“Computer,” said Zaphod, “tell us again what our present trajectory is.”
“A real pleasure, feller,” it burbled, “we are currently in orbit at an altitude of 300 miles around the legendary planet of Magrathea.”
“Proving nothing,” said Ford. “I wouldn’t trust that computer to speak my weight.”
“I can do that for you, sure,” enthused the computer, punching out more tickertape. “I can even work out your personality problems to 10 decimal places if it will help.”
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
When you’re in a place of natural silence, you’re not alone, and you can feel it. Whether it’s birdcalls from miles away or the proximity of a giant tree whose warm tones you can feel, there’s a presence, It’s a quieting experience.
MACBETH: Speak if you can. What are you? FIRST WITCH: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! SECOND WITCH All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! THIRD WITCH All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! BANQUO Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that do sound so fair? I’ th’ name of truth, are you fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly you show? My noble partner you greet with present grace and great prediction of noble having and of royal hope, that he seems rapt withal.
MACBETH Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more. A prosperous gentleman, and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief. Witches vanish. BANQUO The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, and these are of them. Whither are they vanished? MACBETH Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted, as breath into the wind. Would they had stayed! BANQUO Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner? MACBETH Your children shall be kings. BANQUO You shall be king.
It is the part of ourselves we do not normally admit to consciousness, let alone expression in action, that slips past the inner censor into our dreams and fantasies.
OUR REBEL EMOTIONSby Bernard Mobbs (1970)
This devilishly charming fellow is only a human nature characteristic. He is human nature itself; the corporeal personality honoring, respecting, reverencing, adoring and worshipping itself as king and as god in his own world.
THE WORD – A PHILOSOPHY (1958) by Edna Sarah Beardsley (re: devil)
A man walks upright. For him it is strenuous to climb a steep hill, because he has to keep pushing his own vertical mass upward and cannot gain any momentum.
The rabbit is better off. His forelegs support his horizontal body and the great back legs do the work. They are more than equal to thrusting uphill the light mass in front of them.
Rabbits can go fast uphill. In fact, they have so much power behind that they find going downhill awkward, and sometimes, in flight down a steep place, they may actually go head over heels.
Had a great test ride today. Harley-DavidsonLiveWire has a very strong, broad powerband and handles quite well as a quiet (and sweet smelling) street bike.
Expected sunny weather but instead got drenched by a cloudburst when approaching the foothills around the valley, so I stuck with the streets around town and put off riding the winding back roads. Still, lots of fun.
I am thoroughly invested in electrifying California with focus on electric motorcycles. LiveWire is #1 in the lineup of futuristic transportation vehicles.
Just think of the many issues needing resolution before the year 2034, including fortifying the energy grid and making electric recharging more convenient. It’s an exciting challenge.
After he got up I asked how he was feeling. “Terrible,” he said, “hurt my wrist.” Then he ran up to the car which had pulled aside a few feet ahead on Curtner.
I was ambivalent about getting more involved because, although the driver was at fault, it was the bicyclist who ran into the car.
They both worked entire lives in the steel mills. Andy was one of the very last relics of the Rust Belt. All the electricity, some at 13,800 volts, passed through his control room. This drawing above is his diagram of the main switches.