Much of my daily work involves designing and maintaining web sites, using apps like Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 & Fireworks MX, Adobe Photoshop CS with ImageReady, BBEdit, and phpMyAdmin. But, these days what I want more than anything else is to move back into print identity design — logos, brochures, posters, flyers, and collateral materials (business cards, letterhead and so on). Until recently, my employers didn’t see fit to upgrade their way-out-of-date copies of QuarkXpress (non-OS-X-compliant version 4.1) for doing layout. Occassionally, I’d taken to using Macromedia’s Freehand 10 to do some layout, with mixed results. My employers DID see fit to buy the Adobe Creative Suite Premium, which includes their alleged Quark-Killer, InDesign CS.

I absolutely love it. It functions the way I want to work, and it’s almost delightful how easy things are to accomplish. It has tons more standard features than XPress, easily imports native Photoshop and Illustrator artwork and exports PDFs — all without having to jump through hoops and extra steps. I love its typographic and style sheet features most of all. I’m switching-over most of my recent projects, including an ongoing 16-page quarterly newsletter I manage, and every new print project I start will be in InDesign. Sometimes I’m almost giddy when I move around in it, as I remember why I enjoy design and layout work.

I use a Mac. Every work day, all day. When I have the money, I’ll buy a Mac for my home use. I love the control and versatility of OS X. I love the compatibility of the commercial, shareware, and freeware apps to choose from. I cherish the security of working (relatively) virus, trojan, malware and spyware free. I love the elegance and innovation of the hardware. I think the materials and forms are beautiful examples of functional, modern art.

So, I’m incredibly tired of non-Mac users lamenting the standard one-button mouse. Get a clue: it’s a design decision, and it’s been that way since the first Mac. By ‘design decision’, I don’t mean merely for appearances. I mean form AND function. I for one don’t need two or three buttons to get around and do my work. But for those that do, I offer a much sought-after solution for your ongoing, insurmountable difficulty with the one-button Apple mouse: go buy a different one, plug it in (chances are it’ll work), then shut the fuck up.

UPDATE: And, what’s with WIndows users jumping through hoops to make their screen look like Mac OS X? You can’t make a sik purse from a sow’s ear, I’m afraid. Besides, where’s your platform pride? Mine’s with my Mac, and my one-button mouse, thank you.

I’m on the last few pages of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay, which is a wonderful read. It reminds me of my casual relationship with comic books when I was younger. I never collected any, and my passion was never as great as others who collect and treasure graphic novels. But, rediscovering on a recent vacation some copies of The Flash and Firestorm reminded me of their fantastical plots and narrative brevity.

The book’s setting also reminds me that I’ve had a growing fascination with cultural artifacts from the 1920s and 1930s. Many of my favorite movies come from these decades, and most of the music I listen to with any regularity is from digitized 78 rpm records. These decades seem to me to hold a wealth of energy and creative activity. Lately, that’s been what I’m after.

I feel my life is too digital. I need to “let go of the bits.” I have become a bit of a compulsive collector when it comes to music files, images, software, news bits and so on. What I concentrate-on varies from time to time, but I can’t seem to stop dowloading. I have amassed gigabytes of files. Every CD I’ve owned has been ripped and tagged and now sits on a set of massive Firewire hard drives. The plastic bodies and shells of my once proud music collection sit gathering dust on racks, while my ever-growing, pulsating digital collection becomes absurdly large. I’ve slowly been selling them off online, but the next step is to box them up for storage or to donate somewhere, because they take up too much room in my apartment. Most of my personal artwork and photographs also are now in digital form. Much of my life has shifted from the analog to the digital. I even dilligently post listings of the books I’m reading, the music I’m listening to, the films I’ve seen, the activities I’ve done, the links I’ve explored — all as a way to expand my digital identity.

But in times like these, it all falls flat; leaves me feeling empty. Rather than merge together, all these things seem to divide me; I feel unfocused and split. I read an article recently that discussed what can happen when a family member dies. Often the files on their computer (pictures, documents, emails) are forgotten or deleted. So much of our lives has been amassing in these digital spaces. So much of our analog side is being supplemented or supplanted by the digital side. Before I disappear completely (an exageration, i know), I want to return to solid ground. I want to revive my life. I want to reopen the door for the varied spirits of life to revitalize me. I want to Be (more) Analog.

Today after lunch at a seafood restaurant close to where I work, I went over to the nearest cafe and bought a tall, iced, soy mocha with caramel minus whipped cream (that’s quite a mouthful, why don’t they name it after me and make it easier on everyone?). Most cafes around town have some kind of card they hand-initial or hole-punch with each purchase towards getting a discount or free item when completed. I never bother with these, because their numbers become rank and fill-up my (decidedly lean) wallet. I realize these cards are meant to promote customer loyalty and increase repeat business for stores and restaurants, but they’ve always been more trouble than they’re worth for me.

My bright idea was, how about a city-wide (or regional, to be ambitious) card that’s good at numerous cafes, regardless of who owns them? Participating locations would validate and honor the card and make sporting one feel more valuable. It could be like a cafe co-op card which promotes cafe culture (or something). They would have to combine resources in an as-yet-to-be-determined, decentralized way, as I’m not imagining a monolithic system, just one that isn’t so divisive but truly usable to the cardholder. The trouble is, most places see everyone else as a competitor, rather than all working towards a common end (such as being a part of a shared lifestyle or community experience). I drink coffee once every couple of months, so I may not be the ideal user for such a card.

But network thinking, that’s what I’m after.