peel.

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze 
than it should be stifled by dry rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor,
every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

-Jack London (1876 - 1916)