The Things That Make Daniel Tick Daniel writes, reads, smokes pipes, dances, works constantly, travels, walks, rides subways, thinks endlessly, ponders, communicates continually, reasons, challenges, analyzes, re-envisions, makes love, makes mistakes, has a plant-based diet, accepts an 80% success rate, and wears a muffler when climate permits. Daniel writes his life in indelible ink and burns the drafts. Daniel would say that the following things, and love, have made him the man he is.