This morning I received a note from Rolf Howarth, the author of the amazing multi-platform DV logging tool CatDV. He’s been busy with a new pro version of CatDV, which looks and sounds incredible. (Screenshots)

Today’s New York Times ran a good-sized article on my friend Neil’s latest project: In Your Face, to Film Those Who Miss Train

Why I don’t mind paying taxes: The Aaron Copland Collection presented by The Library of Congress. Click on ‘Musical Sketches’ for hi-res images of Copeland’s handwritten musical sketches.

This interview with Frank Oz is absolutely inspiring: “The work was play“.

In the first half he talks extensively about working with Jim Henson and the creative atmosphere and work ethic that gave birth to Sesame Street and the Muppets. (Two unquestionable forces for good in the universe)

I ended up there because of a song the iPod played for Lila this morning:
I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon (link contains MIDI)

Well, I’d like to visit the moon
On a rocket ship high in the air
Yes, I’d like to visit the moon
But I don’t think I’d like to live there
Though I’d like to look down at the earth from above
I would miss all the places and people I love
So although I might like it for one afternoon
I don’t want to live on the moon
…

There’s so many strange places I’d like to be
But none of them permanently

Every year, Jim Henson climbs a little higher up my ladder of heros.

I’ve been taking something of a news break for the past week or so. A lot of factors contributed: Most of the sites I read regularly have been annoying me, the US government (both sides) have been disappointing me, the outlook for the world seems bleaker and bleaker.

So I’ve been working that much harder and lots of things are closer to finished. As usual, everything is wrapping up at the same time.

Common sense wins in the end (that or massively reduced sales volumes):

[ Editor’s Note: Due to the overwhelming response of our distributors and readers… as of March 2002, O’Reilly book spines are reverting to the traditional, colorful design as depicted here, on the far right. ]

This has been bothering me since I first noticed the change and I haven’t bought several books because I didn’t want to visually pollute my shelf. Design that doesn’t consider human emotional response is decoration.

This is an excerpt of a letter I sent them in January:

The design of the O’Reilly book spine is as distinctive as the McDonalds
arch or the Coca-Cola swoosh. Aside from the high quality of O’Reilly
publications, another unmentioned pleasure of buying your books is how great
they look on the shelf, and how easy it is to distinguish subjects by color.
I believe this move to redesigned spines is a mistake and one that I hope
you will reconsider. Glancing over at my O’Reilly library is satisfying, the
new spines look naked and feel out of place.

Maybe I exaggerate, but within the tiny little world of computer books, I think the first line holds true. I guess this means I can start buying O’Reilly books again though it’ll be a while before the white ones clear channels, so no Amazon purchases for now.