1!07/11 PDP a ni deppart m'I !pleH 2% 3(1) Alexander the Great was a great general. 4(2) Great generals are forewarned. 5(3) Forewarned is forearmed. 6(4) Four is an even number. 7(5) Four is certainly an odd number of arms for a man to have. 8(6) The only number that is both even and odd is infinity. 9 10Therefore, Alexander the Great had an infinite number of arms. 11% 12(1) Everything depends. 13(2) Nothing is always. 14(3) Everything is sometimes. 15% 161.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight -- it's not just a good idea, it's 17the law! 18% 1910.0 times 0.1 is hardly ever 1.0. 20% 21100 buckets of bits on the bus 22100 buckets of bits 23Take one down, short it to ground 24FF buckets of bits on the bus 25 26FF buckets of bits on the bus 27FF buckets of bits 28Take one down, short it to ground 29FE buckets of bits on the bus 30 31ad infinitum... 32% 33$100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at 34which time it will be worth absolutely nothing. 35 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 36% 37101 USES FOR A DEAD MICROPROCESSOR 38 (1) Scarecrow for centipedes 39 (2) Dead cat brush 40 (3) Hair barrettes 41 (4) Cleats 42 (5) Self-piercing earrings 43 (6) Fungus trellis 44 (7) False eyelashes 45 (8) Prosthetic dog claws 46 . 47 . 48 . 49 (99) Window garden harrow (pulled behind Tonka tractors) 50 (100) Killer velcro 51 (101) Currency 52% 53186,282 miles per second: 54 55It isn't just a good idea, it's the law! 56% 572180, U.S. History question: 58 What 20th Century U.S. President was almost impeached and what 59office did he later hold? 60% 61$3,000,000 62% 63"355/113 -- Not the famous irrational number PI, but an incredible 64simulation!" 65% 6643rd Law of Computing: 67 Anything that can go wr 68fortune: Segmentation violation -- Core dumped 69% 7077. HO HUM -- The Redundant 71 72------- (7) This hexagram refers to a situation of extreme 73--- --- (8) boredom. Your programs always bomb off. Your wife 74------- (7) smells bad. Your children have hives. You are working 75---O--- (6) on an accounting system, when you want to develop the 76---X--- (9) GREAT AMERICAN COMPILER. You give up hot dates to 77--- --- (8) nurse sick computers. What you need now is sex. 78 79Nine in the second place means: 80 The yellow bird approaches the malt shop. Misfortune. 81 82Six in the third place means: 83 In former times men built altars to honor the Internal Revenue 84 Service. Great Dragons! Are you in trouble! 85% 867:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 87 The Bionic Dog drinks too much and kicks over the National 88 Redwood Forest. 89% 907:30, Channel 5: The Bionic Dog (Action/Adventure) 91 The Bionic Dog gets a hormonal short-circuit and violates the 92 Mann Act with an interstate Greyhound bus. 93% 9499 blocks of crud on the disk, 9599 blocks of crud! 96You patch a bug, and dump it again: 97100 blocks of crud on the disk! 98 99100 blocks of crud on the disk, 100100 blocks of crud! 101You patch a bug, and dump it again: 102101 blocks of crud on the disk! ... 103% 104A "No" uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 105"Yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble. 106 -- Mahatma Ghandi 107% 108A [golf] ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. 109Hitting a tree is simply bad luck and has no place in a scientific 110game. The player should estimate the distance the ball would have 111traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there, 112preferably atop a nice firm tuft of grass. 113 -- Donald A. Metz 114% 115A [golf] ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and 116placed in the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or 117rolled into the rough. Such veering right or left frequently results 118from friction between the face of the club and the cover of the ball 119and the player should not be penalized for the erratic behavior of the 120ball resulting from such uncontrollable physical phenomena. 121 -- Donald A. Metz 122% 123A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no 124responsibility at the other. 125% 126A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. 127 -- Carl Sandburg 128% 129A bachelor is a selfish, undeserving guy who has cheated some woman out 130of a divorce. 131 -- Don Quinn 132% 133A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining 134and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. 135 -- Mark Twain 136% 137A billion here, a couple of billion there -- first thing you know it 138adds up to be real money. 139 -- Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen 140% 141A bird in the bush usually has a friend in there with him. 142% 143A bird in the hand is worth what it will bring. 144% 145A bird in the hand makes it awfully hard to blow your nose. 146% 147... A booming voice says, "Wrong, cretin!", and you notice that you 148have turned into a pile of dust. 149% 150A bore is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have 151enlightened him with ours. 152% 153A budget is just a method of worrying before you spend money, as well 154as afterward. 155% 156A candidate is a person who gets money from the rich and votes from the 157poor to protect them from each other. 158% 159A celebrity is a person who is known for his well-knownness. 160% 161A child can go only so far in life without potty training. It is not 162mere coincidence that six of the last seven presidents were potty 163trained, not to mention nearly half of the nation's state legislators. 164 -- Dave Barry 165% 166A child of five could understand this! Fetch me a child of five. 167% 168A chubby man with a white beard and a red suit will approach you soon. 169Avoid him. He's a Commie. 170% 171A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but 172won't cross the street to vote in a national election. 173 -- Bill Vaughan 174% 175A city is a large community where people are lonesome together. 176 -- Herbert Prochnow 177% 178A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody 179wants to read. 180 -- Mark Twain, "The Disappearance of Literature" 181% 182A closed mouth gathers no foot. 183% 184A computer, to print out a fact, 185Will divide, multiply, and subtract. 186 But this output can be 187 No more than debris, 188If the input was short of exact. 189 -- Gigo 190% 191A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking. 192% 193A CONS is an object which cares. 194 -- Bernie Greenberg. 195% 196A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it 197is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it. 198% 199A continuing flow of paper is sufficient to continue the flow of paper. 200 -- Dyer 201% 202A copy of the universe is not what is required of art; one of the 203damned things is ample. 204 -- Rebecca West 205% 206A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats. 207 -- Ben Franklin 208% 209A crusader's wife slipped from the garrison 210And had an affair with a Saracen. 211 She was not oversexed, 212 Or jealous or vexed, 213She just wanted to make a comparison. 214% 215A cynic is a person searching for an honest man, with a stolen 216lantern. 217 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 218% 219A day for firm decisions!!!!! Or is it? 220% 221A day without sunshine is like night. 222% 223A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a fur 224coat. 225% 226A diplomat is someone who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that 227you will look forward to the trip. 228% 229 A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was 230eating his morning meal. "I would like to give you this personality 231test", said the outsider, "because I want you to be happy." 232 Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into 233the toaster -- "I wish the toaster to be happy too." 234% 235A diva who specializes in risqu'e arias is an off-coloratura soprano ... 236% 237 A doctor, an architect, and a computer scientist were arguing 238about whose profession was the oldest. In the course of their 239arguments, they got all the way back to the Garden of Eden, whereupon 240the doctor said, "The medical profession is clearly the oldest, because 241Eve was made from Adam's rib, as the story goes, and that was a simply 242incredible surgical feat." 243 The architect did not agree. He said, "But if you look at the 244Garden itself, in the beginning there was chaos and void, and out of 245that, the Garden and the world were created. So God must have been an 246architect." 247 The computer scientist, who had listened to all of this said, 248"Yes, but where do you think the chaos came from?" 249% 250A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. 251 -- Ogden Nash 252% 253A dozen, a gross, and a score, 254Plus three times the square root of four, 255 Divided by seven, 256 Plus five times eleven, 257Equals nine squared plus zero, no more. 258% 259A famous Lisp Hacker noticed an Undergraduate sitting in front of a 260Xerox 1108, trying to edit a complex Klone network via a browser. 261Wanting to help, the Hacker clicked one of the nodes in the network 262with the mouse, and asked "what do you see?" Very earnestly, the 263Undergraduate replied "I see a cursor." The Hacker then quickly 264pressed the boot toggle at the back of the keyboard, while 265simultaneously hitting the Undergraduate over the head with a thick 266Interlisp Manual. The Undergraduate was then Enlightened. 267% 268A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the 269subject. 270 -- Winston Churchill 271% 272A fool must now and then be right by chance. 273% 274A fool's brain digests philosophy into folly, science into 275superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education. 276 -- G. B. Shaw 277% 278A fool-proof method for sculpting an elephant: first, get a huge block 279of marble; then you chip away everything that doesn't look like an 280elephant. 281% 282A formal parsing algorithm should not always be used. 283 -- D. Gries 284% 285"A fractal is by definition a set for which the Hausdorff Besicovitch 286dimension strictly exceeds the topological dimension." 287 -- Mandelbrot, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" 288% 289A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. 290 -- Adlai Stevenson 291% 292A Galileo could no more be elected president of the United States than 293he could be elected Pope of Rome. Both high posts are reserved for men 294favored by God with an extraordinary genius for swathing the bitter 295facts of life in bandages of self-illusion. 296 -- H. L. Mencken 297% 298A general leading the State Department resembles a dragon commanding 299ducks. 300 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 301% 302A girl and a boy bump into each other -- surely an accident. 303A girl and a boy bump and her handkerchief drops -- surely another accident. 304But when a girl gives a boy a dead squid -- *____that ___had __to ____mean _________something*. 305 -- S. Morganstern, "The Silent Gondoliers" 306% 307A gleekzorp without a tornpee is like a quop without a fertsneet (sort 308of). 309% 310A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened 311into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the 312hope of greening the landscape of idea. 313 -- John Ciardi 314% 315A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely 316rearranging their prejudices. 317 -- William James 318% 319A great nation is any mob of people which produces at least one honest 320man a century. 321% 322A hypothetical paradox: 323 What would happen in a battle between an Enterprise security 324team, who always get killed soon after appearing, and a squad of 325Imperial Stormtroopers, who can't hit the broad side of a planet? 326 -- Tom Galloway 327% 328A is for AMY who fell down the stairs, B is for BASIL assaulted by bears. 329C is for CLARA who wasted away, D is for DESMOND thrown out of a sleigh. 330E is for ERNEST who choked on a peach, F is for FANNY sucked dry by a leech. 331G is for GEORGE smothered under a rug, H is for HECTOR done in by a thug. 332I is for IDA who drowned in a lake, J is for JAMES who took lye by mistake. 333K is for KATE who was struck with an axe, L is for LEO who swallowed some tacks. 334M is for MAUD who was swept out to sea, N is for NEVILLE who died of ennui. 335O is for OLIVE run through with an awl, P is for PRUE trampled flat in a brawl. 336Q is for QUENTIN who sank in a mire, R is for RHODA consumed by a fire. 337S is for SUSAN who perished of fits, T is for TITUS who flew into bits. 338U is for UNA who slipped down a drain, V is for VICTOR squashed under a train. 339W is for WINNIE embedded in ice, X is for XERXES devoured by mice. 340Y is for YORICK whose head was knocked in, 341Z is for ZILLAH who drank too much gin. 342 -- Edward Gorey, "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" 343% 344A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance. 345% 346A jury consists of 12 persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer. 347 -- Robert Frost 348% 349A lack of leadership is no substitute for inaction. 350% 351A lady with one of her ears applied 352To an open keyhole heard, inside, 353Two female gossips in converse free -- 354The subject engaging them was she. 355"I think", said one, "and my husband thinks 356That she's a prying, inquisitive minx!" 357As soon as no more of it she could hear 358The lady, indignant, removed her ear. 359"I will not stay," she said with a pout, 360"To hear my character lied about!" 361 -- Gopete Sherany 362% 363A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming is 364not worth knowing. 365% 366A language that doesn't have everything is actually easier to program 367in than some that do. 368 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 369% 370A large number of installed systems work by fiat. That is, they work 371by being declared to work. 372 -- Anatol Holt 373% 374A Law of Computer Programming: 375 Make it possible for programmers to write in English and you 376will find the programmers cannot write in English. 377% 378A limerick packs laughs anatomical 379Into space that is quite economical. 380 But the good ones I've seen 381 So seldom are clean, 382And the clean ones so seldom are comical. 383% 384A LISP programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of 385nothing. 386 -- Alan Perlis 387% 388A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation. 389 -- H. H. Munroe, "Saki" 390% 391A long memory is the most subversive idea in America. 392% 393A long-forgotten loved one will appear soon. Buy the negatives at any 394price. 395% 396A Los Angeles judge ruled that "a citizen may snore with immunity in 397his own home, even though he may be in possession of unusual and 398exceptional ability in that particular field." 399% 400A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me. I'm afraid of widths. 401 -- Steve Wright 402% 403A lot of people I know believe in positive thinking, and so do I. I 404believe everything positively stinks. 405 -- Lew Col 406% 407 A man goes to a tailor to try on a new custom-made suit. The 408first thing he notices is that the arms are too long. 409 "No problem," says the tailor. "Just bend them at the elbow 410and hold them out in front of you. See, now it's fine." 411 "But the collar is up around my ears!" 412 "It's nothing. Just hunch your back up a little ... no, a 413little more ... that's it." 414 "But I'm stepping on my cuffs!" the man cries in desperation. 415 "Nu, bend you knees a little to take up the slack. There you 416go. Look in the mirror -- the suit fits perfectly." 417 So, twisted like a pretzel, the man lurches out onto the 418street. Reba and Florence see him go by. 419 "Oh, look," says Reba, "that poor man!" 420 "Yes," says Florence, "but what a beautiful suit." 421 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 422% 423A man said to the Universe: "Sir, I exist!" 424 425"However," replied the Universe, "the fact has not created in me a 426sense of obligation." 427 -- Stephen Crane 428% 429A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small package. 430% 431 A master was explaining the nature of Tao to one of his 432novices. "The Tao is embodied in all software -- regardless of how 433insignificant," said the master. 434 435 "Is Tao in a hand-held calculator?" asked the novice. 436 437 "It is," came the reply. 438 439 "Is the Tao in a video game?" continued the novice. 440 441 "It is even in a video game," said the master. 442 443 "And is the Tao in the DOS for a personal computer?" 444 445 The master coughed and shifted his position slightly. "The 446lesson is over for today," he said. 447 -- "The Tao of Programming" 448% 449A mathematician is a machine for converting coffee into theorems. 450% 451A Mexican newspaper reports that bored Royal Air Force pilots stationed 452on the Falkland Islands have devised what they consider a marvelous new 453game. Noting that the local penguins are fascinated by airplanes, the 454pilots search out a beach where the birds are gathered and fly slowly 455along it at the water's edge. Perhaps ten thousand penguins turn their 456heads in unison watching the planes go by, and when the pilots turn 457around and fly back, the birds turn their heads in the opposite 458direction, like spectators at a slow-motion tennis match. Then, the 459paper reports, "The pilots fly out to sea and directly to the penguin 460colony and overfly it. Heads go up, up, up, and ten thousand penguins 461fall over gently onto their backs. 462 -- Audubon Society Magazine 463 464[From the BBC, 2001-02-02: 465 For five weeks, a team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) 466monitored 1,000 king penguins on the island of South Georgia as Lynx 467helicopters passed overhead. 468 "Not one king penguin fell over when the helicopters came over," 469said team leader Dr. Richard Stone. 470 "As the aircraft approached, the birds went quiet and stopped 471calling to each other, and adolescent birds that were not associated 472with nests began walking away from the noise. Pure animal instinct, 473really." 474 The conclusion, said Dr. Stone, is that flights over 305 metres 475(1,000 feet) caused "only minor and transitory ecological effects" on 476king penguins.] 477% 478 A musician of more ambition than talent composed an elegy at 479the death of composer Edward MacDowell. She played the elegy for the 480pianist Josef Hoffman, then asked his opinion. "Well, it's quite 481nice," he replied, but don't you think it would be better if ..." 482 "If what?" asked the composer. 483 "If ... if you had died and MacDowell had written the elegy?" 484% 485A neighbor came to Nasrudin, asking to borrow his donkey. "It is out 486on loan," the teacher replied. At that moment, the donkey brayed 487loudly inside the stable. "But I can hear it bray, over there." "Whom 488do you believe," asked Nasrudin, "me or a donkey?" 489% 490A new dramatist of the absurd 491Has a voice that will shortly be heard. 492 I learn from my spies 493 He's about to devise 494An unprintable three-letter word. 495% 496A new koan: 497 498 If you have some ice cream, I will give it to you. 499 500 If you have no ice cream, I will take it away from you. 501 502It is an ice cream koan. 503% 504A new supply of round tuits has arrived and are available from Mary. 505Anyone who has been putting off work until they got a round tuit now 506has no excuse for further procrastination. 507% 508A New York City judge ruled that if two women behind you at the movies 509insist on discussing the probable outcome of the film, you have the 510right to turn around and blow a Bronx cheer at them. 511% 512A New York City ordinance prohibits the shooting of rabbits from the 513rear of a Third Avenue street car -- if the car is in motion. 514% 515 A novel approach is to remove all power from the system, which 516removes most system overhead so that resources can be fully devoted to 517doing nothing. Benchmarks on this technique are promising; tremendous 518amounts of nothing can be produced in this manner. Certain hardware 519limitations can limit the speed of this method, especially in the 520larger systems which require a more involved & less efficient 521power-down sequence. 522 An alternate approach is to pull the main breaker for the 523building, which seems to provide even more nothing, but in truth has 524bugs in it, since it usually inhibits the systems which keep the beer 525cool. 526% 527A novice was trying to fix a broken Lisp machine by turning the power 528off and on. Knight, seeing what the student was doing spoke sternly: 529"You can not fix a machine by just power-cycling it with no 530understanding of what is going wrong." Knight turned the machine off 531and on. The machine worked. 532% 533A nuclear war can ruin your whole day. 534% 535A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space. 536 -- Gloria Steinem 537% 538A penny saved is ridiculous. 539% 540A person is just about as big as the things that make him angry. 541% 542A physicist is an atom's way of knowing about atoms. 543 -- George Wald 544% 545A pig is a jolly companion, 546Boar, sow, barrow, or gilt -- 547A pig is a pal, who'll boost your morale, 548Though mountains may topple and tilt. 549When they've blackballed, bamboozled, and burned you, 550When they've turned on you, Tory and Whig, 551Though you may be thrown over by Tabby and Rover, 552You'll never go wrong with a pig, a pig, 553You'll never go wrong with a pig! 554 -- Thomas Pynchon, "Gravity's Rainbow" 555% 556 A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling 557 by Mark Twain 558 559 For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped 560to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer 561be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained 562would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 563might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the 564same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with 565"i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all. 566 Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear 567with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 568or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. 569Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi 570ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz 571ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli. 572 Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud 573hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld. 574% 575"A power so great, it can only be used for Good or Evil!" 576 -- Firesign Theatre, "The Giant Rat of Sumatra" 577% 578A priest asked: What is Fate, Master? 579 580And the Master answered: 581 582It is that which gives a beast of burden its reason for existence. 583 584It is that which men in former times had to bear upon their backs. 585 586It is that which has caused nations to build byways from City to City 587upon which carts and coaches pass, and alongside which inns have come 588to be built to stave off Hunger, Thirst and Weariness. 589 590And that is Fate? said the priest. 591 592Fate ... I thought you said Freight, responded the Master. 593 594That's all right, said the priest. I wanted to know what Freight was 595too. 596 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 597% 598 A priest was walking along the cliffs at Dover when he came 599upon two locals pulling another man ashore on the end of a rope. 600"That's what I like to see", said the priest, "A man helping his fellow 601man". 602 As he was walking away, one local remarked to the other, "Well, 603he sure doesn't know the first thing about shark fishing." 604% 605A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep. 606% 607"A programmer is a person who passes as an exacting expert on the basis 608of being able to turn out, after innumerable punching, an infinite 609series of incomprehensive answers calculated with micrometric 610precisions from vague assumptions based on debatable figures taken from 611inconclusive documents and carried out on instruments of problematical 612accuracy by persons of dubious reliability and questionable mentality 613for the avowed purpose of annoying and confounding a hopelessly 614defenseless department that was unfortunate enough to ask for the 615information in the first place." 616 -- IEEE Grid news magazine 617% 618A psychiatrist is a person who will give you expensive answers that 619your wife will give you for free. 620% 621A public debt is a kind of anchor in the storm; but if the anchor be 622too heavy for the vessel, she will be sunk by that very weight which 623was intended for her preservation. 624 -- Colton 625% 626A putt that stops close enough to the cup to inspire such comments as 627"you could blow it in" may be blown in. This rule does not apply if 628the ball is more than three inches from the hole, because no one wants 629to make a travesty of the game. 630 -- Donald A. Metz 631% 632"A raccoon tangled with a 23,000 volt line today. The results blacked 633out 1400 homes and, of course, one raccoon." 634 -- Steel City News 635% 636"A radioactive cat has eighteen half-lives." 637% 638A reading from the Book of Armaments, Chapter 4, Verses 16 to 20: 639 640Then did he raise on high the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, saying, 641"Bless this, O Lord, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny 642bits, in thy mercy." And the people did rejoice and did feast upon the 643lambs and toads and tree-sloths and fruit-bats and orangutans and 644breakfast cereals ... Now did the Lord say, "First thou pullest the 645Holy Pin. Then thou must count to three. Three shall be the number of 646the counting and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt 647thou not count, neither shalt thou count two, excepting that thou then 648proceedeth to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being 649the number of the counting, be reached, then lobbest thou the Holy Hand 650Grenade in the direction of thine foe, who, being naughty in my sight, 651shall snuff it." 652 -- Monty Python, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" 653% 654A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices 655that the system works. 656% 657A real person has two reasons for doing anything ... a good reason and 658the real reason. 659% 660A recent study has found that concentrating on difficult off-screen 661objects, such as the faces of loved ones, causes eye strain in computer 662scientists. Researchers into the phenomenon cite the added 663concentration needed to "make sense" of such unnatural three 664dimensional objects ... 665% 666A Riverside, California, health ordinance states that two persons may 667not kiss each other without first wiping their lips with carbolized 668rosewater. 669% 670A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man 671contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral. 672 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 673% 674A sense of humor keen enough to show a man his own absurdities will 675keep him from the commission of all sins, or nearly all, save those 676that are worth committing. 677 -- Samuel Butler 678% 679 A Severe Strain on the Credulity 680 681As a method of sending a missile to the higher, and even to the highest 682parts of the earth's atmospheric envelope, Professor Goddard's rocket 683is a practicable and therefore promising device. It is when one 684considers the multiple-charge rocket as a traveler to the moon that one 685begins to doubt ... for after the rocket quits our air and really 686starts on its journey, its flight would be neither accelerated nor 687maintained by the explosion of the charges it then might have left. 688Professor Goddard, with his "chair" in Clark College and countenancing 689of the Smithsonian Institution, does not know the relation of action to 690re-action, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum 691against which to react ... Of course he only seems to lack the 692knowledge ladled out daily in high schools. 693 -- New York Times Editorial, 1920 694% 695A sine curve goes off to infinity or at least the end of the blackboard. 696 -- Prof. Steiner 697% 698... A solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he 699was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity. 700 -- Mark Twain 701% 702A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. 703 -- O'Henry 704% 705A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many 706bad measures. 707 -- Daniel Webster 708% 709A student who changes the course of history is probably taking an 710exam. 711% 712A student, in hopes of understanding the Lambda-nature, came to 713Greenblatt. As they spoke a Multics system hacker walked by. "Is it 714true," asked the student, "that PL-1 has many of the same data types as 715Lisp?" Almost before the student had finished his question, Greenblatt 716shouted, "FOO!", and hit the student with a stick. 717% 718A successful [software] tool is one that was used to do something 719undreamed of by its author. 720 -- S. C. Johnson 721% 722A tautology is a thing which is tautological. 723% 724A total abstainer is one who abstains from everything but abstention, 725and especially from inactivity in the affairs of others. 726 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 727% 728A transistor protected by a fast-acting fuse will protect the fuse by 729blowing first. 730% 731A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene 732triangle. 733% 734A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn. 735% 736A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest 737in students. 738 -- John Ciardi 739% 740"A University without students is like an ointment without a fly." 741 -- Ed Nather, professor of astronomy at UT Austin 742% 743A UNIX saleslady, Lenore, 744Enjoys work, but she likes the beach more. 745 She found a good way 746 To combine work and play: 747She sells C shells by the seashore. 748% 749A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature 750replaces it with. 751 -- Tennessee Williams 752% 753A very intelligent turtle 754Found programming UNIX a hurdle 755 The system, you see, 756 Ran as slow as did he, 757And that's not saying much for the turtle. 758% 759A well adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without 760getting nervous. 761% 762A witty saying proves nothing, but saying something pointless gets 763people's attention. 764% 765A witty saying proves nothing. 766 -- Voltaire 767% 768A wizard cannot do everything; a fact most magicians are reticent to 769admit, let alone discuss with prospective clients. Still, the fact 770remains that there are certain objects, and people, that are, for one 771reason or another, completely immune to any direct magical spell. It 772is for this group of beings that the magician learns the subtleties of 773using indirect spells. It also does no harm, in dealing with these 774matters, to carry a large club near your person at all times. 775 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VIII 776% 777A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God. 778% 779A.A.A.A.A.: 780 An organization for drunks who drive 781% 782AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkkk!!!!!!!!! 783You brute! Knock before entering a ladies room! 784% 785Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy. 786% 787"About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the 788ends." 789 -- Herbert Hoover 790% 791Absence makes the heart go wander. 792% 793Absent, adj.: 794 Exposed to the attacks of friends and acquaintances; defamed; 795slandered. 796% 797Absentee, n.: 798 A person with an income who has had the forethought to remove 799himself from the sphere of exaction. 800 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 801% 802Abstainer, n.: 803 A weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a 804pleasure. 805 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 806% 807Absurdity, n.: 808 A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own 809opinion. 810 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 811% 812Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, 813because the stakes are so low. 814 -- Wallace Sayre 815% 816Accident, n.: 817 A condition in which presence of mind is good, but absence of 818body is better. 819 -- Foolish Dictionary 820% 821Accidents cause History. 822 823If Sigismund Unbuckle had taken a walk in 1426 and met Wat Tyler, the 824Peasant's Revolt would never have happened and the motor car would not 825have been invented until 2026, which would have meant that all the oil 826could have been used for lamps, thus saving the electric light bulb and 827the whale, and nobody would have caught Moby Dick or Billy Budd. 828 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 829% 830According to Arkansas law, Section 4761, Pope's Digest: "No person 831shall be permitted under any pretext whatever, to come nearer than 832fifty feet of any door or window of any polling room, from the opening 833of the polls until the completion of the count and the certification of 834the returns." 835% 836According to Kentucky state law, every person must take a bath at least 837once a year. 838% 839According to my best recollection, I don't remember. 840 -- Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo 841% 842According to the latest official figures, 43% of all statistics are 843totally worthless. 844% 845According to the obituary notices, a mean and unimportant person never 846dies. 847% 848According to the Rand McNally Places-Rated Almanac, the best place to 849live in America is the city of Pittsburgh. The city of New York came 850in twenty-fifth. Here in New York we really don't care too much. 851Because we know that we could beat up their city anytime. 852 -- David Letterman 853% 854Accordion, n.: 855 A bagpipe with pleats. 856% 857Accuracy, n.: 858 The vice of being right. 859% 860 ACHTUNG!!! 861 862Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy 863schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit 864spitzensparken. Ist nicht fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das 865rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands in das pockets. Relaxen und 866vatch das blinkenlights!!! 867% 868Acid -- better living through chemistry. 869% 870Acid absorbs 47 times its own weight in excess Reality. 871% 872Acquaintance, n.: 873 A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well 874enough to lend to. 875 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 876% 877"Acting is an art which consists of keeping the audience from coughing." 878% 879Actor: "I'm a smash hit. Why, yesterday during the last act, I had 880 everyone glued in their seats!" 881Oliver Herford: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Clever of you to think of 882 it!" 883% 884Actor: So what do you do for a living? 885Doris: I work for a company that makes deceptively shallow serving 886 dishes for Chinese restaurants. 887 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 888% 889Actors will happen even in the best-regulated families. 890% 891ADA, n.: 892 Something you need only know the name of to be an Expert in 893 Computing. Useful in sentences like, "We had better develop 894 an ADA awareness." 895 -- "Datamation", January 15, 1984 896% 897Admiration, n.: 898 Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves. 899 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 900% 901Adolescence, n.: 902 The stage between puberty and adultery. 903% 904"Adopted kids are such a pain -- you have to teach them how to look 905like you ..." 906 -- Gilda Radner 907% 908Adore, v.: 909 To venerate expectantly. 910 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 911% 912Adult, n.: 913 One old enough to know better. 914% 915Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest 916way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. 917 -- Sinclair Lewis 918% 919Advice to young men: Be ascetic, and if you can't be ascetic, 920then at least be aseptic. 921% 922After [Benjamin] Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose 923names have become part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary 924Louise Amp, James Watt, Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted 925many important electrical experiments. For example, in 1780 Luigi 926Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when he attached two 927different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical current 928developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer 929attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led 930to enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, 931skilled veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously 932injured or killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it 933hop back into the pond just like a normal frog, except for the fact 934that it sinks like a stone. 935 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 936% 937After a few boring years, socially meaningful rock 'n' roll died out. 938It was replaced by disco, which offers no guidance to any form of life 939more advanced than the lichen family. 940 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 941% 942After a number of decimal places, nobody gives a damn. 943% 944"... After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known 945quotations." 946 -- H. L. Mencken, on Shakespeare 947% 948After all, what is your hosts' purpose in having a party? Surely not 949for you to enjoy yourself; if that were their sole purpose, they'd have 950simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi. 951 -- P. J. O'Rourke 952% 953After an instrument has been assembled, extra components will be found 954on the bench. 955% 956 After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from 957Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, 958and turned to God and said, "A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon 959to be created." 960 "This is true," He replied. 961 "He will need laws," said the Demon slyly. 962 "What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the 963right to make his laws?" 964 "Oh, no!" Satan replied, "I ask only that he be allowed to 965make his own." 966 It was so granted. 967 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 968% 969"After I asked him what he meant, he replied that freedom consisted of 970the unimpeded right to get rich, to use his ability, no matter what the 971cost to others, to win advancement." 972 -- Norman Thomas 973% 974After I run your program, let's make love like crazed weasels, OK? 975% 976After living in New York, you trust nobody, but you believe 977everything. Just in case. 978% 979After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access 980cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been 981removed. 982% 983Afternoon very favorable for romance. Try a single person for a 984change. 985% 986Afternoon, n.: 987 That part of the day we spend worrying about how we wasted the 988morning. 989% 990Age before beauty; and pearls before swine. 991 -- Dorothy Parker 992% 993Age, n.: 994 That period of life in which we compound for the vices that we 995still cherish by reviling those that we no longer have the enterprise 996to commit. 997 -- Ambrose Bierce 998% 999Ah say, son, you're about as sharp as a bowlin' ball. 1000% 1001Ah, but the choice of dreams to live, 1002there's the rub. 1003 1004For all dreams are not equal, 1005some exit to nightmare 1006most end with the dreamer 1007 1008But at least one must be lived ... and died. 1009% 1010"Ah, you know the type. They like to blame it all on the Jews or the 1011Blacks, 'cause if they couldn't, they'd have to wake up to the fact 1012that life's one big, scary, glorious, complex and ultimately 1013unfathomable crapshoot -- and the only reason THEY can't seem to keep 1014up is they're a bunch of misfits and losers." 1015 -- A analysis of Neo-Nazis, from "The Badger" comic 1016% 1017Air is water with holes in it. 1018% 1019Alas, I am dying beyond my means. 1020 -- Oscar Wilde, as he sipped champagne on his deathbed 1021% 1022Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied: "You see, wire 1023telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New 1024York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? 1025And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they 1026receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." 1027% 1028Alden's Laws: 1029 (1) Giving away baby clothes and furniture is the major cause 1030 of pregnancy. 1031 (2) Always be backlit. 1032 (3) Sit down whenever possible. 1033% 1034Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall, 1035Aleph-null bottles of beer, 1036 You take one down, and pass it around, 1037Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall. 1038% 1039Alex Haley was adopted! 1040% 1041Alexander Graham Bell is alive and well in New York, and still waiting 1042for a dial tone. 1043% 1044Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of 1045them keeps paying for it. 1046 -- Peggy Joyce 1047% 1048All [zoos] actually offer to the public in return for the taxes spent 1049upon them is a form of idle and witless amusement, compared to which a 1050visit to a penitentiary, or even to a State legislature in session, is 1051informing, stimulating and ennobling. 1052 -- H. L. Mencken 1053% 1054All bridge hands are equally likely, but some are more equally likely 1055than others. 1056 -- Alan Truscott 1057% 1058All extremists should be taken out and shot. 1059% 1060All Finagle Laws may be bypassed by learning the simple art of doing 1061without thinking. 1062% 1063"All flesh is grass" 1064 -- Isaiah 1065Smoke a friend today. 1066% 1067All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. 1068% 1069All I ask of life is a constant and exaggerated sense of my own 1070importance. 1071% 1072All I can think of is a platter of organic PRUNE CRISPS being trampled 1073by an army of swarthy, Italian LOUNGE SINGERS ... 1074% 1075All I want is a warm bed and a kind word and unlimited power. 1076 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 1077% 1078All men are mortal. Socrates was mortal. Therefore, all men are 1079Socrates. 1080 -- Woody Allen 1081% 1082"All my friends and I are crazy. That's the only thing that keeps us 1083sane." 1084% 1085"All my life I wanted to be someone; I guess I should have been more 1086specific." 1087 -- Jane Wagner 1088% 1089All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies. 1090 -- The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 1091% 1092All other things being equal, a bald man cannot be elected President of 1093the United States. 1094 -- Vic Gold 1095% 1096All power corrupts, but we need electricity. 1097% 1098All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors. 1099% 1100All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of 1101every organism to live beyond its income. 1102 -- Samuel Butler, "Notebooks" 1103% 1104All science is either physics or stamp collecting. 1105 -- E. Rutherford 1106% 1107"All snakes who wish to remain in Ireland will please raise their right 1108hands." 1109 -- Saint Patrick 1110% 1111All syllogisms have three parts; therefore this is not a syllogism. 1112% 1113All the big corporations depreciate their possessions, and you can, 1114too, provided you use them for business purposes. For example, if you 1115subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, a business-related newspaper, you 1116can deduct the cost of your house, because, in the words of U.S. 1117Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger in a landmark 1979 tax 1118decision: "Where else are you going to read the paper? Outside? What 1119if it rains?" 1120 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 1121% 1122"... all the modern inconveniences ..." 1123 -- Mark Twain 1124% 1125All the passions make us commit faults; love makes us commit the most 1126ridiculous ones. 1127 -- La Rochefoucauld 1128% 1129All the taxes paid over a lifetime by the average American are spent by 1130the government in less than a second. 1131 -- Jim Fiebig 1132% 1133All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed. 1134 -- Sean O'Casey 1135% 1136All the world's a VAX, 1137And all the coders merely butchers; 1138They have their exits and their entrails; 1139And one int in his time plays many widths, 1140His sizeof being _N bytes. At first the infant, 1141Mewling and puking in the Regent's arms. 1142And then the whining schoolboy, with his Sun, 1143And shining morning face, creeping like slug 1144Unwillingly to school. 1145 -- A Very Annoyed PDP-11 1146% 1147All theoretical chemistry is really physics; 1148and all theoretical chemists know it. 1149 -- Richard P. Feynman 1150% 1151All things are possible, except skiing thru a revolving door. 1152% 1153All this wheeling and dealing around, why, it isn't for money, it's for 1154fun. Money's just the way we keep score. 1155 -- Henry Tyroon 1156% 1157All true wisdom is found on T-shirts. 1158% 1159All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers ... Each one owes 1160infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in 1161which he was born. 1162 -- Francois Fenelon 1163% 1164Alliance, n.: 1165 In international politics, the union of two thieves who have 1166their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pocket that they cannot 1167separately plunder a third. 1168 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1169% 1170Alone, adj.: 1171 In bad company. 1172 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1173% 1174Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight 1175Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. 1176 -- Dave Barry 1177% 1178Although the moon is smaller than the earth, it is farther away. 1179% 1180Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, 1181mixers, etc., for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have 1182any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place 1183to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, 1184Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lighting storm and received a 1185serious electrical shock. This proved that lighting was powered by the 1186same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely 1187that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as "A 1188penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job 1189running the post office. 1190 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 1191% 1192Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been 1193reissued by the Grove Press, and this pictorial account of the 1194day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is full of considerable 1195interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on 1196pheasant-raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, 1197and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper. 1198Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous 1199material in order to discover and savour those sidelights on the 1200management of a midland shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion 1201the book cannot take the place of J. R. Miller's "Practical 1202Gamekeeping." 1203 -- Ed Zern, "Field and Stream" (Nov. 1959) 1204% 1205Always borrow money from a pessimist; he doesn't expect to be paid 1206back. 1207% 1208Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. 1209% 1210"Always try to do things in chronological order; it's less confusing 1211that way." 1212% 1213Am I ranting? I hope so. My ranting gets raves. 1214% 1215 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1216 1217If all the salmon caught in Canada in one year were laid end to end 1218across the Sahara Desert, the smell would be absolutely awful. 1219% 1220 AMAZING BUT TRUE ... 1221 1222There is so much sand in Northern Africa that if it were spread out it 1223would completely cover the Sahara Desert. 1224% 1225Ambidextrous, adj.: 1226 Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left. 1227 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1228% 1229Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. 1230 -- Charlie McCarthy 1231% 1232America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism 1233to decadence without touching civilization. 1234 -- John O'Hara 1235% 1236America was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci and was named after him, 1237until people got tired of living in a place called "Vespuccia" and 1238changed its name to "America". 1239 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 1240% 1241American business long ago gave up on demanding that prospective 1242employees be honest and hardworking. It has even stopped hoping for 1243employees who are educated enough that they can tell the difference 1244between the men's room and the women's room without having little 1245pictures on the doors. 1246 -- Dave Barry, "Urine Trouble, Mister" 1247% 1248"Amnesia used to be my favorite word, but then I forgot it." 1249% 1250An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because 1251people refuse to see it. 1252 -- James Michener, "Space" 1253% 1254An American's a person who isn't afraid to criticize the President but 1255is always polite to traffic cops. 1256% 1257An anthropologist at Tulane has just come back from a field trip to 1258New Guinea with reports of a tribe so primitive that they have Tide but 1259not new Tide with lemon-fresh Borax. 1260 -- David Letterman 1261% 1262An apple every eight hours will keep three doctors away. 1263% 1264 An architect's first work is apt to be spare and clean. He 1265knows he doesn't know what he's doing, so he does it carefully and with 1266great restraint. 1267 As he designs the first work, frill after frill and 1268embellishment after embellishment occur to him. These get stored away 1269to be used "next time". Sooner or later the first system is finished, 1270and the architect, with firm confidence and a demonstrated mastery of 1271that class of systems, is ready to build a second system. 1272 This second is the most dangerous system a man ever designs. 1273When he does his third and later ones, his prior experiences will 1274confirm each other as to the general characteristics of such systems, 1275and their differences will identify those parts of his experience that 1276are particular and not generalizable. 1277 The general tendency is to over-design the second system, using 1278all the ideas and frills that were cautiously sidetracked on the first 1279one. The result, as Ovid says, is a "big pile". 1280 -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month" 1281% 1282An artist should be fit for the best society and keep out of it. 1283% 1284An attorney was defending his client against a charge of first-degree 1285murder. "Your Honor, my client is accused of stuffing his lover's 1286mutilated body into a suitcase and heading for the Mexican border. 1287Just north of Tijuana a cop spotted her hand sticking out of the 1288suitcase. Now, I would like to stress that my client is *not* a 1289murderer. A sloppy packer, maybe..." 1290% 1291An authority is a person who can tell you more about something than you 1292really care to know. 1293% 1294An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible. 1295% 1296An elephant is a mouse with an operating system. 1297% 1298An English judge, growing weary of the barrister's long-winded 1299summation, leaned over the bench and remarked, "I've heard your 1300arguments, Sir Geoffrey, and I'm none the wiser!" Sir Geoffrey 1301responded, "That may be, Milord, but at least you're better informed!" 1302% 1303An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose. 1304 -- A. P. Herbert 1305% 1306An excellence-oriented '80s male does not wear a regular watch. He 1307wears a Rolex watch, because it weighs nearly six pounds and is 1308advertised only in excellence-oriented publications such as Fortune and 1309Rich Protestant Golfer Magazine. The advertisements are written in 1310incomplete sentences, which is how advertising copywriters denote 1311excellence: 1312 1313"The Rolex Hyperion. An elegant new standard in quality excellence and 1314discriminating handcraftsmanship. For the individual who is truly able 1315to discriminate with regard to excellent quality standards of crafting 1316things by hand. Fabricated of 100 percent 24-karat gold. No watch 1317parts or anything. Just a great big chunk on your wrist. Truly a 1318timeless statement. For the individual who is very secure. Who 1319doesn't need to be reminded all the time that he is very successful. 1320Much more successful than the people who laughed at him in high 1321school. Because of his acne. People who are probably nowhere near as 1322successful as he is now. Maybe he'll go to his 20th reunion, and 1323they'll see his Rolex Hyperion. Hahahahahahahahaha." 1324 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 1325% 1326An exotic journey in downtown Newark is in your future. 1327% 1328"... an experienced, industrious, ambitious, and often quite often 1329picturesque liar." 1330 -- Mark Twain 1331% 1332An idea is an eye given by God for the seeing of God. Some of these 1333eyes we cannot bear to look out of, we blind them as quickly as 1334possible. 1335 -- Russell Hoban, "Pilgermann" 1336% 1337An idea is not responsible for the people who believe in it. 1338% 1339 An old Jewish man reads about Einstein's theory of relativity 1340in the newspaper and asks his scientist grandson to explain it to him. 1341 "Well, zayda, it's sort of like this. Einstein says that if 1342you're having your teeth drilled without Novocain, a minute seems like 1343an hour. But if you're sitting with a beautiful woman on your lap, an 1344hour seems like a minute." 1345 The old man considers this profound bit of thinking for a 1346moment and says, "And from this he makes a living?" 1347 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 1348% 1349"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of purge." 1350% 1351Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it's better than no 1352government at all. 1353% 1354And as we stand on the edge of darkness 1355Let our chant fill the void 1356That others may know 1357 1358 In the land of the night 1359 The ship of the sun 1360 Is drawn by 1361 The grateful dead. 1362 1363 -- Tibetan "Book of the Dead," ca. 4000 BC. 1364% 1365... and furthermore ... I don't like your trousers. 1366% 1367And I heard Jeff exclaim, 1368As they strolled out of sight, 1369"Merry Christmas to all -- 1370You take credit cards, right?" 1371 -- "Outsiders" comic 1372% 1373... And malt does more than Milton can 1374To justify God's ways to man 1375 -- A. E. Housman 1376% 1377And on the seventh day, He exited from append mode. 1378% 1379"... And remember: if you don't like the news, go out and make some of 1380your own." 1381 -- "Scoop" Nisker, KFOG radio reporter 1382 Preposterous Words 1383% 1384And so, men, we can see that human skin is an even more complex and 1385fascinating organ than we thought it was, and if we want to keep it 1386looking good, we have to care for it as though it were our own. One 1387approach is to undergo a painful surgical procedure wherein your skin 1388is turned inside-out, so the young cells are on the outside, but then 1389of course you have the unpleasant side effect that your insides 1390gradually fill up with dead old cells and you explode. So this 1391procedure is pretty much limited to top Hollywood stars for whom 1392youthful beauty is a career necessity, such as Elizabeth Taylor and 1393Orson Welles. 1394 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 1395% 1396"...and the fully armed nuclear warheads, are, of course, merely a 1397courtesy detail." 1398% 1399And this is a table ma'am. What in essence it consists of is a 1400horizontal rectilinear plane surface maintained by four vertical 1401columnar supports, which we call legs. The tables in this laboratory, 1402ma'am, are as advanced in design as one will find anywhere in the 1403world. 1404 -- Michael Frayn, "The Tin Men" 1405% 1406 "And what will you do when you grow up to be as big as me?" 1407asked the father of his little son. 1408 "Diet." 1409% 1410And yet, seasons must be taken with a grain of salt, for they too have 1411a sense of humor, as does history. Corn stalks comedy, comedy stalks 1412tragedy, and this too is historic. And yet, still, when corn meets 1413tragedy face to face, we have politics. 1414 -- Dalglish, Larsen and Sutherland, "Root Crops and 1415 Ground Cover" 1416% 1417Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes. 1418Galileo: No, unhappy the land that _____needs heroes. 1419 -- Bertolt Brecht, "Life of Galileo" 1420% 1421Angels we have heard on High 1422Tell us to go out and Buy. 1423 -- Tom Lehrer 1424% 1425Ankh if you love Isis. 1426% 1427Anoint, v.: 1428 To grease a king or other great functionary already 1429sufficiently slippery. 1430 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1431% 1432 Another Glitch in the Call 1433 ------- ------ -- --- ---- 1434 (Sung to the tune of the classic Pink Floyd song.) 1435 1436We don't need no indirection 1437We don't need no flow control 1438No data typing or declarations 1439Did you leave the lists alone? 1440 1441 Hey! Hacker! Leave those lists alone! 1442 1443Chorus: 1444 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1445 All in all, it's just a pure-LISP function call. 1446% 1447Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 1448% 1449Another possible source of guidance for teenagers is television, but 1450television's message has always been that the need for truth, wisdom 1451and world peace pales by comparison with the need for a toothpaste that 1452offers whiter teeth *___and* fresher breath. 1453 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 1454% 1455 Answers to Last Fortune's Questions: 1456 1457(1) None. (Moses didn't have an ark). 1458(2) Your mother, by the pigeonhole principle. 1459(3) I don't know. 1460(4) Who cares? 1461(5) 6 (or maybe 4, or else 3). Mr. Alfred J. Duncan of Podunk, 1462 Montana, submitted an interesting solution to Problem 5. 1463(6) There is an interesting solution to this problem on page 1029 of my 1464 book, which you can pick up for $23.95 at finer bookstores and 1465 bathroom supply outlets (or 99 cents at the table in front of 1466 Papyrus Books). 1467% 1468Anthony's Law of Force: 1469 Don't force it; get a larger hammer. 1470% 1471Anthony's Law of the Workshop: 1472 Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible 1473 corner of the workshop. 1474 1475Corollary: 1476 On the way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike 1477 your toes. 1478% 1479Antonym, n.: 1480 The opposite of the word you're trying to think of. 1481% 1482Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art. 1483 -- Charles McCabe 1484% 1485Any dramatic series the producers want us to take seriously as a 1486representation of contemporary reality cannot be taken seriously as a 1487representation of anything -- except a show to be ignored by anyone 1488capable of sitting upright in a chair and chewing gum simultaneously. 1489 -- Richard Schickel 1490% 1491Any excuse will serve a tyrant. 1492 -- Aesop 1493% 1494Any father who thinks he's all important should remind himself that 1495this country honors fathers only one day a year while pickles get a 1496whole week. 1497% 1498Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise person to be able to 1499sell it. 1500% 1501Any great truth can -- and eventually will -- be expressed as a cliche 1502-- a cliche is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea. For instance, 1503my grandmother used to say, "The black cat is always the last one off 1504the fence." I have no idea what she meant, but at one time, it was 1505undoubtedly true. 1506 -- Solomon Short 1507% 1508Any philosophy that can be put "in a nutshell" belongs there. 1509 -- Sydney J. Harris 1510% 1511Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a larger 1512object. 1513% 1514Any stone in your boot always migrates against the pressure gradient to 1515exactly the point of most pressure. 1516 -- Milt Barber 1517% 1518Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature. 1519 -- Rich Kulawiec 1520% 1521Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged 1522demo. 1523% 1524Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. 1525 -- Arthur C. Clarke 1526% 1527Any time things appear to be going better, you have overlooked 1528something. 1529% 1530Any two philosophers can tell each other all they know in two hours. 1531 -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 1532% 1533Anybody can win, unless there happens to be a second entry. 1534% 1535Anybody who doesn't cut his speed at the sight of a police car is 1536probably parked. 1537% 1538Anybody with money to burn will easily find someone to tend the fire. 1539% 1540Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is 1541supposed to be doing at the moment. 1542 -- Robert Benchley 1543% 1544Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. 1545 -- Publius Syrus 1546% 1547Anyone can make an omelet with eggs. The trick is to make one with 1548none. 1549% 1550Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he 1551is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not 1552make messes in the house. 1553 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1554% 1555Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined. 1556 -- Samuel Goldwyn 1557% 1558Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. 1559 -- W. C. Fields 1560% 1561Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no 1562account be allowed to do the job. 1563 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 1564% 1565Anyone who uses the phrase "easy as taking candy from a baby" has never 1566tried taking candy from a baby. 1567 -- Robin Hood 1568% 1569Anything free is worth what you pay for it. 1570% 1571Anything is good if it's made of chocolate. 1572% 1573Anything labeled "NEW" and/or "IMPROVED" isn't. The label means the 1574price went up. The label "ALL NEW", "COMPLETELY NEW", or "GREAT NEW" 1575means the price went way up. 1576% 1577Anything that is good and useful is made of chocolate. 1578% 1579Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. 1580% 1581"Apathy is not the problem, it's the solution" 1582% 1583Aphorism, n.: 1584 A concise, clever statement. 1585Afterism, n.: 1586 A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late. 1587 -- James Alexander Thom 1588% 1589APL is a mistake, carried through to perfection. It is the language of 1590the future for the problems of the past: it creates a new generation of 1591coding bums. 1592% 1593APL is a write-only language. I can write programs in APL, but I 1594can't read any of them. 1595 -- Roy Keir 1596% 1597Aquadextrous, adj.: 1598 Possessing the ability to turn the bathtub faucet on and off 1599with your toes. 1600 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1601% 1602AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18) 1603 You have an inventive mind and are inclined to be progressive. 1604 You lie a great deal. On the other hand, you are inclined to 1605 be careless and impractical, causing you to make the same 1606 mistakes over and over again. People think you are stupid. 1607% 1608Arbitrary systems, pl.n.: 1609 Systems about which nothing general can be said, save "nothing 1610general can be said." 1611% 1612ARCHDUKE FERDINAND FOUND ALIVE -- 1613 FIRST WORLD WAR A MISTAKE 1614% 1615Are you a turtle? 1616% 1617"Arguments with furniture are rarely productive." 1618 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 1619% 1620ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 19) 1621 You are the pioneer type and hold most people in contempt. You 1622 are quick tempered, impatient, and scornful of advice. You are 1623 not very nice. 1624% 1625Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your 1626shoes. 1627 -- Mickey Mouse 1628% 1629Armadillo: 1630 To provide weapons to a Spanish pickle 1631% 1632Arnold's Laws of Documentation: 1633 (1) If it should exist, it doesn't. 1634 (2) If it does exist, it's out of date. 1635 (3) Only documentation for useless programs transcends the 1636 first two laws. 1637% 1638Around computers it is difficult to find the correct unit of time to 1639measure progress. Some cathedrals took a century to complete. Can you 1640imagine the grandeur and scope of a program that would take as long? 1641 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 1642% 1643Art is anything you can get away with. 1644 -- Marshall McLuhan. 1645% 1646Art is either plagiarism or revolution. 1647 -- Paul Gauguin 1648% 1649Arthur's Laws of Love: 1650 (1) People to whom you are attracted invariably think you 1651 remind them of someone else. 1652 (2) The love letter you finally got the courage to send will be 1653 delayed in the mail long enough for you to make a fool of 1654 yourself in person. 1655% 1656Artistic ventures highlighted. Rob a museum. 1657% 1658As a professional humorist, I often get letters from readers who are 1659interested in the basic nature of humor. "What kind of a sick 1660perverted disgusting person are you," these letters typically ask, 1661"that you make jokes about setting fire to a goat?" 1662 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 1663% 1664As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual 1665certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I 1666became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can 1667meet girls. 1668 -- Matt Cartmill 1669% 1670As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not 1671certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. 1672 -- Albert Einstein 1673% 1674As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error. 1675 -- Weisert 1676% 1677As I was going up Punch Card Hill, 1678 Feeling worse and worser, 1679There I met a C.R.T. 1680 And it drop't me a cursor. 1681 1682C.R.T., C.R.T., 1683 Phosphors light on you! 1684If I had fifty hours a day 1685 I'd spend them all at you. 1686 1687 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 1688% 1689As I was passing Project MAC, 1690I met a Quux with seven hacks. 1691Every hack had seven bugs; 1692Every bug had seven manifestations; 1693Every manifestation had seven symptoms. 1694Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and hacks, 1695How many losses at Project MAC? 1696% 1697As long as I am mayor of this city [Jersey City, New Jersey] the great 1698industries are secure. We hear about constitutional rights, free 1699speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to 1700myself, "That man is a Red, that man is a Communist". You never hear a 1701real American talk like that. 1702 -- Frank Hague (1896-1956) 1703% 1704As long as the answer is right, who cares if the question is wrong? 1705% 1706As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its 1707fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be 1708popular. 1709 -- Oscar Wilde 1710% 1711As of next week, passwords will be entered in Morse code. 1712% 1713"As part of the conversion, computer specialists rewrote 1,500 1714programs; a process that traditionally requires some debugging." 1715 -- USA Today, referring to the IRS switchover to a new 1716 computer system. 1717% 1718As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it 1719wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought. Debugging had 1720to be discovered. I can remember the exact instant when I realized 1721that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in 1722finding mistakes in my own programs. 1723 -- Maurice Wilkes discovers debugging, 1949 1724% 1725As the poet said, "Only God can make a tree" -- probably because it's 1726so hard to figure out how to get the bark on. 1727 -- Woody Allen 1728% 1729As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there 1730is always a future in Computer Maintenance. 1731 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1732% 1733As Will Rogers would have said, "There is no such thing as a free 1734variable." 1735% 1736As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple 1737memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time 1738to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, 1739E, or U is the proper time for chocolate. 1740 -- Sandra Boynton, "Chocolate: The Consuming Passion" 1741% 1742As you know, birds do not have sexual organs because they would 1743interfere with flight. [In fact, this was the big breakthrough for the 1744Wright Brothers. They were watching birds one day, trying to figure 1745out how to get their crude machine to fly, when suddenly it dawned on 1746Wilbur. "Orville," he said, "all we have to do is remove the sexual 1747organs!" You should have seen their original design.] As a result, 1748birds are very, very difficult to arouse sexually. You almost never 1749see an aroused bird. So when they want to reproduce, birds fly up and 1750stand on telephone lines, where they monitor telephone conversations 1751with their feet. When they find a conversation in which people are 1752talking dirty, they grip the line very tightly until they are both 1753highly aroused, at which point the female gets pregnant. 1754 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 1755 Teen Should Know" 1756% 1757As you reach for the web, a venomous spider appears. Unable to pull 1758your hand away in time, the spider promptly, but politely, bites you. 1759The venom takes affect quickly causing your lips to turn plaid along 1760with your complexion. You become dazed, and in your stupor you fall 1761from the limbs of the tree. Snap! Your head falls off and rolls all 1762over the ground. The instant before you croak, you hear the whoosh of 1763a vacuum being filled by the air surrounding your head. Worse yet, the 1764spider is suing you for damages. 1765% 1766As Zeus said to Narcissus, "Watch yourself." 1767% 1768ASHes to ASHes, DOS to DOS. 1769% 1770Ask five economists and you'll get five different explanations (six if 1771one went to Harvard). 1772 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 1773% 1774Ask not for whom the <CONTROL-G> tolls. 1775% 1776Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the 1777Station-to-Station rate. 1778% 1779Ask not for whom the telephone bell tolls ... if thou art in the 1780bathtub, it tolls for thee. 1781% 1782Ask your boss to reconsider -- it's so difficult to take "Go to hell" 1783for an answer. 1784% 1785"Asked by reporters about his upcoming marriage to a forty-two-year-old 1786woman, director Roman Polanski told reporters, `The way I look at it, 1787she's the equivalent of three fourteen-year-olds.'" 1788 -- David Letterman 1789% 1790Ass, n.: 1791 The masculine of "lass". 1792% 1793Associate with well-mannered persons and your manners will improve. 1794Run with decent folk and your own decent instincts will be 1795strengthened. Keep the company of bums and you will become a bum. 1796Hang around with rich people and you will end by picking up the check 1797and dying broke. 1798 -- Stanley Walker 1799% 1800"At a recent meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, a participant from Los 1801Angeles fainted from hyperoxygenation, and we had to hold his head 1802under the exhaust of a bus until he revived." 1803% 1804At any given moment, an arrow must be either where it is or where it is 1805not. But obviously it cannot be where it is not. And if it is where 1806it is, that is equivalent to saying that it is at rest. 1807 -- Zeno's paradox of the moving (still?) arrow 1808% 1809At Group L, Stoffel oversees six first-rate programmers, a managerial 1810challenge roughly comparable to herding cats. 1811 -- The Washington Post Magazine, 9 June, 1985 1812% 1813At least I thought I was dancing, 'til somebody stepped on my hand. 1814 -- J. B. White 1815% 1816"At least they're ___________EXPERIENCED incompetents" 1817% 1818At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his 1819thumb with a hammer. 1820 -- Marshall Lumsden 1821% 1822At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will 1823find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on 1824the computer. 1825% 1826Atlanta makes it against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole 1827or street lamp. 1828% 1829Atlee is a very modest man. And with reason. 1830 -- Winston Churchill 1831% 1832Authors (and perhaps columnists) eventually rise to the top of whatever 1833depths they were once able to plumb. 1834 -- Stanley Kaufman 1835% 1836Automobile, n.: 1837 A four-wheeled vehicle that runs up hills and down pedestrians. 1838% 1839Avoid Quiet and Placid persons unless you are in Need of Sleep. 1840 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1841% 1842Avoid reality at all costs. 1843% 1844Avoid revolution or expect to get shot. Mother and I will grieve, but 1845we will gladly buy a dinner for the National Guardsman who shot you. 1846 -- Dr. Paul Williamson, father of a Kent State student 1847% 1848Bacchus, n.: 1849 A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for 1850getting drunk. 1851 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1852% 1853Bagbiter: 1854 1. n.; Equipment or program that fails, usually 1855intermittently. 2. adj.: Failing hardware or software. "This 1856bagbiting system won't let me get out of spacewar." Usage: verges on 1857obscenity. Grammatically separable; one may speak of "biting the 1858bag". Synonyms: LOSER, LOSING, CRETINOUS, BLETCHEROUS, BARFUCIOUS, 1859CHOMPER, CHOMPING. 1860% 1861Bagdikian's Observation: 1862 Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American 1863newspaper is like trying to play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on a 1864ukulele. 1865% 1866Baker's First Law of Federal Geometry: 1867 A block grant is a solid mass of money surrounded on all sides 1868by governors. 1869% 1870Ban the bomb. Save the world for conventional warfare. 1871% 1872Banectomy, n.: 1873 The removal of bruises on a banana. 1874 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1875% 1876Bank error in your favor. Collect $200. 1877% 1878Barach's Rule: 1879 An alcoholic is a person who drinks more than his own physician. 1880% 1881Bare feet magnetize sharp metal objects so they point upward from the 1882floor -- especially in the dark. 1883% 1884Barometer, n.: 1885 An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we 1886are having. 1887 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 1888% 1889Barth's Distinction: 1890 There are two types of people: those who divide people into two 1891types, and those who don't. 1892% 1893Baruch's Observation: 1894 If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. 1895% 1896Baseball is a skilled game. It's America's game -- it, and high 1897taxes. 1898 -- Will Rogers 1899% 1900Basic is a high level languish. 1901APL is a high level anguish. 1902% 1903"BASIC is the Computer Science equivalent of `Scientific Creationism'." 1904% 1905BASIC, n.: 1906 A programming language. Related to certain social diseases in 1907that those who have it will not admit it in polite company. 1908% 1909Bathquake, n.: 1910 The violent quake that rattles the entire house when the water 1911faucet is turned on to a certain point. 1912 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 1913% 1914Be a better psychiatrist and the world will beat a psychopath to your 1915door. 1916% 1917BE ALERT!!!! (The world needs more lerts ...) 1918% 1919Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most Souls would scarcely 1920get your Feet wet. Fall not in Love, therefore: it will stick to your 1921face. 1922 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 1923% 1924Be braver -- you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps. 1925% 1926Be careful of reading health books. You might die of a misprint. 1927 -- Mark Twain 1928% 1929Be different: conform. 1930% 1931Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so 1932get used to it. 1933% 1934Be security conscious -- National Defense is at stake. 1935% 1936Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and 1937miss 1938 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 1939% 1940Bees are very busy souls 1941They have no time for birth controls 1942And that is why in times like these 1943There are so many Sons of Bees. 1944% 1945 Before he became a hermit, Zarathud was a young Priest, and 1946took great delight in making fools of his opponents in front of his 1947followers. 1948 One day Zarathud took his students to a pleasant pasture and 1949there he confronted The Sacred Chao while She was contentedly grazing. 1950 "Tell me, you dumb beast," demanded the Priest in his 1951commanding voice, "why don't you do something worthwhile? What is your 1952Purpose in Life, anyway?" 1953 Munching the tasty grass, The Sacred Chao replied "MU". (The 1954Chinese ideogram for NO-THING.) 1955 Upon hearing this, absolutely nobody was enlightened. 1956 Primarily because nobody understood Chinese. 1957 -- Camden Benares, "Zen Without Zen Masters" 1958% 1959Before Xerox, five carbons were the maximum extension of anybody's ego. 1960% 1961Begathon, n.: 1962 A multi-day event on public television, used to raise money so 1963you won't have to watch commercials. 1964% 1965Behold the warranty ... the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh 1966away. 1967% 1968Beifeld's Principle: 1969 The probability of a young man meeting a desirable and 1970 receptive young female increases by pyramidal progression 1971 when he is already in the company of: 1972 (1) a date, 1973 (2) his wife, 1974 (3) a better looking and richer male friend. 1975% 1976"Being disintegrated makes me ve-ry an-gry!" <huff, huff> 1977% 1978Bell Labs Unix -- Reach out and grep someone. 1979% 1980Bennett's Laws of Horticulture: 1981 (1) Houses are for people to live in. 1982 (2) Gardens are for plants to live in. 1983 (3) There is no such thing as a houseplant. 1984% 1985"Benson, you are so free of the ravages of intelligence" 1986 -- Time Bandits 1987% 1988Besides the device, the box should contain: 1989 1990* Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING" 1991 1992* A plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and two 1993 club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns. 1994 1995YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram 1996cable. 1997 1998IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should turn to your 1999spouse and say: "Margaret, you know why this country can't make a car 2000that can get all the way through the drive-through at Burger King 2001without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody cares, that's 2002why." 2003 2004WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret. 2005 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2006% 2007Best of all is never to have been born. Second best is to die soon. 2008% 2009better !pout !cry 2010better watchout 2011lpr why 2012santa claus < north pole > town 2013 2014cat /etc/passwd > list 2015ncheck list 2016ncheck list 2017cat list | grep naughty > nogiftlist 2018cat list | grep nice > giftlist 2019santa claus < north pole > town 2020 2021who | grep sleeping 2022who | grep awake 2023who | egrep 'bad|good' 2024for (goodness sake) { 2025 be good 2026} 2027% 2028Better dead than mellow. 2029% 2030Between 1950 and 1952, a bored weatherman, stationed north of Hudson 2031Bay, left a monument that neither government nor time can eradicate. 