Here's a slightly troubling thing: link. Go there and wait 20 seconds. It's a map of Europe with the positions of passenger planes superimposed. Maybe it's just the fact that they are piled up on top of each other (not really, just on the map) that bothers me. Or that it looks like such a mess - or even like a plane feeding frenzy. Anyway, file it under 'oddly disconcerting'.

Photos of Ro and me in New York here.

Ooh, I do like it here. It's like being at the sea side - the air is all fresh and there are doughnuts. My speech went well, I think, and here's my write up of the event in The Bookseller. Ro is being an utter delight and a charmer and New York has fallen at his feet. Hardened taxi drivers play peep bo with him. Huge doormen tickle his toes. Surly diner staff bring him tiny plates of strawberries on the house. I think we'll come back here.

Blimey. Read it here.

Thanks to all those who saw my anguish at missing the first episode of the new season of Fags, Mags and Bags and rushed forward to help. Em even got an e-mail from one of the cast (good samaritan Omar Raza, who plays Sanjay) who sorted me out with a download of the episode in question. I consider that to be decidedly amazing and great. I also thought, while I was on this subject, that I might try to explain what it is I like about the show, just in case anyone out there has a moment's curiosity on that score.

Well, in radio terms, the almost unthinkable has happened. A new series of Fags, Mags and Bags has started and I've already missed a week. It's my favourite thing on radio, so that's quite a blow. BBC iPlayer will let me grab episode 2, but episode 1 is already lost to the ether. 10 days after broadcast the wavefront of the program will be around 260 billion kilometers from Earth, well beyond the orbit of Pluto. My chances of getting a radio and a tape recorder out there in order to record the programme are slim. So unless the BBC rebroadcasts it, or someone else on planet Earth decides to share their copy, I'll have to make do with the other five episodes of this series. But still, five episodes of radio comedy gold is cause for celebration. Unless something else goes wrong...

The Bookseller ran a piece on our profits this week, and it's subscriber only. Can anyone send me the full text?

On that note, we've just reported to Companies House that we made a profit of £14.5k last year. The previous year was £17k, which we would have beaten were it not for £8k of bad debts from various people going bust around us.

Yes, you heard right. We're profitable, again, in the most ridiculous market where customers keep dropping like flies. Do we get a medal or anything?

So, this is exciting. Ro and me and Rob and Verity Ann (commenter to the SnowBlog and girlfriend of Rob, in that order) are pushing off to New York tomorrow. I have a five minute speech to give at Tools of Change on Tuesday (4pm, the Ignite session, if you're going. Cheer loudly, throw roses, etc) about how to make catalogues in 5 minutes, but apart from that and a bit of listening in at TOC we'll have NYC to ourselves for a week. Any tips on what to do and what to see would be great! I will be taking a copy of Ghosts of Manhattan which is just back from the printer and is very timely.

(Try not to email whilst I'm gone. I won't reply when I'm there, and I'll probably just delete all 1600 emails that I'll inevitably have when I get back. Or, at least, I'll be sorely tempted.)

Think of me at 5pm tomorrow when I take my seat in Economy with a 16 month old...

Whoever drew this little 'infographic' (click on the link or picture to see what I'm talking about) does a nice job of illustrating what I've said about DVD anti-piracy sermonising for a while now. The big advantage to stealing movies instead of paying for them is that you don't get treated like a criminal (you may wish to reread that sentence). If I could buy legitimate DVDs for maybe 50p extra that weren't loaded up with warnings, ads and trailers I think I'd go for it. Currently my only option would be to strip those things out myself, quite possibly breaking the law. I do hope we all get our heads screwed on straight about copyright before I have to read e-books full of ads, warnings and official threats.

Oh now look. Here's a lovely review of the outstanding Thaw from Fiona Robyn. Get it whilst it's hot!
 

There shine brightly two super things this week: firstly, this review of George Mann's forthcoming Ghosts of Manhattan and secondly an endorsement of Mark Hodder's forthcoming Spring Heeled Jack from none other than Michael Moorcock (Michael Moorcock!) who says "This is the best debut novel I have read in ages". Click below for the full glowing review.
Imagine you're me and you started a company a few years back, and stuff happened, time passed, and then seven years later you get a review like that for a book you're publishing from a childhood hero. Chuffed doesn't begin to cover it.

Oh yes, and I'm going to New York next week. With Ro. Whee!

'Yes, there's no "new book smell", no folding the pages over, and if you drop it in the bath you've ruined it - but on the other hand, the whole "electronic ink" malarkey actually works...'

See what Charlie Brooker has to say about e-books in the Grauniad today.

It seems that I'm part of a movement. Some of my lifestyle choices seem to align quite closely with these people. Not sure I want all humans to vanish, though. Could we just keep ten million or so, if they promise not to break anything.

(And CSS doesn't damage our ecosystem. I wouldn't be averse to a bit of prettification of their website.)