... Alors vous imaginez ma surprise, au lever du jour, quand une drôle de petite voix m'a réveillé. Elle disait:
  --S'il vous plaît... dessine-moi un mouton.

So you can imagine my surprise when, at daybreak, I awoke to a funny little voice, saying "Please... draw me a sheep."

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

After an interesting "revelation" in the CB, in which the secret of premchai21's youth was discovered (his secret, in fact, is his age: 12 years), I suggested to him that he not lose sight of his youth, in trade for his intelligence. I told him that he should still be able to see the sheep in the box.

He asked to what my statement was a reference. It is to a book that is not about programming. It's not about production time. It's not about man-hours or man-months. It's not about money, or computers, or des choses sérieuses (matters of consequence).

It is about that which is important in life. The essential. On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. (One cannot see but with the heart; the essential is invisible to our eyes.) The book is not very long -- about 100 pages, rather big print, with illustrations, and it probably won't take you more than an hour to read it. (If I say these things, it is only on account of the grown-ups, who like numbers.)

The book is about understanding that which is precious to the unsullied minds of children.

  "Only the little children know what they're looking for," said the little prince. "They spend their time on a rag doll and it becomes very important, and if it's taken away from them, they cry..."
  "They're lucky," the switchman said.

If you know French, read the book in French -- there are some things that are lost in the translation to English. Of the most important of these is the translation of the French verb apprisvoiser, which means "to tame." However, the verb itself can be taken apart, and translated as "to learn the voice of." In the context of this book, and the story contained therein, this is most important to know.

I strongly suggest you read this book, no matter what your age; yet, I implore the older ones among us, if they are grown-ups, to pay close attention. You just might find yourself taking less time in your day to worry about Perl and money and your job, and instead spend that time wondering about a certain sheep, on a certain distant little planet, near a certain rose. Why you would do that is something no grown-up could ever understand.

japhy -- Perl and Regex Hacker