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March 18, 2008 |
|
Bad Sister December 31, 2006 |
A Love Unrequited July 12, 2007 |
Cocaine November 27, 2007 |
Lots to Give... November 24, 2005 |
We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
Finally at the right find! I was at August of 2003 for awhile there.
This looks identical to my aunt's handwriting and she's from England too.
When your car starts to have a fix-it list this intense it's probably time to get a new one. Sometimes the thousands of dollars (or pounds) it keeps costing to fix the old one could be better used paying for a new one.
uh...what do we do with THIS for 24 hours? Translate it? I haven't a clue.
oh that the charges were itemized! What is the going rate to biggen your brings -- b-rings? -- in London? With oil prices the way they are, biggening has just been getting ridiculously expensive. I miss the days when I could get by a-rings, b-rings, AND c-rings biggened for £50!
Reading FOUND will biggen you.
...could get MY a-rings, brings...
finder's dog shuggie is way more interesting than the find. tell me more about shuggie...
I'm joining a new cult, my old one is going to be pisped. Crark!
I think they speak a different language in England, don't they? Like a fairy tale language. So maybe this is a fairy tale mode of transportation, with colored rings and loops and whirly thingies, a Colaped.
And they joined new cult only a year ago and THE END is next.
Oups! They joined *a* new cult.. time for sleep now, the birthday's about over.. g'nite!
I need a new cult to join, as well. These scientologists just aren't working out.
Wow ... I'm actually an engine nut, and even I can't figure out what this is supposed to say. Looks like they're saying there were two collapsed bearings, so now they're going to have to replace two con rods (connecting rods), grind down the two crank journals and go to oversize (bigger) bearings, rebalance the crank. Probably the debris from the damage wiped out the oil pump, so that'll have to be replaced. None of this should affect the fan belts, but they probably just noticed they were old. I'd have to assume that "pisped rings" are piston rings, but that seems a stretch, even for a poor speller. As for "mincing bearings" ... I don't know ... bearings that aren't butch enough? And as for the new cult, well, that's just good thorough service.
I'd like a new Oli pump to go with the Oli fant I installed last week. Are the buckles on the fan belts silver or gold? Can Cron Rods be biggened? Can you order them only if you are a member of the new cult? And why has this paper been folded according to the golden ratio? Some mechanic!
Hello to Shuggie!
Do cults come with membership requirements these days, just like fitness clubs? Sign up for one year and get six months free...
Just in case anyone's wondering...it doesn't make sense if you're drunk either.
Hope everyone had an awesome St. Patrick's Day ;)
I'm used to saying I need to "smallen" things, as in "to make them smaller", therefore "biggen" makes sense. I thought I was being my amusing self. Looks like this is current in certain parts of England, so I'm not even original...rats.
To me it looks like it says, "2350 pounds" and then "Brains collapsed"--well, yes, that would be my reaction if faced with this estimate, as we all know the actual price is always much higher!!
i think that the car broke cuz of collapsion.
I would like to biggen my whole car. I wonder if that's possible. Its just a wee toyota echo. Hey, shruggie, get this mechanic's phone number, k?
i would love to join a cult with a time limited membership. I think i look good in robes. and shaving my head would be good for my hair, give it a fresh start.
and what the heck is tooting bec common???
Silly gits! is not a *car* being fixed, it is Dr. Who's phone-box-traveling thing. explains everything, including the cult.
Ooo.... maybe "new cult" (which sounds waay more interesting) was meant to be a "new clutch" ??
Perhaps in addition to the more vital repairs (more vital repairs = like biggening the bearings & grinding the crank, etc.), the mechanic is augmenting the work-estimate with the standard higher-cost add-on-tasks (you know, the new cult & the oli pump & the fan belts, etc.)
Come to think of it - I'm pretty sure that I need to have my cran blanced ... I wonder if they do that kind of stuff here in the U.S. of A.?
@ Ian in Inn -- I think you have to be an engine nut, an intuitive(?) -- and a Brit with poor spelling!!
@ Detailing the Devil -- WHAT do you mean by "folded according to the golden ratio?" Is this another dose of that strange language???
@ Lulu -- I guess cults *are* on a business model like fitness clubs these days -- they probably even insist on automatic-payment-from-your-account too!
