The Wisdom of Markus

• programming: "I had to learn to be a better programmer. I'm SO much better than the bumbling fool that I was. I can't believe how much I learned in my first year here... I grew in many ways (no.. I didn't gain weight..)"

• piano playing: "I suck now, but wait ten years..."

• in a typical email: "Boy, that was more than a little rambling.. I think I have a genetic urge to give people advice.. "

• later in that email: "Oops, advice again. Just can't stop. "

• talking about math: "Well, perhaps you don't want to use just the derivatives.. or perhaps I'm not making any sense.. we can't dismiss that possibility either"

• about word processors: "Use LaTeX. It's much better. "

• latex again: "I love it! You know, once you get the hang of latex, you'll LOVE it, I'm sure."

• forgetting holidays:
  "> came to work one day and everything was closed. i figured
  > out it was some sort of holiday, but i still don't know which
  > one it was. seems like everyone else knew about it somehow.
  
  You and me are much to cool to worry about such trivia, that's the difference"

• wit: "hotmail sucks. But it's good value for your money.."

• diplomacy: "Well um.... you were always better at math than at programming. "

• about the game: "Welllllll we don't really know anything about the game whatsoever since we always had at least fifteen mutually contradictory ideas about every single issue that ever came up, ever. Sort of thing."

• game ambitions: "How about if the whole world is one GIGANTIC 3D model, and the armies "flow" through it, a little bit like liquid duck fat?
  
  > ah, the duck fat model."

• life in general: "That seems painfully obvious in hindsight. "

• all unifying game vision: "It's become more and more obvious that, in essence, we are proposed to write a simulation. A grand simulation, in fact, of the entire world!"

• markus falling in love: "OOOO! i'm in love with the multi-level simulation!"

• burritos: "That reminds me of the two canonical examples of substances that go directly from solid to gaseous: dry ice and burritos.."

• dropping a bombshell: "Hi! Could you explain to me real quick what holomogy/cohomology is? "

• being humble: "The best way to look at it is, you just have to make a good life for yourself with what you got.. no point in trying to be something you can't be..At least that's all *I* have to hold on to ;-)"

• looking forward to the christmas that never happened: "I plan to STUFF myself with Chinese and Japanese food in Vancouver.. "

• predicting the future: "See ya on the 28th.."

*sniff* that is all.