Sorry for the dearth of posts. Dad's memorial service was today, and we've all just been incredibly busy. I have so much to tell, to share, but I've been running on only a couple hours sleep a night for a while...

The Los Angeles Times printed an extended obituary in today's paper. We went to the newsstands this evening and they were sold out. If anyone has a copy of this, my family would greatly cherish getting a hold of it. If you have one, please do contact me. We're really appreciate it.

The URL for the online copy, sans picture, is here. (sorrry, LA Times free registration required)

Art will come later.

My father, David Henry Fox, passed away unexpectedly this morning. I'm going out to Los Angeles tomorrow morning (everything's completely booked tonight) and will be out there for a while. Further bulletins will definitely follow, but I probably won't be as responsive as usual. I should have email access while I'm out there.

Thanks. There's so much more that I want to say about my father, about my love for him, about a thousand things, but I can't right now. It will come later.

I love you, Dad.

Thank you Liz. Today I've been thinking about the time so long ago when we sat overlooking Lake Tahoe, and you shared your loss with me.

This is from a friend. Please pass this along to anyone you know in or around Pittsburgh who might want to take in a cat or kitten. Cats and kittens are great. You want a cat. You know you do. Here's your chance to save a kitty:

Subject: Immediate situation--felines that need homes asap

My neighbors up in Pine Township have beenhospitalized and may not be ableto care for the many cats that they have adopted andthat have been droppedoff at their house. They are both around 90 yearsold and very generous andcompassionate people. Chas and I are fostering 2kittens now. There are asmany as a dozen and they range in age from kittensto adult cats.

The cats will be taken to a farm up north and letloose unless I am able tofind homes for them. The family does not want to dothis but has no otherchoice because they cannot accommodate them.

Please, please, please, consider adopting a kittenor young adult cat! Ifyou are not able, then ask your friends and familyif they know anyone whowould like to adopt a cat/kitten.

They are beautiful creatures, and a bit shy atfirst. But now, just a halfday later they are playing and are more comfortablewith my presence.

The information on the felines is as best as I can give. They scatter awayin the house and hide, so it is hard to tell if I have seen them all. Ihave seen what I think are two age levels on the kittens. One about 5-6weeks, and one about 12 weeks. The kittens vary from almost all white withblack tipped tails/faces/paws (like they came down a chimney! *smile*) tomulti colors of white, black, grey, and some brown. I have not seen muchorange, some may have a bit of orange but not alot. There are some adultsalso. There is a very affectionate black cat who may be 10 years old.There are a couple of multi color, or spotted adults, probably around 3years maybe. I was told there was a black and white cat, but I have notseen it.

There are a number of them outside, but they are hard to see, most are youngadults to adults from what I can gather.

Please be advised that these cats probably have never been to the vet. Forthe kittens it is not so much of an issue. The two kittens that we haveadopted are great! A bit skiddish at first, as expected, but the older ofthe two is very lovable now. The young one is still getting used to us.They are both mostly white with black or grey 'tips'.

Let me know if you need any other information.

I really appreciate your interest and efforts...

If there's any chance you're interested, or know someone who is, drop me an email at hello@fury.com, and I'll put you in touch with the proper person. Feel free to pass this post along to anyone else who might be able to help.

Thanks!

A new fast moving sidewalk is undergoing field trials in Paris. It transports walkers at 9kph (5.5mph), about twice as fast as existing moving sidewalks.

Larry Niven wrote a lot about what he called 'slidewalks.' He envisioned as many as 10 sliding floor tracks edge to edge next to each other, with each one to the left moving a few mph faster than its neighbor. That way someone could step from a stop onto the first 3mph moving sidewalk, then make one more 3mph faster transition, stepping to the next one, until they were going 30mph (or faster) in the 'fast lane', emulating how multi-lane freeways work. People could get on and off wherever they chose, and there would never be a situation where someone would accidentally accelerate or decelerate drastically.

