I began my first novel when I was 15. It went through three drafts, of around 40,000 words each. If I find it, I'll burn it.

The one thing that does happen, every time, though, is that I never get to write a book until I've already been thinking about it for a period of months to years.

The programmers have another saying: 'The question of whether a machine can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.'

Starships are all work and no fun.

Today, we see some "file sharing" sites that rely on fans uploading cracked copies of ebooks, and which then make money off those books by charging for downloads (via cash subscriptions or advertising). Again: I take a dim view of this. They're making money off the back of my work without paying me.

I've reached an age at which I'd rather pay more for something that "just works" than roll up my sleeves, reach for a spanner, and make it work. Time is money, and the older we get the less of it we've got left.

The chip that functions abnormally will be desoldered, as they say.