@ Not-so-Clever -- I think you are very clever!! (and yes, I agree, "Reading FOUND will biggen you.")
And @ Ori -- Somehow you seem like a 'kindred spirit' to me. [ I talk funny too. ]
and to MonaLeese --
I wondered too... when I first saw the post I thought that " Tooting Bec Common " was probably going to be the best part of the whole thing...
Ah, but I wasn't disappointed this time. I've even learned a lot about international, trans-oceanic mechanicking!
Tooting Beck is a real place, of course. "Beck" means stream in the N. of England and in Scotland. It cracks me up, just as some other place names in the UK do...such as Spittal-in-the-Street, and no I am not kidding, ask Jonathan. Real place, they did a report from there on Radio 4 not long ago.
I think I dated Tooting Bec once, back in the good old days. She was, indeed, quite common. As I recall, she clutched me a time or two and, when she did, my cron rod inevitably biggened.
Back then, though, she weighed far less than 2350 pounds...
HAHA! I am not nearly as clever as ANY of you as I can't make heads or tails out of anything in this find... nor can I pretend I do. For me, it's just something to giggle about and move on. Though I do enjoy reading all your word-plays and speculations!
@Clover in the lawn:
Well, England IS a foreign country after all, so English must be a foreign language....
Still, I think this might be a grocery list. I've heard the names of some of the traditional pub foods from England and I think they could fit right in here. "...bangers, bubble and squeak, crark, grind the crank, pisped rings....". Seems to fit, doesn't it?
Oy, let me have a pint of ale and some blance cran, mate!
Good thing the list maker is going with a new cult cause the old cult has scrambled her brains.
Shuggie baby!!
Dear Farmer in the Dell, your post should come with a warning sigh (or sign, take your pick) as it caused a nasal coffee flush over here. Yurk!
Orinoco, you've answered what's a Beck, so now, what (or who) is a Tooting? (Other than something done with a rolled bill.)
A blance cran and new oli pump sound like tiny machines to take care of maintenance on cranberries and olives.
I hope this is a to-do list for the owner of the car and not the mechanic, since a dyslexic mechanic might make a gawd-awful mess of your engine.
Thanks to all for the chuckles
Hey, Devil..I love the threadless site, I'm ordering.
Lame. Lost in Found was spot on. I'm surprised some English grease monkey hasn't posted to let us know a cult is some kind of engine part with a one year warranty. Yawn.
Oh, Farmer. You always make me laugh. You'd be perfect to have around the house when I'm having a shitty morning. I like your style.
I am hereforth adding "biggen" and "smallen" to my vocabulary.
@Mona in bedsheets and tennis shoes, hari krishna krishna krishna! Collapsion!
@Wrye, here's Dr. Who! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTRA-7jox0E
@Ian, I still have no idea what you are talking about, but at least your translation sounds like English. I would believe you if I took my car to you to be fixed.
@not-so-clever, your first line made me laugh aloud, yes.. translating for 24 hours does sound like my idea of fun.
@Librarian, do you have a fairy language dictionary in your woodwork?
@Freonz, I'm picturing the tiny cranberry and olive machines.. freakin funny hallucinations!
OH NO! What I need is a calculator! Math spam question. Oh, I forgot to sign in again.
Could it be that everything needs to happen now, except a new clutch, which can wait about a year? Run away! It's a money pit!
Farmer, LOL!
@Clover. The golden ratio (approximately 1.618 rounded) is the ratio of the length of the long side over the shorter. The ratio is found very commonly in nature and architecture. It is also a fascinating mathematical figure as it continually pops up as a pattern for the simplest of expressions. The most famous is : f(x+1)=f(x)+f(x-1) and x>0 and x is an integer; as x->infinity, f(x+1)/f(x)-> 1.618.
Ouch! Kira, you're making my head hurt.
Oh, Kira, I have no idea what you're talking about, but it looks good. I totally believe you. Like Ian, who I trust to fix my car.
I just don't think letters belong in math problems. Something about my brain makes it impossible to reconcile. Thank goodness there are other people who can figure it out for me when necessary.
I learned about Grinding the Corn on Six Feet Under... Grinding the Crank sounds inspiring.
