The Fundamental Truths (7) It is always something (7a) (corollary). Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick any two (you can't have all three).

For as knowledges are now delivered, there is a kind of contract of error between the deliverer and the receiver; for he that delivereth knowledge desireth to deliver it in such a form as may be best believed, and not as may be best examined; and he that receiveth knowledge desireth rather present satisfaction than expectant inquiry. - Francis Bacon

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. -- Groucho Marx

DJs are in incredible competition, musically. And they are the most musically creative and sensitive people in all the music charts. I am amazed how they are. -- Yoko Ono

"A wizard cannot do everything; a fact most magicians are reticent to admit, let alone discuss with prospective clients. Still, the fact remains that there are certain objects, and people, that are, for one reason or another, completely immune to any direct magical spell. It is for this group of beings that the magician learns the subtleties of using indirect spells. It also does no harm, in dealing with these matters, to carry a large club near your person at all times." -- The Teachings of Ebenezum, Volume VIII

THE LESSER-KNOWN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES #16: C- This language was named for the grade received by its creator when he submitted it as a class project in a graduate programming class. C- is best described as a "low-level" programming language. In fact, the language generally requires more C- statements than machine-code statements to execute a given task. In this respect, it is very similar to COBOL.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way will promptly develop.

All the effort you are making will ultimately pay off.

You will have domestic happiness and faithful friends.

I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter. -- Blaise Pascal

The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is generally understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. -- John Maynard Keyes

The wise is one only. It is unwilling and willing to be called by the name of Zeus. ~ Heraclitus, Fragments

It cost the United States Mint two cents to produce and distribute a penny in 2012.

-- -- uunet!sugar!karl | "We've been following your progress with considerable -- karl@sugar.uu.net | interest, not to say contempt." -- Zaphod Beeblebrox IV -- Usenet BBS (713) 438-5018 th-th-th-th-That's all, folks! ----------- cut here, don't forget to strip junk at the end, too ------------- "Psychoanalysis?? I thought this was a nude rap session!!!" -- Zippy

"Any news from the President on a successor?" he asked hopefully. "None," Anita replied. "She's having great difficulty finding someone qualified who is willing to accept the post." "Then I stay," said Dr. Fresh. "I'm not good for much, but I can at least make a decision." "Somewhere," he grumphed, "there must be a naive, opportunistic young welp with a masochistic streak who would like to run the most up-and-down bureaucracy in the history of mankind." -- R.L. Forward, "Flight of the Dragonfly"

Real software engineers admire PASCAL for its discipline and Spartan purity, but they find it difficult to actually program in. They don't tell this to their friends, because they are afraid it means that they are somehow Unworthy.

A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. -- O'Henry

Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words. ~ Alfred Korzybski

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." --A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

< Keybuk> Perl 6 scares me < doogie> you can name your operators anything. the name here is the string '~|_|~' * Lo-lan-2 runs away screaming < Keybuk> it looks like a diagram of a canal lock :) < jaybonci> japanese smiley operators? < nickr> ^_^ -- in #debian-devel