Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.

At the very moment that humans discovered the scale of the universe and found that their most unconstrained fancies were in fact dwarfed by the true dimensions of even the Milky Way Galaxy, they took steps that ensured that their descendants would be unable to see the stars at all. For a million years humans had grown up with a personal daily knowledge of the vault of heaven. In the last few thousand years they began building and emigrating to the cities. In the last few decades, a major fraction of the human population had abandoned a rustic way of life. As technology developed and cities were polluted, the nights became starless. New generations grew to maturity wholly ignorant of the sky that transfixed their ancestors and that had stimulated the modern age of science and technology. Without even noticing, just as astronomy entered a golden age most people cut themselves off from the sky, a cosmic isolationism that ended only with the dawn of space exploration.

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

--Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

--Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Chester nods all the way through this, but does not rudely interrupt Randy as a younger nerd would. Your younger nerd takes offense quickly when someone near him begins to utter declarative sentences, because he reads into it an assertion that he, the nerd, does not already know the information being imparted. But your older nerd has more self-confidence, and besides, understands that frequently people need to think out loud. And highly advanced nerds will furthermore understand that uttering declarative sentences whose contents are already known to all present is part of the social process of making conversation and therefore should not be construed as aggression under any circumstances.

--Neal Stephenson Cryptonomicon

Toast

& Crackers

ABIDE

Do or do not, there is no try.

It had been a wonderful evening and what I needed now, to give it the perfect ending, was a little of the Ludwig Van.

When there is no wind, row.

If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes.

A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems.

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five.

Billy the Dachshund was adopted on March 6th, 2007 from the Kentucky Dachshund Rescue.

Weighing 17lbs he packed as much ferocity as 'lovins' and sparked a smile on everyone's face. While proof was required to quell the doubters, Billy was an adept swimmer and loved canoeing during the Kentucky summers. Billy came to love his feline sibling, Miss Cleo, and she even came to tolerate him after he figured out that dogs and cats play differently.

Billy was a cute dog. His admirers beloved his distinct shape and it was a popular subject while talking with neighbors. Once he got to know you he would treat you to his more humorous side. When you walked through the door he would burst into excitement, standing on his back legs waving his little stubby paw almost as if he was trying to give you a high five. He would even pull his lips back showing his teeth in a gesture that was unmistakeably a smile (something that I've never seen in a dog before). Billy slept like human, sprawled out, belly up and tucked under the covers with his head laying on a pillow. He was even a fast learner. He learned to play nicely with the cat, roll over, share his toys and was even learning how to be nicer to strangers (you may have experienced the 'wild' Billy the first time you met him).

Tragically Billy's life ended when he suffered a back injury, something all too common in the breed. We're not sure exactly what happened but speculate that he jumped from the couch and landed in a way that put too much pressure on his spinal column. Life would have been miserable for Billy and after exploring all the options we knew what had to be done.

Billy brought so much joy into mine and Chrissie's lives. Its still emotional to think about his departure but there are so many happy memories that its not long before you start laughing and smiling again. Thanks Billy for all the ways in which you've enriched us, we will never forget you.

O'Toole never fully comprehended what exactly was meant by the expression "quadratic prime." However, he did understand, and was fascinated by, the fact that the string 41, 43, 47, 53, 61, 71, 83, 97, where each successive number was computed by increasing the difference from the previous number by two, resulted in exactly forty consecutive prime numbers.. The sequence of primes ended only when the forty-first number in the srting turned out to be a non prime, namely 41 X 41 = 1681. This little know piece of information O'Toole had shared only one time in his life, with his wife Kathleen on her forty-first birthday, and he had received such a lackluster response that he never told anybody about it again.

The extraordinary meeting of the Space Advisory Council was brief and stormy. Even by the twenty-second century, no way had yet been discovered of keeping elderly and conservative scientists from occupying crucial administrative positions. Indeed, it was doubted if the problem ever would be solved.

--Arthur C. Clarke, Rendezvous with Rama

The wise are not wise because they make no mistakes. They are wise because they correct their mistakes as soon as they recognize them.

