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28 June 2007

Fun With Books 1. Grab the nearest book.→[More:]

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the sentence with these instructions.

5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.
post by: ThePinkSuperhero at: 13:55 | 78 comments
"He realized that the same sort of shifts took place in markets, and it was obviously profitable to spot them early."

from Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire, the top book on the pile of books I got at the library today
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 June | 13:56
If she had previously indicated some thought such as, "I'd jump off the roof of my building," return to that comment and explore it further.
posted by occhiblu 28 June | 13:57
If both -x and -relx are specified, their values are summed.
posted by danostuporstar 28 June | 13:59
"On the road things are laid out end to end"

It's not the fifth sentence as it's the only sentence on the page - in fact it's a chapter title. The Big Wheel by Bruce Thomas about life on the road as one of Elvis Costello and the Attractions.
posted by dodgygeezer 28 June | 14:01
"She said it was her wedding wheat and if ever cut the world would end."

--Close Range, Annie Proulx
posted by mudpuppie 28 June | 14:01
"Write by WASTE," she said, "remember.
posted by gaspode 28 June | 14:01
Ah, I didn't notice #4 contained instructions about reposting (I copied this from a MySpace bulletion). Edit: 4. Post the text of the sentence with these instructions
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 28 June | 14:01
"As for personal correspondence, the law has always held that the recipient owns the physical letter itself but that the writer of the letter controls the right to reproduce it."
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 28 June | 14:02
"In this case, since x[n]=0 for n<=-1, the condition of initial rest implies that y[n] = 0 for n<= -1, so that we have as an initial condition y[-1] = 0."

- Signals and Systems, Oppenheim, Willsky, and Nawab (affectionally nicknamed "OWN")

I cheated twice - first, I didn't pick our corporate directory. Second, I took the fourth sentence, since the fifth sentence had 6 equations.
posted by muddgirl 28 June | 14:02
Press the ON button to turn off the HP All-in-One.

~ another inspiring quote from that beloved classic, HP Photosmart 2570 All-in-One Series User Guide
posted by iconomy 28 June | 14:03
gaspode - I just finished that book.
posted by muddgirl 28 June | 14:04
They swim the huge fluid freedom.
posted by arse_hat 28 June | 14:04
It's not often that I have a novel on my desk. On any other day my response would have been:

"Once the rat feels its feet slide, a second trigger is released, when the head is raised by dorsiflexing the neck."
posted by gaspode 28 June | 14:05
"Generally, guidelines will need to be developed for whatever the project requires, but frequently, the plan will include architectural guidelines, site design guidelines, media design guidelines and operational guidelines, at a minimum."

From "Interpretive Planning: The 5-M Model for Successful Planning Projects"

I know, exciting.
posted by Miko 28 June | 14:05
Time to reread The Crying of Lot 49...
posted by mudpuppie 28 June | 14:05
The Photosmart 2570 User Guide is one of HP's best. I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil the ending for you.
posted by dodgygeezer 28 June | 14:07
"At all levels of competition, 'cross can be psychologically rewarding, but at the top it can be financially rewarding and provide international acclaim."

Simon Burney; "Cyclo-Cross, Training and Technique"

yea it was, in fact, on the top of the stack of books on my desk. i'm working thru someone's programme this afternoon.
posted by lonefrontranger 28 June | 14:08
"How strange the pencil felt in her torn and stiffened fingers!"

A Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell
posted by taz 28 June | 14:09
"Although the living room has a partial vaulted ceiling, the tie logs and height of the custom chandelier requre users to remain focused on things in the immediate environment."
posted by Specklet 28 June | 14:10
"Only a few strokes with a suede whip will redden skin."
posted by essexjan 28 June | 14:10
IMMATURE: Browner with streaking instead of barring; bill, skin around eye pale-blue (yellow in adult).

- Birds of the Puget Sound Region, Bob Morse, Tom Aversa, and Hal Opperman

From the entry on the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinnus)
posted by bmarkey 28 June | 14:10
The rest of the line, 200 OK, is the HTTP response code.
posted by mike9322 28 June | 14:11
(nice one, muddgirl and pups!)
posted by gaspode 28 June | 14:13
There has always been the village idiot.
posted by Hellbient 28 June | 14:13
"In this PivotTable view, the Quantity field is displayed as both a details field and a totals data field."

