In Italy in the 1970s, youth belonging to counterculture movements would march in the streets, parading a copy of the Little Red Book  containing quotations from the writings of Chairman Mao Tse-tung.

Yesterday I turned 40, and to celebrate this very round anniversary, Gyuri, Jacopo, Liz and Matt presented me with a Little Black Book containing many of the things I often repeat, or particularly memorable utterances.

This was a truly moving gift, which made me laugh out loud --- my labmates know me too well! (It also made me think that I am slowly becoming a grumpy old professor, always repeating the same Mantras) I will keep the notebook in the lab, so that whenever someone feels the urge to record memorable quotations, they can be saved for posterity.