“When you feel the urge to design a complex binary file format, or a complex binary application protocol, it is generally wise to lie down until the feeling passes.” — Eric Raymond
Taken from the section of his book entitled The Importance of Being Textual.
I think Raymond was alluding to this humorous quote:
““Whenever I feel like exercise I lie down until the feeling passes”
— Robert Maynard Hutchins
President, University of Chicago, 1930s-40s