2032Using a bulldozer abandoned by the Air Force, he spent two years and 2033great effort pushing boulders into a single word. 2034 2035It can be seen from 10,000 feet, silhouetted against the snow. 2036Government officials exchanged memos full of circumlocutions (no Latin 2037equivalent exists) but failed to word an appropriation bill for the 2038destruction of this cairn, that wouldn't alert the press and embarrass 2039both Parliament and Party. 2040 2041It stands today, a monument to human spirit. If life exists on other 2042planets, this may be the first message received from us. 2043 -- The Realist, November, 1964. 2044% 2045Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not 2046tried it. 2047 -- Donald Knuth 2048% 2049Beware of computerized fortune-tellers! 2050% 2051Beware of low-flying butterflies. 2052% 2053Beware of Programmers who carry screwdrivers. 2054 -- Leonard Brandwein 2055% 2056Beware of self-styled experts: an ex is a has-been, and a spurt is a 2057drip under pressure. 2058% 2059"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and 2060finds himself no wiser than before," Bokonon tells us. "He is full of 2061murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by 2062their ignorance the hard way." 2063 -- Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle" 2064% 2065Beware of the Turing Tar-pit in which everything is possible but 2066nothing of interest is easy. 2067% 2068Binary, adj.: 2069 Possessing the ability to have friends of both sexes. 2070% 2071Biology is the only science in which multiplication means the same 2072thing as division. 2073% 2074Bipolar, adj.: 2075 Refers to someone who has homes in Nome, Alaska, and Buffalo, 2076New York 2077% 2078Birth, n.: 2079 The first and direst of all disasters. 2080 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2081% 2082Bizarreness is the essence of the exotic. 2083% 2084Bizoos, n.: 2085 The millions of tiny individual bumps that make up a 2086basketball. 2087 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2088% 2089... bleakness ... desolation ... plastic forks ... 2090% 2091Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. 2092 -- Herbert Hoover 2093% 2094Blessed are they who Go Around in Circles, 2095for they Shall be Known as Wheels. 2096% 2097BLISS is ignorance. 2098% 2099Blood flows down one leg and up the other. 2100% 2101Blood is thicker than water, and much tastier. 2102% 2103Blore's Razor: 2104 Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is 2105funnier. 2106% 2107Board the windows, up your car insurance, and don't leave any booze in 2108plain sight. It's St. Patrick's day in Chicago again. The legend has 2109it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. In fact, he was 2110arrested for drunk driving. The snakes left because people kept 2111throwing up on them. 2112% 2113Boling's postulate: 2114 If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. 2115% 2116Bolub's Fourth Law of Computerdom: 2117 Project teams detest weekly progress reporting because it so 2118 vividly manifests their lack of progress. 2119% 2120Bombeck's Rule of Medicine: 2121 Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. 2122% 2123BOO! We changed Coke again! BLEAH! BLEAH! 2124% 2125Boob's Law: 2126 You always find something in the last place you look. 2127% 2128Bore, n.: 2129 A guy who wraps up a two-minute idea in a two-hour vocabulary. 2130 -- Walter Winchell 2131% 2132Bore, n.: 2133 A person who talks when you wish him to listen. 2134 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2135% 2136Boren's Laws: 2137 (1) When in charge, ponder. 2138 (2) When in trouble, delegate. 2139 (3) When in doubt, mumble. 2140% 2141Boss, n.: 2142 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the Middle Ages 2143 the words "boss" and "botch" were largely synonymous, except that boss, 2144 in addition to meaning "a supervisor of workers" also meant "an 2145 ornamental stud." 2146% 2147Boston State House is the hub of the Solar System. You couldn't pry 2148that out of a Boston man if you had the tire of all creation 2149straightened out for a crowbar. 2150 -- O. W. Holmes 2151% 2152Boston, n.: 2153 Ludwig van Beethoven being jeered by 50,000 sports fans for 2154 finishing second in the Irish jig competition. 2155% 2156Boy, life takes a long time to live 2157 -- Steven Wright 2158% 2159Boy, n.: 2160 A noise with dirt on it. 2161% 2162Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least 2163when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. 2164 -- James Thurber 2165% 2166Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. 2167 -- Kin Hubbard 2168% 2169Brace yourselves. We're about to try something that borders on the 2170unique: an actually rather serious technical book which is not only 2171(gasp) vehemently anti-Solemn, but also (shudder) takes sides. I tend 2172to think of it as `Constructive Snottiness.' 2173 -- Mike Padlipsky, Foreword to "Elements of Networking Style" 2174% 2175Bradley's Bromide: 2176 If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a 2177 committee -- that will do them in. 2178% 2179Brady's First Law of Problem Solving: 2180 When confronted by a difficult problem, you can solve it more 2181 easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger 2182 have handled this?" 2183% 2184Brain fried -- Core dumped 2185% 2186Brain, n.: 2187 The apparatus with which we think that we think. 2188 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2189% 2190Brain, v. [as in "to brain"]: 2191 To rebuke bluntly, but not pointedly; to dispel a source of 2192 error in an opponent. 2193 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2194% 2195Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, 2196since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind. 2197 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2198% 2199Bride, n.: 2200 A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her. 2201 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2202% 2203Bringing computers into the home won't change either one, but may 2204revitalize the corner saloon. 2205% 2206British Israelites: 2207 The British Israelites believe the white Anglo-Saxons of 2208Britain to be descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel deported by 2209Sargon of Assyria on the fall of Sumeria in 721 B.C. ... They further 2210believe that the future can be foretold by the measurements of the 2211Great Pyramid, which probably means it will be big and yellow and in 2212the hand of the Arabs. They also believe that if you sleep with your 2213head under the pillow a fairy will come and take all your teeth. 2214 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 2215% 2216Broad-mindedness, n.: 2217 The result of flattening high-mindedness out. 2218% 2219Brontosaurus Principle: 2220 Organizations can grow faster than their brains can manage them 2221in relation to their environment and to their own physiology: when 2222this occurs, they are an endangered species. 2223 -- Thomas K. Connellan 2224% 2225Brook's Law: 2226 Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later 2227% 2228Brooke's Law: 2229 Whenever a system becomes completely defined, some damn fool 2230 discovers something which either abolishes the system or 2231 expands it beyond recognition. 2232% 2233Bubble Memory, n.: 2234 A derogatory term, usually referring to a person's 2235 intelligence. See also "vacuum tube". 2236% 2237Bucy's Law: 2238 Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. 2239% 2240Bug, n.: 2241 An aspect of a computer program which exists because the 2242programmer was thinking about Jumbo Jacks or stock options when s/he 2243wrote the program. 2244 2245Fortunately, the second-to-last bug has just been fixed. 2246 -- Ray Simard 2247% 2248Bugs, pl. n.: 2249 Small living things that small living boys throw on small 2250living girls. 2251% 2252BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the 2253 outfit." 2254GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" 2255BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive." 2256 -- Jay Ward 2257% 2258Bumper sticker: 2259 2260"All the parts falling off this car are of the very finest British 2261manufacture" 2262% 2263Bureaucrat, n.: 2264 A person who cuts red tape sideways. 2265 -- J. McCabe 2266% 2267Bureaucrat, n.: 2268 A politician who has tenure. 2269% 2270Bureaucrats cut red tape -- lengthwise. 2271% 2272Burn's Hog Weighing Method: 2273 (1) Get a perfectly symmetrical plank and balance it across a 2274 sawhorse. 2275 (2) Put the hog on one end of the plank. 2276 (3) Pile rocks on the other end until the plank is again 2277 perfectly balanced. 2278 (4) Carefully guess the weight of the rocks. 2279 -- Robert Burns 2280% 2281 But as records of courts and justice are admissible, it can 2282easily be proved that powerful and malevolent magicians once existed 2283and were a scourge to mankind. The evidence (including confession) 2284upon which certain women were convicted of witchcraft and executed was 2285without a flaw; it is still unimpeachable. The judges' decisions based 2286on it were sound in logic and in law. Nothing in any existing court 2287was ever more thoroughly proved than the charges of witchcraft and 2288sorcery for which so many suffered death. If there were no witches, 2289human testimony and human reason are alike destitute of value. 2290 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2291% 2292"But don't you worry, its for a cause -- feeding global corporations 2293paws." 2294% 2295"But I don't like Spam!!!!" 2296% 2297 But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human 2298intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as 2299we can tell. If intelligent people invested intense energy in issues 2300that now seem foolish to us, then the failure lies in our understanding 2301of their world, not in their distorted perceptions. Even the standard 2302example of ancient nonsense -- the debate about angels on pinheads -- 2303makes sense once you realize that theologians were not discussing 2304whether five or eighteen would fit, but whether a pin could house a 2305finite or an infinite number. 2306 -- S. J. Gould, "Wide Hats and Narrow Minds" 2307% 2308But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the 2309system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, 2310analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses. 2311 -- Bruce Leverett, "Register Allocation in Optimizing 2312 Compilers" 2313% 2314"But officer, I was only trying to gain enough speed so I could coast 2315to the nearest gas station." 2316% 2317But scientists, who ought to know 2318Assure us that it must be so. 2319Oh, let us never, never doubt 2320What nobody is sure about. 2321 -- Hilaire Belloc 2322% 2323But soft you, the fair Ophelia: 2324Ope not thy ponderous and marble jaws, 2325But get thee to a nunnery -- go! 2326 -- Mark "The Bard" Twain 2327% 2328But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who 2329was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal 2330education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 23311877, was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of 2332American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was 2333invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879, when he 2334invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant 2335adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends 2336electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the 2337electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant 2338part) sends it right back to the customer again. 2339 2340This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch 2341of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since 2342very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. 2343In fact the last year any new electricity was generated in the United 2344States was 1937; the electric companies have been merely re-selling it 2345ever since, which is why they have so much free time to apply for rate 2346increases. 2347 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 2348% 2349But this has taken us far afield from interface, which is not a bad 2350place to be, since I particularly want to move ahead to the kludge. 2351Why do people have so much trouble understanding the kludge? What is a 2352kludge, after all, but not enough Ks, not enough ROMs, not enough RAMs, 2353poor quality interface and too few bytes to go around? Have I 2354explained yet about the bytes? 2355% 2356... But we've only fondled the surface of that subject. 2357 -- Virginia Masters 2358% 2359"But what we need to know is, do people want nasally-insertable 2360computers?" 2361% 2362Buzz off, Banana Nose; Relieve mine eyes 2363Of hateful soreness, purge mine ears of corn; 2364Less dear than army ants in apple pies 2365Art thou, old prune-face, with thy chestnuts worn, 2366Dropt from thy peeling lips like lousy fruit; 2367Like honeybees upon the perfum'd rose 2368They suck, and like the double-breasted suit 2369Are out of date; therefore, Banana Nose, 2370Go fly a kite, thy welcome's overstayed; 2371And stem the produce of thy waspish wits: 2372Thy logick, like thy locks, is disarrayed; 2373Thy cheer, like thy complexion, is the pits. 2374Be off, I say; go bug somebody new, 2375Scram, beat it, get thee hence, and nuts to you. 2376% 2377By doing just a little every day, you can gradually let the task 2378completely overwhelm you. 2379% 2380By necessity, by proclivity, and by delight, we all quote. In fact, 2381it is as difficult to appropriate the thoughts of others as it is to 2382invent. 2383 -- R. Emerson 2384 -- Quoted from a fortune cookie program 2385 (whose author claims, "Actually, stealing IS easier.") 2386 [to which I reply, "You think it's easy for me to 2387 misconstrue all these misquotations?!?"] 2388% 2389By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began 2390to suspect "Hungry" ... 2391 -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side" 2392% 2393By trying, we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's, I 2394mean. 2395 -- Mark Twain 2396% 2397Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to 2398point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very 2399fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are 2400often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people 2401from point B are so keen to get there and what's so great about point B 2402that so many people from point A are so keen to get _____there. They often 2403wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell 2404they wanted to be. 2405 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 2406% 2407C, n.: 2408 A programming language that is sort of like Pascal except more like 2409 assembly except that it isn't very much like either one, or anything 2410 else. It is either the best language available to the art today, or 2411 it isn't. 2412 -- Ray Simard 2413% 2414Cabbage, n.: 2415 A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as 2416 a man's head. 2417 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2418% 2419Cable is not a luxury, since many areas have poor TV reception. 2420 -- The mayor of Tucson, Arizona, 1989 2421% 2422Cahn's Axiom: 2423 When all else fails, read the instructions. 2424% 2425California is a fine place to live -- if you happen to be an orange. 2426 -- Fred Allen 2427% 2428California, n.: 2429 From Latin "calor", meaning "heat" (as in English "calorie" or 2430Spanish "caliente"); and "fornia'" for "sexual intercourse" or 2431"fornication." Hence: Tierra de California, "the land of hot sex." 2432 -- Ed Moran 2433% 2434Call on God, but row away from the rocks. 2435 -- Indian proverb 2436% 2437Calling J-Man Kink. Calling J-Man Kink. Hash missile sighted, target 2438Los Angeles. Disregard personal feelings about city and intercept. 2439% 2440Calvin Coolidge looks as if he had been weaned on a pickle. 2441 -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth 2442% 2443Calvin Coolidge was the greatest man who ever came out of Plymouth 2444Corner, Vermont. 2445 -- Clarence Darrow 2446% 2447Campus sidewalks never exist as the straightest line between two 2448points. 2449 -- M. M. Johnston 2450% 2451Canada Bill Jone's Motto: 2452 It's morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money. 2453 2454Supplement: 2455 A .44 magnum beats four aces. 2456% 2457Canada Post doesn't really charge 32 cents for a stamp. It's 2 cents 2458for postage and 30 cents for storage. 2459 -- Gerald Regan, Cabinet Minister, 12/31/83 Financial Post 2460% 2461Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain? 2462Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes, 2463A root or two, a torus and a node: 2464The inverse of my verse, a null domain. 2465 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2466% 2467CANCER (June 21 - July 22) 2468 You are sympathetic and understanding to other people's problems. 2469 They think you are a sucker. You are always putting things off. 2470 That's why you'll never make anything of yourself. Most welfare 2471 recipients are Cancer people. 2472% 2473Canonical, adj.: 2474 The usual or standard state or manner of something. A true 2475story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed some 2476annoyance at the use of jargon. Over his loud objections, we made a 2477point of using jargon as much as possible in his presence, and 2478eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used 2479the word "canonical" in jargon-like fashion without thinking. 2480 Steele: "Aha! We've finally got you talking jargon too!" 2481 Stallman: "What did he say?" 2482 Steele: "He just used `canonical' in the canonical way." 2483% 2484CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 19) 2485 You are conservative and afraid of taking risks. You don't do much 2486 of anything and are lazy. There has never been a Capricorn of any 2487 importance. Capricorns should avoid standing still for too long as 2488 they take root and become trees. 2489% 2490Captain Penny's Law: 2491 You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of 2492 the people all of the time, but you Can't Fool Mom. 2493% 2494Carelessly planned projects take three times longer to complete than 2495expected. Carefully planned projects take four times longer to 2496complete than expected, mostly because the planners expect their 2497planning to reduce the time it takes. 2498% 2499Carmel, New York, has an ordinance forbidding men to wear coats and 2500trousers that don't match. 2501% 2502Carperpetuation (kar' pur pet u a shun), n.: 2503 The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string at least a dozen 2504 times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it, then putting 2505 it back down to give the vacuum one more chance. 2506 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2507% 2508Cat, n.: 2509 Lapwarmer with built-in buzzer. 2510% 2511Cauliflower is nothing but Cabbage with a College Education. 2512 -- Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson" 2513% 2514Caution: breathing may be hazardous to your health. 2515% 2516CChheecckk yyoouurr dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh.. 2517% 2518Cecil, you're my final hope 2519Of finding out the true Straight Dope 2520For I have been reading of Schrodinger's cat 2521But none of my cats are at all like that. 2522This unusual animal (so it is said) 2523Is simultaneously alive and dead! 2524What I don't understand is just why he 2525Can't be one or the other, unquestionably. 2526My future now hangs in between eigenstates. 2527In one I'm enlightened, in the other I ain't. 2528If *you* understand, Cecil, then show me the way 2529And rescue my psyche from quantum decay. 2530But if this queer thing has perplexed even you, 2531Then I will *___and* I won't see you in Schrodinger's zoo. 2532 -- Randy F., Chicago, "The Straight Dope, a compendium 2533 of human knowledge" by Cecil Adams 2534% 2535Celebrate Hannibal Day this year. Take an elephant to lunch. 2536% 2537Celestial navigation is based on the premise that the Earth is the 2538center of the universe. The premise is wrong, but the navigation 2539works. An incorrect model can be a useful tool. 2540 -- Kelvin Throop III 2541% 2542Census Taker to Housewife: Did you ever have the measles, and, if so, 2543how many? 2544% 2545Cerebus: I'd love to lick apricot brandy out of your navel. 2546Jaka: Look, Cerebus-- Jaka has to tell you ... something 2547Cerebus: If Cerebus had a navel, would you lick apricot brandy 2548 out of it? 2549Jaka: Ugh! 2550Cerebus: You don't like apricot brandy? 2551 -- Cerebus #6, "The Secret" 2552% 2553Certain old men prefer to rise at dawn, taking a cold bath and a long 2554walk with an empty stomach and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They 2555then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy 2556health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, 2557not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find 2558only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the 2559others who have tried it. 2560 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2561% 2562Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, 2563But it's very funny-- 2564Did you ever try buying them without money? 2565 -- Ogden Nash 2566% 2567 Chapter 1 2568 2569The story so far: 2570 2571 In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot 2572of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move. 2573% 2574Character Density, n.: 2575 The number of very weird people in the office. 2576% 2577Checkuary, n.: 2578 The thirteenth month of the year. Begins New Year's Day and ends 2579 when a person stops absentmindedly writing the old year on his checks. 2580% 2581Chef, n.: 2582 Any cook who swears in French. 2583% 2584Chemicals, n.: 2585 Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. 2586% 2587Chemistry is applied theology. 2588 -- Augustus Stanley Owsley III 2589% 2590Chicago law prohibits eating in a place that is on fire. 2591% 2592Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #36: 2593 Never ever ask the tough looking gentleman wearing El Rukn 2594headgear where he got his "pyramid powered pizza warmer". 2595 -- Chicago Reader 3/27/81 2596% 2597Chicago Transit Authority Rider's Rule #84: 2598 The CTA has complimentary pop-up timers available on request 2599for overheated passengers. When your timer pops up, the driver will 2600cheerfully baste you. 2601 -- Chicago Reader 5/28/82 2602% 2603Chicago, n.: 2604 Where the dead still vote ... early and often! 2605% 2606Chicken Little only has to be right once. 2607% 2608Chicken Little was right. 2609% 2610Chicken Soup, n.: 2611 An ancient miracle drug containing equal parts of aureomycin, 2612 cocaine, interferon, and TLC. The only ailment chicken soup 2613 can't cure is neurotic dependence on one's mother. 2614 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 2615% 2616Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every 2617effort to teach them good manners. 2618% 2619Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're 2620going to catch you in next. 2621 -- Franklin P. Jones 2622% 2623Children aren't happy without something to ignore, 2624And that's what parents were created for. 2625 -- Ogden Nash 2626% 2627Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for 2628word what you shouldn't have said. 2629% 2630Chism's Law of Completion: 2631 The amount of time required to complete a government project is 2632 precisely equal to the length of time already spent on it. 2633% 2634Chisolm's First Corollary to Murphy's Second Law: 2635 When things just can't possibly get any worse, they will. 2636% 2637Chivalry, Schmivalry! 2638 Roger the thief has a 2639 method he uses for 2640 sneaky attacks: 2641Folks who are reading are 2642 Characteristically 2643 Always Forgetting to 2644 Guard their own bac ... 2645% 2646Christ: 2647 A man who was born at least 5,000 years ahead of his time. 2648% 2649Churchill's Commentary on Man: 2650 Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the 2651 time he will pick himself up and continue on. 2652% 2653Cigarette, n.: 2654 A fire at one end, a fool at the other, and a bit of tobacco in 2655 between. 2656% 2657Cinemuck, n.: 2658 The combination of popcorn, soda, and melted chocolate which 2659 covers the floors of movie theaters. 2660 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 2661% 2662Clairvoyant, n.: 2663 A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that 2664 which is invisible to her patron -- namely, that he is a blockhead. 2665 -- Ambrose Bierce 2666% 2667Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like 2668shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. 2669 -- Phyllis Diller 2670% 2671Cleanliness is next to impossible. 2672% 2673Cleveland still lives. God ____must be dead. 2674% 2675"Cleveland? Yes, I spent a week there one day." 2676% 2677Cloning is the sincerest form of flattery. 2678% 2679Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on 2680society. 2681 -- Mark Twain 2682% 2683COBOL programs are an exercise in Artificial Inelegance. 2684% 2685Cocaine -- the thinking man's Dristan. 2686% 2687Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum -- 2688"I think that I think, therefore I think that I am." 2689 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2690% 2691"Cogito ergo I'm right and you're wrong." 2692 -- Blair Houghton 2693% 2694Coincidence, n.: 2695 You weren't paying attention to the other half of what was 2696 going on. 2697% 2698Coincidences are spiritual puns. 2699 -- G. K. Chesterton 2700% 2701Cold, adj.: 2702 When the local flashers are handing out written descriptions. 2703% 2704Cold, adj.: 2705 When the politicians walk around with their hands in their own 2706pockets. 2707% 2708Collaboration, n.: 2709 A literary partnership based on the false assumption that the 2710 other fellow can spell. 2711% 2712College football is a game which would be much more interesting if the 2713faculty played instead of the students, and even more interesting if 2714the trustees played. There would be a great increase in broken arms, 2715legs, and necks, and simultaneously an appreciable diminution in the 2716loss to humanity. 2717 -- H. L. Mencken 2718% 2719Colvard's Logical Premises: 2720 All probabilities are 50%. Either a thing will happen or it 2721 won't. 2722 2723Colvard's Unconscionable Commentary: 2724 This is especially true when dealing with someone you're 2725 attracted to. 2726 2727Grelb's Commentary 2728 Likelihoods, however, are 90% against you. 2729% 2730Come, every frustum longs to be a cone, 2731And every vector dreams of matrices. 2732Hark to the gentle gradient of the breeze: 2733It whispers of a more ergodic zone. 2734 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2735% 2736Come, let us hasten to a higher plane, 2737Where dyads tread the fairy fields of Venn, 2738Their indices bedecked from one to _n, 2739Commingled in an endless Markov chain! 2740 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 2741% 2742Command, n.: 2743 Statement presented by a human and accepted by a computer in 2744such a manner as to make the human feel as if he is in control. 2745% 2746 COMMENT 2747 2748Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, 2749A medley of extemporanea; 2750And love is thing that can never go wrong; 2751And I am Marie of Roumania. 2752 -- Dorothy Parker 2753% 2754Commitment, n.: 2755 Commitment can be illustrated by a breakfast of ham and eggs. 2756 The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. 2757% 2758Committee Rules: 2759 (1) Never arrive on time, or you will be stamped a beginner. 2760 (2) Don't say anything until the meeting is half over; this 2761 stamps you as being wise. 2762 (3) Be as vague as possible; this prevents irritating the 2763 others. 2764 (4) When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed. 2765 (5) Be the first to move for adjournment; this will make you 2766 popular -- it's what everyone is waiting for. 2767% 2768Committee, n.: 2769 A group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group 2770 decide that nothing can be done. 2771 -- Fred Allen 2772% 2773Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to 2774be appointed to do the work. 2775% 2776Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at 2777different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. 2778 -- Clive James 2779% 2780Common sense is instinct, and enough of it is genius. 2781 -- Josh Billings 2782% 2783Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. 2784 -- Albert Einstein 2785% 2786Comparing information and knowledge is like asking whether the fatness 2787of a pig is more or less green than the designated hitter rule." 2788 -- David Guaspari 2789% 2790Computer programmers do it byte by byte. 2791% 2792Computer Science is merely the post-Turing decline in formal systems 2793theory. 2794% 2795Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are. 2796% 2797Computers are useless. They can only give you answers. 2798 -- Pablo Picasso 2799% 2800Computers can figure out all kinds of problems, except the things in 2801the world that just don't add up. 2802% 2803Computers will not be perfected until they can compute how much more 2804than the estimate the job will cost. 2805% 2806Conceit causes more conversation than wit. 2807 -- LaRouchefoucauld 2808% 2809Concept, n.: 2810 Any "idea" for which an outside consultant billed you more than 2811 $25,000. 2812% 2813... [concerning quotation marks] even if we *___did* quote anybody in this 2814business, it probably would be gibberish. 2815 -- Thom McLeod 2816% 2817Condense soup, not books! 2818% 2819Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is 2820good for dandruff. 2821 -- Peter de Vries 2822% 2823Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. 2824% 2825Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that 2826would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that 2827you undoubtably will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer 2828maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE READ THIS 2829OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY 2830UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED 2831IT ON AND FIDDLED WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD 2832WHO ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDER AND 2833SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, 2834RIGHT? AND YOU'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, 2835RIGHT??? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE 2836FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT? 2837 -- Dave Barry, "Read This First!" 2838% 2839Connector Conspiracy, n: 2840 [probably came into prominence with the appearance of the 2841KL-10, none of whose connectors match anything else] The tendency of 2842manufacturers (or, by extension, programmers or purveyors of anything) 2843to come up with new products which don't fit together with the old 2844stuff, thereby making you buy either all new stuff or expensive 2845interface devices. 2846% 2847Conscience is a mother-in-law whose visit never ends. 2848 -- H. L. Mencken 2849% 2850Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody is looking. 2851 -- H. L. Mencken, "A Mencken Chrestomathy" 2852% 2853Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good. 2854% 2855Conscious is when you are aware of something and conscience is when you 2856wish you weren't. 2857% 2858"Consequences, Schmonsequences, as long as I'm rich." 2859 -- "Ali Baba Bunny" [1957, Chuck Jones] 2860% 2861Consultants are mystical people who ask a company for a number and then 2862give it back to them. 2863% 2864"Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be, and 2865if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" 2866 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 2867% 2868"Contrary to popular belief, penguins are not the salvation of modern 2869technology. Neither do they throw parties for the urban proletariat." 2870% 2871Conversation, n.: 2872 A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath 2873 is called the listener. 2874% 2875Conway's Law: 2876 In any organization there will always be one person who knows 2877 what is going on. 2878 2879 This person must be fired. 2880% 2881Coronation, n.: 2882 The ceremony of investing a sovereign with the outward and visible 2883 signs of his divine right to be blown skyhigh with a dynamite bomb. 2884 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2885% 2886Corrupt, adj.: 2887 In politics, holding an office of trust or profit. 2888% 2889Corrupt, stupid grasping functionaries will make at least as big a 2890muddle of socialism as stupid, selfish and acquisitive employers can 2891make of capitalism. 2892 -- Walter Lippmann 2893% 2894Corruption is not the #1 priority of the Police Commissioner. His job 2895is to enforce the law and fight crime. 2896 -- P.B.A. President E. J. Kiernan 2897% 2898Court, n.: 2899 A place where they dispense with justice. 2900 -- Arthur Train 2901% 2902Coward, n.: 2903 One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs. 2904 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2905% 2906[Crash programs] fail because they are based on the theory that, with 2907nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month. 2908 -- Wernher von Braun 2909% 2910Crime does not pay ... as well as politics. 2911 -- A. E. Newman 2912% 2913Critic, n.: 2914 A person who boasts himself hard to please because nobody tries 2915 to please him. 2916 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2917% 2918Croll's Query: 2919 If tin whistles are made of tin, what are foghorns made of? 2920% 2921cursor address, n: 2922 "Hello, cursor!" 2923 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 2924% 2925Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity. It 2926eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals and lets us get straight to the 2927business of hate, debauchery, and self-annihilation. 2928 -- Johnny Hart 2929% 2930Cynic, n.: 2931 A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as 2932 they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking 2933 out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision. 2934 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2935% 2936Cynic, n.: 2937 One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced eye. 2938% 2939Dare to be naive. 2940 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 2941% 2942Darth Vader sleeps with a Teddywookie. 2943% 2944Dave Mack: "Your stupidity, Allen, is simply not up to par." 2945Allen Gwinn: "Yours is." 2946% 2947Dawn, n.: 2948 The time when men of reason go to bed. 2949 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 2950% 2951Day of inquiry. You will be subpoenaed. 2952% 2953%DCL-E-MEMBAD, bad memory 2954-VMS-F-PDGERS, pudding between the ears 2955% 2956Dealing with failure is easy: work hard to improve. Success is also 2957easy to handle: you've solved the wrong problem. Work hard to 2958improve. 2959% 2960Dear Lord: 2961 I just want *___one* one-armed manager so I never have to hear "On 2962the other hand", again. 2963% 2964Dear Miss Manners: 2965 My home economics teacher says that one must never place one's 2966elbows on the table. However, I have read that one elbow, in between 2967courses, is all right. Which is correct? 2968 2969Gentle Reader: 2970 For the purpose of answering examinations in your home 2971economics class, your teacher is correct. Catching on to this 2972principle of education may be of even greater importance to you now 2973than learning correct current table manners, vital as Miss Manners 2974believes that is. 2975% 2976Dear Miss Manners: 2977 Please list some tactful ways of removing a man's saliva from 2978your face. 2979 2980Gentle Reader: 2981 Please list some decent ways of acquiring a man's saliva on 2982your face ... 2983% 2984Dear Mister Language Person: I am curious about the expression, "Part 2985of this complete breakfast". The way it comes up is, my 5-year-old 2986will be watching TV cartoon shows in the morning, and they'll show a 2987commercial for a children's compressed breakfast compound such as 2988"Froot Loops" or "Lucky Charms", and they always show it sitting on a 2989table next to some actual food such as eggs, and the announcer always 2990says: "Part of this complete breakfast". Don't that really mean, 2991"Adjacent to this complete breakfast", or "On the same table as this 2992complete breakfast"? And couldn't they make essentially the same claim 2993if, instead of Froot Loops, they put a can of shaving cream there, or a 2994dead bat? 2995 2996Answer: Yes. 2997 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 2998% 2999Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe? 3000 3001Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business 3002signs to alert the reader that an "S" is coming up at the end of a 3003word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR 3004ANY ITEM'S. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when 3005creating hand-lettered small-business signs is that you should put 3006quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT 3007DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S. 3008 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 3009% 3010Death is God's way of telling you not to be such a wise guy. 3011% 3012Death is life's way of telling you you've been fired. 3013 -- R. Geis 3014% 3015Death is Nature's way of recycling human beings. 3016% 3017Death is nature's way of saying `Howdy'. 3018% 3019Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down. 3020% 3021Death is only a state of mind. 3022 3023Only it doesn't leave you much time to think about anything else. 3024% 3025Death to all fanatics! 3026% 3027Decision maker, n.: 3028 The person in your office who was unable to form a task force 3029 before the music stopped. 3030% 3031Decisions of the judges will be final unless shouted down by a really 3032overwhelming majority of the crowd present. Abusive and obscene 3033language may not be used by contestants when addressing members of the 3034judging panel, or, conversely, by members of the judging panel when 3035addressing contestants (unless struck by a boomerang). 3036 -- Mudgeeraba Creek Emu-Riding and Boomerang-Throwing Assoc. 3037% 3038 Deck Us All With Boston Charlie 3039 3040Deck us all with Boston Charlie, 3041Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo! 3042Nora's freezin' on the trolley, 3043Swaller dollar cauliflower, alleygaroo! 3044 3045Don't we know archaic barrel, 3046Lullaby Lilla Boy, Louisville Lou. 3047Trolley Molly don't love Harold, 3048Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo! 3049 -- Walt Kelly 3050% 3051"Deep" is a word like "theory" or "semantic" -- it implies all sorts of 3052marvelous things. It's one thing to be able to say "I've got a 3053theory", quite another to say "I've got a semantic theory", but, ah, 3054those who can claim "I've got a deep semantic theory", they are truly 3055blessed. 3056 -- Randy Davis 3057% 3058default, n.: 3059 [Possibly from Black English "De fault wid dis system is you, 3060mon."] The vain attempt to avoid errors by inactivity. "Nothing will 3061come of nothing: speak again." -- King Lear. 3062 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 3063% 3064#define BITCOUNT(x) (((BX_(x)+(BX_(x)>>4)) & 0x0F0F0F0F) % 255) 3065#define BX_(x) ((x) - (((x)>>1)&0x77777777) \ 3066 - (((x)>>2)&0x33333333) \ 3067 - (((x)>>3)&0x11111111)) 3068 3069 -- really weird C code to count the number of bits in a word 3070% 3071 DELETE A FORTUNE! 3072 3073Don't some of these fortunes just drive you nuts?! Wouldn't you like 3074to see some of them deleted from the system? You can! Just mail to 3075"fortune" with the fortune you hate most, and we MIGHT make sure it 3076gets expunged. 3077% 3078Deliberation, n.: 3079 The act of examining one's bread to determine which side it is 3080buttered on. 3081 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3082% 3083"Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow." 3084% 3085Demand the establishment of the government 3086in its rightful home at Disneyland. 3087% 3088Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than 3089we deserve. 3090 -- George Bernard Shaw 3091% 3092Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder 3093aloud what the country could do under first-class management. 3094 -- Senator Soaper 3095% 3096Democracy is a form of government that substitutes election by the 3097incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few. 3098 -- G. B. Shaw 3099% 3100Democracy is a government where you can say what you think even if you 3101don't think. 3102% 3103Democracy is also a form of worship. It is the worship of Jackals by 3104Jackasses. 3105 -- H. L. Mencken 3106% 3107Democracy is good. I say this because other systems are worse. 3108 -- Jawaharlal Nehru 3109% 3110Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people 3111are right more than half of the time. 3112 -- E. B. White 3113% 3114Democracy, n.: 3115 A government of the masses. Authority derived through mass 3116meeting or any other form of direct expression. Results in mobocracy. 3117Attitude toward property is communistic... negating property rights. 3118Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, 3119whether it is based upon deliberation or governed by passion, 3120prejudice, and impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences. 3121Result is demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy. 3122 -- U.S. Army Training Manual No. 2000-25 (1928-1932), 3123 since withdrawn. 3124% 3125Demographic polls show that you have lost credibility across the 3126board. Especially with those 14 year-old Valley girls. 3127% 3128Dentist, n.: 3129 A Prestidigitator who, putting metal in one's mouth, pulls 3130 coins out of one's pockets. 3131 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3132% 3133Despising machines to a man, 3134The Luddites joined up with the Klan, 3135 And ride out by night 3136 In a sheeting of white 3137To lynch all the robots they can. 3138 -- C. M. and G. A. Maxson 3139% 3140Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will 3141be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over 3142the table. 3143 -- The Anarchist Cookbook 3144% 3145 DETERIORATA 3146 3147Go placidly amid the noise and waste, 3148And remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof. 3149Avoid quiet and passive persons, unless you are in need of sleep. 3150Rotate your tires. 3151Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself, 3152And heed well their advice -- even though they be turkeys. 3153Know what to kiss -- and when. 3154Remember that two wrongs never make a right, 3155But that three do. 3156Wherever possible, put people on "HOLD". 3157Be comforted, that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment, 3158And despite the changing fortunes of time, 3159There is always a big future in computer maintenance. 3160 3161 You are a fluke of the universe ... 3162 You have no right to be here. 3163 Whether you can hear it or not, the universe 3164 Is laughing behind your back. 3165 -- National Lampoon 3166% 3167DeVries's Dilemma: 3168 If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want 3169 hits the paper. 3170% 3171Did I say 2? I lied. 3172% 3173Did you know ... 3174 3175That no-one ever reads these things? 3176% 3177Did you know that clones never use mirrors? 3178 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3179% 3180Did you know that if you took all the economists in the world and lined 3181them up end to end, they'd still point in the wrong direction? 3182% 3183Did you know that the voice tapes easily identify the Russian pilot 3184that shot down the Korean jet? At one point he definitely states: 3185 3186 "Natasha! First we shoot jet, then we go after moose and 3187 squirrel." 3188 3189 -- ihuxw!tommyo 3190% 3191Die, v.: 3192 To stop sinning suddenly. 3193 -- Elbert Hubbard 3194% 3195"Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a 3196conventional thing to happen to him." 3197 -- John Barrymore's dying words 3198% 3199Different all twisty a of in maze are you, passages little. 3200% 3201Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable term. 3202Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. 3203% 3204Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggy" until you can find a rock. 3205% 3206Disc space -- the final frontier! 3207% 3208Disclaimer: "These opinions are my own, though for a small fee they be 3209yours too." 3210 -- Dave Haynie 3211% 3212Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above views and those of my 3213employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely 3214coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is 3215non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the 3216absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. 3217The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for 3218the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, 3219non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.) 3220% 3221Disco is to music what Etch-A-Sketch is to art. 3222% 3223Distinctive, adj.: 3224 A different color or shape than our competitors. 3225% 3226Distress, n.: 3227 A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. 3228 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3229% 3230District of Columbia pedestrians who leap over passing autos to escape 3231injury, and then strike the car as they come down, are liable for any 3232damage inflicted on the vehicle. 3233% 3234Do infants have as much fun in infancy as adults do in adultery? 3235% 3236Do molecular biologists wear designer genes? 3237% 3238Do not believe in miracles -- rely on them. 3239% 3240Do not drink coffee in early a.m. It will keep you awake until noon. 3241% 3242Do not meddle in the affairs of troff, for it is subtle and quick to 3243anger. 3244% 3245"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good 3246with ketchup." 3247% 3248Do not read this fortune under penalty of law. 3249Violators will be prosecuted. 3250(Penal Code sec. 2.3.2 (II.a.)) 3251% 3252Do not sleep in a eucalyptus tree tonight. 3253% 3254Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to dread each 3255day as it comes. 3256 -- Donald Kaul 3257% 3258Do something unusual today. Pay a bill. 3259% 3260Do what comes naturally now. Seethe and fume and throw a tantrum. 3261% 3262Do you have lysdexia? 3263% 3264Do you realize how many holes there could be if people would just take 3265the time to take the dirt out of them? 3266% 3267"Do you think what we're doing is wrong?" 3268"Of course it's wrong! It's illegal!" 3269"I've never done anything illegal before." 3270"I thought you said you were an accountant!" 3271% 3272Documentation is like sex: when it is good, it is very, very good; and 3273when it is bad, it is better than nothing. 3274 -- Dick Brandon 3275% 3276Documentation is the castor oil of programming. Managers know it must 3277be good because the programmers hate it so much. 3278% 3279Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? 3280% 3281Don't abandon hope: your Tom Mix decoder ring arrives tomorrow. 3282% 3283Don't be humble ... you're not that great. 3284 -- Golda Meir 3285% 3286Don't believe everything you hear or anything you say. 3287% 3288Don't change the reason, just change the excuses! 3289 -- Joe Cointment 3290% 3291"Don't come back until you have him", the Tick-Tock Man said quietly, 3292sincerely, extremely dangerously. 3293 3294They used dogs. They used probes. They used cardio plate crossoffs. 3295They used teepers. They used bribery. They used stick tites. They 3296used intimidation. They used torment. They used torture. They used 3297finks. They used cops. They used search and seizure. They used 3298fallaron. They used betterment incentives. They used finger prints. 3299They used the bertillion system. They used cunning. They used guile. 3300They used treachery. They used Raoul-Mitgong but he wasn't much help. 3301They used applied physics. They used techniques of criminology. And 3302what the hell, they caught him. 3303 3304 -- Harlan Ellison, "Repent, Harlequin, said the Tick-Tock Man" 3305% 3306Don't cook tonight -- starve a rat today! 3307% 3308Don't feed the bats tonight. 3309% 3310Don't get even -- get odd! 3311% 3312Don't get suckered in by the comments -- they can be terribly 3313misleading. Debug only code. 3314 -- Dave Storer 3315% 3316Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes 3317you nothing. It was here first. 3318 -- Mark Twain 3319% 3320Don't go surfing in South Dakota for a while. 3321% 3322Don't hate yourself in the morning -- sleep till noon. 3323% 3324Don't hit a man when he's down -- kick him; it's easier. 3325% 3326Don't kiss an elephant on the lips today. 3327% 3328Don't knock President Fillmore. He kept us out of Vietnam. 3329% 3330Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance. 3331% 3332Don't let your mind wander -- it's too little to be let out alone. 3333% 3334Don't look back, the lemmings are gaining on you. 3335% 3336Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy 3337it today you can do it again tomorrow. 3338% 3339Don't say "yes" until I finish talking. 3340 -- Darryl F. Zanuck 3341% 3342Don't steal; thou'lt never thus compete successfully in business. 3343Cheat. 3344 -- Ambrose Bierce 3345% 3346Don't suspect your friends -- turn them in! 3347 -- "Brazil" 3348% 3349Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent. 3350 -- Walt Kelly 3351% 3352Don't take life too seriously -- you'll never get out of it alive. 3353% 3354Don't tell any big lies today. Small ones can be just as effective. 3355% 3356"Don't tell me I'm burning the candle at both ends -- tell me where to 3357get more wax!!" 3358% 3359Don't worry about avoiding temptation -- as you grow older, it starts 3360avoiding you. 3361 -- The Old Farmer's Almanac 3362% 3363Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any 3364good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. 3365 -- Howard Aiken 3366% 3367Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already 3368tomorrow in Australia. 3369 -- Charles Schultz 3370% 3371Don't worry over what other people are thinking about you. They're too 3372busy worrying over what you are thinking about them. 3373% 3374Don't you feel more like you do now than you did when you came in? 3375% 3376Don Ameche: I didn't know you had a cousin Penelope, Bill! Was she 3377 pretty? 3378W. C.: Well, her face was so wrinkled it looked like seven miles of 3379 bad road. She had so many gold teeth, Don, she use to have to 3380 sleep with her head in a safe. She died in Bolivia. 3381Don: Oh Bill, it must be hard to lose a relative. 3382W. C.: It's almost impossible. 3383 -- W. C. Fields, from "The Further Adventures of Larson 3384 E. Whipsnade and other Tarradiddles" 3385% 3386 Double Bucky 3387 (Sung to the tune of "Rubber Duckie") 3388 3389Double bucky, you're the one! 3390You make my keyboard lots of fun 3391 Double bucky, an additional bit or two: 3392(Vo-vo-de-o!) 3393Control and Meta side by side, 3394Augmented ASCII, nine bits wide! 3395 Double bucky, a half a thousand glyphs, plus a few! 3396 3397Oh, I sure wish that I, 3398Had a couple of bits more! 3399Perhaps a set of pedals to make the number of bits four. 3400 3401Double bucky, left and right 3402OR'd together, outta sight! 3403 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of 3404 Double bucky, I'm happy I heard of 3405 Double bucky, I'd like a whole word of you! 3406 3407 -- (C) 1978 by Guy L. Steele, Jr. 3408 (to Nicholas Wirth, who suggested that an extra bit 3409 be added to terminal codes on 36-bit machines for use 3410 by screen editors. [to the tune of "Rubber Ducky"]) 3411 3412% 3413Double-Blind Experiment, n.: 3414 An experiment in which the chief researcher believes he is 3415fooling both the subject and the lab assistant. Often accompanied by a 3416strong belief in the tooth fairy. 3417% 3418Down with categorical imperative! 3419% 3420Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. 3421% 3422Drew's Law of Highway Biology: 3423 The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front 3424 of your eyes. 3425% 3426Drink Canada Dry! You might not succeed, but it *__is* fun trying. 3427% 3428Drive defensively. Buy a tank. 3429% 3430Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic route! 3431% 3432Ducharme's Axiom: 3433 If you view your problem closely enough you will recognize 3434 yourself as part of the problem. 3435% 3436Ducharme's Precept: 3437 Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment. 3438% 3439Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, and a dark side, and 3440it holds the universe together. 3441 -- Carl Zwanzig 3442% 3443Due to a shortage of devoted followers, the production of great leaders 3444has been discontinued. 3445% 3446Due to circumstances beyond your control, you are master of your fate 3447and captain of your soul. 3448% 3449Due to lack of disk space, this fortune database has been 3450discontinued. 3451% 3452 During a grouse hunt in North Carolina two intrepid sportsmen 3453were blasting away at a clump of trees near a stone wall. Suddenly a 3454red-faced country squire popped his head over the wall and shouted, 3455"Hey, you almost hit my wife." 3456 "Did I?" cried the hunter, aghast. "Terribly sorry. Have a 3457shot at mine, over there." 3458% 3459During the next two hours, the system will be going up and down several 3460times, often with lin~po_~{po ~poz~ppo\~{ o n~po_~{o[po ~y oodsou>#w4k**n~po_~{ol;lkld;f;g;dd;po\~{o 3461% 3462"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have 3463nothing whatever to do with it." 3464 -- W. Somerset Maugham (last words) 3465% 3466E Pluribus Unix 3467% 3468Eagleson's Law: 3469 Any code of your own that you haven't looked at for six or more 3470months, might as well have been written by someone else. (Eagleson is 3471an optimist, the real number is more like three weeks.) 3472% 3473Earn cash in your spare time -- blackmail your friends 3474% 3475/earth is 98% full ... please delete anyone you can. 3476% 3477Earth is a beta site. 3478% 3479Earth is a great, big funhouse without the fun. 3480 -- Jeff Berner 3481% 3482Easiest Color to Solve on a Rubik's Cube: 3483 Black. Simply remove all the little colored stickers on the 3484cube, and each of side of the cube will now be the original color of 3485the plastic underneath -- black. According to the instructions, this 3486means the puzzle is solved. 3487 -- Steve Rubenstein 3488% 3489Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal. 3490% 3491Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may work. 3492% 3493Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. 3494 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 3495% 3496Economics, n.: 3497 Economics is the study of the value and meaning of J. K. 3498Galbraith ... 3499 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3500% 3501Economists can certainly disappoint you. One said that the economy 3502would turn up by the last quarter. Well, I'm down to mine and it 3503hasn't. 3504 -- Robert Orben 3505% 3506Economists state their GNP growth projections to the nearest tenth of a 3507percentage point to prove they have a sense of humor. 3508 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 3509% 3510Ed Sullivan will be around as long as someone else has talent. 3511 -- Fred Allen 3512% 3513Education is the process of casting false pearls before real swine. 3514 -- Irsin Edman 3515% 3516Eeny, Meeny, Jelly Beanie, the spirits are about to speak! 3517 -- Bullwinkle Moose 3518% 3519Eggheads unite! You have nothing to lose but your yolks. 3520 -- Adlai Stevenson 3521% 3522Eggnog is a traditional holiday drink invented by the English. Many 3523people wonder where the word "eggnog" comes from. The first syllable 3524comes from the English word "egg", meaning "egg". I don't know where 3525the "nog" comes from. 3526 3527To make eggnog, you'll need rum, whiskey, wine, gin and, if they are in 3528season, eggs... 3529% 3530Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain 3531of being a damned fool. 3532 -- Bellamy Brooks 3533% 3534Egotist, n.: 3535 A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me. 3536 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 3537% 3538Ehrman's Commentary: 3539 (1) Things will get worse before they get better. 3540 (2) Who said things would get better? 3541% 3542Eighty percent of air pollution comes from plants and trees. 3543 -- Ronald Reagan, famous movie star 3544% 3545Eleanor Rigby 3546 Sits at the keyboard 3547 And waits for a line on the screen 3548Lives in a dream 3549Waits for a signal 3550 Finding some code 3551 That will make the machine do some more. 3552What is it for? 3553 3554All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3555All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3556 3557Hacker MacKensie 3558Writing the code for a program that no one will run 3559It's nearly done 3560Look at him working, fixing the bugs in the night when there's 3561 nobody there. 3562What does he care? 3563 3564All the lonely users, where do they all come from? 3565All the lonely users, why does it take so long? 3566Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3567Ah, look at all the lonely users. 3568% 3569Electrical Engineers do it with less resistance. 3570% 3571 Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles, 3572called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you 3573have been drinking. Electrons travel at the speed of light, which in 3574most American homes is 110 volts per hour. This is very fast. In the 3575time it has taken you to read this sentence so far, an electron could 3576have traveled all the way from San Francisco to Hackensack, New Jersey, 3577although God alone knows why it would want to. 3578 The five main kinds of electricity are alternating current, 3579direct current, lightning, static, and European. Most American homes 3580have alternating current, which means that the electricity goes in one 3581direction for a while, then goes in the other direction. This prevents 3582harmful electron buildup in the wires. 3583 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 3584% 3585Electrocution, n.: 3586 Burning at the stake with all the modern improvements. 3587% 3588Elevators smell different to midgets. 3589% 3590Emerson's Law of Contrariness: 3591 Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we 3592 can. Having found them, we shall then hate them for it. 3593% 3594Encyclopedia Salesmen: 3595 Invite them all in. Nip out the back door. Phone the police 3596 and tell them your house is being burgled. 3597 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 3598% 3599Endless Loop: n., see Loop, Endless. 3600Loop, Endless: n., see Endless Loop. 3601 -- Random Shack Data Processing Dictionary 3602% 3603Entropy isn't what it used to be. 3604% 3605Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which 3606otherwise require harder thinking. 3607 -- Jerome Lettvin 3608% 3609Epperson's law: 3610 When a man says it's a silly, childish game, it's probably 3611something his wife can beat him at. 3612% 3613Equal bytes for women. 3614% 3615Error in operator: add beer 3616% 3617Es brilig war. Die schlichte Toven 3618 Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben; 3619Und aller-m"umsige Burggoven 3620 Dir mohmen R"ath ausgraben. 3621 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 3622% 3623Eternal nothingness is fine if you happen to be dressed for it. 3624 -- Woody Allen 3625% 3626Etymology, n.: 3627 Some early etymological scholars came up with derivations that 3628 were hard for the public to believe. The term "etymology" was 3629 formed from the Latin "etus" ("eaten"), the root "mal" ("bad"), 3630 and "logy" ("study of"). It meant "the study of things that are 3631 hard to swallow." 3632 -- Mike Kellen 3633% 3634Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to 3635speak it to? 3636 -- Clarence Darrow 3637% 3638Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. 3639 -- Will Rogers 3640% 3641Even the best of friends cannot attend each other's funeral. 3642 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 3643% 3644Even though they raised the rate for first class mail in the United 3645States we really shouldn't complain -- it's still only two cents a 3646day. 3647% 3648Ever notice that even the busiest people are never too busy to tell you 3649just how busy they are? 3650% 3651Ever since prehistoric times, wise men have tried to understand what, 3652exactly, make people laugh. That's why they were called "wise men." 3653All the other prehistoric people were out puncturing each other with 3654spears, and the wise men were back in the cave saying: "How about: 3655Would you please take my wife? No. How about: Here is my wife, please 3656take her right now. No. How about: Would you like to take something? 3657My wife is available. No. How about ..." 3658 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 3659% 3660Every absurdity has a champion who will defend it. 3661% 3662Every creature has within him the wild, uncontrollable urge to punt. 3663% 3664Every four seconds a woman has a baby. Our problem is to find this 3665woman and stop her. 3666% 3667Every group has a couple of experts. And every group has at least one 3668idiot. Thus are balance and harmony (and discord) maintained. It's 3669sometimes hard to remember this in the bulk of the flamewars that all 3670of the hassle and pain is generally caused by one or two 3671highly-motivated, caustic twits. 3672 -- Chuq Von Rospach, about Usenet 3673% 3674Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired 3675signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not 3676fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not 3677spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the 3678genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way 3679of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is 3680humanity hanging on a cross of iron. 3681 -- Dwight Eisenhower, April 16, 1953 3682% 3683Every Horse has an Infinite Number of Legs (proof by intimidation): 3684 3685Horses have an even number of legs. Behind they have two legs, and in 3686front they have fore-legs. This makes six legs, which is certainly an 3687odd number of legs for a horse. But the only number that is both even 3688and odd is infinity. Therefore, horses have an infinite number of 3689legs. Now to show this for the general case, suppose that somewhere, 3690there is a horse that has a finite number of legs. But that is a horse 3691of another color, and by the [above] lemma ["All horses are the same 3692color"], that does not exist. 3693% 3694Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible. 3695 -- Frank Moore Colby 3696% 3697Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. 3698% 3699Every little picofarad has a nanohenry all its own. 3700 -- Don Vonada 3701% 3702"Every man has his price. Mine is $3.95." 3703% 3704Every man is as God made him, ay, and often worse. 3705 -- Miguel de Cervantes 3706% 3707Every morning, I get up and look through the "Forbes" list of the 3708richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. 3709 -- Robert Orben 3710% 3711Every nonzero finite dimensional inner product space has an orthonormal basis. 3712 3713It makes sense, when you don't think about it. 3714% 3715Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one 3716instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every 3717program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work. 3718% 3719Every program has two purposes -- one for which it was written and 3720another for which it wasn't. 3721% 3722Every program is a part of some other program, and rarely fits. 3723% 3724Every solution breeds new problems. 3725% 3726Every successful person has had failures but repeated failure is no 3727guarantee of eventual success. 3728% 3729"Every time I think I know where it's at, they move it." 3730% 3731Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness. 3732 -- Beckett 3733% 3734Everybody is somebody else's weirdo. 3735 -- Dykstra 3736% 3737Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. 3738% 3739Everyone can be taught to sculpt: Michelangelo would have had to be 3740taught how ___not to. So it is with the great programmers. 3741% 3742Everyone is a genius. It's just that some people are too stupid to 3743realize it. 3744% 3745Everyone knows that dragons don't exist. But while this simplistic 3746formulation may satisfy the layman, it does not suffice for the 3747scientific mind. The School of Higher Neantical Nillity is in fact 3748wholly unconcerned with what ____does exist. Indeed, the banality of 3749existence has been so amply demonstrated, there is no need for us to 3750discuss it any further here. The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the 3751problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the 3752mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, 3753one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely 3754different way ... 3755 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 3756% 3757Everyone talks about apathy, but no one ____does anything about it. 3758% 3759Everything is controlled by a small evil group to which, unfortunately, 3760no one we know belongs. 3761% 3762Everything is worth precisely as much as a belch, the difference being 3763that a belch is more satisfying. 3764 -- Ingmar Bergman 3765% 3766Everything should be built top-down, except the first time. 3767% 3768Everything you know is wrong! 3769% 3770Everything you've learned in school as "obvious" becomes less and less 3771obvious as you begin to study the universe. For example, there are no 3772solids in the universe. There's not even a suggestion of a solid. 3773There are no absolute continuums. There are no surfaces. There are no 3774straight lines. 3775 -- R. Buckminster Fuller 3776% 3777 Excellence is THE trend of the '80s. Walk into any shopping 3778mall bookstore, go to the rack where they keep the best-sellers such as 3779"Garfield Gets Spayed", and you'll see a half-dozen books telling you 3780how to be excellent: "In Search of Excellence", "Finding Excellence", 3781"Grasping Hold of Excellence", "Where to Hide Your Excellence at Night 3782So the Cleaning Personnel Don't Steal It", etc. 3783 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 3784% 3785Excellent day for drinking heavily. Spike the office water cooler. 3786% 3787Excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator. 3788% 3789Excellent day to have a rotten day. 3790% 3791Excellent time to become a missing person. 3792% 3793Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from 3794acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. 3795 -- W. Somerset Maugham 3796% 3797Excessive login or logout messages are a sure sign of senility. 3798% 3799Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do 3800the work. 3801 -- John G. Pollard 3802% 3803Expect the worst. It's the least you can do. 3804% 3805Expense Accounts, n.: 3806 Corporate food stamps. 3807% 3808Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. 3809 -- Olivier 3810% 3811Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake 3812when you make it again. 3813 -- Franklin P. Jones 3814% 3815Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and 3816the instruction afterward. 3817% 3818Experience is what causes a person to make new mistakes instead of old 3819ones. 3820% 3821Experience is what you get when you were expecting something else. 3822% 3823Experience varies directly with equipment ruined. 3824% 3825Expert, n.: 3826 Someone who comes from out of town and shows slides. 3827% 3828Extract from Official Sweepstakes Rules: 3829 3830 NO PURCHASE REQUIRED TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE 3831 3832To claim your prize without purchase, do the following: (a) Carefully 3833cut out your computer-printed name and address from upper right hand 3834corner of the Prize Claim Form. (b) Affix computer-printed name and 3835address -- with glue or cellophane tape (no staples or paper clips) -- 3836to a 3x5 inch index card. (c) Also cut out the "No" paragraph (lower 3837left hand corner of Prize Claim Form) and affix it to the 3x5 card 3838below your address label. (d) Then print on your 3x5 card, above your 3839computer-printed name and address the words "CARTER & VAN PEEL 3840SWEEPSTAKES" (Use all capital letters.) (e) Finally place 3x5 card 3841(without bending) into a plain envelope [NOTE: do NOT use the 3842Official Prize Claim and CVP Perfume Reply Envelope or you may be 3843disqualified], and mail to: CVP, Box 1320, Westbury, NY 11595. Print 3844this address correctly. Comply with above instructions carefully and 3845completely or you may be disqualified from receiving your prize. 3846% 3847F u cn rd ths u cnt spl wrth a dm! 3848% 3849f u cn rd ths, itn tyg h myxbl cd. 3850% 3851f u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb n cmptr prgrmmng. 3852% 3853F: When into a room I plunge, I 3854 Sometimes find some VIOLET FUNGI. 3855 Then I linger, darkly brooding 3856 On the poison they're exuding. 3857 -- The Roguelet's ABC 3858% 3859Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable. 3860% 3861Fairy Tale, n.: 3862 A horror story to prepare children for the newspapers. 3863% 3864Faith is the quality that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic 3865without looking to see whether the seeds move. 3866% 3867Faith, n: 3868 That quality which enables us to believe what we know to be 3869 untrue. 3870% 3871Fakir, n: 3872 A psychologist whose charismatic data have inspired almost 3873 religious devotion in his followers, even though the sources 3874 seem to have shinnied up a rope and vanished. 3875% 3876Familiarity breeds attempt. 3877% 3878Families, when a child is born 3879Want it to be intelligent. 3880I, through intelligence, 3881Having wrecked my whole life, 3882Only hope the baby will prove 3883Ignorant and stupid. 3884Then he will crown a tranquil life 3885By becoming a Cabinet Minister 3886 -- Su Tung-p'o 3887% 3888Famous last words: 3889% 3890Famous last words: 3891 (1) "Don't worry, I can handle it." 3892 (2) "You and what army?" 3893 (3) "If you were as smart as you think you are, you wouldn't be 3894 a cop." 3895% 3896Famous last words: 3897 (1) Don't unplug it, it will just take a moment to fix. 3898 (2) Let's take the shortcut; he can't see us from there. 3899 (3) What happens if you touch these two wires tog-- 3900 (4) We won't need reservations. 3901 (5) It's always sunny there this time of the year. 3902 (6) Don't worry, it's not loaded. 3903 (7) They'd never (be stupid enough to) make him a manager. 3904 (8) Don't worry! Women love it! 3905% 3906Famous, adj.: 3907 Conspicuously miserable. 3908 -- Ambrose Bierce 3909% 3910Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the 3911Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. 3912Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an 3913utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life 3914forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches 3915are a pretty neat idea. 3916 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 3917% 3918Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it 3919every six months. 3920 -- Oscar Wilde 3921% 3922Fats Loves Madelyn. 3923% 3924Feel disillusioned? I've got some great new illusions ... 3925% 3926Fertility is hereditary. If your parents didn't have any children, 3927neither will you. 3928% 3929 Festivity Level 1: Your guests are chatting amiably with each 3930other, admiring your Christmas-tree ornaments, singing carols around 3931the upright piano, sipping at their drinks and nibbling hors 3932d'oeuvres. 3933 Festivity Level 2: Your guests are talking loudly -- sometimes 3934to each other, and sometimes to nobody at all, rearranging your 3935Christmas-tree ornaments, singing "I Gotta Be Me" around the upright 3936piano, gulping their drinks and wolfing down hors d'oeuvres. 3937 Festivity Level 3: Your guests are arguing violently with 3938inanimate objects, singing "I can't get no satisfaction," gulping down 3939other peoples' drinks, wolfing down Christmas tree ornaments and 3940placing hors d'oeuvres in the upright piano to see what happens when 3941the little hammers strike. 3942 Festivity Level 4: Your guests, hors d'oeuvres smeared all over 3943their naked bodies are performing a ritual dance around the burning 3944Christmas tree. The piano is missing. 3945 3946 You want to keep your party somewhere around level 3, unless 3947you rent your home and own Firearms, in which case you can go to level 39484. The best way to get to level 3 is egg-nog. 3949% 3950Fifth Law of Applied Terror: 3951 If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book. 3952 3953Corollary: 3954 If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you live. 3955% 3956Fifth Law of Procrastination: 3957 Procrastination avoids boredom; one never has the feeling that 3958there is nothing important to do. 3959% 3960Fifty flippant frogs 3961Walked by on flippered feet 3962And with their slime they made the time 3963Unnaturally fleet. 3964% 3965 FIGHTING WORDS 3966 3967Say my love is easy had, 3968 Say I'm bitten raw with pride, 3969Say I am too often sad -- 3970 Still behold me at your side. 3971 3972Say I'm neither brave nor young, 3973 Say I woo and coddle care, 3974Say the devil touched my tongue -- 3975 Still you have my heart to wear. 3976 3977But say my verses do not scan, 3978 And I get me another man! 3979 -- Dorothy Parker 3980% 3981Fights between cats and dogs are prohibited by statute in Barber, North 3982Carolina. 3983% 3984Finagle's Creed: 3985 Science is true. Don't be misled by facts. 3986% 3987Finagle's First Law: 3988 If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. 3989% 3990Finagle's Fourth Law: 3991 Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it only makes 3992it worse. 3993% 3994Finagle's Second Law: 3995 No matter what the anticipated result, there will always be 3996someone eager to (a) misinterpret it, (b) fake it, or (c) believe it 3997happened according to his own pet theory. 3998% 3999Finagle's Third Law: 4000 In any collection of data, the figure most obviously correct, 4001 beyond all need of checking, is the mistake. 4002 4003Corollaries: 4004 (1) Nobody whom you ask for help will see it. 4005 (2) The first person who stops by, whose advice you really 4006 don't want to hear, will see it immediately. 4007% 4008Finding out what goes on in the C.I.A. is like performing acupuncture 4009on a rock. 4010 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 4011% 4012Fine day to throw a party. Throw him as far as you can. 4013% 4014Fine day to work off excess energy. Steal something heavy. 4015% 4016Fine's Corollary: 4017 Functionality breeds Contempt. 4018% 4019Finish the sentence below in 25 words or less: 4020 4021 "Love is what you feel just before you give someone a good ..." 4022 4023Mail your answer along with the top half of your supervisor to: 4024 4025 P.O. Box 35 4026 Baffled Greek, Michigan 4027% 4028First Corollary of Taber's Second Law: 4029 Machines that piss people off get murdered. 4030 -- Pat Taber 4031% 4032First Law of Bicycling: 4033 No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the 4034wind. 4035% 4036First Law of Procrastination: 4037 Procrastination shortens the job and places the responsibility 4038for its termination on someone else (i.e., the authority who imposed 4039the deadline). 4040% 4041First Law of Socio-Genetics: 4042 Celibacy is not hereditary. 4043% 4044First Rule of History: 4045 History doesn't repeat itself -- 4046 historians merely repeat each other. 4047% 4048"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order" 4049 -- The Doctor, "Doctor Who" 4050% 4051First, a few words about tools. 4052 4053Basically, a tool is an object that enables you to take advantage of 4054the laws of physics and mechanics in such a way that you can seriously 4055injure yourself. Today, people tend to take tools for granted. If 4056you're ever walking down the street and you notice some people who look 4057particularly smug, the odds are that they are taking tools for 4058granted. If I were you, I'd walk right up and smack them in the face. 4059 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 4060% 4061Five is a sufficiently close approximation to infinity. 4062 -- Robert Firth 4063% 4064Flappity, floppity, flip 4065The mouse on the m"obius strip; 4066 The strip revolved, 4067 The mouse dissolved 4068In a chronodimensional skip. 4069% 4070FLASH! Intelligence of mankind decreasing. Details at ... uh, when 4071the little hand is on the .... 4072% 4073Flon's Law: 4074 There is not now, and never will be, a language in which it is 4075 the least bit difficult to write bad programs. 4076% 4077Florence Flask was ... dressing for the opera when she turned to her 4078husband and screamed, "Erlenmeyer! My joules! Someone has stolen my 4079joules!" 4080 4081"Now, now, my dear," replied her husband, "keep your balance and reflux 4082a moment. Perhaps they're mislead." 4083 4084"No, I know they're stolen," cried Florence. "I remember putting them 4085in my burette ... We must call a copper." 4086 4087Erlenmeyer did so, and the flatfoot who turned up, one Sherlock Ohms, 4088said the outrage looked like the work of an arch-criminal by the name 4089of Lawrence Ium. 4090 4091"We must be careful -- he's a free radical, ultraviolet, and 4092dangerous. His girlfriend is a chlorine at the Palladium. Maybe I can 4093catch him there." With that, he jumped on his carbon cycle in an 4094activated state and sped off along the reaction pathway ... 4095 -- Daniel B. Murphy, "Precipitations" 4096% 4097flowchart, n. & v.: 4098 [From flow "to ripple down in rich profusion, as hair" + chart 4099 "a cryptic hidden-treasure map designed to mislead the uninitiated."] 4100 1. n. The solution, if any, to a class of Mascheroni construction 4101 problems in which given algorithms require geometrical representation 4102 using only the 35 basic ideograms of the ANSI template. 2. n. Neronic 4103 doodling while the system burns. 3. n. A low-cost substitute for 4104 wallpaper. 4. n. The innumerate misleading the illiterate. "A 4105 thousand pictures is worth ten lines of code." -- The Programmer's 4106 Little Red Vade Mecum, Mao Tse T'umps. 5. v.intrans. To produce 4107 flowcharts with no particular object in mind. 6. v.trans. To obfuscate 4108 (a problem) with esoteric cartoons. 4109 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 4110% 4111Flugg's Law: 4112 When you need to knock on wood is when you realize that the 4113 world is composed of vinyl, naugahyde and aluminum. 4114% 4115Flying saucers on occasion 4116 Show themselves to human eyes. 4117Aliens fume, put off invasion 4118 While they brand these tales as lies. 4119% 4120Fog Lamps, n.: 4121 Excessively (often obnoxiously) bright lamps mounted on the 4122 fronts of automobiles; used on dry, clear nights to indicate 4123 that the driver's brain is in a fog. 4124 4125See also "Idiot Lights". 4126% 4127Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing. 4128 -- Walt Kelly, "Putluck Pogo" 4129% 4130For 20 dollars, I'll give you a good fortune next time ... 