Freebsd Fortunes 2

Absence makes the heart grow frantic.

ABSENT:
        Exposed to the attacks of friends and
        acquaintances; defamed; slandered.

ABSENTEE:
        A person with an income who has had the forethought
        to remove themselves from the sphere of exaction.

Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder.

Absolutum obsoletum.  (If it works, it's out of date.)
                -- Stafford Beer

ABSTAINER:
        A weak person who yields to the
        temptation of denying himself a pleasure.

Abstract:
        This study examined the incidence of neckwear tightness among a group
of 94 white-collar working men and the effect of a tight business-shirt collar
and tie on the visual performance of 22 male subjects.  Of the white-collar
men measured, 67% were found to be wearing neckwear that was tighter than
their neck circumference.  The visual discrimination of the 22 subjects was
evaluated using a critical flicker frequency (CFF) test.  Results of the CFF
test indicated that tight neckwear significantly decreased the visual
performance of the subjects and that visual performance did not improve
immediately when tight neckwear was removed.
                -- Langan, L.M. and Watkins, S.M. "Pressure of Menswear on the
                   Neck in Relation to Visual Performance."  Human Factors 29,
                   #1 (Feb. 1987), pp. 67-71.

ABSURDITY:
        A statement or belief manifestly
        inconsistent with one's own opinion.

Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics,
because the stakes are so low.
                -- Wallace Sayre

Academicians care, that's who.