I'm as healthy as a horse, so I'm going to keep my nose to the grindstone, give it 110%

• "My brother broke his leg the other day playing badminton. At the emergency room the doctor was taking his history, and my brother proudly exclaimed 'I'm as healthy as a horse', so the doctor shot him."

• Do horses never get sick? By golly, if the horse is the standard benchmark against which human health is measured, I'm changing my primary care physician to the local large animal veterinarian. "Morning Doc. So long as I'm as healthy as that horse lying over there, I'm good to go." "Sir, that horse is dead." "Then I'm looking real good!"

• These athletes and other realted overachievers are pretty much just idiots. I hate to tell you this, but you cannot possibly give 110%. Not unless you borrow 10% from someone else, but even then, you can't carry it. 100% is all you have. Giving it your all? That's giving it 100%. Do you really think that someone who gives it 110% is really trying 10% harder than someone giving it his all?

• Perseverance. Dedication. Strong work ethic. Bloody grindstones. Noseless laborers. At what point in history did somebody figure that putting their nose against a grindstone and keeping it there would help them continue working despite any number of challenges? I can't imagine that keeping your nose to the grindstone did anything for them but cause a lot of pain; it certainly wouldn't provide incentive to persevere.