820 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
820 lines
33 KiB
Plaintext
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***********************************************************************
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*** ***
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*** NutWorks ***
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*** ---------- ***
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*** The Inter-Net Virtual Magazine for Those ***
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*** Who Think Reality is Something to be Avoided ***
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*** ***
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*** ================ ***
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*** ***
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*** ***
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*** February, 1985. Issue #2, Volume I. NutWorks is distributed ***
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*** monthly. Brent CJ Britton (BRENT@MAINE) virtual Editor and ***
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*** Publisher. ***
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*** ***
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***********************************************************************
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***********************************************************************
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Insanity, Fatigue, Divine Inspiration, and the
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Forced Removal of One's Own Hair
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--------------------------------------------------
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On the whole, things are going nicely. This is the second issue
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of NutWorks, the magazine that has been hailed as the greatest
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thing since the invention of rope, and it too is doing quite well.
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The subscription list numbers 58 at present and, thanks to the many
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wonders of modern technology, it can safely be said that the sun
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never sets on the readers of NutWorks. Yes, friends, we're now an
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institution, which is quite suitable considering that an institution
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is precisely where many of us should indeed by placed.
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It's a small wonder that NutWorks has been selected by leading
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social scientists as "the one entity that will likely represent
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the most significant output of mankind during his Earthly
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History".
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There are times, however, when the whole thing becomes just a
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tad tedious. Between constantly updating the mailing list, writing
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English papers, transforming the unending monotonous drollery of my
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COS220 professor into a working Pascal program, occasionally going
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to class, and working twelve hours a week, all the while bumming food
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off of my friends and trying to have sex with this girl I know, I am
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quickly going out of my mind, and for some reason I find myself
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watching shows like "Three's Company" a lot.
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Well, such is life. But I'm sure you'll understand why this issue
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is made up almost entirely of other people's work.
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Thanks (and big ones) to Jim (xxxxxx@xxxxx), Reed (xxxxxx@xxxxx),
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Roman (xxxxxx@xxxxx), Marissa (xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx), Gary
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(xxxxxxxx@xxxxx), and Todd (xxxxxxx@xxxxx).
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BB
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===============
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Editor's Note: Being an op, I can relate to this.
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Send contributions for the following column to
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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The following article is written in honor of all Operators and
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Consultants who have to deal with unusual questions from, to say the
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least, unusual people, each day they go to work!
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I have received Lots of help and lots of people deserve credit.
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The most important person for this first column is Larry Ruch
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(ROOKIE AT UIUCVMD). He sent me a file containing this type of
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"humor" and I want to share it with you.
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Transcribed from the Operators Logbook:
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(or, Sad But True Stories!)
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QUESTION OF THE MORING : Is there a computer in here??
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You got it another 100 student! What will they teach
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them next!
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WHOSE TO BLAME? QUESTION: "My job was deleted by
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"HASP", Where is HASP? Apparently she wanted to ask
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HASP why he deleted her job.
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U KNOW WHO YOU ARE! QUESTION: a program for CS105 printed
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"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" where my output should have printed; Should
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I just run it again?? ANSWER : Sure if you want!
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QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: What does JOB TIME EXCEEDED mean?
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RUNNER UP: What's a SUBROUTINE? (hell it is only the 11th
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week of classes. Why should anyone know what a subroutine is?)
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DUMBEST QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: My job hasn't come out yet. It
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has been a long time. Could you find it? (on the surface this
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isn't very humorous or dumb but the astute oparator (that's me)
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checked on her job ("SAMPLE" -- catchy name, huh?). And it wasn't
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found in the system. Turning around I found that the mysteriously
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missing output had been sitting on the printer for "a long time".
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She was in 105. Maybe she will be a great future buisness leader!
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I am worried about our economy now....
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USER'S FAVORITE COMMAND: Come fix the printer! It's not printing
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my job. The person before me got his, but mines not coming out.
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I wish I had a dime for everytime I heard something like that...
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If I did I would probably be rich and not have to work here for a
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LONG LONG time!
