Garden Of Blog

Zucchini.

I thought it might be interesting to document my current software preferences in the categories that matter to me. How much will this list change in one, five or ten years?

These are my selections for best value, in many cases. Therefore, free software has the edge, if it has enough features to satisfy my requirements. There are also some rather expensive products on the list. Here we go:

operating system: OS X Tiger, or any *X
language: Perl
database: MySQL
browser: Firefox
email: Mail (Mac)
blog: WordPress
graphics: The GIMP
web editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver
audio editor: Adobe Audition
mp3 encoder: LAME version 3.91 (http://www.mp3dev.org/)
video editor: Final Cut Studio
text editor: BBEdit and vim
photo album: Flickr (service)

Not sure if I left anything off. I’ll edit this post if I think of anything.

The AP newswire just put out this unbelievable story about the Pentagon offering to add “Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “Operation Eduring Freedom” to fallen soldiers’ gravestones.

Critics who sense a political motivation to this feel it is in poor taste. But seriously: is including the name of a military operation on a headstone considered good PR? Is this what they teach in marketing school? What’s the pitch? “Join Operation Iraqi Freedom and YOU TOO can get the schnazzy slogan on your grave?”

If I didn’t feel like crying, I’d laugh.

Abby has written her first song today, on the piano. She wrote the notes (a sequence of 19) as the finger numbers 1-5 of her right hand. No distinct time signature yet.

It’s great to see her writing as well as reading so early on, for the piano. The impulse to make something new is so key. No pun intended.

Had a heckuva time installing the Perl GD module on a Red Hat system this week. Like you care. Anyhow here is my half rant, half documentation.
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~delgreco/installing_GD.html

Why can’t these things be easy? Is it me? Probably.

It’s so nice to see you own thoughts elucidated in greater detail than you’ve yet had the time to think them. Paul Graham has done that for me quite often. Check out his dang fine essay on the victory of the amateur over the professional. Smurfy stuff.

Graham didn’t mention it, but amateur is Latin for lover. He knew it, though. He points out that work done out of love is far better than work done for money. He does mention that the French word for work stems from the old word for torture.

Just read the essay if you have the time. I am only duplicating his effort.

Well the last few weeks have been intense and wonderful, first with the birth of our baby boy Marco (see below), then me turning 30, and capped off with a mayhem-filled weekend at Mindfest 2005. This was the biggest and best Mindfest ever, with an estimated 500 to 750 persons at peak on Saturday night, and over 1,000 coming through at least some point during the weekend.

The other organizers (mostly the members of The Rhythm Ship) and myself can’t thank the bands and stewards of the land enough, as well as the people of Middleton. Working together we all had a blast, and stayed safe as we could in the process.

But I’m back to relaxing with Jessica, Abby and the baby… and getting some much needed rest. Today is our 6th wedding anniversary.