Bertrand
Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British
philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual, born
on this date in 1872. 10 quotes from him:

One
of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that
one’s work is terribly important.
The
whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always
so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.
The
time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
The
world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to
grow sharper.
Democracy
is the process by which people choose the man who'll get the blame.
I
would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.
Organized
people are just too lazy to look for things.
There
is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.
Science
is what you know, philosophy is what you don't know.
Be
isolated, be ignored, be attacked, be in doubt, be frightened, but
do not be silenced.
Life
is just one cup of coffee after another, and don't look for anything
else.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.