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WHAT ARE THEY FOR THEN: Get ready for this one --- Someone tried to
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run a rubberband through the card reader -- obviously skipping for
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Job card, but an engineer had to come out and operate. Don't they
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teach students to take the rubber band off first?
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ONE FOR THE ROAD: It was 11:45 and closing time at 12 and a
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bright CS105 student came up and asked why his program wasn't
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working? the error was "FORMAT ERROR ON CONTROL CARD: INVALID
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CHARACTERS IN FIELD". He was just trying to do like his TA said
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He documented each of his data cards, on each card after the data
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was written :
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DATA CARD 1
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DATA CARD 2
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.
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.
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.
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*SIGH*
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Author's Comments:
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Well that ends my first column. It's rather short, but
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it will get longer. I also want to thank people from UCF1VM for
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thier input. Suggestions from anyone and everyone will be welcome.
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It is nice to know that users accross the country do dumb things too.
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================
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Big-time Philosophical Theory Provided as a Treat for Thinkers:
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"Time exists so that everything doesn't happen at once."
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--John Parthum,
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A Deep User.
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================
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A Joke
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(and a distastefull one at that)
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-----------------------------------------
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There once was a brother and a sister, fraternal twins, who were
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approaching their high school graduation. It was getting near prom
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night and neither of them had a date for it. So one day, the girl
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approaches her brother and says "Hey, you got a date for the prom yet?"
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He says "No, why? You got someone lined up for me?"
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"You might say that. Why don't you take me to the prom?"
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"Take you? You kidding? You're my sister!"
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"Well, are you taking somebody else out?"
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"You know I don't have a date, Sis."
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"And neither do I. But we both want to go to the prom, don't we?"
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Her brother nods. She continues, "So we should go with each other."
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The brother can't see anything wrong with her reasoning, so he tells his
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sister that if neither of them has a date by Wednesday evening,
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he will take her to the prom.
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Wednesday evening rolls around. Neither of the siblings has a date,
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so the the brother tells his sister that he'll take her to the prom
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on Friday.
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At the prom, both of them have a good time. The brother is glad
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that his sister talked him into taking her. Then, while he's
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standing at the punch bowl, his sister comes up to him again.
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"Hey, brother, let's dance."
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He looks around to make sure that nobody heard her. "Look, Sis,
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this is the Senior Prom, okay? I'm not going to dance with my own
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sister at the prom, okay?"
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"Don't be so shy. Look, Jimmy Elder is dancing with his cousin. So why
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can't you dance with your sister?"
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"Oh . . . all right."
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So they dance, a slow number. The rest of the prom passes by and after
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a while it's over and time to go. Both of them have had a good time.
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In the car, with the brother at the wheel, the sister looks over at
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him and says, "Let's not go straight home."
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He gives her a curious look and says, "What are we going to do instead?"
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"Oh, I don't know. Just drive around."
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He agrees, and after they have driven around a while, out in the country,
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she looks over at him again and says "Want to find some place to park?"
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"Hell," he says, "are you crazy? You're my sister, I'm not going
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parking with you!"
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"Who said anything about 'going parking'? Let's just pull over somewhere
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and talk for a while, okay? It's been a busy year for both of us-- how
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long has it been since we've had a chance to talk to each other?"
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So she finally talks her brother into pulling the car over on a
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secluded back road, and after a few minutes of idle talk, she looks
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over at him again.
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"Hey . . . " she says.
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"What?"
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"Why don't you kiss me?"
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"You've been suggesting a lot of weird things lately, you know that? I'm
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not going to kiss you, you're my sister!" And he reached for the
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ignition switch to start the car.
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She reached out and took his hand. "I know I'm your sister. You've
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mentioned that a lot lately. And you're my brother. And don't we love
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each other? Why shouldn't we kiss if we feel like it?" She kissed
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him on the cheek and he
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kissed her back. After a few minutes of kissing, she whispered in his
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ear, "Come on. Let's do it."
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"Do what," said her brother, but he had a good idea of what his
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sister had in mind.
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"You know what," his sister replied.