I bet Kira can get all the math spam questions.
Kira. You math nerd you. You totally rock. Were you speaking english right then?
You're my hero (being sincere here, math is my kryptonite)
Hare Krishna, Clover. Peace out, brothers and sisters.
Clover: so glad you had a birthday yesterday. I raised a glass or twenty to you last night in honor of it. Now today begins Day One of Post Birthday Celebration. You can run with it. Trust me on this.
Ian: An engine nut? How do you know you're not an engine bolt? Or washer? Or camshaft? (Is that even in an engine???)
Ummm, its like the fibbonacci sequence... 1,1,2,3,5,8,13... The next number in the sequence (x+1) is the current number (x) + the number before it in the sequence (x-1). When it gets really really high in the sequence, the number divided by the number before it gets really close to the golden ratio. Lol, I go through all that to say that I absolutely love number patterns, and that devil's eye on spotting them is spot on and that without that proportioned fold this find would have been really dull, just seems like a bunch of British mechanic slang...
Was a farmer, had a mineng, Bringo was his name-o. B-R-I-N-G-O! B-R-I-N-G-O! B-R-I-N-G-O! Bringo was his name-o!
Speaking of Farmers...thanks for making me laugh out loud (unabbreviated). You too, Not So Clever.
A one-year commitment to a cult?! Goddamn half-assed kids these days. I don't know if Marilyn Manson is even relevant anymore (as if he really was in the first place), but I bet he's behind this specialty summer camp cult bullshit. "Can't get into Hair Dyeing & Body Piercing camp? Come to Marilyn Manson's Scowl A Lot & Cut Yourself Camp! The cost of a two-week stay* includes one-year membership in Mr. Manson's Campers' Cult!"
*MMCY&SAL Camp is strictly B.Y.O.B.B. (Bring Your Own Blood Beverages).
Personally, I think this is a great find ... it requires a little bit of thought. Okay, a lot of thought.
Looks like female writing to me, maybe the customer was writing down what they were told over the phone and hadn't a clue what any of it meant so they wrote it (more or less) phonetically?
It would also explain phrases like "maybe end next" ... a telephone scribble for 'it may be ready by the end of next week'.
Not to imply that that females aren't mechanics or can't spell or whatever else you might be thinking that I'm thinking. Just a possibility.
Kira I think i heard of the fibonacci thing in a movie or something.
Curious Kat, today is my unbirthday!!!!
also, in my house, we celebrate half birthdays, which, of course occur 6 months from your birthday. (like me, Aug 1 is my Bday, Feb 1 is my half bday.) This was inspired by our local grocery store, which sells half cakes. What else would they be for, except half birthdays?
For my birthday, i would like a biggen bring, and a mineng bringo. Silver ones, please, i have the bronze one's already.
Scotch, do you know Gin in Tonic? I figured you must be acquaintances.
Great! Kira's given us something new to decipher:
"The most famous is : f(x+1)=f(x)+f(x-1) and x>0 and x is an integer; as x->infinity, f(x+1)/f(x)-> 1.618."
Just the other day I was running down a list of the most famous mathematical expressions as I am wont to do, and I have to admit that I TOTALLY forgot all about this one! This is like the Michael Jackson of math equations! Incidentally, did you know that most of Michael Jackson's alleged plastic surgeries were done in order to bring more of his facial features into the golden ratio? Go get a photo off of tabloidtrash.com and your ruler and measure for yourself. The ratio of the bridge of his nose against the elevation of his cheekbones? 1.618. To the exact decimal.
If you tip your head to the right (not the left as with most smileys) x>0 looks like a man walking. And f(x+1) looks like an ape who just ate a lemon. You have to squint a little, but it's there...
Math is, just like Mrs. Snowden said, FUN-damental.
OMG! If you read this list into a recorder and play it backwards you can hear an explanation of the Golden Ratio! CREEPY!!!!!
I seriously like that theory Scotch... I totally buy it except for the oli pump part... thats very far from phonetic "oil". Oh, and I like how they require more than one fan belt... How many cars need several... This is totally a remant from when Dr. Seuss was a mechanic. Are Cron rods british speak for timing rods?
