Posts Tagged ‘douglas adams’

Douglas’ Guide to the 2010 Galaxy

January 6th, 2010
Douglas Adams, that is … and re-reading – and re-thinking – his wit and wisdom is one of my favorite ways to start each new year.

His quotes are in no particular order; and all of them are worth thinking about.  Enjoy!

  • “Anything that happens happens, anything that in happening causes something else to happen causes something else to happen, and anything that in happening causes itself to happen again, happens again. Although not necessarily in chronological order.”
  • “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”
  • “A learning experience is one of those things that say, “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.”
  • “Some say that the universe is made so that when we are about to understand it it changes into something even more incomprehensible. And then there are those who say that this has already happened.”
  • “We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying.”
  • “A learning experience is one of those things that say, “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.”
  • “Some say that the universe is made so that when we are about to understand it it changes into something even more incomprehensible. And then there are those who say that this has already happened.
  • “We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying.”
  • “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
    There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
  • “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”
  • “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”
  • “The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.”
  • “You live and learn. At any rate, you live.”
  • “He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. ”
  • “When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”
  • “Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
  • “The impossible often has a kind of integrity the merely improbable lacks.”
  • “Once you do know what the question actually is, you’ll know what the answer means.”
  • “Let the past hold on to itself and let the present move forward into the future.”
  • “Everybody has their moment of great opportunity in life. If you happen to miss the one you care about, then everything else becomes eerily easy.”
  • “See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.”
  • “Anything that thinks logically can be fooled by something else that thinks at least as logically as it does.”
  • “See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.”
  • “There’s always a moment when you start to fall out of love, whether it’s with a person or an idea or a cause, even if it’s one you only narrate to yourself years after the event: a tiny thing, a wrong word, a false note, which means that things can never be quite the same again.”
  • “Life is wasted on the living.”
  • “The complexities of cause and effect defy analysis.”
  • “The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.”
  • “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.”
  • “It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.”
Tags: ingenuity, endangered species, wit and wisdom, apparent disinclination, learning experience, chronological order, douglas adams
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Douglas' Guide to the 2010 Galaxy

January 6th, 2010
Douglas Adams, that is … and re-reading – and re-thinking – his wit and wisdom is one of my favorite ways to start each new year.

His quotes are in no particular order; and all of them are worth thinking about.  Enjoy!

  • “Anything that happens happens, anything that in happening causes something else to happen causes something else to happen, and anything that in happening causes itself to happen again, happens again. Although not necessarily in chronological order.”
  • “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”
  • “A learning experience is one of those things that say, “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.”
  • “Some say that the universe is made so that when we are about to understand it it changes into something even more incomprehensible. And then there are those who say that this has already happened.”
  • “We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying.”
  • “A learning experience is one of those things that say, “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that.”
  • “Some say that the universe is made so that when we are about to understand it it changes into something even more incomprehensible. And then there are those who say that this has already happened.
  • “We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying.”
  • “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
    There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
  • “Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”
  • “A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”
  • “The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.”
  • “You live and learn. At any rate, you live.”
  • “He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. ”
  • “When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”
  • “Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
  • “The impossible often has a kind of integrity the merely improbable lacks.”
  • “Once you do know what the question actually is, you’ll know what the answer means.”
  • “Let the past hold on to itself and let the present move forward into the future.”
  • “Everybody has their moment of great opportunity in life. If you happen to miss the one you care about, then everything else becomes eerily easy.”
  • “See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.”
  • “Anything that thinks logically can be fooled by something else that thinks at least as logically as it does.”
  • “See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting. Most scientists forget that.”
  • “There’s always a moment when you start to fall out of love, whether it’s with a person or an idea or a cause, even if it’s one you only narrate to yourself years after the event: a tiny thing, a wrong word, a false note, which means that things can never be quite the same again.”
  • “Life is wasted on the living.”
  • “The complexities of cause and effect defy analysis.”
  • “The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.”
  • “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by.”
  • “It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.”
Tags: chronological order, wit and wisdom, douglas adams, learning experience, ingenuity
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life, the universe, and other awesome douglas adams quotes

December 20th, 2009

Writer Douglas Adams (1952 – 2001) left behind some of my all time favorite quotes:

A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.

He attacked everything in life with a mix of extraordinary genius and naive incompetence, and it was often difficult to tell which was which.

There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

Anything that happens, happens. Anthing that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn’t necessarily do it in chronological order, though.

It’s not the fall that kills you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.

Tags: ingenuity, fools, left behind, genius, mistake, incompetence, chronological order, douglas adams, universe
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The Revolving Door Out…

May 15th, 2009

There’s something about this time of year that heralds change for me –  I’m in the midst of preparing to take the PMP certification exam, with the end result being I don’t have any extra time – or the mental energy –  to blog; but I’ll be back blogging starting June 9.

Perhaps it’s a good thing karma is not instant – eventual karma is ok, too, and deserves to be celebrated when it occurs; and some happened this week. 

“It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.” – Douglas Adams

Related Content:

“We’re all mad here.”  

I’ve often wondered how companies succeed when so much inside seems to be broken.  If we’re lucky, work only consumes 10 or so hours a day, 5 days a week – but if you work in technology, frequently it consumes a lot more time, even if it’s only mental bandwidth and …

Ego, Redux 

If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. – Friedrich Nietzsche No men are oftener wrong than those that can least bear to be so. – Francois de La Rochefoucauld There is a demand in these days for men who can make wrong appear right. – …

Help Wanted: Zookeeper with a Good Attitude. 