4131% 4132For a good time, call (510) 642-9483 4133% 4134For a man to truly understand rejection, he must first be ignored by a 4135cat. 4136% 4137"For an adequate time call 555-3321" 4138% 4139For an idea to be fashionable is ominous, since it must afterwards be 4140always old-fashioned. 4141% 4142For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, 4143and wrong. 4144 -- H. L. Mencken 4145% 4146For every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill. 4147 -- R. Clopton 4148% 4149 "For I perceive that behind this seemingly unrelated sequence 4150of events, there lurks a singular, sinister attitude of mind." 4151 4152 "Whose?" 4153 4154 "MINE! HA-HA!" 4155% 4156For large values of one, one equals two, for small values of two. 4157% 4158For my son, Robert, this is proving to be the high-point of his entire 4159life to date. He has had his pajamas on for two, maybe three days 4160now. He has the sense of joyful independence a 5-year-old child gets 4161when he suddenly realizes that he could be operating an acetylene torch 4162in the coat closet and neither parent [because of the flu] would have 4163the strength to object. He has been foraging for his own food, which 4164means his diet consists entirely of "food" substances which are 4165advertised only on Saturday-morning cartoon shows; substances that are 4166the color of jukebox lights and that, for legal reasons, have their 4167names spelled wrong, as in New Creemy Chok-'n'-Cheez Lumps o' Froot 4168("part of this complete breakfast"). 4169 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 4170% 4171For perfect happiness, remember two things: 4172 (1) Be content with what you've got. 4173 (2) Be sure you've got plenty. 4174% 4175For some reason a glaze passes over people's faces when you say 4176"Canada". Maybe we should invade South Dakota or something. 4177 -- Sandra Gotlieb, wife of the Canadian ambassador to 4178 the U.S. 4179% 4180For some reason, this fortune reminds everyone of Marvin Zelkowitz. 4181% 4182For that matter, compare your pocket computer with the massive jobs of 4183a thousand years ago. Why not, then, the last step of doing away with 4184computers altogether? 4185 -- Jehan Shuman 4186% 4187For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like. 4188 -- Abraham Lincoln 4189% 4190For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but 4191phone calls taper off. 4192 -- Johnny Carson 4193% 4194For years a secret shame destroyed my peace -- 4195I'd not read Eliot, Auden or MacNiece. 4196But now I think a thought that brings me hope: 4197Neither had Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope. 4198 -- Justin Richardson. 4199% 4200For your penance, say five Hail Marys and one loud BLAH! 4201% 4202Forgetfulness, n.: 4203 A gift of God bestowed upon debtors in compensation for their 4204destitution of conscience. 4205% 4206Forms follow function, and often obliterate it. 4207% 4208FORTUNE DISCUSSES THE OBSCURE FILMS! #6 4209 4210RAZORBACK: Paul Harbride, 1984, 2 hours 25 min. 4211 One of the great Australian films of the early 1980's, and 4212 arguably the best movie ever made about a large, man-eating 4213 hog. Some violence. With Gregory Harrison. 4214% 4215fortune's Contribution of the Month to the Animal Rights Debate: 4216 4217 I'll stay out of animals' way if they'll stay out of mine. 4218 "Hey you, get off my plate" 4219 -- Roger Midnight 4220% 4221Fortune's Fictitious Country Song Title of the Week: 4222 "How Can I Miss You if You Won't Go Away?" 4223% 4224Fortune's graffito of the week (or maybe even month): 4225 4226 Don't Write On Walls! 4227 4228 (and underneath) 4229 4230 You want I should type? 4231% 4232Fortune's Law of the Week (this week, from Kentucky): 4233 No female shall appear in a bathing suit at any airport in this 4234State unless she is escorted by two officers or unless she is armed 4235with a club. The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females 4236weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it 4237apply to female horses. 4238% 4239Fortune's nomination for All-Time Champion and Protector of Youthful 4240Morals goes to Representative Clare E. Hoffman of Michigan. During an 4241impassioned House debate over a proposed bill to "expand oyster and 4242clam research," a sharp-eared informant transcribed the following 4243exchange between our hero and Rep. John D. Dingell, also of Michigan. 4244 4245DINGELL: There are places in the world at the present time where we are 4246 having to artificially propagate oysters and clams. 4247HOFFMAN: You mean the oysters I buy are not nature's oysters? 4248DINGELL: They may or may not be natural. The simple fact of the matter 4249 is that female oysters through their living habits cast out 4250 large amounts of seed and the male oysters cast out large 4251 amounts of fertilization ... 4252HOFFMAN: Wait a minute! I do not want to go into that. There are many 4253 teenagers who read The Congressional Record. 4254% 4255Fortune's Office Door Sign of the Week: 4256 4257 Incorrigible punster -- Do not incorrige. 4258% 4259FORTUNE'S PARTY TIPS #14 4260 4261Tired of finding that other people are helping themselves to your good 4262liquor at BYOB parties? Take along a candle, which you insert and 4263light after you've opened the bottle. No one ever expects anything 4264drinkable to be in a bottle which has a candle stuck in its neck. 4265% 4266Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #18: 4267 4268Q: Are you married? 4269A: No, I'm divorced. 4270Q: And what did your husband do before you divorced him? 4271A: A lot of things I didn't know about. 4272% 4273Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #19: 4274 4275Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people? 4276A: All my autopsies have been performed on dead people. 4277% 4278Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #29: 4279 4280THE JUDGE: Now, as we begin, I must ask you to banish all present 4281 information and prejudice from your minds, if you have 4282 any ... 4283% 4284Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #32: 4285 4286Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are right now? 4287A: I will be three months November 8th. 4288Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was August 8th? 4289A: Yes. 4290Q: What were you and your husband doing at that time? 4291% 4292Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #37: 4293 4294Q: Did he pick the dog up by the ears? 4295A: No. 4296Q: What was he doing with the dog's ears? 4297A: Picking them up in the air. 4298Q: Where was the dog at this time? 4299A: Attached to the ears. 4300% 4301Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #3: 4302 4303Q: When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were 4304 able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to 4305 go, gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with 4306 him to the station? 4307MR. BROOKS: Objection. That question should be taken out and shot. 4308% 4309Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #41: 4310 4311Q: Now, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? 4312A: By death. 4313Q: And by whose death was it terminated? 4314% 4315Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #52: 4316 4317Q: What is your name? 4318A: Ernestine McDowell. 4319Q: And what is your marital status? 4320A: Fair. 4321% 4322Fortune's Real-Life Courtroom Quote #7: 4323 4324Q: What happened then? 4325A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify 4326 me." 4327Q: Did he kill you? 4328A: No. 4329% 4330fortune: cpu time/usefulness ratio too high -- core dumped. 4331% 4332Fortune: You will be attacked next Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. by six samurai 4333sword wielding purple fish glued to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. 4334 4335Oh, and have a nice day! 4336 -- Bryce Nesbitt '84 4337% 4338Fourth Law of Applied Terror: 4339 The night before the English History mid-term, your Biology 4340 instructor will assign 200 pages on planaria. 4341 4342Corollary: 4343 Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do 4344 except study for that instructor's course. 4345% 4346Fourth Law of Revision: 4347 It is usually impractical to worry beforehand about 4348 interferences -- if you have none, someone will make 4349 one for you. 4350% 4351Fourth Law of Thermodynamics: If the probability of success is not 4352almost one, it is damn near zero. 4353 -- David Ellis 4354% 4355Frankfort, Kentucky, makes it against the law to shoot off a 4356policeman's tie. 4357% 4358Fresco's Discovery: 4359 If you knew what you were doing you'd probably be bored. 4360% 4361Friends, Romans, Hipsters, 4362Let me clue you in; 4363I come to put down Caesar, not to groove him. 4364The square kicks some cats are on stay with them; 4365The hip bits, like, go down under; so let it lay with Caesar. The cool Brutus 4366Gave you the message: Caesar had big eyes; 4367If that's the sound, someone's copping a plea, 4368And, like, old Caesar really set them straight. 4369Here, copacetic with Brutus and the studs, -- for Brutus is a real cool cat; 4370So are they all, all cool cats, -- 4371Come I to make this gig at Caesar's laying down. 4372% 4373Frisbeetarianism, n.: 4374 The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and 4375 gets stuck. 4376% 4377Frobnicate, v.: 4378 To manipulate or adjust, to tweak. Derived from FROBNITZ. 4379Usually abbreviated to FROB. Thus one has the saying "to frob a 4380frob". See TWEAK and TWIDDLE. Usage: FROB, TWIDDLE, and TWEAK 4381sometimes connote points along a continuum. FROB connotes aimless 4382manipulation; TWIDDLE connotes gross manipulation, often a coarse 4383search for a proper setting; TWEAK connotes fine-tuning. If someone is 4384turning a knob on an oscilloscope, then if he's carefully adjusting it 4385he is probably tweaking it; if he is just turning it but looking at the 4386screen he is probably twiddling it; but if he's just doing it because 4387turning a knob is fun, he's frobbing it. 4388% 4389Frobnitz, pl. Frobnitzem (frob'nitsm) n.: 4390 An unspecified physical object, a widget. Also refers to 4391electronic black boxes. This rare form is usually abbreviated to 4392FROTZ, or more commonly to FROB. Also used are FROBNULE, FROBULE, and 4393FROBNODULE. Starting perhaps in 1979, FROBBOZ (fruh-bahz'), pl. 4394FROBBOTZIM, has also become very popular, largely due to its exposure 4395via the Adventure spin-off called Zork (Dungeon). These can also be 4396applied to non-physical objects, such as data structures. 4397% 4398[From an announcement of a congress of the International Ontopsychology 4399Association, in Rome]: 4400 4401The Ontopsychological school, availing itself of new research criteria 4402and of a new telematic epistemology, maintains that social modes do not 4403spring from dialectics of territory or of class, or of consumer goods, 4404or of means of power, but rather from dynamic latencies capillarized in 4405millions of individuals in system functions which, once they have 4406reached the event maturation, burst forth in catastrophic phenomenology 4407engaging a suitable stereotype protagonist or duty marionette (general, 4408president, political party, etc.) to consummate the act of social 4409schizophrenia in mass genocide. 4410% 4411From the "Guiness Book of World Records", 1973: 4412 4413Certain passages in several laws have always defied interpretation and 4414the most inexplicable must be a matter of opinion. A judge of the 4415Court of Session of Scotland has sent the editors of this book his 4416candidate which reads, "In the Nuts (unground), (other than ground 4417nuts) Order, the expression nuts shall have reference to such nuts, 4418other than ground nuts, as would but for this amending Order not 4419qualify as nuts (unground)(other than ground nuts) by reason of their 4420being nuts (unground)." 4421% 4422From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down I was 4423convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it. 4424 -- Groucho Marx, from "The Book of Insults" 4425% 4426[From the operation manual for the CI-300 Dot Matrix Line Printer, made 4427in Japan]: 4428 4429The excellent output machine of MODEL CI-300 as extraordinary DOT 4430MATRIX LINE PRINTER, built in two MICRO-PROCESSORs as well as EAROM, is 4431featured by permitting wonderful co-existence such as; "high quality 4432against low cost", "diversified functions with compact design", 4433"flexibility in accessibleness and durability of approx. 2000,000,00 4434Dot/Head", "being sophisticated in mechanism but possibly agile 4435operating under noises being extremely suppressed" etc. 4436 4437And as a matter of course, the final goal is just simply to help 4438achieve "super shuttle diplomacy" between cool data, perhaps earned by 4439HOST COMPUTER, and warm heart of human being. 4440% 4441From the Pro 350 Pocket Service Guide, p. 49, Step 5 of the 4442instructions on removing an I/O board from the card cage, comes a new 4443experience in sound: 4444 4445 5. Turn the handle to the right 90 degrees. The pin-spreading 4446 sound is normal for this type of connector. 4447% 4448From too much love of living, 4449From hope and fear set free, 4450We thank with brief thanksgiving, 4451Whatever gods may be, 4452That no life lives forever, 4453That dead men rise up never, 4454That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea. 4455 -- Swinburne 4456% 4457Fuch's Warning: 4458 If you actually look like your passport photo, you aren't well 4459enough to travel. 4460% 4461Fudd's First Law of Opposition: 4462 Push something hard enough and it will fall over. 4463% 4464Furbling, v.: 4465 Having to wander through a maze of ropes at an airport or bank 4466 even when you are the only person in line. 4467 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4468% 4469Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. 4470 -- H. H. Williams 4471% 4472Future looks spotty. You will spill soup in late evening. 4473% 4474G. B. Shaw to William Douglas Home: "Go on writing plays, my boy. One 4475of these days a London producer will go into his office and say to his 4476secretary, `Is there a play from Shaw this morning?' and when she says 4477`No,' he will say, `Well, then we'll have to start on the rubbish.' And 4478that's your chance, my boy." 4479% 4480Garbage In -- Gospel Out. 4481% 4482Garter, n.: 4483 An elastic band intended to keep a woman from coming out of her 4484stockings and desolating the country. 4485 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4486% 4487Gauls! We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall 4488on our heads tomorrow. But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!! 4489 -- Adventures of Asterix 4490% 4491Gay shlafen: Yiddish for "go to sleep". 4492 4493 Now doesn't "gay shlafen" have a softer, more soothing sound 4494than the harsh, staccato "go to sleep"? Listen to the difference: 4495 "Go to sleep, you little wretch!" ... "Gay shlafen, darling." 4496Obvious, isn't it? 4497 Clearly the best thing you can do for you children is to start 4498speaking Yiddish right now and never speak another word of English as 4499long as you live. This will, of course, entail teaching Yiddish to all 4500your friends, business associates, the people at the supermarket, and 4501so on, but that's just the point. It has to start with committed 4502individuals and then grow ... 4503 Some minor adjustments will have to be made, of course: those 4504signs written in what look like Yiddish letters won't be funny when 4505everything is written in Yiddish. And we'll have to start driving on 4506the left side of the road so we won't be reading the street signs 4507backwards. But is that too high a price to pay for world peace? I 4508think not, my friend, I think not. 4509 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4510% 4511 "Gee, Mudhead, everyone at More Science High has an 4512extracurricular activity except you." 4513 "Well, gee, doesn't Louise count?" 4514 "Only to ten, Mudhead." 4515 4516 -- Firesign Theater 4517% 4518"Gee, Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore." 4519% 4520GEMINI (May 21 - June 20) 4521 You are a quick and intelligent thinker. People like you because 4522 you are bisexual. However, you are inclined to expect too much 4523 for too little. This means you are cheap. Geminis are known for 4524 committing incest. 4525% 4526GEMINI (May 21 to Jun. 20) 4527 Good news and bad news highlighted. Enjoy the good news while you 4528 can; the bad news will make you forget it. You will enjoy praise 4529 and respect from those around you; everybody loves a sucker. A short 4530 trip is in the stars, possibly to the men's room. 4531% 4532Genderplex, n.: 4533 The predicament of a person in a restaurant who is unable to 4534 determine his or her designated restroom (e.g., turtles and 4535 tortoises). 4536 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4537% 4538Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why 4539you should. 4540% 4541Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus 4542handicapped. 4543 -- Elbert Hubbard 4544% 4545Genius, n.: 4546 A chemist who discovers a laundry additive that rhymes with "bright". 4547% 4548George Orwell 1984. Northwestern 0. 4549 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 4550% 4551George Orwell was an optimist. 4552% 4553George Washington was first in war, first in peace -- and the first to 4554have his birthday juggled to make a long weekend. 4555 -- Ashley Cooper 4556% 4557Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics: 4558 (1) An object in motion will always be headed in the wrong 4559 direction. 4560 (2) An object at rest will always be in the wrong place. 4561 (3) The energy required to change either one of these states 4562 will always be more than you wish to expend, but never so 4563 much as to make the task totally impossible. 4564% 4565Get forgiveness now -- tomorrow you may no longer feel guilty. 4566% 4567 Get GUMMed 4568 --- ------ 4569The Gurus of Unix Meeting of Minds (GUMM) takes place Wednesday, April 45701, 2076 (check THAT in your perpetual calendar program), 14 feet above 4571the ground directly in front of the Milpitas Gumps. Members will grep 4572each other by the hand (after intro), yacc a lot, smoke filtered 4573chroots in pipes, chown with forks, use the wc (unless uuclean), fseek 4574nice zombie processes, strip, and sleep, but not, we hope, od. Three 4575days will be devoted to discussion of the ramifications of whodo. Two 4576seconds have been allotted for a complete rundown of all the user- 4577friendly features of Unix. Seminars include "Everything You Know is 4578Wrong", led by Tom Kempson, "Batman or Cat:man?" led by Richie Dennis 4579"cc C? Si! Si!" led by Kerwin Bernighan, and "Document Unix, Are You 4580Kidding?" led by Jan Yeats. No Reader Service No. is necessary because 4581all GUGUs (Gurus of Unix Group of Users) already know everything we 4582could tell them. 4583 -- Dr. Dobb's Journal, June '84 4584% 4585Get Revenge! Live long enough to be a problem for your children! 4586% 4587 -- Gifts for Children -- 4588 4589This is easy. You never have to figure out what to get for children, 4590because they will tell you exactly what they want. They spend months 4591and months researching these kinds of things by watching Saturday- 4592morning cartoon-show advertisements. Make sure you get your children 4593exactly what they ask for, even if you disapprove of their choices. If 4594your child thinks he wants Murderous Bob, the Doll with the Face You 4595Can Rip Right Off, you'd better get it. You may be worried that it 4596might help to encourage your child's antisocial tendencies, but believe 4597me, you have not seen antisocial tendencies until you've seen a child 4598who is convinced that he or she did not get the right gift. 4599 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4600% 4601 -- Gifts for Men -- 4602 4603Men are amused by almost any idiot thing -- that is why professional 4604ice hockey is so popular -- so buying gifts for them is easy. But you 4605should never buy them clothes. Men believe they already have all the 4606clothes they will ever need, and new ones make them nervous. For 4607example, your average man has 84 ties, but he wears, at most, only 4608three of them. He has learned, through humiliating trial and error, 4609that if he wears any of the other 81 ties, his wife will probably laugh 4610at him ("You're not going to wear THAT tie with that suit, are you?"). 4611So he has narrowed it down to three safe ties, and has gone several 4612years without being laughed at. If you give him a new tie, he will 4613pretend to like it, but deep inside he will hate you. 4614 4615If you want to give a man something practical, consider tires. More 4616than once, I would have gladly traded all the gifts I got for a new set 4617of tires. 4618 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 4619% 4620 Gimmie That Old Time Religion 4621We will follow Zarathustra, We will worship like the Druids, 4622Zarathustra like we use to, Dancing naked in the woods, 4623I'm a Zarathustra booster, Drinking strange fermented fluids, 4624And he's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me! 4625 (chorus) (chorus) 4626 4627In the church of Aphrodite, 4628The priestess wears a see-through nightie, 4629She's a mighty righteous sightie, 4630And she's good enough for me! 4631 (chorus) 4632 4633CHORUS: Give me that old time religion, 4634 Give me that old time religion, 4635 Give me that old time religion, 4636 'Cause it's good enough for me! 4637% 4638Ginsberg's Theorem: 4639 (1) You can't win. 4640 (2) You can't break even. 4641 (3) You can't even quit the game. 4642 4643Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem: 4644 Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem 4645 meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's 4646 Theorem. To wit: 4647 4648 (1) Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win. 4649 (2) Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break even. 4650 (3) Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can quit the game. 4651% 4652Give me a Plumber's friend the size of the Pittsburgh dome, and a place 4653to stand, and I will drain the world. 4654% 4655"Give me enough medals, and I'll win any war." 4656 -- Napolean 4657% 4658Give me the Luxuries, and the Hell with the Necessities! 4659% 4660Give thought to your reputation. Consider changing name and moving to 4661a new town. 4662% 4663Give your child mental blocks for Christmas. 4664% 4665Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying 4666around, I'd rather lie around. No contest. 4667 -- Eric Clapton 4668% 4669Giving up on assembly language was the apple in our Garden of Eden: 4670Languages whose use squanders machine cycles are sinful. The LISP 4671machine now permits LISP programmers to abandon bra and fig-leaf. 4672 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 4673% 4674Glib's Fourth Law of Unreliability: 4675 Investment in reliability will increase until it exceeds the 4676 probable cost of errors, or until someone insists on getting some 4677 useful work done. 4678% 4679Gnagloot, n.: 4680 A person who leaves all his ski passes on his jacket just to 4681 impress people. 4682 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 4683% 4684Go 'way! You're bothering me! 4685% 4686Go climb a gravity well! 4687% 4688Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what value there may 4689be in owning a piece thereof. 4690 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 4691% 4692//GO.SYSIN DD *, DOODAH, DOODAH 4693% 4694God did not create the world in seven days; he screwed around for six 4695days and then pulled an all-nighter. 4696% 4697God doesn't play dice. 4698 -- Albert Einstein 4699% 4700God gives burdens; also shoulders 4701 4702Jimmy Carter cited this Jewish saying in his concession speech at the 4703end of the 1980 election. At least he said it was a Jewish saying; I 4704can't find it anywhere. I'm sure he's telling the truth though; why 4705would he lie about a thing like that? 4706 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4707% 4708God has intended the great to be great and the little to be little ... 4709The trade unions, under the European system, destroy liberty ... I do 4710not mean to say that a dollar a day is enough to support a workingman 4711... not enough to support a man and five children if he insists on 4712smoking and drinking beer. But the man who cannot live on bread and 4713water is not fit to live! A family may live on good bread and water in 4714the morning, water and bread at midday, and good bread and water at 4715night! 4716 -- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher 4717% 4718God is a comic playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh. 4719% 4720God is a polytheist. 4721% 4722God is Dead 4723 -- Nietzsche 4724Nietzsche is Dead 4725 -- God 4726Nietzsche is God 4727 -- The Dead 4728% 4729God is not dead! He's alive and autographing bibles at Cody's! 4730% 4731God is real, unless declared integer. 4732% 4733God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the 4734elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on trying 4735other things. 4736 -- Pablo Picasso 4737% 4738God is the tangential point between zero and infinity. 4739 -- Alfred Jarry 4740% 4741God isn't dead, he just couldn't find a parking place. 4742% 4743God made machine language; all the rest is the work of man. 4744% 4745God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board. 4746 -- Mark Twain 4747% 4748God made the integers; all else is the work of Man. 4749 -- Kronecker 4750% 4751God made the world in six days, and was arrested on the seventh. 4752% 4753God may be subtle, but He isn't plain mean. 4754 -- Albert Einstein 4755% 4756God must love the Common Man; He made so many of them. 4757% 4758God rest ye CS students now, 4759Let nothing you dismay. 4760The VAX is down and won't be up, 4761Until the first of May. 4762The program that was due this morn, 4763Won't be postponed, they say. 4764 4765 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 4766 Comfort and joy, 4767 Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 4768 4769The bearings on the drum are gone, 4770The disk is wobbling, too. 4771We've found a bug in Lisp, and Algol 4772Can't tell false from true. 4773And now we find that we can't get 4774At Berkeley's 4.2. 4775 4776 (chorus) 4777% 4778Going to church does not make a person religious, nor does going to 4779school make a person educated, any more than going to a garage makes a 4780person a car. 4781% 4782Gold, n.: 4783 A soft malleable metal relatively scarce in distribution. It 4784 is mined deep in the earth by poor men who then give it to rich 4785 men who immediately bury it back in the earth in great prisons, 4786 although gold hasn't done anything to them. 4787 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 4788% 4789Goldenstern's Rules: 4790 (1) Always hire a rich attorney. 4791 (2) Never buy from a rich salesman. 4792% 4793Good advice is something a man gives when he is too old to set a bad 4794example. 4795 -- La Rouchefoucauld 4796% 4797Good day for a change of scene. Repaper the bedroom wall. 4798% 4799Good day for overcoming obstacles. Try a steeplechase. 4800% 4801Good day to avoid cops. Crawl to school. 4802% 4803Good day to let down old friends who need help. 4804% 4805Good leaders being scarce, following yourself is allowed. 4806% 4807Good news is just life's way of keeping you off balance. 4808% 4809Good news. Ten weeks from Friday will be a pretty good day. 4810% 4811Good night to spend with family, but avoid arguments with your mate's 4812new lover. 4813% 4814Good-bye. I am leaving because I am bored. 4815 -- George Saunders' dying words 4816% 4817Gordon's first law: 4818 If a research project is not worth doing, it is not worth doing 4819well. 4820% 4821"Gosh that takes me back ... or forward. That's the trouble with time 4822travel, you never can tell." 4823 -- Dr. Who 4824% 4825Gosh that takes me back... or is it forward? That's the trouble with 4826time travel, you never can tell." 4827 -- Doctor Who "Androids of Tara" 4828% 4829Got Mole problems? 4830Call Avogadro 6.02 x 10^23 4831% 4832Goto, n.: 4833 A programming tool that exists to allow structured programmers 4834to complain about unstructured programmers. 4835 -- Ray Simard 4836% 4837Government [is] an illusion the governed should not encourage. 4838 -- John Updike, "Couples" 4839% 4840Government lies, and newspapers lie, but in a democracy they are 4841different lies. 4842% 4843Government spending? I don't know what it's all about. I don't know 4844any more about this thing than an economist does, and, God knows, he 4845doesn't know much. 4846 -- Will Rogers 4847% 4848Grabel's Law: 4849 2 is not equal to 3 -- not even for large values of 2. 4850% 4851Graduate life -- it's not just a job, it's an indenture. 4852% 4853Graduate life: It's not just a job. It's an indenture. 4854% 4855Grandpa Charnock's Law: 4856 You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive. 4857% 4858Gravity is a myth: the Earth sucks. 4859% 4860Gray's Law of Programming: 4861 `_n+1' trivial tasks are expected to be accomplished in the same 4862 time as `_n' tasks. 4863 4864Logg's Rebuttal to Gray's Law: 4865 `_n+1' trivial tasks take twice as long as `_n' trivial tasks. 4866% 4867Great minds run in great circles. 4868% 4869 GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY #21 -- July 30, 1917 4870 4871On this day, New York City hotel detectives burst in and caught then- 4872Senator Warren G. Harding in bed with an underage girl. He bought them 4873off with a $20 bribe, and later remarked thankfully, "I thought I 4874wouldn't get out of that under $1000!" Always one to learn from his 4875mistakes, in later years President Harding carried on his affairs in a 4876tiny closet in the White House Cabinet Room while Secret Service men 4877stood lookout. 4878% 4879Green light in A.M. for new projects. 4880Red light in P.M. for traffic tickets. 4881% 4882Greener's Law: 4883 Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel. 4884% 4885Grelb's Reminder: 4886 Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above 4887 average drivers. 4888% 4889Grub first, then ethics. 4890 -- Bertolt Brecht 4891% 4892Gurmlish, n.: 4893 The red warning flag at the top of a club sandwich which 4894 prevents the person from biting into it and puncturing the 4895 roof of his mouth. 4896 -- Rich Hall & Friends, "Sniglets" 4897% 4898Gyroscope, n.: 4899 A wheel or disk mounted to spin rapidly about an axis and also 4900free to rotate about one or both of two axes perpendicular to each 4901other and the axis of spin so that a rotation of one of the two 4902mutually perpendicular axes results from application of torque to the 4903other when the wheel is spinning and so that the entire apparatus 4904offers considerable opposition depending on the angular momentum to any 4905torque that would change the direction of the axis of spin. 4906 -- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary 4907% 4908H. L. Mencken suffers from the hallucination that he is H. L. 4909Mencken -- there is no cure for a disease of that magnitude. 4910 -- Maxwell Bodenheim 4911% 4912H. L. Mencken's Law: 4913 Those who can -- do. 4914 Those who can't -- teach. 4915 4916Martin's Extension: 4917 Those who cannot teach -- administrate. 4918% 4919H: If a 'GOBLIN (HOB) waylays you, 4920 Slice him up before he slays you. 4921 Nothing makes you look a slob 4922 Like running from a HOB'LIN (GOB). 4923 -- The Roguelet's ABC 4924% 4925Hacker's Law: 4926 The belief that enhanced understanding will necessarily stir a 4927 nation to action is one of mankind's oldest illusions. 4928% 4929Hacking's just another word for nothing left to kludge. 4930% 4931Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, 4932and you would not have been informed. 4933% 4934Hail to the sun god 4935He sure is a fun god 4936Ra! Ra! Ra! 4937% 4938Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain't that a big 4939enough majority in any town? 4940 -- Mark Twain, "Huckleberry Finn" 4941% 4942Half Moon tonight. (At least it's better than no Moon at all.) 4943% 4944Half-done: 4945 This is the best way to eat a kosher dill -- when it's still crunchy, 4946 light green, yet full of garlic flavor. The difference between this 4947 and the typical soggy dark green cucumber corpse is like the 4948 difference between life and death. 4949 4950 You may find it difficult to find a good half-done kosher dill there 4951 in Seattle, so what you should do is take a cab out to the airport, 4952 fly to New York, take the JFK Express to Jay Street-Borough Hall, 4953 transfer to an uptown F, get off at East Broadway, walk north on 4954 Essex (along the park), make your first left onto Hester Street, walk 4955 about fifteen steps, turn ninety degrees left, and stop. Say to the 4956 man, "Let me have a nice half-done." Worth the trouble, wasn't it? 4957 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 4958% 4959Hall's Laws of Politics: 4960 (1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending. 4961 (2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something 4962 fixed. 4963 (3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend 4964 military spending, and conservatives social spending in 4965 their own districts). 4966% 4967Hand, n.: 4968 A singular instrument worn at the end of a human arm and 4969commonly thrust into somebody's pocket. 4970 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4971% 4972Hanlon's Razor: 4973 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by 4974 stupidity. 4975% 4976Hanson's Treatment of Time: 4977 There are never enough hours in a day, but always too many days 4978 before Saturday. 4979% 4980Happiness is having a scratch for every itch. 4981 -- Ogden Nash 4982% 4983Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember. 4984 -- Oscar Levant 4985% 4986Happiness, n.: 4987 An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of 4988 another. 4989 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 4990% 4991Hard work may not kill you, but why take chances? 4992% 4993Hardware, n.: 4994 The parts of a computer system that can be kicked. 4995% 4996Hark ye, Clinker, you are a most notorious offender. You stand 4997convicted of sickness, hunger, wretchedness, and want. 4998 -- Tobias Smollet 4999% 5000Hark, Hark, the dogs do bark 5001The Duke is fond of kittens 5002He likes to take their insides out 5003And use them for his mittens 5004 From "The Thirteen Clocks" 5005% 5006Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, 5007Advertising wondrous things. 5008 -- Tom Lehrer 5009% 5010Harris's Lament: 5011 All the good ones are taken. 5012% 5013Harrisberger's Fourth Law of the Lab: 5014 Experience is directly proportional to the amount of equipment 5015 ruined. 5016% 5017Harry is heavily into camping, and every year in the late fall, he 5018makes us all go to Assateague, which is an island on the Atlantic Ocean 5019famous for its wild horses. I realize that the concept of wild horses 5020probably stirs romantic notions in many of you, but this is because you 5021have never met any wild horses in person. In person, they are like 5022enormous hooved rats. They amble up to your camp site, and their 5023attitude is: "We're wild horses. We're going to eat your food, knock 5024down your tent and poop on your shoes. We're protected by federal law, 5025just like Richard Nixon." 5026 -- Dave Barry, "Tenting Grandpa Bob" 5027% 5028Hartley's First Law: 5029 You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float 5030 on his back, you've got something. 5031% 5032Hartley's Second Law: 5033 Never sleep with anyone crazier than yourself. 5034% 5035Harvard Law: 5036 Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, 5037 temperature, volume, humidity, and other variables, the organism 5038 will do as it damn well pleases. 5039% 5040"Has anyone had problems with the computer accounts?" 5041"Yes, I don't have one." 5042"Okay, you can send mail to one of the tutors ..." 5043 -- E. D'Azevedo, Computer Science 372 5044% 5045Has everyone noticed that all the letters of the word "database" are 5046typed with the left hand? Now the layout of the QWERTYUIOP typewriter 5047keyboard was designed, among other things, to facilitate the even use 5048of both hands. It follows, therefore, that writing about databases is 5049not only unnatural, but a lot harder than it appears. 5050% 5051 Has your family tried 'em? 5052 5053 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5054 5055 Heavens, they're tasty and expeditious! 5056 5057 They're made from whole wheat, to give shy persons the 5058 strength to get up and do what needs to be done. 5059 5060 POWDERMILK BISCUITS 5061 5062 Buy them ready-made in the big blue box with the picture of the 5063 biscuit on the front, or in the brown bag with the dark stains 5064 that indicate freshness. 5065% 5066Hatred, n.: 5067 A sentiment appropriate to the occasion of another's 5068 superiority. 5069 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5070% 5071Have an adequate day. 5072% 5073Have people realized that the purpose of the fortune cookie program is 5074to defuse project tensions? When did you ever see a cheerful cookie, a 5075non-cynical, or even an informative cookie? 5076 5077Perhaps inadvertently, we have a channel for our aggressions. This 5078still begs the question of whether the cookie releases the pressure or 5079only serves to blunt the warning signs. 5080 5081 Long live the revolution! 5082 Have a nice day. 5083% 5084Have you ever noticed that the people who are always trying to tell 5085you, "There's a time for work and a time for play," never find the time 5086for play? 5087% 5088Have you ever wondered what makes Californians so calm? Besides drugs, 5089I mean. The answer is hot tubs. A hot tub is a redwood container 5090filled with water that you sit in naked with members of the opposite 5091sex, none of whom is necessarily your spouse. After a few hours in 5092their hot tubs, Californians don't give a damn about earthquakes or 5093mass murderers. They don't give a damn about anything, which is why 5094they are able to produce "Laverne and Shirley" week after week. 5095 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5096% 5097"Have you lived here all your life?" 5098"Oh, twice that long." 5099% 5100Have you noticed that all you need to grow healthy, vigorous grass is a 5101crack in your sidewalk? 5102% 5103Have you noticed the way people's intelligence capabilities decline 5104sharply the minute they start waving guns around? 5105 -- Dr. Who 5106% 5107Have you reconsidered a computer career? 5108% 5109He did decide, though, that with more time and a great deal of mental 5110effort, he could probably turn the activity into an acceptable 5111perversion. 5112 -- Mick Farren, "When Gravity Fails" 5113% 5114He flung himself on his horse and rode madly off in all directions 5115 -- Stephen Leacock 5116% 5117He had occasional flashes of silence that made his conversation 5118perfectly delightful. 5119 -- Sydney Smith 5120% 5121He had that rare weird electricity about him -- that extremely wild and 5122heavy presence that you only see in a person who has abandoned all hope 5123of ever behaving "normally." 5124 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing '72" 5125% 5126He hadn't a single redeeming vice. 5127 -- Oscar Wilde 5128% 5129"He is now rising from affluence to poverty." 5130 -- Mark Twain 5131% 5132He looked at me as if I was a side dish he hadn't ordered. 5133% 5134He played the king as if afraid someone else would play the ace. 5135 -- John Mason Brown, drama critic 5136% 5137He thought he saw an albatross 5138That fluttered 'round the lamp. 5139He looked again and saw it was 5140A penny postage stamp. 5141"You'd best be getting home," he said, 5142"The nights are rather damp." 5143% 5144He was a fiddler, and consequently a rogue. 5145 -- Jonathan Swift 5146% 5147"He was a modest, good-humored boy. It was Oxford that made him 5148insufferable." 5149% 5150He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes. 5151% 5152He who attacks the fundamentals of the American broadcasting industry 5153attacks democracy itself. 5154 -- William S. Paley, chairman of CBS 5155% 5156He who Laughs, Lasts. 5157% 5158"He's just a politician trying to save both his faces ..." 5159% 5160He's the kind of guy, that, well, if you were ever in a jam he'd be 5161there ... with two slices of bread and some chunky peanut butter. 5162% 5163He's the kind of man for the times that need the kind of man he is ... 5164% 5165HE: Let's end it all, bequeathin' our brains to science. 5166SHE: What?!? Science got enough trouble with their ___OWN brains. 5167 -- Walt Kelley 5168% 5169Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. 5170% 5171Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5172of nothing. 5173 -- Redd Foxx 5174% 5175Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying 5176of nothing. 5177 -- Redd Foxx 5178% 5179Heaven, n.: 5180 A place where the wicked cease from troubling you with talk of 5181 their personal affairs, and the good listen with attention while 5182 you expound your own. 5183 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5184% 5185Heavy, adj.: 5186 Seduced by the chocolate side of the force. 5187% 5188"Heisenberg may have slept here" 5189% 5190Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. 5191 -- Milton Friedman 5192% 5193Heller's Law: 5194 The first myth of management is that it exists. 5195 5196Johnson's Corollary: 5197 Nobody really knows what is going on anywhere within the 5198 organization. 5199% 5200"Hello," he lied. 5201 -- Don Carpenter quoting a Hollywood agent 5202% 5203Help a swallow land at Capistrano. 5204% 5205Help fight continental drift. 5206% 5207Help me, I'm a prisoner in a Fortune cookie file! 5208% 5209Help stamp out and abolish redundancy. 5210% 5211Help! I'm trapped in a PDP 11/70! 5212% 5213HELP! MY TYPEWRITER IS BROKEN! 5214 -- E. E. CUMMINGS 5215% 5216Her locks an ancient lady gave 5217Her loving husband's life to save; 5218And men -- they honored so the dame -- 5219Upon some stars bestowed her name. 5220 5221But to our modern married fair, 5222Who'd give their lords to save their hair, 5223No stellar recognition's given. 5224There are not stars enough in heaven. 5225% 5226"Here at the Phone Company, we serve all kinds of people; from 5227Presidents and Kings to the scum of the earth ..." 5228% 5229Here I sit, broken-hearted, 5230All logged in, but work unstarted. 5231First net.this and net.that, 5232And a hot buttered bun for net.fat. 5233 5234The boss comes by, and I play the game, 5235Then I turn back to net.flame. 5236Is there a cure (I need your views), 5237For someone trapped in net.news? 5238 5239I need your help, I say 'tween sobs, 5240'Cause I'll soon be listed in net.jobs. 5241% 5242Here in my heart, I am Helen; 5243 I'm Aspasia and Hero, at least. 5244I'm Judith, and Jael, and Madame de Sta"el; 5245 I'm Salome, moon of the East. 5246 5247Here in my soul I am Sappho; 5248 Lady Hamilton am I, as well. 5249In me R'ecamier vies with Kitty O'Shea, 5250 With Dido, and Eve, and poor nell. 5251 5252I'm all of the glamorous ladies 5253 At whose beckoning history shook. 5254But you are a man, and see only my pan, 5255 So I stay at home with a book. 5256 -- Dorothy Parker 5257% 5258Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical 5259lesson: On a cool, dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach 5260your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. 5261Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in 5262pain? This teaches us that electricity can be a very powerful force, 5263but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an 5264important electrical lesson. 5265 5266It also teaches us how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed 5267your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small 5268objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpets so they will 5269attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and 5270collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your 5271friend's filling, then travels down to his feet and back into the 5272carpet, thus completing the circuit. 5273 5274Amazing Electronic Fact: If you scuffed your feet long enough without 5275touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your 5276finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you 5277have carpeting. 5278 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 5279% 5280 Here is the fact of the week, maybe even the fact of the 5281month. According to probably reliable sources, the Coca-Cola people 5282are experiencing severe marketing anxiety in China. 5283 The words "Coca-Cola" translate into Chinese as either 5284(depending on the inflection) "wax-fattened mare" or "bite the wax 5285tadpole". 5286 Bite the wax tadpole. 5287 There is a sort of rough justice, is there not? 5288 The trouble with this fact, as lovely as it is, is that it's 5289hard to get a whole column out of it. I'd like to teach the world to 5290bite a wax tadpole. Coke -- it's the real wax-fattened mare. Not bad, 5291but broad satiric vistas do not open up. 5292 -- John Carrol, San Francisco Chronicle 5293% 5294"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 5295`Psychic Wins Lottery'?" 5296 -- Jay Leno 5297% 5298Heuristics are bug ridden by definition. If they didn't have bugs, 5299then they'd be algorithms. 5300% 5301"Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??!" 5302 -- W. C. Fields 5303% 5304Hi there! This is just a note from me, to you, to tell you, the person 5305reading this note, that I can't think up any more famous quotes, jokes, 5306nor bizarre stories, so you may as well go home. 5307% 5308"Hi, I'm Preston A. Mantis, president of Consumers Retail Law Outlet. 5309As you can see by my suit and the fact that I have all these books of 5310equal height on the shelves behind me, I am a trained legal attorney. 5311Do you have a car or a job? Do you ever walk around? If so, you 5312probably have the makings of an excellent legal case. Although of 5313course every case is different, I would definitely say that based on my 5314experience and training, there's no reason why you shouldn't come out 5315of this thing with at least a cabin cruiser. 5316 5317"Remember, at the Preston A. Mantis Consumers Retail Law Outlet, our 5318motto is: `It is very difficult to disprove certain kinds of pain.'" 5319 -- Dave Barry, "Pain and Suffering" 5320% 5321Hier liegt ein Mann ganz ohnegleich; 5322Im Leibe dick, an Suenden reich. 5323Wir haben ihn in das Grab gesteckt, Here lies a man with sundry flaws 5324Weil es uns duenkt, er sei verreckt. And numerous Sins upon his head; 5325 We buried him today because 5326 As far as we can tell, he's dead. 5327 -- PDQ Bach's epitaph, as requested by his cousin Betty-Sue 5328 Bach and written by the local doggerel catcher; 5329 "The Definitive Biography of PDQ Bach", Peter Schickele 5330% 5331Higgledy Piggledy, 5332Hamlet of Elsinore 5333Ruffled the critics by 5334Dropping this bomb: 5335"Phooey on Freud and his 5336Psychoanalysis -- 5337Oedipus, Shmoedipus, 5338I just loved Mom." 5339% 5340Hindsight is an exact science. 5341% 5342Hippogriff, n.: 5343 An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. 5344 The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half 5345 eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one quarter 5346 eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. 5347 The study of zoology is full of surprises. 5348 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5349% 5350Hire the morally handicapped. 5351% 5352"His great aim was to escape from civilization, and, as soon as he had 5353money, he went to Southern California." 5354% 5355His mind is like a steel trap -- full of mice. 5356 -- Foghorn Leghorn 5357% 5358His super power is to turn into a scotch terrier. 5359% 5360History is curious stuff 5361 You'd think by now we had enough 5362Yet the fact remains I fear 5363 They make more of it every year. 5364% 5365History repeats itself. That's one thing wrong with history. 5366% 5367History, n.: 5368 Papa Hegel he say that all we learn from history is that we 5369learn nothing from history. I know people who can't even learn from 5370what happened this morning. Hegel must have been taking the long 5371view. 5372 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 5373% 5374Hlade's Law: 5375 If you have a difficult task, give it to a lazy person -- 5376 they will find an easier way to do it. 5377% 5378Hoare's Law of Large Problems: 5379 Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out. 5380% 5381Hofstadter's Law: 5382 It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take 5383 Hofstadter's Law into account. 5384% 5385Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness you send out for it. 5386 -- Rex Reed 5387% 5388 Home centers are designed for the do-it-yourselfer who's 5389willing to pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop 5390for lumber, hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say 5391"shop for", as opposed to "obtain". This is the major drawback of home 5392centers: they are always out of everything except artificial Christmas 5393trees. The home center employees have no time to reorder merchandise 5394because they are too busy applying little price stickers to every 5395object -- every board, washer, nail and screw -- in the entire store ... 5396 Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the 5397broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has 5398a replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the 5399inside of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the 5400same way that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at 5401an electronic calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of 5402these sometime around the middle of next week". 5403 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 5404% 5405Home of Doberman Propulsion Laboratories: 5406The ultimate in watchdog weaponry. 5407 -- Chris Shaw 5408% 5409Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. 5410% 5411Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people. 5412 -- F. M. Hubbard 5413% 5414Honk if you hate bumper stickers that say "Honk if ..." 5415% 5416Honk if you love peace and quiet. 5417% 5418Honorable, adj.: 5419 Afflicted with an impediment in one's reach. In legislative 5420 bodies, it is customary to mention all members as honorable; 5421 as, "the honorable gentleman is a scurvy cur." 5422 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 5423% 5424Horngren's Observation: 5425 Among economists, the real world is often a special case. 5426% 5427Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on 5428people. 5429 -- W. C. Fields 5430% 5431Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa. 5432% 5433"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." 5434 -- Neil Armstrong 5435% 5436How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all? 5437% 5438How come only your friends step on your new white sneakers? 5439% 5440How come wrong numbers are never busy? 5441% 5442How do I love thee? My accumulator overflows. 5443% 5444How do you explain school to a higher intelligence? 5445 -- Elliot, "E.T." 5446% 5447How doth the little crocodile 5448 Improve his shining tail, 5449And pour the waters of the Nile 5450 On every golden scale! 5451 5452How cheerfully he seems to grin, 5453 How neatly spreads his claws, 5454And welcomes little fishes in, 5455 With gently smiling jaws! 5456 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 5457% 5458How doth the VAX's C compiler 5459Improve its object code. 5460And even as we speak does it 5461Increase the system load. 5462 5463How patiently it seems to run 5464And spit out error flags, 5465While users, with frustration, all 5466Tear their clothes to rags. 5467% 5468How I love to watch the morn, 5469 With golden sun that shines, 5470Up above to nicely warm 5471 These frosty toes of mine. 5472 5473The wind doth taste of bittersweet, 5474 Like Jasper wine and sugar, 5475I bet it's blown through others' feet, 5476 Like those of ... Caspar Weinberger. 5477 -- P. Opus (Bloom County) 5478% 5479How long a minute is depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on. 5480% 5481How many hardware engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5482None: "We'll fix it in software." 5483 5484How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5485None: "We'll document it in the manual." 5486 5487How many tech writers does it take to change a lightbulb? 5488None: "The user can work it out." 5489% 5490How many hors d'oeuvres you are allowed to take off a tray being 5491carried by a waiter at a nice party? 5492 5493Two, but there are ways around it, depending on the style of the hors 5494d'oeuvre. If they're those little pastry things where you can't tell 5495what's inside, you take one, bite off about two-thirds of it, then 5496say: "This is cheese! I hate cheese!" Then you put the rest of it 5497back on the tray and bite another one and go, "Darn it! Another 5498cheese!" and so on. 5499 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 5500% 5501 How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 55023.155 x 10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, 5503who could forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is a 5504nanocentury. 5505 -- Tom Duff, Bell Labs 5506% 5507How much does it cost to entice a dope-smoking UNIX system guru to Dayton? 5508 -- Brian Boyle, UNIX/WORLD's First Annual Salary Survey 5509% 5510How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers. 5511% 5512HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5513 #1040 Your income tax refund cheque bounces. 5514% 5515HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5516 #15 Your pet rock snaps at you. 5517% 5518HOW YOU CAN TELL THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A ROTTEN DAY: 5519 5520 #32: You call your answering service and they've never heard of 5521 you. 5522% 5523Howe's Law: 5524 Everyone has a scheme that will not work. 5525% 5526However, never daunted, I will cope with adversity in my traditional 5527manner ... sulking and nausea. 5528 -- Tom K. Ryan 5529% 5530HR 3128. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation, Fiscal 1986. Martin, R-Ill., 5531motion that the House recede from its disagreement to the Senate 5532amendment making changes in the bill to reduce fiscal 1986 deficits. 5533The Senate amendment was an amendment to the House amendment to the 5534Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 5535bill. The original Senate amendment was the conference agreement on 5536the bill. Agreed to. 5537 -- Albuquerque Journal 5538% 5539 Hug O' War 5540 5541I will not play at tug o' war. 5542I'd rather play at hug o' war, 5543Where everyone hugs 5544Instead of tugs, 5545Where everyone giggles 5546And rolls on the rug, 5547Where everyone kisses, 5548And everyone grins, 5549And everyone cuddles, 5550And everyone wins. 5551 -- Shel Silverstein 5552% 5553Human beings were created by water to transport it uphill. 5554% 5555Human cardiac catheterization was introduced by Werner Forssman in 55561929. Ignoring his department chief, and tying his assistant to an 5557operating table to prevent his interference, he placed a urethral 5558catheter into a vein in his arm, advanced it to the right atrium [of 5559his heart], and walked upstairs to the x-ray department where he took 5560the confirmatory x-ray film. In 1956, Dr. Forssman was awarded the 5561Nobel Prize. 5562% 5563Hummingbirds never remember the words to songs. 5564% 5565Humor is a drug which it's the fashion to abuse. 5566 -- William Gilbert 5567% 5568Hurewitz's Memory Principle: 5569 The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional 5570 to ..... to ........ uh .............. 5571% 5572I also believe that academic freedom should protect the right of a 5573professor or student to advocate Marxism, socialism, communism, or any 5574other minority viewpoint -- no matter how distasteful to the majority. 5575 -- Richard M. Nixon 5576 5577What are our schools for if not indoctrination against Communism? 5578 -- Richard M. Nixon 5579% 5580"I am convinced that the manufacturers of carpet odor removing powder 5581have included encapsulated time released cat urine in their products. 5582This technology must be what prevented its distribution during my mom's 5583reign. My carpet smells like piss, and I don't have a cat. Better go 5584buy some more." 5585 -- timw@zeb.USWest.COM 5586% 5587I am more bored than you could ever possibly be. Go back to work. 5588% 5589I am not an Economist. I am an honest man! 5590 -- Paul McCracken 5591% 5592I am not now, and never have been, a girlfriend of Henry Kissinger. 5593 -- Gloria Steinem 5594% 5595I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the demigodic party. 5596 -- Dennis Ritchie 5597% 5598I am not sure what this is, but an `F' would only dignify it. 5599 -- English Professor 5600% 5601I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the 5602great ordeal of meeting me is another matter. 5603 -- Winston Churchill 5604% 5605I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone 5606has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. 5607 -- Professor Lowd, English, Ohio University 5608% 5609I am so optimistic about beef prices that I've just leased a pot roast 5610with an option to buy. 5611% 5612I am the mother of all things, and all things should wear a sweater. 5613% 5614I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person, 5615of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell 5616you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial 5617atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something 5618inconceivable. I can't help it. I was born sneering. 5619 -- Pooh-Bah, "The Mikado", Gilbert & Sullivan 5620% 5621I appreciate the fact that this draft was done in haste, but some of 5622the sentences that you are sending out in the world to do your work for 5623you are loitering in taverns or asleep beside the highway. 5624 -- Dr. Dwight Van de Vate, Professor of Philosophy, 5625 University of Tennessee at Knoxville 5626% 5627I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an 5628argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and 5629steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, 5630they don't even invite me. 5631 -- Dave Barry 5632% 5633I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean. 5634 -- G. K. Chesterton 5635% 5636I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat. 5637 -- Will Rogers 5638% 5639I bet the human brain is a kludge. 5640 -- Marvin Minsky 5641% 5642I brake for chezlogs! 5643% 5644I call them as I see them. If I can't see them, I make them up. 5645 -- Biff Barf 5646% 5647I can feel for her because, although I have never been an Alaskan 5648prostitute dancing on the bar in a spangled dress, I still get very 5649bored with washing and ironing and dishwashing and cooking day after 5650relentless day. 5651 -- Betty MacDonald 5652% 5653I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself. 5654% 5655I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and 565625 percent actor, but I can well see the day when the reverse could be 5657true. 5658 -- Harry Truman 5659% 5660I can resist anything but temptation. 5661% 5662I can't complain, but sometimes I still do. 5663 -- Joe Walsh 5664% 5665I can't decide whether to commit suicide or go bowling. 5666 -- Florence Henderson 5667% 5668I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can 5669understand it. 5670 -- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 5671% 5672I can't understand why a person will take a year or two to write a 5673novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars. 5674 -- Fred Allen 5675% 5676"I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions." 5677 -- Lillian Hellman 5678% 5679I cannot conceive that anybody will require multiplications at the rate 5680of 40,000 or even 4,000 per hour ... 5681 -- F. H. Wales (1936) 5682% 5683I cannot overemphasize the importance of good grammar. 5684 5685What a crock. I could easily overemphasize the importance of good 5686grammar. For example, I could say: "Bad grammar is the leading cause 5687of slow, painful death in North America," or "Without good grammar, the 5688United States would have lost World War II." 5689 -- Dave Barry, "An Utterly Absurd Look at Grammar" 5690% 5691 "I cannot read the fiery letters," said Frito Bugger in a 5692quavering voice. 5693 "No," said GoodGulf, "but I can. The letters are Elvish, of 5694course, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Mordor, which 5695I will not utter here. They are lines of a verse long known in 5696Elven-lore: 5697 5698 "This Ring, no other, is made by the elves, 5699 Who'd pawn their own mother to grab it themselves. 5700 Ruler of creeper, mortal, and scallop, 5701 This is a sleeper that packs quite a wallop. 5702 The Power almighty rests in this Lone Ring. 5703 The Power, alrighty, for doing your Own Thing. 5704 If broken or busted, it cannot be remade. 5705 If found, send to Sorhed (with postage prepaid)." 5706 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 5707% 5708I changed my headlights the other day. I put in strobe lights 5709instead! Now when I drive at night, it looks like everyone else is 5710standing still ... 5711 -- Steven Wright 5712% 5713I could dance till the cows come home. On second thought, I'd rather 5714dance with the cows till you come home. 5715 -- Groucho Marx 5716% 5717I couldn't remember when I had been so disappointed. Except perhaps 5718the time I found out that M&Ms really *do* melt in your hand ... 5719 -- Peter Oakley 5720% 5721I didn't know it was impossible when I did it. 5722% 5723I didn't like the play, but I saw it under adverse conditions. The 5724curtain was up. 5725% 5726 I disapprove of the F-word, not because it's dirty, but because 5727we use it as a substitute for thoughtful insults, and it frequently 5728leads to violence. What we ought to do, when we anger each other, say, 5729in traffic, is exchange phone numbers, so that later on, when we've had 5730time to think of witty and learned insults or look them up in the 5731library, we could call each other up: 5732 5733 You: Hello? Bob? 5734 Bob: Yes? 5735 You: This is Ed. Remember? The person whose parking space you 5736 took last Thursday? Outside of Sears? 5737 Bob: Oh yes! Sure! How are you, Ed? 5738 You: Fine, thanks. Listen, Bob, the reason I'm calling is: 5739 "Madam, you may be drunk, but I am ugly, and ..." No, wait. 5740 I mean: "you may be ugly, but I am Winston Churchill 5741 and ..." No, wait. (Sound of reference book thudding onto 5742 the floor.) S-word. Excuse me. Look, Bob, I'm going to 5743 have to get back to you. 5744 Bob: Fine. 5745 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 5746% 5747I do hate sums. There is no greater mistake than to call arithmetic an 5748exact science. There are permutations and aberrations discernible to 5749minds entirely noble like mine; subtle variations which ordinary 5750accountants fail to discover; hidden laws of number which it requires a 5751mind like mine to perceive. For instance, if you add a sum from the 5752bottom up, and then again from the top down, the result is always 5753different. 5754 -- Mrs. La Touche (19th cent.) 5755% 5756I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them. 5757 -- Isaac Asimov 5758% 5759I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us 5760with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use. 5761 -- Galileo Galilei 5762% 5763I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should. 5764 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 5765% 5766I don't believe in astrology. But then I'm an Aquarius, and Aquarians 5767don't believe in astrology. 5768 -- James R. F. Quirk 5769% 5770I don't believe there really IS a GAS SHORTAGE.. I think it's all just 5771a BIG HOAX on the part of the plastic sign salesmen -- to sell more 5772numbers!! 5773% 5774I don't care for the Sugar Smacks commercial. I don't like the idea of 5775a frog jumping on my Breakfast. 5776 -- Lowell, Chicago Reader 10/15/82 5777% 5778I don't care who does the electing as long as I get to do the nominating 5779 -- Boss Tweed 5780% 5781I don't have any solution but I certainly admire the problem. 5782 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 5783% 5784I don't have to take this abuse from you -- I've got hundreds of 5785people waiting to abuse me. 5786 -- Bill Murray, "Ghostbusters" 5787% 5788I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. 5789 -- Elvis Presley 5790% 5791 "I don't know what you mean by `glory,'" Alice said 5792 Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- 5793till I tell you. I meant `there's a nice knock-down argument for 5794you!'" 5795 "But glory doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice 5796objected. 5797 "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful 5798tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor 5799less." 5800 "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean 5801so many different things." 5802 "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-- 5803that's all." 5804 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 5805% 5806I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd 5807eat it, and I just hate it. 5808 -- Clarence Darrow 5809% 5810I don't mind going nowhere as long as it's an interesting path. 5811 -- Ronald Mabbitt 5812% 5813I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the 5814streets and frighten the horses. 5815 -- Victor Hugo 5816% 5817"I don't object to sex before marriage, but two minutes before?!?" 5818% 5819"I don't think so," said Ren'e Descartes. Just then, he vanished. 5820% 5821I don't think they could put him in a mental hospital. On the other 5822hand, if he were already in, I don't think they'd let him out. 5823% 5824I don't want to alarm anybody, but there is an excellent chance that 5825the Earth will be destroyed in the next several days. Congress is 5826thinking about eliminating a federal program under which scientists 5827broadcast signals to alien beings. This would be a large mistake. 5828Alien beings have nuclear blaster death cannons. You cannot cut off 5829their federal programs as if they were merely poor people ... 5830 -- Davy Barry, "THE ALIENS ARE COMING, THE ALIENS ARE 5831 COMING!" 5832% 5833I doubt, therefore I might be. 5834% 5835I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business 5836on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment 5837he has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual 5838becoming, with a goal in front and not behind. 5839 -- George Bernard Shaw 5840% 5841I drink to make other people interesting. 5842 -- George Jean Nathan 5843% 5844I fell asleep reading a dull book, and I dreamt that I was reading on, 5845so I woke up from sheer boredom. 5846% 5847I for one cannot protest the recent M.T.A. fare hike and the 5848accompanying promises that this would in no way improve service. For 5849the transit system, as it now operates, has hidden advantages that 5850can't be measured in monetary terms. 5851 5852Personally, I feel that it is well worth 75 cents or even $1 to have 5853that unimpeachable excuse whenever I am late to anything: "I came by 5854subway." Those four words have such magic in them that if Godot should 5855someday show up and mumble them, any audience would instantly 5856understand his long delay. 5857% 5858I found out why my car was humming. It had forgotten the words. 5859% 5860I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very 5861reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment. 5862 -- Gotama Buddha 5863% 5864I gave up Smoking, Drinking and Sex. It was the most *__________horrifying* 20 5865minutes of my life! 5866% 5867I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it. 5868 -- Mae West 5869% 5870I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5871 Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5872If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5873 So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5874% 5875I get up each morning, gather my wits. 5876Pick up the paper, read the obits. 5877If I'm not there I know I'm not dead. 5878So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed. 5879 5880Oh, how do I know my youth is all spent? 5881My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went. 5882But in spite of it all, I'm able to grin, 5883And think of the places my get-up has been. 5884 -- Pete Seeger 5885% 5886I had to censor everything my sons watched ... even on the Mary Tyler 5887Moore show I heard the word "damn"! 5888 -- Mary Lou Bax 5889% 5890I had to hit him -- he was starting to make sense. 5891% 5892I hate it when my foot falls asleep during the day cause that means 5893it's going to be up all night. 5894 -- Steven Wright 5895% 5896I hate quotations. 5897 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 5898% 5899I have a simple philosophy: 5900 5901 Fill what's empty. 5902 Empty what's full. 5903 Scratch where it itches. 5904 -- A. R. Longworth 5905% 5906I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it 5907any time! 5908% 5909I have come up with a sure-fire concept for a hit television show, 5910which would be called `A Live Celebrity Gets Eaten by a Shark'. 5911 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 5912% 5913I have discovered the art of deceiving diplomats. 5914I tell them the truth and they never believe me. 5915 -- Camillo Di Cavour 5916% 5917I have great faith in fools -- self confidence my friends call it. 5918 -- Edgar Allan Poe 5919% 5920I have just read your lousy review buried in the back pages. You 5921sound like a frustrated old man who never made a success, an 5922eight-ulcer man on a four-ulcer job, and all four ulcers working. I 5923have never met you, but if I do you'll need a new nose and plenty of 5924beefsteak and perhaps a supporter below. Westbrook Pegler, a 5925guttersnipe, is a gentleman compared to you. You can take that as more 5926of an insult than as a reflection on your ancestry. 5927 -- President Harry S Truman 5928% 5929I have learned 5930To spell hors d'oeuvres 5931Which still grates on 5932Some people's n'oeuvres. 5933 -- Warren Knox 5934% 5935I have made mistakes but I have never made the 5936mistake of claiming that I have never made one. 5937 -- James Gordon Bennett 5938% 5939I have made this letter longer than usual 5940because I lack the time to make it shorter. 5941 -- Blaise Pascal 5942% 5943I have more humility in my little finger than you have in your whole 5944____BODY! 5945 -- from "Cerebus" #82 5946% 5947I have seen the future and it is just like the present, only longer. 5948 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 5949% 5950I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best. 5951 -- Oscar Wilde 5952% 5953I have the world's largest collection of seashells. I keep it 5954scattered around the beaches of the world ... Perhaps you've seen it. 5955 -- Steven Wright 5956% 5957I have to convince you, or at least snow you ... 5958 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 5959% 5960I have two very rare photographs: one is a picture of Houdini locking 5961his keys in his car; the other is a rare photograph of Norman Rockwell 5962beating up a child. 5963 -- Steven Wright 5964% 5965I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when looked 5966at in the right way, did not become still more complicated. 5967 -- Poul Anderson 5968% 5969I haven't lost my mind -- it's backed up on tape somewhere. 5970% 5971I haven't lost my mind; I know exactly where I left it. 5972% 5973I just forgot my whole philosophy of life!!! 5974% 5975I just need enough to tide me over until I need more. 5976 -- Bill Hoest 5977% 5978I know it all. I just can't remember it all at once. 5979% 5980I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but 5981World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. 5982 -- Albert Einstein 5983% 5984I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! 5985The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building. 5986 -- Charles Schulz 5987% 5988I like being single. I'm always there when I need me. 5989 -- Art Leo 5990% 5991I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to 5992promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want 5993peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of 5994the way and let them have it. 5995 -- Dwight D. Eisenhower 5996% 5997"I like work ... I can sit and watch it for hours." 5998% 5999I like your game but we have to change the rules. 6000% 6001I love Saturday morning cartoons, what classic humour! This is what 6002entertainment is all about ... Idiots, explosives and falling anvils. 6003 -- Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson 6004% 6005"I love to eat them Smurfies 6006 Smurfies what I love to eat 6007 Bite they ugly heads off, 6008 Nibble on they bluish feet." 6009% 6010I may appear to be just sitting here like a bucket of tapioca, but 6011don't let appearances fool you. I'm approaching old age ... at the 6012speed of light. 6013 -- Prof. Cosmo Fishhawk 6014% 6015I may not be totally perfect, but parts of me are excellent. 6016 -- Ashleigh Brilliant 6017% 6018I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a 6019week sometimes to make it up. 6020 -- Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad" 6021% 6022I must have slipped a disk -- my pack hurts! 6023% 6024I never fail to convince an audience that the best thing they could do 6025was to go away. 6026% 6027I never met a piece of chocolate I didn't like. 6028% 6029I often quote myself; it adds spice to my conversation. 6030 -- G. B. Shaw 6031% 6032I only touch base with reality on an as-needed basis! 6033 -- Royal Floyd Mengot (Klaus) 6034% 6035I played lead guitar in a band called The Federal Duck, which is the 6036kind of name that was popular in the '60s as a result of controlled 6037substances being in widespread use. Back then, there were no 6038restrictions, in terms of talent, on who could make an album, so we 6039made one, and it sounds like a group of people who have been given 6040powerful but unfamiliar instruments as a therapy for a degenerative 6041nerve disease. 6042 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 6043% 6044I predict that today will be remembered until tomorrow! 6045% 6046I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob. 6047 -- William F. Buckley 6048% 6049 "I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of 6050that is -- `Be what you would seem to be' -- or, if you'd like it put 6051more simply -- `Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it 6052might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not 6053otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be 6054otherwise.'" 6055 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 6056% 6057I realize that the MX missile is none of our concern. I realize that 6058the whole point of living in a democracy is that we pay professional 6059congresspersons to concern themselves with things like the MX missile 6060so we can be free to concern ourselves with getting hold of the 6061plumber. 6062 6063But from time to time, I feel I must address major public issues such 6064as this, because in a free and open society, where the very future of 6065the world hinges on decisions made by our elected leaders, you never 6066win large cash journalism awards if you stick to the topics I usually 6067write about, such as nose-picking. 6068 -- Dave Barry, "At Last, the Ultimate Deterrent Against 6069 Political Fallout" 6070% 6071I really hate this damned machine 6072I wish that they would sell it. 6073It never does quite what I want 6074But only what I tell it. 6075% 6076I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person. 6077% 6078I see a good deal of talk from Washington about lowering taxes. I hope 6079they do get 'em lowered enough so people can afford to pay 'em. 6080 -- Will Rogers 6081% 6082I see the eigenvalue in thine eye, 6083I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh. 6084Bernoulli would have been content to die 6085Had he but known such _a-squared cos 2(phi)! 6086 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6087% 6088I sent a letter to the fish, 6089I told them, "This is what I wish." 6090The little fishes of the sea, 6091They sent an answer back to me. 6092The little fishes' answer was 6093"We cannot do it, sir, because ..." 6094I sent a letter back to say 6095It would be better to obey. 6096But someone came to me and said 6097"The little fishes are in bed." 6098I said to him, and I said it plain 6099"Then you must wake them up again." 6100I said it very loud and clear, 6101I went and shouted in his ear. 6102But he was very stiff and proud, 6103He said "You needn't shout so loud." 6104And he was very proud and stiff, 6105He said "I'll go and wake them if ..." 6106I took a kettle from the shelf, 6107I went to wake them up myself. 6108But when I found the door was locked 6109I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked, 6110And when I found the door was shut, 6111I tried to turn the handle, But ... 6112 6113 "Is that all?" asked Alice. 6114 "That is all." said Humpty Dumpty. "Goodbye." 6115 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 6116% 6117I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck. 6118 -- Graffito in Los Angeles 6119% 6120"... I should explain that I was wearing a black velvet cape that was 6121supposed to make me look like the dashing, romantic Zorro but which 6122actually made me look like a gigantic bat wearing glasses ..." 6123 -- Dave Barry, "The Wet Zorro Suit and Other Turning 6124 Points in l'Amour" 6125% 6126"I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full 6127house and four people died." 6128 -- Steven Wright 6129% 6130I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to 6131see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. 6132 -- Shirley Temple 6133% 6134I suggest you locate your hot tub outside your house, so it won't do 6135too much damage if it catches fire or explodes. First you decide which 6136direction your hot tub should face for maximum solar energy. After 6137much trial and error, I have found that the best direction for a hot 6138tub to face is up. 6139 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 6140% 6141I think it is true for all _n. I was just playing it safe with _n >= 3 6142because I couldn't remember the proof. 6143 -- Baker, Pure Math 351a 6144% 6145I think sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it. 6146% 6147I think that all good, right thinking people in this country are sick 6148and tired of being told that all good, right thinking people in this 6149country are fed up with being told that all good, right thinking people 6150in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I'm certainly 6151not, and I'm sick and tired of being told that I am. 6152 -- Monty Python 6153% 6154I think that I shall never see 6155A billboard lovely as a tree. 6156Perhaps, unless the billboards fall 6157I'll never see a tree at all. 6158 -- Ogden Nash 6159% 6160I think that I shall never see 6161A thing as lovely as a tree. 6162But as you see the trees have gone 6163They went this morning with the dawn. 6164A logging firm from out of town 6165Came and chopped the trees all down. 6166But I will trick those dirty skunks 6167And write a brand new poem called "Trunks". 