It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa.

In English every word can be verbed.

If your computer speaks English, it was probably made in Japan.

Adapting old programs to fit new machines usually means adapting new machines to behave like old ones.

I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot of fun. Of course, the paying customers got shafted every now and then, and after a while we began to take their complaints seriously. We began to feel as if we really were responsible for the successful, error-free perfect use of these machines. I don't think we are. I think we're responsible for stretching them, setting them off in new directions, and keeping fun in the house. I hope the field of computer science never loses its sense of fun.

If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake him up.

Often it is the means that justify the ends: goals advance technique and technique survives even when goal structures crumble.