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"I can't do that with you, you're my . . . " His voice trailed off.
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While he was on top of her, his sister murmured, "You know, you're a lot
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lighter than Dad."
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"I know," said her brother. "Mom told me."
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(I warned you. heh heh)
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=================
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Received: from xxxxxx by xxxxx id xxxx; xxx, xx xxx xx xx:xx:xx xxx
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Date: xxx, xx xxx xx xx:xx xxx
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From: xxxxxxxx@xxxxxx
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Subject: letter to the editor
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To: BRENT@MAINE
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dear editor:
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i have just finished reading ISSU#1, Vol 1 (what's the
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difference?) of the newest, nuttiest, virtual magazine 2 hit the
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readers, NUTWORKS, & i readily admit 2 issuing a few guffaws & chortles
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(yes, karl, i stole it) tho i must confess that the "documentation
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sex quiz" did raise my eyebrows 2 the point where they nearly flew
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off my face. i think the title NUTWORKS is grate but, guys, change the
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spelling--it pains me 2 type KS where an X will adequately impart
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the necessary fonix 2 achieve the proper sound...& here is
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my written permisssion allowing u 2 usurp my shorthand...speaking of my
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shorthand, can i lodge a few complaints here??? c'mon, all u
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copyrite in-fringers--gimme a brake!! u all agree 2 pay the royalties
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i demand but have i yet seen a virtual red cent in my rdr??? u guilty
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CHATters no who i mean!!
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& while i m speaking of CHAT, all u nukers or bombers (or
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whatever the appropriate lingo mite b 2 describe u) gimme a brake!!!
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i travel@300 baud!
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those things piss me off & lotsa u out there can attest 2 that (heheh).
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have some consideration folx! almost as bad as those r CHATters who
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start yawn-ing & snoring on the channel!!! that's insulting & u can
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more easily relieve your bordom by typing CHAT /change et al.
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now that CHAT has resumed it's regular (as opposed 2 irregular)
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schedule, u mite want 2 try some other chatting facilities.
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billy@bmacadm, run by cuny, is open 24 hours a day (when & if cuny
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is running). FORUM (also sponsored by cuny types & written by quite a
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talented cuny type who wood probably nolog my id if i revealed his)
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is now available. 4um (typical of me) is faster than any other
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system i have been on but is unreleased & still in test stages
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(at this writing) & u should b wary of hidden commands within
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the exec such as ERASE * * (only kidding, steve). but not 2 worry
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anway--there is always vmbackup....unless, of course, u r at a
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certain node best left unmentioned....
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anyway, editor, keep up the good work. u will shirley hear from me
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again but not if u insist on calling me shirley!!! looking 4ward
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2 the next exciting issu, regards,
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marissa something
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many ids @ cunyvm
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Note: The preceding letter was placed here because it is hilarious.
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It should be pointed out, however, that NutWorks is spelled
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the way it is--including the capital 'W'--for reasons that
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are much to complex and euphoric to right now relate.
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====================
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Editor's Note: The statements in the following ad parody
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do not neccesarily reflect the views of the
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NutWorks staff. Uh...yeah.
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Hi there, this is Jimmy the Grope of the IRS. I am the president of
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of the local chapter of the IRSG (Internal Relaxation Service Group)
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Now, I am here to introduce to you the fastest growing way of enjoy-
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ing yourself, along with others. We here at IRSG think that the
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weekend is by far the best time to relax. Everyine needs relaxation.
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YOU need relaxation. C'mon! Live it up! PARTY!! Forget the homework
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and the lectures. Relax your Brain. Give it a break! Just think of
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your brain as being like a small computer system...and Boot it!!
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Now, the IRSG can help you get started on your R and R ABSOLUTELY
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FREE!!! That's right I said FREE!!! And believe me, we're just
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aching to help out. I know your saying to yourself, "But Jimmy, how
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can you help me have a good time?" Well let me assure you that with
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the stuff I've got, you'll never ask that question again. All you'll
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want to know is where you can get more!
