Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. -- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832)

Abstraction is a form of data compression: absolutely necessary, because human short-term memory is so small, but the critically important aspect of abstraction is the algorithm that gets you from the name back to the "uncompressed" details. -- Bruce Wilder (blog post comment)

Controlling complexity is the essence of computer programming. -- Brian Kernigan

Making All Software Into Tools Reduces Risk. -- smoothspan.com

The lesson of the story might appear to be that self-interested and ambitious people in power are often the cause of wastefulness in developing countries. But self-interested and ambitious people are in positions of power, great and small, all over the world. In many places, they are restrained by the law, the press, and democratic opposition. Cameroon's tragedy is that there is nothing to hold self-interest in check. -- Tim Harford

A charlatan makes obscure what is clear; a thinker makes clear what is obscure. -- Hugh Kingsmill

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar

Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. ~Albert Einstein

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. ~Truman Capote

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly. ~Proverb