If you had done something twice, you are likely to do it again.

C is a razor-sharp tool, with which one can create an elegant and efficient program or a bloody mess.

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.

Trivia rarely affect efficiency. Are all the machinations worth it, when their primary effect is to make the code less readable?

Trying to outsmart a compiler defeats much of the purpose of using one.

Get the weirdnesses into the data where you can manipulate them easily, and the regularity into the code because regular code is a lot easier to work with

Mechanical rules are never a substitute for clarity of thought.