Most job postings are dry.  Really dry.  And – they usually include “must haves” which require skills and/or experience with everything but being able to both plumb AND re-enamel a kitchen sink.  As one hiring manager/Art Director I spoke with last week said – if any candidate ever met his team’s expectations, there …

Life on Mars 

I’m a fan of the US version of the TV show “Life on Mars,” and look forward this weekend to watching the original British production. In the meantime, I’m still laughing over two lines from tonight’s show – “One Brady short of a Bunch;” and ”Maybe you spend enough time with a crazy …

Often I Learn the Most from People Who are Clueless. 

Yesterday, my friend Sherry and I were “out and about,” enjoying a relatively warm, dry, and sunny late November day in Seattle. Sherry is a woman of many talents; in a past life was a Specialized Ed teacher.  Eventually our day included a discussion of how those students who most needed help to learn were often …

Tags: no men, pmp certification exam, life on mars, job postings, mental energy, douglas adams, hiring manager
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Thursday.

January 30th, 2009

“I never could get the hang of Thursdays.” – Douglas Adams

Related Content:

Disclaimer

When I blog, I am very careful to generalize situations or experiences to ensure they are not tied to a named person, company, or time frame since many of my experiences are not unique to me.  A lot of times I write to capture life lessons I’ve learned, most often the …

Human Nature/Human Follies

What I don’t understand will sometimes drive me crazy.   Whenever I think I understand human nature, I get thrown a curve ball and am forced to realize I don’t, and possibly never will.  Within the past five years I’ve been surprised to discover several people who were close to me became someone …

Is it the destination, the journey, or both?

There’s a useful post on lifehack.org: “34 Tips for Your Younger Self.” The advice I’d probably give my younger self is to appreciate while we don’t always control our lives or environments, we always have choices – even if our choice becomes figuring out where to go from the spot some …

Other People’s Awesome Insights…

 ”I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” – Bill Cosby, Actor “We are always getting ready to live but never living.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” – unknown “Flying is learning how to …

Serendipity, Part 2

Serendipity occurs when one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. Andre Gide said “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” Sometimes those new lands are physical places; but sometimes the new land is an internal place one must weather …

Tags: environments, integrity, douglas adams, bill cosby, content disclaimer, curve ball
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Speak of the Devil…

December 16th, 2008

I started this blog almost a year ago when I realized blogging was cheaper than therapy, and also more fun – since it allowed me to humorously capture some of the …um… interesting experiences… of my then-day job, plus other things I learned from life, most often the hard way.

I changed employers; now life is good. But the reality is good managers are few and far between, and like Elvis, bad managers are everywhere. These days several in particular are running amuck in and around the Mid-Atlantic states.

Some quotes which helped me through those dark days, and may also help you:

“War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can’t smile, grin. If you can’t grin, keep out of the way till you can.” – Winston Churchill

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” – Mark Twain

“Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.” – Winston Churchill

“It’s not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end.” – Douglas Adams

“I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had ceased to be one.” – Mark Twain

“Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement.” – Winston Churchill

“If A = success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X = work. Y = play. Z= keep your mouth shut.” – Albert Einstein

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

“When going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” – Abraham Lincoln

“I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Related Content:

Follow These Footsteps…

Work is a Four Letter Word, Part 2

“We’re all mad here.”

Guy Kawaski’s Corollary on Hiring; or, How Work Teams Go Bad

Often I Learn the Most from People Who are Clueless.

And One More Thing…

Things I’ve Learned Along the Way…

The CEO’s Secret Handbook

Tags: day job, abraham lincoln, atlantic states, albert einstein, guy kawaski, napoleon bonaparte, corollary, mark twain, good managers, work is a four letter word
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Serendipity, Part 2

November 12th, 2008

Serendipity occurs when one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

Andre Gide said “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

Sometimes those new lands are physical places; but sometimes the new land is an internal place one must weather turbulent waters to reach.

In both cases it is about the destination as well as the journey - particularly the people you meet along the way, and who choose to stick with you through the end.

Often the people who impact my life the most appear through Serendipity.  While I don’t always realize their impact at first, when I do – I really do; thank you.

“I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.” - Douglas Adams

Tags: turbulent waters, serendipity, journey, long time, andre gide
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Human Nature/Human Follies

October 23rd, 2008

What I don’t understand will sometimes drive me crazy.  

Whenever I think I understand human nature, I get thrown a curve ball and am forced to realize I don’t, and possibly never will.  Within the past five years I’ve been surprised to discover several people who were close to me became someone else while I wasn’t looking. 

Recently a friend pointed out to me to understand madness is to make it a part of you.  Now I spend less time and energy attempting to understand the hows and whys within human nature since so few people understand themselves; what drives their actions; and/or are unable to take an honest look themselves because doing so would require them to acknowledge they don’t like the person they’ve become.

When I do contemplate the darkness within others, I often turn to these quotes to help me understand people and their follies.  Perhaps they will help you do so as well:

“Most human beings have an absolute and infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” Aldous Huxley

“I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.” Aldous Huxley 

“We participate in a tragedy; at a comedy we only look.” Aldous Huxley

“Maybe this world is another planet’s Hell.”  Aldous Huxley

“They sicken of the calm, who know the storm.” Dorothy Parker

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” Douglas Adams

People love others not for who they are but for how they make them feel.” Irwin Federman

Tags: tragedy, infinite capacity, madness, follies, irwin federman, apparent disinclination, calm, aldous huxley, human nature
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Other People’s Awesome Insights…

September 10th, 2008

 ”I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby, Actor

“We are always getting ready to live but never living.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” – unknown

“Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” – Douglas Adams

“You live and learn. At any rate, you live.” – Douglas Adams

Tags: bill cosby, insights, integrity, doing the right thing, douglas adams, failure, ralph waldo emerson, people
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