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Because we do away with the middle-man, we are prepared to offer
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you our relaxation starter kit and all you have to do to receive
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it is dial our toll-free number, 1-800-GET-HIGH. Believe me, you
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won't be sorry. Hey! You can trust Uncle Jimmy! Just tell me your
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name, address, phone number, and the names of your loved ones
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and I'll send you your very own relaxation starter kit containing
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all sorts of magical things! We can't say just what those things
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are in this add, but let me tell you, you won't be sorry!
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AND, if you decide to join our nationwide club before HIGH
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noon, we'll send you an extra suprise package! This special
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gift has a street value of over 50 dollars. Yours just for joining
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our HIGHly acclaimed club. You'll truly enjoy this wonderfull
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suprise, you have my word as a salesman. But if you don't enjoy your
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membership in our club, you can decline your enrollment, and keep the
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extra suprise as a gift.
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"How can I do it?" you ask? Well, certain South American individuals
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would have old Jimmy's head if he told you. But I will say that
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you're the one who's getting the deal here!!
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So act now! Give me a call. And help yourself to my generosity...
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....for life.
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Operators are now waiting to take your call. Just dail 1-800-GET-HIGH
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that's 1-800-GET-HIGH, and relax.
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====================
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| The following quotes taken from the Toronto News on
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| July 26, 1977, are actual statements from insurance
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| forms where car drivers tried to summarize accident
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| details in as few words as possible. Such instances
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| of faulty writing serve to confirm that incompetency
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| can be highly entertaining.
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| ----------------------------------------------------
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| 1. Coming home I drove into the wrong house and
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| collided with a tree I don't have.
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| 2. The other car collided with mine without giving
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| warning of its intent.
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| 3. I collided with a stationary truck coming the
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| other way.
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| 4. In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a
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| telephone pole.
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| 5. I had been shopping for plants all day and was
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| on my way home. As I reached an intersection,
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| a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision and I
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| did not see the other car.
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| 6. I had been driving for forty years when I fell
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| asleep at the wheel and had an accident.
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| 7. I was on my way to the doctor with rear end
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| trouble when my universal joint gave way
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| causing me to have an accident.
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| 8. My car was legally parked as it backed into the
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| other vehicle.
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| 9. As I approached the intersection a sign suddenly
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| appeared in a place where no sign had ever
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| appeared before, I was unable to stop in time
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| to avoid the accident.
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| 10. I told the police I was not injured, but upon
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| removing my hair, I found that I had a
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| fractured skull.
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| 11. I was sure the old fellow would never make it
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| to the other side of the road when I struck
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| him.
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| 12. I saw a slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman as
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| he bounced off the hood of my car.
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| 13. The indirect cause of the accident was a little
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| guy in a small car with a big mouth.
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| 14. I was thrown from my car as it left the road,
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| and was later found in a ditch by some stray
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| cows.
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| 15. A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 16. I thought my window was down, but I found out it
|
||
|
| was up when I put my head through it.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 17. To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front,
|
||
|
| I struck the pedestrian.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 18. The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a
|
||
|
| number of times before I hit him.
|
||
|
(Number 18 gets my vote -- BB)
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 19. The pedestrian had no idea which way to run, so
|
||
|
| I ran over him.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 20. An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my
|
||
|
| car and vanished.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 21. A truck backed through my windshield into my
|
||
|
| wife's face.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
| 22. I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced
|
||
|
| at my mother-in-law, and headed over the
|
||
|
| embankment.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
====================
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The following is a copy of some correspondance which took place between
|
||
|
one of our editors and a Mr. Lewis Carroll:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dear Mr. Carroll,
|
||
|
The publisher has referred to me your latest work, a poem
|
||
|
called "Jabberwocky," for editing. "Jabberwocky" seems rife
|
||
|
with misspellings and typos; I assumed that these were
|
||
|
unintentional and the fault of your typist.
|
||
|
Fortunately, we have recently purchased PROFS (Professional
|
||
|
Office Systems), a new IBM package that includes a
|
||
|
sophisticated proofreader and spelling checker. This
|
||
|
program is able to guess quite accurately as to what the
|
||
|
misspelled word may actually be. PROFS also offers synonyms
|
||
|
and alternatives for words, and it can note redundant,
|
||
|
awkward or wordy phrases.