6168% 6169I think the sky is blue because it's a shift from black through purple 6170to blue, and it has to do with where the light is. You know, the 6171farther we get into darkness, and there's a shifting of color of light 6172into the blueness, and I think as you go farther and farther away from 6173the reflected light we have from the sun or the light that's bouncing 6174off this earth, uh, the darker it gets ... I think if you look at the 6175color scale, you start at black, move it through purple, move it on 6176out, it's the shifting of color. We mentioned before about the stars 6177singing, and that's one of the effects of the shifting of colors. 6178 -- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club 6179% 6180I think we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown 6181... HEY! PAY ATTENTION WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU DAMMIT! I said I think 6182we can all agree that there is not enough common courtesy shown today. 6183When we take the time to be courteous to each other, we find that we 6184are happier and less likely to engage in nuclear war. This point was 6185driven home by the recent summit talks, where Nancy Reagan and Raisa 6186Gorbachev, each of whose husband thinks the other's husband is vermin, 6187were able to sit down at a high-level tea and engage in courteous 6188conversation ... 6189 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 6190% 6191"I thought you were trying to get into shape." 6192"I am. The shape I've selected is a triangle." 6193% 6194" ... I told my doctor I got all the exercise I needed being a 6195pallbearer for all my friends who run and do exercises!" 6196 -- Winston Churchill 6197% 6198I took a course in speed reading and was able to read War and Peace in 6199twenty minutes. It's about Russia. 6200 -- Woody Allen 6201% 6202I used to be an agnostic, but now I'm not so sure. 6203% 6204I used to get high on life but lately I've built up a resistance. 6205% 6206I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure. 6207% 6208I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my 6209body. Then I realized who was telling me this. 6210 -- Emo Phillips 6211% 6212I used to work in a fire hydrant factory. You couldn't park anywhere 6213near the place. 6214 -- Steven Wright 6215% 6216I value kindness to human beings first of all, and kindness to 6217animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for 6218anything connected with society except that which makes the roads 6219safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper, and old men and women 6220warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer. 6221 -- Brendan Behan 6222% 6223"I want to buy a husband who, every week when I sit down to watch `St. 6224Elsewhere', won't scream, `FORGET IT, BLANCHE ... IT'S TIME FOR "HEE 6225HAW"!!'" 6226 -- Berke Breathed, "Bloom County" 6227% 6228I was born because it was a habit in those days, people didn't know 6229anything else ... I was not a Child Prodigy, because a Child Prodigy is 6230a child who knows as much when it is a child as it does when it grows 6231up. 6232 -- Will Rogers 6233% 6234I was drunk last night, crawled home across the lawn. By accident I 6235put the car key in the door lock. The house started up. So I figured 6236what the hell, and drove it around the block a few times. I thought I 6237should go park it in the middle of the freeway and yell at everyone to 6238get off my driveway. 6239 -- Steven Wright 6240% 6241I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I 6242didn't know. 6243 -- Mark Twain 6244% 6245I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending 6246their lives doing things they detest to make money they don't want to 6247buy things they don't need to impress people they dislike. 6248 -- Emile Henry Gauvreay 6249% 6250I was playing poker the other night ... with Tarot cards. I got a full 6251house and four people died. 6252 -- Steven Wright 6253% 6254I went into a general store, and they wouldn't sell me anything 6255specific. 6256 -- Steven Wright 6257% 6258I went on to test the program in every way I could devise. I strained 6259it to expose its weaknesses. I ran it for high-mass stars and low-mass 6260stars, for stars born exceedingly hot and those born relatively cold. 6261I ran it assuming the superfluid currents beneath the crust to be 6262absent -- not because I wanted to know the answer, but because I had 6263developed an intuitive feel for the answer in this particular case. 6264Finally I got a run in which the computer showed the pulsar's 6265temperature to be less than absolute zero. I had found an error. I 6266chased down the error and fixed it. Now I had improved the program to 6267the point where it would not run at all. 6268 -- George Greenstein, "Frozen Star: Of Pulsars, Black 6269 Holes and the Fate of Stars" 6270% 6271I went to a job interview the other day, the guy asked me if I had any 6272questions, I said yes, just one, if you're in a car traveling at the 6273speed of light and you turn your headlights on, does anything happen? 6274 6275He said he couldn't answer that, I told him sorry, but I couldn't work 6276for him then. 6277 -- Steven Wright 6278% 6279I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in 6280the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't 6281included. 6282 -- Steven Wright 6283% 6284"I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the 6285statues that are in all the other museums." 6286 -- Steven Wright 6287% 6288I went to the race track once and bet on a horse that was so good that 6289it took seven others to beat him! 6290% 6291I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. 6292There's a knob called `brightness', but it doesn't seem to work. 6293 -- Gallagher 6294% 6295I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've 6296always worked for me. 6297 -- Hunter S. Thompson 6298% 6299I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. 6300% 6301"I'd love to go out with you, but I did my own thing and now I've got 6302to undo it." 6303% 6304"I'd love to go out with you, but I have to floss my cat." 6305% 6306"I'd love to go out with you, but I have to stay home and see if I 6307snore." 6308% 6309"I'd love to go out with you, but I never go out on days that end in 6310`Y.'" 6311% 6312"I'd love to go out with you, but I want to spend more time with my 6313blender." 6314% 6315"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm attending the opening of my 6316garage door." 6317% 6318"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm converting my calendar watch from 6319Julian to Gregorian." 6320% 6321"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm doing door-to-door collecting for 6322static cling." 6323% 6324"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm having all my plants neutered." 6325% 6326"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm staying home to work on my 6327cottage cheese sculpture." 6328% 6329"I'd love to go out with you, but I'm taking punk totem pole carving." 6330% 6331"I'd love to go out with you, but I've been scheduled for a karma 6332transplant." 6333% 6334"I'd love to go out with you, but it's my parakeet's bowling night." 6335% 6336"I'd love to go out with you, but my favorite commercial is on TV." 6337% 6338"I'd love to go out with you, but the last time I went out, I never 6339came back." 6340% 6341"I'd love to go out with you, but the man on television told me to say 6342tuned." 6343% 6344"I'd love to go out with you, but there are important world issues that 6345need worrying about." 6346% 6347I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. 6348% 6349I'll carry your books, I'll carry a tune, I'll carry on, carry over, 6350carry forward, Cary Grant, cash & carry, Carry Me Back To Old Virginia, 6351I'll even Hara Kari if you show me how, but I will *not* carry a gun. 6352 -- Hawkeye, M*A*S*H 6353% 6354I'll defend to the death your right to say that, but I never said I'd 6355listen to it! 6356 -- Tom Galloway with apologies to Voltaire 6357% 6358I'll grant thee random access to my heart, 6359Thou'lt tell me all the constants of thy love; 6360And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove 6361And in our bound partition never part. 6362 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 6363% 6364I'll rob that rich person and give it to some poor deserving slob. 6365That will *prove* I'm Robin Hood. 6366 -- Daffy Duck, "Robin Hood Daffy", [1958, Chuck Jones] 6367% 6368I'm a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved from man. 6369% 6370I'm a Lisp variable -- bind me! 6371% 6372I'm all for computer dating, but I wouldn't want one to marry my 6373sister. 6374% 6375I'm changing my name to Chrysler 6376I'm going down to Washington, D.C. 6377I'll tell some power broker 6378 What they did for Iacocca 6379Will be perfectly acceptable to me! 6380I'm changing my name to Chrysler, 6381I'm heading for that great receiving line. 6382When they hand a million grand out, 6383 I'll be standing with my hand out, 6384Yessir, I'll get mine! 6385 -- Tom Paxton 6386% 6387I'm defending her honor, which is more than she ever did. 6388% 6389I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to 6390die in. 6391 -- George McGovern 6392% 6393I'm going to Boston to see my doctor. He's a very sick man. 6394 -- Fred Allen 6395% 6396I'm going to live forever, or die trying! 6397 -- Spider Robinson 6398% 6399... I'm IMAGINING a sensuous GIRAFFE, CAVORTING in the BACK ROOM of a 6400KOSHER DELI!! 6401% 6402"I'm in Pittsburgh. Why am I here?" 6403 -- Harold Urey, Nobel Laureate 6404% 6405i'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be 6406living apart. 6407 -- e. e. cummings 6408% 6409I'm N-ary the tree, I am, 6410N-ary the tree, I am, I am. 6411I'm getting traversed by the parser next door, 6412She's traversed me seven times before. 6413And ev'ry time it was an N-ary (N-ary!) 6414Never wouldn't ever do a binary. (No sir!) 6415I'm 'er eighth tree that was N-ary. 6416N-ary the tree I am, I am, 6417N-ary the tree I am. 6418 -- Stolen from Paul Revere and the Raiders 6419% 6420I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. 6421It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get. 6422% 6423I'm prepared for all emergencies but 6424totally unprepared for everyday life. 6425% 6426I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is 6427-- I could be just as proud for half the money. 6428 -- Arthur Godfrey 6429% 6430I'm rated PG-34!! 6431% 6432"I'm really enjoying not talking to you ... 6433Let's not talk again ____REAL soon ..." 6434% 6435I'm returning this note to you, instead of your paper, because it 6436(your paper) presently occupies the bottom of my bird cage. 6437 -- English Professor, Providence College 6438% 6439I'm very good at integral and differential calculus, 6440I know the scientific names of beings animalculous; 6441In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral, 6442I am the very model of a modern Major-General. 6443 -- Gilbert & Sullivan, "Pirates of Penzance" 6444% 6445"I'm willing to sacrifice anything for this cause, even other people's 6446lives" 6447% 6448I've built a better model than the one at Data General 6449For data bases vegetable, animal, and mineral 6450My OS handles CPUs with multiplexed duality; 6451My PL/1 compiler shows impressive functionality. 6452My storage system's better than magnetic core polarity, 6453You never have to bother checking out a bit for parity; 6454There isn't any reason to install non-static floor matting; 6455My disk drive has capacity for variable formatting. 6456 6457I feel compelled to mention what I know to be a gloating point: 6458There's lots of room in memory for variables floating-point, 6459Which shows for input vegetable, animal, and mineral 6460I've built a better model than the one at Data General. 6461 6462 -- Steve Levine, "A Computer Song" (To the tune of 6463 "Modern Major General", from "Pirates of Penzance", 6464 by Gilbert & Sullivan) 6465% 6466I've enjoyed just about as much of this as I can stand. 6467% 6468I've found my niche. If you're wondering why I'm not there, there was 6469this little hole in the bottom ... 6470 -- John Croll 6471% 6472I've given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself. 6473% 6474I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. 6475 -- Groucho Marx 6476% 6477I've known him as a man, as an adolescent and as a child -- sometimes 6478on the same day. 6479% 6480I've seen better heads on half a pint of beer. 6481% 6482I've seen, I SAY, I've seen better heads on a mug of beer 6483 -- Senator Claghorn 6484% 6485I've touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; 6486And from that full meridian of my glory 6487I haste now to my setting. I shall fall, 6488Like a bright exhalation in the evening 6489And no man see me more. 6490 -- Shakespeare 6491% 6492IBM had a PL/I, 6493 Its syntax worse than JOSS; 6494And everywhere this language went, 6495 It was a total loss. 6496% 6497Idaho state law makes it illegal for a man to give his sweetheart a box 6498of candy weighing less than fifty pounds. 6499% 6500Ideas don't stay in some minds very long because they don't like 6501solitary confinement. 6502% 6503Idiot Box, n.: 6504 The part of the envelope that tells a person where to place the 6505 stamp when they can't quite figure it out for themselves. 6506 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 6507% 6508Idiot, n.: 6509 A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human 6510 affairs has always been dominant and controlling. 6511 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 6512% 6513If a 6600 used paper tape instead of core memory, it would use up tape 6514at about 30 miles/second. 6515 -- Grishman, Assembly Language Programming 6516% 6517If A = B and B = C, then A = C, except where void or prohibited by law. 6518 -- Roy Santoro 6519% 6520If a camel flies, no one laughs if it doesn't get very far. 6521 -- Paul White 6522% 6523If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, then a consensus 6524forecast is a camel's behind. 6525 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 6526% 6527If A equals success, then the formula is _A = _X + _Y + _Z. _X is work. _Y 6528is play. _Z is keep your mouth shut. 6529 -- Albert Einstein 6530% 6531If a group of _N persons implements a COBOL compiler, there will be _N-1 6532passes. Someone in the group has to be the manager. 6533 -- T. Cheatham 6534% 6535If a jury in a criminal trial stays out for more than twenty-four 6536hours, it is certain to vote acquittal, save in those instances where 6537it votes guilty. 6538 -- Joseph C. Goulden 6539% 6540If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake 6541him up. 6542% 6543If a President doesn't do it to his wife, he'll do it to his country. 6544% 6545If a putt passes over the hole without dropping, it is deemed to have 6546dropped. The law of gravity holds that any object attempting to 6547maintain a position in the atmosphere without something to support it 6548must drop. The law of gravity supersedes the law of golf. 6549 -- Donald A. Metz 6550% 6551If a team is in a positive frame of mind, it will have a good 6552attitude. If it has a good attitude, it will make a commitment to 6553playing the game right. If it plays the game right, it will win -- 6554unless, of course, it doesn't have enough talent to win, and no manager 6555can make goose-liver pate out of goose feathers, so why worry? 6556 -- Sparky Anderson 6557% 6558If all be true that I do think, 6559There be Five Reasons why one should Drink; 6560Good friends, good wine, or being dry, 6561Or lest we should be by-and-by, 6562Or any other reason why. 6563% 6564If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular 6565error. 6566 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 6567% 6568If all the Chinese simultaneously jumped into the Pacific off a 10 foot 6569platform erected 10 feet off their coast, it would cause a tidal wave 6570that would destroy everything in this country west of Nebraska. 6571% 6572If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door. 6573 -- Paul Beatty 6574% 6575If all the world's economists were laid end to end, we wouldn't reach a 6576conclusion. 6577 -- William Baumol 6578% 6579If an S and an I and an O and a U 6580With an X at the end spell Su; 6581And an E and a Y and an E spell I, 6582Pray what is a speller to do? 6583Then, if also an S and an I and a G 6584And an HED spell side, 6585There's nothing much left for a speller to do 6586But to go commit siouxeyesighed. 6587 -- Charles Follen Adams, "An Orthographic Lament" 6588% 6589If anything can go wrong, it will. 6590% 6591If at first you don't succeed, give up. No use being a damn fool. 6592% 6593If at first you don't succeed, redefine success. 6594% 6595If bankers can count, how come they have eight windows and only four 6596tellers? 6597% 6598If dolphins are so smart, why did Flipper work for television? 6599% 6600If entropy is increasing, where is it coming from? 6601% 6602If everybody minded their own business, the world would go 6603around a deal faster. 6604 -- The Duchess, "Through the Looking Glass" 6605% 6606If everything is coming your way then you're in the wrong lane. 6607% 6608... If forced to travel on an airplane, try and get in the cabin with 6609the Captain, so you can keep an eye on him and nudge him if he falls 6610asleep or point out any mountains looming up ahead ... 6611 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6612% 6613If God didn't mean for us to juggle, tennis balls wouldn't come three 6614to a can. 6615% 6616If God had intended Man to Smoke, He would have set him on Fire. 6617% 6618If God had intended Man to Walk, He would have given him Feet. 6619% 6620If God had intended Man to Watch TV, He would have given him Rabbit 6621Ears. 6622% 6623If God had intended Men to Smoke, He would have put Chimneys in their Heads. 6624% 6625If God had meant for us to be in the Army, we would have been born with 6626green, baggy skin. 6627% 6628If God had meant for us to be naked, we would have been born that way. 6629% 6630If God had not given us sticky tape, 6631it would have been necessary to invent it. 6632% 6633If God had wanted you to go around nude, He would have given you bigger 6634hands. 6635% 6636If God is dead, who will save the Queen? 6637% 6638If God is perfect, why did He create discontinuous functions? 6639% 6640If God lived on Earth, people would knock out all His windows. 6641 -- Yiddish saying 6642% 6643If God wanted us to be brave, why did he give us legs? 6644 -- Marvin Kitman 6645% 6646"If I am elected, the concrete barriers around the WHITE HOUSE will be 6647replaced by tasteful foam replicas of ANN MARGARET!" 6648% 6649If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive! 6650 -- Samuel Goldwyn 6651% 6652If I don't drive around the park, 6653I'm pretty sure to make my mark. 6654If I'm in bed each night by ten, 6655I may get back my looks again. 6656If I abstain from fun and such, 6657I'll probably amount to much; 6658But I shall stay the way I am, 6659Because I do not give a damn. 6660 -- Dorothy Parker 6661% 6662If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the pasture. 6663% 6664If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, 6665I'd sell the plantation and go home. 6666 -- Eugene P. Gallagher 6667% 6668If I had any humility I would be perfect. 6669 -- Ted Turner 6670% 6671If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. 6672 -- Albert Einstein 6673% 6674If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the 6675shoulders of giants. 6676 -- Isaac Newton 6677 6678In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side 6679with the giants on whose shoulders we stand. 6680 -- Gerald Holton 6681 6682If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing 6683on my shoulders. 6684 -- Hal Abelson 6685 6686In computer science, we stand on each other's feet. 6687 -- Brian K. Reid 6688% 6689If I kiss you, that is a psychological interaction. 6690 6691On the other hand, if I hit you over the head with a brick, that is 6692also a psychological interaction. 6693 6694The difference is that one is friendly and the other is not so 6695friendly. 6696 6697The crucial point is if you can tell which is which. 6698 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 6699% 6700If I traveled to the end of the rainbow 6701As Dame Fortune did intend, 6702Murphy would be there to tell me 6703The pot's at the other end. 6704 -- Bert Whitney 6705% 6706If ignorance is bliss, why aren't there more happy people? 6707% 6708If it's Tuesday, this must be someone else's fortune. 6709% 6710If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. 6711They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun 6712of it. 6713 -- Thomas Carlyle 6714% 6715"If just one piece of mail gets lost, well, they'll just think they 6716forgot to send it. But if *two* pieces of mail get lost, hell, they'll 6717just think the other guy hasn't gotten around to answering his mail. 6718And if *fifty* pieces of mail get lost, can you imagine it, if *fifty* 6719pieces of mail get lost, why they'll think someone *else* is broken! 6720And if 1Gb of mail gets lost, they'll just *know* that Arpa is down and 6721think it's a conspiracy to keep them from their God given right to 6722receive Net Mail ..." 6723 -- Leith (Casey) Leedom 6724% 6725If life is a stage, I want some better lighting. 6726% 6727If little else, the brain is an educational toy. 6728 -- Tom Robbins 6729% 6730If little green men land in your back yard, hide any little green women 6731you've got in the house. 6732 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 6733% 6734If mathematically you end up with the wrong answer, try multiplying by 6735the page number. 6736% 6737If money can't buy happiness, I guess you'll just have to rent it. 6738% 6739If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think 6740little of robbing; and from robbing he next comes to drinking and 6741Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination. 6742 -- Thomas De Quincey (1785 - 1859) 6743% 6744If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants. 6745 -- A. Einstein. 6746% 6747If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit 6748in my name at a Swiss bank. 6749 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 6750% 6751If only I could be respected without having to be respectable. 6752% 6753If only one could get that wonderful feeling of accomplishment without 6754having to accomplish anything. 6755% 6756If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, 6757he should see how bad it is with representation. 6758% 6759If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of 6760arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the 6761physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker 6762entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. 6763 -- Vannevar Bush 6764% 6765If someone had told me I would be Pope one day, I would have studied 6766harder. 6767 -- Pope John Paul I 6768% 6769If that makes any sense to you, you have a big problem. 6770 -- C. Durance, Computer Science 234 6771% 6772If the aborigine drafted an IQ test, all of Western civilization would 6773presumably flunk it. 6774 -- Stanley Garn 6775% 6776If the code and the comments disagree, then both are probably wrong. 6777 -- Norm Schryer 6778% 6779If the colleges were better, if they really had it, you would need to 6780get the police at the gates to keep order in the inrushing multitude. 6781See in college how we thwart the natural love of learning by leaving 6782the natural method of teaching what each wishes to learn, and insisting 6783that you shall learn what you have no taste or capacity for. The 6784college, which should be a place of delightful labor, is made odious 6785and unhealthy, and the young men are tempted to frivolous amusements to 6786rally their jaded spirits. I would have the studies elective. 6787Scholarship is to be created not by compulsion, but by awakening a pure 6788interest in knowledge. The wise instructor accomplishes this by 6789opening to his pupils precisely the attractions the study has for 6790himself. The marking is a system for schools, not for the college; for 6791boys, not for men; and it is an ungracious work to put on a professor. 6792 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 6793% 6794If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me! 6795 -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa 1920) 6796% 6797If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances 6798are 50-50 it will. 6799% 6800If the weather is extremely bad, church attendance will be down. 6801If the weather is extremely good, church attendance will be down. 6802If the bulletin covers are in short supply, however, church attendance 6803will exceed all expectations. 6804 -- Reverend Chichester 6805% 6806If there are epigrams, there must be meta-epigrams. 6807% 6808If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that 6809will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. 6810% 6811If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex? 6812 -- Art Hoppe 6813% 6814If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make 6815something out of you. 6816 -- Muhammad Ali 6817% 6818If this fortune didn't exist, somebody would have invented it. 6819% 6820If this is timesharing, give me my share right now. 6821% 6822If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? 6823% 6824If today is the first day of the rest of your life, what the hell was 6825yesterday? 6826% 6827If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is 6828doing the thinking. 6829 -- Lyndon Baines Johnson 6830% 6831If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. 6832 -- Laurence J. Peter 6833% 6834If value corrupts then absolute value corrupts absolutely. 6835% 6836If we were meant to fly, we wouldn't keep losing our luggage. 6837% 6838If while you are in school, there is a shortage of qualified personnel 6839in a particular field, then by the time you graduate with the necessary 6840qualifications, that field's employment market is glutted. 6841 -- Marguerite Emmons 6842% 6843If you are a fatalist, what can you do about it? 6844 -- Ann Edwards-Duff 6845% 6846If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. 6847 -- J. Paul Getty 6848% 6849If you can lead it to water and force it to drink, it isn't a horse. 6850% 6851If you can read this, you're too close. 6852% 6853If you can survive death, you can probably survive anything. 6854% 6855If you can't be good, be careful. 6856If you can't be careful, give me a call. 6857% 6858If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly. 6859% 6860If you cannot convince them, confuse them. 6861 -- Harry S Truman 6862% 6863If you didn't get caught, did you really do it? 6864% 6865If you don't care where you are, then you ain't lost. 6866% 6867If you don't go to other men's funerals they won't go to yours. 6868 -- Clarence Day 6869% 6870If you don't have a nasty obituary you probably didn't matter. 6871 -- Freeman Dyson 6872% 6873"If you don't want your dog to have bad breath, do what I do: Pour a little 6874Lavoris in the toilet." 6875 -- Jay Leno 6876% 6877If you eat a live frog in the morning, nothing worse will happen to 6878either of you for the rest of the day. 6879% 6880If you ever want to get anywhere in politics, my boy, you're going to 6881have to get a toehold in the public eye. 6882% 6883If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody 6884will. 6885% 6886If you give Congress a chance to vote on both sides of an issue, 6887it will always do it. 6888 -- Les Aspin, D., Wisconsin 6889% 6890If you go on with this nuclear arms race, 6891all you are going to do is make the rubble bounce. 6892 -- Winston Churchill 6893% 6894If you had any brains, you'd be dangerous. 6895% 6896If you have a procedure with 10 parameters, you probably missed some. 6897% 6898If you have to hate, hate gently. 6899% 6900If you just try long enough and hard enough, you can always manage to 6901boot yourself in the posterior. 6902 -- A. J. Liebling, "The Press" 6903% 6904If you keep anything long enough, you can throw it away. 6905% 6906If you live in a country run by committee, be on the committee. 6907 -- Graham Summer 6908% 6909If you live to the age of a hundred you have it made because very few 6910people die past the age of a hundred. 6911 -- George Burns 6912% 6913If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; 6914but if you really make them think they'll hate you. 6915% 6916If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. 6917 -- Maslow 6918% 6919If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure 6920can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly 6921develop. 6922% 6923If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite 6924you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man. 6925 -- Mark Twain 6926% 6927If you push the "extra ice" button on the soft drink vending machine, 6928you won't get any ice. If you push the "no ice" button, you'll get 6929ice, but no cup. 6930% 6931If you put garbage in a computer nothing comes out but garbage. But 6932this garbage, having passed through a very expensive machine, is 6933somehow ennobled and none dare criticize it. 6934% 6935If you sit down at a poker game and don't see a sucker, get up. You're 6936the sucker. 6937% 6938If you stand on your head, you will get footprints in your hair. 6939% 6940If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker, 6941It is slick to stick a lock upon your stock. 6942 Or some joker who is slicker, 6943 Will trick you of your liquor, 6944If you fail to lock your liquor with a lock. 6945% 6946If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. 6947 -- Derek Bok, president of Harvard 6948% 6949If you think last Tuesday was a drag, 6950wait till you see what happens tomorrow! 6951% 6952If you think nobody cares if you're alive, 6953try missing a couple of car payments. 6954 -- Earl Wilson 6955% 6956If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it. 6957 -- Arthur Kasspe 6958% 6959If you think the United States has stood still, who built the largest 6960shopping center in the world? 6961 -- Richard M. Nixon 6962% 6963If you throw a New Year's Party, the worst thing that you can do would 6964be to throw the kind of party where your guests wake up today, and call 6965you to say they had a nice time. Now you'll be be expected to throw 6966another party next year. 6967 6968What you should do is throw the kind of party where your guest wake up 6969several days from now and call their lawyers to find out if they've 6970been indicted for anything. You want your guests to be so anxious to 6971avoid a recurrence of your party that they immediately start planning 6972parties of their own, a year in advance, just to prevent you from 6973having another one ... 6974 6975If your party is successful, the police will knock on your door, unless 6976your party is very successful in which case they will lob tear gas 6977through your living room window. As host, your job is to make sure 6978that they don't arrest anybody. Or if they're dead set on arresting 6979someone, your job is to make sure it isn't you ... 6980 -- Dave Barry 6981% 6982If you took all the students that felt asleep in class and laid them 6983end to end, they'd be a lot more comfortable. 6984 -- "Graffiti in the Big Ten" 6985% 6986If you understand what you're doing, you're not learning anything. 6987 -- A. L. 6988% 6989If you want divine justice, die. 6990 -- Nick Seldon 6991% 6992If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people 6993he gave it to. 6994 -- Dorothy Parker 6995% 6996If you want to understand your government, don't begin by reading the 6997Constitution. It conveys precious little of the flavor of today's 6998statecraft. Instead, read selected portions of the Washington 6999telephone directory containing listings for all the organizations with 7000titles beginning with the word "National". 7001 -- George Will 7002% 7003If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every 7004word you say, talk in your sleep. 7005% 7006"If you wants to get elected president, you'se got to think up some 7007memoraboble homily so's school kids can be pestered into memorizin' it, 7008even if they don't know what it means." 7009 -- Walt Kelly, "The Pogo Party" 7010% 7011If you wish to live wisely, ignore sayings -- including this one. 7012% 7013If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for 7014tomorrow morning, sleep late. 7015 -- Henny Youngman 7016% 7017If you're happy, you're successful. 7018% 7019 If you're like most homeowners, you're afraid that many repairs 7020around your home are too difficult to tackle. So, when your furnace 7021explodes, you call in a so-called professional to fix it. The 7022"professional" arrives in a truck with lettering on the sides and 7023deposits a large quantity of tools and two assistants who spend the 7024better part of the week in your basement whacking objects at random 7025with heavy wrenches, after which the "professional" returns and gives 7026you a bill for slightly more money than it would cost you to run a 7027successful campaign for the U.S. Senate. 7028 And that's why you've decided to start doing things yourself. 7029You figure, "If those guys can fix my furnace, then so can I. How 7030difficult can it be?" 7031 Very difficult. In fact, most home projects are impossible, 7032which is why you should do them yourself. There is no point in paying 7033other people to screw things up when you can easily screw them up 7034yourself for far less money. This article can help you. 7035 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 7036% 7037If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. 7038% 7039If you're not very clever you should be conciliatory. 7040 -- Benjamin Disraeli 7041% 7042If you're right 90% of the time, why quibble about the remaining 3%? 7043% 7044If you've done six impossible things before breakfast, why not round it 7045off with dinner at Milliway's, the restaurant at the end of the universe? 7046% 7047If you've seen one redwood, you've seen them all. 7048 -- Ronald Reagan 7049% 7050Ignisecond, n.: 7051 The overlapping moment of time when the hand is locking the car 7052 door even as the brain is saying, "my keys are in there!" 7053 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 7054% 7055Il brilgue: les t^oves libricilleux 7056 Se gyrent et frillant dans le guave, 7057Enm^im'es sont les gougebosquex, 7058 Et le m^omerade horgrave. 7059 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 7060% 7061Iles's Law: 7062 There is always an easier way to do it. When looking directly 7063at the easy way, especially for long periods, you will not see it. 7064Neither will Iles. 7065% 7066Illinois isn't exactly the land that God forgot -- it's more like the 7067land He's trying to ignore. 7068% 7069Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality. 7070 -- Jules de Gaultier 7071% 7072"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the 7073usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody 7074thinks of complaining." 7075 -- Jeff Raskin, interviewed in Doctor Dobb's Journal 7076% 7077Imagine that Cray computer decides to make a personal computer. It has 7078a 150 MHz processor, 200 megabytes of RAM, 1500 megabytes of disk 7079storage, a screen resolution of 4096 x 4096 pixels, relies entirely on 7080voice recognition for input, fits in your shirt pocket and costs $300. 7081What's the first question that the computer community asks? 7082 7083"Is it PC compatible?" 7084% 7085Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery. 7086 -- Jack Paar 7087% 7088Immortality -- a fate worse than death. 7089 -- Edgar A. Shoaff 7090% 7091Impartial, adj.: 7092 Unable to perceive any promise of personal advantage from 7093 espousing either side of a controversy or adopting either of two 7094 conflicting opinions. 7095 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7096% 7097Important letters which contain no errors will develop errors in the 7098mail. Corresponding errors will show up in the duplicate while the 7099Boss is reading it. 7100% 7101Impossible, adj.: 7102 (1) I wouldn't like it and when it happens I won't approve; 7103 (2) I can't be bothered; 7104 (3) God can't be bothered. 7105 Meaning (3) may perhaps be valid but the others are 101% whaledreck. 7106 -- Chad C. Mulligan, "The Hipcrime Vocab" 7107% 7108In 1750 Isaac Newton became discouraged when he fell up a flight of 7109stairs. 7110% 7111In 1869 the waffle iron was invented for people who had wrinkled 7112waffles. 7113% 7114In 1880 the French captured Detroit but gave it back ... they couldn't 7115get parts. 7116% 7117In 1914, the first crossword puzzle was printed in a newspaper. The 7118creator received $4000 down ... and $3000 across. 7119% 7120In 1915 pancake make-up was invented but most people still preferred 7121syrup. 7122% 7123In a five year period we can get one superb programming language. Only 7124we can't control when the five year period will begin. 7125% 7126 In a forest a fox bumps into a little rabbit, and says, "Hi, 7127junior, what are you up to?" 7128 "I'm writing a dissertation on how rabbits eat foxes," said the 7129rabbit. 7130 "Come now, friend rabbit, you know that's impossible!" 7131 "Well, follow me and I'll show you." They both go into the 7132rabbit's dwelling and after a while the rabbit emerges with a satisfied 7133expression on his face. 7134 Comes along a wolf. "Hello, what are we doing these days?" 7135 "I'm writing the second chapter of my thesis, on how rabbits 7136devour wolves." 7137 "Are you crazy? Where is your academic honesty?" 7138 "Come with me and I'll show you." As before, the rabbit comes 7139out with a satisfied look on his face and a diploma in his paw. 7140Finally, the camera pans into the rabbit's cave and, as everybody 7141should have guessed by now, we see a mean-looking, huge lion sitting 7142next to some bloody and furry remnants of the wolf and the fox. 7143 7144The moral: It's not the contents of your thesis that are important -- 7145it's your PhD advisor that really counts. 7146% 7147In a medium in which a News Piece takes a minute and an "In-Depth" 7148Piece takes two minutes, the Simple will drive out the Complex. 7149 -- Frank Mankiewicz 7150% 7151In a museum in Havana, there are two skulls of Christopher Columbus, 7152"one when he was a boy and one when he was a man." 7153 -- Mark Twain 7154% 7155In Africa some of the native tribes have a custom of beating the ground 7156with clubs and uttering spine chilling cries. Anthropologists call 7157this a form of primitive self-expression. In America we call it golf. 7158% 7159In America today ... we have Woody Allen, whose humor has become so 7160sophisticated that nobody gets it any more except Mia Farrow. All 7161those who think Mia Farrow should go back to making movies where the 7162devil gets her pregnant and Woody Allen should go back to dressing up 7163as a human sperm, please raise your hands. Thank you. 7164 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 7165% 7166In America, any boy may become president and I suppose that's just one 7167of the risks he takes. 7168 -- Adlai Stevenson 7169% 7170In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own 7171incompetency 7172 -- The Peter Principle 7173% 7174In any formula, constants (especially those obtained from handbooks) 7175are to be treated as variables. 7176% 7177In any world menu, Canada must be considered the vichyssoise of 7178nations -- it's cold, half-French, and difficult to stir. 7179 -- Stuart Keate 7180% 7181In Blythe, California, a city ordinance declares that a person must own 7182at least two cows before he can wear cowboy boots in public. 7183% 7184In Boston, it is illegal to hold frog-jumping contests in nightclubs. 7185% 7186In case of atomic attack, the federal ruling against prayer in schools 7187will be temporarily canceled. 7188% 7189In case of injury notify your superior immediately. He'll kiss it and 7190make it better. 7191% 7192In Columbia, Pennsylvania, it is against the law for a pilot to tickle 7193a female flying student under her chin with a feather duster in order 7194to get her attention. 7195% 7196In Corning, Iowa, it's a misdemeanor for a man to ask his wife to ride 7197in any motor vehicle. 7198% 7199In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable. 7200 -- Winston Churchill, on General Montgomery 7201% 7202In Denver it is unlawful to lend your vacuum cleaner to your next-door 7203neighbor. 7204% 7205In Devon, Connecticut, it is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset. 7206% 7207In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last 7208resort of the scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but 7209inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first. 7210 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7211% 7212In English, every word can be verbed. Would that it were so in our 7213programming languages. 7214% 7215In Greene, New York, it is illegal to eat peanuts and walk backwards on 7216the sidewalks when a concert is on. 7217% 7218In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come 7219into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish 7220between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which 7221will only make it mushy. 7222 -- Mark Twain 7223% 7224In Lexington, Kentucky, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your 7225pocket. 7226% 7227In Lowes Crossroads, Delaware, it is a violation of local law for any 7228pilot or passenger to carry an ice cream cone in their pocket while 7229either flying or waiting to board a plane. 7230% 7231In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless 7232there is a man either running or walking in front of it waving a red 7233flag to warn approaching motorists and pedestrians. 7234% 7235In Ohio, if you ignore an orator on Decoration day to such an extent as 7236to publicly play croquet or pitch horseshoes within one mile of the 7237speaker's stand, you can be fined $25.00. 7238% 7239In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the 7240universe. 7241 -- Carl Sagan, Cosmos 7242% 7243In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, 7244intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from 7245the cares of office. 7246 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7247% 7248In Pocataligo, Georgia, it is a violation for a woman over 200 pounds 7249and attired in shorts to pilot or ride in an airplane. 7250% 7251In Pocatello, Idaho, a law passed in 1912 provided that "The carrying 7252of concealed weapons is forbidden, unless same are exhibited to public 7253view." 7254% 7255In Riemann, Hilbert or in Banach space 7256Let superscripts and subscripts go their ways. 7257Our asymptotes no longer out of phase, 7258We shall encounter, counting, face to face. 7259 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 7260% 7261In Seattle, Washington, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon that 7262is over six feet in length. 7263% 7264In seeking the unattainable, simplicity only gets in the way. 7265 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 7266% 7267"In short, _N is Richardian if, and only if, _N is not Richardian." 7268% 7269In specifications, Murphy's Law supersedes Ohm's. 7270% 7271In Tennessee, it is illegal to shoot any game other than whales from a 7272moving automobile. 7273% 7274[In the 60's] there was madness in any direction, at any hour ... You 7275could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense 7276that whatever we were doing was `right', that we were winning ... 7277 7278And that, I think, was the handle -- the sense of inevitable victory 7279over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we 7280didn't need that. Our energy would simply `prevail'. There was no 7281point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; 7282we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave .... 7283 7284So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in 7285Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost 7286___see the high-water mark -- the place where the wave finally broke and 7287rolled back. 7288 -- Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 7289% 7290In the beginning was the word. 7291But by the time the second word was added to it, 7292there was trouble. 7293For with it came syntax ... 7294 -- John Simon 7295% 7296In the days when Sussman was a novice Minsky once came to him as he sat 7297hacking at the PDP-6. "What are you doing?", asked Minsky. "I am 7298training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe." "Why is the 7299net wired randomly?", asked Minsky. "I do not want it to have any 7300preconceptions of how to play." Minsky shut his eyes. "Why do you 7301close your eyes?", Sussman asked his teacher. "So the room will be 7302empty." At that moment, Sussman was enlightened. 7303% 7304In the force if Yoda's so strong, construct a sentence with words in 7305the proper order then why can't he? 7306% 7307In the land of the dark, the Ship of the Sun 7308is driven by the Grateful Dead. 7309 -- Egyptian Book of the Dead 7310% 7311In the long run, every program becomes rococo, and then rubble. 7312 -- Alan Perlis 7313% 7314In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or 7315a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole a loaf of bread and gave it 7316to you, you would only be tried for receiving, a crime punishable by 7317forty lashes with the cat or the dog, whichever was handy. If you 7318stole a dog and were caught, you were punished with twelve rabbit 7319punches, although it was hard to find rabbits big enough or strong 7320enough to punch you. 7321 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 7322% 7323In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Mississippi has 7324shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. Therefore ... in the 7325Old Silurian Period the Mississippi River was upward of one million 7326three hundred thousand miles long ... seven hundred and forty-two years 7327from now the Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long. 7328... There is something fascinating about science. One gets such 7329wholesome returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of 7330fact. 7331 -- Mark Twain 7332% 7333In the Top 40, half the songs are secret messages to the teen world to 7334drop out, turn on, and groove with the chemicals and light shows at 7335discotheques. 7336 -- Art Linkletter 7337% 7338In those days he was wiser than he is now -- he used to frequently take 7339my advice. 7340 -- Winston Churchill 7341% 7342In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is against the law to open a soda bottle without 7343the supervision of a licensed engineer. 7344% 7345In West Union, Ohio, no married man can go flying without his spouse 7346along at any time, unless he has been married for more than 12 months. 7347% 7348Incumbent, n.: 7349 Person of liveliest interest to the outcumbents. 7350 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7351% 7352... indifference is a militant thing ... when it goes away it leaves 7353smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayonetted through the throat. It is 7354not a children's pastime like mere highway robbery. 7355 -- Stephen Crane 7356% 7357Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares? 7358% 7359Individualists unite! 7360% 7361Infancy, n.: 7362 The period of our lives when, according to Wordsworth, "Heaven 7363 lies about us." The world begins lying about us pretty soon 7364 afterward. 7365 -- Ambrose Bierce 7366% 7367Information Center, n.: 7368 A room staffed by professional computer people whose job it is 7369 to tell you why you cannot have the information you require. 7370% 7371Ingrate, n.: 7372 A man who bites the hand that feeds him, and then complains of 7373 indigestion. 7374% 7375Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 7376 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. 7377% 7378Ink, n.: 7379 A villainous compound of tannogallate of iron, gum-arabic, and 7380 water, chiefly used to facilitate the infection of idiocy and 7381 promote intellectual crime. 7382 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7383 [alternately attributed to H. L. Mencken] 7384% 7385Innovation is hard to schedule. 7386 -- Dan Fylstra 7387% 7388Insanity is hereditary. You get it from your kids. 7389% 7390Insanity is the final defense. It's hard to get a refund when the 7391salesman is sniffing your crotch and baying at the moon. 7392% 7393Interpreter, n.: 7394 One who enables two persons of different languages to understand 7395 each other by repeating to each what it would have been to the 7396 interpreter's advantage for the other to have said. 7397 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7398% 7399Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure. 7400% 7401 INVENTORY 7402Four be the things I am wiser to know: 7403Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. 7404 7405Four be the things I'd been better without: 7406Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. 7407 7408Three be the things I shall never attain: 7409Envy, content, and sufficient champagne. 7410 7411Three be the things I shall have till I die: 7412Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye. 7413% 7414Iron Law of Distribution: 7415 Them that has, gets. 7416% 7417Irrationality is the square root of all evil. 7418 -- Douglas Hofstadter 7419% 7420Is it possible that software is not like anything else, that it is 7421meant to be discarded: that the whole point is to always see it as a 7422soap bubble? 7423% 7424Is not marriage an open question, when it is alleged, from the 7425beginning of the world, that such as are in the institution wish to get 7426out, and such as are out wish to get in? 7427 -- Ralph Emerson 7428% 7429Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! 7430% 7431Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction 7432listen to weather forecasts and economists? 7433 -- Kelvin Throop III 7434% 7435Isn't it strange that the same people that laugh at gypsy fortune 7436tellers take economists seriously? 7437% 7438Issawi's Laws of Progress: 7439 7440 The Course of Progress: 7441 Most things get steadily worse. 7442 7443 The Path of Progress: 7444 A shortcut is the longest distance between two points. 7445% 7446It appears that after his death, Albert Einstein found himself working 7447as the doorkeeper at the Pearly Gates. One slow day, he found that he 7448had time to chat with the new entrants. To the first one he asked, 7449"What's your IQ?" The new arrival replied, "190". They discussed 7450Einstein's theory of relativity for hours. When the second new arrival 7451came, Einstein once again inquired as to the newcomer's IQ. The answer 7452this time came "120". To which Einstein replied, "Tell me, how did the 7453Cubs do this year?" and they proceeded to talk for half an hour or so. 7454To the final arrival, Einstein once again posed the question, "What's 7455your IQ?". Upon receiving the answer "70", Einstein smiled and asked, 7456"Got a minute to tell me about VMS 4.0?" 7457% 7458It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown 7459came out to inform the public. They thought it was just a jest and 7460applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder. So I 7461think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the 7462wits, who believe that it is a joke. 7463% 7464It has been observed that one's nose is never so happy as when it is 7465thrust into the affairs of another, from which some physiologists have 7466drawn the inference that the nose is devoid of the sense of smell. 7467 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 7468% 7469It has been said [by Anatole France], "it is not by amusing oneself 7470that one learns," and, in reply: "it is *____only* by amusing oneself that 7471one can learn." 7472 -- Edward Kasner and James R. Newman 7473% 7474It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have 7475been searching for evidence which could support this. 7476 -- Bertrand Russell 7477% 7478It has just been discovered that research causes cancer in rats. 7479% 7480It is against the grain of modern education to teach children to 7481program. What fun is there in making plans, acquiring discipline in 7482organizing thoughts, devoting attention to detail, and learning to be 7483self-critical? 7484 -- Alan Perlis 7485% 7486It is against the law for a monster to enter the corporate limits of 7487Urbana, Illinois. 7488% 7489It is always preferable to visit home with a friend. Your parents will 7490not be pleased with this plan, because they want you all to themselves 7491and because in the presence of your friend, they will have to act like 7492mature human beings ... 7493 -- Playboy, January 1983 7494% 7495It is amusing that a virtue is made of the vice of chastity; and it's a 7496pretty odd sort of chastity at that, which leads men straight into the 7497sin of Onan, and girls to the waning of their color. 7498 -- Voltaire 7499% 7500It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what 7501they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed 7502that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so 7503much -- the wheel, New York wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins 7504had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But 7505conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more 7506intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. 7507 7508Curiously enough, the dolphins had long known of the impending 7509destruction of the planet Earth and had made many attempts to 7510alert mankind to the danger; but most of their communications were 7511misinterpreted ... 7512 -- Douglas Adams "The Hitch-Hikers' Guide To The 7513 Galaxy" 7514% 7515It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be 7516coming up it. 7517 -- Henry Allen 7518% 7519It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? 7520One in a million, perhaps. 7521% 7522It is better to kiss an avocado than to get in a fight with an aardvark. 7523% 7524It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three 7525benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never 7526to use either. 7527 -- Mark Twain 7528% 7529It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both 7530incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by 7531twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. 7532 -- Rod Serling 7533% 7534It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is 7535lightly greased. 7536 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 7537% 7538It is easier to be a "humanitarian" than to render your own country its 7539proper due; it is easier to be a "patriot" than to make your community 7540a better place to live in; it is easier to be a "civic leader" than to 7541treat your own family with loving understanding; for the smaller the 7542focus of attention, the harder the task. 7543 -- Sydney J. Harris 7544% 7545It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa. 7546% 7547It is easier to get forgiveness than permission. 7548% 7549It is easier to write an incorrect program than understand a correct one. 7550% 7551It is generally agreed that "Hello" is an appropriate greeting because 7552if you entered a room and said "Goodbye," it could confuse a lot of 7553people. 7554 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 7555% 7556It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood 7557Boulevard at one time. 7558% 7559It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy" in Jonesboro, Georgia. 7560% 7561It is impossible to experience one's death objectively and still carry 7562a tune. 7563 -- Woody Allen 7564% 7565It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so 7566ingenious. 7567% 7568It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not 7569desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. 7570 -- Woody Allen 7571% 7572It is Mr. Mellon's credo that $200,000,000 can do no wrong. Our 7573offense consists in doubting it. 7574 -- Justice Robert H. Jackson 7575% 7576It is much easier to suggest solutions 7577when you know nothing about the problem. 7578% 7579It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be 7580privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to 7581corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one's uncles. 7582 -- George Bernard Shaw 7583% 7584It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. 7585 -- Gore Vidal 7586% 7587It is not true that life is one damn thing after another -- it's one 7588damn thing over and over. 7589 -- Edna St. Vincent Millay 7590% 7591It is now 10 p.m. Do you know where Henry Kissinger is? 7592 -- Elizabeth Carpenter 7593% 7594It is now pitch dark. If you proceed, you will likely fall into a pit. 7595% 7596It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that 7597virginity could be a virtue. 7598 -- Voltaire 7599% 7600It is only people of small moral stature who have to stand on their 7601dignity. 7602% 7603It is only the great men who are truly obscene. If they had not dared 7604to be obscene, they could never have dared to be great. 7605 -- Havelock Ellis 7606% 7607It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to 7608students that have had prior exposure to BASIC: as potential 7609programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration. 7610 -- Edsger W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 7611% 7612It is said that the lonely eagle flies to the mountain peaks while the 7613lowly ant crawls the ground, but cannot the soul of the ant soar as 7614high as the eagle? 7615% 7616It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a 7617statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more 7618glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through 7619which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the 7620day, that is the highest of arts. 7621 -- Henry David Thoreau, "Where I Live" 7622% 7623It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad 7624crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed 7625until the other has gone. 7626% 7627It is the business of little minds to shrink. 7628 -- Carl Sandburg 7629% 7630It is the business of the future to be dangerous. 7631 -- Hawkwind 7632% 7633It is true that if your paperboy throws your paper into the bushes for 7634five straight days it can be explained by Newton's Law of Gravity. But 7635it takes Murphy's law to explain why it is happening to you. 7636% 7637It is very difficult to prophesy, especially when it pertains to the 7638future. 7639% 7640It looks like blind screaming hedonism won out. 7641% 7642It may be bad manners to talk with your mouth full, but it isn't too 7643good either if you speak when your head is empty. 7644% 7645It may be that your whole purpose in life 7646is simply to serve as a warning to others. 7647% 7648"It runs like _x, where _x is something unsavory" 7649 -- Prof. Romas Aleliunas, CS 435 7650% 7651It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the 7652flag. 7653% 7654It shall be unlawful for any suspicious person to be within the 7655municipality. 7656 -- Local ordinance, Euclid Ohio 7657% 7658It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, 7659but I couldn't give up because by that time I was too famous. 7660 -- Robert Benchley 7661% 7662It was a book to kill time for those who liked it better dead. 7663% 7664It was a virgin forest, a place where the Hand of Man had never set 7665foot. 7666% 7667It was one of those perfect summer days -- the sun was shining, a 7668breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, and the lawn mower was 7669broken ... 7670 -- James Dent 7671% 7672It was pleasant to me to get a letter from you the other day. Perhaps 7673I should have found it pleasanter if I had been able to decipher it. I 7674don't think that I mastered anything beyond the date (which I knew) and 7675the signature (which I guessed at). There's a singular and a perpetual 7676charm in a letter of yours; it never grows old, it never loses its 7677novelty .... Other letters are read and thrown away and forgotten, but 7678yours are kept forever -- unread. One of them will last a reasonable 7679man a lifetime. 7680 -- Thomas Aldrich 7681% 7682 It was the next morning that the armies of Twodor marched east 7683laden with long lances, sharp swords, and death-dealing hangovers. The 7684thousands were led by Arrowroot, who sat limply in his sidesaddle, 7685nursing a whopper. Goodgulf, Gimlet, and the rest rode by him, praying 7686for their fate to be quick, painless, and if possible, someone else's. 7687 Many an hour the armies forged ahead, the war-merinos bleating 7688under their heavy burdens and the soldiers bleating under their melting 7689icepacks. 7690 -- The Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 7691% 7692It wasn't that she had a rose in her teeth, exactly. It was more like 7693the rose and the teeth were in the same glass. 7694% 7695It will be advantageous to cross the great stream ... the Dragon is on 7696the wing in the Sky ... the Great Man rouses himself to his Work. 7697% 7698It will be generally found that those who sneer habitually at human 7699nature and affect to despise it, are among its worst and least pleasant 7700examples. 7701 -- Charles Dickens 7702% 7703It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing 7704warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or 7705two things still safe to eat. 7706 -- Robert Fuoss 7707% 7708It's a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. 7709 -- Andrew Jackson 7710% 7711It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear. 7712 -- Cheers 7713% 7714It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for. 7715% 7716"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it." 7717 -- Steven Wright 7718% 7719"It's a summons." 7720"What's a summons?" 7721"It means summon's in trouble." 7722 -- Rocky and Bullwinkle 7723% 7724It's a very *__UN*lucky week in which to be took dead. 7725 -- Churchy La Femme 7726% 7727It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black. 7728% 7729It's bad luck to be superstitious. 7730 -- Andrew W. Mathis 7731% 7732It's better to be wanted for murder than not to be wanted at all. 7733 -- Marty Winch 7734% 7735"It's easier said than done." 7736 7737... and if you don't believe it, try proving that it's easier done than 7738said, and you'll see that "it's easier said that `it's easier done than 7739said' than it is done", which really proves that "it's easier said than 7740done". 7741% 7742It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them. 7743% 7744It's easier to get forgiveness for being wrong than forgiveness for 7745being right. 7746% 7747It's Fabulous! We haven't seen anything like it in the last half an hour! 7748 -- Macy's 7749% 7750It's illegal in Wilbur, Washington, to ride an ugly horse. 7751% 7752It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. 7753If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't 7754our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. 7755 -- Oxford University Press, "Edpress News" 7756% 7757It's just a jump to the left 7758 And then a step to the right. 7759Put your hands on your hips 7760 And pull your knees in tight. 7761It's the pelvic thrust 7762 That really gets you insa-a-a-a-ane 7763 7764 LET'S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! 7765 7766 -- Rocky Horror Picture Show 7767% 7768"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." 7769 -- Walt Disney 7770% 7771"It's Like This" 7772 7773Even the samurai 7774have teddy bears, 7775and even the teddy bears 7776get drunk. 7777% 7778It's lucky you're going so slowly, because 7779you're going in the wrong direction. 7780% 7781"It's men like him that give the Y chromosome a bad name." 7782% 7783It's more than magnificent -- it's mediocre. 7784 -- Sam Goldwyn 7785% 7786It's no surprise that things are so screwed up: everyone that knows how 7787to run a government is either driving taxicabs or cutting hair. 7788 -- George Burns 7789% 7790It's not an optical illusion; it just looks like one. 7791 -- Phil White 7792% 7793It's not Camelot, but it's not Cleveland, either. 7794 -- Kevin White, mayor of Boston 7795% 7796It's not enough to be Hungarian; you must have talent too. 7797 -- Alexander Korda 7798% 7799It's not just a computer -- it's your ass. 7800 -- Cal Keegan 7801% 7802It's not reality or how you perceive things that's important -- it's 7803what you're taking for it... 7804% 7805It's not so hard to lift yourself by your bootstraps once you're off 7806the ground. 7807 -- Daniel B. Luten 7808% 7809It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it 7810happens. 7811 -- Woody Allen 7812% 7813It's not the valleys in life I dread so much as the dips. 7814 -- Garfield 7815% 7816It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that 7817English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many 7818other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case. 7819 -- Sydney J. Harris 7820% 7821It's raisins that make Post Raisin Bran so raisiny ... 7822% 7823It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles. 7824% 7825It's so stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the 7826Devil when he is the only explanation of it. 7827% 7828It's the opinion of some that crops could be grown on the moon. Which 7829raises the fear that it may not be long before we're paying somebody 7830not to. 7831 -- Franklin P. Jones 7832% 7833It's the thought, if any, that counts! 7834% 7835 JACK AND THE BEANSTACK 7836 by Mark Isaak 7837 7838 Long ago, in a finite state far away, there lived a JOVIAL 7839character named Jack. Jack and his relations were poor. Often their 7840hash table was bare. One day Jack's parent said to him, "Our matrices 7841are sparse. You must go to the market to exchange our RAM for some 7842BASICs." She compiled a linked list of items to retrieve and passed it 7843to him. 7844 So Jack set out. But as he was walking along a Hamilton path, 7845he met the traveling salesman. 7846 "Whither dost thy flow chart take thou?" prompted the salesman 7847in high-level language. 7848 "I'm going to the market to exchange this RAM for some chips 7849and Apples," commented Jack. 7850 "I have a much better algorithm. You needn't join a queue 7851there; I will swap your RAM for these magic kernels now." 7852 Jack made the trade, then backtracked to his house. But when 7853he told his busy-waiting parent of the deal, she became so angry she 7854started thrashing. 7855 "Don't you even have any artificial intelligence? All these 7856kernels together hardly make up one byte," and she popped them out the 7857window ... 7858% 7859Jacquin's Postulate on Democratic Government: 7860 No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the 7861 legislature is in session. 7862% 7863James Joyce -- an essentially private man who wished his total 7864indifference to public notice to be universally recognized. 7865 -- Tom Stoppard 7866% 7867Jenkinson's Law: 7868 It won't work. 7869% 7870Jesus Saves, 7871Moses Invests, 7872But only Buddha pays Dividends. 7873% 7874Job Placement, n.: 7875 Telling your boss what he can do with your job. 7876% 7877Joe's sister puts spaghetti in her shoes! 7878% 7879Johnson's First Law: 7880 When any mechanical contrivance fails, it will do so at the 7881most inconvenient possible time. 7882% 7883Join in the new game that's sweeping the country. It's called 7884"Bureaucracy". Everybody stands in a circle. The first person to do 7885anything loses. 7886% 7887Join the march to save individuality! 7888% 7889Jone's Law: 7890 The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone 7891to blame it on. 7892% 7893Jone's Motto: 7894 Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. 7895% 7896Jones's First Law: 7897 Anyone who makes a significant contribution to any field of 7898 endeavor, and stays in that field long enough, becomes an 7899 obstruction to its progress -- in direct proportion to the 7900 importance of their original contribution. 7901% 7902Just about every computer on the market today runs Unix, except the Mac 7903(and nobody cares about it). 7904 -- Bill Joy 6/21/85 7905% 7906Just as most issues are seldom black or white, so are most good 7907solutions seldom black or white. Beware of the solution that requires 7908one side to be totally the loser and the other side to be totally the 7909winner. The reason there are two sides to begin with usually is 7910because neither side has all the facts. Therefore, when the wise 7911mediator effects a compromise, he is not acting from political 7912motivation. Rather, he is acting from a deep sense of respect for the 7913whole truth. 7914 -- Stephen R. Schwambach 7915% 7916Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has 7917changed. 7918 -- Irene Peter 7919% 7920Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T after you. 7921% 7922Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn't mean he 7923knows what it is. 7924% 7925Just go with the flow control, roll with the crunches, and, when you 7926get a prompt, type like hell. 7927% 7928Just once, I wish we would encounter an alien menace that wasn't 7929immune to bullets 7930 -- The Brigadier, "Dr. Who" 7931% 7932"Just out of curiosity does this actually mean something or have some 7933of the few remaining bits of your brain just evaporated?" 7934 -- Patricia O Tuama, rissa@killer.DALLAS.TX.US 7935% 7936Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to 7937twelve people that weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty! 7938% 7939`Just the place for a Snark!' the Bellman cried, 7940 As he landed his crew with care; 7941Supporting each man on the top of the tide 7942 By a finger entwined in his hair. 7943 7944'Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice: 7945 That alone should encourage the crew. 7946Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice: 7947 What I tell you three times is true.' 7948% 7949Just when you thought you were winning the rat race, along comes a 7950faster rat!!! 7951% 7952Justice always prevails ... three times out of seven! 7953 -- Michael J. Wagner 7954% 7955Justice is incidental to law and order. 7956 -- J. Edgar Hoover 7957% 7958Justice, n.: 7959 A decision in your favor. 7960% 7961K: Cobalt's metal, hard and shining; 7962 Cobol's wordy and confining; 7963 KOBOLDS topple when you strike them; 7964 Don't feel bad, it's hard to like them. 7965 -- The Roguelet's ABC 7966% 7967Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to 7968wear tail lights. 7969% 7970Katz' Law: 7971 Man and nations will act rationally when all other 7972 possibilities have been exhausted. 7973% 7974Keep America beautiful. Swallow your beer cans. 7975% 7976Keep Cool, but Don't Freeze 7977 -- Hellman's Mayonnaise 7978% 7979Keep emotionally active. Cater to your favorite neurosis. 7980% 7981Keep grandma off the streets -- legalize bingo. 7982% 7983Keep in mind always the two constant Laws of Frisbee: 7984 (1) The most powerful force in the world is that of a disc 7985 straining to land under a car, just out of reach (this 7986 force is technically termed "car suck"). 7987 (2) Never precede any maneuver by a comment more predictive 7988 than "Watch this!" 7989% 7990Keep your Eye on the Ball, 7991Your Shoulder to the Wheel, 7992Your Nose to the Grindstone, 7993Your Feet on the Ground, 7994Your Head on your Shoulders. 7995Now ... try to get something DONE! 7996% 7997Ken Thompson has an automobile which he helped design. Unlike most 7998automobiles, it has neither speedometer, nor gas gage, nor any of the 7999numerous idiot lights which plague the modern driver. Rather, if the 8000driver makes any mistake, a giant "?" lights up in the center of the 8001dashboard. "The experienced driver", he says, "will usually know 8002what's wrong." 8003% 8004Kerr's Three Rules for a Successful College: 8005 Have plenty of football for the alumni, sex for the students, 8006and parking for the faculty. 8007% 8008Kids have *_____never* taken guidance from their parents. If you could 8009travel back in time and observe the original primate family in the 8010original tree, you would see the primate parents yelling at the primate 8011teenager for sitting around and sulking all day instead of hunting for 8012grubs and berries like dad primate. Then you'd see the primate 8013teenager stomp up to his branch and slam the leaves. 8014 -- Dave Barry, "Kids Today: They Don't Know Dum Diddly Do" 8015% 8016Kin, n.: 8017 An affliction of the blood. 8018% 8019Kinkler's First Law: 8020 Responsibility always exceeds authority. 8021 8022Kinkler's Second Law: 8023 All the easy problems have been solved. 8024% 8025"Kirk to Enterprise -- beam down yeoman Rand and a six-pack." 8026% 8027Kirkland, Illinois, law forbids bees to fly over the village or through 8028any of its streets. 8029% 8030Kiss me twice. I'm schizophrenic. 8031% 8032Kiss your keyboard goodbye! 8033% 8034Klein bottle for rent -- inquire within. 8035% 8036Klein bottle for sale ... inquire within. 8037% 8038Kleptomaniac, n.: 8039 A rich thief. 8040 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8041% 8042Know thyself. If you need help, call the C.I.A. 8043% 8044Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions. 8045 -- Henry N. Camp 8046% 8047Krogt, n. (chemical symbol: Kr): 8048 The metallic silver coating found on fast-food game cards. 8049 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8050% 8051Labor, n.: 8052 One of the processes by which A acquires property for B. 8053 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8054% 8055Lackland's Laws: 8056 (1) Never be first. 8057 (2) Never be last. 8058 (3) Never volunteer for anything. 8059% 8060Lactomangulation, n.: 8061 Manhandling the "open here" spout on a milk carton so badly 8062 that one has to resort to using the "illegal" side. 8063 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 8064% 8065Ladybug, ladybug, 8066Look to your stern! 8067Your house is on fire, 8068Your children will burn! 8069So jump ye and sing, for 8070The very first time 8071The four lines above 8072Have been put into rhyme. 8073 -- Walt Kelly 8074% 8075Laetrile is the pits. 8076% 8077Langsam's Laws: 8078 (1) Everything depends. 8079 (2) Nothing is always. 8080 (3) Everything is sometimes. 8081% 8082Larkinson's Law: 8083 All laws are basically false. 8084% 8085Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with 8086was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting 8087pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the 8088farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their 8089sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do 8090you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? 8091What is it, girl?", etc., as if this had never happened before, instead 8092of every week. What with all the time these people spent pinned under 8093the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops 8094whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which 8095Lassie filed the applications for. 8096 -- Dave Barry 8097% 8098Last night, I came home and realized that everything in my apartment 8099had been stolen and replaced with an exact duplicate. I told this to 8100my friend -- he said, `Do I know you?' 8101 -- Steven Wright 8102% 8103Last week a cop stopped me in my car. He asked me if I had a police 8104record. I said, no, but I have the new DEVO album. Cops have no sense 8105of humor. 8106% 8107Last yeer I kudn't spel Engineer. Now I are won. 8108% 8109Laugh at your problems; everybody else does. 8110% 8111Laughter is the closest distance between two people. 8112 -- Victor Borge 8113% 8114Law of Communications: 8115 The inevitable result of improved and enlarged communications 8116 between different levels in a hierarchy is a vastly increased 8117 area of misunderstanding. 8118% 8119Law of Probable Dispersal: 8120 Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly distributed. 8121% 8122Law of Selective Gravity: 8123 An object will fall so as to do the most damage. 8124 8125Jenning's Corollary: 8126 The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is 8127 directly proportional to the cost of the carpet. 8128 8129Law of the Perversity of Nature: 8130 You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the 8131 bread to butter. 8132% 8133Law of the Perversity of Nature: 8134 You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the 8135 bread to butter. 8136% 8137Laws of Serendipity: 8138 8139 (1) In order to discover anything, you must be looking for 8140 something. 8141 (2) If you wish to make an improved product, you must already 8142 be engaged in making an inferior one. 8143% 8144Lazlo's Chinese Relativity Axiom: 8145 No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats -- 8146 approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less. 8147% 8148Learned men are the cisterns of knowledge, not the fountainheads. 8149% 8150Learning French is trivial: the word for horse is cheval, and 8151everything else follows in the same way. 8152 -- Alan J. Perlis 8153% 8154Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. 8155% 8156Legalize free-enterprise murder: why should governments have all the 8157fun? 8158% 8159Legislation proposed in the Illinois State Legislature, May, 1907: 8160 Speed upon county roads will be limited to ten miles an hour 8161unless the motorist sees a bailiff who does not appear to have had a 8162drink in 30 days, when the driver will be permitted to make what he 8163can. 8164% 8165Leibowitz's Rule: 8166 When hammering a nail, you will never hit your finger if you 8167 hold the hammer with both hands. 8168% 8169LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8170 You consider yourself a born leader. Others think you are 8171 pushy. Most Leo people are bullies. You are vain and dislike 8172 honest criticism. Your arrogance is disgusting. Leo people 8173 are thieves. 8174% 8175LEO (July 23 - Aug 22) 8176 Your determination and sense of humor will come to the fore. 8177 Your ability to laugh at adversity will be a blessing because 8178 you've got a day coming you wouldn't believe. As a matter of 8179 fact, if you can laugh at what happens to you today, you've got 8180 a sick sense of humor. 8181% 8182Let He who taketh the Plunge Remember to return it by Tuesday. 8183% 8184Let me assure you that to us here at First National, you're not just a 8185number. You're two numbers, a dash, three more numbers, another dash 8186and another number. 8187 -- James Estes 8188% 8189Let us live!!! 8190Let us love!!! 8191Let us share the deepest secrets of our souls!!! 8192 8193You first. 