The Paris system is much more like a traditional moving sidewalk, but uses a 'ramp up' section to accelerate passengers to the fast speed, and a ramp-down at the end to bring them to a halt. the animation provided in the article does a great job of showing how this works. It's more sophisticated than just a shorter sidewalk of intermediate speed.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. Personally, I still see the biggest problem being the point-to-point nature of these sidewalks, making them useful for simple high-traffic routes, but not so useful for, say, getting from one gate to another in an airport, or navigating a city, because with the current design you'd have to get on and off the system at every possible stop.

So now I have an iSight and nobody to talk to. what's a boy to do, but set up a webcam?

Quelle retro

It's the big three-oh for me! Woo-hoo! Now I'm finally old enough to be a U.S. Senator!

Amazing predictions of what the next 50 years will bring! I meant to post this 53 years ago.. Oops.

Seriously, it's amazing the things that are right on the nose, funny the things that were totally off, and interesting to see what they thought we'd have yet to accomplish, and what they assume would be child's play by now.

My uncle, a long-time writer and storyteller, has lately been writing phenomenal accounts of his life and emailing them to the family. Inspired by his courage to speak in his 'true voice' without concern of tempering accounts for his audience, I want to share a few items from my private journal.

My good friend and former lover, Caroline, passed away in a car accident four years ago, about six months before I started keeping a weblog. After coming back from the memorial service, I wrote a eulogy in my physical journal. Re-reading it tonight for the first time in years, its so relevant to my life now that I want to put it down here, both because it's a part of me, and because maybe it will strike a chord with someone else.

Sunday, March 28, 1999

Caroline K. O'Brien was killed in a car accident on Wednesday.

In the short time that I knew her, caroline taught me so much about the human condition, and how wonderful life could be. Only now, with her passing, am I beginning to realize the true scope of her gift.

Caroline was fearless. she would never hesitate to make the dangerous choice, and she had the self-reliance to drive forward where most would balk at fear of failure or fear of reprisal. What makes her truly beautiful is that this rare drive was joined by an equally rare love of those around her. She realized the true nature of happiness and strove to bring it out in others.

She was very smart, but she never held it against you. In love, Caroline followed the middle path: Never fear love; embrace it. Don't let it blind you, but let it fill you and those around you with joy.

I learned so much about love and life from Caroline. I've spent far more time over the last two years absorbing that knowledge into my own life than the time I was gifted with her presence.

Ben and I spent several hours talking on the road yesterday to and from the service. Talking with him helped me remember many of the lessons I forgot over time.

We all have a responsibility to embrace life. It's vital to steer clear of the empty side every day, however comfortable it may be. the life best lived is one filled with chances, experiences, glowing successes and poignant defeats. It's the self-reliance that allows a person to take a thousand chances a day, to be warmed by the successes and learn from the failures.

Nice is different than good, and both are essential. Live for yourself by living for others.

Consuetude should never be confused with contentment, and when routine and habit drive our actions we all die a little.

Life is a series of relations and intersections, and we grow wiser, stronger, and hopefully happier with every one.

Beware the feedback loop. Love and happiness can't survive in a sealed environment. If love is to lead your life, then it must always be fed with new experiences, risks, successes and failures brought to the table by both parties. Most importantly, never lose hold of the qualities that inspired love once love is achieved, because love is not a gateway or a finish line. It's a constant achievement to be won each day.

Do great things and small. Never be afraid of the extra mile. You'll find looking back that the outcome is always worth more than the opportunity cost, whether it's driving two hours to see a friend for dinner or leaving a job to follow a dream.

Thank you Caroline for all your teachings. I pray that I can live up to them in my own life every day, and inspire others as you inspire me.

I love you,
Kevin

Today Casady & Greene closed its doors forever.

Ten years ago, when I started programming for the Apple Newton PDA (can you believe that it was introduced ten years ago?) I looked for a publisher to partner with and, after several months, I found Casady & Greene. They published 'Reflex', my Newton productivity toolkit, and would have published 'Nexus', an amazing addition to the NewtonOS, if Apple hadn't closed the Newton down.

The folks at C&G are an amazing bunch. I'm really sorry to see that they've fallen on hard times. Still, hopefully the individuals that made the company what it was will go on to their own new adventures and find new joys.

Thank you, Casady & Greene!