[Emacs] is written in Lisp, which is the only computer language that is beautiful.

I'm strictly a one-project-at-a-time kind of guy. If I came up with a compelling idea for a different book while working on a project, I'd probably abandon the first project and go with the new idea.

I think that this vein is close to being mined out already, but I'll say that my knowledge of and talent for linguistics are quite limited and I'm not aware of being a hell of a lot more interested in that topic than I am in others.

I feel that I am entitled to trample all other considerations into the dirt in my pursuit of a satisfying pun.

The franchise and the virus work on the same principle, what thrives in one place will thrive in another. You just have to find a sufficiently virulent business plan, condense it into a three-ring binder ― its DNA ― Xerox it, and embed it in the fertile line of a well-traveled highway, preferably one with a left turn lane. Then the growth will expand until it runs up against its property lines.

The sight of the bare katana inspires everyone to a practically Nipponese level of politeness

She looked at me like I was crazy. Most of my lovers do, and that's partly why they love me, and partly why they leave