it's no use living if you've got 12464to be good. 12465% 12466 "The Good Ship Enterprise" (to the tune of "The Good Ship Lollipop") 12467 12468On the good ship Enterprise 12469Every week there's a new surprise 12470Where the Romulans lurk 12471And the Klingons often go berserk. 12472 12473Yes, the good ship Enterprise 12474There's excitement anywhere it flies 12475Where Tribbles play 12476And Nurse Chapel never gets her way. 12477 12478 See Captain Kirk standing on the bridge, 12479 Mr. Spock is at his side. 12480 The weekly menace, ooh-ooh 12481 It gets fried, scattered far and wide. 12482 12483It's the good ship Enterprise 12484Heading out where danger lies 12485And you live in dread 12486If you're wearing a shirt that's red. 12487 -- Doris Robin and Karen Trimble of The L.A. Filkharmonics 12488% 12489The government [is] extremely fond of amassing great quantities of 12490statistics. These are raised to the _nth degree, the cube roots are 12491extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive 12492displays. What must be kept ever in mind, however, is that in every 12493case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts 12494down anything he damn well pleases. 12495 -- Sir Josiah Stamp 12496% 12497The grand leap of the whale up the Fall of Niagara is esteemed, by all 12498who have seen it, as one of the finest spectacles in nature. 12499 -- Benjamin Franklin. 12500% 12501The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog: 12502 The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog of Billericay displays, in 12503courtship, his single prickle and does impressions of Holiday Inn desk 12504clerks. Since this means him standing motionless for enormous periods 12505of time he is often eaten in full display by The Great Bald Swamp 12506Hedgehog Eater. 12507 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12508% 12509The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men 12510of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. 12511 -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis 12512% 12513The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. 12514 -- Albert Einstein 12515% 12516The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue, a 12517custom whereof the memory of man runneth not howsomever to the 12518contrary, nohow. 12519% 12520The Heineken Uncertainty Principle: 12521 You can never be sure how many beers you had last night. 12522% 12523The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent 12524thinkers. 12525% 12526The hieroglyphics are all unreadable except for a notation on the back, 12527which reads "Genuine authentic Egyptian papyrus. Guaranteed to be at 12528least 5000 years old." 12529% 12530The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for 12531lists of "Ten Best". 12532 -- H. Allen Smith 12533% 12534The human brain is like an enormous fish -- it is flat and slimy and 12535has gills through which it can see. 12536 -- Monty Python 12537% 12538The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of its 12539capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. 12540% 12541The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange 12542protein -- it rejects it. 12543 -- P. Medawar 12544% 12545The human race has been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can 12546remember. Just like the bluebird feeding its young, or the spider 12547struggling to weave its perfect web, or the buttercup blooming in 12548spring, the shark reveals to us yet another of the infinite and 12549wonderful facets of nature, namely the facet that it can bite your head 12550off. This causes us humans to feel a certain degree of awe. 12551 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 12552% 12553The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. 12554 -- Mark Twain 12555% 12556The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that 12557procession but carrying a banner. 12558 -- Mark Twain 12559% 12560The idea is to die young as late as possible. 12561 -- Ashley Montague 12562% 12563The idea there was that consumers would bring their broken electronic 12564devices, such as television sets and VCR's, to the destruction centers, 12565where trained personnel would whack them (the devices) with 12566sledgehammers. With their devices thus permanently destroyed, 12567consumers would then be free to go out and buy new devices, rather than 12568have to fritter away years of their lives trying to have the old ones 12569repaired at so-called "factory service centers," which in fact consist 12570of two men named Lester poking at the insides of broken electronic 12571devices with cheap cigars and going, "Lookit all them WIRES in there!" 12572 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12573% 12574The identical is equal to itself, since it is different. 12575 -- Franco Spisani 12576% 12577The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit longer. 12578 -- Henry Kissinger 12579% 12580The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf 12581has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know 12582when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr. 12583 -- Will Rogers 12584% 12585The individual choice of garnishment of a burger can be an important 12586point to the consumer in this day when individualism is an increasingly 12587important thing to people. 12588 -- Donald N. Smith, president of Burger King 12589% 12590The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the 12591number of participants. 12592 -- Adam Walinsky 12593% 12594The IQ of the group is the lowest IQ of a member of the group divided 12595by the number of people in the group. 12596% 12597The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free 12598information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a 12599dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a 12600real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. 12601 12602So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never 12603pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big 12604consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes... 12605 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 12606% 12607The Kennedy Constant: 12608 Don't get mad -- get even. 12609% 12610The Killer Ducks are coming!!! 12611% 12612The ladies men admire, I've heard, 12613Would shudder at a wicked word. 12614Their candle gives a single light; 12615They'd rather stay at home at night. 12616They do not keep awake till three, 12617Nor read erotic poetry. 12618They never sanction the impure, 12619Nor recognize an overture. 12620They shrink from powders and from paints ... 12621So far, I've had no complaints. 12622 -- Dorothy Parker 12623% 12624The last time somebody said, "I find I can write much better with a 12625word processor," I replied, "They used to say the same thing about 12626drugs." 12627 -- Roy Blount, Jr. 12628% 12629The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the 12630law free. 12631 -- Henry David Thoreau 12632% 12633The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the 12634poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal 12635bread. 12636 -- Anatole France 12637% 12638The lawgiver, of all beings, most owes the law allegiance. He of all 12639men should behave as though the law compelled him. But it is the 12640universal weakness of mankind that what we are given to administer we 12641presently imagine we own. 12642 -- H.G. Wells 12643% 12644 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #10: SIMPLE 12645 12646SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiot's Monopurpose Programming Language 12647Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover College for 12648Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write code 12649with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, 12650END and STOP. No matter how you arrange the statements, you can't make 12651a syntax error. Programs written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. Thus 12652they achieve the results of programs written in other languages without 12653the tedious, frustrating process of testing and debugging. 12654% 12655 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12: LITHP 12656 12657This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of 12658an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said 12659to be useful in protheththing lithtth. 12660% 12661 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #13: SLOBOL 12662 12663SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its compiler. 12664Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they 12665compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the 12666coffee. Forty-three programmers are known to have died of boredom 12667sitting at their terminals while waiting for a SLOBOL program to 12668compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often turn to a related (but 12669infinitely faster) language, COCAINE. 12670% 12671 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17: SARTRE 12672 12673Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an extremely 12674unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; they just 12675are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own functions. 12676SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are no fun at 12677parties. 12678% 12679 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18: C- 12680 12681This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he 12682submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is 12683best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the 12684language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code 12685statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very 12686similar to COBOL. 12687% 12688 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18a: FIFTH 12689 12690FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the data types 12691refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT, and 12692JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and 12693BLOTTO. Commands refer to ingredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, 12694CABERNET, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH, and WHATEVERSAROUND. 12695 12696The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and 12697financial status of its users. Commands in the ELITE dialect include 12698VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER dialect include HOOTCH 12699and RIPPLE. The latter is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers 12700who end up using this language. 12701% 12702 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #2: RENE 12703 12704Named after the famous French philosopher and mathematician Rene 12705DesCartes, RENE is a language used for artificial intelligence. The 12706language is being developed at the Chicago Center of Machine Politics 12707and Programming under a grant from the Jane Byrne Victory Fund. A 12708spokesman described the language as "Just as great as dis [sic] city of 12709ours." 12710 12711The center is very pleased with progress to date. They say they have 12712almost succeeded in getting a VAX to think. However, sources inside the 12713organization say that each time the machine fails to think it ceases to 12714exist. 12715% 12716 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #5: VALGOL 12717From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, 12718VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of popularity across the industry. 12719 12720Here is a sample program: 12721 LIKE, Y*KNOW(I MEAN)START 12722 IF PIZZA = LIKE BITCHEN AND GUY = LIKE TUBULAR AND 12723 VALLEY GIRL = LIKE GRODY**MAX(FERSURE)**2 THEN 12724 FOR I = LIKE 1 TO OH*MAYBE 100 12725 DO*WAH - (DITTY**2) 12726 BARF(I)=TOTALLY GROSS(OUT) 12727 SURE 12728 LIKE BAG THIS PROGRAM 12729 REALLY 12730 LIKE TOTALLY (Y*KNOW) 12731 IM*SURE 12732 GOTO THE MALL 12733 12734When the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter displays the message: 12735 12736 GAG ME WITH A SPOON!! 12737% 12738 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #8: LAIDBACK 12739 12740This language was developed at the Marin County Center for T'ai Chi, 12741Mellowness and Computer Programming (now defunct), as an alternative to 12742the more intense atmosphere in nearby Silicon Valley. 12743 12744The center was ideal for programmers who liked to soak in hot tubs 12745while they worked. Unfortunately few programmers could survive there 12746because the center outlawed Pizza and Coca-Cola in favor of Tofu and 12747Perrier. 12748 12749Many mourn the demise of LAIDBACK because of its reputation as a gentle 12750and non-threatening language since all error messages are in lower 12751case. For example, LAIDBACK responded to syntax errors with the 12752message: 12753 "i hate to bother you, but i just can't relate to that. can 12754 you find the time to try it again?" 12755% 12756The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an approaching 12757train. 12758% 12759The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming dragon. 12760% 12761The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get 12762much sleep. 12763 -- Woody Allen 12764% 12765The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. 12766 -- Henry Kissinger 12767% 12768The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as 12769we could with both of them. 12770 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 12771% 12772The makers may make 12773And the users may use, 12774But the fixers must fix 12775With but minimal clues 12776% 12777The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the 12778crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no 12779one has ever been. 12780 -- Alan Ashley-Pitt 12781% 12782The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that 12783will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful. 12784 -- Mark Twain. 12785% 12786The marvels of today's modern technology include the development of a 12787soda can, when discarded will last forever ... and a $7,000 car which 12788when properly cared for will rust out in two or three years. 12789% 12790... the Mayo Clinic, named after its founder, Dr. Ted Clinic ... 12791 -- Dave Barry 12792% 12793The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse. 12794% 12795 The men sat sipping their tea in silence. After a while the 12796klutz said, "Life is like a bowl of sour cream." 12797 12798 "Like a bowl of sour cream?" asked the other. "Why?" 12799 12800 "How should I know? What am I, a philosopher?" 12801% 12802The meta-Turing test counts a thing as intelligent if it seeks to 12803devise and apply Turing tests to objects of its own creation. 12804 -- Lew Mammel, Jr. 12805% 12806The misnaming of fields of study is so common as to lead to what might 12807be general systems laws. For example, Frank Harary once suggested the 12808law that any field that had the word "science" in its name was 12809guaranteed thereby not to be a science. He would cite as examples 12810Military Science, Library Science, Political Science, Homemaking 12811Science, Social Science, and Computer Science. Discuss the generality 12812of this law, and possible reasons for its predictive 12813power. 12814 -- Gerald Weinberg, "An Introduction to General Systems 12815 Thinking." 12816% 12817The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything. 12818 -- Laurence J. Peter 12819% 12820The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me. 12821 -- Nicol Williamson 12822% 12823The moon is a planet just like the Earth, only it is even deader. 12824% 12825The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away. 12826% 12827The more data I punch in this card, the lighter it becomes, and the 12828lower the mailing cost. 12829 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 12830% 12831The more laws and order are made prominent, 12832the more thieves and robbers there will be. 12833 -- Lao Tsu 12834% 12835The more things change, the more they stay insane. 12836% 12837The more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us 12838is right. 12839% 12840The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey. 12841 -- Andy Warhol 12842% 12843The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and 12844to watch someone else do it wrong without comment. 12845 -- Theodore H. White 12846% 12847The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new 12848discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." 12849 -- Isaac Asimov 12850% 12851The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. 12852% 12853... the MYSTERIANS are in here with my CORDUROY SOAP DISH!! 12854% 12855 "... The name of the song is called 'Haddocks' Eyes'!" 12856 "Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to 12857feel interested. 12858 "No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little 12859vexed. "That's what the name is called. The name really is, 'The Aged 12860Aged Man.'" 12861 "Then I ought to have said "That's what the song is called'?" 12862Alice corrected herself. 12863 "No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is 12864called 'Ways and Means': but that's only what it is called you know!" 12865 "Well, what is the song then?" said Alice, who was by this time 12866completely bewildered. 12867 "I was coming to that," the Knight said. "The song really is 12868"A-sitting on a Gate": and the tune's my own invention." 12869 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 12870% 12871The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 128721986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert. 12873 -- D. Letterman 12874% 12875The National Short-Sleeved Shirt Association says: 12876 Support your right to bare arms! 12877% 12878The net of law is spread so wide, 12879No sinner from its sweep may hide. 12880Its meshes are so fine and strong, 12881They take in every child of wrong. 12882O wondrous web of mystery! 12883Big fish alone escape from thee! 12884 -- James Jeffrey Roche 12885% 12886The new Congressmen say they're going to turn the government around. I 12887hope I don't get run over again. 12888% 12889The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, 12890in the form of an affirmation of the binary number system. 12891 12892 But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for 12893 whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 12894 -- Matthew 5:37 12895% 12896The New York Times is read by the people who run the country. The 12897Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. 12898The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive 12899and running the country ... 12900 -- Robert J Woodhead 12901% 12902The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to 12903choose from. 12904 -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum 12905% 12906The notion of a "record" is an obsolete remnant of the days of the 1290780-column card. 12908 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 12909% 12910The notion that the church, the press, and the universities should 12911serve the state is essentially a Communist notion ... In a free society 12912these institutions must be wholly free -- which is to say that their 12913function is to serve as checks upon the state. 12914 -- Alan Barth 12915% 12916The number of arguments is unimportant unless some of them are 12917correct. 