8194% 8195Let's just say that where a change was required, I adjusted. In every 8196relationship that exists, people have to seek a way to survive. If you 8197really care about the person, you do what's necessary, or that's the 8198end. For the first time, I found that I really could change, and the 8199qualities I most admired in myself I gave up. I stopped being loud and 8200bossy ... Oh, all right. I was still loud and bossy, but only behind 8201his back. 8202 -- Kate Hepburn, on Tracy and Hepburn 8203% 8204Let's say your wedding ring falls into your toaster, and when you stick 8205your hand in to retrieve it, you suffer Pain and Suffering as well as 8206Mental Anguish. You would sue: 8207 8208* The toaster manufacturer, for failure to include, in the instructions 8209 section that says you should never never never ever stick you hand 8210 into the toaster, the statement "Not even if your wedding ring falls 8211 in there". 8212 8213* The store where you bought the toaster, for selling it to an obvious 8214 cretin like yourself. 8215 8216* Union Carbide Corporation, which is not directly responsible in this 8217 case, but which is feeling so guilty that it would probably send you 8218 a large cash settlement anyway. 8219 -- Dave Barry 8220% 8221Let's talk about how to fill out your 1984 tax return. Here's an often 8222overlooked accounting technique that can save you thousands of 8223dollars: For several days before you put it in the mail, carry your 8224tax return around under your armpit. No IRS agent is going to want to 8225spend hours poring over a sweat-stained document. So even if you owe 8226money, you can put in for an enormous refund and the agent will 8227probably give it to you, just to avoid an audit. What does he care? 8228It's not his money. 8229 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 8230% 8231LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (The Times of London) 8232 8233Dear Sir, 8234 8235I am firmly opposed to the spread of microchips either to the home or 8236to the office. We have more than enough of them foisted upon us in 8237public places. They are a disgusting Americanism, and can only result 8238in the farmers being forced to grow smaller potatoes, which in turn 8239will cause massive unemployment in the already severely depressed 8240agricultural industry. 8241 8242Yours faithfully, 8243 Capt. Quinton D'Arcy, J. P. 8244 Sevenoaks 8245% 8246Lewis's Law of Travel: 8247 The first piece of luggage out of the chute doesn't belong to 8248 anyone, ever. 8249% 8250Liar, n.: 8251 A lawyer with a roving commission. 8252 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8253% 8254Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have. 8255 -- Harry Emerson Fosdick 8256% 8257LIBRA (Sep. 23 to Oct. 22) 8258 Your desire for justice and truth will be overshadowed by your 8259 desire for filthy lucre and a decent meal. Be gracious and 8260 polite. Someone is watching you, so stop staring like that. 8261% 8262LIBRA (Sept 23 - Oct 22) 8263 You are the artistic type and have a difficult time with 8264 reality. If you are a man, you are more than likely gay. 8265 Chances for employment and monetary gains are excellent. Most 8266 Libra women are prostitutes. All Libra people die of venereal 8267 disease. 8268% 8269Lie, n.: 8270 A very poor substitute for the truth, but the only one 8271 discovered to date. 8272% 8273Lieberman's Law: 8274 Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens. 8275% 8276Life is a whim of several billion cells to be you for a while. 8277% 8278Life is a yo-yo, and mankind ties knots in the string. 8279% 8280Life is like a bowl of soup with hairs floating on it. You have to 8281eat it nevertheless. 8282 -- Flaubert 8283% 8284Life is like a buffet; it's not good but there's plenty of it. 8285% 8286Life is like a simile. 8287% 8288Life is like an analogy. 8289% 8290Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, 8291and then you find there is nothing in it. 8292 -- James Huneker 8293% 8294Life is too important to take seriously. 8295 -- Corky Siegel 8296% 8297Life may have no meaning -- or even worse, 8298it may have a meaning of which I disapprove. 8299% 8300"Life to you is a bold and dashing responsibility" 8301 -- a Mary Chung's fortune cookie 8302% 8303Life would be much simpler and things would get done much faster if it 8304weren't for other people 8305 -- Blore 8306% 8307Life would be so much easier if we could just look at the source code. 8308% 8309Life: loathe it or ignore it, you can't like it. 8310 -- Marvin, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 8311% 8312Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made 8313sense from things she found in gift shops. 8314 -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 8315% 8316Like the ski resort of girls looking for husbands and husbands looking 8317for girls, the situation is not as symmetrical as it might seem. 8318 -- Alan McKay 8319% 8320Limericks are art forms complex, 8321Their topics run chiefly to sex. 8322 They usually have virgins, 8323 And masculine urgin's, 8324And other erotic effects. 8325% 8326Line Printer paper is strongest at the perforations. 8327% 8328Linus: I guess it's wrong always to be worrying about tomorrow. Maybe 8329 we should think only about today. 8330Charlie Brown: 8331 No, that's giving up. I'm still hoping that yesterday will get 8332 better. 8333% 8334Living in LA is like not having a date on Saturday night. 8335 -- Candice Bergen 8336% 8337Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip 8338around the Sun. 8339% 8340Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted 8341before. 8342% 8343Lizzie Borden took an axe, 8344And plunged it deep into the VAX; 8345Don't you envy people who 8346Do all the things ___YOU want to do? 8347% 8348Loan-department manager: "There isn't any fine print. At these 8349interest rates, we don't need it." 8350% 8351Lobster: 8352 Everyone loves these delectable crustaceans, but many cooks are 8353squeamish about placing them into boiling water alive, which is the 8354only proper method of preparing them. Frankly, the easiest way to 8355eliminate your guilt is to establish theirs by putting them on trial 8356before they're cooked. The fact is, lobsters are among the most 8357ferocious predators on the sea floor, and you're helping reduce crime 8358in the reefs. Grasp the lobster behind the head, look it right in its 8359unmistakably guilty eyestalks and say, "Where were you on the night of 8360the 21st?", then flourish a picture of a scallop or a sole and shout, 8361"Perhaps this will refresh that crude neural apparatus you call a 8362memory!" The lobster will squirm noticeably. It may even take a swipe 8363at you with one of its claws. Incorrigible. Pop it into the pot. 8364Justice has been served, and shortly you and your friends will be, 8365too. 8366 -- Dave Barry, "Cooking: The Art of Using Appliances and 8367 Utensils into Excuses and Apologies" 8368% 8369Lockwood's Long Shot: 8370 The chances of getting eaten up by a lion on Main Street aren't 8371 one in a million, but once would be enough. 8372% 8373Logic is a little bird, sitting in a tree; that smells *_____awful*. 8374% 8375... Logically incoherent, semantically incomprehensible, and 8376legally ... impeccable! 8377% 8378Logicians have but ill defined 8379As rational the human kind. 8380Logic, they say, belongs to man, 8381But let them prove it if they can. 8382 -- Oliver Goldsmith 8383% 8384Look out! Behind you! 8385% 8386Look, we play the Star Spangled Banner before every game. You want us 8387to pay income taxes, too? 8388 -- Bill Veeck, Chicago White Sox 8389% 8390Loose bits sink chips. 8391% 8392Losing your drivers' license is just God's way of saying 8393"BOOGA, BOOGA!" 8394% 8395Lost interest? It's so bad I've lost apathy. 8396% 8397Loud burping while walking around the airport is prohibited in 8398Halstead, Kansas. 8399% 8400Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. 8401% 8402Love at first sight is one of the greatest labor-saving devices the 8403world has ever seen. 8404% 8405Love cannot be much younger than the lust for murder. 8406 -- Sigmund Freud 8407% 8408Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it 8409flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come. 8410 -- Matt Groening, "Love is Hell" 8411% 8412Love is a word that is constantly heard, 8413Hate is a word that is not. 8414Love, I am told, is more precious than gold. 8415Love, I have read, is hot. 8416But hate is the verb that to me is superb, 8417And Love but a drug on the mart. 8418Any kiddie in school can love like a fool, 8419But Hating, my boy, is an Art. 8420 -- Ogden Nash 8421% 8422Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with 8423the ideal never goes unpunished. 8424 -- Goethe 8425% 8426Love is sentimental measles. 8427% 8428Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. 8429 -- H. L. Mencken 8430% 8431Love means having to say you're sorry every five minutes. 8432% 8433Love thy neighbor as thyself, but choose your neighborhood. 8434 -- Louise Beal 8435% 8436Love your enemies: they'll go crazy trying to figure out what you're up to. 8437% 8438 Love's Drug 8439 8440My love is like an iron wand 8441 That conks me on the head, 8442My love is like the valium 8443 That I take before my bed, 8444My love is like the pint of scotch 8445 That I drink when I be dry; 8446And I shall love thee still, my dear, 8447 Until my wife is wise. 8448% 8449Lowery's Law: 8450 If it jams -- force it. 8451 If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway. 8452% 8453LSD melts in your mind, not in your hand. 8454% 8455Lubarsky's Law of Cybernetic Entomology: 8456 There's always one more bug. 8457% 8458Lunatic Asylum, n.: 8459 The place where optimism most flourishes. 8460% 8461Lysistrata had a good idea. 8462% 8463"MacDonald has the gift on compressing the largest amount of words into 8464the smallest amount of thoughts." 8465 -- Winston Churchill 8466% 8467Machine-Independent, adj.: 8468 Does not run on any existing machine. 8469% 8470Machines certainly can solve problems, store information, correlate, 8471and play games -- but not with pleasure. 8472 -- Leo Rosten 8473% 8474Mad, adj.: 8475 Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence. 8476 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8477% 8478Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child -- if you parboil them 8479first for seven hours, they always come out tender. 8480 -- W. C. Fields 8481% 8482MAFIA, n: 8483 [Acronym for Mechanized Applications in Forced Insurance 8484Accounting.] An extensive network with many on-line and offshore 8485subsystems running under OS, DOS, and IOS. MAFIA documentation is 8486rather scanty, and the MAFIA sales office exhibits that testy 8487reluctance to bona fide inquiries which is the hallmark of so many DP 8488operations. From the little that has seeped out, it would appear that 8489MAFIA operates under a non-standard protocol, OMERTA, a tight-lipped 8490variant of SNA, in which extended handshakes also perform complex 8491security functions. The known timesharing aspects of MAFIA point to a 8492more than usually autocratic operating system. Screen prompts carry an 8493imperative, nonrefusable weighting (most menus offer simple YES/YES 8494options, defaulting to YES) that precludes indifference or delay. 8495Uniquely, all editing under MAFIA is performed centrally, using a 8496powerful rubout feature capable of erasing files, filors, filees, and 8497entire nodal aggravations. 8498 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 8499% 8500Magnet, n.: Something acted upon by magnetism 8501 8502Magnetism, n.: Something acting upon a magnet. 8503 8504The two definitions immediately preceding are condensed from the works 8505of one thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject 8506with a great white light, to the inexpressible advancement of human 8507knowledge. 8508 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8509% 8510Magnocartic, adj.: 8511 Any automobile that, when left unattended, attracts shopping carts. 8512 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 8513% 8514Magpie, n.: 8515 A bird whose thievish disposition suggested to someone that it 8516might be taught to talk. 8517 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8518% 8519Maier's Law: 8520 If the facts don't conform to the theory, they must be disposed of. 8521 -- N. R. Maier, "American Psychologist", March 1960 8522 8523Corollaries: 8524 (1) The bigger the theory, the better. 8525 (2) The experiment may be considered a success if no more than 8526 50% of the observed measurements must be discarded to 8527 obtain a correspondence with the theory. 8528% 8529Main's Law: 8530 For every action there is an equal and opposite government program. 8531% 8532Maintainer's Motto: 8533 If we can't fix it, it ain't broke. 8534% 8535Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly 8536 as one man. 8537 8538Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds. 8539 8540Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. 8541 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8542% 8543Majority, n.: 8544 That quality that distinguishes a crime from a law. 8545% 8546Make it myself? But I'm a physical organic chemist! 8547% 8548Making files is easy under the UNIX operating system. Therefore, users 8549tend to create numerous files using large amounts of file space. It 8550has been said that the only standard thing about all UNIX systems is 8551the message-of-the-day telling users to clean up their files. 8552 -- System V.2 administrator's guide 8553% 8554Malek's Law: 8555 Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way. 8556% 8557Man 1: Ask me the what the most important thing about telling a good 8558 joke is. 8559 8560Man 2: OK, what is the most impo -- 8561 8562Man 1: ______TIMING! 8563% 8564Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. 8565 -- Lily Tomlin 8566% 8567Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called 8568upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. 8569 -- Oscar Wilde 8570% 8571Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the 8572only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor. 8573 -- Wernher von Braun 8574% 8575Man is the only animal that blushes -- or needs to. 8576 -- Mark Twain 8577% 8578Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the 8579victims he intends to eat until he eats them. 8580 -- Samuel Butler (1835-1902) 8581% 8582Man usually avoids attributing cleverness to somebody else -- unless it 8583is an enemy. 8584 -- Albert Einstein 8585% 8586Man, n.: 8587 An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks 8588 he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief 8589 occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, 8590 which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to 8591 infest the whole habitable earth and Canada. 8592 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8593% 8594Mandrell: "You know what I think?" 8595Doctor: "Ah, ah that's a catch question. With a brain your size you 8596 don't think, right?" 8597 -- Dr. Who 8598% 8599Mankind's yearning to engage in sports is older than recorded history, 8600dating back to the time millions of years ago, when the first primitive 8601man picked up a crude club and a round rock, tossed the rock into the 8602air, and whomped the club into the sloping forehead of the first 8603primitive umpire. 8604 8605What inner force drove this first athlete? Your guess is as good as 8606mine. Better, probably, because you haven't had four beers. 8607 -- Dave Barry, "Sports is a Drag" 8608% 8609Manual, n.: 8610 A unit of documentation. There are always three or more on a 8611 given item. One is on the shelf; someone has the others. The 8612 information you need is in the others. 8613 -- Ray Simard 8614% 8615Many years ago in a period commonly known as Next Friday Afternoon, 8616there lived a King who was very Gloomy on Tuesday mornings because he 8617was so Sad thinking about how Unhappy he had been on Monday and how 8618completely Mournful he would be on Wednesday ... 8619 -- Walt Kelly 8620% 8621Mark's Dental-Chair Discovery: 8622 Dentists are incapable of asking questions 8623 that require a simple yes or no answer. 8624% 8625Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. 8626 -- Voltaire 8627% 8628Maryel brought her bat into Exit once and started whacking people on 8629the dance floor. Now everyone's doing it. It's called grand slam 8630dancing. 8631 -- Ransford, Chicago Reader 10/7/83 8632% 8633Maternity pay? Now every Tom, Dick and Harry will get pregnant. 8634 -- Malcolm Smith 8635% 8636Math is like love -- a simple idea but it can get complicated. 8637 -- R. Drabek 8638% 8639Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them they 8640translate into their own language, and forthwith it is something 8641entirely different. 8642 -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 8643% 8644Mathematicians often resort to something called Hilbert space, which is 8645described as being n-dimensional. Like modern sex, any number can 8646play. 8647 -- Dr. Thor Wald, in "Beep/The Quincunx of Time", by 8648 James Blish 8649% 8650"Matrimony isn't a word, it's a sentence." 8651% 8652Matter cannot be created or destroyed, 8653nor can it be returned without a receipt. 8654% 8655Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. 8656 -- Jules Feiffer 8657% 8658May a Misguided Platypus lay its Eggs in your Jockey Shorts. 8659% 8660May Euell Gibbons eat your only copy of the manual! 8661% 8662May the Fleas of a Thousand Camels infest one of your Erogenous Zones. 8663% 8664May your Tongue stick to the Roof of your Mouth with the Force of a 8665Thousand Caramels. 8666% 8667Maybe Computer Science should be in the College of Theology. 8668 -- R. S. Barton 8669% 8670Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days 8671you can certainly charge it. 8672% 8673McGowan's Madison Avenue Axiom: 8674 If an item is advertised as "under $50", you can bet it's not 8675 $19.95. 8676% 8677Meader's Law: 8678 Whatever happens to you, it will previously have happened to 8679 everyone you know, only more so. 8680% 8681Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 8682% 8683Meeting, n.: 8684 An assembly of people coming together to decide what person or 8685 department 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 8716 cork 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 8723 is possessed only by yokels, and no person born in a large city 8724 can never 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 8731 do it over. 8732% 8733MESSAGE ACKNOWLEDGED -- The Pershing II missiles have been launched. 8734% 8735Message will arrive in the mail. 8736Destroy, before the FBI sees it. 8737% 8738methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutamin- 8739ylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolyl- 8740phenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglu- 8741taminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanyl- 8742glycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylala- 8743nylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylgluta- 8744minylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylgly- 8745cylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionyl- 8746leucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleu- 8747cylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylva- 8748lylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyro- 8749sylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleu- 8750cylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphe- 8751nylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylala- 8752nylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylas- 8753partylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosyl- 8754glycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycyl- 8755valylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleu- 8756cylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparagi- 8757nylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylse- 8758rylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanyl- 8759glycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalylly- 8760sylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylpro- 8761lylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalyl- 8762glutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine, n.: 8763 The chemical name for tryptophan synthetase A protein, a 8764 1,913-letter enzyme with 267 amino acids. 8765 -- Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and 8766 Preposterous Words 8767% 8768Mickey Mouse wears a Spiro Agnew watch. 8769% 8770Micro Credo: 8771 Never trust a computer bigger than you can lift. 8772% 8773"Microwave oven? Whaddya mean, it's a microwave oven? I've been 8774watching Channel 4 on the thing for two weeks." 8775% 8776Might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you 8777out of Casablanca and the Germans have outlawed miracles. 8778 -- Casablanca 8779% 8780Mike: "The Fourth Dimension is a shambles?" 8781Bernie: "Nobody ever empties the ashtrays. People are SO 8782 inconsiderate." 8783 -- Gary Trudeau, "Doonesbury" 8784% 8785Miksch's Law: 8786 If a string has one end, then it has another end. 8787% 8788Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. 8789 -- Groucho Marx 8790% 8791Military justice is to justice what military music is to music. 8792 -- Groucho Marx 8793% 8794Millihelen, adj: 8795 The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. 8796% 8797Millions long for immortality who do not know what 8798to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. 8799 -- Susan Ertz 8800% 8801Millions of sensible people are too high-minded to concede that 8802politics is almost always the choice of the lesser evil. "Tweedledum 8803and Tweedledee," they say, "I will not vote." Having abstained, they 8804are presented with a President who appoints the people who are going to 8805rummage around in their lives for the next four years. Consider all 8806the people who sat home in a stew in 1968 rather than vote for Hubert 8807Humphrey. They showed Humphrey. Those people who taught Hubert 8808Humphrey a lesson will still be enjoying the Nixon Supreme Court when 8809Tricia and Julie begin to find silver threads among the gold and the 8810black. 8811 -- Russel Baker, "Ford without Flummery" 8812% 8813Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there 8814is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, 8815myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in 8816the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my 8817unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You 8818will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as 8819dead as a door-nail. 8820% 8821Minnie Mouse is a slow maze learner. 8822% 8823Minors in Kansas City, Missouri, are not allowed to purchase cap 8824pistols; they may buy shotguns freely, however. 8825% 8826Misery loves company, but company does not reciprocate. 8827% 8828Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it. 8829 -- Russell Baker 8830% 8831Misfortune, n.: 8832 The kind of fortune that never misses. 8833 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8834% 8835Miss, n.: 8836 A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that 8837 they are in the market. 8838 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 8839% 8840Mistakes are often the stepping stones to utter failure. 8841% 8842Mitchell's Law of Committees: 8843 Any simple problem can be made insoluble if 8844 enough meetings are held to discuss it. 8845% 8846MOCK APPLE PIE (No Apples Needed) 8847 8848 Pastry to two crust 9-inch pie 36 RITZ Crackers 88492 cups water 2 cups sugar 88502 teaspoons cream of tartar 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8851 Grated rind of one lemon Butter or margarine 8852 Cinnamon 8853 8854Roll out bottom crust of pastry and fit into 9-inch pie plate. Break 8855RITZ Crackers coarsely into pastry-lined plate. Combine water, sugar 8856and cream of tartar in saucepan, boil gently for 15 minutes. Add lemon 8857juice and rind. Cool. Pour this syrup over Crackers, dot generously 8858with butter or margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover with top 8859crust. Trim and flute edges together. Cut slits in top crust to let 8860steam escape. Bake in a hot oven (425 F) 30 to 35 minutes, until crust 8861is crisp and golden. Serve warm. Cut into 6 to 8 slices. 8862 -- Found lurking on a Ritz Crackers box 8863% 8864Modern man is the missing link between apes and human beings. 8865% 8866Mohandas K. Gandhi often changed his mind publicly. An aide once asked him 8867how he could so freely contradict this week what he had said just last 8868week. The great man replied that it was because this week he knew better. 8869% 8870Molecule, n.: 8871 The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished from 8872 the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a 8873 closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit 8874 of matter... The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and 8875 the atom 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 8880 it 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 8896 hackers. 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. 8919 If everything did, you'd be 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 8950 population 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 Godel'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 9000 long 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 -- The Dragon to Grendel, in John Gardner's "Grendel" 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% 9032"My 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 9056have given anything if I had been one. 9057 -- Groucho Marx 9058% 9059My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right. 9060% 9061My own dear love, he is strong and bold 9062 And he cares not what comes after. 9063His words ring sweet as a chime of gold, 9064 And his eyes are lit with laughter. 9065He is jubilant as a flag unfurled -- 9066 Oh, a girl, she'd not forget him. 9067My own dear love, he is all my world -- 9068 And I wish I'd never met him. 9069 -- Dorothy Parker 9070% 9071% 9072My pants just went on a wild rampage through a Long Island Bowling Alley!! 9073 -- Zippy the Pinhead 9074% 9075My pen is at the bottom of a page, 9076Which, being finished, here the story ends; 9077'Tis to be wished it had been sooner done, 9078But stories somehow lengthen when begun. 9079 -- Byron 9080% 9081My theology, briefly, is that the universe was dictated but not signed. 9082 -- Christopher Morley 9083% 9084"My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies" 9085% 9086Mythology, n.: 9087 The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its 9088 origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as 9089 distinguished from the true accounts which it invents later. 9090 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9091% 9092 n = ((n >> 1) & 0x55555555) | ((n << 1) & 0xaaaaaaaa); 9093 n = ((n >> 2) & 0x33333333) | ((n << 2) & 0xcccccccc); 9094 n = ((n >> 4) & 0x0f0f0f0f) | ((n << 4) & 0xf0f0f0f0); 9095 n = ((n >> 8) & 0x00ff00ff) | ((n << 8) & 0xff00ff00); 9096 n = ((n >> 16) & 0x0000ffff) | ((n << 16) & 0xffff0000); 9097 9098 -- C code which reverses the bits in a word. 9099% 9100Naeser's Law: 9101 You can make it foolproof, but you can't make it 9102damnfoolproof. 9103% 9104NAPOLEON: What shall we do with this soldier, Guiseppe? 9105 Everything he says is wrong. 9106GUISEPPE: Make him a general, Excellency, 9107 and then everything he says will be right. 9108 9109 -- G. B. Shaw, "The Man of Destiny" 9110% 9111Nasrudin called at a large house to collect for charity. The servant 9112said "My master is out." Nasrudin replied, "Tell your master that next 9113time he goes out, he should not leave his face at the window. Someone 9114might steal it." 9115% 9116Nasrudin returned to his village from the imperial capital, and the 9117villagers gathered around to hear what had passed. "At this time," 9118said Nasrudin, "I only want to say that the King spoke to me." All the 9119villagers but the stupidest ran off to spread the wonderful news. The 9120remaining villager asked, "What did the King say to you?" "What he 9121said -- and quite distinctly, for everyone to hear -- was `Get out of 9122my way!'" The simpleton was overjoyed; he had heard words actually 9123spoken by the King, and seen the very man they were spoken to. 9124% 9125Nasrudin walked into a shop one day, and the owner came forward to 9126serve him. Nasrudin said, "First things first. Did you see me walk 9127into your shop?" 9128 "Of course." 9129 "Have you ever seen me before?" 9130 "Never." 9131 "Then how do you know it was me?" 9132% 9133Nasrudin walked into a teahouse and declaimed, "The moon is more useful 9134than the sun." 9135 "Why?", he was asked. 9136 "Because at night we need the light more." 9137% 9138Nasrudin was carrying home a piece of liver and the recipe for liver 9139pie. Suddenly a bird of prey swooped down and snatched the piece of 9140meat from his hand. As the bird flew off, Nasrudin called after it, 9141"Foolish bird! You have the liver, but what can you do with it without 9142the recipe?" 9143% 9144Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of 9145conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the 9146fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he 9147is most likely to be creamed? 9148 -- Solomon Short 9149% 9150Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night, 9151God said, "Let Newton be," and all was light. 9152 9153It did not last; the devil howling "Ho! 9154Let Einstein be!" restored the status quo. 9155% 9156Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it 9157cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs. 9158 -- Fran Leibowitz 9159% 9160Nearly all men can stand adversity, but 9161if you want to test a man's character, give him power. 9162 -- Abraham Lincoln 9163% 9164Necessity is a mother. 9165% 9166Neckties strangle clear thinking. 9167 -- Lin Yutang 9168% 9169Never be led astray onto the path of virtue. 9170% 9171Never call a man a fool. Borrow from him. 9172% 9173Never commit yourself! Let someone else commit you. 9174% 9175Never count your chickens before they rip your lips off. 9176% 9177Never drink Coke in a moving elevator. The elevator's motion coupled 9178with the chemicals in Coke produce hallucinations. People tend to 9179change into lizards and attack without warning, and large bats usually 9180fly in the window. Additionally, you begin to believe that elevators 9181have windows. 9182% 9183Never eat more than you can lift. 9184 -- Miss Piggy 9185% 9186Never hit a man with glasses. Hit him with a baseball bat. 9187% 9188Never let your schooling interfere with your education. 9189% 9190Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. 9191 -- Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" 9192% 9193Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to 9194make it complex and wonderful. 9195% 9196Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance. 9197 -- Sam Brown, "The Washington Post", January 26, 1977 9198% 9199Never put off till tomorrow what you can avoid all together. 9200% 9201Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a 9202law against it by that time. 9203% 9204Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flame thrower. 9205% 9206Never tell a lie unless it is absolutely convenient. 9207% 9208Never try to outstubborn a cat. 9209 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 9210% 9211Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes. 9212 -- Dr. Warren Jackson, Director, UTCS 9213% 9214"Never underestimate the power of a small tactical nuclear weapon." 9215% 9216Never worry about theory as long as the machinery does what it's 9217supposed to do. 9218 -- R. A. Heinlein 9219% 9220New crypt. See /usr/news/crypt. 9221% 9222New Hampshire law forbids you to tap your feet, nod your head, or in 9223any way keep time to the music in a tavern, restaurant, or cafe. 9224% 9225New members are urgently needed in the Society for Prevention of 9226Cruelty to Yourself. Apply within. 9227% 9228New members urgently required for SUICIDE CLUB, Watford area. 9229 -- Monty Python's Big Red Book 9230% 9231New systems generate new problems. 9232% 9233New Year's Eve is the time of year when a man most feels his age, and 9234his wife most often reminds him to act it. 9235 -- Webster's Unafraid Dictionary 9236% 9237New York is real. The rest is done with mirrors. 9238% 9239New York's got the ways and means; 9240Just won't let you be. 9241 -- The Grateful Dead 9242% 9243Newlan's Truism: 9244 An "acceptable" level of unemployment means that the government 9245 economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job. 9246% 9247NEWS FLASH!! 9248 Today the East German pole-vault champion 9249 became the West German pole-vault champion. 9250% 9251 *** NEWSFLASH *** 9252Russian tanks steamrolling through New Jersey!!!! Details at eleven! 9253% 9254Newton's Fourth Law: Every action has an equal and opposite satisfaction. 9255% 9256Newton's Little-Known Seventh Law: 9257 A bird in the hand is safer than one overhead. 9258% 9259Next Friday will not be your lucky day. 9260As a matter of fact, you don't have a lucky day this year. 9261% 9262Next to being shot at and missed, nothing is really quite as satisfying 9263as an income tax refund. 9264 -- F. J. Raymond 9265% 9266Nice boy, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice. 9267 -- Foghorn Leghorn 9268% 9269Nihilism should commence with oneself. 9270% 9271Niklaus Wirth has lamented that, whereas Europeans pronounce his name 9272correctly (Ni-klows Virt), Americans invariably mangle it into 9273(Nick-les Worth). Which is to say that Europeans call him by name, but 9274Americans call him by value. 9275% 9276Nine megs for the secretaries fair, 9277Seven megs for the hackers scarce, 9278Five megs for the grads in smoky lairs, 9279Three megs for system source; 9280 9281One disk to rule them all, 9282One disk to bind them, 9283One disk to hold the files 9284And in the darkness grind 'em. 9285% 9286Nine-track tapes and seven-track tapes 9287 And tapes without any tracks; 9288Stretchy tapes and snarley tapes 9289 And tapes mixed up on the racks -- 9290 Take hold of the tape 9291 And pull off the strip, 9292 And then you'll be sure 9293 Your tape drive will skip. 9294 9295 -- Uncle Colonel's Cursory Rhymes 9296% 9297Ninety percent of the time things turn out worse than you thought they would. 9298The other ten percent of the time you had no right to expect that much. 9299 -- Augustine 9300% 9301Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules: 9302 The first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of the 9303 time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent. 9304% 9305Nirvana? That's the place where the powers that be and their friends 9306hang out. 9307 -- Zonker Harris 9308% 9309No animal should ever jump on the dining room furniture unless 9310absolutely certain he can hold his own in conversation. 9311 -- Fran Lebowitz 9312% 9313No committee could ever come up with anything as revolutionary as a 9314camel -- anything as practical and as perfectly designed to perform 9315effectively under such difficult conditions. 9316 -- Laurence J. Peter 9317% 9318No good deed goes unpunished. 9319 -- Clare Boothe Luce 9320% 9321No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after 9322eating one peanut. 9323 -- Channing Pollock 9324% 9325No man is an island, but some of us are long peninsulas. 9326% 9327No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife in the shoulder blades will 9328seriously cramp his style. 9329% 9330No matter what other nations may say about the United States, 9331immigration is still the sincerest form of flattery. 9332% 9333No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. 9334 -- Eleanor Roosevelt 9335% 9336No one gets too old to learn a new way of being stupid. 9337% 9338No part of this message may reproduce, store itself in a retrieval 9339system, or transmit disease, in any form, without the permissiveness of 9340the author. 9341 -- Chris Shaw 9342% 9343No plain fanfold paper could hold that fractal Puff -- 9344He grew so fast no plotting pack could shrink him far enough. 9345Compiles and simulations grew so quickly tame 9346And swapped out all their data space when Puff pushed his stack frame. 9347CHORUS: 9348 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9349 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9350 Puff the fractal dragon was written in C, 9351 And frolicked while processes switched in mainframe memory. 9352Puff, he grew so quickly, while others moved like snails 9353And mini-Puffs would perch themselves on his gigantic tail. 9354All the student hackers loved that fractal Puff 9355But DCS did not like Puff, and finally said, "Enough!" 9356 (chorus) 9357Puff used more resources than DCS could spare. 9358The operator killed Puff's job -- he didn't seem to care. 9359A gloom fell on the hackers; it seemed to be the end, 9360But Puff trapped the exception, and grew from naught again! 9361 (chorus) 9362% 9363No problem is so formidable that you can't just walk away from it. 9364 -- C. Schulz 9365% 9366No problem is so large it can't be fit in somewhere. 9367% 9368No proper program contains an indication which as an operator-applied 9369occurrence identifies an operator-defining occurrence which as an 9370indication-applied occurrence identifies an indication-defining 9371occurrence different from the one identified by the given indication as 9372an indication-applied occurrence. 9373 -- ALGOL 68 Report 9374% 9375No self-respecting fish would want to be wrapped in that kind of 9376paper. 9377 -- Mike Royko on the Chicago Sun-Times after it was 9378 taken over by Rupert Murdoch 9379% 9380No violence, gentlemen -- no violence, I beg of you! Consider 9381the furniture! 9382 -- Sherlock Holmes 9383% 9384"No, `Eureka' is Greek for `This bath is too hot.'" 9385 -- Dr. Who 9386% 9387Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it. 9388 -- Tallulah Bankhead 9389% 9390NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION. 9391% 9392Nobody said computers were going to be polite. 9393% 9394Nobody suffers the pain of birth or the anguish of loving a child in 9395order for presidents to make wars, for governments to feed on the 9396substance of their people, for insurance companies to cheat the young 9397and rob the old. 9398 -- Lewis Lapham 9399% 9400Nobody wants constructive criticism. 9401It's all we can do to put up with constructive praise. 9402% 9403Non-Reciprocal Laws of Expectations: 9404 Negative expectations yield negative results. 9405 Positive expectations yield negative results. 9406% 9407Non-sequiturs make me eat lampshades. 9408% 9409Noncombatant, n.: 9410 A dead Quaker. 9411 -- Ambrose Bierce 9412% 9413Nondeterminism means never having to say you are wrong. 9414% 9415Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. 9416% 9417Not far from here, by a white sun, behind a green star, lived the 9418Steelypips, illustrious, industrious, and they hadn't a care: no spats 9419in their vats, no rules, no schools, no gloom, no evil influence of the 9420moon, no trouble from matter or antimatter -- for they had a machine, a 9421dream of a machine, with springs and gears and perfect in every 9422respect. And they lived with it, and on it, and under it, and inside 9423it, for it was all they had -- first they saved up all their atoms, 9424then they put them all together, and if one didn't fit, why they 9425chipped at it a bit, and everything was just fine ... 9426 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 9427% 9428Not Hercules could have knock'd out his brains, for he had none. 9429 -- Shakespeare 9430% 9431Not only is this incomprehensible, but the ink is ugly and the paper 9432is from the wrong kind of tree. 9433 -- Professor W., EECS, George Washington University 9434% 9435Notes for a ballet, "The Spell": ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter 9436of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon ... Sigmund 9437is astounded to see that their leader is part swan and part woman -- 9438unfortunately, divided lengthwise. She enchants Sigmund, who is 9439careful not to make any poultry jokes ... 9440 -- Woody Allen 9441% 9442Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. 9443 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 9444% 9445Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it's time to get up. 9446% 9447Nothing is faster than the speed of light ... 9448 9449To prove this to yourself, try opening the refrigerator door before the 9450light comes on. 9451% 9452Nothing is illegal if one hundred businessmen decide to do it. 9453 -- Andrew Young 9454% 9455Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which millionaires 9456tolerate the disadvantages of their wealth. 9457 -- Nero Wolfe 9458% 9459Nothing makes one so vain as being told that one is a sinner. 9460Conscience makes egotists of us all. 9461 -- Oscar Wilde 9462% 9463Nothing recedes like success. 9464 -- Walter Winchell 9465% 9466Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited 9467love. 9468 -- Charlie Brown 9469% 9470November, n.: 9471 The eleventh twelfth of a weariness. 9472 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9473% 9474Now and then an innocent person is sent to the legislature. 9475% 9476Now I lay me down to sleep 9477I pray the double lock will keep; 9478May no brick through the window break, 9479And, no one rob me till I awake. 9480% 9481Now is the time for all good men to come to. 9482 -- Walt Kelly 9483% 9484Now that you've read Fortune's diet truths, you'll be prepared the next 9485time some housewife or boutique-owner-turned-diet-expert appears on TV 9486to plug her latest book. And, if you still feel a twinge of guilt for 9487eating coffee cake while listening to her exhortations, ask yourself 9488the following questions: 9489 9490(1) Do I dare trust a person who actually considers alfalfa sprouts a 9491 food? 9492(2) Was the author's sole motive in writing this book to get rich 9493 exploiting the forlorn hopes of chubby people like me? 9494(3) Would a longer life be worthwhile if it had to be lived as 9495 prescribed ... without French-fried onion rings, pizza with 9496 double cheese, or the occasional Mai-Tai? (Remember, living 9497 right doesn't really make you live longer, it just *seems* like 9498 longer.) 9499 9500That, and another piece of coffee cake, should do the trick. 9501% 9502Now the Lord God planted a garden East of Whittier in a place called 9503Yorba Linda, and out of the ground he made to grow orange trees that 9504were good for food and the fruits thereof he labeled SUNKIST ... 9505 -- "The Begatting of a President" 9506% 9507Now this is a totally brain damaged algorithm. Gag me with a smurfette. 9508 -- P. Buhr, Computer Science 354 9509% 9510... Now you're ready for the actual shopping. Your goal should be to 9511get it over with as quickly as possible, because the longer you stay in 9512the mall, the longer your children will have to listen to holiday songs 9513on the mall public-address system, and many of these songs can damage 9514children emotionally. For example: "Frosty the Snowman" is about a 9515snowman who befriends some children, plays with them until they learn 9516to love him, then melts. And "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is about 9517a young reindeer who, because of a physical deformity, is treated as an 9518outcast by the other reindeer. Then along comes good, old Santa. Does 9519he ignore the deformity? Does he look past Rudolph's nose and respect 9520Rudolph for the sensitive reindeer he is underneath? No. Santa asks 9521Rudolph to guide his sleigh, as if Rudolph were nothing more than some 9522kind of headlight with legs and a tail. So unless you want your 9523children exposed to this kind of insensitivity, you should shop 9524quickly. 9525 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9526% 9527 Now, you might ask, "How do I get one of those complete home 9528tool sets for under $4?" An excellent question. 9529 Go to one of those really cheap discount stores where they sell 9530plastic furniture in colors visible from the planet Neptune and where 9531they have a food section specializing in cardboard cartons full of 9532Raisinets and malted milk balls manufactured during the Nixon 9533administration. In either the hardware or housewares department, 9534you'll find an item imported from an obscure Oriental country and 9535described as "Nine Tools in One", consisting of a little handle with 9536interchangeable ends representing inscrutable Oriental notions of tools 9537that Americans might use around the home. Buy it. 9538 This is the kind of tool set professionals use. Not only is it 9539inexpensive, but it also has a great safety feature not found in the 9540so-called quality tools sets: The handle will actually break right off 9541if you accidentally hit yourself or anything else, or expose it to 9542direct sunlight. 9543 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 9544% 9545Nuclear war can ruin your whole compile. 9546 -- Karl Lehenbauer 9547% 9548Nuclear war would mean abolition of most comforts, and disruption of 9549normal routines, for children and adults alike. 9550 -- Willard F. Libby, "You *Can* Survive Atomic Attack" 9551% 9552Nuclear war would really set back cable. 9553 -- Ted Turner 9554% 9555[Nuclear war] ... may not be desirable. 9556 -- Edwin Meese III 9557% 9558Nudists are people who wear one-button suits. 9559% 9560(null cookie; hope that's ok) 9561% 9562Numeric stability is probably not all that important when you're guessing. 9563% 9564O give me a home, 9565Where the buffalo roam, 9566Where the deer and the antelope play, 9567Where seldom is heard 9568A discouraging word, 9569'Cause what can an antelope say? 9570% 9571O'Toole's Commentary on Murphy's Law: 9572 Murphy was an optimist. 9573% 9574"Of ______course it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a 9575fake?" 9576% 9577Of all possible committee reactions to any given agenda item, the 9578reaction that will occur is the one which will liberate the greatest 9579amount of hot air. 9580 -- Thomas L. Martin 9581% 9582Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. 9583 -- Plato 9584% 9585Of all the words of witch's doom 9586There's none so bad as which and whom. 9587The man who kills both which and whom 9588Will be enshrined in our Who's Whom. 9589 -- Fletcher Knebel 9590% 9591Of course power tools and alcohol don't mix. Everyone knows power 9592tools aren't soluble in alcohol ... 9593 -- Crazy Nigel 9594% 9595Of course there's no reason for it, it's just our policy. 9596% 9597Of what you see in books, believe 75%. Of newspapers, believe 50%. 9598And of TV news, believe 25% -- make that 5% if the anchorman wears a 9599blazer. 9600% 9601Office Automation, n.: 9602 The use of computers to improve efficiency by removing anyone 9603 you would want to talk with over coffee. 9604% 9605Ogden's Law: 9606 The sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up. 9607% 9608Oh Dad! We're ALL Devo! 9609% 9610Oh don't the days seem lank and long 9611 When all goes right and none goes wrong, 9612And isn't your life extremely flat 9613 With nothing whatever to grumble at! 9614% 9615Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9616 I muck with indices and structs all day 9617And when it works, I shout hoo-ray 9618 Oh, I am a C programmer and I'm okay 9619% 9620Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd 9621be irresponsible, too. 9622 -- Lichty & Wagner 9623% 9624Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, 9625And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings; 9626Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth 9627Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things 9628You have not dreamed of -- 9629Wheeled and soared and swung 9630High in the sunlit silence. 9631Hovering there 9632I've chased the shouting wind along and flung 9633My eager craft through footless halls of air. 9634Up, up along delirious, burning blue 9635I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, 9636Where never lark, or even eagle flew; 9637And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod 9638The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 9639Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. 9640 -- John Gillespie Magee Jr., "High Flight" 9641% 9642Oh, well, I guess this is just going to be one of those lifetimes. 9643% 9644Oh, when I was in love with you, 9645 Then I was clean and brave, 9646And miles around the wonder grew 9647 How well did I behave. 9648 9649And now the fancy passes by, 9650 And nothing will remain, 9651And miles around they'll say that I 9652 Am quite myself again. 9653 -- A. E. Housman 9654% 9655Oh, wow! Look at the moon! 9656% 9657OK, now let's look at four dimensions on the blackboard. 9658 -- Dr. Joy 9659% 9660OK, so you're a Ph.D. Just don't touch anything. 9661% 9662Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man. 9663 -- Trotsky 9664% 9665Old programmers never die. They just branch to a new address. 9666% 9667Old soldiers never die. Young ones do. 9668% 9669Oliver's Law: 9670 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need 9671it. 9672% 9673Omnibiblious, adj.: 9674 Indifferent to type of drink. "Oh, you can get me anything. 9675 I'm omnibiblious." 9676% 9677OMNIVERSAL AWARENESS?? Oh, YEH!! First you need four GALLONS of 9678JELL-O and a BIG WRENCH!! ... I think you drop th' WRENCH in the JELL-O 9679as if it was a FLAVOR, or an INGREDIENT ... or ... I ... um ... 9680WHERE'S the WASHING MACHINES? 9681% 9682On a paper submitted by a physicist colleague: 9683 9684"This isn't right. This isn't even wrong." 9685 -- Wolfgang Pauli 9686% 9687On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only 9688nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter 9689what it does. 9690 -- Will Rogers 9691% 9692 On his first day as a bus driver, Maxey Eckstein handed in 9693receipts of $65. The next day his take was $67. The third day's 9694income was $62. But on the fourth day, Eckstein emptied no less than 9695$283 on the desk before the cashier. 9696 "Eckstein!" exclaimed the cashier. "This is fantastic. That 9697route never brought in money like this! What happened?" 9698 "Well, after three days on that cockamamie route, I figured 9699business would never improve, so I drove over to Fourteenth Street and 9700worked there. I tell you, that street is a gold mine!" 9701% 9702On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are 9703created jerks. 9704 -- Avery 9705% 9706On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition 9707that all men are created jerks. 9708 -- H. Allen Smith, "Let the Crabgrass Grow" 9709% 9710On the road, ZIPPY is a pinhead without a purpose, but never without a POINT. 9711% 9712On the subject of C program indentation: 9713 9714 "In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's C programs should be 9715 indented six feet downward and covered with dirt." 9716 -- Blair P. Houghton 9717% 9718On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament!], `Pray, 9719Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right 9720answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of 9721confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. 9722 -- Charles Babbage 9723% 9724On-line, adj.: 9725 The idea that a human being should always be accessible to a 9726computer. 9727% 9728Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were 9729forced to live on nothing but food and water for days. 9730 -- W. C. Fields, "My Little Chickadee" 9731% 9732Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that 9733each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his 9734choice. 9735 9736In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians 9737called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it "Hanukka" 9738and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People 9739passing each other on the street would say "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy 9740Hanukka!" or (to the atheists) "Look out for the wall!" 9741 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9742% 9743Once at a social gathering, Gladstone said to Disraeli, "I predict, 9744Sir, that you will die either by hanging or of some vile disease". 9745Disraeli replied, "That all depends upon whether I embrace your 9746principals or your mistress". 9747% 9748Once Law was sitting on the bench 9749 And Mercy knelt a-weeping. 9750"Clear out!" he cried, "disordered wench! 9751 Nor come before me creeping. 9752Upon your knees if you appear, 9753'Tis plain you have no standing here." 9754 9755Then Justice came. His Honor cried: 9756 "YOUR states? -- Devil seize you!" 9757"Amica curiae," she replied -- 9758 "Friend of the court, so please you." 9759"Begone!" he shouted -- "There's the door -- 9760I never saw your face before!" 9761 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9762% 9763Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human 9764beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by 9765side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them 9766which makes it possible for each to see each other whole against the 9767sky. 9768 -- Rainer Rilke 9769% 9770 Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a 9771great crystal river. Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to 9772the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of 9773life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth. But 9774one creature said at last, "I trust that the current knows where it is 9775going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I 9776shall die of boredom." 9777 The other creatures laughed and said, "Fool! Let go, and that 9778current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the 9779rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!" 9780 But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, 9781and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. 9782Yet, in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current 9783lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. 9784 And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, 9785"See a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies! See the 9786Messiah, come to save us all!" And the one carried in the current 9787said, "I am no more Messiah than you. The river delight to lift us 9788free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this 9789adventure. 9790 But they cried the more, "Saviour!" all the while clinging to 9791the rocks, making legends of a Saviour. 9792% 9793Once upon a time, when I was training to be a mathematician, a group of 9794us bright young students taking number theory discovered the names of 9795the smaller prime numbers. 9796 97972: The Odd Prime -- 9798 It's the only even prime, therefore is odd. QED. 97993: The True Prime -- 9800 Lewis Carroll: "If I tell you three times, it's true." 980131: The Arbitrary Prime -- 9802 Determined by unanimous unvote. We needed an arbitrary prime 9803 in case the prof asked for one, and so had an election. 91 9804 received the most votes (well, it *looks* prime) and 3+4i the 9805 next most. However, 31 was the only candidate to receive none 9806 at all. 9807 9808Since the composite numbers are formed from primes, their qualities are 9809derived from those primes. So, for instance, the number 6 is "odd but 9810true", while the powers of 2 are all extremely odd numbers. 9811% 9812... Once you're safely in the mall, you should tie your children to you 9813with ropes so the other shoppers won't try to buy them. Holiday 9814shoppers have been whipped into a frenzy by months of holiday 9815advertisements, and they will buy anything small enough to stuff into a 9816shopping bag. If your children object to being tied, threaten to take 9817them to see Santa Claus; that ought to shut them up. 9818 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 9819% 9820Once, adv.: 9821 Enough. 9822 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 9823% 9824One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least 9825somebody's listening. 9826 -- Franklin P. Jones 9827% 9828"One basic notion underlying Usenet is that it is a cooperative." 9829 9830Having been on USENET for going on ten years, I disagree with this. 9831The basic notion underlying USENET is the flame. 9832 -- Chuq Von Rospach 9833% 9834One can't proceed from the informal to the formal by formal means. 9835% 9836One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs -- but it is amazing 9837how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelette. 9838 -- Professor Charles P. Issawi 9839% 9840One day the King decided that he would force all his subjects to tell 9841the truth. A gallows was erected in front of the city gates. A herald 9842announced, "Whoever would enter the city must first answer the truth to 9843a question which will be put to him." Nasrudin was first in line. The 9844captain of the guard asked him, "Where are you going? Tell the truth 9845-- the alternative is death by hanging." 9846 "I am going," said Nasrudin, "to be hanged on that gallows." 9847 "I don't believe you." 9848 "Very well, if I have told a lie, then hang me!" 9849 "But that would make it the truth!" 9850 "Exactly," said Nasrudin, "your truth." 9851% 9852One difference between a man and a machine is that a machine is quiet 9853when well oiled. 9854% 9855One good reason why computers can do more work than people is that they 9856never have to stop and answer the phone. 9857% 9858One is not superior merely because one sees the world as odious. 9859 -- Chateaubriand (1768-1848) 9860% 9861One learns to itch where one can scratch. 9862 -- Ernest Bramah 9863% 9864One man's brain plus one other will produce one half as many ideas as 9865one man would have produced alone. These two plus two more will 9866produce half again as many ideas. These four plus four more begin to 9867represent a creative meeting, and the ratio changes to one quarter as 9868many ... 9869 -- Anthony Chevins 9870% 9871One man's theology is another man's belly laugh. 9872% 9873One monk said to the other, "The fish has flopped out of the net! How 9874will it live?" The other said, "When you have gotten out of the net, 9875I'll tell you." 9876% 9877One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 9878% 9879One of my less pleasant chores when I was young was to read the Bible 9880from one end to the other. Reading the Bible straight through is at 9881least 70 percent discipline, like learning Latin. But the good parts 9882are, of course, simply amazing. God is an extremely uneven writer, but 9883when He's good, nobody can touch Him. 9884 -- John Gardner, NYT Book Review, Jan 1983 9885% 9886One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to 9887do and always a clever thing to say. 9888 -- Will Durant 9889% 9890One of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, 9891lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of 9892their C programs. 9893 -- Robert Firth 9894% 9895One of the oldest problems puzzled over in the Talmud is: "Why did God 9896create goyim?" The generally accepted answer is "________somebody has to buy 9897retail." 9898 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 9899% 9900 One of the questions that comes up all the time is: How 9901enthusiastic is our support for UNIX? 9902 Unix was written on our machines and for our machines many 9903years ago. Today, much of UNIX being done is done on our machines. 9904Ten percent of our VAXs are going for UNIX use. UNIX is a simple 9905language, easy to understand, easy to get started with. It's great for 9906students, great for somewhat casual users, and it's great for 9907interchanging programs between different machines. And so, because of 9908its popularity in these markets, we support it. We have good UNIX on 9909VAX and good UNIX on PDP-11s. 9910 It is our belief, however, that serious professional users will 9911run out of things they can do with UNIX. They'll want a real system and 9912will end up doing VMS when they get to be serious about programming. 9913 With UNIX, if you're looking for something, you can easily and 9914quickly check that small manual and find out that it's not there. With 9915VMS, no matter what you look for -- it's literally a five-foot shelf of 9916documentation -- if you look long enough it's there. That's the 9917difference -- the beauty of UNIX is it's simple; and the beauty of VMS 9918is that it's all there. 9919 -- Ken Olsen, President of DEC, 1984 9920% 9921One of the rules of Busmanship, New York style, is never surrender your 9922seat to another passenger. This may seem callous, but it is the best 9923way, really. If one passenger were to give a seat to someone who 9924fainted in the aisle, say, the others on the bus would become 9925disoriented and imagine they were in Topeka, Kansas. 9926% 9927The Seventh Commandments for Technicians 9928 Work thou not on energized equipment, for if thou dost, thy 9929fellow workers will surely buy beers for thy widow and console her in 9930other ways. 9931% 9932The First Commandment for Technicians: 9933 Beware the lightening that lurketh in the undischarged 9934 capacitor, lest it cause thee to bounce upon thy buttocks 9935 in a most untechnician-like manner. 9936% 9937One Page Principle: 9938 A specification that will not fit on one page of 8.5x11 inch 9939 paper cannot be understood. 9940 -- Mark Ardis 9941% 9942One planet is all you get. 9943% 9944One promising concept that I came up with right away was that you could 9945manufacture personal air bags, then get a law passed requiring that 9946they be installed on congressmen to keep them from taking trips. Let's 9947say your congressman was trying to travel to Paris to do a fact-finding 9948study on how the French government handles diseases transmitted by 9949sherbet. Just when he got to the plane, his mandatory air bag, 9950strapped around his waist, would inflate -- FWWAAAAAAPPPP -- thus 9951rendering him too large to fit through the plane door. It could also 9952be rigged to inflate whenever the congressman proposed a law. ("Mr. 9953Speaker, people ask me, why should October be designated as Cuticle 9954Inspection Month? And I answer that FWWAAAAAAPPPP.") This would save 9955millions of dollars, so I have no doubt that the public would violently 9956support a law requiring airbags on congressmen. The problem is that 9957your potential market is very small: there are only around 500 members 9958of Congress, and some of them, such as House Speaker "Tip" O'Neil, are 9959already too large to fit on normal aircraft. 9960 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 9961% 9962One reason why George Washington 9963Is held in such veneration: 9964He never blamed his problems 9965On the former Administration. 9966 -- George O. Ludcke 9967% 9968One seldom sees a monument to a committee. 9969% 9970One thing the inventors can't seem to get the bugs out of 9971is fresh paint. 9972% 9973One thing they don't tell you about doing experimental physics is that 9974sometimes you must work under adverse conditions ... like a state of 9975sheer terror. 9976 -- W. K. Hartmann 9977% 9978One way to make your old car run better is to look up the price of a 9979new model. 9980% 9981One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him. 9982% 9983One, with God, is always a majority, but many a martyr has been burned 9984at the stake while the votes were being counted. 9985 -- Thomas B. Reed 9986% 9987One-Shot Case Study, n.: 9988 The scientific equivalent of the four-leaf clover, from which it 9989 is concluded all clovers possess four leaves and are sometimes 9990 green. 9991% 9992Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. 9993% 9994Only God can make random selections. 9995% 9996Only presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to 9997use the editorial "we." 9998% 9999Only through hard work and perseverance can one truly suffer. 10000% 10001Optimization hinders evolution. 10002% 10003Oregano, n.: 10004 The ancient Italian art of pizza folding. 10005% 10006Oregon, n.: 10007 Eighty billion gallons of water with no place to go on Saturday 10008night. 10009% 10010Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. 10011Biochemistry is the study of carbon compounds that crawl. 10012 -- Mike Adams 10013% 10014Osborn's Law: 10015 Variables won't; constants aren't. 10016% 10017Others will look to you for stability, so hide when you bite your nails. 10018% 10019Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is 10020they charge fifteen cents for them. 10021% 10022Our documentation manager was showing her two year old son around the 10023office. He was introduced to me, at which time he pointed out that we 10024were both holding bags of popcorn. We were both holding bottles of 10025juice. But only *__he* had a lollipop. 10026 10027He asked his mother, "Why doesn't HE have a lollipop?" 10028 10029Her reply: 10030 10031 "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it 10032 means to be a programmer." 10033% 10034Our OS who art in CPU, UNIX be thy name. 10035 Thy programs run, thy syscalls done, 10036 In kernel as it is in user! 10037% 10038Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. 10039 -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president Litton Industries 10040% 10041... Our second completely true news item was sent to me by Mr. H. Boyce 10042Connell Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., where he is involved in a law firm. One 10043thing I like about the South is, folks there care about tradition. If 10044somebody gets handed a name like "H. Boyce," he hangs on to it, puts it 10045on his legal stationery, even passes it to his son, rather than do what 10046a lesser person would do, such as get it changed or kill himself. 10047 -- Dave Barry, "This Column is Nothing but the Truth!" 10048% 10049Our vision is to speed up time, eventually eliminating it. 10050 -- Alex Schure 10051% 10052Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. 10053 -- General Omar N. Bradley 10054% 10055 OUTCONERR 10056Twas FORTRAN as the doloop goes 10057 Did logzerneg the ifthen block 10058All kludgy were the function flows 10059 And subroutines adhoc. 10060 10061Beware the runtime-bug my friend 10062 squrooneg, the false goto 10063Beware the infiniteloop 10064 And shun the inprectoo. 10065% 10066Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend: and inside a dog, 10067it's too dark to read. 10068 -- Groucho Marx 10069% 10070Over the years, I've developed my sense of deja vu so acutely that now 10071I can remember things that *have* happened before ... 10072% 10073Overdrawn? But I still have checks left! 10074% 10075Overflow on /dev/null: please empty the bit bucket. 10076% 10077Overload -- core meltdown sequence initiated. 10078% 10079Ozman's Laws: 10080 (1) If someone says he will do something "without fail," he 10081 won't. 10082 (2) The more people talk on the phone, the less money they 10083 make. 10084 (3) People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. 10085 (4) Pizza always burns the roof of your mouth. 10086% 10087Painting, n.: 10088 The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather, and 10089 exposing them to the critic. 10090 -- Ambrose Bierce 10091% 10092panic: can't find / 10093% 10094panic: kernel trap (ignored) 10095% 10096Paradise is exactly like where you are right now ... only much, much 10097better. 10098 -- Laurie Anderson 10099% 10100Parallel lines never meet, unless you bend one or both of them. 10101% 10102Paranoia is simply an optimistic outlook on life. 10103% 10104Paranoid schizophrenics outnumber their enemies at least two to one. 10105% 10106Paranoids are people, too; they have their own problems. It's easy to 10107criticize, but if everybody hated you, you'd be paranoid too. 10108 -- D. J. Hicks 10109% 10110Pardo's First Postulate: 10111 Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral, or 10112fattening. 10113 10114Arnold's Addendum: 10115 Everything else causes cancer in rats. 10116% 10117Pardon this fortune. Database under reconstruction. 10118% 10119Parker's Law: 10120 Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone. 10121% 10122Parkinson's Fifth Law: 10123 If there is a way to delay an important decision, the good 10124 bureaucracy, public or private, will find it. 10125% 10126Parkinson's Fourth Law: 10127 The number of people in any working group tends to increase 10128 regardless of the amount of work to be done. 10129% 10130Parsley 10131 is gharsley. 10132 -- Ogden Nash 10133% 10134Parts that positively cannot be assembled in improper order will be. 10135% 10136Pascal is not a high-level language. 10137 -- Steven Feiner 10138% 10139Pascal is Pascal is Pascal is dog meat. 10140 -- M. Devine and P. Larson, Computer Science 340 10141% 10142Pascal Users: 10143 To show respect for the 313th anniversary (tomorrow) of the 10144 death of Blaise Pascal, your programs will be run at half speed. 10145% 10146Pascal, n.: 10147 A programming language named after a man who would turn over 10148 in his grave if he knew about it. 10149 -- Datamation, January 15, 1984 10150% 10151Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. 10152 -- Eric Hoffer 10153% 10154Patageometry, n.: 10155 The study of those mathematical properties that are invariant 10156 under brain transplants. 10157% 10158Paul Revere was a tattle-tale. 10159% 10160Paul's Law: 10161 In America, it's not how much an item costs, it's how much you save. 10162% 10163Paul's Law: 10164 You can't fall off the floor. 10165% 10166Peace, n.: 10167 In international affairs, a period of cheating between two 10168 periods of fighting. 10169 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10170% 10171Peanut Blossoms 10172 101734 cups sugar 16 tbsp. milk 101744 cups brown sugar 4 tsp. vanilla 101754 cups shortening 14 cups flour 101768 eggs 4 tsp. soda 101774 cups peanut butter 4 tsp. salt 10178 10179Shape dough into balls. Roll in sugar and bake on ungreased cookie 10180sheet at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top each cookie with a 10181Hershey's kiss or star pressing down firmly to crack cookie. Makes a 10182hell of a lot. 10183% 10184Pecor's Health-Food Principle: 10185 Never eat rutabaga on any day of the week that has a "y" in it. 10186% 10187Pedaeration, n.: 10188 The perfect body heat achieved by having one leg under the 10189sheet and one hanging off the edge of the bed. 10190 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 10191% 10192Penguin Trivia #46: 10193 Animals who are not penguins can only wish they were. 10194 -- Chicago Reader 10/15/82 10195% 10196People need good lies. There are too many bad ones. 10197 -- Bokonon, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. 10198% 10199People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of 10200the future. 10201% 10202People think love is an emotion. Love is good sense. 10203 -- Ken Kesey 10204% 10205People usually get what's coming to them ... unless it's been mailed. 10206% 10207People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better 10208press than people who are just funny and smart. 10209 -- Howard Simons, "The Washington Post" 10210% 10211People who claim they don't let little things bother them have never 10212slept in a room with a single mosquito. 10213% 10214People who have what they want are very fond of telling 10215people who haven't what they want that they don't want it. 10216 -- Ogden Nash 10217% 10218People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them that 10219Benjamin Franklin said it first. 10220% 10221People will buy anything that's one to a customer. 10222% 10223People will do tomorrow what they did today because that is what they 10224did yesterday. 10225% 10226Pereant, inquit, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt. 10227"Confound those who have said our remarks before us." 10228 -- Aelius Donatus 10229% 10230Perfect day for scrubbing the floor and other exciting things. 10231% 10232Perfection is reached, not when there is no longer anything to add, but 10233when there is no longer anything to take away. 10234 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery 10235% 10236Personifiers Unite! You have nothing to lose but Mr. Dignity! 10237% 10238Peter's Law of Substitution: 10239 Look after the molehills, and the mountains will look after 10240 themselves. 10241% 10242Philadelphia is not dull -- it just seems so 10243because it is next to exciting Camden, New Jersey. 10244% 10245Philogeny recapitulates erogeny; erogeny recapitulates philogeny. 10246% 10247Philosophy will clip an angel's wings. 10248 -- John Keats 10249% 10250Pick another fortune cookie. 10251% 10252Picture the sun as the origin of two intersecting 6-dimensional 10253hyperplanes from which we can deduce a certain transformational 10254sequence which gives us the terminal velocity of a rubber duck ... 10255% 10256Pig, n.: 10257 An animal (Porcus omnivorous) closely allied to the human race 10258 by the splendor and vivacity of its appetite, which, however, is 10259 inferior in scope, for it balks at pig. 10260 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10261% 10262PISCES (Feb. 19 - Mar. 20) 10263 You have a vivid imagination and often think you are being 10264 followed by the CIA or FBI. You have minor influence over your 10265 associates and people resent your flaunting of your power. You lack 10266 confidence and you are generally a coward. Pisces people do terrible 10267 things to small animals. 10268% 10269PISCES (Feb. 19 to Mar. 20) 10270 Take the high road, look for the good things, carry the American 10271 Express card and a weapon. The world is yours today, as nobody 10272 else wants it. Your mortgage will be foreclosed. You will 10273 probably get run over by a bus. 10274% 10275 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10276 10277(7) The car directly in front of you has a flashing right tail light 10278 but a steady left tail light. This means 10279 10280 (a) one of the tail lights is broken; you should blow your horn 10281 to call the problem to the driver's attention. 10282 (b) the driver is signaling a right turn. 10283 (c) the driver is signaling a left turn. 10284 (d) the driver is from out of town. 10285 10286The correct answer is (d). Tail lights are used in some foreign 10287countries to signal turns. 10288% 10289 Pittsburgh Driver's Test 10290 10291(8) Pedestrians are 10292 10293 (a) irrelevant. 10294 (b) communists. 10295 (c) a nuisance. 10296 (d) difficult to clean off the front grille. 10297 10298The correct answer is (a). Pedestrians are not in cars, so they are 10299totally irrelevant to driving; you should ignore them completely. 10300% 10301Pity the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 10302 -- Don Marquis 10303% 10304PL/1, "the fatal disease", belongs more to the problem set 10305than to the solution set. 10306 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 10307% 10308"Plaese porrf raed." 10309 -- Prof. Michael O'Longhlin, S.U.N.Y. Purchase 10310% 10311Plato, by the way, wanted to banish all poets from his proposed Utopia 10312because they were liars. The truth was that Plato knew philosophers 10313couldn't compete successfully with poets. 10314 -- Kilgore Trout (Philip J. Farmer) "Venus on the Half 10315 Shell" 10316% 10317Play Rogue, visit exotic locations, meet strange creatures and kill 10318them. 10319% 10320Playing an unamplified electric guitar is like strumming on a picnic 10321table. 10322 -- Dave Barry, "The Snake" 10323% 10324Please ignore previous fortune. 10325% 10326Please take note: 10327% 10328Please try to limit the amount of "this room doesn't have any bazingas" 10329until you are told that those rooms are "punched out". Once punched 10330out, we have a right to complain about atrocities, missing bazingas, 10331and such. 10332 -- N. Meyrowitz 10333% 10334Please, won't somebody tell me what diddie-wa-diddie means? 10335% 10336 Plumbing is one of the easier of do-it-yourself activities, 10337requiring only a few simple tools and a willingness to stick your arm 10338into a clogged toilet. In fact, you can solve many home plumbing 10339problems, such as annoying faucet drip, merely by turning up the 10340radio. But before we get into specific techniques, let's look at how 10341plumbing works. 10342 A plumbing system is very much like your electrical system, 10343except that instead of electricity, it has water, and instead of wires, 10344it has pipes, and instead of radios and waffle irons, it has faucets 10345and toilets. So the truth is that your plumbing systems is nothing at 10346all like your electrical system, which is good, because electricity can 10347kill you. 10348 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 10349% 10350PLUNDERER'S THEME 10351(to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius) 10352 10353Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10354If you do the things we say, then you'll soon rule the nation. 10355Kill your foes and enemies and then kill your relations. 10356Pillage, rape, and loot and burn, but all in moderation. 10357% 10358Pohl's law: 10359 Nothing is so good that somebody, somewhere, will not hate it. 10360% 10361Police: Good evening, are you the host? 10362Host: No. 10363Police: We've been getting complaints about this party. 10364Host: About the drugs? 10365Police: No. 10366Host: About the guns, then? Is somebody complaining about the guns? 10367Police: No, the noise. 10368Host: Oh, the noise. Well that makes sense because there are no guns 10369 or drugs here. (An enormous explosion is heard in the 10370 background.) Or fireworks. Who's complaining about the noise? 10371 The neighbors? 10372Police: No, the neighbors fled inland hours ago. Most of the recent 10373 complaints have come from Pittsburgh. Do you think you could 10374 ask the host to quiet things down? 10375Host: No Problem. (At this point, a Volkswagen bug with primitive 10376 religious symbols drawn on the doors emerges from the living 10377 room and roars down the hall, past the police and onto the 10378 lawn, where it smashes into a tree. Eight guests tumble out 10379 onto the grass, moaning.) See? Things are starting to wind 10380 down. 10381% 10382Political T.V. commercials prove one thing: some candidates can tell 10383all their good points and qualifications in just 30 seconds. 10384% 10385Politician, n.: 10386 An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of 10387 organized society is reared. When he wriggles, he mistakes the 10388 agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice. As compared 10389 with the statesman, he suffers the disadvantage of being alive. 10390 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10391% 10392Politician, n.: 10393 From the Greek "poly" ("many") and the French "tete" ("head" or 10394 "face," as in "tete-a-tete": head to head or face to face). Hence 10395 "polytetien", a person of two or more faces. 10396 -- Martin Pitt 10397% 10398Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even 10399where there is no river. 10400 -- Nikita Khrushchev 10401% 10402Politics is like coaching a football team. You have to be smart enough 10403to understand the game but not smart enough to lose interest. 