I learned an old proverb used by Russian whale hunters: “The sea brings us sorrow, but without the sea, we would have twice as much sorrow.”

It’s something I should remember whenever I crash out because the code won’t compile. The code brings us sorrow, but without the code, we would have twice as much sorrow.

Anyway, Svalbard was much better than I expected. Lots of interesting people up here. I think I’ll come back someday, in winter. I want to see the dark season and sleep in an ice cave.