12918 -- Ralph Hartley 12919% 12920The objective of all dedicated employees should be to thoroughly 12921analyze all situations, anticipate all problems prior to their 12922occurrence, have answers for these problems, and move swiftly to solve 12923these problems when called upon. 12924 12925However, when you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to 12926remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp. 12927% 12928The Official MBA Handbook on business cards: 12929 Avoid overly pretentious job titles such as "Lord of the Realm, 12930Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" or "Director of Corporate 12931Planning." 12932% 12933The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. 12934% 12935The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age 12936brings wisdom. 12937 -- H. L. Mencken 12938% 12939The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader 12940catch his own breath. 12941 -- Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart 12942% 12943The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when 12944to cringe. 12945% 12946The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 12947`social sciences' is: some do, some don't. 12948 -- Ernest Rutherford 12949% 12950The only problem with being a man of leisure is that you can never stop 12951and take a rest. 12952% 12953The only real way to look younger is not to be born so soon. 12954 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 12955 Over and Over" 12956% 12957The only really decent thing to do behind a person's back is pat it. 12958% 12959The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber 12960has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, 12961finished, and put inside boxes. 12962 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 12963% 12964The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. 12965It is never any use to oneself. 12966 -- Oscar Wilde 12967% 12968The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. 12969 -- Hegel 12970 12971I know guys can't learn from yesterday ... Hegel must be taking the 12972long view. 12973 -- John Brunner, "Stand on Zanzibar" 12974% 12975The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. 12976 -- Oscar Wilde 12977% 12978The opossum is a very sophisticated animal. It doesn't even get up 12979until 5 or 6 p.m. 12980% 12981The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. 12982 -- Bohr 12983% 12984The optimum committee has no members. 12985 -- Norman Augustine 12986% 12987The other day I put instant coffee in my microwave oven ... I almost 12988went back in time. 12989 -- Steven Wright 12990% 12991The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because 12992it isn't here. 12993 -- Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley) 12994% 12995The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it 12996were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence. 12997 -- H. L. Mencken 12998% 12999 The people of Halifax invented the trampoline. During the 13000Victorian period the tripe-dressers of Halifax stretched tripe across a 13001large wooden frame and jumped up and down on it to `tender and dress' 13002it. The tripoline, as they called it, degenerated into becoming the 13003apparatus for a spectator sport. 13004 13005 The people of Halifax also invented the harmonium, a device for 13006castrating pigs during Sunday service. 13007 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13008% 13009The Pig, if I am not mistaken, 13010Gives us ham and pork and Bacon. 13011Let others think his heart is big, 13012I think it stupid of the Pig. 13013 -- Ogden Nash 13014% 13015The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter 13016swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the 13017batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The 13018center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute 13019his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. 13020 -- Dizzy Dean 13021% 13022The plot was designed in a light vein that somehow became varicose. 13023 -- David Lardner 13024% 13025The polite thing to do has always been to address people as they wish 13026to be addressed, to treat them in a way they think dignified. But it 13027is equally important to accept and tolerate different standards of 13028courtesy, not expecting everyone else to adapt to one's own 13029preferences. Only then can we hope to restore the insult to its proper 13030social function of expressing true distaste. 13031 -- Judith Martin, "Miss Manners' Guide to 13032 Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" 13033% 13034The porcupine with the sharpest quills gets stuck on a tree more often. 13035% 13036The Preacher, the Politician, the Teacher, 13037 Were each of them once a kiddie. 13038A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature. 13039 Do I want one? God Forbiddie! 13040 -- Ogden Nash 13041% 13042The President publicly apologized today to all those offended by his 13043brother's remark, "There's more Arabs in this country than there is 13044Jews!". Those offended include Arabs, Jews, and English teachers. 13045 -- Baltimore, Channel 11 News, on Jimmy Carter 13046% 13047The price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that someday 13048they might force their beliefs on us. 13049 -- Mario Cuomo 13050% 13051The primary cause of failure in electrical appliances is an expired 13052warranty. Often, you can get an appliance running again simply by 13053changing the warranty expiration date with a 15/64-inch felt-tipped 13054marker. 13055 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13056% 13057The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to 13058constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every 13059appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA 13060statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This 13061also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change. 13062 -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers 13063% 13064The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough 13065voters to win the next election. 13066% 13067The primary theme of SoupCon is communication. The acronym "LEO" 13068represents the secondary theme: 13069 13070 Law Enforcement Officials 13071 13072The overall theme of SoupCon shall be: 13073 13074 Avoiding Communication with Law Enforcement Officials 13075 13076 -- M. Gallaher 13077% 13078... the privileged being which we call human is distinguished from 13079other animals only by certain double-edged manifestations which in 13080charity we can only call "inhuman." 13081 -- R. A. Lafferty 13082% 13083The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the 13084stupidity of your action. 13085% 13086The problem ... is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. 13087Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil 13088using other animals; they've piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle 13089Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, 13090etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous 13091bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons. None 13092of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats 13093developed cancer. 13094 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13095% 13096The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go 13097to erase it. 13098 -- Glaser and Way 13099% 13100The problem with engineers is that they tend to cheat in order to get 13101results. 13102 13103The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy 13104problems in order to get results. 13105 13106The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at toy 13107problems in order to get results. 13108% 13109The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be 13110pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. 13111 -- Elizabeth Taylor 13112% 13113The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 13114% 13115The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's 13116outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by 13117mistake since its colors are those of the London Reform Club. Once 13118tied around its victim's neck, it strangles him gently and then claims 13119the insurance before running off to Germany where it lives in hiding. 13120 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13121% 13122"The pyramid is opening!" 13123"Which one?" 13124"The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" 13125 -- Firesign Theater, "How Can You Be In Two Places At 13126 Once When You're Not Anywhere At All" 13127% 13128The qotc (quote of the con) was Liz's: 13129 "My brain is paged out to my liver" 13130% 13131The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is 13132it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, 13133that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of 13134industrial waste? 13135 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 13136% 13137The rain it raineth on the just 13138 And also on the unjust fella, 13139But chiefly on the just, because 13140 The unjust steals the just's umbrella. 13141 --Lord Bowen 13142% 13143The reader this message encounters not failing to understand is 13144cursed. 13145% 13146The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much. 13147% 13148The reason it's called "Grape Nuts" is that it contains "dextrose", 13149which is also sometimes called "grape sugar", and also because "Grape 13150Nuts" is catchier, in terms of marketing, than "A Cross Between Gerbil 13151Food and Gravel", which is what it tastes like. 13152 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 13153% 13154The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one 13155persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all 13156progress depends on the unreasonable man. 13157 -- George Bernard Shaw 13158% 13159The revolution will not be televised. 13160% 13161The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. 13162 -- Emerson 13163% 13164The rhino is a homely beast, 13165For human eyes he's not a feast. 13166Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros, 13167I'll stare at something less prepoceros. 13168 -- Ogden Nash 13169% 13170The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This 13171means that only left handed people are in their right mind. 13172% 13173The Right Honorable Gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests 13174and to his imagination for his facts. 13175 -- Sheridan 13176% 13177The right to revolt has sources deep in our history. 13178 -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas 13179% 13180The rights you have are the rights given you by this Committee [the 13181House Un-American Activities Committee]. We will determine what rights 13182you have and what rights you have not got. 13183 -- J. Parnell Thomas 13184% 13185The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And littered with 13186sloppy analysis! 13187% 13188The Roman Rule 13189 The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the 13190 one who is doing it. 13191% 13192The Ruffed Pandanga of Borneo and Rotherham spreads out his feathers in 13193his courtship dance and imitates Winston Churchill and Tommy Cooper on 13194one leg. The padanga is dying out because the female padanga doesn't 13195take it too seriously. 13196 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13197% 13198The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or 13199give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once. 13200 -- Jane Bryant Quinn 13201% 13202"The Schizophrenic: An Unauthorized Autobiography" 13203% 13204The Schwine-Kitzenger Institute study of 47 men over the age of 100 13205showed that all had these things in common: 13206 13207 (1) They all had moderate appetites. 13208 (2) They all came from middle class homes 13209 (3) All but two of them were dead. 13210% 13211The scum also rises. 13212 -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 13213% 13214The seven deadly sins ... Food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes, 13215respectability and children. Nothing can lift those seven milestones 13216from man's neck but money; and the spirit cannot soar until the 13217milestones are lifted. 13218 -- George Bernard Shaw 13219% 13220 The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood 13221as he reported to Fafhrd: "I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. 13222The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in 13223the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in 13224twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. 13225 13226 "Now about Lankhmar. She's been invaded, her walls breached 13227everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a 13228fierce host which out-numbers Lankhmar's inhabitants by fifty to one -- 13229and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city." 13230 13231 "How?" demanded Fafhrd. 13232 13233 Ningauble shrugged. "You're a hero. You should know." 13234 -- Fritz Leiber, from "The Swords of Lankhmar" 13235% 13236The sheep that fly over your head are soon to land. 13237% 13238The shortest distance between two points is under construction. 13239 -- Noelie Alito 13240% 13241The Sixth Commandment of Frisbee: 13242 The greatest single aid to distance is for the disc to be going 13243in a direction you did not want. (Goes the wrong way = Goes a long 13244way.) 13245 -- Dan Roddick 13246% 13247The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity 13248and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted 13249activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ... 13250neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. 13251% 13252The sooner all the animals are dead, the sooner we'll find their 13253money. 13254 -- Ed Bluestone, "The National Lampoon" 13255% 13256The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up! 13257% 13258The sooner you make your first 5000 mistakes, the sooner you will be 13259able to correct them. 13260 -- Nicolaides 13261% 13262The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. 13263% 13264The Soviet pre-eminence in chess can be traced to the average Russian's 13265readiness to brood obsessively over anything, even the arrangement of 13266some pieces of wood. Indeed, the Russians' predisposition for quiet 13267reflection followed by sudden preventive action explains why they led 13268the field for many years in both chess and ax murders. It is well 13269known that as early as 1970, the U.S.S.R., aware of what a defeat at 13270Reykjavik would do to national prestige, implemented a vigorous program 13271of preparation and incentive. Every day for an entire year, a team of 13272psychologists, chess analysts and coaches met with the top three 13273Russian grand masters and threatened them with a pointy stick. That 13274these tactics proved fruitless is now a part of chess history and a 13275further testament to the American way, which provides that if you want 13276something badly enough, you can always go to Iceland and get it from 13277the Russians. 13278 -- Marshall Brickman, Playboy, April, 1973 13279% 13280 The STAR WARS Song 13281 Sung to the tune of "Lola", by the Kinks: 13282 13283I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah 13284Where it bubbles all the time like a giant cabinet soda 13285 S-O-D-A soda 13286I saw the little runt sitting there on a log 13287I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said Yoda 13288 Y-O-D-A Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13289 13290Well I've been around but I ain't never seen 13291A guy who looks like a Muppet but he's wrinkled and green 13292 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13293Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand 13294How he can raise me in the air just by raising his hand 13295 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13296% 13297The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. 13298% 13299The steady state of disks is full. 13300 -- Ken Thompson 13301% 13302 THE STORY OF CREATION 13303 or 13304 THE MYTH OF URK 13305 13306In the beginning there was data. The data was without form and null, 13307and darkness was upon the face of the console; and the Spirit of IBM 13308was moving over the face of the market. And DEC said, "Let there be 13309registers"; and there were registers. And DEC saw that they carried; 13310and DEC separated the data from the instructions. DEC called the data 13311Stack, and the instructions they called Code. And there was evening 13312and there was morning, one interrupt. 13313 -- Rico Tudor 13314% 13315The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it's only the people who make 13316them unsafe. 13317 -- Mayor Frank Rizzo 13318% 13319The student in question is performing minimally for his peer group and 13320is an emerging underachiever. 13321% 13322The study of non-linear physics is like the study of non-elephant 13323biology. 13324% 13325The subspace _W inherits the other 8 properties of _V. And there aren't 13326even any property taxes. 13327 -- J. MacKay, Mathematics 134b 13328% 13329The sum of the Universe is zero. 13330% 13331The sun was shining on the sea, 13332Shining with all his might: 13333He did his very best to make 13334The billows smooth and bright -- 13335And this was very odd, because it was 13336The middle of the night. 13337 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 13338% 13339The superfluous is very necessary. 13340 -- Voltaire 13341% 13342The surest protection against temptation is cowardice. 13343 -- Mark Twain 13344% 13345The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our 13346authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as 13347the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as 13348the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much 13349radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much 13350as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we 13351receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the 13352Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will 13353heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to 13354the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much 13355heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for 13356radiation, (_H/_E)^4 = 50, where _E is the absolute temperature of the 13357earth (-300K), gives _H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell 13358cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the 13359fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which 13360burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means 13361that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We 13362have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. 13363 -- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972 13364% 13365The Third Law of Photography: 13366 If you did manage to get any good shots, they will be ruined 13367when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of the dark 13368leaks out. 13369% 13370The Three Laws of Thermodynamics: 13371 13372The First Law: You can't get anything without working for it. 13373The Second Law: The most you can accomplish by working is to break 13374 even. 13375The Third Law: You can only break even at absolute zero. 13376% 13377 The Three Major Kind of Tools 13378 13379* Tools for hittings things to make them loose or to tighten them up or 13380 jar their many complex, sophisticated electrical parts in such a 13381 manner that they function perfectly. (These are your hammers, maces, 13382 bludgeons, and truncheons.) 13383 13384* Tools that, if dropped properly, can penetrate your foot. (Awls) 13385 13386* Tools that nobody should ever use because the potential danger is far 13387 greater than the value of any project that could possibly result. 