10404% 10405Polymer physicists are into chains. 10406% 10407Pope Goestheveezl was the shortest reigning pope in the history of the 10408Church, reigning for two hours and six minutes on 1 April 1866. The 10409white smoke had hardly faded into the blue of the Vatican skies before 10410it dawned on the assembled multitudes in St. Peter's Square that his 10411name had hilarious possibilities. The crowds fell about, helpless with 10412laughter, singing 10413 10414 Half a pound of tuppenny rice 10415 Half a pound of treacle 10416 That's the way the chimney smokes 10417 Pope Goestheveezl 10418 10419The square was finally cleared by armed carabineri with tears of 10420laughter streaming down their faces. The event set a record for 10421hilarious civic functions, smashing the previous record set when Baron 10422Hans Neizant B"ompzidaize was elected Landburgher of K"oln in 1653. 10423 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 10424% 10425Portable, adj.: 10426 Survives system reboot. 10427% 10428Positive, adj.: 10429 Mistaken at the top of one's voice. 10430 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10431% 10432Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth. 10433% 10434Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat. 10435 -- John Lehman, Secretary of the Navy 1981-1987 10436% 10437Power corrupts. And atomic power corrupts atomically. 10438% 10439Power, n: 10440 The only narcotic regulated by the SEC instead of the FDA. 10441% 10442Practical people would be more practical if they would take a little 10443more time for dreaming. 10444 -- J. P. McEvoy 10445% 10446Predestination was doomed from the start. 10447% 10448President Reagan has noted that there are too many economic pundits and 10449forecasters and has decided on an excess prophets tax. 10450% 10451President Thieu says he'll quit if he doesn't get more than 50% of the 10452vote. In a democracy, that's not called quitting. 10453 -- The Washington Post 10454% 10455Pretend to spank me -- I'm a pseudo-masochist! 10456% 10457Preudhomme's Law of Window Cleaning: 10458 It's on the other side. 10459% 10460[Prime Minister Joseph] Chamberlain loves the working man -- he loves 10461to see him work. 10462 -- Winston Churchill 10463% 10464Pro is to con as progress is to Congress. 10465% 10466Probable-Possible, my black hen, 10467She lays eggs in the Relative When. 10468She doesn't lay eggs in the Positive Now 10469Because she's unable to postulate how. 10470 -- Frederick Winsor 10471% 10472Probably the question asked most often is: Do one-celled animals have 10473orgasms? The answer is yes, they have orgasms almost constantly, which 10474is why they don't mind living in pools of warm slime. 10475 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 10476 Teen Should Know" 10477% 10478Prof: So the American government went to IBM to come up with a data 10479 encryption standard and they came up with ... 10480Student: EBCDIC!" 10481% 10482Professor Gorden Newell threw another shutout in last week's Chem. 10483Eng. 130 midterm. Once again no student received a single point on 10484his exam. Newell has now tossed five shutouts this quarter. Newell's 10485earned exam average has now dropped to a phenomenal 30% 10486% 10487Proof techniques #1: Proof by Induction. 10488 10489This technique is used on equations with "_n" in them. Induction 10490techniques are very popular; even the military used them. 10491 10492SAMPLE: Proof of induction without proof of induction. 10493 10494 We know it's true for _n equal to 1. Now assume that it's true 10495for every natural number less than _n. _N is arbitrary, so we can take _n 10496as large as we want. If _n is sufficiently large, the case of _n+1 is 10497trivially equivalent, so the only important _n are _n less than _n. We 10498can take _n = _n (from above), so it's true for _n+1 because it's just 10499about _n. 10500 QED. (QED translates from the Latin as "So what?") 10501% 10502Proof techniques #2: Proof by Oddity. 10503 SAMPLE: To prove that horses have an infinite number of legs. 10504(1) Horses have an even number of legs. 10505(2) They have two legs in back and fore legs in front. 10506(3) This makes a total of six legs, which certainly is an odd number of 10507 legs for a horse. 10508(4) But the only number that is both odd and even is infinity. 10509(5) Therefore, horses must have an infinite number of legs. 10510 10511Topics to be covered in future issues include proof by: 10512 Intimidation 10513 Gesticulation (handwaving) 10514 "Try it; it works" 10515 Constipation (I was just sitting there and ...) 10516 Blatant assertion 10517 Changing all the 2's to _n's 10518 Mutual consent 10519 Lack of a counterexample, and 10520 "It stands to reason" 10521% 10522Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10523 10524BBW Branch Both Ways 10525BEW Branch Either Way 10526BBBF Branch on Bit Bucket Full 10527BH Branch and Hang 10528BMR Branch Multiple Registers 10529BOB Branch On Bug 10530BPO Branch on Power Off 10531BST Backspace and Stretch Tape 10532CDS Condense and Destroy System 10533CLBR Clobber Register 10534CLBRI Clobber Register Immediately 10535CM Circulate Memory 10536CMFRM Come From -- essential for truly structured programming 10537CPPR Crumple Printer Paper and Rip 10538CRN Convert to Roman Numerals 10539% 10540Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10541 10542DC Divide and Conquer 10543DMPK Destroy Memory Protect Key 10544DO Divide and Overflow 10545EMPC Emulate Pocket Calculator 10546EPI Execute Programmer Immediately 10547EROS Erase Read Only Storage 10548EXCE Execute Customer Engineer 10549HCF Halt and Catch Fire 10550IBP Insert Bug and Proceed 10551INSQSW Insert into queue somewhere (for FINO queues [First in never out]) 10552PBC Print and Break Chain 10553PDSK Punch Disk 10554% 10555Proposed Additions to the PDP-11 Instruction Set: 10556 10557PI Punch Invalid 10558POPI Punch Operator Immediately 10559PVLC Punch Variable Length Card 10560RASC Read And Shred Card 10561RPM Read Programmers Mind 10562RSSC reduce speed, step carefully (for improved accuracy) 10563RTAB Rewind tape and break 10564RWDSK rewind disk 10565RWOC Read Writing On Card 10566SCRBL scribble to disk - faster than a write 10567SLC Search for Lost Chord 10568SPSW Scramble Program Status Word 10569SRSD Seek Record and Scar Disk 10570STROM Store in Read Only Memory 10571TDB Transfer and Drop Bit 10572WBT Water Binary Tree 10573% 10574"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller 10575than the both put together." 10576% 10577Psychiatrists say that one out of four people are mentally ill. Check 10578three friends. If they're OK, you're it. 10579% 10580Psychotherapy is the theory that the patient will probably get well 10581anyhow and is certainly a damn fool. 10582 -- H. L. Mencken 10583% 10584Puns are little "plays on words" that a certain breed of person loves 10585to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way 10586to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the 10587cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in 10588fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a 10589lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of 10590the first day even if they have plenty of food and water. 10591 -- Dave Barry, "Why Humor is Funny" 10592% 10593Pure drivel tends to drive ordinary drivel off the TV screen. 10594% 10595Pushing 40 is exercise enough. 10596% 10597Put no trust in cryptic comments. 10598% 10599Put your Nose to the Grindstone! 10600 -- Amalgamated Plastic Surgeons and Toolmakers, Ltd. 10601% 10602Putt's Law: 10603 Technology is dominated by two types of people: 10604 Those who understand what they do not manage. 10605 Those who manage what they do not understand. 10606% 10607Q: Do you know what the death rate around here is? 10608A: One per person. 10609% 10610Q: How did you get into artificial intelligence? 10611A: Seemed logical -- I didn't have any real intelligence. 10612% 10613Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat? 10614A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10615% 10616Q: How many DEC repairmen does it take to fix a flat? 10617A: Five; four to hold the car up and one to swap tires. 10618 10619Q: How long does it take? 10620A: It's indeterminate. It will depend upon how many flats they've 10621 brought with them. 10622 10623Q: What happens if you've got TWO flats? 10624A: They replace your generator. 10625% 10626Q: How many existentialists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10627A: Two. One to screw it in and one to observe how the lightbulb 10628 itself symbolizes a single incandescent beacon of subjective 10629 reality in a netherworld of endless absurdity reaching out toward a 10630 maudlin cosmos of nothingness. 10631% 10632Q: How many heterosexual males does it take to screw in a light bulb 10633 in San Francisco? 10634A: Both of them. 10635% 10636Q: How many IBM cpu's does it take to do a logical right shift? 10637A: 33. 1 to hold the bits and 32 to push the register. 10638% 10639Q: How many IBM CPU's does it take to execute a job? 10640A: Four; three to hold it down, and one to rip its head off. 10641% 10642Q: How many IBM types does it take to change a light bulb? 10643A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-0001, 10644 Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of 10645 the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% 10646 of the definitions are of the form "A ...... consists of sequences 10647 of non-blank characters separated by blanks". 10648% 10649Q: How many journalists does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10650A: Three. One to report it as an inspired government program to bring 10651 light to the people, one to report it as a diabolical government 10652 plot to deprive the poor of darkness, and one to win a Pulitzer 10653 prize for reporting that Electric Company hired a lightbulb 10654 assassin to break the bulb in the first place. 10655% 10656Q: How many Martians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10657A: One and a half. 10658% 10659Q: How many mathematicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 10660A: One. He gives it to six Californians, thereby reducing the problem 10661 to the earlier joke. 10662% 10663Q: How many Oregonians does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10664A: Three. One to screw in the lightbulb and two to fend off all those 10665 Californians trying to share the experience. 10666% 10667Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? 10668A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub 10669 with brightly colored machine tools. 10670% 10671Q: How many Zen masters does it take to screw in a light bulb? 10672A: None. The Universe spins the bulb, and the Zen master stays out 10673 of the way. 10674% 10675Q: What's a light-year? 10676A: One-third less calories than a regular year. 10677% 10678Q: Why did the tachyon cross the road? 10679A: Because it was on the other side. 10680% 10681Q: Why do ducks have flat feet? 10682A: To stamp out forest fires. 10683 10684Q: Why do elephants have flat feet? 10685A: To stamp out flaming ducks. 10686% 10687Q: Why do mountain climbers rope themselves together? 10688A: To prevent the sensible ones from going home. 10689% 10690Q: Somebody just posted that Roman Polanski directed Star Wars. What 10691 should I do? 10692 10693A: Post the correct answer at once! We can't have people go on 10694 believing that! Very good of you to spot this. You'll probably be 10695 the only one to make the correction, so post as soon as you can. No 10696 time to lose, so certainly don't wait a day, or check to see if 10697 somebody else has made the correction. 10698 10699 And it's not good enough to send the message by mail. Since you're 10700 the only one who really knows that it was Francis Coppola, you have 10701 to inform the whole net right away! 10702 10703 -- Brad Templeton, "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions 10704 on Netiquette" 10705% 10706Quality Control, n.: 10707 The process of testing one out of every 1,000 units coming off 10708 a production line to make sure that at least one out of 100 works. 10709% 10710Question: 10711Man Invented Alcohol, 10712God Invented Grass. 10713Who do you trust? 10714% 10715Quick!! Act as if nothing has happened! 10716% 10717Quick, sing me the BUDAPEST NATIONAL ANTHEM!! 10718% 10719Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur. 10720 10721(Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.) 10722% 10723Quigley's Law: 10724 Whoever has any authority over you, 10725 no matter how small, will attempt to use it. 10726% 10727QUOTE OF THE DAY: 10728 10729 ` 10730 10731% 10732"Qvid me anxivs svm?" 10733% 10734QWERT (kwirt), n. [MW < OW qwertyuiop, a thirteenth]: 10735 1. a unit of weight equal to 13 poiuyt avoirdupois (or 1.69 10736kiloliks), commonly used in structural engineering; 2. [colloq.] one 10737thirteenth the load that a fully grown sligo can carry; 3. [anat.] a 10738painful irritation of the dermis in the region of the anus; 4. [slang] 10739person who excites in others the symptoms of a qwert. 10740 -- Webster's Middle World Dictionary, 4th ed. 10741% 10742Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. 10743% 10744Rattling around the back of my head is a disturbing image of something 10745I saw at the airport... Now I'm remembering, those giant piles of 10746computer magazines right next to "People" and "Time" in the airport 10747store. Does it bother anyone else that half the world is being told 10748all of our hard-won secrets of computer technology? Remember how all 10749the lawyers cried foul when "How to Avoid Probate" was published? Are 10750they taking no-fault insurance lying down? No way! But at the current 10751rate it won't be long before there are stacks of the "Transactions on 10752Information Theory" at the A&P checkout counters. Who's going to be 10753impressed with us electrical engineers then? Are we, as the saying 10754goes, giving away the store? 10755 -- Robert W. Lucky, IEEE President 10756% 10757Ray's Rule of Precision: 10758 Measure with a micrometer. Mark with chalk. Cut with an axe. 10759% 10760Razors pain you; 10761Rivers are damp; 10762Acids stain you; 10763And drugs cause cramp. 10764Guns aren't lawful; 10765Nooses give; 10766Gas smells awful; 10767You might as well live. 10768 -- Dorothy Parker, "Resume", 1926 10769% 10770Re graphics: A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe 10771the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described 10772with pictures. 10773% 10774Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of 10775Congress. But I repeat myself. 10776 -- Mark Twain 10777% 10778Real computer scientists admire ADA for its overwhelming aesthetic 10779value but they find it difficult to actually program in it, as it is 10780much too large to implement. Most computer scientists don't notice 10781this because they are still arguing over what else to add to ADA. 10782% 10783Real computer scientists despise the idea of actual hardware. Hardware 10784has limitations, software doesn't. It's a real shame that Turing 10785machines are so poor at I/O. 10786% 10787Real computer scientists don't comment their code. The identifiers are 10788so long they can't afford the disk space. 10789% 10790Real computer scientists don't program in assembler. They don't write 10791in anything less portable than a number two pencil. 10792% 10793Real computer scientists don't write code. They occasionally tinker 10794with `programming systems', but those are so high level that they 10795hardly count (and rarely count accurately; precision is for 10796applications.) 10797% 10798Real computer scientists only write specs for languages that might run 10799on future hardware. Nobody trusts them to write specs for anything homo 10800sapiens will ever be able to fit on a single planet. 10801% 10802Real programmers disdain structured programming. Structured 10803programming is for compulsive neurotics who were prematurely toilet- 10804trained. They wear neckties and carefully line up pencils on otherwise 10805clear desks. 10806% 10807Real programmers don't bring brown-bag lunches. If the vending machine 10808doesn't sell it, they don't eat it. Vending machines don't sell 10809quiche. 10810% 10811Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it 10812should be hard to understand. 10813% 10814Real programmers don't draw flowcharts. Flowcharts are, after all, the 10815illiterate's form of documentation. Cavemen drew flowcharts; look how 10816much good it did them. 10817% 10818Real Programmers don't play tennis, or any other sport that requires 10819you to change clothes. Mountain climbing is OK, and real programmers 10820wear their climbing boots to work in case a mountain should suddenly 10821spring up in the middle of the machine room. 10822% 10823Real programmers don't write in BASIC. Actually, no programmers write 10824in BASIC after reaching puberty. 10825% 10826Real programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress 10827freaks and crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who 10828wear white socks. 10829% 10830Real Programmers don't write in PL/I. PL/I is for programmers who 10831can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN. 10832% 10833Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue. 10834% 10835Real Programs don't use shared text. Otherwise, how can they use 10836functions for scratch space after they are finished calling them? 10837% 10838Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness. 10839This process doesn't necessarily involve execution of anything on a 10840computer, except perhaps a Correctness Verification Aid package. 10841% 10842Real software engineers don't like the idea of some inexplicable and 10843greasy hardware several aisles away that may stop working at any 10844moment. They have a great distrust of hardware people, and wish that 10845systems could be virtual at *___all* levels. They would like personal 10846computers (you know no one's going to trip over something and kill your 10847DFA in mid-transit), except that they need 8 megabytes to run their 10848Correctness Verification Aid packages. 10849% 10850Real software engineers work from 9 to 5, because that is the way the 10851job is described in the formal spec. Working late would feel like 10852using an undocumented external procedure. 10853% 10854Real Time, adj.: 10855 Here and now, as opposed to fake time, which only occurs there 10856and then. 10857% 10858Real Users are afraid they'll break the machine -- but they're never 10859afraid to break your face. 10860% 10861Real Users find the one combination of bizarre input values that shuts 10862down the system for days. 10863% 10864Real Users hate Real Programmers. 10865% 10866Real Users know your home telephone number. 10867% 10868Real Users never know what they want, but they always know when your 10869program doesn't deliver it. 10870% 10871Real Users never use the Help key. 10872% 10873Real World, The n.: 10874 1. In programming, those institutions at which programming may 10875be used in the same sentence as FORTRAN, COBOL, RPG, IBM, etc. 2. To 10876programmers, the location of non-programmers and activities not related 10877to programming. 3. A universe in which the standard dress is shirt and 10878tie and in which a person's working hours are defined as 9 to 5. 108794. The location of the status quo. 5. Anywhere outside a university. 10880"Poor fellow, he's left MIT and gone into the real world." Used 10881pejoratively by those not in residence there. In conversation, talking 10882of someone who has entered the real world is not unlike talking about a 10883deceased person. 10884% 10885Reality is a cop-out for people who can't handle drugs. 10886% 10887Reality is an obstacle to hallucination. 10888% 10889Reality is bad enough, why should I tell the truth? 10890 -- Patrick Sky 10891% 10892Reality is for people who lack imagination. 10893% 10894Reality is for those who can't face Science Fiction. 10895% 10896Reality is just a convenient measure of complexity. 10897 -- Alvy Ray Smith 10898% 10899Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. 10900 -- Philip K. Dick 10901% 10902"Really ?? What a coincidence, I'm shallow too!!" 10903% 10904Receiving a million dollars tax free will make you feel better than 10905being flat broke and having a stomach ache. 10906 -- Dolph Sharp, "I'm O.K., You're Not So Hot" 10907% 10908Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you 10909lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict, 10910but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and 10911Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 10912recessions. 10913% 10914Reclaimer, spare that tree! 10915Take not a single bit! 10916It used to point to me, 10917Now I'm protecting it. 10918It was the reader's CONS 10919That made it, paired by dot; 10920Now, GC, for the nonce, 10921Thou shalt reclaim it not. 10922% 10923 "Reflections on Ice-Breaking" 10924Candy 10925Is dandy 10926But liquor 10927Is quicker. 10928 -- Ogden Nash 10929% 10930"Reintegration complete," ZORAC advised. "We're back in the universe 10931again ..." An unusually long pause followed, "... but I don't know 10932which part. We seem to have changed our position in space." A 10933spherical display in the middle of the floor illuminated to show the 10934starfield surrounding the ship. 10935 10936"Several large, artificial constructions are approaching us," ZORAC 10937announced after a short pause. "The designs are not familiar, but they 10938are obviously the products of intelligence. Implications: we have been 10939intercepted deliberately by a means unknown, for a purpose unknown, and 10940transferred to a place unknown by a form of intelligence unknown. 10941Apart from the unknowns, everything is obvious." 10942 -- James P. Hogan, "Giants Star" 10943% 10944Reisner's Rule of Conceptual Inertia: 10945 If you think big enough, you'll never have to do it. 10946% 10947Religion has done love a great service by making it a sin. 10948 -- Anatole France 10949% 10950"Rembrandt's first name was Beauregard, which is why he never used it." 10951 -- Dave Barry 10952% 10953Remember that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be 10954worse in Cleveland. 10955 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 10956% 10957Remember, drive defensively! And of course, the best defense is a good 10958offense! 10959% 10960Remember, even if you win the rat race -- you're still a rat. 10961% 10962Remember, UNIX spelled backwards is XINU. 10963% 10964Remember: Silly is a state of Mind, Stupid is a way of Life. 10965 -- Dave Butler 10966% 10967Renning's Maxim: 10968 Man is the highest animal. Man does the classifying. 10969% 10970Reporter (to Mahatma Gandhi): 10971 Mr. Gandhi, what do you think of Western Civilization? 10972Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea. 10973% 10974Reporter, n.: 10975 A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a 10976 tempest of words. 10977 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 10978% 10979REPORTER: Senator, are you for or against the MX missile system? 10980 10981SENATOR: Bob, the MX missile system reminds me of an old saying that 10982the country folk in my state like to say. It goes like this: "You can 10983carry a pig for six miles, but if you set it down it might run away." 10984I have no idea why the country folk say this. Maybe there's some kind 10985of chemical pollutant in their drinking water. That is why I pledge to 10986do all that I can to protect the environment of this great nation of 10987ours, and put prayer back in the schools, where it belongs. What we 10988need is jobs, not empty promises. I realize I'm risking my political 10989career by being so outspoken on a sensitive issue such as the MX, but 10990that's just the kind of straight-talking honest person I am, and I 10991can't help it. 10992 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 10993% 10994Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. 10995 -- Wernher von Braun 10996% 10997Resisting temptation is easier when you think you'll probably 10998get another chance later on. 10999% 11000Review Questions 11001 11002(1) If Nerd on the planet Nutley starts out in his spaceship at 20 KPH, 11003 and his speed doubles every 3.2 seconds, how long will it be before 11004 he exceeds the speed of light? How long will it be before the 11005 Galactic Patrol picks up the pieces of his spaceship? 11006 11007(2) If Roger Rowdy wrecks his car every week, and each week he breaks 11008 twice as many bones as before, how long will it be before he breaks 11009 every bone in his body? How long will it be before they cut off 11010 his insurance? Where does he get a new car every week? 11011 11012(3) If Johnson drinks one beer the first hour (slow start), four beers 11013 the next hour, nine beers the next, etc., and stacks the cans in a 11014 pyramid, how soon will Johnson's pyramid be larger than King 11015 Tut's? When will it fall on him? Will he notice? 11016% 11017Rhode's Law: 11018 When any principle, law, tenet, probability, happening, circumstance, 11019 or result can in no way be directly, indirectly, empirically, or 11020 circuitously proven, derived, implied, inferred, induced, deducted, 11021 estimated, or scientifically guessed, it will always for the purpose 11022 of convenience, expediency, political advantage, material gain, or 11023 personal comfort, or any combination of the above, or none of the 11024 above, be unilaterally and unequivocally assumed, proclaimed, and 11025 adhered to as absolute truth to be undeniably, universally, immutably, 11026 and infinitely so, until such time as it becomes advantageous to 11027 assume otherwise, maybe. 11028% 11029Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. 11030 -- Steven Wright 11031% 11032Rocky's Lemma of Innovation Prevention 11033 Unless the results are known in advance, funding agencies will 11034 reject the proposal. 11035% 11036Romeo wasn't bilked in a day. 11037 -- Walt Kelly, "Ten Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Years With Pogo" 11038% 11039ROMEO: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. 11040MERCUTIO: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church- 11041 door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve. 11042% 11043Rudin's Law: 11044 If there is a wrong way to do something, most people will do it 11045every time. 11046% 11047Rule 46, Oxford Union Society, London: 11048 Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall 11049be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person 11050shall be deemed to be a cat. 11051% 11052Rule of Creative Research: 11053 (1) Never draw what you can copy. 11054 (2) Never copy what you can trace. 11055 (3) Never trace what you can cut out and paste down. 11056% 11057Rule of Defactualization: 11058 Information deteriorates upward through bureaucracies. 11059% 11060Rule of Feline Frustration: 11061 When your cat has fallen asleep on your lap and looks utterly 11062 content and adorable, you will suddenly have to go to the bathroom. 11063% 11064Rule of the Great: 11065 When people you greatly admire appear to be thinking deep 11066 thoughts, they probably are thinking about lunch. 11067% 11068Rules for Academic Deans: 11069 (1) HIDE!!!! 11070 (2) If they find you, LIE!!!! 11071 -- Father Damian C. Fandal 11072% 11073Rules for driving in New York: 11074 (1) Anything done while honking your horn is legal. 11075 (2) You may park anywhere if you turn your four-way flashers 11076 on. 11077 (3) A red light means the next six cars may go through the 11078 intersection. 11079% 11080RULES OF EATING -- THE BRONX DIETER'S CREED 11081 (1) Never eat on an empty stomach. 11082 (2) Never leave the table hungry. 11083 (3) When traveling, never leave a country hungry. 11084 (4) Enjoy your food. 11085 (5) Enjoy your companion's food. 11086 (6) Really taste your food. It may take several portions to 11087 accomplish this, especially if subtly seasoned. 11088 (7) Really feel your food. Texture is important. Compare, 11089 for example, the texture of a turnip to that of a 11090 brownie. Which feels better against your cheeks? 11091 (8) Never eat between snacks, unless it's a meal. 11092 (9) Don't feel you must finish everything on your plate. You 11093 can always eat it later. 11094 (10) Avoid any wine with a childproof cap. 11095 (11) Avoid blue food. 11096 -- Richard Smith, "The Bronx Diet" 11097% 11098Rules: 11099 (1) The boss is always right. 11100 (2) When the boss is wrong, refer to rule 1. 11101% 11102 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11103 Tip #1: How to tell when you are dead. 11104 11105(1) Little things start bothering you: little things like worms, bugs, 11106 ants. 11107(2) Something is missing in your personal relationships. 11108(3) Your dog becomes overly affectionate. 11109(4) You have a hard time getting a waiter. 11110(5) Exotic birds flock around you. 11111(6) People ignore you at parties. 11112(7) You have a hard time getting up in the morning. 11113(8) You no longer get off on cocaine. 11114% 11115 Safety Tips for the Post-Nuclear Existence 11116(1) Never use an elevator in a building that has been hit by a nuclear 11117 bomb; use the stairs. 11118(2) When you're flying through the air, remember to roll when you hit 11119 the ground. 11120(3) If you're on fire, avoid gasoline and other flammable materials. 11121(4) Don't attempt communication with dead people; it will only lead to 11122 psychological problems. 11123(5) Food will be scarce; you will have to scavenge. Learn to 11124 recognize foods that will be available after the bomb: mashed 11125 potatoes, shredded wheat, tossed salad, ground beef, etc. 11126(6) Put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze; internal organs 11127 will be scarce in the post-nuclear age. 11128(7) Try to be neat; fall only in designated piles. 11129(8) Drive carefully in "Heavy Fallout" areas; people could be 11130 staggering illegally. 11131(9) Nutritionally, hundred dollar bills are equal to ones, but more 11132 sanitary due to limited circulation. 11133(10) Accumulate mannequins now; spare parts will be in short supply on 11134 D-Day. 11135% 11136SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 21) 11137 You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You have a reckless 11138 tendency to rely on luck since you lack talent. The majority 11139 of Sagittarians are drunks or dope fiends or both. People 11140 laugh at you a great deal. 11141% 11142San Francisco isn't what it used to be, and it never was. 11143 -- Herb Caen 11144% 11145San Francisco, n.: 11146 Marcel Proust editing an issue of Penthouse. 11147% 11148Sanity is the trademark of a weak mind. 11149 -- Mark Harrold 11150% 11151Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, 11152 He must be a communist. 11153And a beard and long hair, 11154 Must be a pacifist. 11155 11156 What's in that pipe that he's smoking? 11157 -- Arlo Guthrie 11158% 11159Satellite Safety Tip #14: 11160 If you see a bright streak in the sky coming at you, duck. 11161% 11162Sattinger's Law: 11163 It works better if you plug it in. 11164% 11165Saturday night in Toledo Ohio, 11166 Is like being nowhere at all, 11167All through the day how the hours rush by, 11168 You sit in the park and you watch the grass die. 11169 -- John Denver, "Saturday Night in Toledo Ohio" 11170% 11171Sauron is alive in Argentina! 11172% 11173Save energy: be apathetic. 11174% 11175Save the Whales -- Harpoon a Honda. 11176% 11177Save the whales. Collect the whole set. 11178% 11179Saw a sign on a restaurant that said Breakfast, any time -- so I 11180ordered French Toast in the Renaissance. 11181 -- Steven Wright 11182% 11183SCCS, the source motel! Programs check in and never check out! 11184 -- Ken Thompson 11185% 11186Schapiro's Explanation: 11187 The grass is always greener on the other side -- but that's 11188 because they use more manure. 11189% 11190Schizophrenia beats being alone. 11191% 11192Schlattwhapper, n.: 11193 The window shade that allows itself to be pulled down, 11194 hesitates for a second, then snaps up in your face. 11195 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11196% 11197Schnuffel, n.: 11198 A dog's practice of continuously nuzzling in your crotch in 11199mixed company. 11200 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11201% 11202Schwiggle, n.: 11203 The amusing rotation of one's bottom while sharpening a 11204pencil. 11205 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11206% 11207Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made 11208of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts 11209is not necessarily science. 11210 -- Henri Poincair'e 11211% 11212Science is what happens when preconception meets verification. 11213% 11214Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it. 11215 -- William Buckley 11216 11217% 11218SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21) 11219 You are shrewd in business and cannot be trusted. You will 11220 achieve the pinnacle of success because of your total lack of 11221 ethics. Most Scorpio people are murdered. 11222% 11223Scott's first Law: 11224 No matter what goes wrong, it will probably look right. 11225% 11226Scott's second Law: 11227 When an error has been detected and corrected, it will be found 11228to have been wrong in the first place. 11229 11230Corollary: 11231 After the correction has been found in error, it will be 11232impossible to fit the original quantity back into the equation. 11233% 11234Scotty: Captain, we din' can reference it! 11235Kirk: Analysis, Mr. Spock? 11236Spock: Captain, it doesn't appear in the symbol table. 11237Kirk: Then it's of external origin? 11238Spock: Affirmative. 11239Kirk: Mr. Sulu, go to pass two. 11240Sulu: Aye aye, sir, going to pass two. 11241% 11242Screw up your courage! You've screwed up everything else. 11243% 11244Scrubbing floors and emptying bedpans has as much dignity as the 11245Presidency. 11246 -- Richard Nixon 11247% 11248Second Law of Business Meetings: 11249 If there are two possible ways to spell a person's name, you 11250 will pick the wrong one. 11251 11252Corollary: 11253 If there is only one way to spell a name, you will spell it 11254 wrong, anyway. 11255% 11256Section 2.4.3.5 AWNS (Acceptor Wait for New Cycle State). 11257 In AWNS the AH function indicates that it has received a 11258multiline message byte. 11259 In AWNS the RFD message must be sent false and the DAC message 11260must be sent passive true. 11261 The AH function must exit the AWNS and enter: 11262 (1) The ANRS if DAV is false 11263 (2) The AIDS if the ATN message is false and neither: 11264 (a) The LADS is active 11265 (b) Nor LACS is active 11266 11267 -- from the IEEE Standard Digital Interface for 11268 Programmable Instrumentation 11269% 11270Security check: INTRUDER ALERT! 11271% 11272Seduced, shaggy Samson snored. 11273She scissored short. Sorely shorn, 11274Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed, 11275Silently scheming, 11276Sightlessly seeking 11277Some savage, spectacular suicide. 11278 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 11279% 11280"See - the thing is - I'm an absolutist. I mean, kind of ... in a way ..." 11281% 11282Seleznick's Theory of Holistic Medicine: 11283 Ice Cream cures all ills. 11284% 11285Self Test for Paranoia: 11286 You know you have it when you can't think of anything that's 11287your own fault. 11288% 11289Seminars, n.: 11290 From "semi" and "arse", hence, any half-assed discussion. 11291% 11292Sen. Danforth: "There is nothing on the face of the album which would 11293 notify you if the record has pornographic material or 11294 material glorifying violence?" 11295Tipper Gore: "No, there is nothing that would suggest that to me." 11296Frank Zappa: "I would say that a buzz saw blade between the guy's 11297 legs on the album cover is good indication that it's 11298 not for little Johnny." 11299 11300 -- The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rock 11301 lyrics, from The Village Voice, 6 Oct 1985 11302% 11303Senate, n.: 11304 A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and 11305misdemeanors. 11306 -- Ambrose Bierce 11307% 11308Serenity through viciousness. 11309% 11310Serocki's Stricture: 11311 Marriage is always a bachelor's last option. 11312% 11313Serving coffee on aircraft causes turbulence. 11314% 11315 "Seven years and six months!" Humpty Dumpty repeated 11316thoughtfully. "An uncomfortable sort of age. Now if you'd asked MY 11317advice, I'd have said `Leave off at seven' -- but it's too late now." 11318 "I never ask advice about growing," Alice said indignantly. 11319 "Too proud?" the other enquired. 11320 Alice felt even more indignant at this suggestion. "I mean," 11321she said, "that one can't help growing older." 11322 "ONE can't, perhaps," said Humpty Dumpty; "but TWO can. With 11323proper assistance, you might have left off at seven." 11324 -- Lewis Carroll 11325% 11326Several years ago, some smart businessmen had an idea: Why not build a 11327big store where a do-it-yourselfer could get everything he needed at 11328reasonable prices? Then they decided, nah, the hell with that, let's 11329build a home center. And before long home centers were springing up 11330like crabgrass all over the United States. 11331 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 11332% 11333Sex is a natural bodily process, like a stroke. 11334% 11335Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer. 11336 -- Swami X 11337% 11338Sex is the mathematics urge sublimated. 11339 -- M. C. Reed. 11340% 11341Sex without love is an empty experience, but, as empty experiences go, 11342it's one of the best. 11343 -- Woody Allen 11344% 11345Shamus, n. [Yiddish]: 11346 A shamus is a guy who takes care of handyman tasks around the 11347temple, and makes sure everything is in working order. 11348 A shamus is at the bottom of the pecking order of synagogue 11349functionaries, and there's a joke about that: 11350 A rabbi, to show his humility before God, cries out in the 11351middle of a service, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" The cantor, not to be 11352bested, also cries out, "Oh, Lord, I am nobody!" 11353 The shamus, deeply moved, follows suit and cries, "Oh, Lord, I 11354am nobody!" The rabbi turns to the cantor and says, "Look who thinks 11355he's nobody!" 11356 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 11357% 11358Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off 11359during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent. 11360 -- Dave Barry, "Sex and the Single Amoeba: What Every 11361 Teen Should Know" 11362% 11363Shaw's Principle: 11364 Build a system that even a fool can use, 11365 and only a fool will want to use it. 11366% 11367She is descended from a long line that her mother listened to. 11368 -- Gypsy Rose Lee 11369% 11370She is not refined. She is not unrefined. She keeps a parrot. 11371 -- Mark Twain 11372% 11373She liked him; he was a man of many qualities, even if most of them 11374were bad. 11375% 11376She missed an invaluable opportunity to give him a look that you could 11377have poured on a waffle. 11378% 11379She said, `I know you ... you cannot sing'. I said, `That's nothing, 11380you should hear me play piano.' 11381 -- Morrisey 11382% 11383She's genuinely bogus. 11384% 11385Sherry [Thomas Sheridan] is dull, naturally dull; but it must have 11386taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an 11387excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature. 11388 -- Samuel Johnson 11389% 11390SHIFT TO THE LEFT! SHIFT TO THE RIGHT! 11391POP UP, PUSH DOWN, BYTE, BYTE, BYTE! 11392% 11393Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is 11394playing golf with his boss. 11395% 11396Show respect for age. Drink good Scotch for a change. 11397% 11398Signs of crime: screaming or cries for help. 11399 -- from the Brown University Security Crime Prevention Pamphlet 11400% 11401Silverman's Law: 11402 If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will. 11403% 11404Simon's Law: 11405 Everything put together falls apart sooner or later. 11406% 11407Since I hurt my pendulum 11408My life is all erratic. 11409My parrot, who was cordial, 11410Is now transmitting static. 11411The carpet died, a palm collapsed, 11412The cat keeps doing poo. 11413The only thing that keeps me sane 11414Is talking to my shoe. 11415 -- My Shoe 11416% 11417Since we have to speak well of the dead, let's knock them while they're 11418alive. 11419 -- John Sloan 11420% 11421Since we're all here, we must not be all there. 11422 -- Bob "Mountain" Beck 11423% 11424[Sir Stafford Cripps] has all the virtues I dislike and none of the 11425vices I admire. 11426 -- Winston Churchill 11427% 11428Sixtus V, Pope from 1585 to 1590 authorized a printing of the Vulgate 11429Bible. Taking no chances, the pope issued a papal bull automatically 11430excommunicating any printer who might make an alteration in the text. 11431This he ordered printed at the beginning of the Bible. He personally 11432examined every sheet as it came off the press. Yet the published 11433Vulgate Bible contained so many errors that corrected scraps had to be 11434printed and pasted over them in every copy. The result provoked wry 11435comments on the rather patchy papal infallibility, and Pope Sixtus had 11436no recourse but to order the return and destruction of every copy. 11437% 11438Skinner's Constant (or Flannagan's Finagling Factor): 11439 That quantity which, when multiplied by, divided by, added to, 11440 or subtracted from the answer you get, gives you the answer you 11441 should have gotten. 11442% 11443Slang is language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and goes 11444to work. 11445% 11446Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work ... I did not, 11447when a slave, understand the deep meanings of those rude, and 11448apparently incoherent songs. I was myself within the circle, so that I 11449neither saw nor heard as those without might see and hear. They told a 11450tale which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension: they 11451were tones, loud, long and deep, breathing the prayer and complaint of 11452souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a 11453testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from 11454chains. 11455 -- Frederick Douglass 11456% 11457Slick's Three Laws of the Universe: 11458 (1) Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad 11459 check. 11460 (2) A quarter-ounce of chocolate = four pounds of fat. 11461 (3) There are two types of dirt: the dark kind, which is 11462 attracted to light objects, and the light kind, which is 11463 attracted to dark objects. 11464% 11465Slowly and surely the unix crept up on the Nintendo user ... 11466% 11467Slurm, n.: 11468 The slime that accumulates on the underside of a soap bar when 11469 it sits in the dish too long. 11470 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11471% 11472Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics. 11473 -- Fletcher Knebel 11474% 11475Snacktrek, n.: 11476 The peculiar habit, when searching for a snack, of constantly 11477returning to the refrigerator in hopes that something new will have 11478materialized. 11479 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 11480% 11481So as your consumer electronics adviser, I am advising you to donate 11482your current VCR to a grate resident, who will laugh sardonically and 11483hurl it into a dumpster. Then I want you to go out and purchase a vast 11484array of 8-millimeter video equipment. 11485 11486... OK! Got everything? Well, *too bad, sucker*, because while you 11487were gone the electronics industry came up with an even newer format 11488that makes your 8-millimeter VCR look as technologically advanced as 11489toenail dirt. This format is called "3.5 hectare" and it will not be 11490made available until it is outmoded, sometime early next week, by a 11491format called "Elroy", so *order yours now*. 11492 -- Dave Barry, "No Surrender in the Electronics 11493 Revolution" 11494% 11495So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in 11496praise of intelligence. 11497 -- Bertrand Russell 11498% 11499... so long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those 11500who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, 11501and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious 11502and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men. 11503 -- Voltarine de Cleyre 11504% 11505 So Richard and I decided to try to catch [the small shark]. 11506With a great deal of strategy and effort and shouting, we managed to 11507maneuver the shark, over the course of about a half-hour, to a sort of 11508corner of the lagoon, so that it had no way to escape other than to 11509flop up onto the land and evolve. Richard and I were inching toward 11510it, sort of crouched over, when all of a sudden it turned around and -- 11511I can still remember the sensation I felt at that moment, primarily in 11512the armpit area -- headed right straight toward us. 11513 Many people would have panicked at this point. But Richard and 11514I were not "many people." We were experienced waders, and we kept our 11515heads. We did exactly what the textbook says you should do when you're 11516unarmed and a shark that is nearly two feet long turns on you in water 11517up to your lower calves: We sprinted I would say 600 yards in the 11518opposite direction, using a sprinting style such that the bottoms of 11519our feet never once went below the surface of the water. We ran all 11520the way to the far shore, and if we had been in a Warner Brothers 11521cartoon we would have run right INTO the beach, and you would have seen 11522these two mounds of sand racing across the island until they bonked 11523into trees and coconuts fell onto their heads. 11524 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11525% 11526So she went into the garden to cut a cabbage leaf to make an apple 11527pie; and at the same time a great she-bear, coming up the street pops 11528its head into the shop. "What! no soap?" So he died, and she very 11529imprudently married the barber; and there were present the Picninnies, 11530and the Grand Panjandrum himself, with the little round button at top, 11531and they all fell to playing the game of catch as catch can, till the 11532gunpowder ran out at the heels of their boots. 11533 -- Samuel Foote 11534% 11535... So the documentary-makers stick with sharks. Generally, their 11536procedure is to scatter bleeding fish pieces around their boat, so as 11537to infest the waters. I would estimate that the primary food source of 11538sharks today is bleeding fish pieces scattered by people making 11539documentaries. Once the sharks arrive, they are generally fairly 11540listless. The general shark attitude seems to be: "Oh God, another 11541documentary." So the divers have to somehow goad them into attacking, 11542under the guise of Scientific Research. "We know very little about the 11543effect of electricity on sharks," the narrator will say, in a deeply 11544scientific voice. "That is why Todd is going to jab this Great White 11545in the testicles with a cattle prod." The divers keep this kind of 11546thing up until the shark finally gets irritated and snaps at them, and 11547then they act as though this was a totally unexpected and very 11548dangerous development, although clearly it is what they wanted all 11549along. 11550 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 11551% 11552So, what's with this guy Gideon, anyway? 11553And why can't he ever remember his Bible? 11554% 11555Sodd's Second Law: 11556 Sooner or later, the worst possible set of circumstances is 11557bound to occur. 11558% 11559Software, n.: 11560 Formal evening attire for female computer analysts. 11561% 11562Some don't prefer the pursuit of happiness to the happiness of pursuit. 11563% 11564Some men are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them. 11565 -- Ed Howe 11566% 11567Some of you ... may have decided that, this year, you're going to 11568celebrate it the old-fashioned way, with your family sitting around 11569stringing cranberries and exchanging humble, handmade gifts, like on 11570"The Waltons". Well, you can forget it. If everybody pulled that kind 11571of subversive stunt, the economy would collapse overnight. The 11572government would have to intervene: it would form a cabinet-level 11573Department of Holiday Gift-Giving, which would spend billions and 11574billions of tax dollars to buy Barbie dolls and electronic games, which 11575it would drop on the populace from Air Force jets, killing and maiming 11576thousands. So, for the good of the nation, you should go along with 11577the Holiday Program. This means you should get a large sum of money 11578and go to a mall. 11579 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 11580% 11581Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some 11582people have mediocrity thrust upon them. 11583 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 11584% 11585Some people have a way about them that seems to say: "If I have only 11586one life to live, let me live it as a jerk." 11587% 11588Some people in this department wouldn't recognize subtlety if it hit 11589them on the head. 11590% 11591Some people live life in the fast lane. You're in oncoming traffic. 11592% 11593Some performers on television appear to be horrible people, but when 11594you finally get to know them in person, they turn out to be even 11595worse. 11596 -- Avery 11597% 11598Some points to remember [about animals]: 11599 11600(1) Don't go to sleep under big animals, e.g., elephants, rhinoceri, 11601 hippopotamuses; 11602(2) Don't put animals with sharp teeth or poisonous fangs down the 11603 front of your clothes; 11604(3) Don't pat certain animals, e.g., crocodiles and scorpions or dogs 11605 you have just kicked. 11606 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 11607% 11608Some primal termite knocked on wood. 11609And tasted it, and found it good. 11610And that is why your Cousin May 11611Fell through the parlor floor today. 11612 -- Ogden Nash 11613% 11614Some programming languages manage to absorb change but withstand 11615progress. 11616% 11617Some programming languages manage to absorb change, but withstand 11618progress. 11619 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11620% 11621Somebody ought to cross ball point pens with coat hangers so that the 11622pens will multiply instead of disappear. 11623% 11624Someone will try to honk your nose today. 11625% 11626Sometimes I simply feel that the whole world is a cigarette and I'm 11627the only ashtray. 11628% 11629Sometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world. 11630 -- Lily Tomlin 11631% 11632"Somewhere", said Father Vittorini, "did Blake not speak of the 11633Machineries of Joy? That is, did not God promote environments, then 11634intimidate these Natures by provoking the existence of flesh, toy men 11635and women, such as are we all? And thus happily sent forth, at our 11636best, with good grace and fine wit, on calm noons, in fair climes, are 11637we not God's Machineries of Joy?" 11638 11639"If Blake said that", said Father Brian, "he never lived in Dublin." 11640 -- R. Bradbury, "The Machineries of Joy" 11641% 11642Somewhere, just out of sight, the unicorns are gathering. 11643% 11644Song Title of the Week: 11645 "They're putting dimes in the hole in my head to see the change 11646in me." 11647% 11648Sooner or later you must pay for your sins. 11649(Those who have already paid may disregard this fortune). 11650% 11651Sorry, no fortune this time. 11652% 11653Sorry. I forget what I was going to say. 11654% 11655Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- 11656bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the 11657road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. 11658 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 11659% 11660"Spare no expense to save money on this one." 11661 -- Samuel Goldwyn 11662% 11663Spark's Sixth Rule for Managers: 11664 If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as 11665if he had lost his senses. When he looks down, paraphrase the question 11666back at him. 11667% 11668Speak roughly to your little boy, 11669 And beat him when he sneezes: 11670He only does it to annoy 11671 Because he knows it teases. 11672 11673 Wow! wow! wow! 11674 11675I speak severely to my boy, 11676 And beat him when he sneezes: 11677For he can thoroughly enjoy 11678 The pepper when he pleases! 11679 11680 Wow! wow! wow! 11681 -- Lewis Carroll, "Alice in Wonderland" 11682% 11683Speak roughly to your little VAX, 11684 And boot it when it crashes; 11685It knows that one cannot relax 11686 Because the paging thrashes! 11687 11688 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11689 11690I speak severely to my VAX, 11691 And boot it when it crashes; 11692In spite of all my favorite hacks 11693 My jobs it always thrashes! 11694 11695 Wow! Wow! Wow! 11696% 11697Speak softly and carry a +6 two-handed sword. 11698% 11699Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. 11700 -- Dave Millman 11701% 11702Speaking as someone who has delved into the intricacies of PL/I, I am 11703sure that only Real Men could have written such a machine-hogging, 11704cycle-grabbing, all-encompassing monster. Allocate an array and free 11705the middle third? Sure! Why not? Multiply a character string times a 11706bit string and assign the result to a float decimal? Go ahead! Free a 11707controlled variable procedure parameter and reallocate it before 11708passing it back? Overlay three different types of variable on the same 11709memory location? Anything you say! Write a recursive macro? Well, 11710no, but Real Men use rescan. How could a language so obviously 11711designed and written by Real Men not be intended for Real Man use? 11712% 11713Speaking of Godzilla and other things that convey horror: 11714 11715 With a purposeful grimace and a Mongo-like flair 11716 He throws the spinning disk drives in the air! 11717 And he picks up a Vax and he throws it back down 11718 As he wades through the lab making terrible sounds! 11719 Helpless users with projects due 11720 Scream "My God!" as he stomps on the tape drives, too! 11721 11722 Oh, no! He says Unix runs too slow! Go, go, DECzilla! 11723 Oh, yes! He's gonna bring up VMS! Go, go, DECzilla!" 11724 11725* VMS is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation 11726* DECzilla is a trademark of Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of Death, Inc. 11727 -- Curtis Jackson 11728% 11729Speaking of love, one problem that recurs more and more frequently 11730these days, in books and plays and movies, is the inability of people 11731to communicate with the people they love; Husbands and wives who can't 11732communicate, children who can't communicate with their parents, and so 11733on. And the characters in these books and plays and so on (and in real 11734life, I might add) spend hours bemoaning the fact that they can't 11735communicate. I feel that if a person can't communicate, the very _____least 11736he can do is to Shut Up! 11737 -- Tom Lehrer, "That Was the Year that Was" 11738% 11739Speed is subsittute fo accurancy. 11740% 11741Speer's 1st Law of Proofreading: 11742 The visibility of an error is inversely proportional to the 11743 number of times you have looked at it. 11744% 11745Spelling is a lossed art. 11746% 11747Spend extra time on hobby. Get plenty of rolling papers. 11748% 11749Spirtle, n.: 11750 The fine stream from a grapefruit that always lands right in 11751 your eye. 11752 -- Sniglets, "Rich Hall & Friends" 11753% 11754Spouse, n.: 11755 Someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you 11756 wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. 11757% 11758Star Wars is adolescent nonsense; Close Encounters is obscurantist 11759drivel; Star Trek can turn your brains to pur'ee of bat guano; and the 11760greatest science fiction series of all time is Doctor Who! And I'll 11761take you all on, one-by-one or all in a bunch to back it up! 11762 -- Harlan Ellison 11763% 11764Stay away from flying saucers today. 11765% 11766Stay away from hurricanes for a while. 11767% 11768Stealing a rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly. 11769% 11770Steele's Plagiarism of Somebody's Philosophy: 11771 Everybody should believe in something -- 11772 I believe I'll have another drink. 11773% 11774Steinbach's Guideline for Systems Programming: 11775 Never test for an error condition you don't know how to 11776 handle. 11777% 11778Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11779% 11780Stop searching. Happiness is right next to you. 11781Now, if they'd only take a bath ... 11782% 11783Stult's Report: 11784 Our problems are mostly behind us. 11785 What we have to do now is fight the solutions. 11786% 11787Stupid, adj.: 11788 Losing $25 on the game and $25 on the instant replay. 11789% 11790Stupidity got us into this mess -- why can't it get us out? 11791% 11792Sturgeon's Law: 11793 90% of everything is crud. 11794% 11795Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your 11796editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. 11797 -- Mark Twain 11798% 11799Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way 11800before it is understood. 11801% 11802Succumb to natural tendencies. Be hateful and boring. 11803% 11804Suddenly, Professor Liebowitz realizes he has come to the seminar 11805without his duck ... 11806% 11807(Sung to the tune of "The Impossible Dream" from MAN OF LA MANCHA) 11808 11809 To code the impossible code, 11810 To bring up a virgin machine, 11811 To pop out of endless recursion, 11812 To grok what appears on the screen, 11813 11814 To right the unrightable bug, 11815 To endlessly twiddle and thrash, 11816 To mount the unmountable magtape, 11817 To stop the unstoppable crash! 11818% 11819Support bacteria -- it's the only culture some people have! 11820% 11821Support wildlife -- vote for an orgy. 11822% 11823Support your local police force -- steal!! 11824% 11825Support your local Search and Rescue unit -- get lost. 11826% 11827Sure he's sharp as a razor ... he's a two-dimensional pinhead! 11828% 11829Surprise due today. Also the rent. 11830% 11831Surprise your boss. Get to work on time. 11832% 11833Surprise! You are the lucky winner of random I.R.S. Audit! Just type 11834in your name and social security number. Please remember that leaving 11835the room is punishable under law: 11836 11837Name # 11838 11839 11840% 11841Swahili, n.: 11842 The language used by the National Enquirer to print their 11843 retractions. 11844 -- Johnny Hart 11845% 11846Sweater, n.: 11847 A garment worn by a child when its mother feels chilly. 11848% 11849Swipple's Rule of Order: 11850 He who shouts the loudest has the floor. 11851% 11852Syntactic sugar causes cancer of the semicolon. 11853 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11854% 11855System/3! System/3! 11856See how it runs! See how it runs! 11857 Its monitor loses so totally! 11858 It runs all its programs in RPG! 11859 It's made by our favorite monopoly! 11860System/3! 11861% 11862Systems have sub-systems and sub-systems have sub-systems and so on ad 11863infinitum -- which is why we're always starting over. 11864 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 11865% 11866 _ 11867 _ / \ o 11868 / \ | | o o o 11869 | | | | _ o o o o 11870 | \_| | / \ o o o 11871 \__ | | | o o 11872 | | | | ______ ~~~~ _____ 11873 | |__/ | / ___--\\ ~~~ __/_____\__ 11874 | ___/ / \--\\ \\ \ ___ <__ x x __\ 11875 | | / /\\ \\ )) \ ( " ) 11876 | | -------(---->>(@)--(@)-------\----------< >----------- 11877 | | // | | //__________ / \ ____) (___ \\ 11878 | | // __|_| ( --------- ) //// ______ /////\ \\ 11879 // | ( \ ______ / <<<< <>-----<<<<< / \\ 11880 // ( ) / / \` \__ \\ 11881 //-------------------------------------------------------------\\ 11882 11883Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels 11884start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and 11885then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the 11886music at top volume and at least a pint of ether. 11887 -- H. S. Thompson, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" 11888% 11889T: One big monster, he called TROLL. 11890 He don't rock, and he don't roll; 11891 Drink no wine, and smoke no stogies. 11892 He just Love To Eat Them Roguies. 11893 -- The Roguelet's ABC 11894% 11895Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a 11896hole in his head. 11897% 11898Tact, n.: 11899 The unsaid part of what you're thinking. 11900% 11901Take everything in stride. Trample anyone who gets in your way. 11902% 11903Take heart amid the deepening gloom that your dog is finally getting 11904enough cheese. 11905 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 11906% 11907Take it easy, we're in a hurry. 11908% 11909Take my word for it, the silliest woman can manage a clever man, but it 11910needs a very clever woman to manage a fool. 11911 -- Kipling 11912% 11913Take the folks at Coca-Cola. For many years, they were content to sit 11914back and make the same old carbonated beverage. It was a good 11915beverage, no question about it; generations of people had grown up 11916drinking it and doing the experiment in sixth grade where you put a 11917nail into a glass of Coke and after a couple of days the nail dissolves 11918and the teacher says: "Imagine what it does to your TEETH!" So 11919Coca-Cola was solidly entrenched in the market, and the management saw 11920no need to improve ... 11921 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 11922% 11923Take your dying with some seriousness, however. Laughing on the way to 11924your execution is not generally understood by less advanced life forms, 11925and they'll call you crazy. 11926 -- "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul" 11927% 11928Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish. 11929 -- Euripides 11930% 11931Talkers are no good doers. 11932 -- William Shakespeare, "Henry VI" 11933% 11934Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself. 11935 -- Friedrich Nietzsche 11936% 11937TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20) 11938 You are practical and persistent. You have a dogged 11939 determination and work like hell. Most people think you are 11940 stubborn and bull headed. You are a Communist. 11941% 11942Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind 11943the tree." 11944 -- Russell Long 11945% 11946Taxes are going up so fast, the government is likely to price itself 11947out of the market. 11948% 11949Taxes, n.: 11950 Of life's two certainties, the only one for which you can get 11951 an extension. 11952% 11953Teach children to be polite and courteous in the home, and, when they 11954grows up, they will never be able to edge a car onto a freeway. 11955% 11956Teamwork is essential -- it allows you to blame someone else. 11957% 11958Technological progress has merely provided us 11959with more efficient means for going backwards. 11960 -- Aldous Huxley 11961% 11962Telephone, n.: 11963 An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the 11964 advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. 11965 -- Ambrose Bierce 11966% 11967Tell me, O Octopus, I begs, 11968Is those things arms, or is they legs? 11969I marvel at thee, Octopus; 11970If I were thou, I'd call me us. 11971 -- Ogden Nash 11972% 11973Ten years of rejection slips is nature's way of telling you to stop 11974writing. 11975 -- R. Geis 11976% 11977Terence, this is stupid stuff: 11978You eat your victuals fast enough; 11979There can't be much amiss, 'tis clear, 11980To see the rate you drink your beer. 11981But oh, good Lord, the verse you make, 11982It gives a chap the belly-ache. 11983The cow, the old cow, she is dead; 11984It sleeps well the horned head: 11985We poor lads, 'tis our turn now 11986To hear such tunes as killed the cow. 11987Pretty friendship 'tis to rhyme 11988Your friends to death before their time. 11989Moping, melancholy mad: 11990Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad. 11991 -- A. E. Housman 11992% 11993Termiter's argument that God is His own grandmother generated a surprising 11994amount of controversy among Church leaders, who on the one hand considered 11995the argument unsupported by scripture but on the other hand were unwilling 11996to risk offending God's grandmother. 11997 -- Len Cool, "American Pie" 11998% 11999Tertullian was born in Carthage somewhere about 160 A.D. He was a 12000pagan, and he abandoned himself to the lascivious life of his city 12001until about his 35th year, when he became a Christian .... To him is 12002ascribed the sublime confession: Credo quia absurdum est (I believe 12003because it is absurd). This does not altogether accord with historical 12004fact, for he merely said: 12005 12006 "And the Son of God died, which is immediately credible because 12007 it is absurd. And buried he rose again, which is certain 12008 because it is impossible." 12009 12010Thanks to the acuteness of his mind, he saw through the poverty of 12011philosophical and Gnostic knowledge, and contemptuously rejected it. 12012 -- C. G. Jung, in Psychological Types 12013 12014(Tertullian was one of the founders of the Catholic Church). 12015% 12016Test-tube babies shouldn't throw stones. 12017% 12018Texas law forbids anyone to have a pair of pliers in his possession. 12019% 12020Text processing has made it possible to right-justify any idea, even 12021one which cannot be justified on any other grounds. 12022 -- J. Finnegan, USC. 12023% 12024Thank goodness modern convenience is a thing of the remote future. 12025 -- Pogo, by Walt Kelly 12026% 12027That boy's about as sharp as a pound of wet liver 12028 -- Foghorn Leghorn 12029% 12030That must be wonderful: I don't understand it at all. 12031 -- Moliere 12032% 12033That secret you've been guarding, isn't. 12034% 12035That woman speaks eight languages and can't say "no" in any of them. 12036 -- Dorothy Parker 12037% 12038The 80's -- when you can't tell hairstyles from chemotherapy. 12039% 12040The [Ford Foundation] is a large body of money completely surrounded by 12041people who want some. 12042 -- Dwight MacDonald 12043% 12044The Abrams' Principle: 12045 The shortest distance between two points is off the wall. 12046% 12047The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper 12048 -- Thomas Jefferson 12049% 12050The Advertising Agency Song: 12051 12052 When your client's hopping mad, 12053 Put his picture in the ad. 12054 If he still should prove refractory, 12055 Add a picture of his factory. 12056% 12057The algorithm to do that is extremely nasty. You might want to mug 12058someone with it. 12059 -- M. Devine, Computer Science 340 12060% 12061... The Anarchists' [national] anthem is an international anthem that 12062consists of 365 raspberries blown in very quick succession to the tune 12063of "Camptown Races". Nobody has to stand up for it, nobody has to 12064listen to it, and, even better, nobody has to play it. 12065 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12066% 12067The Arkansas legislature passed a law that states that the Arkansas 12068River can rise no higher than to the Main Street bridge in Little 12069Rock. 12070% 12071The Army has carried the American ... ideal to its logical conclusion. 12072Not only do they prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, creed 12073and color, but also on ability. 12074 -- T. Lehrer 12075% 12076The Army needs leaders the way a foot needs a big toe. 12077 -- Bill Murray 12078% 12079The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use 12080in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the 12081Declaration not for that, but for future use. 12082 -- Abraham Lincoln 12083% 12084The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 a.m. 12085% 12086The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the 12087average man can see better than he can think. 12088% 12089The bad reputation UNIX has gotten is totally undeserved, laid on by 12090people who don't understand, who have not gotten in there and tried 12091anything. 12092 -- Jim Joyce, owner of Jim Joyce's UNIX Bookstore 12093% 12094The basic idea behind malls is that they are more convenient than 12095cities. Cities contain streets, which are dangerous and crowded and 12096difficult to park in. Malls, on the other hand, have parking lots, 12097which are also dangerous and crowded and difficult to park in, but -- 12098here is the big difference -- in mall parking lots, THERE ARE NO 12099RULES. You're allowed to do anything. You can drive as fast as you 12100want in any direction you want. I was once driving in a mall parking 12101lot when my car was struck by a pickup truck being driven backward by a 12102squat man with a tattoo that said "Charlie" on his forearm, who got out 12103and explained to me, in great detail, why the accident was my fault, 12104his reasoning being that he was violent and muscular, whereas I was 12105neither. This kind of reasoning is legally valid in mall parking 12106lots. 12107 -- Dave Barry, "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" 12108% 12109The basic menu item, in fact the ONLY menu item, would be a food unit 12110called the "patty," consisting of -- this would be guaranteed in 12111writing -- "100 percent animal matter of some kind." All patties would 12112be heated up and then cooled back down in electronic devices 12113immediately before serving. The Breakfast Patty would be a patty on a 12114bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, Ba-Ko-Bits, Cheez Whiz, a Special 12115Sauce made by pouring ketchup out of a bottle and a little slip of 12116paper stating: "Inspected by Number 12". The Lunch or Dinner Patty 12117would be any Breakfast Patties that didn't get sold in the morning. 12118The Seafood Lover's Patty would be any patties that were starting to 12119emit a serious aroma. Patties that were too rank even to be Seafood 12120Lover's Patties would be compressed into wads and sold as "Nuggets." 12121 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12122% 12123The best book on programming for the layman is "Alice in Wonderland"; 12124but that's because it's the best book on anything for the layman. 12125% 12126The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep. 12127 -- W. C. Fields 12128% 12129The best defense against logic is ignorance. 12130% 12131The best thing about growing older is that it takes such a long time. 12132% 12133"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and 12134blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. 12135You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at 12136night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only 12137love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or 12138know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only 12139one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what 12140wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, 12141never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never 12142dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a 12143lot of things there are to learn." 12144 -- T. H. White, "The Once and Future King" 12145% 12146The best way to make a fire with two sticks is to make sure one of them 12147is a match. 12148 -- Will Rogers 12149% 12150The bigger the theory the better. 12151% 12152The biggest difference between time and space is that you can't reuse 12153time. 12154 -- Merrick Furst 12155% 12156The birds are singing, the flowers are budding, and it is time for Miss 12157Manners to tell young lovers to stop necking in public. 12158 12159It's not that Miss Manners is immune to romance. Miss Manners has been 12160known to squeeze a gentleman's arm while being helped over a curb, and, 12161in her wild youth, even to press a dainty slipper against a foot or two 12162under the dinner table. Miss Manners also believes that the sight of 12163people strolling hand in hand or arm in arm or arm in hand dresses up a 12164city considerably more than the more familiar sight of people shaking 12165umbrellas at one another. What Miss Manners objects to is the kind of 12166activity that frightens the horses on the street ... 12167% 12168The bland leadeth the bland and they both shall fall into the kitsch. 12169% 12170The bogosity meter just pegged. 12171% 12172The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up 12173in the morning, and does not stop until you get to school. 12174% 12175The Briggs/Chase Law of Program Development: 12176 To determine how long it will take to write and debug a 12177 program, take your best estimate, multiply that by two, 12178 add one, and convert to the next higher units. 12179% 12180The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. 12181Statistics prove that in the United States more Americans are killed in 12182automobile accidents than are killed by buffalo. 12183 -- Art Buchwald 12184% 12185The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of an expanding 12186bureaucracy. 12187% 12188The C Programming Language -- A language which combines the 12189flexibility of assembly language with the power of assembly language. 12190% 12191The camel has a single hump; 12192The dromedary two; 12193Or else the other way around. 12194I'm never sure. Are you? 12195 -- Ogden Nash 12196% 12197The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly 12198greater than that of any other animals. Some of their most esteemed 12199inventions have no other apparent purpose, for example, the dinner 12200party of more than two, the epic poem, and the science of metaphysics. 12201 -- H. L. Mencken 12202% 12203The chain which can be yanked is not the eternal chain. 12204 -- G. Fitch 12205% 12206The chicken that clucks the loudest is the one most likely to show up 12207at the steam fitters' picnic. 12208% 12209The chief cause of problems is solutions. 12210 -- Eric Sevareid 12211% 12212The chief danger in life is that you may take too may precautions. 12213 -- Alfred Adler 12214% 12215The church is near but the road is icy; the bar is far away but I will 12216walk carefully. 12217 -- Russian Proverb 12218% 12219The climate of Bombay is such that its inhabitants have to live elsewhere. 12220% 12221The Computer made me do it. 12222% 12223The computing field is always in need of new cliches. 12224 -- Alan Perlis 12225% 12226The confusion of a staff member is measured by the length of his 12227memos. 12228 -- New York Times, Jan. 20, 1981 12229% 12230The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other 12231subversives. We intend to clean them out, even if it means rounding up 12232every bird watcher in the country. 12233 -- John Mitchell, Atty. General 1969-1972 12234% 12235The Consultant's Curse: 12236 When the customer has beaten upon you long enough, give him 12237what he asks for, instead of what he needs. This is very strong 12238medicine, and is normally only required once. 12239% 12240The correct way to punctuate a sentence that starts: "Of course it is 12241none of my business, but --" is to place a period after the word "but." 12242Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. 12243Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you 12244talked about. 12245 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 12246% 12247The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. 12248% 12249The cost of living is going up, and the chance of living is going down. 12250% 12251The cow is nothing but a machine which makes grass fit for us people to 12252eat. 12253 -- John McNulty 12254% 12255The Crown is full of it! 12256 -- Nate Harris, 1775 12257% 12258The cry has been that when war is declared, all opposition should 12259therefore be hushed. A sentiment more unworthy of a free country could 12260hardly be propagated. If the doctrine be admitted, rulers have only to 12261declare war and they are screened at once from scrutiny ... In war, 12262then, as in peace, assert the freedom of speech and of the press. 12263Cling to this as the bulwark of all our rights and privileges. 12264 -- William Ellery Channing 12265% 12266The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life. 12267% 12268The day-to-day travails of the IBM programmer are so amusing to most of 12269us who are fortunate enough never to have been one -- like watching 12270Charlie Chaplin trying to cook a shoe. 12271% 12272The debate rages on: Is PL/I Bachtrian or Dromedary? 12273% 12274The devil finds work for idle circuits to do. 12275% 12276The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell 12277into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him 12278out again, it would be a calamity. 12279 -- Benjamin Disraeli 12280% 12281The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science 12282requires reasoning while those other subjects merely require scholarship. 12283 -- Robert Heinlein 12284% 12285The distinction between Jewish and goyish can be quite subtle, as the 12286following quote from Lenny Bruce illustrates: 12287 12288 "I'm Jewish. Count Basie's Jewish. Ray Charles is Jewish. 12289Eddie Cantor's goyish. The B'nai Brith is goyish. The Hadassah is 12290Jewish. Marine Corps -- heavy goyish, dangerous. 12291 "Kool-Aid is goyish. All Drake's Cakes are goyish. 12292Pumpernickel is Jewish and, as you know, white bread is very goyish. 12293Instant potatoes -- goyish. Black cherry soda's very Jewish. 12294Macaroons are ____very Jewish. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime Jell-O is 12295goyish. Lime soda is ____very goyish. Trailer parks are so goyish that 12296Jews won't go near them ..." 12297 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 12298% 12299The District of Columbia has a law forbidding you to exert pressure on 12300a balloon and thereby cause a whistling sound on the streets. 12301% 12302The doctrine of human equality reposes on this: that there is no man 12303really clever who has not found that he is stupid. 12304 -- Gilbert K. Chesterson 12305% 12306The duck hunter trained his retriever to walk on water. Eager to show 12307off this amazing accomplishment, he asked a friend to go along on his 12308next hunting trip. Saying nothing, he fired his first shot and, as the 12309duck fell, the dog walked on the surface of the water, retrieved the 12310duck and returned it to his master. 12311 "Notice anything?" the owner asked eagerly. 12312 "Yes," said his friend, "I see that fool dog of yours can't swim." 12313% 12314The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late 12315and owns the worm farm. 12316 -- Travis McGee 12317% 12318The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier. 12319% 12320The easiest way to figure the cost of living is to take your income and 12321add ten percent. 12322% 12323The economy depends about as much on economists as the weather does on 12324weather forecasters. 12325 -- Jean-Paul Kauffmann 12326% 12327"The eleventh commandment was `Thou Shalt Compute' or `Thou Shalt Not 12328Compute' -- I forget which." 12329 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 12330% 12331The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of 12332civilization. 12333 -- Ralph Waldo Emerson 12334% 12335The end of the world will occur at 3:00 p.m., this Friday, with 12336symposium to follow. 