I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by. - Douglas Adams

Nobleness was one word for making a fuss about the trivial inevitabilities of life, but there were others.

There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. … Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.

The only thing nicer than a phone that didn't ring all the time (or indeed at all) was six phones that didn't ring all the time (or indeed at all).