13388 (Power saws, power drills, power staplers, any kind of tool that uses 13389 any kind of power more advanced than flashlight batteries.) 13390 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13391% 13392The trouble with a kitten is that 13393When it grows up, it's always a cat 13394 -- Ogden Nash. 13395% 13396The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. 13397% 13398The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate 13399it. 13400 -- Franklin P. Jones 13401% 13402The trouble with being punctual is that people think you have nothing 13403more important to do. 13404% 13405The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody 13406appreciates how difficult it was. 13407% 13408The trouble with superheros is what to do between phone booths. 13409 -- Ken Kesey 13410% 13411The truth is what is; what should be is a dirty lie. 13412 -- Lenny Bruce 13413% 13414The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. 13415And vice versa. 13416% 13417The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks 13418Which practically conceal its sex. 13419I think it clever of the turtle 13420In such a fix to be so fertile. 13421 -- Ogden Nash 13422% 13423The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. 13424% 13425The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more 13426annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. 13427 -- Oscar Wilde 13428% 13429The United States also has its native Fascists who say that they are 13430"100 percent American"... 13431 -- U. S. Army (1945) 13432% 13433The United States is like the guy at the party who gives cocaine to 13434everybody and still nobody likes him. 13435 -- Jim Samuels 13436% 13437The universe does not have laws -- it has habits, and habits can be 13438broken. 13439% 13440The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination -- but the 13441combination is locked up in the safe. 13442 -- Peter DeVries 13443% 13444The University of California Bears announced the signing of Reggie 13445Philbin to a letter of intent to attend Cal next Fall. Philbin is said 13446to make up for no talent by cheating well. Says Philbin of his 13447decision to attend Cal, "I'm in it for the free ride." 13448% 13449The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and 13450religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging 13451from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its 13452yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledygook than the rest of the 13453world put together. 13454 -- Sir Peter Medawar 13455% 13456The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be 13457regarded as a criminal offense. 13458 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 13459% 13460The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes 13461the worst cigars. 13462 -- H. L. Mencken 13463% 13464The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid 13465prejudice. 13466 -- Mark Twain 13467% 13468The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. 13469Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts 13470to fit their views ... which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to 13471be one of the facts that needs altering. 13472 -- Doctor Who, "Face of Evil" 13473% 13474The voters have spoken, the bastards ... 13475% 13476The wages of sin are death; but after they're done taking out taxes, 13477it's just a tired feeling: 13478% 13479The wages of sin are high but you get your money's worth. 13480% 13481The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity 13482that would be clearly understood. 13483 -- Alexander Haig 13484% 13485The way to make a small fortune in the commodities market is to start 13486with a large fortune. 13487% 13488 THE WOMBAT 13489 13490The wombat lives across the seas, 13491Among the far Antipodes. 13492He may exist on nuts and berries, 13493Or then again, on missionaries; 13494His distant habitat precludes 13495Conclusive knowledge of his moods. 13496But I would not engage the wombat 13497In any form of mortal combat. 13498% 13499The world is coming to an end ... SAVE YOUR BUFFERS!!! 13500% 13501The world is coming to an end! Repent and return those library books! 13502% 13503The world is coming to an end. Please log off. 13504% 13505The world's as ugly as sin, 13506And almost as delightful. 13507 -- Frederick Locker-Lampson 13508% 13509The years of peak mental activity are undoubtedly between the ages of 13510four and eighteen. At four we know all the questions, at eighteen all 13511the answers. 13512% 13513Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations. 13514 13515He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan, 13516then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open 13517market. 13518 13519If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should 13520not accept of the Earth that which he refuses to give of himself. 13521 13522Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree. 13523Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg. 13524Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. 13525 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 13526% 13527Then here's to the City of Boston, 13528The town of the cries and the groans. 13529Where the Cabots can't see the Kabotschniks, 13530And the Lowells won't speak to the Cohns. 13531 -- Franklin Pierce Adams 13532% 13533 THEORY 13534Into love and out again, 13535 Thus I went and thus I go. 13536Spare your voice, and hold your pen: 13537 Well and bitterly I know 13538All the songs were ever sung, 13539 All the words were ever said; 13540Could it be, when I was young, 13541 Someone dropped me on my head? 13542 -- Dorothy Parker 13543% 13544There *__is* intelligent life on Earth, but I leave for Texas on Monday. 13545% 13546There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, 13547and praiseworthy ... 13548 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 13549% 13550There are many intelligent species in the universe. They all own 13551cats. 13552% 13553There are no data that cannot be plotted on a straight line if the axis 13554are chosen correctly. 13555% 13556There are no games on this system. 13557% 13558There are no physicists in the hottest parts of hell, because the 13559existence of a "hottest part" implies a temperature difference, and any 13560marginally competent physicist would immediately use this to run a heat 13561engine and make some other part of hell comfortably cool. This is 13562obviously impossible. 13563 -- Richard Davisson 13564% 13565There are people so addicted to exaggeration 13566that they can't tell the truth without lying. 13567 -- Josh Billings 13568% 13569There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a 13570vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone. 13571 -- Gloria Steinem 13572% 13573 There are some goyisha names that just about guarantee that 13574someone isn't Jewish. For example, you'll never meet a Jew named 13575Johnson or Wright or Jones or Sinclair or Ricks or Stevenson or Reid or 13576Larsen or Jenks. But some goyisha names just about guarantee that 13577every other person you meet with that name will be Jewish. Why is 13578this? 13579 Who knows? Learned rabbis have pondered this question for 13580centuries and have failed to come up with an answer, and you think ___you 13581can find one? Get serious. You don't even understand why it's 13582forbidden to eat crab -- fresh cold crab with mayonnaise -- or lobster 13583-- soft tender morsels of lobster dipped in melted butter. You don't 13584even understand a simple thing like that, and yet you hope to discover 13585why there are more Jews named Miller than Katz? Fat Chance. 13586 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 13587% 13588There are some micro-organisms that exhibit characteristics of both 13589plants and animals. When exposed to light they undergo photosynthesis; 13590and when the lights go out, they turn into animals. But then again, 13591don't we all? 13592% 13593There are those who claim that magic is like the tide; that it swells 13594and fades over the surface of the earth, collecting in concentrated 13595pools here and there, almost disappearing from other spots, leaving 13596them parched for wonder. There are also those who believe that if you 13597stick your fingers up your nose and blow, it will increase your 13598intelligence. 13599 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VII 13600% 13601There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. 13602 -- Disraeli 13603% 13604There are three possibilities: 13605Pioneer's solar panel has turned away from the sun; 13606there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or 13607someone loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor. 13608% 13609There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be 13610offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin 13611a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount 13612of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of 13613affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. 13614When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. 13615Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. 13616 -- Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior 13617% 13618There are three principal ways to lose money: wine, women, and 13619engineers. While the first two are more pleasant, the third is by far 13620the more certain. 13621 -- Baron Rothschild, ca. 1800 13622% 13623There are three schools of magic. One: State a tautology, then ring 13624the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy. Two: Record many 13625facts. Try to find a pattern. Then make a wrong guess at the next 13626fact; that's science. Three: Be aware that you live in a malevolent 13627Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's 13628Factor; that's engineering. 13629% 13630There are three things I always forget. Names, faces -- the third I 13631can't remember. 13632 -- Italo Svevo 13633% 13634There are three ways to get something done: 13635 (1) Do it yourself. 13636 (2) Hire someone to do it for you. 13637 (3) Forbid your kids to do it. 13638% 13639There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire 13640someone, or forbid your kids to do it. 13641% 13642There are times when truth is stranger than fiction and lunch time is 13643one of them. 13644% 13645There are two kinds of solar-heat systems: "passive" systems collect 13646the sunlight that hits your home, and "active" systems collect the 13647sunlight that hits your neighbors' homes, too. 13648 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13649% 13650There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good 13651sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. 13652 -- Woody Allen 13653% 13654There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to 13655make is so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the 13656other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious 13657deficiencies. 13658 -- C. A. R. Hoare 13659% 13660There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to dislike it, the 13661other is to read Pope. 13662 -- Oscar Wilde 13663% 13664There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one 13665works. 13666% 13667There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a 13668suitable application of high explosives. 13669% 13670There can be no twisted thought without a twisted molecule. 13671 -- R. W. Gerard 13672% 13673There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. 13674 -- Henry Kissinger 13675% 13676There exist tasks which cannot be done by more than 10 men or fewer 13677than 100. 13678 -- Steele's Law 13679% 13680There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know 13681nothing about. 13682% 13683There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself to be burned for an 13684opinion. 13685 -- Anatole France 13686% 13687There is a great discovery still to be made in Literature: that of 13688paying literary men by the quantity they do NOT write. 13689% 13690There is a green, multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. 13691% 13692There is a Massachusetts law requiring all dogs to have their hind legs 13693tied during the month of April. 13694% 13695There is a natural hootchy-kootchy to a goldfish. 13696 -- Walt Disney 13697% 13698There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, 13699Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and 13700love of the Fatherland. 13701 -- Adolf Hitler 13702% 13703There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly 13704what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly 13705disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and 13706inexplicable. 13707 13708There is another theory which states that this has already happened. 13709 13710 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 13711% 13712There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum. 13713 -- Arthur C. Clarke 13714% 13715There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. 13716 -- Mark Twain 13717% 13718There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the 13719tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not 13720abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards -- only physics and 13721war hold him in check. And also the wife who wants him home by five, 13722of course. 13723 -- Encyclopedia Apocryphia, 1990 ed. 13724% 13725There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. 13726 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, World Future Society 13727 Convention, 1977 13728% 13729There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it. 13730 -- G. B. Shaw 13731% 13732There is no substitute for good manners, except, perhaps, fast reflexes. 13733% 13734There is no such thing as fortune. Try again. 13735% 13736There is no time like the pleasant. 13737% 13738There is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be 13739doing. 13740% 13741There is no TRUTH. There is no REALITY. There is no CONSISTENCY. 13742There are no ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS I'm very probably wrong. 13743% 13744"There is nothing which cannot be answered by means of my doctrine," 13745said a monk, coming into a teahouse where Nasrudin sat. "And yet just 13746a short time ago, I was challenged by a scholar with an unanswerable 13747question," said Nasrudin. "I could have answered it if I had been 13748there." "Very well. He asked, 'Why are you breaking into my house in 13749the middle of the night?'" 13750% 13751There is nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the 13752ocean level wouldn't cure. 13753 -- Ross MacDonald 13754% 13755There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and 13756that is not being talked about. 13757 -- Oscar Wilde 13758% 13759There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale 13760returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. 13761 -- Mark Twain 13762% 13763There once was a girl named Irene 13764Who lived on distilled kerosene 13765 But she started absorbin' 13766 A new hydrocarbon 13767And since then has never benzene. 13768% 13769There once was a member of Mensa 13770Who was a most excellent fencer. 13771 The sword that he used 13772 Was his -- (line is refused, 13773And has now been removed by the censor). 13774% 13775There once was an old man from Esser, 13776Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser. 13777 It at last grew so small, 13778 He knew nothing at all, 13779And now he's a College Professor. 13780% 13781There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. 13782 -- C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia 13783% 13784There was a plane crash over mid-ocean, and only three survivors were 13785left in the life-raft: the Pope, the President, and Mayor Daley. 13786Unfortunately, it was a one-man life-raft, and quickly sinking, so they 13787started debating who should be allowed to stay. 13788 13789The Pope pointed out that he was the spiritual leader of millions all 13790over the world, the President explained that if he died then America 13791would be stuck with the Vice-President, and so forth. Then Mayor Daley 13792said, "Look! We're not solving anything like this! The only fair 13793thing to do is to vote on it." So they did, and Mayor Daley won by 97 13794votes. 13795% 13796There was a young lady from Hyde 13797Who ate a green apple and died. 13798 While her lover lamented 13799 The apple fermented 13800And made cider inside her inside. 13801% 13802There was a young man who said "God, 13803I find it exceedingly odd, 13804 That the willow oak tree 13805 Continues to be, 13806When there's no one about in the Quad." 13807 13808"Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd, 13809For I'm always about in the Quad; 13810 And that's why the tree, 13811 Continues to be," 13812Signed "Yours faithfully, God." 13813% 13814There was a young poet named Dan, 13815Whose poetry never would scan. 13816 When told this was so, 13817 He said, "Yes, I know. 13818It's because I try to put every possible syllable into that last line that I can." 13819% 13820There was an interesting development in the CBS-Westmoreland trial: 13821both sides agreed that after the trial, Andy Rooney would be allowed to 13822talk to the jury for three minutes about little things that annoyed him 13823during the trial. 13824 -- David Letterman 13825% 13826There were in this country two very large monopolies. The larger of 13827the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double- 13828digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the 138298-cent postcard. The second was responsible for such things as the 13830transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity 13831stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative 13832feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching 13833systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the 13834first electrical digital computer, and the first communications 13835satellite. Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the 13836telephone business? 13837% 13838There's a fine line between courage and foolishness. Too bad it's not 13839a fence. 13840% 13841There's an old proverb that says just about whatever you want it to. 13842% 13843There's little in taking or giving, 13844 There's little in water or wine: 13845This living, this living, this living, 13846 Was never a project of mine. 13847Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is 13848 The gain of the one at the top, 13849For art is a form of catharsis, 13850 And love is a permanent flop, 13851And work is the province of cattle, 13852 And rest's for a clam in a shell, 13853So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -- 13854 Would you kindly direct me to hell? 13855 -- Dorothy Parker 13856% 13857There's no easy quick way out, we're gonna have to live through our 13858whole lives, win, lose, or draw. 13859 -- Walt Kelly 13860% 13861There's no future in time travel. 13862% 13863There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. 13864 -- Dr. Who 13865% 13866There's no real need to do housework -- after four years it doesn't get 13867any worse. 13868% 13869There's no room in the drug world for amateurs. 13870% 13871There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government 13872working for you. 13873 -- Will Rodgers 13874% 13875There's nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and 13876dead armadillos. 13877 -- Jim Hightower, Texas Agricultural Commissioner 13878% 13879There's nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them 13880won't aggravate. 