Several years ago my wife & I played what we called “long distance roulette” (speaking of roulette, which I recently was). [Note: you youngsters reading this may not know that making phone calls more than a few miles away used to cost a lot of money.] We would sign up for AT&T long distance service, then cancel it and go to Sprint…until AT&T would say, If you come back to us we’ll give you $50 worth of free long distance. Then Sprint (or whatever the latest company was) would do the same, etc. Well, we had MCI for awhile, and then paid their final bill and thought we were done with them.
However, a month later, we received a bill from MCI – it seemed they thought we owed them sixteen cents. That’s right: they spent first-class postage plus all the printing and handling costs to collect sixteen cents from us. We had a good laugh over it and threw out the bill.
However, a month later we received another bill with red letters on the front saying SECOND NOTICE. Yup, it was another bill for sixteen cents.
I wrote them a check for fifteen cents just to see what would happen…
And now, proudly framed in my office, is a bill from MCI for one cent.
A very old Aircraft Design Engineer Joke: Decades ago, maybe during the design & building of the swing wing F14 Tomcat, engineers were having a terrible problem with metal fatigue cracks & skin tears around the pivot point of the swinging area. One day in the lunch room, 3 top design engineers were lamenting the problem, when a janitor walking by, & overhearing their problem, said excuse me gentlemen, but the cure to your problem is to drill a line of perforation holes at the location of the problem area. The janitor walks away, & the 3 engineers are rolling on the floor laughing their heads off. Imagine that, a stupid janitor with a crazy idea like that! A month later in the lunch room, the engineers are there again, but now more worried than before, & discussing the ongoing problem, now even worse, having tried everything possible they know. They fear an extremely costly & way over budget redesign that would decrease the aircrafts expected performance, or even worse, result in the project cancellation & losing their jobs. Again the janitor walking by & overhearing their now desperation, stops & offers the same advice. Drill a line of perforation holes at the problem area. This time however, the engineers having given up, agree that what do they have to lose by following the advice of a janitor with probably no more than a grade school education. A few weeks later in the lunch room the 3 engineers make a point of finding the janitor, & praising him for his advice, that somehow miraculously solved their problem. They excitedly ask him how with his education level compared to theirs, why & how he would know that it would work. He says, gentlemen, I have been in the janitor business for over 30 years now, & I thought by now that most people would know, that paper towels & toilet paper rarely if ever, tear at the perforations. Moral of the story, is never ignore the advice of a “stupid” janitor!Yep. That was my last one. I will leave future ones to you others.
Karpov probably just worked out in his spare time, big deal. Play chess, then jog on his treadmill. Play chess, then eat a salad for dinner or something. Play chess, then go to an aerobics class. Play chess, then eat kale.
I assume the bees rotate within the bundle, moving from the outside to the inside and back again. This being similar to the way that Emperor Penguins survive Antarctic winters.
eromlig about 3 years ago
Another absolutely true story, comics fans:
Several years ago my wife & I played what we called “long distance roulette” (speaking of roulette, which I recently was). [Note: you youngsters reading this may not know that making phone calls more than a few miles away used to cost a lot of money.] We would sign up for AT&T long distance service, then cancel it and go to Sprint…until AT&T would say, If you come back to us we’ll give you $50 worth of free long distance. Then Sprint (or whatever the latest company was) would do the same, etc. Well, we had MCI for awhile, and then paid their final bill and thought we were done with them.
However, a month later, we received a bill from MCI – it seemed they thought we owed them sixteen cents. That’s right: they spent first-class postage plus all the printing and handling costs to collect sixteen cents from us. We had a good laugh over it and threw out the bill.
However, a month later we received another bill with red letters on the front saying SECOND NOTICE. Yup, it was another bill for sixteen cents.
I wrote them a check for fifteen cents just to see what would happen…
And now, proudly framed in my office, is a bill from MCI for one cent.
I’m just waiting for it to go into collections.
jasonsnakelover about 3 years ago
Kanatoly Arpov Karry Gasparov One time I lost 23 pounds playing chess.
Robert Ripley visited 201 countries during his lifetime.
May the Lord be with you.
monkeysky about 3 years ago
That chess championship fact must be from the same source as the Sunday fact about chess.
Also, bees will use a similar strategy to overheat and kill invaders.
charliefarmrhere about 3 years ago
So it didn’t say who won the chess game. You would have thought that would have been included. Have to check Google I guess.
charliefarmrhere about 3 years ago
A very old Aircraft Design Engineer Joke: Decades ago, maybe during the design & building of the swing wing F14 Tomcat, engineers were having a terrible problem with metal fatigue cracks & skin tears around the pivot point of the swinging area. One day in the lunch room, 3 top design engineers were lamenting the problem, when a janitor walking by, & overhearing their problem, said excuse me gentlemen, but the cure to your problem is to drill a line of perforation holes at the location of the problem area. The janitor walks away, & the 3 engineers are rolling on the floor laughing their heads off. Imagine that, a stupid janitor with a crazy idea like that! A month later in the lunch room, the engineers are there again, but now more worried than before, & discussing the ongoing problem, now even worse, having tried everything possible they know. They fear an extremely costly & way over budget redesign that would decrease the aircrafts expected performance, or even worse, result in the project cancellation & losing their jobs. Again the janitor walking by & overhearing their now desperation, stops & offers the same advice. Drill a line of perforation holes at the problem area. This time however, the engineers having given up, agree that what do they have to lose by following the advice of a janitor with probably no more than a grade school education. A few weeks later in the lunch room the 3 engineers make a point of finding the janitor, & praising him for his advice, that somehow miraculously solved their problem. They excitedly ask him how with his education level compared to theirs, why & how he would know that it would work. He says, gentlemen, I have been in the janitor business for over 30 years now, & I thought by now that most people would know, that paper towels & toilet paper rarely if ever, tear at the perforations. Moral of the story, is never ignore the advice of a “stupid” janitor!Yep. That was my last one. I will leave future ones to you others.
Caldonia about 3 years ago
Karpov probably just worked out in his spare time, big deal. Play chess, then jog on his treadmill. Play chess, then eat a salad for dinner or something. Play chess, then go to an aerobics class. Play chess, then eat kale.
boniface22 about 3 years ago
………whilst the guys on the outside freeze their nuts off.
Susan00100 about 3 years ago
Hey! Losing weight by playing chess sure beats diet and exercise! BTW, who won the match?
Space_cat about 3 years ago
Brrr! Sounds like it sucks to be a Bee on the outside of the cluster.
FassEddie about 3 years ago
Except for the gazillion pounds of micrometeorites that rain down across the region every year.
Huckleberry Hiroshima about 3 years ago
(John Wayne doing Shakespeare): Well.. Tubby, or not Tubby..
Take care, may dictionary publisher Hortense Myrtle O’Word be with you, and gesundheit.
dv1093 about 3 years ago
Sorry – Playing chess and losing weight. Not related.
tremaine53 about 3 years ago
This reminds me: When those weight loss programs promise you that you’ll lose 20 pounds in the first month? They mean 20 pounds of money.
Dkram about 3 years ago
I assume the bees rotate within the bundle, moving from the outside to the inside and back again. This being similar to the way that Emperor Penguins survive Antarctic winters.
\\//_
stamps about 3 years ago
I tried the chess diet once, but it didn’t work. I think I was rooked.
Craig Westlake about 3 years ago
Well, if it worked for Comette; I’m changing my name to loadsofcash…
ex window inspector about 3 years ago
I need to take up chess then
WCraft Premium Member about 3 years ago
Good thing there wasn’t a French family named Astteroid!