@SUBJECT:The True News Digest part 18/22 [Note - What follows is one part of the True News Digest - a collection of true-life stories which didn't really warrant individual posting, but which are amusing nevertheless. The digest is quite long, and it will appear in 22 parts over the next few months - ed.] = = = = = From: ahughes@arch386.hyperdesk.com (Arch Hughes) Subject: Kids are literal A few years ago our son, when he was about 3, was getting into the habit of leaving the table before finishing his food and without first excusing himself. In the course of sternly correcting him on one of these ocassions, I told him "...and don't get your tail out of that chair until all your food is gone!" A sudden look of desperation crossed his face and he tearfully replied "But Dad, I don't *have* a tail." = = = = = From: jallen@jarthur.claremont.edu (Jeff R. Allen) Subject: Bathroom Humor Seeing Eric Vaandering's posting about a biology joke on a bathroom wall reminded me of this exchange on a bathroom wall at Harvey Mudd College: 2 E = mc Correct, Albert, but next time show your work. -10 = = = = = From: amunn@umd5.umd.edu (Alan Munn) Subject: The Joy of Cooking From Bob Levey's column in the Washington Post, originally from a Minnesota paper whose name I forget. A mother hears her son in the kitchen with a firend looking for something to eat. Very apologetically he says: "My Mom doesn't buy food, she buys ingredients." = = = = = From: imp@kolvir.solbourne.com (Warner Losh) Subject: So what is VMS anyway? About six months ago I discovered that a mischievous friend had put a "VMS FOREVER" bumper sticker on my car. The other day, one of my neighbors saw my car and asked me what VMS was. When I told him, he was rather surprised to find that it was a computer operating system. He had assumed that it was some sort of social disease... = = = = = From: sean@cs.uoregon.edu (Joseph Sean Livingston) Subject: college, true I was sitting in a graduate level computer science class during a particularly incomprehensible lecture. The instructor was speaking far above the level of the class and no one would ask a question and risk being considered ignorent. Finally somebody in the front row raised his hand. "Excuse me," he asked the instructor, "Are you talking to US?" = = = = = From: chesley@titan.ucc.umass.edu (Duncan Chesley) Subject: Down East story True Story My grandfather, who spent his whole life in Maine, riding his horse and not even doing much driving, decided late in his life, to visit his sister in California. He had never flown before. When he got to the plane he found that it was full of ministers on a charter flight to LALA land. He took his seat next to a minister, and the conversation went like this: Minister: Good morning. Grandfather: Hello. M: This is the first time I've flown. I'm a little nervous. Are you? G: Nope. M: Did you buy any flight insurance? G: Flight insurance? What for? M: Well, what if (God forbid) the plane should crash? G: What do I care? I don't own it. = = = = = From: bellas@soldev.tti.com (Pete Bellas) Subject: Congressional Campaign Robert Lynch is running for congress is our district. This Saturday when I was out driving I noticed large signs on every power pole: LYNCH CONGRESS I thought to myself "what a good idea!". = = = = = From: nicholso@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Melvin H. Nicholson YBH) Subject: Riot Humor --- TRUE STORY I overhead this on Berkeley campus this past weekend. "I can't believe that the defense got away with calling King a bear. The system is so screwed up if they'll let a man be dehumanized like that." "Yeah, the pigs are just out of control." (sigh) = = = = = From: toma@blunt.tc.cornell.edu (Rory Toma) Subject: Only in Silicon Valley Heard (or so it goes..) in a Silicon Valley video arcade. Man takes out a dollar, walks up to clerk and says: "Excuse me, could you please untar this dollar?" [Tar is a file achiving system, like arc and zip - Ant] = = = = = From: LAFORCE@xenon.arc.nasa.gov Subject: how are horses like computers? This really happened to some friends at work: A horseback riding trip had been orgainzed and everyone was going through the orientation, i.e. "anyone ever ridden (seen?) a horse before?", etc. Everyone's told: "It's simple. The horses are all neck rein trained. Hold the reins in one hand. To turn left, move the reins left. To turn right, move the reins right. If you pull back on the reins, the horse will slow down, then back up. To make the horse go, kick gently." At this point, Mark (his real name!) sez: "Oh, I get it, it's a point and kick user interface." = = = = = From: douglis@mitl.com (Fred Douglis) Subject: customer relations I just called New Jersey Bell to ask for a change in service. I got a recorded message, saying something like: You have reached New Jersey Bell. All operators are busy. Your call is very important to us. Please hold and an operator will be with you shortly. The line went dead, and a few seconds later I got a dial tone. The same thing happened when I tried again a minute later. In between, the line was consistently busy. Gee, I'd hate to see how the phone company would treat me if my call *weren't* important to them... = = = = = From: feit@era.com (Mark Feit) Subject: CNN Blooper Caption seen over footage of Boris Yeltsin speaking before a meeting of the former Soviet republics' leaders: ``NASA Animation'' Just like the Lincoln [anamatronic] exhibit at Disneyland... = = = = = From: R_Scott_Crowder@rsc.boltz.cs.cmu.edu (Scott Crowder) Subject: An honest cabbie Seen on the back of a Yellow Taxi Co. Cab: We Cheat Tourist and Drink = = = = = From: ajayshah@alhena.usc.edu (Ajay Shah) Subject: Heard this on NPR A shopping complex in California has taken to playing classical music in the mall and in the parking lot. Apparently this is very useful at keeping "rowdy" teenagers away. = = = = = From: patti@hosehead.intel.com (Patti Beadles) Subject: New Technology? Seen on a whiteboard here at Intel: Back up my hard drive? You mean these things can actually run in reverse? = = = = = From: Anonymous I heard this one on KSFO radio in San Francisco. It's a *true* story out of Waco, Texas: This bank robber goes into a bank in Waco, and to get things started, he distracts the clerk by handing him a twenty-dollar bill and asking for change. As the clerk starts to do that, the robber pulls a gun and tells the clerk to put all the money from the cash register into a bag. The clerk tells the guy, "Ok, be cool, no problem," and does as the robber demands. Then the robber flees in a car, where he later opens the bag to find... fifteen dollars in cash. And yes, you guessed it, he left the $20 bill behind. = = = = = From: denelsbe@cs.unc.edu (The KevMan) Subject: Truth In Advertising This month's "Sassy" (a magazine for young teenaged women) has several article titles on the cover, including Why Luke Perry's Name Makes You Want To Buy This This early exposure to recursion will no doubt lead many young ladies to a life in computer science. Or so I hope. -- Selected by Jim Griffith. MAIL your joke to funny@clari.net. Attribute the joke's source if at all possible. A Daemon will auto-reply.