13881% 13882There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn 13883what it is I'll get married again. 13884 -- Clint Eastwood 13885% 13886There's so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is 13887becoming an endangered synthetic. 13888 -- Lily Tomlin 13889% 13890"These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!" 13891"These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!" 13892"These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP 13893out of MEGATON MAN!" 13894% 13895These days the necessities of life cost you about three times what they 13896used to, and half the time they aren't even fit to drink. 13897% 13898They also surf who only stand on waves. 13899% 13900They make a desert and call it peace. 13901 -- Tacitus (55?-120?) 13902% 13903They spell it "da Vinci" and pronounce it "da Vinchy". Foreigners 13904always spell better than they pronounce. 13905 -- Mark Twain 13906% 13907They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 13908safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. 13909 -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 13910% 13911They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them! 13912% 13913They told me you had proven it When they discovered our results 13914 About a month before. Their hair began to curl 13915The proof was valid, more or less Instead of understanding it 13916 But rather less than more. We'd run the thing through PRL. 13917 13918He sent them word that we would try Don't tell a soul about all this 13919 To pass where they had failed For it must ever be 13920And after we were done, to them A secret, kept from all the rest 13921 The new proof would be mailed. Between yourself and me. 13922 13923My notion was to start again 13924 Ignoring all they'd done 13925We quickly turned it into code 13926 To see if it would run. 13927% 13928They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! 13929% 13930They're unfriendly, which is fortunate, really. They'd be difficult to like. 13931 -- Avon 13932% 13933Things are more like they used to be than they are now. 13934% 13935Things will be bright in P.M. A cop will shine a light in your face. 13936% 13937Think big. Pollute the Mississippi. 13938% 13939Think honk if you're a telepath. 13940% 13941Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! 13942% 13943Think of your family tonight. Try to crawl home after the computer 13944crashes. 13945% 13946Think twice before speaking, but don't say "think think click click". 13947% 13948"Thirty days hath Septober, 13949April, June, and no wonder. 13950all the rest have peanut butter 13951except my father who wears red suspenders." 13952% 13953This Fortue Examined By INSPECTOR NO. 2-14 13954% 13955This fortune cookie program out of order. For those in desperate need, 13956please use the program "________randchar". This program generates random 13957characters, and, given enough time, will undoubtedly come up with 13958something profound. It will, however, take it no time at all to be 13959more profound than THIS program has ever been. 13960% 13961This fortune intentionally not included. 13962% 13963This fortune is false. 13964% 13965This fortune is inoperative. Please try another. 13966% 13967This is a country where people are free to practice their religion, 13968regardless of race, creed, color, obesity, or number of dangling keys... 13969% 13970This is a job for BOB VIOLENCE and SCUM, the INCREDIBLY STUPID MUTANT DOG. 13971 -- Bob Violence 13972% 13973This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. If this had been an 13974actual emergency, do you really think we'd stick around to tell you? 13975% 13976This is an especially good time for you vacationers who plan to fly, 13977because the Reagan administration, as part of the same policy under 13978which it recently sold Yellowstone National Park to Wayne Newton, has 13979"deregulated" the airline industry. What this means for you, the 13980consumer, is that the airlines are no longer required to follow any 13981rules whatsoever. They can show snuff movies. They can charge for 13982oxygen. They can hire pilots right out of Vending Machine Refill 13983Person School. They can conserve fuel by ejecting husky passengers 13984over water. They can ram competing planes in mid-air. These 13985innovations have resulted in tremendous cost savings which have been 13986passed along to you, the consumer, in the form of flights with 13987amazingly low fares, such as $29. Of course, certain restrictions do 13988apply, the main one being that all these flights take you to Newark, 13989and you must pay thousands of dollars if you want to fly back out. 13990 -- Dave Barry, "Iowa -- Land of Secure Vacations" 13991% 13992This is an unauthorized cybernetic announcement. 13993% 13994This is for all ill-treated fellows 13995 Unborn and unbegot, 13996For them to read when they're in trouble 13997 And I am not. 13998 -- A. E. Housman 13999% 14000This is lemma 1.1. We start a new chapter so the numbers all go back 14001to one. 14002 -- Prof. Seager, C&O 351 14003% 14004This is National Non-Dairy Creamer Week. 14005% 14006THIS IS PLEDGE WEEK FOR THE FORTUNE PROGRAM 14007 14008If you like the fortune program, why not support it now with your 14009contribution of a pithy fortune, clean or obscene? We cannot continue 14010without your support. Less than 14% of all fortune users are 14011contributors. That means that 86% of you are getting a free ride. We 14012can't go on like this much longer. Federal cutbacks mean less money 14013for fortunes, and unless user contributions increase to make up the 14014difference, the fortune program will have to shut down between midnight 14015and 8 a.m. Don't let this happen. Mail your fortunes right now to 14016"fortune". Just type in your favorite pithy saying. Do it now before 14017you forget. Our target is 300 new fortunes by the end of the week. 14018Don't miss out. All fortunes will be acknowledged. If you contribute 1401930 fortunes or more, you will receive a free subscription to "The 14020Fortune Hunter", our monthly program guide. If you contribute 50 or 14021more, you will receive a free "Fortune Hunter" coffee mug .... 14022% 14023This is the ____LAST time I take travel suggestions from Ray Bradbury! 14024% 14025This is the first numerical problem I ever did. It demonstrates the 14026power of computers: 14027 14028Enter lots of data on calorie & nutritive content of foods. Instruct 14029the thing to maximize a function describing nutritive content, with a 14030minimum level of each component, for fixed caloric content. The 14031results are that one should eat each day: 14032 14033 1/2 chicken 14034 1 egg 14035 1 glass of skim milk 14036 27 heads of lettuce. 14037 -- Rev. Adrian Melott 14038% 14039This is the story of the bee 14040Whose sex is very hard to see 14041 14042You cannot tell the he from the she 14043But she can tell, and so can he 14044 14045The little bee is never still 14046She has no time to take the pill 14047 14048And that is why, in times like these 14049There are so many sons of bees. 14050% 14051This is your fortune. 14052% 14053This land is full of trousers! 14054this land is full of mausers! 14055 And pussycats to eat them when the sun goes down! 14056 -- Firesign Theater 14057% 14058This land is made of mountains, 14059This land is made of mud, 14060This land has lots of everything, 14061For me and Elmer Fudd. 14062 14063This land has lots of trousers, 14064This land has lots of mousers, 14065And pussycats to eat them 14066When the sun goes down. 14067% 14068This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, 14069you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where 14070to go. 14071% 14072This login session: $13.99, but for you $11.88 14073% 14074This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with 14075great force. 14076 -- Dorothy Parker 14077% 14078This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of 14079the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many 14080solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were 14081largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, 14082which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of 14083paper that were unhappy. 14084 -- Douglas Adams 14085% 14086This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does 14087something child-like. 14088 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 14089% 14090This quote is taken from the Diamondback, the University of Maryland 14091student newspaper, of Tuesday, 3/10/87. 14092 14093 One disadvantage of the Univac system is that it does not use 14094 Unix, a recently developed program which translates from one 14095 computer language to another and has a built-in editing system 14096 which identifies errors in the original program. 14097% 14098This sentence contradicts itself -- no actually it doesn't. 14099 -- Hofstadter 14100% 14101... This striving for excellence extends into people's personal lives 14102as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the best one, as 14103determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. Eighties people 14104buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking soda. If an '80s 14105couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a reservation three 14106weeks in advance, and they are informed that their table is available, 14107they stalk out immediately, because they know it is not an excellent 14108restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous crowd of 14109excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their beepers going 14110off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant wouldn't have 14111a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of Liza Minnelli. 14112 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 14113% 14114This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget it. 14115% 14116 Thompson, if he is to be believed, has sampled the entire 14117rainbow of legal and illegal drugs in heroic efforts to feel better 14118than he does. 14119 As for the truth about his health: I have asked around about 14120it. I am told that he appears to be strong and rosy, and steadily 14121sane. But we will be doing what he wants us to do, I think, if we 14122consider his exterior a sort of Dorian Gray facade. Inwardly, he is 14123being eaten alive by tinhorn politicians. 14124 The disease is fatal. There is no known cure. The most we can 14125do for the poor devil, it seems to me, is to name his disease in his 14126honor. From this moment on, let all those who feel that Americans can 14127be as easily led to beauty as to ugliness, to truth as to public 14128relations, to joy as to bitterness, be said to be suffering from Hunter 14129Thompson's disease. I don't have it this morning. It comes and goes. 14130This morning I don't have Hunter Thompson's disease. 14131 -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Excerpt 14132 from "A Political Disease", Vonnegut's review of "Fear 14133 and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" 14134% 14135Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those 14136of us who do. 14137% 14138Those who can't write, write manuals. 14139% 14140Those who can, do. Those who can't, simulate. 14141% 14142Those who do not do politics will be done in by politics. 14143 -- French Proverb 14144% 14145Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly. 14146 -- Henry Spencer 14147% 14148Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, 14149for these only gave life, those the art of living well. 14150 -- Aristotle 14151% 14152Those who express random thoughts to legislative committees are often 14153surprised and appalled to find themselves the instigators of law. 14154 -- Mark B. Cohen 14155% 14156Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose. 14157% 14158Those who make peaceful revolution impossible 14159will make violent revolution inevitable. 14160 -- John F. Kennedy 14161% 14162Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are 14163men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean 14164without the roar of its many waters. 14165 -- Frederick Douglass 14166% 14167Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are 14168the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with 14169Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether -- 14170whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A 14171fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any 14172more about the matter than the others. 14173 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14174% 14175Time flies like an arrow 14176Fruit flies like a banana 14177% 14178Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. 14179% 14180Time is an illusion; lunchtime, doubly so. 14181 -- Ford Prefect 14182% 14183Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at 14184once. 14185% 14186'Tis the dream of each programmer, 14187Before his life is done, 14188To write three lines of APL, 14189And make the damn things run. 14190% 14191 (to "The Caissons Go Rolling Along") 14192Scratch the disks, dump the core, Shut it down, pull the plug 14193Roll the tapes across the floor, Give the core an extra tug 14194And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14195Teletypes smashed to bits. Mem'ry cards, one and all, 14196Give the scopes some nasty hits Toss out halfway down the hall 14197And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14198And we've also found Just flip one switch 14199When you turn the power down, And the lights will cease to twitch 14200You turn the disk readers into trash. And the tape drives will crumble 14201 in a flash. 14202Oh, it's so much fun, When the CPU 14203Now the CPU won't run Can print nothing out but "foo," 14204And the system is going to crash. The system is going to crash. 14205% 14206 To A Quick Young Fox: 14207Why jog exquisite bulk, fond crazy vamp, 14208Daft buxom jonquil, zephyr's gawky vice? 14209Guy fed by work, quiz Jove's xanthic lamp -- 14210Zow! Qualms by deja vu gyp fox-kin thrice. 14211 -- Lazy Dog 14212% 14213To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it. 14214% 14215To be is to do. 14216 -- I. Kant 14217To do is to be. 14218 -- A. Sartre 14219Yabba-Dabba-Doo! 14220 -- F. Flintstone 14221% 14222To be responsive at this time, though I will simply say, and therefore 14223this is a repeat of what I said previously, that which I am unable to 14224offer in response is based on information available to make no such 14225statement. 14226% 14227To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and, whatever you hit, 14228call it the target. 14229% 14230To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy. 14231% 14232To err is human, to forgive, beyond the scope of the Operating System 14233% 14234To err is human, to moo bovine. 14235% 14236To every Ph.D. there is an equal and opposite Ph.D. 14237 -- B. Duggan 14238% 14239To generalize is to be an idiot. 14240 -- William Blake 14241% 14242To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three 14243men, two of them absent. 14244% 14245To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. 14246 -- Thomas Edison 14247% 14248To iterate is human, to recurse, divine. 14249 -- Robert Heller 14250% 14251To the best of my recollection, Senator, I can't recall. 14252% 14253To the systems programmer, users and applications serve only to provide 14254a test load. 14255% 14256To those accustomed to the precise, structured methods of conventional 14257system development, exploratory development techniques may seem messy, 14258inelegant, and unsatisfying. But it's a question of congruence: 14259precision and flexibility may be just as dysfunctional in novel, 14260uncertain situations as sloppiness and vacillation are in familiar, 14261well-defined ones. Those who admire the massive, rigid bone structures 14262of dinosaurs should remember that jellyfish still enjoy their very 14263secure ecological niche. 14264 -- Beau Sheil, "Power Tools for Programmers" 14265% 14266To understand this important story, you have to understand how the 14267telephone company works. Your telephone is connected to a local 14268computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is 14269in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the 14270lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan. 14271 14272Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in. If it 14273suspects you're going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the 14274computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the 14275one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe 14276break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid 14277incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor's spouse, 14278an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca 14279pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna's 14280loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen 14281and drink gin and laugh themselves silly. 14282 -- Dave Barry, "Won't It Be Just Great Owning Our Own 14283 Phones?" 14284% 14285To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question ... or is it? 14286% 14287To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition. 14288 -- Woody Allen 14289% 14290Today is a good day to bribe a high-ranking public official. 14291% 14292Today is National Existential Ennui Awareness Day. 14293% 14294Today is the first day of the rest of the mess. 14295% 14296Today is the first day of the rest of your lossage. 14297% 14298Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. 14299% 14300Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? 14301 14302And where does it go after it leaves the toaster? 14303 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 14304% 14305Today's thrilling story has been brought to you by Mushies, the great new 14306cereal that gets soggy even without milk or cream. Join us soon for more 14307spectacular adventure starring ... Tippy, the Wonder Dog. 14308 -- Bob & Ray 14309% 14310Today, of course, it is considered very poor taste to use the F-word 14311except in major motion pictures. 14312 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 14313% 14314Toilet Toup'ee, n.: 14315 Any shag carpet that causes the lid to become top-heavy, thus 14316creating endless annoyance to male users. 14317 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 14318% 14319Tomorrow will be canceled due to lack of interest. 14320% 14321Tonight's the night: Sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 14322% 14323Too clever is dumb. 14324 -- Ogden Nash 14325% 14326Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL. 14327 -- Mae West 14328% 14329Too much of everything is just enough. 14330 -- Bob Wier 14331% 14332Too often I find that the volume of paper expands to fill the available 14333briefcases. 14334 -- Governor Jerry Brown 14335% 14336Top 10 things likely to be overheard if you had a Klingon Programmer: 14337 10) Specifications are for the weak and timid! 14338 9) You question the worthiness of my code? I should kill you where you stand! 14339 8) Indentation?! - I will show you how to indent when I indent your skull! 14340 7) What is this talk of 'release'? Klingons do not make software 'releases'. 14341 Our software 'escapes' leaving a bloody trail of designers and quality 14342 assurance people in its wake. 14343 6) Klingon function calls do not have 'parameters' - they have 'arguments' 14344 - and they ALWAYS WIN THEM. 14345 5) Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Our software does not coddle the weak. 14346 4) A TRUE Klingon Warrior does not comment his code! 14347 3) Klingon software does NOT have BUGS. It has FEATURES, and those features 14348 are too sophisticated for a Romulan pig like you to understand. 