I don't know what being god must feel like, but it can't be much different that being an inventor.There is power in the idea that a certain product never existed before you thought of it, there is joy in the act of bringing the idea into reality and there is contentment in seeing the product come to life when it is being used.

“This high degree of organization of prokaryotic [organisms that lack nuclei] genomes is a complete surprise, and this finding carried many implications that biologists might not have considered before. These findings show that evolution of prokaryotes is constrained not just by variations in the content of genes, but also by the intricate ways in which those genes are arranged on chromosomes.”

“This high degree of organization of prokaryotic genomes is a complete surprise, and this finding carried many implications that biologists might not have considered before. These findings show that evolution of prokaryotes [organisms that lack nuclei] is constrained not just by variations in the content of genes, but also by the intricate ways in which those genes are arranged on chromosomes.”

“It's like he's a key that gets in there and unlocks part of my playing or sensibility as a musician that is there all the time but it's locked up. Just the fact that he's willing to do the whole collaboration with me amazes me. He's so content. He's got such great fans when he's by himself.”

“Componentization would allow AOL to keep its own user interface with its own distinctive branding, controlling the user experience of AOL subscribers browsing the Web. That was important to AOL, which does not want its subscribers to think they were leaving the AOL service when they accessed content on the Internet.”

“Chacon came in and he had been struggling in Colorado. He got a new chance, got to pitch for a team that's in playoff contention, so it was a good change for him. Then he started throwing the ball great, had some success and felt better about himself. It just kept building.”

Unfortunately, in a hierarchical structure, power relationships tend to determine the content; there is always the danger that a "rank-based" logic will prevail. Managers, intent on advancement, tend to supply the information they know their superiors want to hear, rather than the information they ought to hear. Large organizations tend, therefore, to become systematically stupid.

When Jan was called up to service a fourth time...my mother waited outside...the two of them were convinced that this time Jan would have to go, that they would surely send him off to cure his ailing chest in the air of France, famed for its iron and lead content.

Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.

If a person who is content with his life meets someone who makes everything just a little bit more challenging, who both fits and doesn't fit into his life and his routine, to quote Guy Fieri, it is On Like Donkey Kong: swing the rope, jump the barrel, and save the princess.