|
||
|
I have run "Jabberwocky" through this program. Granted,
|
||
|
your obvious intent is to produce a work of fantasy, so I've
|
||
|
taken some of your proper nouns to be creations of your
|
||
|
imagination.
|
||
|
Certain words, however, weren't clear. For example, the
|
||
|
first line of your original text read: "Twas brillig, and
|
||
|
the slithy toves." The only words recognized by the PROFS
|
||
|
proofreader were "and the."
|
||
|
When I hit a key marked "aid," I get a list of what PROFS
|
||
|
construes to be possible spellings of a flagged word. With
|
||
|
"slithy," PROFS came up with slithery, slimy, slither,
|
||
|
slimly, silty, slinky, and slight. Your typist must have
|
||
|
inadvertently dropped the "er" from "slithery" and come up
|
||
|
with the nonsense "slithy." Of course, I fixed the word to
|
||
|
say "slithery."
|
||
|
And so it goes. I continued to make repairs as I deemed
|
||
|
fit. But Mr. Carroll, the mistakes were not always clear.
|
||
|
For example, in the first verse your text read: "All mimsy
|
||
|
were the borogoves." The computer thought that you had
|
||
|
meant to say: "All misty were the bongoes," but bongoes is
|
||
|
a far shot from borogoves. What did you mean by borogoves?
|
||
|
In the second verse, you warn to "shun the frumious
|
||
|
Bandersnatch!" "Frumious" is obviously a misspelling of
|
||
|
"furious"; however, I have no idea as to just what a
|
||
|
Bandersnatch might be. Our computer has suggested
|
||
|
"Ballerinas," but I suspect that you had something better in
|
||
|
mind.
|
||
|
Mr. Carroll, I've edited many fantasies, so I must warn you
|
||
|
that I am familiar with all forms of sword, be they elfish,
|
||
|
dwarfish or otherwise. I have already heard of the "vorpal
|
||
|
sword" you mentioned in verse three. It seems to have
|
||
|
|
||
|
gained popularity among role-playing game enthusiasts,(1)
|
||
|
but I'm not sure its reference is appropriate here. The
|
||
|
computer certainly doesn't have "vorpal" in its memory, so
|
||
|
I'm not sure that the public would appreciate your using the
|
||
|
word. I have let the computer substitute "verbal" for
|
||
|
"vorpal," and I believe that you will find the result has a
|
||
|
nice ring to it.
|
||
|
Some of the other gems that your secretary came up with
|
||
|
include an "uffish" thought, "whiffling" when you certainly
|
||
|
meant "waffling," and some sort of wood. She called it a
|
||
|
"tulgey wood." Again the computer came through: Did you
|
||
|
mean "turkey wood?" Admittedly, the computer had quite a
|
||
|
time with "turkey wood"; it insisted that it should have
|
||
|
been "turkey would." But that would have been nonsense. A
|
||
|
good editor shouldn't be afraid to override a computer.
|
||
|
When I first saw the word "chortled" I was sure that you had
|
||
|
made it up!(2) The computer didn't flag it as being
|
||
|
misspelled, but it couldn't offer any synonyms for it
|
||
|
either. On looking it up, I was amused to discover that it
|
||
|
was meant to be a cross between a chuckle and a snort. How
|
||
|
clever of you to find it!
|
||
|
Well, enough criticism. I'm sure your poem is salvageable.
|
||
|
It's a pity, though, that even "cleaned up" this poem would
|
||
|
be far too difficult for children to read. One function of
|
||
|
the PROFS proofreader is to check the comprehension level of
|
||
|
a word. I'm afraid that some of the words you use are level
|
||
|
16, i.e., a person would have to be a graduate student or
|
||
|
better to understand the word. That's too bad, because
|
||
|
there's quite a market for children's verse.