14349 2) You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert unless you've read it in the 14350 original Klingon. 14351 1) Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! 14352 Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are! 14353% 14354Top scientists agree that with the present rate of consumption, the 14355earth's supply of gravity will be exhausted before the 24th century. 14356As man struggles to discover cheaper alternatives, we need your help. 14357Please... 14358 14359 CONSERVE GRAVITY 14360 14361Follow these simple suggestions: 14362 14363(1) Walk with a light step. Carry helium balloons if possible. 14364(2) Use tape, magnets, or glue instead of paperweights. 14365(3) Give up skiing and skydiving for more horizontal sports like 14366 curling. 14367(4) Avoid showers .. take baths instead. 14368(5) Don't hang all your clothes in the closet ... Keep them in one big 14369 pile. 14370(6) Stop flipping pancakes 14371% 14372Travel important today; Internal Revenue men arrive tomorrow. 14373% 14374Troubled day for virgins over 16 who are beautiful, wealthy, and live 14375in eucalyptus trees. 14376% 14377Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant intelligence. 14378 -- Henrik Tikkanen 14379% 14380Truth is the most valuable thing we have -- so let us economize it. 14381 -- Mark Twain 14382% 14383Truth will be out this morning. (Which may really mess things up.) 14384% 14385Truthful, adj.: 14386 Dumb and illiterate. 14387 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14388% 14389Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational. 14390 -- Charles Schulz 14391% 14392Try to be the best of whatever you are, even if what you are is no good. 14393% 14394Try to find the real tense of the report you are reading: Was it done, 14395is it being done, or is something to be done? Reports are now written 14396in four tenses: past tense, present tense, future tense, and 14397pretense. Watch for novel uses of CONGRAM (CONtractor GRAMmer), 14398defined by the imperfect past, the insufficient present, and the 14399absolutely perfect future. 14400 -- Amrom Katz 14401% 14402Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. 14403% 14404Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only 14405specification is that it should run noiselessly. 14406% 14407Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. 14408 -- Alan Watts 14409% 14410Trying to establish voice contact ... please ____yell into keyboard. 14411% 14412Turnaucka's Law: 14413 The attention span of a computer is only as long as its 14414electrical cord. 14415% 14416Tussman's Law: 14417 Nothing is as inevitable as a mistake whose time has come. 14418% 14419TV is chewing gum for the eyes. 14420 -- Frank Lloyd Wright 14421% 14422'Twas midnight, and the UNIX hacks 14423Did gyre and gimble in their cave 14424All mimsy was the CS-VAX 14425And Cory raths outgrabe. 14426 14427"Beware the software rot, my son! 14428The faults that bite, the jobs that thrash! 14429Beware the broken pipe, and shun 14430The frumious system crash!" 14431% 14432 'Twas the Night before Crisis 14433 14434'Twas the night before crisis, and all through the house, 14435 Not a program was working not even a browse. 14436The programmers were wrung out too mindless to care, 14437 Knowing chances of cutover hadn't a prayer. 14438The users were nestled all snug in their beds, 14439 While visions of inquiries danced in their heads. 14440When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, 14441 I sprang from my tube to see what was the matter. 14442And what to my wondering eyes should appear, 14443 But a Super Programmer, oblivious to fear. 14444More rapid than eagles, his programs they came, 14445 And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; 14446On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete! 14447 On Batch Jobs! On Closing! On Functions Complete! 14448His eyes were glazed over, his fingers were lean, 14449 From Weekends and nights in front of a screen. 14450A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, 14451 Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread... 14452% 14453'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period 14454 preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, And 14455 throughout our place of residence, 14456Kinetic activity was not in evidence among the 14457 possessors of this potential, including that 14458 species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. 14459Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward 14460 edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus, 14461Pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an 14462 imminent visitation from an eccentric 14463 philanthropist among whose folkloric appelations 14464 is the honorific title of St. Nicklaus ... 14465% 14466Twenty Percent of Zero is Better than Nothing. 14467 -- Walt Kelly 14468% 14469Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. 14470 -- Howard Kandel 14471% 14472Two men came before Nasrudin when he was magistrate. The first man 14473said, "This man has bitten my ear -- I demand compensation." The 14474second man said, "He bit it himself." Nasrudin withdrew to his 14475chambers, and spent an hour trying to bite his own ear. He succeeded 14476only in falling over and bruising his forehead. Returning to the 14477courtroom, Nasrudin pronounced, "Examine the man whose ear was bitten. 14478If his forehead is bruised, he did it himself and the case is 14479dismissed. If his forehead is not bruised, the other man did it and 14480must pay three silver pieces." 14481% 14482Two percent of zero is almost nothing. 14483% 14484Two sure ways to tell a sexy male; the first is, he has a bad memory. 14485I forget the second. 14486% 14487Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. 14488% 14489U: There's a U -- a Unicorn! 14490 Run right up and rub its horn. 14491 Look at all those points you're losing! 14492 UMBER HULKS are so confusing. 14493 -- The Roguelet's ABC 14494% 14495"Ubi non accusator, ibi non judex." 14496 14497(Where there is no police, there is no speed limit.) 14498 -- Roman Law, trans. Petr Beckmann (1971) 14499% 14500UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist. 14501% 14502"Uncle Cosmo ... why do they call this a word processor?" 14503 14504"It's simple, Skyler ... you've seen what food processors do to food, 14505right?" 14506 -- MacNelley, "Shoe" 14507% 14508Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: 14509 Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a 14510hammer or get a splinter in it. 14511% 14512Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14513just man is also a prison. 14514% 14515Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it 14516can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic ... 14517% 14518Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: 14519 Superiority is recessive. 14520% 14521Unfair animal names: 14522 14523-- tsetse fly -- bullhead 14524-- booby -- duck-billed platypus 14525-- sapsucker -- Clarence 14526 -- Gary Larson 14527% 14528United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the 14529Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of 14530all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of 14531all the patriots of every persuasion. 14532 14533Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the 14534world. 14535 -- Isaac Asimov 14536% 14537Universe, n.: 14538 The problem. 14539% 14540University, n.: 14541 Like a software house, except the software's free, and it's 14542usable, and it works, and if it breaks they'll quickly tell you how to 14543fix it, and ... 14544% 14545unix soit qui mal y pense 14546% 14547UNIX was half a billion (500000000) seconds old on 14548Tue Nov 5 00:53:20 1985 GMT (measuring since the time(2) epoch). 14549 -- Andy Tannenbaum 14550% 14551Unnamed Law: 14552 If it happens, it must be possible. 14553% 14554Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out 14555twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. 14556 -- H. L. Mencken 14557% 14558Usage: fortune -P [] -a [xsz] [Q: [file]] [rKe9] -v6[+] dataspec ... inputdir 14559% 14560User n.: 14561 A programmer who will believe anything you tell him. 14562% 14563USER, n.: 14564 The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." 14565 -- Dave Barry, "Claw Your Way to the Top" 14566% 14567Using TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach. 14568 -- S. C. Johnson 14569% 14570Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, 14571opulence is when you have three -- and paradise is when you have none. 14572 -- Doug Larson 14573% 14574Vail's Second Axiom: 14575 The amount of work to be done increases in proportion to the 14576amount of work already completed. 14577% 14578Valerie: Aww, Tom, you're going maudlin on me ... 14579Tom: I reserve the right to wax maudlin as I wane eloquent ... 14580 -- Tom Chapin 14581% 14582Van Roy's Law: 14583 An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. 14584% 14585Vanilla, adj.: 14586 Ordinary flavor, standard. See FLAVOR. When used of food, 14587very often does not mean that the food is flavored with vanilla 14588extract! For example, "vanilla-flavored won ton soup" (or simply 14589"vanilla won ton soup") means ordinary won ton soup, as opposed to hot 14590and sour won ton soup. 14591% 14592Velilind's Laws of Experimentation: 14593 (1) If reproducibility may be a problem, conduct the test only 14594 once. 14595 (2) If a straight line fit is required, obtain only two data 14596 points. 14597% 14598Veni, Vidi, Visa. 14599% 14600 "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past 14601year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley 14602reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their 14603artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue 14604moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon 14605Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the 14606entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the 14607sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips." 14608 14609 "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito. 14610 14611 "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made 14612good copy." 14613 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 14614% 14615Very few profundities can be expressed in less than 80 characters. 14616% 14617Vila: "I think I have just made the biggest mistake of my life." 14618Orac: "It is unlikely. I would predict there are far greater mistakes 14619 waiting to be made by someone with your obvious talent for it." 14620% 14621Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. 14622 -- Salvor Hardin 14623% 14624Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the 14625yard. 14626% 14627VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14628 Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to 14629 ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this 14630 morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you 14631 wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of 14632 that old underwear you own. 14633% 14634VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14635 You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nitpicking is 14636 sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and 14637 sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus 14638 drivers. 14639% 14640"Virtual" means never knowing where your next byte is coming from. 14641% 14642Virtue is its own punishment. 14643% 14644Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving 14645from where you left them to where you can't find them. 14646% 14647Vitamin C deficiency is apauling. 14648% 14649VMS is like a nightmare about RSX-11M. 14650% 14651Vote anarchist. 14652% 14653Vote for ME -- I'm well-tapered, half-cocked, ill-conceived and 14654TAX-DEFERRED! 14655% 14656VYARZERZOMANIMORORSEZASSEZANSERAREORSES? 14657% 14658 14659 *** System shutdown message from root *** 14660 14661System going down in 60 seconds 14662 14663 14664% 14665Wagner's music is better than it sounds. 14666 -- Mark Twain 14667% 14668Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?" 146691st customer: "I'll have tea." 146702nd customer: "Me, too -- and be sure the glass is clean!" 14671 (Waiter exits, returns) 14672Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?" 14673% 14674Walk softly and carry a megawatt laser. 14675% 14676War hath no fury like a non-combatant. 14677 -- Charles Edward Montague 14678% 14679War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ketchup is a vegetable. 14680% 14681 WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: 14682 14683Firings will continue until morale improves. 14684% 14685WARNING: 14686 Reading this fortune can affect the dimensionality of your 14687mind, change the curvature of your spine, cause the growth of hair on 14688your palms, and make a difference in the outcome of your favorite war. 14689% 14690Warning: Listening to WXRT on April Fools' Day is not recommended for 14691those who are slightly disoriented the first few hours after waking 14692up. 14693 -- Chicago Reader 4/22/83 14694% 14695Warp 7 -- It's a law we can live with. 14696% 14697Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. 14698 -- John F. Kennedy 14699% 14700Waste not, get your budget cut next year. 14701% 14702Wasting time is an important part of living. 14703% 14704Watson's Law: 14705 The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the 14706number and significance of any persons watching it. 14707% 14708We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which 14709divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being 14710correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough. 14711 -- Niels Bohr 14712% 14713We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 14714 -- Oscar Wilde 14715% 14716We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm. 14717 -- Winston Churchill 14718% 14719We ARE as gods and might as well get good at it. 14720 -- Whole Earth Catalog 14721% 14722We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. 14723 -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" 14724% 14725We are going to give a little something, a few little years more, to 14726socialism, because socialism is defunct. It dies all by itself. The 14727bad thing is that socialism, being a victim of its ... Did I say 14728socialism? 14729 -- Fidel Castro 14730% 14731We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat's next-to-last theorem. 14732 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 14733% 14734We are upping our standards ... so up yours. 14735 -- Pat Paulsen for President, 1988. 14736% 14737We can defeat gravity. The problem is the paperwork involved. 14738% 14739We can predict everything, except the future. 14740% 14741We cannot put the face of a person on a stamp unless said person is 14742deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead. 14743 -- James E. Day, Postmaster General 14744% 14745We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty! 14746 -- Vroomfondel 14747% 14748We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company. 14749% 14750We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a 14751fish. 14752% 14753We don't understand the software, and sometimes we don't understand the 14754hardware, but we can *___see* the blinking lights! 14755% 14756We gave you an atomic bomb, what do you want, mermaids? 14757 -- I. I. Rabi to the Atomic Energy Commission 14758% 14759We had it tough ... I had to get up at 9 o'clock at night, half an 14760hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of dry poison, work 29 hours down 14761mill, and when we came home our Dad would kill us, and dance about on 14762our grave singing Haleleuia ... 14763 -- Monty Python 14764% 14765We have met the enemy, and he is us. 14766 -- Walt Kelly 14767% 14768We have only two things to worry about: That things will never get 14769back to normal, and that they already have. 14770% 14771We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his 14772hands for masturbation. 14773 -- Lily Tomlin 14774% 14775We have the flu. I don't know if this particular strain has an 14776official name, but if it does, it must be something like "Martian Death 14777Flu". You may have had it yourself. The main symptom is that you wish 14778you had another setting on your electric blanket, up past "HIGH", that 14779said "ELECTROCUTION". 14780 14781Another symptom is that you cease brushing your teeth, because (a) your 14782teeth hurt, and (b) you lack the strength. Midway through the brushing 14783process, you'd have to lie down in front of the sink to rest for a 14784couple of hours, and rivulets of toothpaste foam would dribble sideways 14785out of your mouth, eventually hardening into crusty little toothpaste 14786stalagmites that would bond your head permanently to the bathroom 14787floor, which is how the police would find you. 14788 14789You know the kind of flu I'm talking about. 14790 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 14791% 14792We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all 14793purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start 14794with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the 14795playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is 14796best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can 14797buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. 14798 -- Alan M. Turing 14799% 14800We may not return the affection of those who like us, but we always 14801respect their good judgement. 14802% 14803We must remember the First Amendment which protects any shrill jackass 14804no matter how self-seeking. 14805 -- F. G. Withington 14806% 14807We ought to be very grateful that we have tools. Millions of years ago 14808people did not have them, and home projects were extremely difficult. 14809For example, when a primitive person wanted to put up paneling, he had 14810to drive the little paneling nails into the cave wall with his bare 14811fist, so generally the paneling wound up getting spattered with 14812primitive blood, which isn't really all that bad when you consider how 14813ugly paneling is to begin with. 14814 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 14815% 14816We really don't have any enemies. It's just that some of our best 14817friends are trying to kill us. 14818% 14819 We were young and our happiness dazzled us with its strength. 14820But there was also a terrible betrayal that lay within me like a Merle 14821Haggard song at a French restaurant. ... 14822 I could not tell the girl about the woman of the tollway, of 14823her milk white BMW and her Jordache smile. There had been a fight. I 14824had punched her boyfriend, who fought the mechanical bulls. Everyone 14825told him, "You ride the bull, senor. You do not fight it." But he was 14826lean and tough like a bad rib-eye and he fought the bull. And then he 14827fought me. And when we finished there were no winners, just men doing 14828what men must do. ... 14829 "Stop the car," the girl said. There was a look of terrible 14830sadness in her eyes. She knew about the woman of the tollway. I knew 14831not how. I started to speak, but she raised an arm and spoke with a 14832quiet and peace I will never forget. 