Paul McFedries, Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries; QUE, 2005.
posted by Hugh Janus 28 June | 14:14
"Early in 1985, Tait met Marischen and Larry Nelson in a second-floor apartment the Bureau had rented in Marischen's undercover name."

It's from a book about Tony Tait, an undercover operative who managed to infiltrate the Hell's Angels and become a full member. Guy's got balls the size of boulders.
posted by jonmc 28 June | 14:15
Rocco started brooding about the possible trial: reasonable doubt can be a real ass-kicker sometimes.

--Richard Price's Clockers. I just started it.

(Hmmm... what book's that, ej?)
posted by Pips 28 June | 14:20
"This was according to Daniel 12:11: 'And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days', since on the basis of Ezekiel 4:6, Daniel's 1,290 days should be reckoned as 1,290 years."

Fideles Crucis: The Papacy, the West, and the Recovery of the Holy Land 1274-1314 by Sylvia Schein.
posted by stynxno 28 June | 14:21
"'Mwah!'"

The Business, Iain Banks.

Yeah, such an anti-climax, especially as the first sentence on that page runs to four lines with two semi-colons.
posted by Elsa 28 June | 14:23
We focus on testing multiple restrictions in Section 4.5 and pay particular attention to determining whether a group of independent variables can be omitted from a model.

Wooldridge's Introductory Econometrics. Laugh-a-minute stuff.
posted by matthewr 28 June | 14:24

"Early in 1985, Tait met Marischen and Larry Nelson in a second-floor apartment the Bureau had rented in Marischen's undercover name."

It's from a book about Tony Tait, an undercover operative who managed to infiltrate the Hell's Angels and become a full member. Guy's got balls the size of boulders.



He met Marischen on the second floor, but his balls were still on the first floor.
posted by taz 28 June | 14:26
What is really being said in this argument is that the museum only wants to communicate to those people for whome nuance and subtlety will be an essential part of the experience.

Summer 1999 Daedalus - America's Museums. What? I'm at work. It was either that or the Asheville phone book. My printer manuals don't go up to 123 pages.
posted by mygothlaundry 28 June | 14:30
"He leaned back."

--The Coast of Good Intentions by Michael Byers
posted by dersins 28 June | 14:31
Then in the 1960's, when everyone was an activist, NSF had created a program called "Interdisciplinary Research Relevant to the Problems of Our Society".
posted by crush-onastick 28 June | 14:31
Pips: I liked that book.
posted by crush-onastick 28 June | 14:34
"Entrees".

Is p123. The whole page. And a picture of a placesetting.

The fifth sentence on 124 is: "The folloiwng page numbers refer you to the table of contents for all 7 'Entrees' sections:"

The Enchanted Broccoli Forest...and other timeless delicacies, by Mollie Katzen
posted by Fuzzbean 28 June | 14:36
"An anchoring system that allows movement only in the intended direction should be selected; see ASTM STP 778."

from Architectural Graphic Standards... yes, it's pretty lame, but it was the closest, and a good portion of the page is diagrams...
posted by mightshould 28 June | 14:36
"Men seek respect, while women seek rapport."

First Impressions: What You Don't Know About How Others See You
posted by auntbunny 28 June | 14:38
"You're right... we should start testing on chimps."

It's not on page 123, because there isn't one. It's on page 12, and it's the only sentence.

But it comes with a full page drawing of a blood-covered mad scientist holding the fire extinguisher with which he's just dispatched a troublesome human test subject!

It's from 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, which is a comic. My co-worker brought it in for me to read after we had a long and detailed conversation about 28 Weeks Later.

Otherwise, it would be the University directory, or user manuals for various stuff, none of which is interesting.
posted by jokeefe 28 June | 14:43
(only because it was hilarious)

"Grenville," I said, "why don't you get in bed with us?"

Kink
posted by sleepy_pete 28 June | 14:49
"A mediocre collection of standard speeches became a smashing bestseller."

From Thinkertoys: a handbook of creative thinking techniques, on how to use a multi cell idea box to automatically combine parameters of a challenge into new ideas.