Mona--we do that too! But that's because my birthday is Dec 27 and my daughter's is Dec 24. So our half birthday parties in June never get snowed out!
I don't know Gin or Scotch but last night I was very friendly with Vodka. Maybe too much so.
I read this and thought.. wth? SOMEONE is gonna have to translate it for me. And you all have stepped up quite wonderfully. I've laughed out loud (no abbreviations here either) more than once.
Added bonus, I now know who to go to for my car questions (Ian), and the math problems I can never figure out (Kira).
Thanks to each and every one of you for making this so-so find a treasure.
Give Shuggie a pat on the head from me.
Happy nonbirthdays to everyone who is celebrating!
Curious Kat. The thing about vodka is that... well, what happens with vodka stays with vodka. And thats nice to know you can depend on him/her for that.
Kira, that Dr. Seuss mechanic has me laughing.. too funny.
Oli for oil makes sense too, i often mix up the letters when i'm writing too quickly. Explains cult for clutch (oops, i almost typed slut) too.
Mona:
I love the idea of a half birthday! I think I'll start celebrating mine as well.
CuriousKat...I can totally sympathize with your birthday woes...I was born Dec. 25.
Also when I read new cult 1 yr. I thought maybe some mechanic is ripping some poor guy/gal off but then after reading Clover's first comment I then came to this conclusion:
The mechanic must have been an elf. This particular elf had a thorough understanding of human technoloy. In other words, there's no such thing. In fact, the only reason why cars are able to get us from point A to point B is because of fairy cults that congregate in the car and give off fairy dust. Unfortunately these particular cults only last 1 year as fairies are very mean and will often kill each other out of strife or gain.
But you already knew that, right??
technology
Winston: my parents started the half birthday tradition because--and this is so pathetic--my birthday parties were often forgotten. So the half birthday tradition took off as a way to help Little Kat's poor suffering self esteem. And then I grew up and learned to make the best of it and became a huge self-promoter of my own birthday. And I really do a good job making it start as early as possible and running it till well after the new year. We call it Twelve Days of Birthday. I highly recommend it.
Mona: after too much time last night with Vodka I came home and tried to decipher this Find. Wasn't sure if I couldn't understand it because I couldn't understand it or if because my vodka soaked brain couldn't understand it. Still not sure today.
Ouch. Pass the smarties, please.
Johny Q Whoo bought a shiny new Cult classicoo. Unfortunately, it stopped purring and stirring as they all tend to do-oo. So to Cat-in-the-Hat garage Johny went, in his cult classic that was most completely spent. The prognosis was bad, alas the parts list went :
breing colaped
2x Cron Rods
crark
grind the crank
pisped rings
balance cron
biggen brings
mineng bringo
new oli pump
fan belts
And so a week later and 2350 curvy ls later, a whoop and a cheer, a 'like' new Cult for Johny to drive until next year.
WOW. that's a deal. usually you can only join for 6 months and the price goes WAY up after that. Weird down payment though.... fan belts and an oil pump.
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned DYSLEXIA.
John: I laughed so hard, I almost peed.
SOMEONE SNATCHED UP MY ALIAS QUICK. IT'S NICE TO NOT BE FORGOTTEN
i have too much crap. twenty years of greeting cards, notes, and letters. on my bus ride to work i cracked my window and stealthily fed my clutter onto the street. one discarded keepsake at a time. look lively, columbia, sc. found treasures flutter in the exhaust fumes today.
if nothing ends up here, i'll be depressed. my crap's as good as a dylsxeic (sic) limey's auto woes.
@C.Kat... Mine's the 29th, and I have rocking parties, too! It sucks, being stuck right in the middle of all of the revelry, doesn't it? Dont'cha hate the b-day presents wrapped in X-mas paper?
The coolest thing was that my first husband's birthday was my half-birthday.
And that is cool, or relevant for what reason?
cuz it is, problem. That's why.
and I'm matronly enough to defend some who I view as children who are unruly and pugnacious while maintaining a standoffishnes and concealed hatred of others who dont happen to be as close.
What a GREAT & inspired day of Found... (I think I've been 'biggened' by today's posts.)
