Well, that’s the story. So if your air conditioner goes on the fritz or your washing machine blows up or your video recorder conks out; before you call the repairman turn on all the lights, check all the closets and cupboards, look under all the beds, ’cause you never can tell there just might be a gremlin in your house. — Gremlins

Honestly, if one more thing goes wrong around here, I’m going to call in Monster Hunter International and a priest to take care of the issue.  Owning a home means you own all the problems, and you better either have money to pay someone to deal with them, or the skills to do it yourself.  If you’re like me, you fake it until you make it.  A little Internet research, a couple DIY books from the hardware store, and a small wallet are my resources to figure out plumbing, carpentry, gardening, and landscaping.

You know, that retirement condo with no yard and a maintenance contract is sounding better and better all the time.

The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the Senate, it’s the sand of the Colosseum.  — Gladiator

We are not subjects, we are citizens.  The power of our nation does not reside in marble halls on the Potomac, nor does it reside in the steel and glass towers of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or Dallas.  It resides in the homes of the citizens, the ones that keep the wheels turning and turn out to vote.  We are right, indeed duty bound, to demand that our elected servants and their salaried minions recognize their subordination to us, and we should vigorously resist any effort to erode our primacy.

You’re not a woman. You’re more than a woman. You’re a *mechanic*  — Operation Petticoat

I’ll admit it, I notice physically attractive women.  A well formed body, a dazzling smile, and beautiful hair will catch my eye.  But what will keep my attention is someone who is more than eye candy.  Being able to connect with people, have something interesting to say and be interested in what others say, and having skills that both you and others found useful makes you more than just something to look at.

Every wolf suffers fleas. ‘Tis easy enough to scratch! — Legend

There will always be those who try to bring you down.  They will belittle your ideas, attack your methods, and cheapen your results.  The trick is to realize how insignificant they are, identify them early, and blow them off.

There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven’t used it for years.  — My Fair Lady

There are, of course, variations in any language that’s used as widely as English.  Accents and colloquialisms are the natural products of having people speak a language everywhere from India to Hawaii.

But even taking into account accents and such, there’s no excuse for not knowing how to properly speak your local brand of English.  Call it proper grammar and spelling, the King’s English, or whatever, but if you speak and write like an ignorant slob, no matter how smart and clever you are, you will be perceived as an ignorant slob.

In other words, if you want to get credit for your education, sound educated.