The above resulted from devising a product called Canned Speeches that was marketed in a cardboard can.

on preview: mightshould - it's better than the UL rated assemblies book!
posted by chewatadistance 28 June | 14:52
"Note that any path from i to f must pass through either N(s) or N(t) exclusively."

Compilers: Principles, Techniques and Tools (Second Edition)
posted by cmonkey 28 June | 14:52
(which, BTW, is a pretty fun book to re-read)
posted by cmonkey 28 June | 14:57
"Nothing can replace this experience."

The Master Musician (It's my dad's)
posted by kyleg 28 June | 14:59
"Note, the 7% rate and 35-hour work week are 'hard coded' in the RPG IV program and not field values from the physical file."

RPG IV Programming on the AS/400 by Stanley E. Meyers
posted by paulsc 28 June | 15:05
Oh, chewatadistance! - at least the UL book has a bright cheerful orange cover... But, you are so very correct - the UL book can cross your eyes in an instance. (course, I like finding it in the book instead of online cause their web-interface is crud..)

Still, I'd rather be reading essexjan's book...that sounds the best so far - much better than the HP printer manual.
posted by mightshould 28 June | 15:06
"Yemen hoped to establish compelling evidence that would persuade the British government to turn Abu Hamza over to them."

Kidnapped in Yemen by Mary Quin.
posted by deborah 28 June | 15:14
"Also, examine the external auditory canal for edema, drainage, foreign material, or signs of trauma."

Essentials of Otolaryngology/3rd Edition - I don't have any other books at my desk...
posted by blackkar 28 June | 15:23
There is no page 125, and page 12 is mostly blank. So here's something from page 13, which I guess is what 12.5 rounds out to:

"A cluster is a construct specific to EMS. It refers to a group of servers with related functions, managed together in EMS. Each server performs a role relative to the others in its cluster: primary, secondary, or slave. Database drivers, TSIG keys, and SIP DNS-to-IP mappings are defined at the cluster level, then assigned to servers, views, and zones as necessary."
posted by tangerine 28 June | 15:31
"Without these concepts, however, you may find that your database applications neither meet your current needs nor adapt to meet any changing needs."
posted by dabitch 28 June | 15:37
I'm with mightshould, I want to read what Jan's reading!
posted by Specklet 28 June | 15:37
Designed way back in 1973, the simple Hollywood trunk rack is still a cost-effective bike transportation option today.

(The nearest book is actually Bicycling magazine. There's an ad on p 123, so this is from p 122.)
posted by smich 28 June | 15:59
"Originating in ancient Japan, Ben Wa balls (which weren't called Ben Wa balls then) are tiny marble-like metal balls used for both stimulation and strengthening."

From "Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation," which is on our free table at work, and is thus nearest to me. We also have Milk Slave and some weird-ass Nazi sex shit. FREE!
posted by klangklangston 28 June | 15:59
"It sounds like someone was taking a huge piss, but no one could drink that much."
posted by slackshot 28 June | 16:01
"Then in the 1960's, when everyone was an activist, NSF had created a program called "Interdisciplinary Research Relevant to the Problems of Our Society"."

Crush-onastick, does that refer to the National Sanitation Foundation, who govern certification for plumbing etc.? Like NSF.org?
posted by klangklangston 28 June | 16:04
I'm just guessing, but I imagine it's the National Science Foundation.

Also: "Close the scissors and hold them firmly but gently."
posted by box 28 June | 16:07
National Science Foundation

(the sentence is from forty signs of rain)
posted by crush-onastick 28 June | 16:09
"In the same way many of the proteins that control pattern formation in the fruit fly Drosophila were recognized to be gene regulatory proteins, while another protein involved in pattern formation was identified as a serine protease."

-Alberts & Bray, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Ed.
posted by Joe Invisible 28 June | 16:12
The presentation is largely in terms of this theory and expresses the theory more concretely, but is based closely on experience and direct observation rather than on general knowledge and reasoning.

The Functions of the Executive, Chester I. Barnard

It's the fourth sentence, because there are only four sentences on page 123.
posted by halonine 28 June | 16:47
PS and IPS grades can be found in older installations and are not readily available anymore.

-Stage Rigging Handbook, Jay O. Glerum
posted by danf 28 June | 16:48
I was really hoping the plumbing guys had a committee on social problems.
posted by klangklangston 28 June | 18:30
sorry, klang-klang.
posted by crush-onastick 28 June | 18:41
"Because it was ruled by seniority, ability couldn't move him along the long tables in the committee rooms toward those gavels at the end that conferred power in the Senate."

From Robert Caro's Master of the Senate, about Lyndon Johnson.

If only you'd asked for the second sentence:

"Throwing his head all the way back, he would stick the inhaler into one nostril and inhale, with a slurping sound so loud it could be heard clearly in the Press Gallery above."
posted by kirkaracha 28 June | 18:50
This is a strange feeling for the poet to have about his work, but almost all poets have it on occasion ; it seems that they cannot account for certain poems at all.

From: The Poets Manual and Rhyming Dictionary by Frances Stillman.
(probably the best howto poetry book in the world)
posted by seanyboy 28 June | 19:01
Unfortunately, the book nearest me (Elmer and the Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett) did not go to page 123.

Going slightly farther afield we find Dr. Seuss's On Beyond Zebra. OK still no go.

Next nearest is I am a Strange Loop by Hofstadter:

Oh, wait. Page 123 of that book is a figure reproduced from a page of Principia Mathematica and it's all math symbols I can't type.

Next closest is Everyday Ethics by Joshua Halberstam:

"You might find a hundred-dollar bill under your seat."

OK, I'll take that as a prediction...
posted by DarkForest 28 June | 19:22
Pour into greased two-quart casserole.
posted by Otis 28 June | 19:42
"For each individual, the house provides an environment in which to be 'alone' and for each as member of a group an environment in which to be 'together.' "

Decorative Arts: 70s
posted by BoringPostcards 28 June | 20:14
"There was some sewing and blue cotton on the wooden table near the window."

From a novel I got in the mail from a friend yesterday. Called "Free Food for Millionaires." Read the first six pages, then mocked it mercilessly for half an hour before deciding it would be better if I didn't read it at all.
posted by brina 28 June | 20:26
"He pushed papers and did some grunt work."

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
posted by mullacc 28 June | 20:28
From "Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation," which is on our free table at work, and is thus nearest to me. We also have Milk Slave and some weird-ass Nazi sex shit. FREE!

So I guess you must've taken this job, klang?
posted by mullacc 28 June | 20:32
The lawn instantly reminded me of the carpet in the living room.
posted by ethylene 28 June | 20:58
"They must have known that the world, the immediate world, strictly speaking, was now much smaller than before, perhaps for this very reason their dream of knowing all of it had become much more feasible, and when José Anaiço asked, But what about your home and your job, they calmly replied, Our home will be waiting for us and work we can always find, those are the priorities of the past and they must not be allowed to hinder the future." - José Saramago, The Stone Raft

Bizarrely, this sentence encapsulates my life right now: I'm getting ready to jet off to another country in the fall for a job and I can't wait to leave and explore a new corner of the globe. Yay!
posted by mdonley 28 June | 22:29
"So I guess you must've taken this job, klang?"

Ayup. They pay pretty well, and it's OK work.
posted by klangklangston 29 June | 12:16
haha, I was thinking the same. So, you are a democrat?
posted by taz 29 June | 12:21
For concerning that part of Matter which is the Common Sensorium, I demand whether some one point of it receive the whole image of the Object, or whether it is wholly received into every point of it, or finally whether the whole Sensorium receive the whole image by expanded parts, this part of the Sensorium this part of the image, and that part that.

from The Philosophical Writings of Henry More.
posted by misteraitch 29 June | 14:39
"Il s'agit donc d'une pathologie rare qu'il faut dépister tôt et de manière systématique à chaque consultation, qu'elle soit programmée ou en urgence"
French gynaecology manual - don't ask

"'I don't know how you names a boat that,' mumbled Billy Pretty, walking up the ramp and jumping on the glistening deck."
The book I'm actually reading.
posted by altolinguistic 30 June | 06:35
Pull together everything to date and begin to "paint" around it.
posted by chrismear 01 July | 14:21
Page 123 of the book closest to me that has at least 123 pages:

≡ Click to see image ≡


Book: Spectrum (Volume 11), The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (2004.)
Artist: Scott M. Fischer; Medium: Mixed.
posted by shane 01 July | 16:38
← My socks are wet || Bunnystock II: The Deadening? →

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