12337% 12338The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach 12339their children to speak it. 12340 -- G. B. Shaw 12341% 12342The fact that boys are allowed to exist at all is evidence of a 12343remarkable Christian forbearance among men. 12344 -- Ambrose Bierce 12345% 12346The fact that it works is immaterial. 12347 -- L. Ogborn 12348% 12349The faster we go, the rounder we get. 12350 -- The Grateful Dead 12351% 12352The Fifth Rule: 12353 You have taken yourself too seriously. 12354% 12355The first duty of a revolutionary is to get away with it. 12356 -- Abbie Hoffman 12357% 12358The first Great Steward, Parrafin the Climber, was employed in King 12359Chloroplast's kitchen as second scullery boy when the old King met a 12360tragic death. He apparently fell backward by accident on a dozen salad 12361forks. Simultaneously the true heir, his son Carotene, mysteriously 12362fled the city, complaining of some sort of plot and a lot of 12363threatening notes left on his breakfast tray. At the time, this looked 12364suspicious what with his father's death, and Carotene was suspected of 12365foul play. Then the rest of the King's relatives began to drop dead 12366one after the other in an odd fashion. Some were found strangled with 12367dishrags and some succumbed to food poisoning. A few were found 12368drowned in the soup vats, and one was attacked by assailants unknown 12369and beaten to death with a pot roast. At least three appear to have 12370thrown themselves backward on salad forks, perhaps in a noble gesture 12371of grief over the King's untimely end. Finally there was no one left 12372in Minas Troney who was either eligible or willing to wear the accursed 12373crown, and the rule of Twodor was up for grabs. The scullery slave 12374Parrafin bravely accepted the Stewardship of Twodor until that day when 12375a lineal descendant of Carotene's returns to reclaim his rightful 12376throne, conquer Twodor's enemies, and revamp the postal system. 12377 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 12378% 12379The first myth of management is that it exists. The second myth of 12380management is that success equals skill. 12381 -- Robert Heller 12382% 12383The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish 12384child, was propounded to me by my father: 12385 "What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet -- and 12386whistles?" 12387 I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity 12388gave up. 12389 "A herring," said my father. 12390 "A herring," I echoed. "A herring doesn't hang on the wall!" 12391 "So hang it there." 12392 "But a herring isn't green!" I protested. 12393 "Paint it." 12394 "But a herring isn't wet." 12395 "If it's just painted it's still wet." 12396 "But -- " I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, "-- a herring 12397doesn't whistle!!" 12398 "Right, " smiled my father. "I just put that in to make it 12399hard." 12400 -- Leo Rosten, "The Joys of Yiddish" 12401% 12402"The first rule of magic is simple. Don't waste your time waving your 12403hands and hoping when a rock or a club will do." 12404 -- McCloctnik the Lucid 12405% 12406The First Rule of Program Optimization: 12407 Don't do it. 12408 12409The Second Rule of Program Optimization (for experts only!): 12410 Don't do it yet. 12411 -- Michael Jackson 12412% 12413The first time, it's a KLUDGE! 12414The second, a trick. 12415Later, it's a well-established technique! 12416 -- Mike Broido, Intermetrics 12417% 12418The following quote is from page 4-27 of the MSCP Basic Disk Functions 12419Manual which is part of the UDA50 Programmers Doc Kit manuals: 12420 12421As stated above, the host area of a disk is structured as a vector of 12422logical blocks. From a performance viewpoint, however, it is more 12423appropriate to view the host area as a four dimensional hyper-cube, the 12424four dimensions being cylinder, group, track, and sector. 12425 . . . 12426Referring to our hyper-cube analogy, the set of potentially accessible 12427blocks form a line parallel to the track axis. This line moves 12428parallel to the sector axis, wrapping around when it reaches the edge 12429of the hyper-cube. 12430% 12431The fortune program is supported, in part, by user contributions and by 12432a major grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. 12433% 12434The four building blocks of the universe are fire, water, gravel and 12435vinyl. 12436 -- Dave Barry 12437% 12438The full impact of parenthood doesn't hit you until you multiply the 12439number of your kids by 32 teeth. 12440% 12441The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to 12442chance. 12443% 12444The gentlemen looked one another over with microscopic carelessness. 12445% 12446The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the 12447center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South 12448Boston which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South 12449End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. 12450% 12451The giraffe you thought you offended last week is willing to be nuzzled 12452today. 12453% 12454The goal of Computer Science is to build something that will last at 12455least until we've finished building it. 12456% 12457The goal of science is to build better mousetraps. 12458The goal of nature is to build better mice. 12459% 12460The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him 12461love and he invented marriage. 12462% 12463THE GOLDEN RULE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 12464 The one who has the gold makes the rules. 12465% 12466"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians and all those who 12467make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that mathematicians 12468have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and confine 12469man in the bonds of Hell." 12470 -- St. Augustine 12471% 12472The good die young -- because they see it's no use living if you've got 12473to be good. 12474 -- John Barrymore 12475% 12476 "The Good Ship Enterprise" (to the tune of "The Good Ship Lollipop") 12477 12478On the good ship Enterprise 12479Every week there's a new surprise 12480Where the Romulans lurk 12481And the Klingons often go berserk. 12482 12483Yes, the good ship Enterprise 12484There's excitement anywhere it flies 12485Where Tribbles play 12486And Nurse Chapel never gets her way. 12487 12488 See Captain Kirk standing on the bridge, 12489 Mr. Spock is at his side. 12490 The weekly menace, ooh-ooh 12491 It gets fried, scattered far and wide. 12492 12493It's the good ship Enterprise 12494Heading out where danger lies 12495And you live in dread 12496If you're wearing a shirt that's red. 12497 -- Doris Robin and Karen Trimble of The L.A. Filkharmonics 12498% 12499The government [is] extremely fond of amassing great quantities of 12500statistics. These are raised to the _nth degree, the cube roots are 12501extracted, and the results are arranged into elaborate and impressive 12502displays. What must be kept ever in mind, however, is that in every 12503case, the figures are first put down by a village watchman, and he puts 12504down anything he damn well pleases. 12505 -- Sir Josiah Stamp 12506% 12507The grand leap of the whale up the Fall of Niagara is esteemed, by all 12508who have seen it, as one of the finest spectacles in nature. 12509 -- Benjamin Franklin. 12510% 12511The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog: 12512 The Great Bald Swamp Hedgehog of Billericay displays, in courtship, 12513 his single prickle and does impressions of Holiday Inn desk clerks. 12514 Since this means him standing motionless for enormous periods of 12515 time he is often eaten in full display by The Great Bald Swamp 12516 Hedgehog Eater. 12517 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 12518% 12519The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men 12520of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. 12521 -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis 12522% 12523The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. 12524 -- Albert Einstein 12525% 12526The hearing ear is always found close to the speaking tongue, a custom 12527whereof the memory of man runneth not howsomever to the contrary, nohow. 12528% 12529The Heineken Uncertainty Principle: 12530 You can never be sure how many beers you had last night. 12531% 12532The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent 12533thinkers. 12534% 12535The hieroglyphics are all unreadable except for a notation on the back, 12536which reads "Genuine authentic Egyptian papyrus. Guaranteed to be at 12537least 5000 years old." 12538% 12539The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for 12540lists of "Ten Best". 12541 -- H. Allen Smith 12542% 12543The human brain is like an enormous fish -- it is flat and slimy and 12544has gills through which it can see. 12545 -- Monty Python 12546% 12547The human mind ordinarily operates at only ten percent of 12548its capacity -- the rest is overhead for the operating system. 12549% 12550The human mind treats a new idea the way the body treats a strange 12551protein -- it rejects it. 12552 -- P. Medawar 12553% 12554The human race has been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can 12555remember. Just like the bluebird feeding its young, or the spider 12556struggling to weave its perfect web, or the buttercup blooming in 12557spring, the shark reveals to us yet another of the infinite and 12558wonderful facets of nature, namely the facet that it can bite your head 12559off. This causes us humans to feel a certain degree of awe. 12560 -- Dave Barry, "The Wonders of Sharks on TV" 12561% 12562The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter. 12563 -- Mark Twain 12564% 12565The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that 12566procession but carrying a banner. 12567 -- Mark Twain 12568% 12569The idea is to die young as late as possible. 12570 -- Ashley Montague 12571% 12572The idea there was that consumers would bring their broken electronic 12573devices, such as television sets and VCR's, to the destruction centers, 12574where trained personnel would whack them (the devices) with 12575sledgehammers. With their devices thus permanently destroyed, 12576consumers would then be free to go out and buy new devices, rather than 12577have to fritter away years of their lives trying to have the old ones 12578repaired at so-called "factory service centers," which in fact consist 12579of two men named Lester poking at the insides of broken electronic 12580devices with cheap cigars and going, "Lookit all them WIRES in there!" 12581 -- Dave Barry, "'Mister Mediocre' Restaurants" 12582% 12583The identical is equal to itself, since it is different. 12584 -- Franco Spisani 12585% 12586The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit longer. 12587 -- Henry Kissinger 12588% 12589The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf 12590has. Even when you make a tax form out on the level, you don't know 12591when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr. 12592 -- Will Rogers 12593% 12594The individual choice of garnishment of a burger can be an important 12595point to the consumer in this day when individualism is an increasingly 12596important thing to people. 12597 -- Donald N. Smith, president of Burger King 12598% 12599The intelligence of any discussion diminishes with the square of the 12600number of participants. 12601 -- Adam Walinsky 12602% 12603The IQ of the group is the lowest IQ of a member of the group divided 12604by the number of people in the group. 12605% 12606The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free 12607information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a 12608dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a 12609real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they're useless. 12610 12611So, for guidance, you want to look to big business. Big business never 12612pays a nickel in taxes, according to Ralph Nader, who represents a big 12613consumer organization that never pays a nickel in taxes... 12614 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 12615% 12616The Kennedy Constant: 12617 Don't get mad -- get even. 12618% 12619The Killer Ducks are coming!!! 12620% 12621The ladies men admire, I've heard, 12622Would shudder at a wicked word. 12623Their candle gives a single light; 12624They'd rather stay at home at night. 12625They do not keep awake till three, 12626Nor read erotic poetry. 12627They never sanction the impure, 12628Nor recognize an overture. 12629They shrink from powders and from paints... 12630So far, I've had no complaints. 12631 -- Dorothy Parker 12632% 12633The last time somebody said, "I find I can write much better with a 12634word processor," I replied, "They used to say the same thing about 12635drugs." 12636 -- Roy Blount, Jr. 12637% 12638The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the 12639law free. 12640 -- Henry David Thoreau 12641% 12642The Law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the 12643poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal 12644bread. 12645 -- Anatole France 12646% 12647The lawgiver, of all beings, most owes the law allegiance. He of all 12648men should behave as though the law compelled him. But it is the 12649universal weakness of mankind that what we are given to administer we 12650presently imagine we own. 12651 -- H. G. Wells 12652% 12653 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #10: SIMPLE 12654 12655SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiot's Monopurpose Programming Language 12656Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover College for 12657Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write code 12658with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, 12659END and STOP. No matter how you arrange the statements, you can't make 12660a syntax error. Programs written in SIMPLE do nothing useful. Thus 12661they achieve the results of programs written in other languages without 12662the tedious, frustrating process of testing and debugging. 12663% 12664 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #12: LITHP 12665 12666This otherwise unremarkable language is distinguished by the absence of 12667an "S" in its character set; users must substitute "TH". LITHP is said 12668to be useful in protheththing lithtth. 12669% 12670 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #13: SLOBOL 12671 12672SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it, of its compiler. 12673Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they 12674compile, SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the 12675coffee. Forty-three programmers are known to have died of boredom 12676sitting at their terminals while waiting for a SLOBOL program to 12677compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often turn to a related (but 12678infinitely faster) language, COCAINE. 12679% 12680 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #17: SARTRE 12681 12682Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is an extremely 12683unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose; they just 12684are. Thus SARTRE programs are left to define their own functions. 12685SARTRE programmers tend to be boring and depressed, and are no fun at 12686parties. 12687% 12688 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18: C- 12689 12690This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he 12691submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is 12692best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the 12693language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code 12694statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very 12695similar to COBOL. 12696% 12697 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #18a: FIFTH 12698 12699FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the data types 12700refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT, and 12701JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and 12702BLOTTO. Commands refer to ingredients such as CHABLIS, CHARDONNAY, 12703CABERNET, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH, and WHATEVERSAROUND. 12704 12705The many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and 12706financial status of its users. Commands in the ELITE dialect include 12707VSOP and LAFITE, while commands in the GUTTER dialect include HOOTCH 12708and RIPPLE. The latter is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers 12709who end up using this language. 12710% 12711 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #2: RENE 12712 12713Named after the famous French philosopher and mathematician Rene 12714DesCartes, RENE is a language used for artificial intelligence. The 12715language is being developed at the Chicago Center of Machine Politics 12716and Programming under a grant from the Jane Byrne Victory Fund. A 12717spokesman described the language as "Just as great as dis [sic] city of 12718ours." 12719 12720The center is very pleased with progress to date. They say they have 12721almost succeeded in getting a VAX to think. However, sources inside the 12722organization say that each time the machine fails to think it ceases to 12723exist. 12724% 12725 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #5: VALGOL 12726From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, 12727VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of popularity across the industry. 12728 12729Here is a sample program: 12730 LIKE, Y*KNOW(I MEAN)START 12731 IF PIZZA = LIKE BITCHEN AND GUY = LIKE TUBULAR AND 12732 VALLEY GIRL = LIKE GRODY**MAX(FERSURE)**2 THEN 12733 FOR I = LIKE 1 TO OH*MAYBE 100 12734 DO*WAH - (DITTY**2) 12735 BARF(I)=TOTALLY GROSS(OUT) 12736 SURE 12737 LIKE BAG THIS PROGRAM 12738 REALLY 12739 LIKE TOTALLY (Y*KNOW) 12740 IM*SURE 12741 GOTO THE MALL 12742 12743When the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter displays the message: 12744 12745 GAG ME WITH A SPOON!! 12746% 12747 THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #8: LAIDBACK 12748 12749This language was developed at the Marin County Center for T'ai Chi, 12750Mellowness and Computer Programming (now defunct), as an alternative to 12751the more intense atmosphere in nearby Silicon Valley. 12752 12753The center was ideal for programmers who liked to soak in hot tubs 12754while they worked. Unfortunately few programmers could survive there 12755because the center outlawed Pizza and Coca-Cola in favor of Tofu and 12756Perrier. 12757 12758Many mourn the demise of LAIDBACK because of its reputation as a gentle 12759and non-threatening language since all error messages are in lower 12760case. For example, LAIDBACK responded to syntax errors with the 12761message: 12762 "i hate to bother you, but i just can't relate to that. can 12763 you find the time to try it again?" 12764% 12765The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an approaching 12766train. 12767% 12768The light at the end of the tunnel may be an oncoming dragon. 12769% 12770The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get 12771much sleep. 12772 -- Woody Allen 12773% 12774The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself. 12775 -- Henry Kissinger 12776% 12777The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as 12778we could with both of them. 12779 -- Joseph Heller, "Catch-22" 12780% 12781The makers may make 12782And the users may use, 12783But the fixers must fix 12784With but minimal clues 12785% 12786The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the 12787crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no 12788one has ever been. 12789 -- Alan Ashley-Pitt 12790% 12791The man who sets out to carry a cat by its tail learns something that 12792will always be useful and which never will grow dim or doubtful. 12793 -- Mark Twain. 12794% 12795The marvels of today's modern technology include the development of a 12796soda can, when discarded will last forever ... and a $7,000 car which 12797when properly cared for will rust out in two or three years. 12798% 12799"... the Mayo Clinic, named after its founder, Dr. Ted Clinic ..." 12800 -- Dave Barry 12801% 12802The meek shall inherit the earth -- they are too weak to refuse. 12803% 12804 The men sat sipping their tea in silence. After a while the 12805klutz said, "Life is like a bowl of sour cream." 12806 12807 "Like a bowl of sour cream?" asked the other. "Why?" 12808 12809 "How should I know? What am I, a philosopher?" 12810% 12811The meta-Turing test counts a thing as intelligent if it seeks to 12812devise and apply Turing tests to objects of its own creation. 12813 -- Lew Mammel, Jr. 12814% 12815The misnaming of fields of study is so common as to lead to what might 12816be general systems laws. For example, Frank Harary once suggested the 12817law that any field that had the word "science" in its name was 12818guaranteed thereby not to be a science. He would cite as examples 12819Military Science, Library Science, Political Science, Homemaking 12820Science, Social Science, and Computer Science. Discuss the generality 12821of this law, and possible reasons for its predictive 12822power. 12823 -- Gerald Weinberg, "An Introduction to General Systems 12824 Thinking." 12825% 12826The modern child will answer you back before you've said anything. 12827 -- Laurence J. Peter 12828% 12829The mome rath isn't born that could outgrabe me. 12830 -- Nicol Williamson 12831% 12832The moon is a planet just like the Earth, only it is even deader. 12833% 12834The moon may be smaller than Earth, but it's further away. 12835% 12836The more data I punch in this card, the lighter it becomes, and the 12837lower the mailing cost. 12838 -- Stan Kelly-Bootle, "The Devil's DP Dictionary" 12839% 12840The more laws and order are made prominent, 12841the more thieves and robbers there will be. 12842 -- Lao Tsu 12843% 12844The more things change, the more they stay insane. 12845% 12846The more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us 12847is right. 12848% 12849The mosquito is the state bird of New Jersey. 12850 -- Andy Warhol 12851% 12852The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and 12853to watch someone else do it wrong without comment. 12854 -- Theodore H. White 12855% 12856The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new 12857discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." 12858 -- Isaac Asimov 12859% 12860The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. 12861% 12862... the MYSTERIANS are in here with my CORDUROY SOAP DISH!! 12863% 12864 "... The name of the song is called `Haddocks' Eyes'!" 12865 "Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to 12866feel interested. 12867 "No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little 12868vexed. "That's what the name is called. The name really is, `The Aged 12869Aged Man.'" 12870 "Then I ought to have said "That's what the song is called'?" 12871Alice corrected herself. 12872 "No, you oughtn't: that's quite another thing! The song is 12873called `Ways and Means': but that's only what it is called you know!" 12874 "Well, what is the song then?" said Alice, who was by this time 12875completely bewildered. 12876 "I was coming to that," the Knight said. "The song really is 12877"A-sitting on a Gate": and the tune's my own invention." 12878 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 12879% 12880"The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 128811986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert." 12882 -- D. Letterman 12883% 12884The National Short-Sleeved Shirt Association says: 12885 Support your right to bare arms! 12886% 12887The net of law is spread so wide, 12888No sinner from its sweep may hide. 12889Its meshes are so fine and strong, 12890They take in every child of wrong. 12891O wondrous web of mystery! 12892Big fish alone escape from thee! 12893 -- James Jeffrey Roche 12894% 12895The new Congressmen say they're going to turn the government around. I 12896hope I don't get run over again. 12897% 12898The New Testament offers the basis for modern computer coding theory, 12899in the form of an affirmation of the binary number system. 12900 12901 But let your communication be Yea, yea; nay, nay: for 12902 whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 12903 -- Matthew 5:37 12904% 12905"The New York Times is read by the people who run the country. The 12906Washington Post is read by the people who think they run the country. 12907The National Enquirer is read by the people who think Elvis is alive 12908and running the country ..." 12909 -- Robert J Woodhead 12910% 12911The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to 12912choose from. 12913 -- Andrew S. Tanenbaum 12914% 12915The notion of a "record" is an obsolete remnant of the days of the 1291680-column card. 12917 -- Dennis M. Ritchie 12918% 12919The notion that the church, the press, and the universities should 12920serve the state is essentially a Communist notion ... In a free society 12921these institutions must be wholly free -- which is to say that their 12922function is to serve as checks upon the state. 12923 -- Alan Barth 12924% 12925The number of arguments is unimportant unless some of them are 12926correct. 12927 -- Ralph Hartley 12928% 12929The objective of all dedicated employees should be to thoroughly 12930analyze all situations, anticipate all problems prior to their 12931occurrence, have answers for these problems, and move swiftly to solve 12932these problems when called upon. 12933 12934However, when you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to 12935remind yourself your initial objective was to drain the swamp. 12936% 12937The Official MBA Handbook on business cards: 12938 Avoid overly pretentious job titles such as "Lord of the Realm, 12939 Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" or "Director of Corporate 12940 Planning." 12941% 12942The older a man gets, the farther he had to walk to school as a boy. 12943% 12944The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age 12945brings wisdom. 12946 -- H. L. Mencken 12947% 12948The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader 12949catch his own breath. 12950 -- Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart 12951% 12952The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when 12953to cringe. 12954% 12955The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 12956`social sciences' is: some do, some don't. 12957 -- Ernest Rutherford 12958% 12959The only problem with being a man of leisure is that you can never stop 12960and take a rest. 12961% 12962The only real way to look younger is not to be born so soon. 12963 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 12964 Over and Over" 12965% 12966The only really decent thing to do behind a person's back is pat it. 12967% 12968The only really good place to buy lumber is at a store where the lumber 12969has already been cut and attached together in the form of furniture, 12970finished, and put inside boxes. 12971 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 12972% 12973The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. 12974It is never any use to oneself. 12975 -- Oscar Wilde 12976% 12977The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from 12978history. 12979 -- Hegel 12980 12981I know guys can't learn from yesterday ... Hegel must be taking the 12982long view. 12983 -- John Brunner, "Stand on Zanzibar" 12984% 12985The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. 12986 -- Oscar Wilde 12987% 12988The opossum is a very sophisticated animal. It doesn't even get up 12989until 5 or 6 p.m. 12990% 12991The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. 12992 -- Bohr 12993% 12994The optimum committee has no members. 12995 -- Norman Augustine 12996% 12997The other day I put instant coffee in my microwave oven ... I almost 12998went back in time. 12999 -- Steven Wright 13000% 13001The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because 13002it isn't here. 13003 -- Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley) 13004% 13005The penalty for laughing in a courtroom is six months in jail; if it 13006were not for this penalty, the jury would never hear the evidence. 13007 -- H. L. Mencken 13008% 13009 The people of Halifax invented the trampoline. During the 13010Victorian period the tripe-dressers of Halifax stretched tripe across a 13011large wooden frame and jumped up and down on it to `tender and dress' 13012it. The tripoline, as they called it, degenerated into becoming the 13013apparatus for a spectator sport. 13014 13015 The people of Halifax also invented the harmonium, a device for 13016castrating pigs during Sunday service. 13017 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13018% 13019The Pig, if I am not mistaken, 13020Gives us ham and pork and Bacon. 13021Let others think his heart is big, 13022I think it stupid of the Pig. 13023 -- Ogden Nash 13024% 13025The pitcher wound up and he flang the ball at the batter. The batter 13026swang and missed. The pitcher flang the ball again and this time the 13027batter connected. He hit a high fly right to the center fielder. The 13028center fielder was all set to catch the ball, but at the last minute 13029his eyes were blound by the sun and he dropped it. 13030 -- Dizzy Dean 13031% 13032The plot was designed in a light vein that somehow became varicose. 13033 -- David Lardner 13034% 13035The polite thing to do has always been to address people as they wish 13036to be addressed, to treat them in a way they think dignified. But it 13037is equally important to accept and tolerate different standards of 13038courtesy, not expecting everyone else to adapt to one's own 13039preferences. Only then can we hope to restore the insult to its proper 13040social function of expressing true distaste. 13041 -- Judith Martin, "Miss Manners' Guide to 13042 Excruciatingly Correct Behavior" 13043% 13044The porcupine with the sharpest quills gets stuck on a tree more often. 13045% 13046The Preacher, the Politician, the Teacher, 13047 Were each of them once a kiddie. 13048A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature. 13049 Do I want one? God Forbiddie! 13050 -- Ogden Nash 13051% 13052The President publicly apologized today to all those offended by his 13053brother's remark, "There's more Arabs in this country than there is 13054Jews!". Those offended include Arabs, Jews, and English teachers. 13055 -- Baltimore, Channel 11 News, on Jimmy Carter 13056% 13057The price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that someday 13058they might force their beliefs on us. 13059 -- Mario Cuomo 13060% 13061The primary cause of failure in electrical appliances is an expired 13062warranty. Often, you can get an appliance running again simply by 13063changing the warranty expiration date with a 15/64-inch felt-tipped 13064marker. 13065 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13066% 13067The primary purpose of the DATA statement is to give names to 13068constants; instead of referring to pi as 3.141592653589793 at every 13069appearance, the variable PI can be given that value with a DATA 13070statement and used instead of the longer form of the constant. This 13071also simplifies modifying the program, should the value of pi change. 13072 -- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers 13073% 13074The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough 13075voters to win the next election. 13076% 13077The primary theme of SoupCon is communication. The acronym "LEO" 13078represents the secondary theme: 13079 13080 Law Enforcement Officials 13081 13082The overall theme of SoupCon shall be: 13083 13084 Avoiding Communication with Law Enforcement Officials 13085 13086 -- M. Gallaher 13087% 13088... the privileged being which we call human is distinguished from 13089other animals only by certain double-edged manifestations which in 13090charity we can only call "inhuman." 13091 -- R. A. Lafferty 13092% 13093The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the 13094stupidity of your action. 13095% 13096The problem ... is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. 13097Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil 13098using other animals; they've piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle 13099Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, 13100etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous 13101bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons. None 13102of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats 13103developed cancer. 13104 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13105% 13106The problem with any unwritten law is that you don't know where to go 13107to erase it. 13108 -- Glaser and Way 13109% 13110The problem with engineers is that they tend to cheat in order to get 13111results. 13112 13113The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy 13114problems in order to get results. 13115 13116The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at toy 13117problems in order to get results. 13118% 13119The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be 13120pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues. 13121 -- Elizabeth Taylor 13122% 13123The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. 13124% 13125The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's 13126outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by 13127mistake since its colors are those of the London Reform Club. Once 13128tied around its victim's neck, it strangles him gently and then claims 13129the insurance before running off to Germany where it lives in hiding. 13130 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13131% 13132"The pyramid is opening!" 13133"Which one?" 13134"The one with the ever-widening hole in it!" 13135 -- Firesign Theater, "How Can You Be In Two Places At 13136 Once When You're Not Anywhere At All" 13137% 13138The qotc (quote of the con) was Liz's: 13139 "My brain is paged out to my liver" 13140% 13141The question is, why are politicians so eager to be president? What is 13142it about the job that makes it worth revealing, on national television, 13143that you have the ethical standards of a slime-coated piece of 13144industrial waste? 13145 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 13146% 13147The rain it raineth on the just 13148 And also on the unjust fella, 13149But chiefly on the just, because 13150 The unjust steals the just's umbrella. 13151 --Lord Bowen 13152% 13153The reader this message encounters not failing to understand is 13154cursed. 13155% 13156The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much. 13157% 13158The reason it's called "Grape Nuts" is that it contains "dextrose", 13159which is also sometimes called "grape sugar", and also because "Grape 13160Nuts" is catchier, in terms of marketing, than "A Cross Between Gerbil 13161Food and Gravel", which is what it tastes like. 13162 -- Dave Barry, "Tips for Writer's" 13163% 13164The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one 13165persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all 13166progress depends on the unreasonable man. 13167 -- George Bernard Shaw 13168% 13169The revolution will not be televised. 13170% 13171The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. 13172 -- Emerson 13173% 13174The rhino is a homely beast, 13175For human eyes he's not a feast. 13176Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros, 13177I'll stare at something less prepoceros. 13178 -- Ogden Nash 13179% 13180The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This 13181means that only left handed people are in their right mind. 13182% 13183"The Right Honorable Gentleman is indebted to his memory for his jests 13184and to his imagination for his facts." 13185 -- Sheridan 13186% 13187The right to revolt has sources deep in our history. 13188 -- Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas 13189% 13190The rights you have are the rights given you by this Committee [the 13191House Un-American Activities Committee]. We will determine what rights 13192you have and what rights you have not got. 13193 -- J. Parnell Thomas 13194% 13195The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And littered with 13196sloppy analysis! 13197% 13198The Roman Rule 13199 The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the 13200 one who is doing it. 13201% 13202The Ruffed Pandanga of Borneo and Rotherham spreads out his feathers in 13203his courtship dance and imitates Winston Churchill and Tommy Cooper on 13204one leg. The padanga is dying out because the female padanga doesn't 13205take it too seriously. 13206 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 13207% 13208The rule on staying alive as a forecaster is to give 'em a number or 13209give 'em a date, but never give 'em both at once. 13210 -- Jane Bryant Quinn 13211% 13212"The Schizophrenic: An Unauthorized Autobiography" 13213% 13214The Schwine-Kitzenger Institute study of 47 men over the age of 100 13215showed that all had these things in common: 13216 13217 (1) They all had moderate appetites. 13218 (2) They all came from middle class homes 13219 (3) All but two of them were dead. 13220% 13221The scum also rises. 13222 -- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson 13223% 13224The seven deadly sins ... Food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes, 13225respectability and children. Nothing can lift those seven millstones 13226from Man's neck but money; and the spirit cannot soar until the 13227millstones are lifted. 13228 -- George Bernard Shaw 13229% 13230 The seven eyes of Ningauble the Wizard floated back to his hood 13231as he reported to Fafhrd: "I have seen much, yet cannot explain all. 13232The Gray Mouser is exactly twenty-five feet below the deepest cellar in 13233the palace of Gilpkerio Kistomerces. Even though twenty-four parts in 13234twenty-five of him are dead, he is alive. 13235 13236 "Now about Lankhmar. She's been invaded, her walls breached 13237everywhere and desperate fighting is going on in the streets, by a 13238fierce host which out-numbers Lankhmar's inhabitants by fifty to one -- 13239and equipped with all modern weapons. Yet you can save the city." 13240 13241 "How?" demanded Fafhrd. 13242 13243 Ningauble shrugged. "You're a hero. You should know." 13244 -- Fritz Leiber, from "The Swords of Lankhmar" 13245% 13246The sheep that fly over your head are soon to land. 13247% 13248The shortest distance between two points is under construction. 13249 -- Noelie Alito 13250% 13251The Sixth Commandment of Frisbee: 13252 The greatest single aid to distance is for the disc to be going 13253in a direction you did not want. (Goes the wrong way = Goes a long 13254way.) 13255 -- Dan Roddick 13256% 13257The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity 13258and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted 13259activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ... 13260neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water. 13261% 13262The sooner all the animals are dead, the sooner we'll find their money. 13263 -- Ed Bluestone, "The National Lampoon" 13264% 13265The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up! 13266% 13267The sooner you make your first 5000 mistakes, the sooner you will be 13268able to correct them. 13269 -- Nicolaides 13270% 13271The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. 13272% 13273The Soviet pre-eminence in chess can be traced to the average Russian's 13274readiness to brood obsessively over anything, even the arrangement of 13275some pieces of wood. Indeed, the Russians' predisposition for quiet 13276reflection followed by sudden preventive action explains why they led 13277the field for many years in both chess and ax murders. It is well 13278known that as early as 1970, the U.S.S.R., aware of what a defeat at 13279Reykjavik would do to national prestige, implemented a vigorous program 13280of preparation and incentive. Every day for an entire year, a team of 13281psychologists, chess analysts and coaches met with the top three 13282Russian grand masters and threatened them with a pointy stick. That 13283these tactics proved fruitless is now a part of chess history and a 13284further testament to the American way, which provides that if you want 13285something badly enough, you can always go to Iceland and get it from 13286the Russians. 13287 -- Marshall Brickman, Playboy, April, 1973 13288% 13289 The STAR WARS Song 13290 Sung to the tune of "Lola", by the Kinks: 13291 13292I met him in a swamp down in Dagobah 13293Where it bubbles all the time like a giant cabinet soda 13294 S-O-D-A soda 13295I saw the little runt sitting there on a log 13296I asked him his name and in a raspy voice he said Yoda 13297 Y-O-D-A Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13298 13299Well I've been around but I ain't never seen 13300A guy who looks like a Muppet but he's wrinkled and green 13301 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13302Well I'm not dumb but I can't understand 13303How he can raise me in the air just by raising his hand 13304 Oh my Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda, Yo-Yo-Yo-Yo Yoda 13305% 13306The state law of Pennsylvania prohibits singing in the bathtub. 13307% 13308The steady state of disks is full. 13309 -- Ken Thompson 13310% 13311 THE STORY OF CREATION 13312 or 13313 THE MYTH OF URK 13314 13315In the beginning there was data. The data was without form and null, 13316and darkness was upon the face of the console; and the Spirit of IBM 13317was moving over the face of the market. And DEC said, "Let there be 13318registers"; and there were registers. And DEC saw that they carried; 13319and DEC separated the data from the instructions. DEC called the data 13320Stack, and the instructions they called Code. And there was evening 13321and there was morning, one interrupt. 13322 -- Rico Tudor 13323% 13324The streets are safe in Philadelphia, it's only the people who make 13325them unsafe. 13326 -- Mayor Frank Rizzo 13327% 13328The student in question is performing minimally for his peer group and 13329is an emerging underachiever. 13330% 13331The study of non-linear physics is like the study of non-elephant 13332biology. 13333% 13334"The subspace _W inherits the other 8 properties of _V. And there aren't 13335even any property taxes." 13336 -- J. MacKay, Mathematics 134b 13337% 13338The sum of the Universe is zero. 13339% 13340The sun was shining on the sea, 13341Shining with all his might: 13342He did his very best to make 13343The billows smooth and bright -- 13344And this was very odd, because it was 13345The middle of the night. 13346 -- Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" 13347% 13348The superfluous is very necessary. 13349 -- Voltaire 13350% 13351The surest protection against temptation is cowardice. 13352 -- Mark Twain 13353% 13354The temperature of Heaven can be rather accurately computed. Our 13355authority is Isaiah 30:26, "Moreover, the light of the Moon shall be as 13356the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold, as 13357the light of seven days." Thus Heaven receives from the Moon as much 13358radiation as we do from the Sun, and in addition 7*7 (49) times as much 13359as the Earth does from the Sun, or 50 times in all. The light we 13360receive from the Moon is one 1/10,000 of the light we receive from the 13361Sun, so we can ignore that ... The radiation falling on Heaven will 13362heat it to the point where the heat lost by radiation is just equal to 13363the heat received by radiation, i.e., Heaven loses 50 times as much 13364heat as the Earth by radiation. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law for 13365radiation, (_H/_E)^4 = 50, where _E is the absolute temperature of the 13366earth (-300K), gives _H as 798K (525C). The exact temperature of Hell 13367cannot be computed ... [However] Revelations 21:8 says "But the 13368fearful, and unbelieving ... shall have their part in the lake which 13369burneth with fire and brimstone." A lake of molten brimstone means 13370that its temperature must be at or below the boiling point, 444.6C. We 13371have, then, that Heaven, at 525C is hotter than Hell at 445C. 13372 -- From "Applied Optics" vol. 11, A14, 1972 13373% 13374The Third Law of Photography: 13375 If you did manage to get any good shots, they will be ruined 13376 when someone inadvertently opens the darkroom door and all of 13377 the dark leaks out. 13378% 13379The Three Laws of Thermodynamics: 13380 13381 (1) You can't get anything without working for it. 13382 (2) The most you can accomplish by working is to break even. 13383 (3) You can only break even at absolute zero. 13384% 13385 The Three Major Kind of Tools 13386 13387* Tools for hitting things to make them loose or to tighten them up or 13388 jar their many complex, sophisticated electrical parts in such a 13389 manner that they function perfectly. (These are your hammers, maces, 13390 bludgeons, and truncheons.) 13391 13392* Tools that, if dropped properly, can penetrate your foot. (Awls) 13393 13394* Tools that nobody should ever use because the potential danger is far 13395 greater than the value of any project that could possibly result. 13396 (Power saws, power drills, power staplers, any kind of tool that uses 13397 any kind of power more advanced than flashlight batteries.) 13398 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 13399% 13400The trouble with a kitten is that 13401When it grows up, it's always a cat 13402 -- Ogden Nash. 13403% 13404The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. 13405% 13406The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate 13407it. 13408 -- Franklin P. Jones 13409% 13410The trouble with being punctual is that people think you have nothing 13411more important to do. 13412% 13413The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody 13414appreciates how difficult it was. 13415% 13416The trouble with superheros is what to do between phone booths. 13417 -- Ken Kesey 13418% 13419The truth is what is; what should be is a dirty lie. 13420 -- Lenny Bruce 13421% 13422The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. 13423And vice versa. 13424% 13425The turtle lives 'twixt plated decks 13426Which practically conceal its sex. 13427I think it clever of the turtle 13428In such a fix to be so fertile. 13429 -- Ogden Nash 13430% 13431The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. 13432 -- Harlan Ellison 13433% 13434The typewriting machine, when played with expression, is no more 13435annoying than the piano when played by a sister or near relation. 13436 -- Oscar Wilde 13437% 13438The United States also has its native Fascists who say that they are 13439"100 percent American"... 13440 -- U.S. Army (1945) 13441% 13442The United States is like the guy at the party who gives cocaine to 13443everybody and still nobody likes him. 13444 -- Jim Samuels 13445% 13446The universe does not have laws -- it has habits, and habits can be 13447broken. 13448% 13449The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination -- but the 13450combination is locked up in the safe. 13451 -- Peter DeVries 13452% 13453The University of California Bears announced the signing of Reggie 13454Philbin to a letter of intent to attend Cal next Fall. Philbin is said 13455to make up for no talent by cheating well. Says Philbin of his 13456decision to attend Cal, "I'm in it for the free ride." 13457% 13458The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and 13459religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging 13460from the unorthodox to the dotty, that we can hardly wonder at its 13461yielding a more bounteous harvest of gobbledygook than the rest of the 13462world put together. 13463 -- Sir Peter Medawar 13464% 13465The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be 13466regarded as a criminal offense. 13467 -- E. W. Dijkstra, SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 17, Number 5 13468% 13469The verdict of a jury is the a priori opinion of that juror who smokes 13470the worst cigars. 13471 -- H. L. Mencken 13472% 13473The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid 13474prejudice. 13475 -- Mark Twain 13476% 13477The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. 13478Instead of altering their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts 13479to fit their views ... which can be very uncomfortable if you happen to 13480be one of the facts that needs altering. 13481 -- Doctor Who, "Face of Evil" 13482% 13483The voters have spoken, the bastards ... 13484% 13485"The wages of sin are death; but after they're done taking out taxes, 13486it's just a tired feeling:" 13487% 13488The wages of sin are high but you get your money's worth. 13489% 13490"The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity 13491that would be clearly understood." 13492 -- Alexander Haig 13493% 13494The way to make a small fortune in the commodities market is to start 13495with a large fortune. 13496% 13497 THE WOMBAT 13498 13499The wombat lives across the seas, 13500Among the far Antipodes. 13501He may exist on nuts and berries, 13502Or then again, on missionaries; 13503His distant habitat precludes 13504Conclusive knowledge of his moods. 13505But I would not engage the wombat 13506In any form of mortal combat. 13507% 13508The world is coming to an end ... SAVE YOUR BUFFERS!!! 13509% 13510The world is coming to an end! Repent and return those library books! 13511% 13512The world is coming to an end. Please log off. 13513% 13514The world's as ugly as sin, 13515And almost as delightful. 13516 -- Frederick Locker-Lampson 13517% 13518The years of peak mental activity are undoubtedly between the ages of 13519four and eighteen. At four we know all the questions, at eighteen all 13520the answers. 13521% 13522Then a man said: Speak to us of Expectations. 13523 13524He then said: If a man does not see or hear the waters of the Jordan, 13525then he should not taste the pomegranate or ply his wares in an open 13526market. 13527 13528If a man would not labour in the salt and rock quarries then he should 13529not accept of the Earth that which he refuses to give of himself. 13530 13531Such a man would expect a pear of a peach tree. 13532Such a man would expect a stone to lay an egg. 13533Such a man would expect Sears to assemble a lawnmower. 13534 -- Kehlog Albran, "The Profit" 13535% 13536Then here's to the City of Boston, 13537The town of the cries and the groans. 13538Where the Cabots can't see the Kabotschniks, 13539And the Lowells won't speak to the Cohns. 13540 -- Franklin Pierce Adams 13541% 13542 THEORY 13543Into love and out again, 13544 Thus I went and thus I go. 13545Spare your voice, and hold your pen: 13546 Well and bitterly I know 13547All the songs were ever sung, 13548 All the words were ever said; 13549Could it be, when I was young, 13550 Someone dropped me on my head? 13551 -- Dorothy Parker 13552% 13553There *__is* intelligent life on Earth, but I leave for Texas on Monday. 13554% 13555There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, 13556and praiseworthy ... 13557 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 13558% 13559There are many intelligent species in the universe. They all own 13560cats. 13561% 13562There are no data that cannot be plotted on a straight line if the axis 13563are chosen correctly. 13564% 13565There are no games on this system. 13566% 13567There are no physicists in the hottest parts of hell, because the 13568existence of a "hottest part" implies a temperature difference, and any 13569marginally competent physicist would immediately use this to run a heat 13570engine and make some other part of hell comfortably cool. This is 13571obviously impossible. 13572 -- Richard Davisson 13573% 13574There are people so addicted to exaggeration 13575that they can't tell the truth without lying. 13576 -- Josh Billings 13577% 13578There are really not many jobs that actually require a penis or a 13579vagina, and all other occupations should be open to everyone. 13580 -- Gloria Steinem 13581% 13582 There are some goyisha names that just about guarantee that 13583someone isn't Jewish. For example, you'll never meet a Jew named 13584Johnson or Wright or Jones or Sinclair or Ricks or Stevenson or Reid or 13585Larsen or Jenks. But some goyisha names just about guarantee that 13586every other person you meet with that name will be Jewish. Why is 13587this? 13588 Who knows? Learned rabbis have pondered this question for 13589centuries and have failed to come up with an answer, and you think ___you 13590can find one? Get serious. You don't even understand why it's 13591forbidden to eat crab -- fresh cold crab with mayonnaise -- or lobster 13592-- soft tender morsels of lobster dipped in melted butter. You don't 13593even understand a simple thing like that, and yet you hope to discover 13594why there are more Jews named Miller than Katz? Fat Chance. 13595 -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" 13596% 13597There are some micro-organisms that exhibit characteristics of both 13598plants and animals. When exposed to light they undergo photosynthesis; 13599and when the lights go out, they turn into animals. But then again, 13600don't we all? 13601% 13602There are those who claim that magic is like the tide; that it swells 13603and fades over the surface of the earth, collecting in concentrated 13604pools here and there, almost disappearing from other spots, leaving 13605them parched for wonder. There are also those who believe that if you 13606stick your fingers up your nose and blow, it will increase your 13607intelligence. 13608 -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VII 13609% 13610There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics. 13611 -- Benjamin Disraeli 13612% 13613There are three possibilities: 13614Pioneer's solar panel has turned away from the sun; 13615there's a large meteor blocking transmission; or 13616someone loaded Star Trek 3.2 into our video processor. 13617% 13618There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be 13619offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin 13620a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount 13621of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of 13622affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. 13623When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. 13624Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. 13625 -- Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior 13626% 13627There are three principal ways to lose money: wine, women, and 13628engineers. While the first two are more pleasant, the third is by far 13629the more certain. 13630 -- Baron Rothschild, ca. 1800 13631% 13632There are three schools of magic. One: State a tautology, then ring 13633the changes on its corollaries; that's philosophy. Two: Record many 13634facts. Try to find a pattern. Then make a wrong guess at the next 13635fact; that's science. Three: Be aware that you live in a malevolent 13636Universe controlled by Murphy's Law, sometimes offset by Brewster's 13637Factor; that's engineering. 13638% 13639There are three things I always forget. Names, faces -- the third I 13640can't remember. 13641 -- Italo Svevo 13642% 13643There are three ways to get something done: 13644 (1) Do it yourself. 13645 (2) Hire someone to do it for you. 13646 (3) Forbid your kids to do it. 13647% 13648There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire 13649someone, or forbid your kids to do it. 13650% 13651There are times when truth is stranger than fiction and lunch time is 13652one of them. 13653% 13654There are two kinds of solar-heat systems: "passive" systems collect 13655the sunlight that hits your home, and "active" systems collect the 13656sunlight that hits your neighbors' homes, too. 13657 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 13658% 13659There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good 13660sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more. 13661 -- Woody Allen 13662% 13663"There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to 13664make is so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the 13665other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious 13666deficiencies." 13667 -- C. A. R. Hoare 13668% 13669There are two ways of disliking poetry: one way is to dislike it, the 13670other is to read Pope. 13671 -- Oscar Wilde 13672% 13673There are two ways to write error-free programs. Only the third one 13674works. 13675% 13676There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a 13677suitable application of high explosives. 13678% 13679There can be no twisted thought without a twisted molecule. 13680 -- R. W. Gerard 13681% 13682There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. 13683 -- Henry Kissinger 13684% 13685There exist tasks which cannot be done by more than 10 men or fewer 13686than 100. 13687 -- Steele's Law 13688% 13689There has been an alarming increase in the number of things you know 13690nothing about. 13691% 13692There is a certain impertinence in allowing oneself to be burned for an 13693opinion. 13694 -- Anatole France 13695% 13696There is a great discovery still to be made in Literature: that of 13697paying literary men by the quantity they do NOT write. 13698% 13699There is a green, multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder. 13700% 13701There is a Massachusetts law requiring all dogs to have their hind legs 13702tied during the month of April. 13703% 13704There is a natural hootchy-kootchy to a goldfish. 13705 -- Walt Disney 13706% 13707There is a road to freedom. Its milestones are Obedience, Endeavor, 13708Honesty, Order, Cleanliness, Sobriety, Truthfulness, Sacrifice, and 13709love of the Fatherland. 13710 -- Adolf Hitler 13711% 13712There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly 13713what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly 13714disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and 13715inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has 13716already happened. 13717 -- Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 13718% 13719There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a 13720vacuum. 13721 -- Arthur C. Clarke 13722% 13723There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. 13724 -- Mark Twain 13725% 13726There is no realizable power that man cannot, in time, fashion the 13727tools to attain, nor any power so secure that the naked ape will not 13728abuse it. So it is written in the genetic cards -- only physics and 13729war hold him in check. And also the wife who wants him home by five, 13730of course. 13731 -- Encyclopedia Apocryphia, 1990 ed. 13732% 13733There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home. 13734 -- Ken Olson, President of DEC, World Future Society 13735 Convention, 1977 13736% 13737There is no satisfaction in hanging a man who does not object to it. 13738 -- G. B. Shaw 13739% 13740There is no substitute for good manners, except, perhaps, fast 13741reflexes. 13742% 13743There is no such thing as fortune. Try again. 13744% 13745There is no time like the pleasant. 13746% 13747There is no time like the present for postponing what you ought to be 13748doing. 13749% 13750There is no TRUTH. There is no REALITY. There is no CONSISTENCY. 13751There are no ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS. I'm very probably wrong. 13752% 13753"There is nothing which cannot be answered by means of my doctrine," 13754said a monk, coming into a teahouse where Nasrudin sat. 13755 "And yet just a short time ago, I was challenged by a scholar 13756with an unanswerable question," said Nasrudin. 13757 "I could have answered it if I had been there." 13758 "Very well. He asked, `Why are you breaking into my house in 13759the middle of the night?'" 13760% 13761There is nothing wrong with Southern California that a rise in the 13762ocean level wouldn't cure. 13763 -- Ross MacDonald 13764% 13765There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and 13766that is not being talked about. 13767 -- Oscar Wilde 13768% 13769There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale 13770returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. 13771 -- Mark Twain 13772% 13773There once was a girl named Irene 13774Who lived on distilled kerosene 13775 But she started absorbin' 13776 A new hydrocarbon 13777And since then has never benzene. 13778% 13779There once was a member of Mensa 13780Who was a most excellent fencer. 13781 The sword that he used 13782 Was his -- (line is refused, 13783And has now been removed by the censor). 13784% 13785There once was an old man from Esser, 13786Who's knowledge grew lesser and lesser. 13787 It at last grew so small, 13788 He knew nothing at all, 13789And now he's a College Professor. 13790% 13791There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. 13792 -- C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia 13793% 13794There was a plane crash over mid-ocean, and only three survivors were 13795left in the life-raft: the Pope, the President, and Mayor Daley. 13796Unfortunately, it was a one-man life-raft, and quickly sinking, so they 13797started debating who should be allowed to stay. 13798 13799The Pope pointed out that he was the spiritual leader of millions all 13800over the world, the President explained that if he died then America 13801would be stuck with the Vice-President, and so forth. Then Mayor Daley 13802said, "Look! We're not solving anything like this! The only fair 13803thing to do is to vote on it." So they did, and Mayor Daley won by 97 13804votes. 13805% 13806There was a young lady from Hyde 13807Who ate a green apple and died. 13808 While her lover lamented 13809 The apple fermented 13810And made cider inside her inside. 13811% 13812There was a young man who said "God, 13813I find it exceedingly odd, 13814 That the willow oak tree 13815 Continues to be, 13816When there's no one about in the Quad." 13817 13818"Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd, 13819For I'm always about in the Quad; 13820 And that's why the tree, 13821 Continues to be," 13822Signed "Yours faithfully, God." 13823% 13824There was a young poet named Dan, 13825Whose poetry never would scan. 13826 When told this was so, 13827 He said, "Yes, I know. 13828% 13829There was a young poet named Dan, 13830Whose poetry never would scan. 13831 When told this was so, 13832 He said, "Yes, I know. 13833It's because I try to put every possible syllable into that last line that I can." 13834% 13835"There was an interesting development in the CBS-Westmoreland trial: 13836both sides agreed that after the trial, Andy Rooney would be allowed to 13837talk to the jury for three minutes about little things that annoyed him 13838during the trial." 13839 -- David Letterman 13840% 13841There were in this country two very large monopolies. The larger of 13842the two had the following record: the Vietnam War, Watergate, double- 13843digit inflation, fuel and energy shortages, bankrupt airlines, and the 138448-cent postcard. The second was responsible for such things as the 13845transistor, the solar cell, lasers, synthetic crystals, high fidelity 13846stereo recording, sound motion pictures, radio astronomy, negative 13847feedback, magnetic tape, magnetic "bubbles", electronic switching 13848systems, microwave radio and TV relay systems, information theory, the 13849first electrical digital computer, and the first communications 13850satellite. Guess which one got to tell the other how to run the 13851telephone business? 13852% 13853There's a fine line between courage and foolishness. Too bad it's not 13854a fence. 13855% 13856There's an old proverb that says just about whatever you want it to. 13857% 13858There's little in taking or giving, 13859 There's little in water or wine: 13860This living, this living, this living, 13861 Was never a project of mine. 13862Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is 13863 The gain of the one at the top, 13864For art is a form of catharsis, 13865 And love is a permanent flop, 13866And work is the province of cattle, 13867 And rest's for a clam in a shell, 13868So I'm thinking of throwing the battle -- 13869 Would you kindly direct me to hell? 13870 -- Dorothy Parker 13871% 13872There's no easy quick way out, we're gonna have to live through our 13873whole lives, win, lose, or draw. 13874 -- Walt Kelly 13875% 13876There's no future in time travel. 13877% 13878There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes. 13879 -- Dr. Who 13880% 13881There's no real need to do housework -- after four years it doesn't get 13882any worse. 13883% 13884There's no room in the drug world for amateurs. 13885% 13886There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government 13887working for you. 13888 -- Will Rodgers 13889% 13890There's nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and dead 13891armadillos. 13892 -- Jim Hightower, Texas Agricultural Commissioner 13893% 13894There's nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won't 13895aggravate. 13896% 13897There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn 13898what it is I'll get married again. 13899 -- Clint Eastwood 13900% 13901There's so much plastic in this culture that vinyl leopard skin is 13902becoming an endangered synthetic. 13903 -- Lily Tomlin 13904% 13905"These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!" 13906"These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!" 13907"These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP 13908out of MEGATON MAN!" 13909% 13910These days the necessities of life cost you about three times what they 13911used to, and half the time they aren't even fit to drink. 13912% 13913They also surf who only stand on waves. 13914% 13915They make a desert and call it peace. 13916 -- Tacitus (55?-120?) 13917% 13918They spell it "da Vinci" and pronounce it "da Vinchy". Foreigners 13919always spell better than they pronounce. 13920 -- Mark Twain 13921% 13922They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary 13923safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. 13924 -- Benjamin Franklin, 1759 13925% 13926They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them! 13927% 13928They told me you had proven it When they discovered our results 13929 About a month before. Their hair began to curl 13930The proof was valid, more or less Instead of understanding it 13931 But rather less than more. We'd run the thing through PRL. 13932 13933He sent them word that we would try Don't tell a soul about all this 13934 To pass where they had failed For it must ever be 13935And after we were done, to them A secret, kept from all the rest 13936 The new proof would be mailed. Between yourself and me. 13937 13938My notion was to start again 13939 Ignoring all they'd done 13940We quickly turned it into code 13941 To see if it would run. 13942% 13943They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! 13944% 13945They're unfriendly, which is fortunate, really. They'd be difficult to like. 13946 -- Avon 13947% 13948Things are more like they used to be than they are now. 13949% 13950Things will be bright in P.M. A cop will shine a light in your face. 13951% 13952Think big. Pollute the Mississippi. 13953% 13954Think honk if you're a telepath. 13955% 13956Think of it! With VLSI we can pack 100 ENIACs in 1 sq. cm.! 13957% 13958Think of your family tonight. Try to crawl home after the computer 13959crashes. 13960% 13961Think twice before speaking, but don't say "think think click click". 13962% 13963"Thirty days hath Septober, 13964April, June, and no wonder. 13965all the rest have peanut butter 13966except my father who wears red suspenders." 13967% 13968This Fortue Examined By INSPECTOR NO. 2-14 13969% 13970This fortune cookie program out of order. For those in desperate need, 13971please use the program "________randchar". This program generates random 13972characters, and, given enough time, will undoubtedly come up with 13973something profound. It will, however, take it no time at all to be 13974more profound than THIS program has ever been. 13975% 13976This fortune intentionally not included. 13977% 13978This fortune is false. 13979% 13980This fortune is inoperative. Please try another. 13981% 13982This is a country where people are free to practice their religion, 13983regardless of race, creed, color, obesity, or number of dangling keys... 13984% 13985This is a job for BOB VIOLENCE and SCUM, the INCREDIBLY STUPID MUTANT DOG. 13986 -- Bob Violence 13987% 13988This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. If this had been an 13989actual emergency, do you really think we'd stick around to tell you? 13990% 13991This is an especially good time for you vacationers who plan to fly, 13992because the Reagan administration, as part of the same policy under 13993which it recently sold Yellowstone National Park to Wayne Newton, has 13994"deregulated" the airline industry. What this means for you, the 13995consumer, is that the airlines are no longer required to follow any 13996rules whatsoever. They can show snuff movies. They can charge for 13997oxygen. They can hire pilots right out of Vending Machine Refill 13998Person School. They can conserve fuel by ejecting husky passengers 13999over water. They can ram competing planes in mid-air. These 14000innovations have resulted in tremendous cost savings which have been 14001passed along to you, the consumer, in the form of flights with 14002amazingly low fares, such as $29. Of course, certain restrictions do 14003apply, the main one being that all these flights take you to Newark, 14004and you must pay thousands of dollars if you want to fly back out. 14005 -- Dave Barry, "Iowa -- Land of Secure Vacations" 14006% 14007This is an unauthorized cybernetic announcement. 14008% 14009This is for all ill-treated fellows 14010 Unborn and unbegot, 14011For them to read when they're in trouble 14012 And I am not. 14013 -- A. E. Housman 14014% 14015"This is lemma 1.1. We start a new chapter so the numbers all go back 14016to one." 14017 -- Prof. Seager, C&O 351 14018% 14019This is National Non-Dairy Creamer Week. 14020% 14021THIS IS PLEDGE WEEK FOR THE FORTUNE PROGRAM 14022 14023If you like the fortune program, why not support it now with your 14024contribution of a pithy fortune, clean or obscene? We cannot continue 14025without your support. Less than 14% of all fortune users are 14026contributors. That means that 86% of you are getting a free ride. We 14027can't go on like this much longer. Federal cutbacks mean less money 14028for fortunes, and unless user contributions increase to make up the 14029difference, the fortune program will have to shut down between midnight 14030and 8 a.m. Don't let this happen. Mail your fortunes right now to 14031"fortune". Just type in your favorite pithy saying. Do it now before 14032you forget. Our target is 300 new fortunes by the end of the week. 14033Don't miss out. All fortunes will be acknowledged. If you contribute 1403430 fortunes or more, you will receive a free subscription to "The 14035Fortune Hunter", our monthly program guide. If you contribute 50 or 14036more, you will receive a free "Fortune Hunter" coffee mug .... 14037% 14038This is the ____LAST time I take travel suggestions from Ray Bradbury! 14039% 14040This is the first numerical problem I ever did. It demonstrates the 14041power of computers: 14042 14043Enter lots of data on calorie & nutritive content of foods. Instruct 14044the thing to maximize a function describing nutritive content, with a 14045minimum level of each component, for fixed caloric content. The 14046results are that one should eat each day: 14047 14048 1/2 chicken 14049 1 egg 14050 1 glass of skim milk 14051 27 heads of lettuce. 14052 -- Rev. Adrian Melott 14053% 14054This is the story of the bee 14055Whose sex is very hard to see 14056 14057You cannot tell the he from the she 14058But she can tell, and so can he 14059 14060The little bee is never still 14061She has no time to take the pill 14062 14063And that is why, in times like these 14064There are so many sons of bees. 14065% 14066This is your fortune. 14067% 14068This land is full of trousers! 14069this land is full of mausers! 14070 And pussycats to eat them when the sun goes down! 14071 -- Firesign Theater 14072% 14073This land is made of mountains, 14074This land is made of mud, 14075This land has lots of everything, 14076For me and Elmer Fudd. 14077 14078This land has lots of trousers, 14079This land has lots of mousers, 14080And pussycats to eat them 14081When the sun goes down. 14082% 14083This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, 14084you would have received further instructions as to what to do and where 14085to go. 14086% 14087This login session: $13.99, but for you $11.88 14088% 14089This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with 14090great force. 14091 -- Dorothy Parker 14092% 14093This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of 14094the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many 14095solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were 14096largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, 14097which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of 14098paper that were unhappy. 14099 -- Douglas Adams 14100% 14101This process can check if this value is zero, and if it is, it does 14102something child-like. 14103 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 14104% 14105This quote is taken from the Diamondback, the University of Maryland 14106student newspaper, of Tuesday, 3/10/87. 14107 14108 One disadvantage of the Univac system is that it does not use 14109 Unix, a recently developed program which translates from one 14110 computer language to another and has a built-in editing system 14111 which identifies errors in the original program. 14112% 14113This sentence contradicts itself -- no actually it doesn't. 14114 -- Hofstadter 14115% 14116... This striving for excellence extends into people's personal lives 14117as well. When '80s people buy something, they buy the best one, as 14118determined by (1) price and (2) lack of availability. Eighties people 14119buy imported dental floss. They buy gourmet baking soda. If an '80s 14120couple goes to a restaurant where they have made a reservation three 14121weeks in advance, and they are informed that their table is available, 14122they stalk out immediately, because they know it is not an excellent 14123restaurant. If it were, it would have an enormous crowd of 14124excellence-oriented people like themselves waiting, their beepers going 14125off like crickets in the night. An excellent restaurant wouldn't have 14126a table ready immediately for anybody below the rank of Liza Minnelli. 14127 -- Dave Barry, "In Search of Excellence" 14128% 14129This will be a memorable month -- no matter how hard you try to forget it. 14130% 14131 Thompson, if he is to be believed, has sampled the entire 14132rainbow of legal and illegal drugs in heroic efforts to feel better 14133than he does. 14134 As for the truth about his health: I have asked around about 14135it. I am told that he appears to be strong and rosy, and steadily 14136sane. But we will be doing what he wants us to do, I think, if we 14137consider his exterior a sort of Dorian Gray facade. Inwardly, he is 14138being eaten alive by tinhorn politicians. 14139 The disease is fatal. There is no known cure. The most we can 14140do for the poor devil, it seems to me, is to name his disease in his 14141honor. From this moment on, let all those who feel that Americans can 14142be as easily led to beauty as to ugliness, to truth as to public 14143relations, to joy as to bitterness, be said to be suffering from Hunter 14144Thompson's disease. I don't have it this morning. It comes and goes. 14145This morning I don't have Hunter Thompson's disease. 14146 -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: Excerpt 14147 from "A Political Disease", Vonnegut's review of "Fear 14148 and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72" 14149% 14150Those of you who think you know everything are very annoying to those 14151of us who do. 14152% 14153Those who can't write, write manuals. 14154% 14155Those who can, do. Those who can't, simulate. 14156% 14157Those who do not do politics will be done in by politics. 14158 -- French Proverb 14159% 14160Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly. 14161 -- Henry Spencer 14162% 14163Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, 14164for these only gave life, those the art of living well. 14165 -- Aristotle 14166% 14167Those who express random thoughts to legislative committees are often 14168surprised and appalled to find themselves the instigators of law. 14169 -- Mark B. Cohen 14170% 14171Those who in quarrels interpose, must often wipe a bloody nose. 14172% 14173Those who make peaceful revolution impossible 14174will make violent revolution inevitable. 14175 -- John F. Kennedy 14176% 14177Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are 14178men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean 14179without the roar of its many waters. 14180 -- Frederick Douglass 14181% 14182Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are 14183the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with 14184Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether -- 14185whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A 14186fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any 14187more about the matter than the others. 14188 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14189% 14190Time flies like an arrow 14191Fruit flies like a banana 14192% 14193Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. 14194% 14195Time is an illusion; lunchtime, doubly so. 14196 -- Ford Prefect 14197% 14198Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at 14199once. 14200% 14201'Tis the dream of each programmer, 14202Before his life is done, 14203To write three lines of APL, 14204And make the damn things run. 14205% 14206 (to "The Caissons Go Rolling Along") 14207Scratch the disks, dump the core, Shut it down, pull the plug 14208Roll the tapes across the floor, Give the core an extra tug 14209And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14210Teletypes smashed to bits. Mem'ry cards, one and all, 14211Give the scopes some nasty hits Toss out halfway down the hall 14212And the system is going to crash. And the system is going to crash. 14213And we've also found Just flip one switch 14214When you turn the power down, And the lights will cease to twitch 14215You turn the disk readers into trash. And the tape drives will crumble 14216 in a flash. 14217Oh, it's so much fun, When the CPU 14218Now the CPU won't run Can print nothing out but "foo," 14219And the system is going to crash. The system is going to crash. 14220% 14221 To A Quick Young Fox: 14222Why jog exquisite bulk, fond crazy vamp, 14223Daft buxom jonquil, zephyr's gawky vice? 14224Guy fed by work, quiz Jove's xanthic lamp -- 14225Zow! Qualms by deja vu gyp fox-kin thrice. 