The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should therefore be regarded as a criminal offense. -- E.W. Dijkstra

No art, however minor, demands less than total dedication if you want to excel in it. -- Alberti

What do Americans look for in a car? I've heard many answers when I've asked this question. The answers include excellent safety ratings, great gas mileage, handling, and cornering ability, among others. I don't believe any of these. That's because the first principle of the Culture Code is that the only effective way to understand what people truly mean is to ignore what they say. This is not to suggest that people intentionally lie or misrepresent themselves. What it means is that, when asked direct questions about their interests and preferences, people tend to give answers they believe the questioner wants to hear. Again, this is not because they intend to mislead. It is because people respond to these questions with their cortexes, the parts of their brains that control intelligence rather than emotion or instinct. They ponder a question, they process a question, and when they deliver an answer, it is the product of deliberation. They believe they are telling the truth. A lie detector would confirm this. In most cases, however, they aren't saying what they mean. -- The culture code.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is undistinguishable from magic. -- Arthur C. Clarke

All creativity is an extended form of a joke. -- Alan Kay

All great things require great dedication. -- Chuck Norris(?)

Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time. ~George Bernard Shaw

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. –Farrah Gray

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!” –Audrey Hepburn

Fortune sides with him who dares. ~Virgil