|
||
|
Anyway, I've underlined the unrecognizable words in your
|
||
|
original and I'm returning it to you. I've also enclosed
|
||
|
the result of my collaboration with the computer; I believe
|
||
|
that you will find the corrected version to be pleasing,
|
||
|
understandable and in keeping with your reputation. Let me
|
||
|
know what you think. I hope you understand that there are
|
||
|
few publishers out there who care to take the time to work
|
||
|
with promising authors.
|
||
|
Yours truly,
|
||
|
xxxxx xxxxxx
|
||
|
--------------------
|
||
|
(1) To "Dungeons and Dragons" players, a "vorpal sword" has
|
||
|
the power to sever limbs when the player rolls 18 or higher.
|
||
|
The word is a Carroll creation.
|
||
|
(2) "Chortle," a word coined by Carroll, has worked its way
|
||
|
into standard dictionaries.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
JABBERWOCKY
|
||
|
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
|
||
|
----- ------- ------ -----
|
||
|
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
|
||
|
---- ------ ----
|
||
|
All mimsy were the borogoves,
|
||
|
----- ---------
|
||
|
And the mome raths outgrabe.
|
||
|
---- ----- --------
|
||
|
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
|
||
|
----------
|
||
|
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
|
||
|
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
|
||
|
------
|
||
|
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
|
||
|
-------- ------------
|
||
|
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
|
||
|
------
|
||
|
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
|
||
|
-------
|
||
|
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
|
||
|
------
|
||
|
And stood awhile in thought
|
||
|
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
|
||
|
------
|
||
|
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
|
||
|
----------
|
||
|
Came wiffling through the tulgey wood,
|
||
|
-------- ------
|
||
|
And burbled as it came!
|
||
|
One, two! One, two! And through and through
|
||
|
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
|
||
|
------
|
||
|
He left it dead, and with its head
|
||
|
He went galumphing back.
|
||
|
----------
|
||
|
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
|
||
|
----
|
||
|
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
|
||
|
-------
|
||
|
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
|
||
|
-------- ------- ------
|
||
|
He chortled in his joy.
|
||
|
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
|
||
|
----- ------- ------ -----
|
||
|
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
|
||
|
---- ------ ----
|
||
|
All mimsy were the borogoves,
|
||
|
----- ---------
|
||
|
And the mome raths outgrabe.
|
||
|
---- ----- --------
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
JABBERWHACKY
|
||
|
'Twas broiling, and the slithery toes
|
||
|
Did gore and gimlet in the wave:
|
||
|
All misty were the bongoes,
|
||
|
And the mole rats outraged.
|
||
|
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
|
||
|
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
|
||
|
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
|
||
|
The furious Ballerinas!"
|
||
|
He took his verbal sword in hand:
|
||
|
Long time the meantime foe he sought --
|
||
|
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
|
||
|
And stood awhile in thought
|
||
|
And, as in iffiest thought he stood,
|
||
|
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
|
||
|
Came waffling through the turkey wood,
|
||
|
And burbled as it came!
|
||
|
One, two! One, two! And through and through
|
||
|
The verbal blade went snicker-snack!
|
||
|
He left it dead, and with its head
|
||
|
He went galloping back.
|
||
|
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
|
||
|
Come to my arms, my beaming boy!
|
||
|
O fabulous day! Callooh! Callay!"
|
||
|
He chortled in his joy.
|
||
|
'Twas broiling, and the slithery toes
|
||
|
Did gore and gimlet in the wave:
|
||
|
All misty were the bongoes,
|
||
|
And the mole rats outraged.
|
||
|
|
||
|
====================
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
ZEN AND THE ART OF SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
(Translated from the P'-u-t'ung hua dialect by W.C.Carlson)
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Editor's Note: The following are excerpts from the only known
|
||
|
treatise on Zen Software Documentation. Called "H'ring-chu-tsu", which
|
||
|
literally translates to "Ink of Several Insignificant Matters", this
|
||
|
treatise was written in 12th Century Japan by the scholarly monk
|
||
|
E'm-ie-T'. That it discusses Software documentation -- predating the
|
||
|
advent of software by 850 years -- is but another of the mysteries of
|
||
|
those who walk the true path.