14226 -- Lazy Dog 14227% 14228To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it. 14229% 14230To be is to do. 14231 -- I. Kant 14232To do is to be. 14233 -- A. Sartre 14234Yabba-Dabba-Doo! 14235 -- F. Flintstone 14236% 14237"To be responsive at this time, though I will simply say, and therefore 14238this is a repeat of what I said previously, that which I am unable to 14239offer in response is based on information available to make no such 14240statement." 14241% 14242To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and, whatever you hit, 14243call it the target. 14244% 14245To err is human, to forgive is Not Company Policy. 14246% 14247To err is human, to forgive, beyond the scope of the Operating System. 14248% 14249To err is human, to moo bovine. 14250% 14251To every Ph.D. there is an equal and opposite Ph.D. 14252 -- B. Duggan 14253% 14254To generalize is to be an idiot. 14255 -- William Blake 14256% 14257To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three 14258men, two of them absent. 14259% 14260To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. 14261 -- Thomas Edison 14262% 14263To iterate is human, to recurse, divine. 14264 -- Robert Heller 14265% 14266To the best of my recollection, Senator, I can't recall. 14267% 14268To the systems programmer, users and applications serve only to provide 14269a test load. 14270% 14271To those accustomed to the precise, structured methods of conventional 14272system development, exploratory development techniques may seem messy, 14273inelegant, and unsatisfying. But it's a question of congruence: 14274precision and flexibility may be just as dysfunctional in novel, 14275uncertain situations as sloppiness and vacillation are in familiar, 14276well-defined ones. Those who admire the massive, rigid bone structures 14277of dinosaurs should remember that jellyfish still enjoy their very 14278secure ecological niche. 14279 -- Beau Sheil, "Power Tools for Programmers" 14280% 14281To understand this important story, you have to understand how the 14282telephone company works. Your telephone is connected to a local 14283computer, which is in turn connected to a regional computer, which is 14284in turn connected to a loudspeaker the size of a garbage truck on the 14285lawn of Edna A. Bargewater of Lawrence, Kan. 14286 14287Whenever you talk on the phone, your local computer listens in. If it 14288suspects you're going to discuss an intimate topic, it notifies the 14289computer above it, which listens in and decides whether to alert the 14290one above it, until finally, if you really humiliate yourself, maybe 14291break down in tears and tell your closest friend about a sordid 14292incident from your past involving a seedy motel, a neighbor's spouse, 14293an entire religious order, a garden hose and six quarts of tapioca 14294pudding, the top computer feeds your conversation into Edna's 14295loudspeaker, and she and her friends come out on the porch to listen 14296and drink gin and laugh themselves silly. 14297 -- Dave Barry, "Won't It Be Just Great Owning Our Own 14298 Phones?" 14299% 14300To vacillate or not to vacillate, that is the question ... or is it? 14301% 14302To YOU I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the Loyal Opposition. 14303 -- Woody Allen 14304% 14305Today is a good day to bribe a high-ranking public official. 14306% 14307Today is National Existential Ennui Awareness Day. 14308% 14309Today is the first day of the rest of the mess. 14310% 14311Today is the first day of the rest of your lossage. 14312% 14313Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. 14314% 14315Today's scientific question is: What in the world is electricity? 14316 14317And where does it go after it leaves the toaster? 14318 -- Dave Barry, "What is Electricity?" 14319% 14320Today's thrilling story has been brought to you by Mushies, the great new 14321cereal that gets soggy even without milk or cream. Join us soon for more 14322spectacular adventure starring ... Tippy, the Wonder Dog! 14323 -- Bob & Ray 14324% 14325Today, of course, it is considered very poor taste to use the F-word 14326except in major motion pictures. 14327 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 14328% 14329Toilet Toup'ee, n.: 14330 Any shag carpet that causes the lid to become top-heavy, thus 14331 creating endless annoyance to male users. 14332 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 14333% 14334Tomorrow will be canceled due to lack of interest. 14335% 14336Tonight's the night: Sleep in a eucalyptus tree. 14337% 14338Too clever is dumb. 14339 -- Ogden Nash 14340% 14341Too much of a good thing is WONDERFUL. 14342 -- Mae West 14343% 14344Too much of everything is just enough. 14345 -- Bob Wier 14346% 14347Too often I find that the volume of paper expands to fill the available 14348briefcases. 14349 -- Governor Jerry Brown 14350% 14351Top scientists agree that with the present rate of consumption, the 14352earth's supply of gravity will be exhausted before the 24th century. 14353As man struggles to discover cheaper alternatives, we need your help. 14354Please... 14355 14356 CONSERVE GRAVITY 14357 14358Follow these simple suggestions: 14359 14360(1) Walk with a light step. Carry helium balloons if possible. 14361(2) Use tape, magnets, or glue instead of paperweights. 14362(3) Give up skiing and skydiving for more horizontal sports like 14363 curling. 14364(4) Avoid showers ... take baths instead. 14365(5) Don't hang all your clothes in the closet ... Keep them in one big 14366 pile. 14367(6) Stop flipping pancakes 14368% 14369Travel important today; Internal Revenue men arrive tomorrow. 14370% 14371Troubled day for virgins over 16 who are beautiful and wealthy and live 14372in eucalyptus trees. 14373% 14374Truly great madness can not be achieved without significant intelligence. 14375 -- Henrik Tikkanen 14376% 14377Truth is the most valuable thing we have -- so let us economize it. 14378 -- Mark Twain 14379% 14380Truth will be out this morning. (Which may really mess things up.) 14381% 14382Truthful, adj.: 14383 Dumb and illiterate. 14384 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 14385% 14386Try not to have a good time ... This is supposed to be educational. 14387 -- Charles Schulz 14388% 14389Try to be the best of whatever you are, even if what you are is no good. 14390% 14391Try to find the real tense of the report you are reading: Was it done, 14392is it being done, or is something to be done? Reports are now written 14393in four tenses: past tense, present tense, future tense, and 14394pretense. Watch for novel uses of CONGRAM (CONtractor GRAMmer), 14395defined by the imperfect past, the insufficient present, and the 14396absolutely perfect future. 14397 -- Amrom Katz 14398% 14399Try to get all of your posthumous medals in advance. 14400% 14401Trying to be happy is like trying to build a machine for which the only 14402specification is that it should run noiselessly. 14403% 14404Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. 14405 -- Alan Watts 14406% 14407Trying to establish voice contact ... please ____yell into keyboard. 14408% 14409Turnaucka's Law: 14410 The attention span of a computer is only as long as its 14411 electrical cord. 14412% 14413Tussman's Law: 14414 Nothing is as inevitable as a mistake whose time has come. 14415% 14416TV is chewing gum for the eyes. 14417 -- Frank Lloyd Wright 14418% 14419'Twas midnight, and the UNIX hacks 14420Did gyre and gimble in their cave 14421All mimsy was the CS-VAX 14422And Cory raths outgrabe. 14423 14424"Beware the software rot, my son! 14425The faults that bite, the jobs that thrash! 14426Beware the broken pipe, and shun 14427The frumious system crash!" 14428% 14429 'Twas the Night before Crisis 14430 14431'Twas the night before crisis, and all through the house, 14432 Not a program was working not even a browse. 14433The programmers were wrung out too mindless to care, 14434 Knowing chances of cutover hadn't a prayer. 14435The users were nestled all snug in their beds, 14436 While visions of inquiries danced in their heads. 14437When out in the lobby there arose such a clatter, 14438 I sprang from my tube to see what was the matter. 14439And what to my wondering eyes should appear, 14440 But a Super Programmer, oblivious to fear. 14441More rapid than eagles, his programs they came, 14442 And he whistled and shouted and called them by name; 14443On Update! On Add! On Inquiry! On Delete! 14444 On Batch Jobs! On Closing! On Functions Complete! 14445His eyes were glazed over, his fingers were lean, 14446 From Weekends and nights in front of a screen. 14447A wink of his eye, and a twist of his head, 14448 Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread... 14449% 14450'Twas the nocturnal segment of the diurnal period 14451 preceding the annual Yuletide celebration, And 14452 throughout our place of residence, 14453Kinetic activity was not in evidence among the 14454 possessors of this potential, including that 14455 species of domestic rodent known as Mus musculus. 14456Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward 14457 edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus, 14458Pursuant to our anticipatory pleasure regarding an 14459 imminent visitation from an eccentric 14460 philanthropist among whose folkloric appelations 14461 is the honorific title of St. Nicklaus ... 14462% 14463Twenty Percent of Zero is Better than Nothing. 14464 -- Walt Kelly 14465% 14466Two can Live as Cheaply as One for Half as Long. 14467 -- Howard Kandel 14468% 14469Two men came before Nasrudin when he was magistrate. The first man 14470said, "This man has bitten my ear -- I demand compensation." The 14471second man said, "He bit it himself." Nasrudin withdrew to his 14472chambers, and spent an hour trying to bite his own ear. He succeeded 14473only in falling over and bruising his forehead. Returning to the 14474courtroom, Nasrudin pronounced, "Examine the man whose ear was bitten. 14475If his forehead is bruised, he did it himself and the case is 14476dismissed. If his forehead is not bruised, the other man did it and 14477must pay three silver pieces." 14478% 14479Two percent of zero is almost nothing. 14480% 14481Two sure ways to tell a sexy male; the first is, he has a bad memory. 14482I forget the second. 14483% 14484Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. 14485% 14486U: There's a U -- a Unicorn! 14487 Run right up and rub its horn. 14488 Look at all those points you're losing! 14489 UMBER HULKS are so confusing. 14490 -- The Roguelet's ABC 14491% 14492"Ubi non accusator, ibi non judex." 14493 14494(Where there is no police, there is no speed limit.) 14495 -- Roman Law, trans. Petr Beckmann (1971) 14496% 14497UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist. 14498% 14499"Uncle Cosmo ... why do they call this a word processor?" 14500 14501"It's simple, Skyler ... you've seen what food processors do to food, 14502right?" 14503 -- MacNelley, "Shoe" 14504% 14505Uncle Ed's Rule of Thumb: 14506 Never use your thumb for a rule. You'll either hit it with a 14507 hammer or get a splinter in it. 14508% 14509Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14510just man is also a prison. 14511 -- Henry David Thoreau 14512% 14513Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a 14514just man is also in prison. 14515 -- Henry David Thoreau 14516% 14517Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it 14518can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic ... 14519% 14520Underlying Principle of Socio-Genetics: 14521 Superiority is recessive. 14522% 14523Unfair animal names: 14524 14525-- tsetse fly -- bullhead 14526-- booby -- duck-billed platypus 14527-- sapsucker -- Clarence 14528 -- Gary Larson 14529% 14530United Nations, New York, December 25. The peace and joy of the 14531Christmas season was marred by a proclamation of a general strike of 14532all the military forces of the world. Panic reigns in the hearts of 14533all the patriots of every persuasion. 14534 14535Meanwhile, fears of universal disaster sank to an all-time low over the 14536world. 14537 -- Isaac Asimov 14538% 14539Universe, n.: 14540 The problem. 14541% 14542University, n.: 14543 Like a software house, except the software's free, and it's 14544 usable, and it works, and if it breaks they'll quickly tell 14545 you how to fix it, and ... 14546% 14547unix soit qui mal y pense 14548% 14549UNIX was half a billion (500000000) seconds old on 14550Tue Nov 5 00:53:20 1985 GMT (measuring since the time(2) epoch). 14551 -- Andy Tannenbaum 14552% 14553Unnamed Law: 14554 If it happens, it must be possible. 14555% 14556Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out 14557twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages. 14558 -- H. L. Mencken 14559% 14560Usage: fortune -P [] -a [xsz] [Q: [file]] [rKe9] -v6[+] dataspec ... inputdir 14561% 14562User n.: 14563 A programmer who will believe anything you tell him. 14564% 14565USER, n.: 14566 The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." 14567 -- Dave Barry, "Claw Your Way to the Top" 14568% 14569Using TSO is like kicking a dead whale down the beach. 14570 -- S. C. Johnson 14571% 14572Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, 14573opulence is when you have three -- and paradise is when you have none. 14574 -- Doug Larson 14575% 14576Vail's Second Axiom: 14577 The amount of work to be done increases in proportion to the 14578 amount of work already completed. 14579% 14580Valerie: Aww, Tom, you're going maudlin on me ... 14581Tom: I reserve the right to wax maudlin as I wane eloquent ... 14582 -- Tom Chapin 14583% 14584Van Roy's Law: 14585 An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. 14586% 14587Vanilla, adj.: 14588 Ordinary flavor, standard. See FLAVOR. When used of food, 14589very often does not mean that the food is flavored with vanilla 14590extract! For example, "vanilla-flavored won ton soup" (or simply 14591"vanilla won ton soup") means ordinary won ton soup, as opposed to hot 14592and sour won ton soup. 14593% 14594Velilind's Laws of Experimentation: 14595 (1) If reproducibility may be a problem, conduct the test only 14596 once. 14597 (2) If a straight line fit is required, obtain only two data 14598 points. 14599% 14600Veni, Vidi, Visa. 14601% 14602 "Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past 14603year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley 14604reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their 14605artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue 14606moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon 14607Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the 14608entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the 14609sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips." 14610 14611 "But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito. 14612 14613 "Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made 14614good copy." 14615 -- Harvard Lampoon, "Bored of the Rings" 14616% 14617Very few profundities can be expressed in less than 80 characters. 14618% 14619Vila: "I think I have just made the biggest mistake of my life." 14620Orac: "It is unlikely. I would predict there are far greater mistakes 14621 waiting to be made by someone with your obvious talent for it." 14622% 14623Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. 14624 -- Salvor Hardin 14625% 14626Virginia law forbids bathtubs in the house; tubs must be kept in the 14627yard. 14628% 14629VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14630 Learn something new today, like how to spell or how to count to 14631 ten without using your fingers. Be careful dressing this 14632 morning. You may be hit by a car later in the day and you 14633 wouldn't want to be taken to the doctor's office in some of 14634 that old underwear you own. 14635% 14636VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sept 22) 14637 You are the logical type and hate disorder. This nitpicking is 14638 sickening to your friends. You are cold and unemotional and 14639 sometimes fall asleep while making love. Virgos make good bus 14640 drivers. 14641% 14642"Virtual" means never knowing where your next byte is coming from. 14643% 14644Virtue is its own punishment. 14645% 14646Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by spontaneously moving 14647from where you left them to where you can't find them. 14648% 14649Vitamin C deficiency is apauling. 14650% 14651VMS is like a nightmare about RSX-11M. 14652% 14653Vote anarchist. 14654% 14655Vote for ME -- I'm well-tapered, half-cocked, ill-conceived and 14656TAX-DEFERRED! 14657% 14658VYARZERZOMANIMORORSEZASSEZANSERAREORSES? 14659% 14660 14661 *** System shutdown message from root *** 14662 14663System going down in 60 seconds 14664 14665 14666% 14667"Wagner's music is better than it sounds." 14668 -- Mark Twain 14669% 14670Waiter: "Tea or coffee, gentlemen?" 146711st customer: "I'll have tea." 146722nd customer: "Me, too -- and be sure the glass is clean!" 14673 (Waiter exits, returns) 14674Waiter: "Two teas. Which one asked for the clean glass?" 14675% 14676Walk softly and carry a megawatt laser. 14677% 14678War hath no fury like a non-combatant. 14679 -- Charles Edward Montague 14680% 14681War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ketchup is a vegetable. 14682% 14683 WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: 14684 14685Firings will continue until morale improves. 14686% 14687WARNING: 14688 Reading this fortune can affect the dimensionality of your 14689 mind, change the curvature of your spine, cause the growth 14690 of hair on your palms, and make a difference in the outcome 14691 of your favorite war. 14692% 14693Warning: Listening to WXRT on April Fools' Day is not recommended for 14694those who are slightly disoriented the first few hours after waking 14695up. 14696 -- Chicago Reader 4/22/83 14697% 14698Warp 7 -- It's a law we can live with. 14699% 14700Washington [D.C.] is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. 14701 -- John F. Kennedy 14702% 14703Waste not, get your budget cut next year. 14704% 14705Wasting time is an important part of living. 14706% 14707Watson's Law: 14708 The reliability of machinery is inversely proportional to the 14709 number and significance of any persons watching it. 14710% 14711We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which 14712divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being 14713correct. My own feeling is that it is not crazy enough. 14714 -- Niels Bohr 14715% 14716We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. 14717 -- Oscar Wilde 14718% 14719We are all worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm. 14720 -- Winston Churchill 14721% 14722We ARE as gods and might as well get good at it. 14723 -- Whole Earth Catalog 14724% 14725We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. 14726 -- Walt Kelly, "Pogo" 14727% 14728We are going to give a little something, a few little years more, to 14729socialism, because socialism is defunct. It dies all by itself. The 14730bad thing is that socialism, being a victim of its ... Did I say 14731socialism? 14732 -- Fidel Castro 14733% 14734We are on the verge: Today our program proved Fermat's next-to-last 14735theorem. 14736 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 14737% 14738We are upping our standards ... so up yours. 14739 -- Pat Paulsen for President, 1988. 14740% 14741We can defeat gravity. The problem is the paperwork involved. 14742% 14743We can predict everything, except the future. 14744% 14745We cannot put the face of a person on a stamp unless said person is 14746deceased. My suggestion, therefore, is that you drop dead. 14747 -- James E. Day, Postmaster General 14748% 14749We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty! 14750 -- Vroomfondel 14751% 14752"We don't care. We don't have to. We're the Phone Company." 14753% 14754We don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a 14755fish. 14756% 14757We don't understand the software, and sometimes we don't understand the 14758hardware, but we can *___see* the blinking lights! 14759% 14760We gave you an atomic bomb, what do you want, mermaids? 14761 -- I. I. Rabi to the Atomic Energy Commission 14762% 14763We had it tough ... I had to get up at 9 o'clock at night, half an 14764hour before I went to bed, eat a lump of dry poison, work 29 hours down 14765mill, and when we came home our Dad would kill us, and dance about on 14766our grave singing Hallelujah ... 14767 -- Monty Python 14768% 14769We have met the enemy, and he is us. 14770 -- Walt Kelly 14771% 14772We have only two things to worry about: That things will never get 14773back to normal, and that they already have. 14774% 14775We have reason to believe that man first walked upright to free his 14776hands for masturbation. 14777 -- Lily Tomlin 14778% 14779We have the flu. I don't know if this particular strain has an 14780official name, but if it does, it must be something like "Martian Death 14781Flu". You may have had it yourself. The main symptom is that you wish 14782you had another setting on your electric blanket, up past "HIGH", that 14783said "ELECTROCUTION". 14784 14785Another symptom is that you cease brushing your teeth, because (a) your 14786teeth hurt, and (b) you lack the strength. Midway through the brushing 14787process, you'd have to lie down in front of the sink to rest for a 14788couple of hours, and rivulets of toothpaste foam would dribble sideways 14789out of your mouth, eventually hardening into crusty little toothpaste 14790stalagmites that would bond your head permanently to the bathroom 14791floor, which is how the police would find you. 14792 14793You know the kind of flu I'm talking about. 14794 -- Dave Barry, "Molecular Homicide" 14795% 14796We may hope that machines will eventually compete with men in all 14797purely intellectual fields. But which are the best ones to start 14798with? Many people think that a very abstract activity, like the 14799playing of chess, would be best. It can also be maintained that it is 14800best to provide the machine with the best sense organs that money can 14801buy, and then teach it to understand and speak English. 14802 -- Alan M. Turing 14803% 14804We may not return the affection of those who like us, but we always 14805respect their good judgment. 14806% 14807We must remember the First Amendment which protects any shrill jackass 14808no matter how self-seeking. 14809 -- F. G. Withington 14810% 14811We ought to be very grateful that we have tools. Millions of years ago 14812people did not have them, and home projects were extremely difficult. 14813For example, when a primitive person wanted to put up paneling, he had 14814to drive the little paneling nails into the cave wall with his bare 14815fist, so generally the paneling wound up getting spattered with 14816primitive blood, which isn't really all that bad when you consider how 14817ugly paneling is to begin with. 14818 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 14819% 14820We really don't have any enemies. It's just that some of our best 14821friends are trying to kill us. 14822% 14823 We were young and our happiness dazzled us with its strength. 14824But there was also a terrible betrayal that lay within me like a Merle 14825Haggard song at a French restaurant. ... 14826 I could not tell the girl about the woman of the tollway, of 14827her milk white BMW and her Jordache smile. There had been a fight. I 14828had punched her boyfriend, who fought the mechanical bulls. Everyone 14829told him, "You ride the bull, senor. You do not fight it." But he was 14830lean and tough like a bad rib-eye and he fought the bull. And then he 14831fought me. And when we finished there were no winners, just men doing 14832what men must do. ... 14833 "Stop the car," the girl said. There was a look of terrible 14834sadness in her eyes. She knew about the woman of the tollway. I knew 14835not how. I started to speak, but she raised an arm and spoke with a 14836quiet and peace I will never forget. 14837 "I do not ask for whom's the tollway belle," she said, "the 14838tollway belle's for thee." 14839 The next morning our youth was a memory, and our happiness was 14840a lie. Life is like a bad margarita with good tequila, I thought as I 14841poured whiskey onto my granola and faced a new day. 14842 -- Peter Applebome, International Imitation Hemingway 14843 Competition 14844% 14845We will have solar energy as soon as the utility companies solve one 14846technical problem -- how to run a sunbeam through a meter. 14847% 14848we will invent new lullabies, new songs, new acts of love, 14849we will cry over things we used to laugh & 14850our new wisdom will bring tears to eyes of gentile 14851creatures from other planets who were afraid of us till then & 14852in the end a summer with wild winds & 14853new friends will be. 14854% 14855We wish you a Hare Krishna 14856We wish you a Hare Krishna 14857We wish you a Hare Krishna 14858And a Sun Myung Moon! 14859 -- Maxwell Smart 14860% 14861We'll cross out that bridge when we come back to it later. 14862% 14863We're deep into the holiday gift-giving season, as you can tell from 14864the fact that everywhere you look, you see jolly old St. Nick urging 14865you to purchase things, to the point where you want to slug him right 14866in his bowl full of jelly. 14867 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 14868% 14869We're only in it for the volume. 14870 -- Black Sabbath 14871% 14872We've sent a man to the moon, and that's 29,000 miles away. The center 14873of the Earth is only 4,000 miles away. You could drive that in a week, 14874but for some reason nobody's ever done it. 14875 -- Andy Rooney 14876% 14877Weiler's Law: 14878 Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it 14879 himself. 14880% 14881Weinberg's First Law: 14882 Progress is made on alternate Fridays. 14883% 14884Weinberg's Principle: 14885 An expert is a person who avoids the small errors while 14886 sweeping on to the grand fallacy. 14887% 14888Weinberg's Second Law: 14889 If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, 14890 then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization. 14891% 14892Weiner's Law of Libraries: 14893 There are no answers, only cross references. 14894% 14895Welcome thy neighbor into thy fallout shelter. He'll come in handy if 14896you run out of food. 14897 -- Dean McLaughlin. 14898% 14899Well, here it is, 1983, so it won't be long before you start reading a 14900lot of boring stories about people like Vance Hartke. Hartke is a 14901governor or mayor or something from one of the flatter states, and the 14902reason you'll be reading about him is that he's one of the 50 top 14903contenders for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. These men 14904will spend the next 18 months going around the country engaging in the 14905most degrading activities imaginable, such as wearing idiot hats and 14906appearing on "Meet the Press". "Meet the Press" is one of those Sunday 14907morning public interest shows that the public is not the least bit 14908interested in. It features a panel of reporters who ask questions of a 14909guest politician, who wins an Amana home freezer if he can get through 14910the entire show without answering a single question ... 14911 -- Dave Barry, "On Presidential Politics" 14912% 14913Well, I would -- if they realized that we -- again if -- if we led them 14914back to that stalemate only because our retaliatory power, our seconds, 14915or strike at them after our first strike, would be so destructive they 14916they couldn't afford it, that would hold them off. 14917 -- President Ronald Reagan, on the MX missile 14918% 14919Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *___can* 14920you believe?! 14921 -- Bullwinkle J. Moose [Jay Ward] 14922% 14923Well, my terminal's locked up, and I ain't got any Mail, 14924 And I can't recall the last time that my program didn't fail; 14925I've got stacks in my structs, I've got arrays in my queues, 14926 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14927 14928If you think that it's nice that you get what you C, 14929 Then go : illogical statement with your whole family, 14930'Cause the Supreme Court ain't the only place with : Bus error views. 14931 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14932 14933On a PDP-11, life should be a breeze, 14934 But with VAXen in the house even magnetic tapes would freeze. 14935Now you might think that unlike VAXen I'd know who I abuse, 14936 I've got the : Segmentation violation -- Core dumped blues. 14937 -- Core Dumped Blues 14938% 14939"Well, that was a piece of cake, eh K-9?" 14940 14941"Piece of cake, Master? Radial slice of baked confection ... 14942coefficient of relevance to Key of Time: zero." 14943 -- Dr. Who 14944% 14945"Well," Brahma said, "even after ten thousand explanations, a fool is 14946no wiser, but an intelligent man requires only two thousand five 14947hundred." 14948 -- The Mahabharata. 14949% 14950Westheimer's Discovery: 14951 A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a 14952 couple of hours in the library. 14953% 14954Wethern's Law: 14955 Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups. 14956% 14957"What are we going to do?" 14958 14959"Me, I'm examining the major Western religions. I'm looking for 14960something that's soft on morality, generous with holidays, and has a 14961short initiation period." 14962% 14963"What are you doing?" 14964 14965"Examining the world's major religions. I'm looking for something 14966that's light on morals, has lots of holidays, and with a short 14967initiation period." 14968% 14969What color is a chameleon on a mirror? 14970% 14971 "What do you give a man who has everything?" the pretty 14972teenager asked her mother. 14973 "Encouragement, dear," she replied. 14974% 14975What does "it" mean in the sentence "What time is it?"? 14976% 14977What does it mean if there is no fortune for you? 14978% 14979What garlic is to food, insanity is to art. 14980% 14981What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. 14982% 14983"What George Washington did for us was to throw out the British, so 14984that we wouldn't have a fat, insensitive government running our 14985country. Nice try anyway, George." 14986 -- D.J. on KSFO/KYA 14987% 14988What good is a ticket to the good life, if you can't find the 14989entrance? 14990% 14991What good is having someone who can walk on water if you don't follow 14992in his footsteps? 14993% 14994What I do, first thing [in the morning], is I hop into the shower 14995stall. Then I hop right back out, because when I hopped in I landed 14996barefoot right on top of See Threepio, a little plastic robot character 14997from "Star Wars" whom my son, Robert, likes to pull the legs off of 14998while he showers. Then I hop right back into the stall because our 14999dog, Earnest, who has been alone in the basement all night building up 15000powerful dog emotions, has come bounding and quivering into the 15001bathroom and wants to greet me with 60 or 70 thousand playful nips, any 15002one of which -- bear in mind that I am naked and, without my contact 15003lenses, essentially blind -- could result in the kind of injury where 15004you have to learn a whole new part if you want to sing the "Messiah", 15005if you get my drift. Then I hop right back out, because Robert, with 15006that uncanny sixth sense some children have -- you cannot teach it; 15007they either have it or they don't -- has chosen exactly that moment to 15008flush one of the toilets. Perhaps several of them. 15009 -- Dave Barry, "Saving Face" 15010% 15011What I tell you three times is true. 15012 -- Lewis Carroll 15013% 15014"What I think is that the F-word is basically just a convenient nasty- 15015sounding word that we tend to use when we would really like to come up 15016with a terrifically witty insult, the kind Winston Churchill always 15017came up with when enormous women asked him stupid questions at 15018parties. 15019 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15020% 15021What I want is all of the power and none of the responsibility. 15022% 15023What I've done, of course, is total garbage. 15024 -- R. Willard, Pure Math 430a 15025% 15026What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I 15027definitely overpaid for my carpet. 15028 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15029% 15030What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's 15031worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists? 15032 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15033% 15034What is a magician but a practising theorist? 15035 -- Obi-Wan Kenobi 15036% 15037What is mind? No matter. 15038What is matter? Never mind. 15039 -- Thomas Hewitt Key, 1799-1875 15040% 15041What is the difference between a Turing machine and the modern 15042computer? It's the same as that between Hillary's ascent of Everest 15043and the establishment of a Hilton on its peak. 15044% 15045"What is the Nature of God?" 15046 15047 CLICK...CLICK...WHIRRR...CLICK...=BEEP!= 15048 1 QT. SOUR CREAM 15049 1 TSP. SAUERKRAUT 15050 1/2 CUT CHIVES. 15051 STIR AND SPRINKLE WITH BACON BITS. 15052 15053"I've just GOT to start labeling my software..." 15054 -- Bloom County 15055% 15056What is the robbing of a bank compared to the FOUNDING of a bank? 15057 -- Bertolt Brecht 15058% 15059What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, 15060which is the exact opposite. 15061 -- Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical_Essays", 1928 15062% 15063What is worth doing is worth the trouble of asking somebody to do. 15064% 15065What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing 15066to compare it with. 15067% 15068What publishers are looking for these days isn't radical feminism. 15069It's corporate feminism -- a brand of feminism designed to sell books 15070and magazines, three-piece suits, airline tickets, Scotch, cigarettes 15071and, most important, corporate America's message, which runs: "Yes, 15072women were discriminated against in the past, but that unfortunate 15073mistake has been remedied; now every woman can attain wealth, prestige 15074and power by dint of individual rather than collective effort." 15075 -- Susan Gordon 15076% 15077What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? 15078 -- Ursula K. LeGuin 15079% 15080What the hell, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. 15081% 15082What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away. 15083% 15084What the world *really* needs is a good Automatic Bicycle Sharpener. 15085% 15086What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent 15087bagel. 15088% 15089What this country needs is a dime that will buy a good five-cent bagel. 15090% 15091What this country needs is a good five cent ANYTHING! 15092% 15093What this country needs is a good five cent microcomputer. 15094% 15095What this country needs is a good five cent nickel. 15096% 15097What this country needs is a good five dollar plasma weapon. 15098% 15099What this world needs is a good five-dollar plasma weapon. 15100% 15101What use is magic if it can't save a unicorn? 15102 -- Peter S. Beagle, "The Last Unicorn" 15103% 15104What we need in this country, instead of Daylight Savings Time, which 15105nobody really understands anyway, is a new concept called Weekday 15106Morning Time, whereby at 7 a.m. every weekday we go into a space- 15107launch-style "hold" for two to three hours, during which it just 15108remains 7 a.m. This way we could all wake up via a civilized gradual 15109process of stretching and belching and scratching, and it would still 15110be only 7 a.m. when we were ready to actually emerge from bed. 15111 -- Dave Barry, "$#$%#^%!^%&@%@!" 15112% 15113What you don't know can hurt you, only you won't know it. 15114% 15115What's another word for "thesaurus"? 15116 -- Steven Wright 15117% 15118 "What's that thing?" 15119 "Well, it's a highly technical, sensitive instrument we use in 15120computer repair. Being a layman, you probably can't grasp exactly what 15121it does. We call it a two-by-four." 15122 -- Jeff MacNelley, "Shoe" 15123% 15124What's the use of a good quotation if you can't change it? 15125 -- Dr. Who 15126% 15127Whatever became of eternal truth? 15128% 15129Whatever became of Strange de Jim? Well, he found a substitute for 15130cocaine: "You cover Q-tips with sandpaper and ram them up your nostrils 15131as far as they will go. Then you sniff talcum powder while shredding 15132hundred dollar bills." 15133 -- Herb Caen 15134% 15135Whatever is not nailed down is mine. What I can pry loose is not 15136nailed down. 15137 -- Collis P. Huntingdon 15138% 15139Whatever the missing mass of the universe is, I hope it's not 15140cockroaches! 15141 -- Mom 15142% 15143When a Banker jumps out of a window, jump after him -- that's where the 15144money is. 15145 -- Robespierre 15146% 15147When a fellow says, "It ain't the money but the principle of the 15148thing," it's the money. 15149 -- Kim Hubbard 15150% 15151When a fly lands on the ceiling, does it do a half roll or a half 15152loop? 15153% 15154When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is 15155not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space 15156travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere. 15157 -- Robert Heinlein, "Time Enough For Love" 15158% 15159When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the 15160sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain 15161relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. 15162 -- Robert Pirsig, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" 15163% 15164When all other means of communication fail, try words. 15165% 15166When are you BUTTHEADS gonna learn that you can't oppose Gestapo 15167tactics *with* Gestapo tactics? 15168 -- Reuben Flagg 15169% 15170When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before 15171the white men came, an Indian said simply "Ours." 15172 -- Vine Deloria, Jr. 15173% 15174When does summertime come to Minnesota, you ask? 15175Well, last year, I think it was a Tuesday. 15176% 15177When God endowed human beings with brains, He did not intend to 15178guarantee them. 15179% 15180When I get real bored, I like to drive downtown and get a great 15181parking spot, then sit in my car and count how many people ask me if 15182I'm leaving. 15183 -- Steven Wright 15184% 15185When I heated my home with oil, I used an average of 800 gallons a 15186year. I have found that I can keep comfortably warm for an entire 15187winter with slightly over half that quantity of beer. 15188 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15189% 15190When I said "we", officer, I was referring to myself, the four young 15191ladies, and, of course, the goat. 15192% 15193When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. 15194Now I'm beginning to believe it. 15195 -- Clarence Darrow 15196% 15197When I was a kid I said to my father one afternoon, "Daddy, will you 15198take me to the zoo?" He answered, "If the zoo wants you let them come 15199and get you." 15200 -- Jerry Lewis 15201% 15202When I was crossing the border into Canada, they asked if I had any 15203firearms with me. I said, `Well, what do you need?' 15204 -- Steven Wright 15205% 15206When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: 15207I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me. 15208 -- Woody Allen 15209% 15210When I was seven years old, I was once reprimanded by my mother for an 15211act of collective brutality in which I had been involved at school. A 15212group of seven-year-olds had been teasing and tormenting a 15213six-year-old. "It is always so," my mother said. "You do things 15214together which not one of you would think of doing alone." ... 15215Wherever one looks in the world of human organization, collective 15216responsibility brings a lowering of moral standards. The military 15217establishment is an extreme case, an organization which seems to have 15218been expressly designed to make it possible for people to do things 15219together which nobody in his right mind would do alone. 15220 -- Freeman Dyson, "Weapons and Hope" 15221% 15222When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened 15223or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I 15224cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to 15225go to pieces like this but we all have to do it. 15226 -- Mark Twain 15227% 15228When in doubt, do what the President does -- guess. 15229% 15230When in doubt, tell the truth. 15231 -- Mark Twain 15232% 15233When in doubt, use brute force. 15234 -- Ken Thompson 15235% 15236When in panic, fear and doubt, 15237Drink in barrels, eat, and shout. 15238% 15239When love is gone, there's always justice. 15240And when justice is gone, there's always force. 15241And when force is gone, there's always Mom. 15242Hi, Mom! 15243 -- Laurie Anderson 15244% 15245When Marriage is Outlawed, 15246Only Outlaws will have Inlaws. 15247% 15248When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment 15249results. 15250 -- Calvin Coolidge 15251% 15252When one woman was asked how long she had been going to symphony 15253concerts, she paused to calculate and replied, "Forty-seven years -- 15254and I find I mind it less and less." 15255 -- Louise Andrews Kent 15256% 15257When properly administered, vacations do not diminish productivity: 15258for every week you're away and get nothing done, there's another when 15259your boss is away and you get twice as much done. 15260 -- Daniel B. Luten 15261% 15262When someone says "I want a programming language in which I need only 15263say what I wish done," give him a lollipop. 15264% 15265When the going gets tough, the tough get empirical 15266 -- Jon Carroll 15267% 15268When the government bureau's remedies don't match your problem, you 15269modify the problem, not the remedy. 15270% 15271When the Ngdanga tribe of West Africa hold their moon love ceremonies, 15272the men of the tribe bang their heads on sacred trees until they get a 15273nose bleed, which usually cures them of ____that. 15274 -- Mike Harding, "The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac" 15275% 15276When the speaker and he to whom he is speaks do not understand, that is 15277metaphysics. 15278 -- Voltaire 15279% 15280When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the 15281stars were lined up in their proper places, you could easily count them 15282from left to right, or top to bottom, and the larger and bluer ones 15283were set apart, and the smaller yellowing types pushed off to the 15284corners as bodies of a lower grade ... 15285 -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad" 15286% 15287When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, the 15288plane will fly. 15289 -- Donald Douglas 15290% 15291When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most 15292insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are 15293required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and 15294exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. 15295 -- George Bernard Shaw 15296% 15297When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that 15298virtue is not hereditary. 15299 -- Thomas Paine 15300% 15301When we understand knowledge-based systems, it will be as before -- 15302except our fingertips will have been singed. 15303 -- Epigrams in Programming, ACM SIGPLAN Sept. 1982 15304% 15305When you are about to do an objective and scientific piece of 15306investigation of a topic, it is well to have the answer firmly in hand, 15307so that you can proceed forthrightly, without being deflected or 15308swayed, directly to the goal. 15309 -- Amrom Katz 15310% 15311When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut. 15312% 15313When you don't know what you are doing, do it neatly. 15314% 15315When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship. 15316 -- Harry Truman 15317% 15318 When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure 15319clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer 15320to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. 15321 In a way, the next move is up to him. 15322 -- R. A. Lafferty 15323% 15324When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite. 15325 -- Winston Churchill, On formal declarations of war 15326% 15327When you know absolutely nothing about the topic, make your forecast by 15328asking a carefully selected probability sample of 300 others who don't 15329know the answer either. 15330 -- Edgar R. Fiedler 15331% 15332When you make your mark in the world, watch out for guys with erasers. 15333 -- The Wall Street Journal 15334% 15335When you try to make an impression, the chances are that is the 15336impression you will make. 15337% 15338When you're away, I'm restless, lonely, 15339Wretched, bored, dejected; only 15340Here's the rub, my darling dear 15341I feel the same when you are near. 15342 -- Samuel Hoffenstein, "When You're Away" 15343% 15344When you're not looking at it, this fortune is written in FORTRAN. 15345% 15346Whenever anyone says, "theoretically", they really mean, "not really". 15347 -- Dave Parnas 15348% 15349Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to 15350see it tried on him personally. 15351 -- A. Lincoln 15352% 15353Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. 15354 -- Oscar Wilde 15355% 15356Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last 15357you are going to see of him until he emerges on the other side of his 15358Atlantic with his verb in his mouth. 15359 -- Mark Twain 15360 "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" 15361% 15362Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, 15363it is time to reform. 15364 -- Mark Twain 15365% 15366WHERE CAN THE MATTER BE 15367 15368 Oh, dear, where can the matter be 15369 When it's converted to energy? 15370 There is a slight loss of parity. 15371 Johnny's so long at the fair. 15372% 15373Where humor is concerned there are no standards -- no one can say what 15374is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will. 15375 -- John Kenneth Galbraith 15376% 15377Where there's a will, there's an Inheritance Tax. 15378% 15379Whether you can hear it or not 15380The Universe is laughing behind your back 15381 -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata" 15382% 15383Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? Who knows? Who cares? 15384% 15385While anyone can admit to themselves they were wrong, the true test is 15386admission to someone else. 15387% 15388While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things, 15389The fate of empires and the fall of kings; 15390While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 15391And even children lisp the Rights of Man; 15392Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, 15393The Rights of Woman merit some attention. 15394 -- Robert Burns, Address on "The Rights of Woman", 15395 November 26, 1792 15396% 15397While having never invented a sin, I'm trying to perfect several. 15398% 15399While it may be true that a watched pot never boils, the one you don't 15400keep an eye on can make an awful mess of your stove. 15401 -- Edward Stevenson 15402% 15403While money can't buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own 15404form of misery. 15405% 15406While money doesn't buy love, it puts you in a great bargaining position. 15407% 15408While most peoples' opinions change, 15409the conviction of their correctness never does. 15410% 15411While you don't greatly need the outside world, it's still very 15412reassuring to know that it's still there. 15413% 15414While your friend holds you affectionately by both your hands you are 15415safe, for you can watch both of his. 15416 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15417% 15418Whistler's Law: 15419 You never know who is right, but you always know who is in 15420 charge. 15421% 15422"Who cares if it doesn't do anything? It was made with our new 15423Triple-Iso-Bifurcated-Krypton-Gate-MOS process ..." 15424% 15425Who made the world I cannot tell; 15426'Tis made, and here am I in hell. 15427My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, 15428I never soiled with such a deed. 15429 -- A. E. Housman 15430% 15431Who messed with my anti-paranoia shot? 15432% 15433Who needs friends when you can sit alone in your room and drink? 15434% 15435Who's on first? 15436% 15437"Whom are you?" said he, for he had been to night school. 15438 -- George Ade 15439% 15440Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad. 15441% 15442Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising. 15443% 15444Why are we importing all these highbrow plays like "Amadeus"? I could 15445have told you Mozart was a jerk for nothing. 15446 -- Ian Shoales 15447% 15448Why be a man when you can be a success? 15449 -- Bertolt Brecht 15450% 15451Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we 15452have? 15453% 15454Why can't you be a non-conformist like everyone else? 15455% 15456Why did the Lord give us so much quickness of movement unless it was to 15457avoid responsibility with? 15458% 15459Why did the Roman Empire collapse? 15460What is the Latin for office automation? 15461% 15462Why do we have two eyes? To watch 3-D movies with. 15463% 15464Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently 15465there must be a beverage. 15466 -- Woody Allen, "Without Feathers" 15467% 15468Why does New Jersey have more toxic waste dumps and California have 15469more lawyers? 15470 15471New Jersey had first choice. 15472% 15473Why don't elephants eat penguins ? 15474 15475Because they can't get the wrappers off ... 15476% 15477Why I Can't Go Out With You: 15478 15479I'd LOVE to, but ... 15480 -- I have to floss my cat. 15481 -- I've dedicated my life to linguini. 15482 -- I need to spend more time with my blender. 15483 -- it wouldn't be fair to the other Beautiful People. 15484 -- it's my night to pet the dog/ferret/goldfish. 15485 -- I'm going downtown to try on some gloves. 15486 -- I have to check the freshness dates on my dairy products. 15487 -- I'm going down to the bakery to watch the buns rise. 15488 -- I have an appointment with a cuticle specialist. 15489 -- I have some really hard words to look up. 15490 -- I've got a Friends of the Lowly Rutabaga meeting. 15491 -- I promised to help a friend fold road maps. 15492% 15493Why is it that we rejoice at a birth and grieve at a funeral? It is 15494because we are not the person involved. 15495 -- Mark Twain 15496% 15497Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? 15498 -- Stephen Wright 15499% 15500Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet? 15501 -- Lily Tomlin 15502% 15503Why must you tell me all your secrets when it's hard enough to love 15504you knowing nothing? 15505 -- Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 15506% 15507Why not have an old-fashioned Christmas for your family this year? 15508Just picture the scene in your living room on Christmas morning as your 15509children open their old-fashioned presents. 15510 15511Your 11-year-old son: "What the heck is this?" 15512 15513You: "A spinning top! You spin it around, and then eventually it 15514 falls down. What fun! Ha, ha!" 15515 15516Son: "Is this a joke? Jason Thompson's parents got him a computer 15517 with two disk drives and 128 kilobytes of random-access memory, 15518 and I get this cretin TOP?" 15519 15520Your 8-year-old daughter: "You think that's bad? Look at this." 15521 15522You: "It's figgy pudding! What a treat!" 15523 15524Daughter: "It looks like goat barf." 15525 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15526% 15527Why was I born with such contemporaries? 15528 -- Oscar Wilde 15529% 15530Why You Can't Run When There's Trouble in the Office: 15531 No matter where you stand, no matter how far or fast you flee, 15532when it hits the fan, as much as possible will be propelled in your 15533direction, and almost none will be returned to the source. 15534 -- John L. Shelton 15535% 15536Wiker's Law: 15537 Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. 15538% 15539 William Safire's Rules for Writers: 15540 15541Remember to never split an infinitive. The passive voice should never 15542be used. Do not put statements in the negative form. Verbs have to 15543agree with their subjects. Proofread carefully to see if you words 15544out. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal 15545of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. A writer must 15546not shift your point of view. And don't start a sentence with a 15547conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a 15548sentence with.) Don't overuse exclamation marks!! Place pronouns as 15549close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more 15550words, to their antecedents. Writing carefully, dangling participles 15551must be avoided. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a 15552linking verb is. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing 15553metaphors. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Everyone should 15554be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their 15555writing. Always pick on the correct idiom. The adverb always follows 15556the verb. Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek 15557viable alternatives. 15558% 15559Williams and Holland's Law: 15560 If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by 15561 statistical methods. 15562% 15563Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as 15564it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat. 15565% 15566Wit, n.: 15567 The salt with which the American Humorist spoils his cookery ... 15568 by leaving it out. 15569 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15570% 15571With a gentleman I try to be a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I 15572try to be a fraud and a half. 15573 -- Otto von Bismark 15574% 15575With a rubber duck, one's never alone. 15576 -- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15577% 15578With all the fancy scientists in the world, why can't they just once 15579build a nuclear balm? 15580% 15581With every passing hour our solar system comes forty-three thousand 15582miles closer to globular cluster M13 in the constellation Hercules, and 15583still there are some misfits who continue to insist that there is no 15584such thing as progress. 15585 -- Ransom K. Ferm 15586% 15587Without ice cream life and fame are meaningless. 15588% 15589Wombat's Laws of Computer Selection: 15590 (1) If it doesn't run Unix, forget it. 15591 (2) Any computer design over 10 years old is obsolete. 15592 (3) Anything made by IBM is junk. (See number 2) 15593 (4) The minimum acceptable CPU power for a single user is a 15594 VAX/780 with a floating point accelerator. 15595 (5) Any computer with a mouse is worthless. 15596 -- Rich Kulawiec 15597% 15598Wood is highly ecological, since trees are a renewable resource. If 15599you cut down a tree, another will grow in its place. And if you cut 15600down the new tree, still another will grow. And if you cut down that 15601tree, yet another will grow, only this one will be a mutation with 15602long, poisonous tentacles and revenge in its heart, and it will sit 15603there in the forest, cackling and making elaborate plans for when you 15604come back. 15605 15606Wood heat is not new. It dates back to a day millions of years ago, 15607when a group of cavemen were sitting around, watching dinosaurs rot. 15608Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby log and set it on fire. One of the 15609cavemen stared at the fire for a few minutes, then said: "Hey! Wood 15610heat!" The other cavemen, who did not understand English, immediately 15611beat him to death with stones. But the key discovery had been made, 15612and from that day forward, the cavemen had all the heat they needed, 15613although their insurance rates went way up. 15614 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 15615% 15616Work Rule: Leave of Absence (for an Operation): 15617 We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage any 15618 thoughts that you may not need all of whatever you have, and you 15619 should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you 15620 are, and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than 15621 we bargained for. 15622% 15623Workers of the world, arise! You have nothing to lose but your 15624chairs. 15625% 15626World War Three can be averted by adherence to a strictly enforced 15627dress code! 15628% 15629Worst Month of 1981 for Downhill Skiing: 15630 August. The lines are the shortest, though. 15631 -- Steve Rubenstein 15632% 15633Worst Month of the Year: 15634 February. February has only 28 days in it, which means that if 15635 you rent an apartment, you are paying for three full days you don't 15636 get. Try to avoid Februarys whenever possible. 15637 -- Steve Rubenstein 15638% 15639Worst Response To A Crisis, 1985: 15640 From a readers' Q and A column in TV GUIDE: "If we get involved 15641 in a nuclear war, would the electromagnetic pulses from exploding 15642 bombs damage my videotapes?" 15643% 15644Worst Vegetable of the Year: 15645 The brussels sprout. This is also the worst vegetable of next 15646 year. 15647 -- Steve Rubenstein 15648% 15649"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" 15650 15651"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. 15652 -- Lewis Carroll 15653% 15654Wouldn't the sentence "I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish 15655and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign" have been clearer 15656if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and 15657and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and 15658and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips? 15659% 15660Write-Protect Tab, n.: 15661 A small sticker created to cover the unsightly notch carelessly 15662 left by disk manufacturers. The use of the tab creates an error 15663 message once in a while, but its aesthetic value far outweighs the 15664 momentary inconvenience. 15665 -- Robb Russon 15666% 15667Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. 15668 -- Frank Zappa 15669% 15670"Wrong," said Renner. 15671 15672"The tactful way," Rod said quietly, "the polite way to disagree with 15673the Senator would be to say, `That turns out not to be the case.'" 15674% 15675X-rated movies are all alike -- the only thing they leave to the 15676imagination is the plot. 15677% 15678Xerox does it again and again and again and ... 15679% 15680Xerox never comes up with anything original. 15681% 15682XIIdigitation, n.: 15683 The practice of trying to determine the year a movie was made 15684by deciphering the Roman numerals at the end of the credits. 15685 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15686% 15687"Yacc" owes much to a most stimulating collection of users, who have 15688goaded me beyond my inclination, and frequently beyond my ability in 15689their endless search for "one more feature". Their irritating 15690unwillingness to learn how to do things my way has usually led to my 15691doing things their way; most of the time, they have been right. 15692 -- Stephen C. Johnson, "Yacc guide acknowledgements" 15693% 15694Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of APL, I shall 15695fear no evil, for I can string six primitive monadic and dyadic 15696operators together. 15697 -- Steve Higgins 15698% 15699"Yeah, but you're taking the universe out of context." 15700% 15701Year, n.: 15702 A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments. 15703 -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary" 15704% 15705Yes, but every time I try to see things your way, I get a headache. 15706% 15707Yes, but which self do you want to be? 15708% 15709Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. 15710Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dog. 15711Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement. 15712 -- Snoopy 15713% 15714Yesterday upon the stair 15715I met a man who wasn't there. 15716He wasn't there again today -- 15717I think he's from the CIA. 15718% 15719Yield to Temptation ... it may not pass your way again. 15720 -- Lazarus Long, "Time Enough for Love" 15721% 15722Yinkel, n.: 15723 A person who combs his hair over his bald spot, hoping no one 15724 will notice. 15725 -- Rich Hall, "Sniglets" 15726% 15727You are a very redundant person, that's what kind of person you are. 15728% 15729You are here: 15730 *** 15731 *** 15732 ********* 15733 ******* 15734 ***** 15735 *** 15736 * 15737 15738 But you're not all there. 15739% 15740"You are old, Father William," the young man said, 15741 "All your papers these days look the same; 15742Those William's would be better unread -- 15743 Do these facts never fill you with shame?" 15744 15745"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, 15746 "I wrote wonderful papers galore; 15747But the great reputation I found that I'd won, 15748 Made it pointless to think any more." 15749% 15750"You are old, father William," the young man said, 15751 "And your hair has become very white; 15752And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- 15753 Do you think, at your age, it is right?" 15754 15755"In my youth," father William replied to his son, 15756 "I feared it might injure the brain; 15757But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, 15758 Why, I do it again and again." 15759 -- Lewis Carroll 15760% 15761"You are old," said the youth, "and I'm told by my peers 15762 That your lectures bore people to death. 15763Yet you talk at one hundred conventions per year -- 15764 Don't you think that you should save your breath?" 15765 15766"I have answered three questions and that is enough," 15767 Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs! 15768Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15769 Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" 15770% 15771"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak 15772 For anything tougher than suet; 15773Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- 15774 Pray, how did you manage to do it?" 15775 15776"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, 15777 And argued each case with my wife; 15778And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw, 15779 Has lasted the rest of my life." 15780 -- Lewis Carroll 15781% 15782"You are old," said the youth, "and your programs don't run, 15783 And there isn't one language you like; 15784Yet of useful suggestions for help you have none -- 15785 Have you thought about taking a hike?" 15786 15787"Since I never write programs," his father replied, 15788 "Every language looks equally bad; 15789Yet the people keep paying to read all my books 15790 And don't realize that they've been had." 15791% 15792"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15793 And have grown most uncommonly fat; 15794Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- 15795 Pray what is the reason of that?" 15796 15797"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, 15798 "I kept all my limbs very supple 15799By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- 15800 Allow me to sell you a couple?" 15801 -- Lewis Carroll 15802% 15803"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, 15804 And make errors few people could bear; 15805You complain about everyone's English but yours -- 15806 Do you really think this is quite fair?" 15807 15808"I make lots of mistakes," Father William declared, 15809 "But my stature these days is so great 15810That no critic can hurt me -- I've got them all scared, 15811 And to stop me it's now far too late." 15812% 15813"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose 15814 That your eye was as steady as ever; 15815Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -- 15816 What made you so awfully clever?" 15817 15818"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," 15819 Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! 15820Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? 15821 Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!" 15822 -- Lewis Carroll 15823% 15824You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely. 15825% 15826You are the only person to ever get this message. 15827% 15828You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading 15829this sort of trash. 15830% 15831You buttered your bread, now lie in it! 15832% 15833You can always tell the Christmas season is here when you start getting 15834incredibly dense, tinfoil-and-ribbon- wrapped lumps in the mail. 15835Fruitcakes make ideal gifts because the Postal Service has been unable 15836to find a way to damage them. They last forever, largely because 15837nobody ever eats them. In fact, many smart people save the fruitcakes 15838they receive and send them back to the original givers the next year; 15839some fruitcakes have been passed back and forth for hundreds of years. 15840 15841The easiest way to make a fruitcake is to buy a darkish cake, then 15842pound some old, hard fruit into it with a mallet. Be sure to wear 15843safety glasses. 15844 -- Dave Barry, "Simple, Homespun Gifts" 15845% 15846You can bring any calculator you like to the midterm, as long as it 15847doesn't dim the lights when you turn it on. 15848 -- Hepler, Systems Design 182 15849% 15850You can create your own opportunities this week. 15851Blackmail a senior executive. 15852% 15853You can do this in a number of ways. IBM chose to do all of them. 15854Why do you find that funny? 15855 -- D. Taylor, Computer Science 350, University of Washington 15856% 15857You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you 15858can with just a kind word. 15859 -- Bumper Sticker 15860% 15861You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, 15862for instance. 15863 -- Franklin P. Jones 15864% 15865You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular. 15866% 15867You can measure a programmer's perspective by noting his attitude on 15868the continuing viability of FORTRAN. 15869 -- Alan Perlis 15870% 15871You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. 15872% 15873You can take all the impact that science considerations have on funding 15874decisions at NASA, put them in the navel of a flea, and have room left 15875over for a caraway seed and Tony Calio's heart. 15876 -- F. Allen 15877% 15878You can tell how far we have to go, when FORTRAN is the language of 15879supercomputers. 15880 -- Steven Feiner 15881% 15882You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish. 15883% 15884You can write a small letter to Grandma in the filename. 15885 -- Forbes Burkowski, Computer Science 454 15886% 15887You can't carve your way to success without cutting remarks. 15888% 15889You can't have everything. Where would you put it? 15890 -- Steven Wright 15891% 15892You can't hold a man down without staying down with him. 15893 -- Booker T. Washington 15894% 15895You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair. 15896% 15897You can't make a program without broken egos. 15898% 15899You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic 15900enough worrying about what's happening now. 15901 -- Lauren Bacall 15902% 15903You can't survive by sucking the juice from a wet mitten. 15904 -- Charles Schulz, "Things I've Had to Learn Over and 15905 Over and Over" 15906% 15907You can't teach people to be lazy - either they have it, or they 15908don't. 15909 -- Dagwood Bumstead 15910% 15911You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd. 15912% 15913You cannot kill time without injuring eternity. 15914% 15915You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back. 15916% 15917You could get a new lease on life -- if only you didn't need the first 15918and last month in advance. 15919% 15920You couldn't even prove the White House staff sane beyond a reasonable 15921doubt. 15922 -- Ed Meese, on the Hinckley verdict 15923% 15924You do not have mail. 15925% 15926You don't have to think too hard when you talk to teachers. 15927 -- J. D. Salinger 15928% 15929You don't sew with a fork, so I see no reason to eat with knitting 15930needles. 15931 -- Miss Piggy, on eating Chinese Food 15932% 15933You first have to decide whether to use the short or the long form. 15934The short form is what the Internal Revenue Service calls "simplified", 15935which means it is designed for people who need the help of a Sears 15936tax-preparation expert to distinguish between their first and last 15937names. Here's the complete text: 15938 15939 "(1) How much did you make? (AMOUNT) 15940 "(2) How much did we here at the government take out? (AMOUNT) 15941 "(3) Hey! Sounds like we took too much! So we're going to 15942 send an official government check for (ONE-FIFTEENTH OF 15943 THE AMOUNT WE TOOK) directly to the (YOUR LAST NAME) 15944 household at (YOUR ADDRESS), for you to spend in any way 15945 you please! Which just goes to show you, (YOUR FIRST 15946 NAME), that it pays to file the short form!" 15947 15948The IRS wants you to use this form because it gets to keep most of your 15949money. So unless you have pond silt for brains, you want the long 15950form. 15951 -- Dave Barry, "Sweating Out Taxes" 15952% 15953You have a tendency to feel you are superior to most computers. 15954% 15955You have acquired a scroll entitled 'irk gleknow mizk'(n).--More-- 15956 15957This is an IBM Manual scroll.--More-- 15958 15959You are permanently confused. 15960 -- Dave Decot 15961% 15962You have an unusual magnetic personality. Don't walk too close to 15963metal objects which are not fastened down. 15964% 15965You have junk mail. 15966% 15967You have the body of a 19 year old. Please return it before it gets 15968wrinkled. 15969% 15970You have the capacity to learn from mistakes. 15971You'll learn a lot today. 15972% 15973You know it's going to be a bad day when you want to put on the clothes 15974you wore home from the party and there aren't any. 15975% 15976You know the great thing about TV? If something important happens 15977anywhere at all in the world, no matter what time of the day or night, 15978you can always change the channel. 15979 -- Jim Ignatowski 15980% 15981You know you have a small apartment when Rice Krispies echo. 15982 -- S. Rickly Christian 15983% 15984You know you're a little fat if you have stretch marks on your car. 15985 -- Cyrus, Chicago Reader 1/22/82 15986% 15987You know you've been spending too much time on the computer when your 15988friend misdates a check, and you suggest adding a "++" to fix it. 15989% 15990You know you've landed gear-up when it takes full power to taxi. 15991% 15992 "You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon 15993airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in 15994deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me 15995when I was young!" 15996 "Why, what did she tell you?" 15997 "I don't know, I didn't listen!" 15998 -- Douglas Adams, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" 15999% 16000You look like a million dollars. All green and wrinkled. 16001% 16002You may be recognized soon. Hide. 16003% 16004You may be sure that when a man begins to call himself a "realist," he 16005is preparing to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing. 16006 -- Sydney Harris 16007% 16008You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue -- agree with 16009him. 16010 -- Ed Howe 16011% 16012You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog. 16013 -- Alfred Kahn 16014% 16015You men out there probably think you already know how to dress for 16016success. You know, for example, that you should not wear leisure suits 16017or white plastic belts and shoes, unless you are going to a costume 16018party disguised as a pig farmer vacationing at Disney World. 16019 -- Dave Barry, "How to Dress for Real Success" 16020% 16021You might have mail. 16022% 16023You must realize that the computer has it in for you. The irrefutable 16024proof of this is that the computer always does what you tell it to do. 16025% 16026You need no longer worry about the future. 16027This time tomorrow you'll be dead. 16028% 16029You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a 16030reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating 16031the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for 16032independence. 16033 -- Charles A. Beard 16034% 16035You never know how many friends you have until you rent a house on the 16036beach. 16037% 16038You or I must yield up his life to Ahrimanes. I would rather it were 16039you. I should have no hesitation in sacrificing my own life to spare 16040yours, but we take stock next week, and it would not be fair on the 16041company. 16042 -- J. Wellington Wells 16043% 16044You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained. 16045% 16046You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could 16047know how seldom they do. 16048 -- Olin Miller. 16049% 16050You should emulate your heros, but don't carry it too far. Especially 16051if they are dead. 16052% 16053You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than 16054about 10^12 to 1. 16055 -- Ernest Rutherford 16056% 16057You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for 16058freedom and liberty. 16059 -- Henrik Ibsen 16060% 16061You should not use your fireplace, because scientists now believe that, 16062contrary to popular opinion, fireplaces actually remove heat from 16063houses. Really, that's what scientists believe. In fact many 16064scientists actually use their fireplaces to cool their houses in the 16065summer. If you visit a scientist's house on a sultry August day, 16066you'll find a cheerful fire roaring on the hearth and the scientist 16067sitting nearby, remarking on how cool he is and drinking heavily. 16068 -- Dave Barry, "Postpetroleum Guzzler" 16069% 16070You should tip the waiter $10, minus $2 if he tells you his name, 16071another $2 if he claims it will be His Pleasure to serve you and 16072another $2 for each "special" he describes involving confusing terms 16073such as "shallots," and $4 if the menu contains the word "fixin's." In 16074many restaurants, this means the waiter will actually owe you money. 16075If you are traveling with a child aged six months to three years, you 16076should leave an additional amount equal to twice the bill to compensate 16077for the fact that they will have to take the banquette out and burn it 16078because the cracks are wedged solid with gobbets made of partially 16079chewed former restaurant rolls saturated with baby spit. 16080 16081In New York, tip the taxicab driver $40 if he does not mention his 16082hemorrhoids. 16083 -- Dave Barry, "The Stuff of Etiquette" 16084% 16085"You should, without hesitation, pound your typewriter into a 16086plowshare, your paper into fertilizer, and enter agriculture" 16087 -- Business Professor, University of Georgia 16088% 16089You think Oedipus had a problem -- Adam was Eve's mother. 16090% 16091 YOU TOO CAN MAKE BIG MONEY IN THE EXCITING FIELD OF 16092 PAPER SHUFFLING! 16093 16094Mr. TAA of Muddle, Mass. says: "Before I took this course I used to be 16095a lowly bit twiddler. Now with what I learned at MIT Tech I feel 16096really important and can obfuscate and confuse with the best." 16097 16098Mr. MARC had this to say: "Ten short days ago all I could look forward 16099to was a dead-end job as a engineer. Now I have a promising future and 16100make really big Zorkmids." 16101 16102MIT Tech can't promise these fantastic results to everyone, but when 16103you earn your MDL degree from MIT Tech your future will be brighter. 16104 16105 SEND FOR OUR FREE BROCHURE TODAY! 16106% 16107You too can wear a nose mitten. 16108% 16109You will be a winner today. Pick a fight with a four-year-old. 16110% 16111You will be attacked by a beast who has the body of a wolf, the tail of 16112a lion, and the face of Donald Duck. 16113% 16114You will be surprised by a loud noise. 16115% 16116You will be Told about it Tomorrow. Go Home and Prepare Thyself. 16117% 16118You will feel hungry again in another hour. 16119% 16120You will lose your present job and have to become a door to door 16121mayonnaise salesman. 16122% 16123 You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the 16124Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the 16125parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day. 16126 -- Sherlock Holmes 16127% 16128You will think of something funnier than this to add to the fortunes. 16129% 16130You worry too much about your job. 16131Stop it. You're not paid enough to worry. 16132% 16133You'd better beat it. You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a 16134taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a 16135minute and a huff. 16136 -- Groucho Marx 16137% 16138You'll never be the man your mother was! 16139% 16140You're at the end of the road again. 16141% 16142You're being followed. Cut out the hanky-panky for a few days. 16143% 16144You're never too old to become younger. 16145 -- Mae West 16146% 16147You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. 16148 -- Dean Martin 16149% 16150You're not my type. For that matter, you're not even my species!!! 16151% 16152You've been leading a dog's life. Stay off the furniture. 16153% 16154"You've got to have a gimmick if your band sucks." 16155 -- Gary Giddens 16156% 16157"You've got to think about tomorrow!" 16158 16159"TOMORROW! I haven't even prepared for *_________yesterday* yet!" 16160% 16161Your analyst has you mixed up with another patient. 16162Don't believe a thing he tells you. 16163% 16164Your conscience never stops you from doing anything. It just stops you 16165from enjoying it. 16166% 16167Your fault: core dumped 16168% 16169 Your home electrical system is basically a bunch of wires that 16170bring electricity into your home and take if back out before it has a 16171chance to kill you. This is called a "circuit". The most common home 16172electrical problem is when the circuit is broken by a "circuit 16173breaker"; this causes the electricity to back up in one of the wires 16174until it bursts out of an outlet in the form of sparks, which can 16175damage your carpet. The best way to avoid broken circuits is to change 16176your fuses regularly. 16177 Another common problem is that the lights flicker. This 16178sometimes means that your electrical system is inadequate, but more 16179often it means that your home is possessed by demons, in which case 16180you'll need to get a caulking gun and some caulking. If you're not 16181sure whether your house is possessed, see "The Amityville Horror", a 16182fine documentary film based on an actual book. Or call in a licensed 16183electrician, who is trained to spot the signs of demonic possession, 16184such as blood coming down the stairs, enormous cats on the dinette 16185table, etc. 16186 -- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw" 16187% 16188Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret. 16189% 16190Your lucky color has faded. 16191% 16192Your lucky number has been disconnected. 16193% 16194Your lucky number is 3552664958674928. Watch for it everywhere. 16195% 16196Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with. 16197% 16198"Yow! Am I having fun yet?" 16199 -- Zippy the Pinhead 16200% 16201YOW!! Everybody out of the GENETIC POOL!" 16202% 16203Zero Defects, n.: 16204 The result of shutting down a production line. 16205% 16206Zounds! I was never so bethumped with words 16207since I first called my brother's father dad. 16208 -- William Shakespeare, "King John" 16209% 16210Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor: 16211 People are always available for work in the past tense. 16212