- Yesterday at 04:52pm: Even two candidates seems to be too many for a debate. Healthy democracy.
- Today at 01:36pm: Today I got to visit the colo where s-mart's computers do their thing. White sterile room with whirring fans and air conditioners. brrrrr.
“ “I come in peace,” it said, adding after a long moment of further grinding, “take me to your Lizard.”
Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this, as he sat with Arthur and watched the non-stop frenetic news reports on the television, none of which had anything to say other than to record that the thing had done this amount of damage which was valued at that amount of billions of pounds and had killed this totally other number of people, and then say it again, because the robot was doing nothing more than standing there, swaying very slightly, and emitting short incomprehensible error messages.
“It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see...”
“You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?”
“No,” said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, “nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”
“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”
“I did,” said Ford. “It is.”
“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”
“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”
“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”
“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “Why?”
“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in.” ”
—Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks For all the Fish
Election Day
Nov. 2nd, 2004 05:45 am
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Ford Prefect, of course, had an explanation for this, as he sat with Arthur and watched the nonstop frenetic news reports on the television, none of which had anything to say other than to record that the thing had done this amount of damage which was valued at that amount of billions of pounds and had killed this totally other number of people, and then say it again, because the robot was doing nothing more than standing there, swaying very slightly, and emitting short incomprehensible error messages.
"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."
"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"
"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford. "It is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "Why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in."
So Long and Thanks For all the Fish by Douglas Adams
Emperor of these United States
Sep. 17th, 2004 09:06 amOn This Day in 1859 Joshua Norton issued the following statement by
dropping these words off at the San Francisco Bulletin:
I kid you not. He ate for free in restaurants; he had free access to the bus system and taxed small business men a quarter each (industrialists had to pay three bucks). He abolished the Congress, dissolved the Republic and issued Imperial Bonds to fund his new empire. When he died in 1880 his friends chipped in and gave him an elaborate funeral worthy of a statesman of his class. Now, I ask you: what is it about Dictators which make them so darn popular?
- At the peremtory request of a large majority of the citizens of
these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of
Good Hope, and now for the past nine years and ten months of San
Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these
U.S., and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby
order and direct the representatives of the different States of the
Union to assemble in the Musical Hall of this city on the 1st day of
February next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing
laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is
laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and
abroad, in our stability and integrity.
I kid you not. He ate for free in restaurants; he had free access to the bus system and taxed small business men a quarter each (industrialists had to pay three bucks). He abolished the Congress, dissolved the Republic and issued Imperial Bonds to fund his new empire. When he died in 1880 his friends chipped in and gave him an elaborate funeral worthy of a statesman of his class. Now, I ask you: what is it about Dictators which make them so darn popular?