Category Archives: Random Thoughts

You are supposed to add "…in bed" to the end of every fortune.

It is a good thing that I’m not a landlord chasing people for rent payments.  Apparently, these days that is the path to failure. (wah wah wah)

Ziggy figured this one out 15 years ago.

There is the  possibility that this fortune is supposed to say what it says and imply that you will fail if you are always renting a property, I will go out on a limb here and guess that the author of the above fortune meant to write, “Failure is the path of least persistence.”  This fortune was intended to be a play on the old cliche based on the scientific phenomenon of the path of least resistance. The clever play on words was actually used correctly in a Ziggy comic in 1996. 

“The path of least resistance” is an idiom for “the easiest way.” According to answers.com, it is the “physical or metaphorical pathway that provides the least resistance to forward motion by a given object or entity, among a set of alternative paths.”

As H.G. Wells said, “The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.” One can also deduce that if you are not persistent, you are also going to fail. Bravo to the person who came up with this clever variation on the theme (I don’t think it was the fortune cookie company), but a big fat “F” (for failure) to the person who didn’t check the final copy.

You can run your copy through the spell checker a million times, but there is no replacement for the human eye.  Not even a grammar checker can do a fool-proof job at making sure you are getting your message across correctly.  Say what you mean and mean what you say. Do your due diligence and read through everything that goes out the door.  At the end of the day, you’ll be glad you did.

Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955)

I have heard many people say “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is not true.  The aforementioned quote is primarily attributed to Albert Einstein, but this and other variations of the quote have been attributed to others as well including Benjamin Franklin, an old Chinese proverb, and Rita Mae Brown.” In addition, countless 12 step programs use this as their mantra.

One should always be cautious when quoting or defining a term.  Be sure that you have verified your sources before you carve them in stone.

The Definition of insanity according to Oxford Dictionary is “the state of being seriously mentally ill.” or “Extreme foolishness or irrationality.” One who is mentally ill, may or may not exhibit the behaviors that Einstein mentions.

The devil is in the details.  Watch out!