Science Fictiona author quote of the day from Neal Stephenson (author of Cryptonomicon, among other works):

For a Westerner to trash Western culture is like criticizing our nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere on the grounds that it sometimes gets windy, and besides, Jupiter's is much prettier. You may not realize its advantages until you're trying to breathe liquid methane.

Wired 2.02: In the Kindom of Mao Bell