14833 "I do not ask for whom's the tollway belle," she said, "the 14834tollway belle's for thee." 14835 The next morning our youth was a memory, and our happiness was 14836a lie. Life is like a bad margarita with good tequila, I thought as I 14837poured whiskey onto my granola and faced a new day. 14838 -- Peter Applebome, International Imitation Hemingway 14839 Competition 14840% 14841We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one 14842technical problem -- how to run a sunbeam through a meter. 14843% 14844We will invent new lullabies, new songs, new acts of love, 14845we will cry over things we used to laugh & 14846our new wisdom will bring tears to eyes of gentile 14847creatures from other planets who were afraid of us till then & 14848in the end a summer with wild winds & 14849new friends will be. 14850% 14851We wish you a Hare Krishna 14852We wish you a Hare Krishna 14853We wish you a Hare Krishna 14854And a Sun Myung Moon! 14855 -- Maxwell Smart 14856% 14857We'll cross out that bridge when we come back to it later. 14858% 14859We're deep into the holiday gift-giving season, as you can tell from 14860the fact that everywhere you look, you see jolly old St. Nick urging 14861you to purchase things, to the point where you want to slug him right 14862in his bowl full of jelly. 14863 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 14864% 14865We're only in it for the volume. 14866 -- Black Sabbath 14867% 14868We've sent a man to the moon, and that's 29,000 miles away. The center 14869of the Earth is only 4,000 miles away. You could drive that in a week, 14870but for some reason nobody's ever done it. 14871 -- Andy Rooney 14872% 14873Weiler's Law: 14874 Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself. 14875% 14876Weinberg's First Law: 14877 Progress is made on alternate Fridays. 14878% 14879Weinberg's Principle: 14880 An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while 14881sweeping on to the grand fallacy. 14882% 14883Weinberg's Second Law: 14884 If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, 14885then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization. 14886% 14887Weiner's Law of Libraries: 14888 There are no answers, only cross references. 14889% 14890Welcome thy neighbor into thy fallout shelter. He'll come in handy if 14891you run out of food. 14892 -- Dean McLaughlin. 14893% 14894Well, here it is, 1983, so it won't be long before you start reading a 14895lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke. Hartke is a 14896governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the 14897reason you'll be reading about him is that he's one of the 50 top 14898contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. These men 14899will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the 14900most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and 14901appearing on "Meet the Press". "Meet the Press" is one of those Sunday 14902morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit 14903interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a 14904guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through 14905the entire show without answering a single question ... 14906 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 14907% 14908Well, I would -- if they realized that we -- again if -- if we led them 14909back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, 14910or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they 14911they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off. 14912 -- President Ronald Reagan, on the MX missile 14913% 14914Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *___can* 14915you believe?! 14916 -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward] 14917% 14918Well, my terminal's locked up, and I ain't got any Mail, 14919 And I can't recall the last time that my program didn't fail; 14920I've got stacks in my structs, I've got arrays in my queues, 14921 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14922 14923If you think that it's nice that you get what you C, 14924 Then go : illogical statement with your whole family, 14925'Cause the Supreme Court ain't the only place with : Bus error views. 14926 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14927 14928On a PDP-11, life should be a breeze, 14929 But with VAXen in the house even magnetic tapes would freeze. 14930Now you might think that unlike VAXen I'd know who I abuse, 14931 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14932 -- Core Dumped Blues 14933% 14934"Well, that was a piece of cake, eh K-9?" 14935 14936"Piece of cake, Master? Radial slice of baked confection ... 14937coefficient of relevance to Key of Time: zero." 14938 -- Dr. Who 14939% 14940"Well," Brahma said, "even after ten thousand explanations, a fool is 14941no wiser, but an intelligent man requires only two thousand five 14942hundred." 14943 -- The Mahabharata. 14944% 14945Westheimer's Discovery: 14946 A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a 14947couple of hours in the library. 14948% 14949Wethern's Law: 14950 Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. 14951% 14952"What are we going to do?" 14953 14954"Me, I'm examining the major Western religions. I'm looking for 14955something that's soft on morality, generous with holidays, and has a 14956short initiation period." 14957% 14958"What are you doing?" 14959 14960"Examining the world's major religions. I'm looking for something 14961that's light on morals, has lots of holidays, and with a short 14962initiation period." 14963% 14964What color is a chameleon on a mirror? 14965% 14966 "What do you give a man who has everything?" the pretty 14967teenager asked her mother. 14968 "Encouragement, dear," she replied. 14969% 14970What does "it" mean in the sentence "What time is it?"? 14971% 14972What does it mean if there is no fortune for you? 14973% 14974What garlic is to food, insanity is to art. 14975% 14976What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. 14977% 14978What George Washington did for us was to throw out the British, so 14979that we wouldn't have a fat, insensitive government running our 14980country. Nice try anyway, George. 14981 -- D.J. on KSFO/KYA 14982% 14983What good is a ticket to the good life, if you can't find the 14984entrance? 14985% 14986What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow 14987in his footsteps? 14988% 14989What I do, first thing [in the morning], is I hop into the shower 14990stall. Then I hop right back out, because when I hopped in I landed 14991barefoot right on top of See Threepio, a little plastic robot character 14992from "Star Wars" whom my son, Robert, likes to pull the legs off of 14993while he showers. Then I hop right back into the stall because our 14994dog, Earnest, who has been alone in the basement all night building up 14995powerful dog emotions, has come bounding and quivering into the 14996bathroom and wants to greet me with 60 or 70 thousand playful nips, any 14997one of which -- bear in mind that I am naked and, without my contact 14998lenses, essentially blind -- could result in the kind of injury where 14999you have to learn a whole new part if you want to sing the "Messiah", 15000if you get my drift. Then I hop right back out, because Robert, with 15001that uncanny sixth sense some children have -- you cannot teach it; 15002they either have it or they don't -- has chosen exactly that moment to 15003flush one of the toilets. Perhaps several of them. 15004 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 15005% 15006What I tell you three times is true. 15007% 15008What I think is that the F-word is basically just a convenient nasty- 15009sounding word that we tend to use when we would really like to come up 15010with a terrifically witty insult, the kind Winston Churchill always 15011came up with when enormous women asked him stupid questions at 15012parties. 15013 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15014% 15015What I want is all of the power and none of the responsibility. 15016% 15017What I've done, of course, is total garbage. 15018 -- R. Willard, Pure Math 430a 15019% 15020What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I 15021definitely overpaid for my carpet. 15022 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15023% 15024What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's 15025worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists? 15026 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15027% 15028What is a magician but a practicing theorist? 15029 -- Obi-Wan Kenobi 15030% 15031What is mind? No matter. 15032What is matter? Never mind. 15033 -- Thomas Hewitt Key, 1799-1875 15034% 15035What is the difference between a Turing machine and the modern 15036computer? It's the same as that between Hillary's ascent of Everest 15037and the establishment of a Hilton on its peak. 15038% 15039"What is the Nature of God?" 15040 15041 CLICK...CLICK...WHIRRR...CLICK...=BEEP!= 15042 1 QT. SOUR CREAM 15043 1 TSP. SAUERKRAUT 15044 1/2 CUT CHIVES. 15045 STIR AND SPRINKLE WITH BACON BITS. 15046 15047"I've just GOT to start labeling my software..." 15048 -- Bloom County 15049% 15050What is the robbing of a bank compared to the FOUNDING of a bank? 15051 -- Berthold Brecht 15052% 15053What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, 15054which is the exact opposite. 15055 -- Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical_Essays", 1928 15056% 15057What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do. 15058% 15059What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing 15060to compare it with. 15061% 15062What publishers are looking for these days isn't radical feminism. 15063It's corporate feminism -- a brand of feminism designed to sell books 15064and magazines, three-piece suits, airline tickets, Scotch, cigarettes 15065and, most important, corporate America's message, which runs: "Yes, 15066women were discriminated against in the past, but that unfortunate 15067mistake has been remedied; now every woman can attain wealth, prestige 15068and power by dint of individual rather than collective effort." 15069 -- Susan Gordon 15070% 15071What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? 15072 -- Ursula K. LeGuin 15073% 15074What the hell, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. 15075% 15076What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away. 15077% 15078What the world *really* needs is a good Automatic Bicycle Sharpener. 15079% 15080What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent bagel. 15081% 15082What this country needs is a good five cent ANYTHING! 15083% 15084What this country needs is a good five cent microcomputer. 15085% 15086What this country needs is a good five cent nickel. 15087% 15088What this country needs is a good five dollar plasma weapon. 15089% 15090What this world needs is a good five-dollar plasma weapon. 15091% 15092What use is magic if it can't save a unicorn? 15093 -- Peter S. Beagle, "The Last Unicorn" 15094% 15095What we need in this country, instead of Daylight Savings Time, which 15096nobody really understands anyway, is a new concept called Weekday 15097Morning Time, whereby at 7 a.m. every weekday we go into a space- 15098launch-style "hold" for two to three hours, during which it just 15099remains 7 a.m. This way we could all wake up via a civilized gradual 15100process of stretching and belching and scratching, and it would still 15101be only 7 a.m. when we were ready to actually emerge from bed. 15102 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15103% 15104What you don't know can hurt you, only you won't know it. 15105% 15106What's another word for Thesaurus? 15107 -- Steven Wright 15108% 15109 "What's that thing?" 15110 "Well, it's a highly technical, sensitive instrument we use in 15111computer repair. Being a layman, you probably can't grasp exactly what 15112it does. We call it a two-by-four." 15113 -- Jeff MacNelley, "Shoe" 15114% 15115What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it? 15116 -- Dr. Who 15117% 15118Whatever became of eternal truth? 15119% 15120Whatever became of Strange de Jim? Well, he found a substitute for 15121cocaine: "You cover Q-tips with sandpaper and ram them up your nostrils 15122as far as they will go. Then you sniff talcum powder while shredding 15123hundred dollar bills." 15124 -- Herb Caen 15125% 15126Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not 15127nailed down. 15128 -- Collis P. Huntingdon 15129% 15130Whatever the missing mass of the universe is, I hope it's not cockroaches! 15131 -- Mom 15132% 15133When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him -- that's where the 15134money is. 15135 -- Robespierre 15136% 15137When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the 15138thing," it's the money. 15139 -- Kim Hubbard 15140% 15141When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half 15142loop? 15143% 15144When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is 15145not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space 15146travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere. 15147 -- Robert Heinlein, "Time Enough For Love" 15148% 15149When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the 15150sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain 15151relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. 15152 -- Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" 15153% 15154When all other means of communication fail, try words. 15155% 15156When are you BUTTHEADS gonna learn that you can't oppose Gestapo 15157tactics *with* Gestapo tactics? 15158 -- Reuben Flagg 15159% 15160When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before 15161the white men came, an Indian said simply "Ours." 15162 -- Vine Deloria, Jr. 15163% 15164When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask? Well, last year, I 15165think it was a Tuesday. 15166% 15167When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to 15168guarantee them. 15169% 15170When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great 15171parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if 15172I'm leaving. 15173 -- Steven Wright 15174% 15175When I heated my home with oil, I used an average of 800 gallons a 15176year. I have found that I can keep comfortably warm for an entire 15177winter with slightly over half that quantity of beer. 15178 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15179% 15180When I said "we", officer, I was referring to myself, the four young 15181ladies, and, of course, the goat. 15182% 15183When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now 15184I'm beginning to believe it. 15185 -- Clarence Darrow 15186% 15187When I was a kid I said to my father one afternoon, "Daddy, will you 15188take me to the zoo?" He answered, "If the zoo wants you let them come 15189and get you." 15190 -- Jerry Lewis 15191% 15192When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked if I had any 15193firearms with me. I said, `Well, what do you need?' 15194 -- Steven Wright 15195% 15196When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: I looked into 15197the soul of the boy sitting next to me. 15198 -- Woody Allen 15199% 15200When I was seven years old, I was once reprimanded by my mother for an 15201act of collective brutality in which I had been involved at school. A 15202group of seven-year-olds had been teasing and tormenting a 15203six-year-old. "It is always so," my mother said. "You do things 15204together which not one of you would think of doing alone." ... 15205Wherever one looks in the world of human organization, collective 15206responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards. The military 15207establishment is an extreme case, an organization which seems to have 15208been expressly designed to make it possible for people to do things 15209together which nobody in his right mind would do alone. 15210 -- Freeman Dyson, "Weapons and Hope" 15211% 15212When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened 15213or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I 15214cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to 15215go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. 15216 -- Mark Twain 15217% 15218When in doubt, do what the President does -- guess. 15219% 15220When in doubt, tell the truth. 15221 -- Mark Twain 15222% 15223When in doubt, use brute force. 15224 -- Ken Thompson 15225% 15226When in panic, fear and doubt, 15227Drink in barrels, eat, and shout. 15228% 15229When love is gone, there's always justice. 15230And when justice is gone, there's always force. 15231And when force is gone, there's always Mom. 15232Hi, Mom! 15233 -- Laurie Anderson 15234% 15235When Marriage is Outlawed, 15236Only Outlaws will have Inlaws. 15237% 15238When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment 15239results. 15240 -- Calvin Coolidge 15241% 15242When one woman was asked how long she had been going to symphony 15243concerts, she paused to calculate and replied, "Forty-seven years -- 15244and I find I mind it less and less." 15245 -- Louise Andrews Kent 15246% 15247When properly administered, vacations do not diminish productivity: 15248for every week you're away and get nothing done, there's another when 15249your boss is away and you get twice as much done. 15250 -- Daniel B. Luten 15251% 15252When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only 15253say what I wish done," give him a lollipop. 15254% 15255When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical. 15256 -- Jon Carroll 15257% 15258When the government bureau's remedies don't match your problem, you 15259modify the problem, not the remedy. 15260% 15261When the Ngdanga tribe of West Africa hold their moon love ceremonies, 15262the men of the tribe bang their heads on sacred trees until they get a 15263nose bleed, which usually cures them of ____that. 15264 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 15265% 15266When the speaker and he to whom he is speaks do not understand, that is 15267metaphysics. 15268 -- Voltaire 15269% 15270When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the 15271stars were lined up in their proper places, you could easily count them 15272from left to right, or top to bottom, and the larger and bluer ones 15273were set apart, and the smaller yellowing types pushed off to the 15274corners as bodies of a lower grade ... 15275 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 15276% 15277When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, the 15278plane will fly. 15279 -- Donald Douglas 15280% 15281When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most 15282insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are 15283required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and 15284exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. 15285 -- George Bernard Shaw 15286% 15287When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is 15288not hereditary. 15289 -- Thomas Paine 15290% 15291When we understand knowledge-based systems, it will be as before -- 15292except our fingertips will have been singed. 15293 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 15294% 15295When you are about to do an objective and scientific piece of 15296investigation of a topic, it is well to have the answer firmly in hand, 15297so that you can proceed forthrightly, without being deflected or 15298swayed, directly to the goal. 15299 -- Amrom Katz 15300% 15301When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut. 15302% 15303When you don't know what you are doing, do it neatly. 15304% 15305When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. 