|
||
|
This article should be read twice.
|
||
|
|
||
|
On Preparing to Write of Software
|
||
|
|
||
|
To prepare for the writing of Software, the writer must first
|
||
|
become one with it, sometimes two. Software is untasteable, opalescent,
|
||
|
transparent; the user sees not the software, so the writer must see
|
||
|
through it. Spend long, quiet mornings in meditation. Do not sharpen
|
||
|
the mind, but rather blunt it by doing Zen crosswords.
|
||
|
(Ed. note: Zen crosswords are done by consulting only the "Down" clues;
|
||
|
and always in the mind, never on paper.)
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The mind should be rooted but flexible, as a long stemmed flower
|
||
|
faces the Sun yet bends with the Wind. Think not of compound adjectives
|
||
|
because they tend to wire the mind in two directions. Rather, consider
|
||
|
the snowflake, which radiates in beauty in any and all directions.
|
||
|
Partake of strong drink.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Do not study the Software; let it study you. Allow the Software
|
||
|
admission to your mind, but keep in the cheap seats. Let it flow around
|
||
|
you at its own pace. Do not disturb or dismay it, but keep it from your
|
||
|
private parts because it tends to coalesce there.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
When the Software is with you, you will know it. It will lead your
|
||
|
mind where it should be, and prepare you for the narcolepsy that is cert
|
||
|
ain to follow. You will know when the Software is with you, and so will
|
||
|
others. You will smile with an inner smile. Typewriters will frighten
|
||
|
you. You will fall down a lot.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The first exercise in writing Software documentation is the Haiku.
|
||
|
Haiku are 17 syllable poem forms in which many ideas of a single concept
|
||
|
are reduced -- nay, distilled -- into a short, impressionistic poem.
|
||
|
For example, the Haiku for preparing to write of Software goes:
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Emptiness on paper;
|
||
|
Fleeting thought.
|
||
|
Red Sox play at Fenway's
|
||
|
Green Park.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
By concentrating on the Softwares form and function in a concise,
|
||
|
subliminal, truly meaningless Haiku verse, you have transcended the
|
||
|
Software, and you can then write the true manual.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The following Haiku is from a Zen manual on Data Transmission:
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
How swiftly whirls the disk;
|
||
|
Data leaps to the floating head
|
||
|
And is known.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
And this is on Hardware Maintenance:
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
The smell of hot P.C. card,
|
||
|
Blank screen, no bell,
|
||
|
New parts will be needed.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
And another Haiku, this one on Debugging:
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
All the lights are frozen;
|
||
|
The cursor blinks blandly.
|
||
|
Soon, I shall see the dump.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Let the Haikku thoughts free your mind from your fingers. Your fingers
|
||
|
will write what must be written. Soon you will be in Doc. Prep.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
On the Review Cycle
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
This is the murkiest path. Storms gather and disperse around you
|
||
|
many directions, none of which are in English. The path becomes unclear
|
||
|
as many an idea compete for attention. Some of them are fatal.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
But the writer of Zen Software documentation fears not the
|
||
|
turbulence of review cycles. Let it storm around you and be dry, warm,
|
||
|
and safe in the knowledge that you have written the pure manual.
|
||
|
Anyway, you know the printer. You shall in the end have it your way.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Editor's Note: If you enjoyed this article, you may not wish to
|
||
|
read the following one.
|
||
|
|
||
|
====================
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Editor's Note: This article is written in UPPER case so that it
|
||
|
will not be taken lightly.
|
||
|
|
||
|
REAL PROGRAMMERS DON'T EAT QUICHE
|
||
|
---------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T EAT QUICHE. IN FACT, RP DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SPELL QUICHE.
|
||
|
THEY EAT TWINKIES AND SZECHWAN FOOD.
