4 September 2011 – Amusements

These from Dad.

PARAPROSDOKIANS

I had to look up “paraprosdokian”. Here is the definition: “Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.” “Where there’s a will, I want to be in it,” is a type of paraprosdokian.

So, here are more paraprosdokians; enjoy!

  1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
  2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on my list.
  3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  4. If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
  5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public..
  6. War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
  7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  8. Evening news is where they begin with ‘Good Evening,’ and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
  9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
  10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
  11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
  12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, ‘In case of emergency, notify: ‘I put ‘DOCTOR.’
  13. I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
  14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
  15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
  16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
  17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way.  So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
  18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
  19. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
  20. There’s a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can’t get away.
  21. I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.
  22. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
  23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
  24. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.
  25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
  26. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.
  28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.
  29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.
  30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
  31. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
  32. How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
  33. The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
  34. Some people hear voices. Some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever
  35. Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
  36. A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it.
  37. Some people are like Slinkies … not really good for anything, but you can’t help smiling when you see one tumble down the stairs.
  38. Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
  39. A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.
  40. If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?

Words of Wisdom: “The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” Continue reading “4 September 2011 – Amusements”

28 August 2011

It’s been a bitter-sweet week; we had a couple of decent days early in the week, an exceptionally grand family picnic, a round of golf and a very nice meal out (with voucher, of course). However, I also had the misfortune to tweak my back on Wednesday and then, on Thursday afternoon, Adam had to depart on his journey home, the bitterest blow of the week and a sad reminder that the summer is winding to its conclusion.
Continue reading “28 August 2011”

28 August 2011 – Amusements

A mother and father were chatting with their eight-year-old son about his future. The youngster said he’d like to attend Cornell, as his parents and other members of the family had. Pleased with his response, they pressed on. “What would you like to take when you attend college?” they asked the little boy.

After giving it some thought and glancing around the kitchen, he replied, “The refrigerator, if you can get along without it.” Continue reading “28 August 2011 – Amusements”

21 August 2011

Smoking GunAs far as “smoking guns” go, the latest revelation in the on-going phone hacking saga concerning Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is pretty significant. One can certainly smell the cordite if not actually see the wisps of smoke. The latest document to be released this week by the Commons Select Committee is a letter written by Clive Goodman four years ago protesting his sacking from the News of the World following his conviction and imprisonment for hacking the royal family. News Corps has always alleged that he was the “one rogue reporter.” However, his letter claims that phone hacking was widely discussed at editorial meetings until Andy Coulson, the editor at the time and more recently David Cameron’s media adviser, specifically banned further references to it, that Coulson assured him his job would be safe if he did not implicate the newspaper when he came to court and that his own hacking was carried out “with the full knowledge and support” of other senior journalists whom he named. Continue reading “21 August 2011”

21 August 2011 – Amusements

One day Pinocchio came to Gepetto with a problem.

“Every time I have sex with my girlfriend, she gets splinters. What can I do about this?”

“Have you tried sandpaper?” Pinocchio hadn’t, so he went to try it.

“Pinocchio,” said Gepetto a few weeks later. “How did the problem work out with your girlfriend?”

Pinocchio replied, “Who needs a girlfriend when you have sandpaper?” Continue reading “21 August 2011 – Amusements”

14 August 2011

Was it always this bad? I suspect it might have been but not having to access too many government agencies in the past perhaps I just wasn’t aware of just how useless they are. On Friday I had two examples of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was up to if indeed the left hand even knew that there was a right hand.

HM Revenue and CustomsFirstly, we had a letter from HM Revenue and Customs chastising SeamStress Ltd for failing to pay the employee’s share of tax (PAYE in the UK) and insisting that we forward a small fortune immediately or face prosecution if not castration. Fortunately, SeamStress filed the necessary paper work back in April to sack all its employees and insist that they become self-employed. SeamStress Ltd. itself is about to be wound up now that the company financial year has finished (31 July). I suspect you will remember all this but unfortunately the Revenue doesn’t, in spite of having previously sent confirmation that Ms Playchute herself is now obliged to pay her National Insurance personally and that it will no longer be paid by SeamStress Ltd. This required a phone call to the Revenue’s fine offices in Glasgow where we spoke with a lovely lady with an impenetrable Scottish accent who eventually accepted what we told her. (An aside: because the company is registered in Penny’s name she must give approval for the Revenue to speak with me, which we have done three or four times in the past. Nevertheless, every time we have cause to speak with them they insist on asking Penny to come to the phone, identify herself and then authorise me to speak on her behalf. So, on Friday we were proceeding through this pantomime when the lady at the other end asked, apparently, for Penny’s son’s name. Somewhat perplexed, Penny enquired why HM Revenue and Customs needed our son’s name (and, I suppose, which son did they want the name of?). In fact, it turns out that the impenetrable accent was asking her to confirm her surname). Continue reading “14 August 2011”

14 August 2011 – Amusements

The Irish have the lowest levels of stress because they do not take medical terminology seriously:

Medical Term Irish Definition
Artery  The study of paintings
Bacteria  The back door to the cafeteria
Barium  What doctors do when patients die
Benign  What you be after you be eight
Caesarean Section  A nieghbourhood in Rome
Cat scan  Searching for kitty
Cauterize  Made eye contact with her
Colic  A sheep dog
Coma  A punctuation mark
Dilate  To live long
Enema  Not a friend
Fester  Quicker than someone else
Fibula  A small lie
Impotent  Distinguished, well-known
Labour Pain  Getting hurt at work
Medical Staff  A doctor’s cane
Morbid  A high offer
Nitrates  Rates of pay for working at night, normally more money than days
Node  I knew it
Outpatient  A person who has fainted
Pelvis  Second cousin to Elvis
Post-Operative  A letter carrier
Recovery Room  Place to do upholstery
Rectum  Nearly killed him
Secretion  Hiding something
Seizure  Roman Emperor
Tablet  A small table
Terminal illness  Getting sick at the airport
Tumour  One plus one more
Urine  Opposite of you’re out

Continue reading “14 August 2011 – Amusements”

7 August 2011

What a difference a week makes! Last week we were still basking in the glow of the memory of Tuscan sunshine; this week we have come back to earth and reality – arguing and negotiating with our broadband provider, our telecommunications provider and BT (British Telecom who provide all the infrastructure for the various providers to utilise) over who should rectify the fact that we have intermittent or no internet access.

On Wednesday it rained after an extended dry spell. On Wednesday, after weeks, months and perhaps even years of almost flawless service, the internet started playing up. In the past when we’ve had internet or telephone issues the fault has always been located in the junction box on a telephone pole on the other side of the road. Of course, one cannot simply telephone BT and report a fault in any of their equipment; one is required to jump through various hoops with either the broadband provider and/or the telephone provider to determine whether the fault is internal or external to the house. Our experiences in the past would suggest that the fault was likely outside but we still need our providers to confirm this. So, on Wednesday we telephoned support. The problem was that the fault was intermittent and, in fact, the internet was working more than not. So, after a few pointless investigations, we crossed our fingers, held our breath and all of Thursday and Friday it was fine. Then, on Saturday it started again and we were back (a) on the phone and (b) swapping out every piece of equipment in an effort to try and determine where the fault lay. After several hours of fruitless investigation (which involves climbing into the loft and plugging equipment into the main socket) our broadband provider conceded that the fault must clearly be somewhere outside. So, over to BT to send an engineer which they will do . . . sometime on Monday. Continue reading “7 August 2011”

7 August 2011 – Amusements

A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring. This man knows his co-worker to be a normally, conservative fellow, and is curious about his sudden change in “fashion sense.” The man walks up to him and says, “I didn’t know you were into earrings.”

“Don’t make a big deal, it’s only an earring,” he replies sheepishly.

His friend falls silent for a few minutes, but then his curiosity prods him to say, “So, how long have you been wearing one?”

“Ever since my wife found it in my truck.”


John and Suzi had just flown to their honeymoon destination in Daytona Beach in Florida. They found their hotel room but decided to refresh themselves with a dip in the hotel pool. Suzi must have dropped a few pounds due to the pre-wedding jitters, because each time she dived into the pool, she lost either the top or bottom of her skimpy new bikini. They had the pool to themselves, so they just laughed and retrieved the pieces.

Later they dressed for dinner and went down to the hotel restaurant. Waiting for a table they sat in the lounge with all the other guests and ordered drinks. Above the bar was a huge, empty, glistening fish tank. Curious, John asked, “Why is such a beautiful fish tank empty?”

The bartender grinned from ear to ear as he replied, “That’s not a fish tank, it’s the swimming pool.”


A man walked into the produce section of a local supermarket and asked to buy a half head of lettuce. The boy working in that department told him that they only sold whole heads of lettuce. The man was insistent that the boy ask his manager about the matter.

Walking into the back room, the boy said to the manager: “Some asshole wants to buy a half head of lettuce.”

The manager was looking behind the boy, so the boy turned around to see the man standing right behind him. So he quickly added: “And this gentleman kindly offered to buy the other half.”

The manager approved the deal and the man went on his way. Later the manager said to the boy: “I was impressed with the way you got yourself out of that situation earlier. We like people who think on their feet here.”

“Thank you, sir,” the boy replied.

“Where are you from, son?”

“Texas, sir.”

“Well, why did you leave Texas?” the manager asked.

The boy said “Sir, there’s nothing down there but whores and football players!”

“Really,” said the manager. “My wife is from Texas.”

“No kidding!” replied the boy. “What position does she play?”


31 July 2011

MontefegatesiSo, here we are after a wonderful two weeks in Tuscany. I have to say, the whole vacation exceeded my expectations and although we had a couple of days of slightly dodgy weather, the villa was fantastic, the area is gorgeous, the family and friends were magnificent and, all in all, it was just about perfect. I guess the only imperfection was having to come home.

Our second week was, apart from one long day out, somewhat more local and relaxed than the first. On Saturday Ben, Nick, Lucy and Bump had to set off fairly early to make their way to the airport and our new guests, the Waltons and Kelly-Browns weren’t due to arrive until late in the evening. So, Adam, Pen, J and I had the day to ourselves. We decided to set off in the car to Montefegatesi, a magnificent hilltop village about thirteen km from Bagni di Lucca. It’s actually probably only about five or six km from here as the crow flies but it’s towards the top of the mountains and hence is accessed by narrow, winding roads that snake their way up the hillside. It’s a gloriously exciting drive up through chestnut woods with fabulous views of the peaks above and the foothills below, the excitement intensifying on every hairpin curve as you wonder whether you will meet another mad Italian careening down the hill. Fortunately, the SatNav guided us expertly and equally fortunately we met only a few other vehicles on the way up. Meeting the bus on the way down the mountain was more than exciting enough. Continue reading “31 July 2011”