15306 -- Harry Truman 15307% 15308 When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure 15309clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer 15310to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. 15311 In a way, the next move is up to him. 15312 -- R. A. Lafferty 15313% 15314When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite." 15315 -- Winston Churchill, On formal declarations of war 15316% 15317When you know absolutely nothing about the topic, make your forecast by 15318asking a carefully selected probability sample of 300 others who don't 15319know the answer either. 15320 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 15321% 15322When you make your mark in the world, watch out for guys with erasers. 15323 -- The Wall Street Journal 15324% 15325When you try to make an impression, the chances are that is the 15326impression you will make. 15327% 15328When you're away, I'm restless, lonely, 15329Wretched, bored, dejected; only 15330Here's the rub, my darling dear 15331I feel the same when you are near. 15332 -- Samuel Hoffenstein, "When You're Away" 15333% 15334When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. 15335% 15336Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really". 15337 -- Dave Parnas 15338% 15339Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to 15340see it tried on him personally. 15341 -- A. Lincoln 15342% 15343Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. 15344 -- Oscar Wilde 15345% 15346Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last 15347you are going to see of him until he emerges on the other side of his 15348Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. 15349 -- Mark Twain 15350 "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" 15351% 15352Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time 15353to reform. 15354 -- Mark Twain 15355% 15356WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE 15357 15358 Oh, dear, where can the matter be 15359 When it's converted to energy? 15360 There is a slight loss of parity. 15361 Johnny's so long at the fair. 15362% 15363Where humor is concerned there are no standards -- no one can say what 15364is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. 15365 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 15366% 15367Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax. 15368% 15369Whether you can hear it or not 15370The Universe is laughing behind your back 15371 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 15372% 15373Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? Who knows? Who cares? 15374% 15375While anyone can admit to themselves they were wrong, the true test is 15376admission to someone else. 15377% 15378While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, 15379The fate of empires and the fall of kings; 15380While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 15381And even children lisp the Rights of Man; 15382Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, 15383The Rights of Woman merit some attention. 15384 -- Robert Burns, Address on "The Rights of Woman", 15385 November 26, 1792 15386% 15387While having never invented a sin, I'm trying to perfect several. 15388% 15389While it may be true that a watched pot never boils, the one you don't 15390keep an eye on can make an awful mess of your stove. 15391 -- Edward Stevenson 15392% 15393While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own 15394form of misery. 15395% 15396While money doesn't buy love, it puts you in a great bargaining position. 15397% 15398While most peoples' opinions change, the conviction of their 15399correctness never does. 15400% 15401While you don't greatly need the outside world, it's still very 15402reassuring to know that it's still there. 15403% 15404While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are 15405safe, for you can watch both of his. 15406 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15407% 15408Whistler's Law: 15409 You never know who is right, but you always know who is in 15410charge. 15411% 15412Who cares if it doesn't do anything? It was made with our new 15413Triple-Iso-Bifurcated-Krypton-Gate-MOS process ... 15414% 15415Who made the world I cannot tell; 15416'Tis made, and here am I in hell. 15417My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, 15418I never soiled with such a deed. 15419 -- A. E. Housman 15420% 15421Who messed with my anti-paranoia shot? 15422% 15423Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink? 15424% 15425Who's on first? 15426% 15427Whom are you?" said he, for he had been to night school. 15428 -- George Ade 15429% 15430Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. 15431% 15432Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. 15433% 15434Why are we importing all these highbrow plays like `Amadeus'? I could 15435have told you Mozart was a jerk for nothing. 15436 -- Ian Shoales 15437% 15438Why be a man when you can be a success? 15439 -- Berthold Brecht 15440% 15441Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we 15442have? 15443% 15444Why can't you be a non-conformist like everyone else? 15445% 15446Why did the Lord give us so much quickness of movement unless it was to 15447avoid responsibility with? 15448% 15449Why did the Roman Empire collapse? 15450What is the Latin for office automation? 15451% 15452Why do we have two eyes? To watch 3-D movies with. 15453% 15454Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently 15455there must be a beverage. 15456 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15457% 15458Why does New Jersey have more toxic waste dumps and California have 15459more lawyers? 15460 15461New Jersey had first choice. 15462% 15463Why don't elephants eat penguins ? 15464 15465Because they can't get the wrappers off ... 15466% 15467Why I Can't Go Out With You: 15468 15469I'd LOVE to, but ... 15470 -- I have to floss my cat. 15471 -- I've dedicated my life to linguini. 15472 -- I need to spend more time with my blender. 15473 -- it wouldn't be fair to the other Beautiful People. 15474 -- it's my night to pet the dog/ferret/goldfish. 15475 -- I'm going downtown to try on some gloves. 15476 -- I have to check the freshness dates on my dairy products. 15477 -- I'm going down to the bakery to watch the buns rise. 15478 -- I have an appointment with a cuticle specialist. 15479 -- I have some really hard words to look up. 15480 -- I've got a Friends of the Lowly Rutabaga meeting. 15481 -- I promised to help a friend fold road maps. 15482% 15483Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is 15484because we are not the person involved 15485 -- Mark Twain 15486% 15487Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 15488% 15489Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet? 15490 -- Lily Tomlin 15491% 15492Why must you tell me all your secrets when it's hard enough to love 15493you knowing nothing? 15494 -- Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 15495% 15496Why not have an old-fashioned Christmas for your family this year? 15497Just picture the scene in your living room on Christmas morning as your 15498children open their old-fashioned presents. 15499 15500Your 11-year-old son: "What the heck is this?" 15501 15502You: "A spinning top! You spin it around, and then eventually it 15503 falls down. What fun! Ha, ha!" 15504 15505Son: "Is this a joke? Jason Thompson's parents got him a computer 15506 with two disk drives and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory, 15507 and I get this cretin TOP?" 15508 15509Your 8-year-old daughter: "You think that's bad? Look at this." 15510 15511You: "It's figgy pudding! What a treat!" 15512 15513Daughter: "It looks like goat barf." 15514 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15515% 15516Why was I born with such contemporaries? 15517 -- Oscar Wilde 15518% 15519Why You Can't Run When There's Trouble in the Office: 15520 No matter where you stand, no matter how far or fast you flee, 15521when it hits the fan, as much as possible will be propelled in your 15522direction, and almost none will be returned to the source. 15523 -- John L. Shelton 15524% 15525Wiker's Law: 15526 Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. 15527% 15528 William Safire's Rules for Writers: 15529 15530Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never 15531be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to 15532agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words 15533out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal 15534of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must 15535not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a 15536conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a 15537sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as 15538close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more 15539words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles 15540must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a 15541linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing 15542metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should 15543be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their 15544writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows 15545the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek 15546viable alternatives. 15547% 15548Williams and Holland's Law: 15549 If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by 15550statistical methods. 15551% 15552Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as 15553it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. 15554% 15555Wit, n.: 15556 The salt with which the American Humorist spoils his cookery 15557... by leaving it out. 15558 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15559% 15560With a gentleman I try to be a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I 15561try to be a fraud and a half. 15562 -- Otto von Bismark 15563% 15564With a rubber duck, one's never alone. 15565 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15566% 15567With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once 15568build a nuclear balm? 15569% 15570With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand 15571miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and 15572still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no 15573such thing as progress. 15574 -- Ransom K. Ferm 15575% 15576Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless. 15577% 15578Wombat's Laws of Computer Selection: 15579 (1) If it doesn't run Unix, forget it. 15580 (2) Any computer design over 10 years old is obsolete. 15581 (3) Anything made by IBM is junk. (See number 2) 15582 (4) The minimum acceptable CPU power for a single user is a 15583 VAX/780 with a floating point accelerator. 15584 (5) Any computer with a mouse is worthless. 15585 -- Rich Kulawiec 15586% 15587Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If 15588you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut 15589down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that 15590tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with 15591long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit 15592there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you 15593come back. 15594 15595Wood heat is not new. It dates back to a day millions of years ago, 15596when a group of cavemen were sitting around, watching dinosaurs rot. 15597Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby log and set it on fire. One of the 15598cavemen stared at the fire for a few minutes, then said: "Hey! Wood 15599heat!" The other cavemen, who did not understand English, immediately 15600beat him to death with stones. But the key discovery had been made, 15601and from that day forward, the cavemen had all the heat they needed, 15602although their insurance rates went way up. 15603 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15604% 15605Work Rule: Leave of Absence (for an Operation): 15606 We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage 15607any thoughts that you may not need all of whatever you have, and you 15608should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are, 15609and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we 15610bargained for. 15611% 15612Workers of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your chairs. 15613% 15614World War Three can be averted by adherence to a strictly enforced 15615dress code! 15616% 15617Worst Month of 1981 for Downhill Skiing: 15618 August. The lines are the shortest, though. 15619 -- Steve Rubenstein 15620% 15621Worst Month of the Year: 15622 February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if 15623you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't 15624get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible. 15625 -- Steve Rubenstein 15626% 15627Worst Response To A Crisis, 1985: 15628 From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved 15629in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding bombs 15630damage my videotapes?" 15631% 15632Worst Vegetable of the Year: 15633 The brussels sprout. This is also the worst vegetable of next 15634year. 15635 -- Steve Rubenstein 15636% 15637"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" 15638 15639"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. 15640 -- Lewis Carroll 15641% 15642Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish 15643and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign' have been clearer 15644if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and 15645and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and 15646and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips? 15647% 15648Write-Protect Tab, n.: 15649 A small sticker created to cover the unsightly notch carelessly 15650left by disk manufacturers. The use of the tab creates an error 15651message once in a while, but its aesthetic value far outweighs the 15652momentary inconvenience. 15653 -- Robb Russon 15654% 15655Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. 15656 -- Frank Zappa 15657% 15658"Wrong," said Renner. 15659 15660"The tactful way," Rod said quietly, "the polite way to disagree with 15661the Senator would be to say, `That turns out not to be the case.'" 15662% 15663X-rated movies are all alike -- the only thing they leave to the 15664imagination is the plot. 15665% 15666Xerox does it again and again and again and ... 15667% 15668Xerox never comes up with anything original. 15669% 15670XIIdigitation, n.: 15671 The practice of trying to determine the year a movie was made 15672by deciphering the Roman numerals at the end of the credits. 15673 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15674% 15675"Yacc" owes much to a most stimulating collection of users, who have 15676goaded me beyond my inclination, and frequently beyond my ability in 15677their endless search for "one more feature". Their irritating 15678unwillingness to learn how to do things my way has usually led to my 15679doing things their way; most of the time, they have been right. 15680 -- Stephen C. Johnson, "Yacc guide acknowledgements" 15681% 15682Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of APL, I shall 15683fear no evil, for I can string six primitive monadic and dyadic 15684operators together. 15685 -- Steve Higgins 15686% 15687Yeah, but you're taking the universe out of context. 15688% 15689Year, n.: 15690 A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. 15691 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15692% 15693Yes, but every time I try to see things your way, I get a headache. 15694% 15695Yes, but which self do you want to be? 15696% 15697Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. 15698Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. 15699Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. 15700 -- Snoopy 15701% 15702Yesterday upon the stair 15703I met a man who wasn't there. 15704He wasn't there again today -- 15705I think he's from the CIA. 15706% 15707Yield to Temptation ... it may not pass your way again. 15708 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 15709% 15710Yinkel, n.: 15711 A person who combs his hair over his bald spot, hoping no one 15712will notice. 15713 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15714% 15715You are a very redundant person, that's what kind of person you are. 15716% 15717You are here: 15718 *** 15719 *** 15720 ********* 15721 ******* 15722 ***** 15723 *** 15724 * 15725 15726 But you're not all there. 15727% 15728"You are old, Father William," the young man said, 15729 "All your papers these days look the same; 15730Those William's would be better unread -- 15731 Do these facts never fill you with shame?" 15732 15733"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, 15734 "I wrote wonderful papers galore; 15735But the great reputation I found that I'd won, 15736 Made it pointless to think any more." 15737% 15738"You are old, father William," the young man said, 15739 "And your hair has become very white; 15740And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- 15741 Do you think, at your age, it is right?" 15742 15743"In my youth," father William replied to his son, 15744 "I feared it might injure the brain; 15745But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, 15746 Why, I do it again and again." 15747 -- Lewis Carroll 15748% 15749"You are old," said the youth, "and I'm told by my peers 15750 That your lectures bore people to death. 15751Yet you talk at one hundred conventions per year -- 15752 Don't you think that you should save your breath?" 15753 15754"I have answered three questions and that is enough," 15755 Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs! 15756Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15757 Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" 15758% 15759"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak 15760 For anything tougher than suet; 15761Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- 15762 Pray, how did you manage to do it?" 15763 15764"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, 15765 And argued each case with my wife; 15766And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw, 15767 Has lasted the rest of my life." 15768 -- Lewis Carroll 15769% 15770"You are old," said the youth, "and your programs don't run, 15771 And there isn't one language you like; 15772Yet of useful suggestions for help you have none -- 15773 Have you thought about taking a hike?" 15774 15775"Since I never write programs," his father replied, 15776 "Every language looks equally bad; 15777Yet the people keep paying to read all my books 15778 And don't realize that they've been had." 15779% 15780"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15781 And have grown most uncommonly fat; 15782Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- 15783 Pray what is the reason of that?" 15784 15785"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 15786 "I kept all my limbs very supple 15787By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- 15788 Allow me to sell you a couple?" 15789 -- Lewis Carroll 15790% 15791"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15792 And make errors few people could bear; 15793You complain about everyone's English but yours -- 15794 Do you really think this is quite fair?" 15795 15796"I make lots of mistakes," Father William declared, 15797 "But my stature these days is so great 15798That no critic can hurt me -- I've got them all scared, 15799 And to stop me it's now far too late." 15800% 15801"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose 15802 That your eye was as steady as ever; 15803Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- 15804 What made you so awfully clever?" 