|
||
|
|
||
|
REAL PROGRAMMERS (RP) DON'T WRITE SPECS -- USERS SHOULD CONSIDER
|
||
|
THEMSELVES LUCKY TO GET ANY PROGRAMS AT ALL AND TAKE WHAT THEY GET.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T COMMENT THEIR CODE. IF IT IS HARD TO WRITE, IT SHOULD BE HARD
|
||
|
TO UNDERSTAND.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T WRITE APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS; THEY PROGRAM RIGHT DOWN TO THE
|
||
|
BARE METAL. APPLICATIONS PROGRAMMING IS FOR DWEEBS WHO CAN'T DO
|
||
|
SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T WRITE IN COBOL. COBOL IS FOR WIMPY APPLICATIONS PROGRAMMERS.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP' PROGRAMS NEVER WORK RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. BUT IF YOU THROW THEM ON
|
||
|
THE MACHINE THEY CAN BE PATCHED INTO WORKING IN "ONLY A FEW" 30-HOUR
|
||
|
DEBUGGING SESSIONS.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T WRITE IN FORTRAN. FORTRAN IS FOR PIPE-STRESS FREAKS AND
|
||
|
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY WEENIES.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP NEVER WORK 9-5. IF ANY RP ARE EVEN AROUND AT 9AM, THEY WERE UP
|
||
|
ALL NIGHT.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP NEVER WRITE IN BASIC. ACTUALLY, NO PROGRAMMERS EVER WRITE IN BASIC
|
||
|
AFTER THE AGE OF 12.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T WRITE IN PL/1. PL/1 IS FOR PROGRAMMERS THAT CAN'T DECIDE
|
||
|
BETWEEN COBOL AND FORTRAN.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T PLAY TENNIS, OR ANY OTHER SPORT THAT REQUIRES YOU TO CHANGE
|
||
|
CLOTHES. MOUNTAIN CLIMBING IS OK, AND RP WEAR THEIR CLIMBING BOOTS
|
||
|
TO WORK IN CASE A MOUNTAIN SUDDENLY SPRINGS UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
|
||
|
MACHINE ROOM.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T WRITE IN PASCAL, OR BLISS, OR ADA, OR ANY OF THOSE PINKO
|
||
|
COMPUTER SCIENCE LANGUAGES. STRONGB TYPING IS FOR PEOPLE WITH WEAK
|
||
|
MINDS.
|
||
|
|
||
|
RP DON'T DOCUMENT. DOCUMENTATION IS FOR SIMPS WHO CAN'T READ THE
|
||
|
LISTINGS OR THE OBJECT DECK.
|
||
|
|
||
|
=====================
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
SpecialFeatureSpecialFeatureSpecialFeatureSpecialFeatureSpecialFeature
|
||
|
|
||
|
Valentine's Day Personals !!!
|
||
|
|
||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
|
||
|
Snugglebuns,
|
||
|
Please believe me when I say that I didn't mean anything
|
||
|
by it when I ate your cat. Honestly, I meant well. Love, Mingo.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Jerry,
|
||
|
Happy Val's Day and good luck with your operation. Can't wait to
|
||
|
start calling you Geraldine!! Kisses, LuvyDuvy.
|
||
|
|
||
|
To the Gentleman I met at the ACM Party:
|
||
|
I don't know if you recall having a rather interesting I/O
|
||
|
(mostly "I", hee hee) session with me the other night, but I must
|
||
|
tell you that your interface control was the longest and most
|
||
|
exhilarating I've been lucky enough to peruse in a long time.
|
||
|
I hope you enjoyed "DEBUG." Call me sometime, Shnookums.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Sandy,
|
||
|
I love the gorilla suit. But next time, remember to bring
|
||
|
the clothespins ok? Later, Spiff.
|
||
|
|
||
|
L F.
|
||
|
If only you understood how utterly deep my feelings are for you...
|
||
|
I'm confident that you'll soon take a long look at the situation,
|
||
|
and realize what a fool you've been by keeping me in the shadows
|
||
|
for so very long. When you are prepared to return the love that I
|
||
|
have to offer you, please tell me. Until then, I promise to
|
||
|
cut one of my body-parts off each day as a sign of my love for you.
|
||
|
I love you, CJ.
|
||
|
|
||
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|