I remember forwarding funny website links and word docs full of copy/pasted jokes around in emails back in the 90s and early 00s. This was a favorite of mine, having dropped out of an applied physics degree with the memory of the "final straw" optics lab where I lost the will to carry on. The equipment was awful, and I was paired with the clumsiest partner in the world. (During our 3rd year work experience semester, he was the only student who received an entirely negative feedback from his employer with the summary "unemployable" - I believe he caused a fire). Every time i stripped an optic fiber cable and mounted it in front of the laser, it seemed like the entire universe conspired to break the brittle glass core. When we did finally line everything up, happily taking measurements, I too ended up drawing a line through noise. In fact I haven't even read the piece yet, so it's been 15+ years since I've seen it, and I still remember laughing out loud at that line.