As of March 98
An engineering student was walking on campus one day when another engineering
student rode up on a shiny new bicycle.
"Where did you get such a nice
bike?" asked the first.
The second engineer replied "Well, yesterday I
was walking along minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this
bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said 'Take
what you want!'"
The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice,
the clothes probably wouldn't have fit.
Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device called BOOK. The BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on.
It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover!Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere - even sitting in an armchair by the fire - yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here's how it works. Each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs in half. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now BOOKs with more information simply use more pages. This makes them thicker and harder to carry, and has drawn some criticism from the mobile computing crowd.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The BOOK never crashes and never needs rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session - even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOKmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK. You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS).
Portable, durable, and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the entertainment wave of the future. The BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform. Look for a flood of new titles soon.
Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
For Immediate Release: Veteran Pillsbury Spokesmodel Pop-N-Fresh died yesterday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71. Fresh was buried in one of the largest ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of celebrities turned out including Mrs. Butterworth, The California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, and the Hostess Twinkies. The Gravesite was piled high with flours as longtime friend Aunt Jemima gave the eulogy, describing Fresh as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded."
Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much time on half-baked schemes. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions. Fresh is survived by his second wife. They have two children and one in the oven.
The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.
Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed,
A poor college kid,
barely kept his family fed,
But then one day he was talking to a
recruiter,
Who said, "they pay big bucks if ya work on a computer..."
(Windows, that is... PC's... Workstations...)
Well, the first thing ya know ol' Jed's an Engineer.
The kinfolk said
"Jed, move away from here."
They said "California is the place ya oughta
be,"
So he bought some donuts and moved to Silicon Valley...
(Intel, that
is... Pentium ... big amusement park...)
On his first day at work, they stuck him in a cube.
Fed him more donuts
and sat him at a tube.
They said "your project's late, but we know just what
to do.
Instead of 40 hours, we'll work you 52!"
(OT, that is... unpaid...
mandatory...)
The weeks rolled by and things were looking bad.
Schedules started
slipping and some managers were mad.
They called another meeting and decided
on a fix.
The answer was simple... "We'll work him sixty-six!"
(Tired,
that is... stressed out... no social life...)
Months turned to years and his hair was turning grey.
Jed worked very
hard while his life slipped away.
Waiting to retire when he turned
64,
Instead he got a call and escorted out the door.
(Laid off, that is...
de-briefed... unemployed...)
Now the moral of the story is listen to what you're told,
Companies will
use you and discard you when you're old.
So gather up your friends and start
up your own firm,
Beat the competition, and watch the bosses
squirm.
(Millionaires, that is... Bill Gates... Steve Jobs...)
Y'all come back now... ya hear'.
Here's a handy guide for those of you who have to deal with vendors, customers, or other divisions on the left coast.
| East Coast | West Coast |
| absolutely not | maybe |
| yes | maybe |
| action item by Feb 12 for Joe | Joe's working on the problem |
| bozo | subcontractor |
| brawl | design review |
| dictator | facilitator |
| do it and do it now | can you sign up for this program? |
| do it right or you're fired | I'm confident you'll get it done |
| fuck off | trust me |
| follow the spec | is there a spec? |
| get out of my office | let's get consensus on this one |
| he's a jerk | he's not signed on to our plan |
| he's a subordinate | he's a team player |
| I'll cover your ass | consider me your resource |
| ignore him, he's new | I'm bringing him up to speed |
| local bar | offsite facility |
| meet me in the parking lot | let's take that discussion offline |
| oh shit | thanks for bringing that to my attention |
| over designed | robust |
| punch his lights out | constructive confrontation |
| shut the fuck up | thank you for your input |
| shut up a minute | let me share this with you |
| that's totally incompetent | let me build on that point |
| unemployed | consulting |
| over budget | on schedule |
| under budget | we haven't started yet |
| we finished early | (no translation available) |
| we're done | how do you feel about that? |
| what's your problem? | I certainly understand your feelings |
| where's the spec? | what's a spec? |
| where's the schedule? | what's the game plan? |
| your plan sucks | let me share my feelings on this plan |
This truck driver hauling a tractor-trailer load of computers stops for a beer. As he approaches the bar he sees a big sign on the door saying "NERDS NOT ALLOWED -- ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!" He goes in and sits down. The bartender comes over to him, sniffs, says he smells kind of nerdy, asks him what he does for a living. The truck driver says he drives a truck, and the smell is just from the computers he is hauling. The bartender says OK, truck drivers are not nerds, and serves him a beer.
As he is sipping his beer, a skinny guy walks in with tape around his glasses, a pocket protector with twelve kinds of pens and pencils, and a belt at least a foot too long. The bartender, without saying a word, pulls out a shotgun and blows the guy away. The truck driver asks him why he did that. The bartender said not to worry, the nerds are overpopulating the Silicon Valley, and are in season now. You don't even need a license, he said.
So the truck driver finishes his beer, gets back in his truck, and heads back onto the freeway. Suddenly he veers to avoid an accident, and the load shifts. The back door breaks open and computers spill out all over the freeway. He jumps out and sees a crowd already forming, grabbing up the computers. They are all engineers, accountants and programmers wearing the nerdiest clothes he has ever seen. He can't let them steal his whole load. So remembering what happened in the bar, he pulls out his gun and starts blasting away, felling several of them instantly. A highway patrol officer comes zooming up and jumps out of the car screaming at him to stop. The truck driver said, "What's wrong? I thought nerds were in season."
"Well, sure," said the patrolman, "But you can't bait 'em."
The opening credits of The Simpsons shows Bart Simpson writing the same sentence over and over again on a chalkboard, the old "write it 100 times" punishment, which establishes him as a troublemaker. Each episode is different. Someone (not me, thank you) apparently went to the trouble of taping all the Simpsons, watching them all and writing down what Bart is writing on the board. These are the collected writings of Bart Simpson from the opening credits. Even if you're not a fan, you'll like these: