Frank and Ernest by Thaves for February 16, 2020

That must be the problem with state government … one of the houses is an assembly.

I’ve got to admit that “some assembly required” is no longer a problem. The assembly instructions are pretty good now days and you even get spare nuts & bolts etc. The bed frame we recently ordered not only came with spare parts and an Allen Key, it also came with an Allen Key ratchet. Had to rate it 10/10.

In my experience, “some assembly required” might as well mean “it might have been.” In a large number of attempts to build things from instructions written by Chinese manufacturers, I had an amazingly high percentage of a lack of success where I was left mumbling to myself “well, it might have been.”

Now they’re some sad things known to man; but ain’t too much sadder than, the tears of a clown when there’s no one around.

Well, it’s a turn around where they are using “Cheap offshore labor” (you) to do the final assembly work for them…!

I used to make that quote “Of all sad words of mice or men…”

Got a computer desk last month. The assembly instructions were poor quality photos with no attempt at written instructions. Slowly got it done having to redo several steps. Love the desk but really! Hire someone to do your tech writing.

I can knock that down to one word; ikea

always seemed to me the “some” was superfluous

I never have too much trouble assembling things but I do find the instructions amusing sometimes. They can really fracture the English language.

“it might have been” if i had all the parts needed to complete the assembly.

Also, batteries not included…

Also, ‘We don’t need no stinking witnesses’.

In that poem, Bret Harte noticed a conflict between how the judge imagined life married to Maude, and how Maude imagined life married to the judge. He wrote a poem “Mrs. Judge Jenkins” in which the two are married, and regret it. That poem ends thus:

If, of all words of tongue and pen,The saddest are, “It might have been,”More sad are these we daily see:“It is, but hadn’t ought to be.”

(If he were alive now.)