Every time I read 'biggend' I think of that porn magazine from Married with Children (Al used to read),"Bigguns"
oh good one, imposter. nice.... i am speechless, right now. Which i'm sure makes you happy. lol
Hey Salt, I checked and you're the only SALT. Login up there at the top right and you should be good to go. Anyone else having troubles signing in? Write us a note at info [at] foundmagazine.com and we'll help you out!
Mona, do you really have an imposter??
lol...
Jason, it appears that "registered imposter in the louvre" has issues with me. Its just too funny. I'm trying to be flattered that people think i'm that important.
Oh good, Mona. I thought there might be a hole in the nerd-code continuum. Carry on!
All of our commenters are important, from the lowly to the popular. Thank you for using FOUND and I'm glad to see you guys settling into the new system.
@Jason... Sorry for impostering you, I just couldnt resist... There are many holes in the nerd-code continuum (trust me, I should know) its just that we at the continuum cover them up to where anyone who does'nt directly work with the code would ever know about them.
@Mona... I'm sorry... Don't take it personally, I honestly have a lot of respect for you... Imitation is higest form of flattery.
God I love the Internet. America, meet Shuggie....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/muteboy/49477878/
awwww, yes, Brad... he seems to be one of the more jumpy members of the continuum... and I'm not nerd-code... just html with rails... or am I ruby generated html? I just don't know anymore...
Re: "Biggened" --
I get a LOT of emails offering all kinds of devices, techniques, lotions and -uh?- vitamins? -- all designed to 'biggen' (supersize) my (love wand) <-- that was the most recent term. lol
when I signed up for one of the basic email accounts, I selected 'male', figuring - and rightly so, it seems - that most spam that would get thru would be aimed to trick a fellow into opening it.
I still think my all-time favorite 'subject line' was "Knock Down Trees With..!!"
(I don't think I'd wanna date someone who could 'knock down trees with..')
You guys. I don't really know much about the RSS FEED, but I was just wondering why it doesn't update even when I 'right-click, reload live bookmark' it still won't show the most current comments. Is it a Firefox thing? RSS thing? Found thing? terrie-is-so-very impatient thing?
and where's jonathan's input, when we really need it...
This is most amusing comment thread we've had in while!
@Shuggie (via Turbo): If ever a British pup fit his name, you do! To a Yankee, you embody all that is Britannia and would look dandy tucked under the arm of the Queen (God save her!), a Beefeater, or David Beckham.
Wow...
I've been in bed all day feeling mung, but this was definitely worth getting up for. You people rock me to my very soul. Marry me?
But honestly, if you're going to all the trouble of grinding your crank, blancing your cran, and dealing with Biggen, you might at least give yourself a year in the new cult. Otherwise how will you know if it's worth it?
Turbo, The internet never ceases to amaze me. That dog looks like a Shuggie.
Camelia, I get those spam emails with before and after pictures, but never the line "you can knock down trees." However, I did get one that said "you can hang a wet beach towel on it."
I don’t think Marianne Denton would be too pleased with the biggened reference. It sounds elitist.
I'd sign in, but can't remember my password. What to do then, registar under a different handle?
Is this you Pepper?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/evanagee/16640776
Between the Find itself, Kira's mathy stuff, and the nerd talk I'm feeling like my brain really has turned to mush.
Monkeywrench: mung? Is that something that is self induced? If that's the case I'd recommend Smarties. Enlighten me, please.
Brain Problem: worse than birthday presents wrapped in Christmas paper are happy b-day greetings on the inside of Christmas cards. One year I was so fed up about it I spent the next twelve months sending birthday cards that said 'Merry Christmas' on the bottom to my friends. That was the last time I sent out any sort of cards referencing Christmas.
Orinoco: do you suppose there is a Tooting Bec Womble?
As for the find we really could use Jonathan's input, too. Maybe he's too busy playing with his instrument.
CuriousKat: Mung can be self induced, although in this case it isn’t. (At least I hope not, as that would mean I have become distressingly light-weight! Hmm… Maybe I need to drink more frequently to build up my tolerance again.) It is just a description of a feeling that is not quite vomitus, but could go that way at any time. In order to say it properly you must work your face into a grimace and draw out the “g” at the end: Mungggggggggg.