--Orson Scott Card, Xenocide

I was always very careful (not anymore, because the guys that I work with are better programmers) to structure the code—each chunk of code wasn't larger than the screen—such that I could come in and look at it, figure out what I'm doing, do it, and be done for the day in 15 minutes. So if I could get one thing done a day, I was happy. A lot of stuff, if I could spend more time, I did, but as long as I could get one or two things done a week total, if I didn't have time, I didn't have time. So it moved pretty slowly. I worked on it for years.

--Joshua Schachter, founder of del.icio.us, said in Founders at Work

A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not too much above his last achievement. In this way he steadily raises his level of aspiration.

           `The sun was shining on the sea,
              Shining with all his might:
            He did his very best to make
              The billows smooth and bright --
            And this was odd, because it was
              The middle of the night.

            The moon was shining sulkily,
              Because she thought the sun
            Had got no business to be there
              After the day was done --
            "It's very rude of him," she said,
              "To come and spoil the fun!"

            The sea was wet as wet could be,
              The sands were dry as dry.
            You could not see a cloud, because
              No cloud was in the sky:
            No birds were flying over head --
              There were no birds to fly.

            The Walrus and the Carpenter
              Were walking close at hand;
            They wept like anything to see
              Such quantities of sand:
            "If this were only cleared away,"
              They said, "it WOULD be grand!"

            "If seven maids with seven mops
              Swept it for half a year,
            Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
              "That they could get it clear?"
            "I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
              And shed a bitter tear.

            "O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
              The Walrus did beseech.
            "A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
              Along the briny beach:
            We cannot do with more than four,
              To give a hand to each."

            The eldest Oyster looked at him.
              But never a word he said:
            The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
              And shook his heavy head --
            Meaning to say he did not choose
              To leave the oyster-bed.

            But four young oysters hurried up,
              All eager for the treat:
            Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
              Their shoes were clean and neat --
            And this was odd, because, you know,
              They hadn't any feet.

            Four other Oysters followed them,
              And yet another four;
            And thick and fast they came at last,
              And more, and more, and more --
            All hopping through the frothy waves,
              And scrambling to the shore.

            The Walrus and the Carpenter
              Walked on a mile or so,
            And then they rested on a rock
              Conveniently low:
            And all the little Oysters stood
              And waited in a row.

            "The time has come," the Walrus said,
              "To talk of many things:
            Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing-wax --
              Of cabbages -- and kings --
            And why the sea is boiling hot --
              And whether pigs have wings."

            "But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
              "Before we have our chat;
            For some of us are out of breath,
              And all of us are fat!"
            "No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
              They thanked him much for that.

            "A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
              "Is what we chiefly need:
            Pepper and vinegar besides
              Are very good indeed --
            Now if you're ready Oysters dear,
              We can begin to feed."

            "But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
              Turning a little blue,
            "After such kindness, that would be
              A dismal thing to do!"
            "The night is fine," the Walrus said
              "Do you admire the view?

            "It was so kind of you to come!
              And you are very nice!"
            The Carpenter said nothing but
              "Cut us another slice:
            I wish you were not quite so deaf --
              I've had to ask you twice!"

            "It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
              "To play them such a trick,
            After we've brought them out so far,
              And made them trot so quick!"
            The Carpenter said nothing but
              "The butter's spread too thick!"

            "I weep for you," the Walrus said.
              "I deeply sympathize."
            With sobs and tears he sorted out
              Those of the largest size.
            Holding his pocket handkerchief
              Before his streaming eyes.

            "O Oysters," said the Carpenter.
              "You've had a pleasant run!
            Shall we be trotting home again?"
              But answer came there none --
            And that was scarcely odd, because
              They'd eaten every one.'

"Even in the fact of massive competition, don’t think about the competition. Literally don’t think about them. Every time you’re in a meeting and you’re tempted to talk about a competitor, replace that thought with one about user feedback or surveys. Just think about the customer.”

– Mike McCue, CEO Tellme Networks, Former VP of Technology Netscape

Splaysh.com makes me wanna skibydoowapawoooooo

wander

I feel like a bear that has the strength of 2 bears.

A koala crapped a rainbow in my brain.

Only those with narrow minds fail to see that the definition of Impossible is "Lack of imagination and incentive."

A great ship asks deep water.