Sunday Muse

I'm in "no days off" mode at work, now. Lots of hiring, which means going through resumes and applications, phone calls and emails, interviews, paperwork, orientation, and, now, training. I'm not sure what the big rush is, but I've hired about a dozen people so far. Maybe more. And that's only about half needed.

Got my Leopard OS X upgrade. Not a radical change, but some very nice features. I like Spaces the best so far. That lets me have several virtual desktops that I can switch back and forth. MUCH less clutter as I have a "space" for Photoshop, a space for my web browser, etc. It really keeps things neat and organized and is easy to use.

There is also Time Machine, the supercool backup program I hope I never have to use.

I'm somewhat amazed that I've been able to deliver a cartoon a day for my cartoon blog. I'm not way ahead, as I hoped to be. Rather I often am only starting to come up with an idea the day it is published. I've started spending more time cleaning up the drawings (my philosophy is no unneeded lines, no unneeded distractions/details).

There are an amazing amount of decisions to make in a "simple" cartoon. I've gotten stumped trying to come up with a headline. (Interestingly, the intentional misspelling, "Ho Ho Holloween," led to several Google search hits from people who can't spell Halloween. (I guess this blog message will now fit that criteria as well...!)

This week I also have an overnight shift so we can get our TV's installed. Borders is moving into a more technology friendly phase and this will be part of it.

I guess I haven't written yet on the Sony Reader. This is the future of books, magazines, catalogs... the future of print. It's still bleeding edge technology (and expensive! $300 for the current version. But the idea is right on. Being able to converge not just books but topical ephemeral content (think carry around your RSS feeds) as well as reference materials and, soon I'm sure, the ability to share "documents" in the same way we share music (you can download wifi music at Starbucks, for instance), in a very readable format.

No, it's not the death of books. That medium is too high resolution, too brilliant access (think how you scan a newspaper or magazine). 1,000 year old technology that's still the best option. But, soon, another good option for many uses, will be in our pockets.