15805 15806"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," 15807 Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! 15808Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15809 Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" 15810 -- Lewis Carroll 15811% 15812You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. 15813% 15814You are the only person to ever get this message. 15815% 15816You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading 15817this sort of trash. 15818% 15819You buttered your bread, now lie in it! 15820% 15821You can always tell the Christmas season is here when you start getting 15822incredibly dense, tinfoil-and-ribbon- wrapped lumps in the mail. 15823Fruitcakes make ideal gifts because the Postal Service has been unable 15824to find a way to damage them. They last forever, largely because 15825nobody ever eats them. In fact, many smart people save the fruitcakes 15826they receive and send them back to the original givers the next year; 15827some fruitcakes have been passed back and forth for hundreds of years. 15828 15829The easiest way to make a fruitcake is to buy a darkish cake, then 15830pound some old, hard fruit into it with a mallet. Be sure to wear 15831safety glasses. 15832 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15833% 15834You can bring any calculator you like to the midterm, as long as it 15835doesn't dim the lights when you turn it on. 15836 -- Hepler, Systems Design 182 15837% 15838You can create your own opportunities this week. 15839Blackmail a senior executive. 15840% 15841You can do this in a number of ways. IBM chose to do all of them. 15842Why do you find that funny? 15843 -- D. Taylor, Computer Science 350, University of Washington 15844% 15845You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you 15846can with just a kind word. 15847 -- Bumper Sticker 15848% 15849You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, 15850for instance. 15851 -- Franklin P. Jones 15852% 15853You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular. 15854% 15855You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on 15856the continuing viability of FORTRAN. 15857 -- Alan Perlis 15858% 15859You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. 15860% 15861You can take all the impact that science considerations have on funding 15862decisions at NASA, put them in the navel of a flea, and have room left 15863over for a caraway seed and Tony Calio's heart. 15864 -- F. Allen 15865% 15866You can tell how far we have to go, when FORTRAN is the language of 15867supercomputers. 15868 -- Steven Feiner 15869% 15870You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish. 15871% 15872You can write a small letter to Grandma in the filename. 15873 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 15874% 15875You can't carve your way to success without cutting remarks. 15876% 15877You can't have everything. Where would you put it? 15878 -- Steven Wright 15879% 15880You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. 15881 -- Booker T. Washington 15882% 15883You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair. 15884% 15885You can't make a program without broken egos. 15886% 15887You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic 15888enough worrying about what's happening now. 15889 -- Lauren Bacall 15890% 15891You can't survive by sucking the juice from a wet mitten. 15892 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 15893 Over and Over" 15894% 15895You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they don't. 15896 -- Dagwood Bumstead 15897% 15898You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd. 15899% 15900You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. 15901% 15902You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. 15903% 15904You could get a new lease on life -- if only you didn't need the first 15905and last month in advance. 15906% 15907You couldn't even prove the White House staff sane beyond a reasonable 15908doubt. 15909 -- Ed Meese, on the Hinckley verdict 15910% 15911You do not have mail. 15912% 15913You don't have to think too hard when you talk to teachers. 15914 -- J. D. Salinger 15915% 15916You don't sew with a fork, so I see no reason to eat with knitting 15917needles. 15918 -- Miss Piggy, on eating Chinese Food 15919% 15920You first have to decide whether to use the short or the long form. 15921The short form is what the Internal Revenue Service calls "simplified", 15922which means it is designed for people who need the help of a Sears 15923tax-preparation expert to distinguish between their first and last 15924names. Here's the complete text: 15925 15926 "(1) How much did you make? (AMOUNT) 15927 "(2) How much did we here at the government take out? (AMOUNT) 15928 "(3) Hey! Sounds like we took too much! So we're going to 15929 send an official government check for (ONE-FIFTEENTH OF 15930 THE AMOUNT WE TOOK) directly to the (YOUR LAST NAME) 15931 household at (YOUR ADDRESS), for you to spend in any way 15932 you please! Which just goes to show you, (YOUR FIRST 15933 NAME), that it pays to file the short form!" 15934 15935The IRS wants you to use this form because it gets to keep most of your 15936money. So unless you have pond silt for brains, you want the long 15937form. 15938 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 15939% 15940You have a tendency to feel you are superior to most computers. 15941% 15942You have acquired a scroll entitled 'irk gleknow mizk'(n).--More-- 15943 15944This is an IBM Manual scroll.--More-- 15945 15946You are permanently confused. 15947 -- Dave Decot 15948% 15949You have an unusual magnetic personality. Don't walk too close to 15950metal objects which are not fastened down. 15951% 15952You have junk mail. 15953% 15954You have the body of a 19 year old. Please return it before it gets 15955wrinkled. 15956% 15957You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. You'll learn a lot today. 15958% 15959You know it's going to be a bad day when you want to put on the clothes 15960you wore home from the party and there aren't any. 15961% 15962You know the great thing about TV? If something important happens 15963anywhere at all in the world, no matter what time of the day or night, 15964you can always change the channel. 15965 -- Jim Ignatowski 15966% 15967You know you have a small apartment when Rice Krispies echo. 15968 -- S. Rickly Christian 15969% 15970You know you're a little fat if you have stretch marks on your car. 15971 -- Cyrus, Chicago Reader 1/22/82 15972% 15973You know you've been spending too much time on the computer when your 15974friend misdates a check, and you suggest adding a "++" to fix it. 15975% 15976You know you've landed gear-up when it takes full power to taxi. 15977% 15978 "You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon 15979airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in 15980deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me 15981when I was young!" 15982 "Why, what did she tell you?" 15983 "I don't know, I didn't listen!" 15984 -- Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15985% 15986You look like a million dollars. All green and wrinkled. 15987% 15988You may be recognized soon. Hide. 15989% 15990You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a "realist," he 15991is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing. 15992 -- Sydney Harris 15993% 15994You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue -- agree with 15995him. 15996 -- Ed Howe 15997% 15998You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog. 15999 -- Alfred Kahn 16000% 16001You men out there probably think you already know how to dress for 16002success. You know, for example, that you should not wear leisure suits 16003or white plastic belts and shoes, unless you are going to a costume 16004party disguised as a pig farmer vacationing at Disney World. 16005 -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" 16006% 16007You might have mail. 16008% 16009You might have had mail. 16010% 16011You must realize that the computer has it in for you. The irrefutable 16012proof of this is that the computer always does what you tell it to do. 16013% 16014You need no longer worry about the future. This time tomorrow you'll 16015be dead. 16016% 16017You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a 16018reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating 16019the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for 16020independence. 16021 -- Charles A. Beard 16022% 16023You never know how many friends you have until you rent a house on the 16024beach. 16025% 16026You or I must yield up his life to Ahrimanes. I would rather it were 16027you. I should have no hesitation in sacrificing my own life to spare 16028yours, but we take stock next week, and it would not be fair on the 16029company. 16030 -- J. Wellington Wells 16031% 16032You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained. 16033% 16034You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could 16035know how seldom they do. 16036 -- Olin Miller. 16037% 16038You should emulate your heros, but don't carry it too far. Especially 16039if they are dead. 16040% 16041You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than 16042about 10^12 to 1. 16043 -- Ernest Rutherford 16044% 16045You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for 16046freedom and liberty. 16047 -- Henrik Ibsen 16048% 16049You should not use your fireplace, because scientists now believe that, 16050contrary to popular opinion, fireplaces actually remove heat from 16051houses. Really, that's what scientists believe. In fact many 16052scientists actually use their fireplaces to cool their houses in the 16053summer. If you visit a scientist's house on a sultry August day, 16054you'll find a cheerful fire roaring on the hearth and the scientist 16055sitting nearby, remarking on how cool he is and drinking heavily. 16056 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 16057% 16058You should tip the waiter $10, minus $2 if he tells you his name, 16059another $2 if he claims it will be His Pleasure to serve you and 16060another $2 for each "special" he describes involving confusing terms 16061such as "shallots," and $4 if the menu contains the word "fixin's." In 16062many restaurants, this means the waiter will actually owe you money. 16063If you are traveling with a child aged six months to three years, you 16064should leave an additional amount equal to twice the bill to compensate 16065for the fact that they will have to take the banquette out and burn it 16066because the cracks are wedged solid with gobbets made of partially 16067chewed former restaurant rolls saturated with baby spit. 16068 16069In New York, tip the taxicab driver $40 if he does not mention his 16070hemorrhoids. 16071 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 16072% 16073You should, without hesitation, pound your typewriter into a 16074plowshare, your paper into fertilizer, and enter agriculture. 16075 -- Business Professor, University of Georgia 16076% 16077You think Oedipus had a problem -- Adam was Eve's mother. 16078% 16079 YOU TOO CAN MAKE BIG MONEY IN THE EXCITING FIELD OF 16080 PAPER SHUFFLING! 16081 16082Mr. TAA of Muddle, Mass. says: "Before I took this course I used to be 16083a lowly bit twiddler. Now with what I learned at MIT Tech I feel 16084really important and can obfuscate and confuse with the best." 16085 16086Mr. MARC had this to say: "Ten short days ago all I could look forward 16087to was a dead-end job as a engineer. Now I have a promising future and 16088make really big Zorkmids." 16089 16090MIT Tech can't promise these fantastic results to everyone, but when 16091you earn your MDL degree from MIT Tech your future will be brighter. 16092 16093 SEND FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE TODAY! 16094% 16095You too can wear a nose mitten. 16096% 16097You will be a winner today. Pick a fight with a four-year-old. 16098% 16099You will be attacked by a beast who has the body of a wolf, the tail of 16100a lion, and the face of Donald Duck. 16101% 16102You will be surprised by a loud noise. 16103% 16104You will be Told about it Tomorrow. Go Home and Prepare Thyself. 16105% 16106You will feel hungry again in another hour. 16107% 16108You will lose your present job and have to become a door to door 16109mayonnaise salesman. 16110% 16111 You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the 16112Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the 16113parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day. 16114 -- Sherlock Holmes 16115% 16116You will think of something funnier than this to add to the fortunes. 16117% 16118You worry too much about your job. Stop it. You're not paid enough to 16119worry. 16120% 16121You'd better beat it. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a 16122taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a 16123minute and a huff. 16124 -- Groucho Marx 16125% 16126You'll never be the man your mother was! 16127% 16128You're at the end of the road again. 16129% 16130You're being followed. Cut out the hanky-panky for a few days. 16131% 16132You're never too old to become younger. 16133 -- Mae West 16134% 16135You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. 16136 -- Dean Martin 16137% 16138You're not my type. For that matter, you're not even my species!!! 16139% 16140You've been leading a dog's life. Stay off the furniture. 16141% 16142You've got to have a gimmick if your band sucks. 16143 -- Gary Giddens 16144% 16145"You've got to think about tomorrow!" 16146 16147"TOMORROW! I haven't even prepared for *_________yesterday* yet!" 16148% 16149Your analyst has you mixed up with another patient. Don't believe a 16150thing he tells you. 16151% 16152Your conscience never stops you from doing anything. It just stops you 16153from enjoying it. 16154% 16155Your fault: core dumped 16156% 16157 Your home electrical system is basically a bunch of wires that 16158bring electricity into your home and take if back out before it has a 16159chance to kill you. This is called a "circuit". The most common home 16160electrical problem is when the circuit is broken by a "circuit 16161breaker"; this causes the electricity to back up in one of the wires 16162until it bursts out of an outlet in the form of sparks, which can 16163damage your carpet. The best way to avoid broken circuits is to change 16164your fuses regularly. 16165 Another common problem is that the lights flicker. This 16166sometimes means that your electrical system is inadequate, but more 16167often it means that your home is possessed by demons, in which case 16168you'll need to get a caulking gun and some caulking. If you're not 16169sure whether your house is possessed, see "The Amityville Horror", a 16170fine documentary film based on an actual book. Or call in a licensed 16171electrician, who is trained to spot the signs of demonic possession, 16172such as blood coming down the stairs, enormous cats on the dinette 16173table, etc. 16174 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 16175% 16176Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret. 16177% 16178Your lucky color has faded. 16179% 16180Your lucky number has been disconnected. 16181% 16182Your lucky number is 3552664958674928. Watch for it everywhere. 16183% 16184Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with. 16185% 16186Yow! Am I having fun yet? 16187 -- Zippy the Pinhead 16188% 16189YOW!! Everybody out of the GENETIC POOL! 16190% 16191Zero Defects, n.: 16192 The result of shutting down a production line. 16193% 16194Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words 16195since I first called my brother's father dad. 16196 -- William Shakespeare, "King John" 16197% 16198Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor: 16199 People are always available for work in the past tense. 16200% 16201 THE LAST BUG 16202 16203"But you're out of your mind," It still wasn't perfect, 16204They said with a shrug. As year followed year, 16205"The customer's happy; And strangers would comment, 16206What's one little bug?" "Is that guy still here?" 16207 16208But he was determined. He died at the console, 16209The others went home. Of hunger and thirst. 16210He spread out the program, Next day he was buried, 16211Deserted, alone. Face down, nine-edge first. 16212 16213The cleaning men came, And the last bug in sight, 16214The whole room was cluttered An ant passing by, 16215With memory-dumps, punch cards. Saluted his tombstone, 16216"I'm close," he muttered. And whispered, "Nice try." 16217 16218The mumbling got louder, 16219Simple deduction, 16220"I've got it, it's right, 16221Just change one instruction." 16222% 16223Speaking of the philosophy involved in moving humanity into space: 16224 16225Furniture will be a largely obsolete concept. Take for example the dresser my 16226mom bought for me when I was a kid. I still have it, and by the standards of 16227its era, it's an admirable household fixture. It is a massive construction of 16228maple wood, expertly joined with cunningly fit pieces, fitted and glued with 16229the strength of iron. It is set with massive brass fixtures, and looks today 16230-- discounting the dust -- as new as the day it was purchased, a quarter 16231century ago. So far, so good; a fine piece of furniture, you might say. But 16232let's look at it objectively, as a machine, as an object with a purpose. Here 16233sit a hundred pounds of hardwood with a compressive strength of 1500 psi, 16234jointed by an expert craftsman into a rigid box that would easily support a 16235bull elephant. And what is the sole purpose of this massive crate, this 16236monument to a dead tree? -- it holds my socks. 16237 16238Not only is it blind engineering overkill of epic proportions, it is also an 16239environmental disaster. The home to generations of squirrels, a sentinel post 16240for falcons, an autumnal banner of golden glory, a living creature, was chopped 16241down to enshrine some underwear. This, my friends, is no way to run a planet. 16242 -- Marshall T. Savage, from The Millennial Project: 16243 Colonizing the Galaxy -- In Eight Easy Steps 16244% 16245Nearly every software professional has heard the term spaghetti code as a 16246pejorative description for complicated, difficult to understand, and impossible 16247to maintain, software. However, many people may not know the other two 16248elements of the complete Pasta Theory of Software. 16249 16250Lasagna code is used to describe software that has a simple, understandable, 16251and layered structure. Lasagna code, although structured, is unfortunately 16252monolithic and not easy to modify. An attempt to change one layer conceptually 16253simple, is often very difficult in actual practice. 16254 16255The ideal software structure is one having components that are small and 16256loosely coupled; this ideal structure is called ravioli code. In ravioli 16257code, each of the components, or objects, is a package containing some meat 16258or other nourishment for the system; any component can be modified or replaced 16259without significantly affecting other components. 16260 16261We need to go beyond the condemnation of spaghetti code to the active 16262encouragement of ravioli code. 16263 -- Raymond J. Rubey, in a letter to the editor of Crosstalk 16264 magazine 16265% 1626663,000 bugs in the code, 63,000 bugs, 16267ya get 1 whacked with a service pack, 16268now there's 63,005 bugs in the code!! 16269