I was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Bahrain. The first year I went pretty much by myself. Then I went with General [Richard] Myers, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The shows and audiences were amazing. You'll never get a better group of people.

It's always great when you want scientific fact to get a really good science fiction writer to talk to you about it.

Sucking the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone.

Bicycles are pieces of art. You get that combination of kinetic engineering, but then, besides the welds, the paint jobs, the kind of the sculpture of it all is quite beautiful. Bikes have such great lines, and all different styles.

My battles with addiction definitely shaped how I am now. They really made me deeply appreciate human contact. And the value of friends and family, how precious that is.

The truth is, if anything, I'm probably addicted to laughter.

The first time I ate organic whole-grain bread I swear it tasted like roofing material.