There's a certain mesmerizing effect that creeps in once you start digging into programming language fundamentals.

Any kind of notation, really, can do that to a person. It's kind of hypnotic.

I avoid it like the plague (getting too much into it). Not because I dislike it, but because I like it so much.

I believe the ideal programming language must be full of problems, and then obvious ways to get around those problems. It's better than a near-perfect language with one or two problems that are very hard to get around.

The "Stop Writing Dead Programs" video mentioned is quite nice. It's surprising how the web is a platform for many of the languages the presenter offer as inspiration.