Can also be a sound of extreme annoyance with another person/the world at large.
My friend and I came up with it (at least I think we did), to describe the way she feels when her pain med combinations go disastrously wrong.
i havent a clue as to what this paper is saying. *scratches head*
Spam protection: Mix yellow and blue paint and get what color?
@problem with the situation in MY head/Kirax...
STFU. I was obviously discussing something with CurisousKat!
While there are times my comments are compeltely irrelevant, this is not one of them.
If you think irking me with your mungy comments directed towards me works me up, you're wrong. I'm stuck home with toddlers all day, and I'm just happy to interact with ANYONE, you included.
Chrome, the straight dope site is very cool.
but you have to join a new cult. old ones just won't do.
I am loving the comments. To add another irrelevant one: Does anyone else have to do a double-take at the stupid makeout club ads? I always think there's a little bug on my screen. At least creepy american apparal girl is stationary. :)
I have tried to join the makeout club. It doesn't do anything when I click on it.
@Mona Lisa - If you find a way to biggen your car, let me know! I'd like to biggen mine as well. I keep waiting for it to grow up....
My car also needs biggening - it's a Mini (old style). It also has an horrid oli drip. Oh, well, I'm off to get pisped and forget about it.
I hope they got a second estimate.
Poor Baby, I'll make out with you for a dollar.
Lance lies. He'll make out with you for free. He'll probably even show you his 2xcron rods and let you grind the crank.
Terrie-is-so-very, I don't lie, I'm selective. No more freebies for you!
(Way to squash my entrepreneurial spirit....sniff.)
I just think you're worth more than a buck.
OMG! You guys sound like idiots.
Curious Kat: Wombles are vegetarians so there are a lot of "tooting" wombles in all burrows.
I have discovered a weakness in the fibre of E. Beresford's knowledge as Womble chronicler for the outside world. She claimed that Bungo Womble just closed his eyes and made up his name himself. Wrong!! There actually is an archipielago of small islands called Bungo off the coast of Japan.
All Wombles take their names from the atlas, so there well may be a Tooting Beck Womble in a coming generation.
@Lost in Found
I live in the Columbia SC area, I'll keep an eye out for your stuff. ;o)
@Tori: now i'm having reformed-packrat-remorse. can you gather my stuff up and bring it back to me? i'm especially missing my ailing mother's living will...
maybe too morose, even for me...
Wow, glad my find was useful. Yes that is Shuggie in the post by Turbo above. I'm slightly creeped out by the investigative work there!
All of Shug: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muteboy/sets/182159/
Tooting Bec Common:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&am
Dear Honda,
Telling people they sound like idiots while using terms like "OMG" makes you sound like a jenius.
Your BFF,
terrie-is-so-very
Lost... Doh!
and Terrie Is So Very...
FUNNY!
CuriousKat and Mona and Orinoco, here I am! Thanks for the thought. Yes, I was off tooting my instrument (in St John's Wood, not in Tooting Bec). Oh, and doing some work.
I totally sympathise with the writer of this note, in a state of shock at how much her(his) car is going to cost to get fixed (undoubtedly more than it's worth, but what can you do? Been there, so many times!). She(he) was probably more than a little dyslexic anyway, and is so traumatized at what the garage man is telling her(him) over the phone that she can't write it down straight (and doesn't know what most of the words mean anyway).
'Biggen brings' are 'big end bearings', by the way. I know ALL about those (on my 1955 Riley). Not sure about 'mineing brings' ('main bearings'?), but I can figure out most of the other stuff on the list.
'Con rods' are connecting rods (the bit between the crank and the piston, if I remember correctly). Sounds as if he(she), and/or the previous owner(s), had never put any oil in the engine from one year's end to the next. (Moral: always ask for the FSH [full service history]).
I think the garage man is trying delicately to inform her(him) that it's not going to be worth spending money on ('and if you do spend £2350 on it, you're going to need a new clutch within a year anyway').
Thank heavens for Hondas that never go wrong!! (crossing fingers as I write that).
3
Mr CreepyCounter, I can only see two Creepys (and one Creeped) and none of them has anything to do with the Find so surely they don't count??
Looks like dyslexia, or some other truly bizarre learning disorder.