Instead Of: Hello!
Try saying: I greet thee, o Righteous Brother!
Instead Of: Goodnight!
Try Saying: Rest well, and may the risen dead trouble you not.
Instead of: I hate that.
Try Saying: I sense there may be impurity here, but in this or in me?
Instead of: You're a Jerk!
Try saying: I fear you may have gazed too long on the face of those best unseen. Good day, and may swift be your return to light.
Instead of: This is a hard problem, and I am unhappy
Try Saying: Courage fail me not as I approach the hour. Steady be my hand, sharp be my blade, and may I see another day with pure eyes.
Instead of: I forgot to drink water today
Try Saying: Alas, the quest has taken my mind far from myself. Let us attend to the matters of our health that tomorrow's fight may be won the faster.
Instead of: I'm not sure if I believe it.
Try saying: Whenceforth came this news, and why trust it so? I call out this slander! I charge thee, oh you of many words. I charge and task thee with the finding of truth!
Instead of: Ah yes, that is so true
Try Saying: While my heart knows these words to be wise, there is something amiss in them. They fall past the ear, leaving the man unchanged. Let us look to see what is hidden behind them!
Instead of: That is a bad idea
Try saying: Once more, oh fool, your cleverness has led you astray! Tis as if the rot that plauges our foes has plagued your thoughts, and you, looking through a hundred silks see it not!
I love reading books. In fact, I'd say it's one of my very favorite things to do by myself.
But when I have a project, even without a looming deadline… I find myself hurrying. And doing way more work on the project than I need to. And so, (among many other things), my books sit on the shelf.
Most programs are never truly finished. There is no “Done with that, time to watch a movie!”. You or your boss can always add some more unit tests, another feature, or fix a bug.
And there is *always* bugs. Unless you use formal methods and prove the correctness of every line, there will be bugs.
Worse still, day-to-day coding on most projects I've been on is usually not particularly challenging, just kind of tedious. Usually you have a decent idea of what to do next, or at least what to Google.
Nobody likes to leave something unfinished. Especially with the next step fresh in their mind. So they code some more! And so on it goes.
The only limit to the endless timedrain is the one you make yourself, because the computer sure isn't going to give you one.
Most days, I love code. It replaces so many delicate mechanical parts, makes almost every activity of the day more convenient, and automates the things nobody seems to want to do anymore.
But some days, I can't exactly say I love code-ing.
He thrusts his fists against the posts,
And still insists he sees the ghosts.
Very short written works are interesting. People can remember them without really trying, they can have a powerful effect, and they can be written totally by accident.
For that one, the extended version is often cited as:
“Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,
He thrusts his fists against the posts,
And still insists he sees the ghosts.”
Occasionally you'll hear “With barest wrists and stoutest boasts” instead, but other than that, most modern versions seem to follow the general pattern.
You probably know it from the Steven King usage, but before that it appeared in “Donovan's Brain”, and before that, an 1843 book, Practical Elocution by Samuel Niles Sweet.
For some reason, people mention online that the first reference they know of is in “An 1843 book”, but never mention which one, which is mildly annoying. The version there is:
“Amidst the mists he thrusts his fists against the posts, and still insists he sees the ghosts.”
Not quite as poetic as the now-common extended version, but still interesting.
Using Google book search, we learn that it also appears in a slightly later work, around 1853, called “Sanders' Rhetorical, or Union Fifth Reader” as:
“Amidst the mists with angry boasts
He thrusts his fists against the posts
And still insists he sees the ghosts.”
It's listed there among several others, notably:
“Round the rough and ragged rocks the ragged rascal ran”.
Much later, Gaelic Storm would use a similar line,
“Around the ragged rocks, the ragged rascal ran”
in their song “Johnny Jump Up”.
Some people say it's “Rugged”, but it sounds like “Ragged” to me.
Another work, this time from 1908, called “The Canadian Teacher, Volume 13”, Lists it as:
“Amidst the wildest fiercest blasts
he thrusts his fists against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts.”
Again, we see it listed among other pronunciation practice excercises, such as
“Request them not to give up the contest without protest”.
And
“The heaviest frosts do not come on the coldest nights”
As for a title, a Straight Dope forum post suggests that it's title is “The Drunkard”, but doesn't give any citations to back that one up. I think he might be full of it, but you never know. It kinda fits, but it's also kinda depressing and I'm not a fan of the whole “Dark reimaginging of a fun show” meme.
However, if that really is the historical context of it, I'd accept that.
“English: Reading and Speech” By Dennis Brooks, from 2015, calls it “He Sees a Ghost”, which might just be a random title he gave it, because he thought it needed a heading. The title doesn't quite seem to fit.
Whatever the title is, if it were to have one, the imagery is certainly powerful, and seems to resonate with people.
In the middle of an icy frost, a man is refusing to back down about what he believes. He can see them with his own eyes even when nobody else can(Or else, why would he need to insist?)
Why is he thrusting his fists? Is there something specific about those posts, or is he just expressing his frustration that nobody believes him?
Do you have a favorite very short work? Maybe even one that isn't one of those ultra-depressing one sentence stories?
Sit tight ntpd will keep time come on just
wait wait wait for the prompt
and I believe, the system calls for a proper
authentication and well
don't you see
I'm the sysadmin and here's my latest ticket
Swear to grep it down if you swear to netcat
oh we're still lightweight, desperate for a shell script
and I, aim to be,
your xeyes cowsay boys cowsay wives