“The trick is to be smarter than the equipment you are trying to operate.”
and,
The Engineer’s Mantra
[ul]If it won’t fit, force it.
Use a bigger hammer.
If it breaks, it needed to be replaced anyway. [/ul]
“If it doesn´t break it´s too heavy!”
Rhubarb - my version is, “There is nothing so technologically advanced that it cannot be fixed with a suitable application of brute force and ignorance.”
Another favorite of mine: “Anything not nailed down is mine. Anything I can pry loose is not nailed down.” (This is a joke, this is only a joke.)
For real, though, my mantras are as follows: “Live every day as though it is your last, because one day, you’ll be right” and, whenever something goes wrong, “And a billion Chinese people are completely unaffected by this.”
“I Rock”
“This is so not ahi” From the short lived John Larroquet Show (sp)- chanted when things start to go bad
“God has not given me a spirit of fear; I have a spirit of love, I have a spirit of power, I have a sound (whole, useful, mature) mind.”
Mmmm…, Mantra.
:::drool:::
That which does not make me stronger, kills me.
No regrets.
That which does not kill you will only weaken you so that something that wouldn’t have killed you before will kill you now.
C’est la vie.
Meh.
And of course, my sig…
“Expect the worst, but give your best”
“Be kind”
Can’t sleep, clowns will eat me…Can’t sleep, clowns will eat me…
Seriously, though, when I’m facing either a lot of physical pain (ie at the first basketball practice of the season, when we’re all out of shape but the coach makes us run the whole time anyway) or some kind of difficult task or time in life: “I’ve been in worse than this, and survived. Millions of other people have been in worse and survived.”
Also, this one from my mother, who got it from her mother: No matter how bad you think you have it, there’s always someone worse off than you.
And finally: Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.
“It takes all kinds”
“Each to their own”
“No regrets”
I live by these three thoughts.
Scylla - you didn’t post your Mantra 
- Make 'em laugh*
Patience
Never Make A Thread You Cannot Carry Out
Timing is everything
- It’s the journey, not the destination.*
And Now For A Moment Of Zen * It’s alright letting yourself go just as long as you can get yourself back * [size=1]Jagger.*
This too shall pass.
Dance like no one is watching.
It’s the journey that counts.
A hundred years from now, none of this will matter.
Nothing matters a damn as long as I can’t be blamed.
What ever happened to:
“I ain’t dead yet.”
Or, if you want to get all literary about it-
“I ATE’NT DEAD.” -Granny Weatherwax
“I will not settle for less than the best.”
This applies to my own actions and the people I surround myself with. Yah, I’m lonely
How hard can it be?