Re: New Perl 6 book -- Yes, Perl 6

[crenz]

So this is supposed to be Perl's new mascot? Ugh. :(

This will probably be the most difficult aspect of Perl 6 for people to come to terms with -- no more camel... :)

[Jazz]

The camel is used on the cover for Programming Perl only. Each O'Reilly title uses a different animal.

That they decided to go with a big-headed, horned, hairy beast with its tail between its legs (that's trying to moon us or be sexy) is either a stroke of genius, sublime wit, or temporary insanity :)

I'll wait until the colophon comes out before trying to figure that one out.

[crenz]

The camel is used on the cover for Programming Perl only.

Yes, but Learning Perl uses the Llama (and the Alpaca for Randal's new book), so at least it stays "in the family" :).

[Anonymous Monk]

The camel is used on the cover for Programming Perl only. Each O'Reilly title uses a different animal.

I think everyone knows that. The idea that ORA would use a Camel for every title is amusing, though.

[allolex]

Since you asked, this is from the colophon :)

The animal on the cover of Perl 6 Essentials is an aoudad (ammotragus lervia). Commonly known as Barbary sheep, aoudads originated in the arid mountainous regions of northern Africa and have stout, sturdy bodies, standing 75-100 centimeters at the shoulder and weighing from 30-145 kilograms. The aoudad has a bristly reddish-brown coat and is distinguished by a heavy, fringed mane covering its chest and legs. Both males and females have thick, triangular-shaped horns that curve back in a semicircle. A male aoudad's horns can grow up to 85 centimeters.

Aoudads are herbivores and are most active at dawn and dusk, avoiding the desert heat of midday. They will drink water if it is available, but can obtain sufficient moisture from dew and vegetation. Aoudads are incredible jumpers, able to clear 6 feet from a standstill. So well suited are they to their surroundings that newborns have the ability to navigate rocky slopes within just hours after birth.

Despite being endangered in their native environment, aoudads are flourishing in the United States. Introduced to western Texas and southern New Mexico in the 1940s, aoudads are now so populous that it is feared that their presence may threaten the native desert bighorn sheep. Aoudads are considered native game in the desert mountains of their adopted home, where the rugged landscape is dotted with ranches catering to recreational hunters.

--
Allolex

[PodMaster]

Ugh indeed. I think we should either stick with the camel (even if it's O'Reillys) or have the community come up with a new/official mascot of perl6 (parrot's great, but parrot's not perl6 -- a parrot riding on a camel? ;D).

MJD says you can't just make shit up and expect the computer to know what you mean, retardo! I run a Win32 PPM repository for perl 5.6x+5.8x. I take requests. ** The Third rule of perl club is a statement of fact: pod is sexy.

[crenz]

a parrot riding on a camel?

Yes, and the camel has six humps. ;-)

[Anonymous Monk]

a parrot riding on a camel?

How about a very attractive Arabian woman with a parrot on her shoulder, sitting atop a smiling camel? That sounds like such a great image. It would make a great tshirt. Certainly a lot better than a steaming cup of coffee or a snake.

[stefp]

Covers with distinctive people are typical of Manning. This gimmick is probably an adaptation of O'Reilly covers with distinctive animals. They just choosed engraving people instead of animals.

What you propose may work if Manning and O'Reilly merge someday. :)

-- stefp
Come to YAPC::Europe 2003 in Paris, 23-25 July 2003.

[benn]

Surely, as the Camel is a Dromedary, we could swap to a Bactrian - perl with *twice* the humps!

:) Ben.

[Elian]

O'Reilly doesn't put people on the cover--just animals. They don't generally do mixed-animal covers either, though the game physics book does have a cat and mouse on it. (I think that's the only one)

As long as we don't get the morbidly obese ground hog... :)