"Trust in Allah, but tie your camel"

Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two

     Nansen saw the monks of the eastern and western halls fighting over a cat.  He seized the cat and told the monks: "If any of you say a good word, you can save the cat."

     No one answered.  So Nansen boldly cut the cat in two pieces.

     That evening Joshu returned and Nansen told him about this.  Joshu removed his sandals and, placing them on his head, walked out.

     Nansen said: "If you had been there, you could have saved the cat."

"Eventually, we invented phonetic writing so we could put our sounds down on paper and, by glancing at a page, hear someone speaking in our head--an invention that became so widespread in the last few thousand years that we hardly ever stop to consider how astonishing it is."

- Carl Sagan

"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy"

"Better three hours too soon, than one minute too late"

- William Shakespeare

"The man who thinks clearly should never despair completely about any undertaking.  All things are attainable through concentration and effort."

- Menander

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about"

- Oscar Wilde