The short-form week of 20–26 Jun 2011

27 Jun 2011; last modified 11 Jul 2011

The week in review, 140 characters at a time. This week, 50 messages in 43 conversations. (With 5 favorites.)

This document was created automatically from my archive of my Twitter stream. Due to limitations in the Twitter API and occasional glitches in my archiving system, it may not be 100% complete.

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 05:49pm

@xmlgrrl - looks like I'm going to be co-writing an XML intro book (well, another edition of one) - in 140 chars, what should be in there?—@danja

@danja Hmm. XML used for what - narrative content? Programming? If the latter, these days you need a JSON comparison. /cc @ladyjson :)—@xmlgrrl

@xmlgrrl @ladyjson JSON, thx, that's a very big stick. But if you were to write a book on XML (broad not deep) what would be in there?—@danja

@danja Perhaps design patterns for info modeling, optimized for various data structure / messaging / processing purposes?—@xmlgrrl

@xmlgrrl thanks, exactly the help I need. The one I don't know the state of the art on there is processing - any pointers?—@danja

@xmlgrrl I am finding it difficult to frame XML 2011 when half my head never got past RDF/XML 2001 :)—@danja

@danja I'm rusty myself! (on both the "XML" half and the "grrl" half :-) But I bet @ndw would have thoughts...—@xmlgrrl

@xmlgrrl day on day fewer people will be able to disentangle xml from grrl, cryptic, so all you gotta do is change your photo every 6 months—@danja

@xmlgrrl @ndw heh, Norm was next. Think it's his round, in fact. But fair question: what's changed in the XML space in the last 5 years?—@danja

@danja @xmlgrrl the first things that come to mind: XProc, XSLT 2.0, XQuery.—@ndw

@ndw @xmlgrrl thanks Norm. XSLT & XQuery latest are covered, must have a think on how to get XProc in, it is neat stuff (some life in XML!)—@danja

@danja @ndw Best guess: Transform tools, editors/IDEs, proc speed, JSON competition, settling of many satellite specs, more std schemas?—@xmlgrrl

@xmlgrrl @ndw filter for newbies, what would stand out?—@danja

@xmlgrrl @IdentityWoman was concerned about 8/10 male at http://t.co/pxv8nzy called for more girls—@danja

@danja Ah yes, I wasn't able to get to FSW.—@xmlgrrl

@xmlgrrl @ladyjson sorry, I didn't answer your question. For the benefit of a newbie programmer or academic—@danja

@danja Broad knowledge of XML still poor, people still need reminding about char encodings and the dangers of special chars in text editors.—@abcoates

@abcoates thanks re. XML - luckily I'm not on the intro chapters—@danja

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 10:00am

I bought a box of HP 4x6 photo paper. The pages are 4x6.5". WTF!?—@ndw

@ndw 4x6 print size, and a half-inch for the paper feeder?—@davidpriest_ca

@davidpriest_ca I suppose. I had some Epson paper that was like that, with a perforated 1/2” edge. This paper isn’t even perf’d. #useless—@ndw

@ndw: Surely there's an "8% Extra Free!" sticker on the box for your paper?—@MenteaXML

@ndw Maybe there are laser serrations to pop out ? I've seen those ...—@DALDEI

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 02:05pm

Created a Scala proj in IntellIJ 10. Added Saxon module to the project. Scala compile fails: IO error decoding Numberer_da.java. Clues?—@ndw

@ndw scala/Saxon. Are you trying to compile the Java or include the byte code? Latter should work.—@leepollington

@leepollington Trying to put them both in the same project so that I can debug across that boundary. Assume that should work.—@ndw

@ndw Does your Saxon project compile with Java only? I seem to remember a char encoding issue with Numberer files.—@ebruchez

@ebruchez yes. It even compiles as a module in this project. And the scala compiles from the cmd line.—@ndw

@ndw Not sure what the issue is, but you can temporarily remove most Numberer_*.java from compilation if you don't want to be stuck.—@ebruchez

@ebruchez Bah. Then it goes on to complain about NormalizerData.java in serialize/codenorm. I think I’m going to have to find a real soln—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 08:52am

Feb 10-12 http://bit.ly/jy1cV8 #xmlprague 2012 ... gonna be chilly time of the year—@xquery

@xquery Way to sell the venue, Jim! :-P—@ndw

@ndw hehe, let me rephrase ... XML Prague 2011, gonna be hot hot hot ... send us your thoughts on what topics we should have this year!—@xquery

In a conversation that started on Monday at 09:28am

*chuckle* RT @kendall Rick Perry's 3-part agenda: "Eliminate education, eliminate healthcare, pray for Rapture": http://t.co/M8tnpaz—@ndw

@ndw Sounds about right. Even Texas Republicans can't take Perry seriously... only 4% would vote for him for pres. http://bit.ly/il6q1M—@jsulak

In a conversation that started on Monday at 10:32am

Awesome slidedeck from @mamund on REST and versioning: http://t.co/lPgn3NJ—@stilkov

@stilkov @mamund Are the examples (e.g. on slide 89) supposed to be upside-down and backwards?—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 10:33am

if u were covering the release of this http://t.co/jzNkQhH wouldnt u at least mention (if not lead with) the fact that its an iphone4 ripoff—@iTod

@iTod How so?—@ndw

@ndw @KirinDave i would say that device's similarity to the iPhone4 hardware is most definitely part of the story (again, if not the lede)—@iTod

@iTod @KirinDave It’s a 7” tablet, more akin to the Galaxy Tab than the iPhone, no?—@ndw

Monday at 12:08pm

If 20% of human genes have been patented, does that mean reproduction leaves you exposed to legal action? #f*cking #patents—@ndw

Monday at 12:16pm

RT @ndw: @stilkov @mamund Are the examples supposed to be upside-down/backwards?" nope; conversion error in google-slides. i'll fix today.—@mamund

Monday at 12:19pm

British existentialism: hell is other people's umbrellas.—@olivierthereaux

In a conversation that started on Monday at 12:43pm

I wonder how many days I have to avoid talking about Game of Thrones here before people won't scream about spoilers? Finale was v. good.—@kendall

@kendall At least one more, perhaps two.—@ndw

@ndw Have you read any of the books?—@kendall

@kendall Nope.—@ndw

@ndw They're quite well written; I crushed them after the series started by traveling a lot w/ iPad. Recommended.—@kendall

Monday at 01:15pm

Programming is like sex: one mistake and you’re providing support for a lifetime.—@cffry

In a conversation that started on Monday at 01:35pm

Hey, @aldiko, the root of your web server is returning 403.—@ndw

@ndw thanks for letting u know, we're currently checking into this. Thanks.—@Aldiko

@ndw hey, just want to let you know that the server should go back to normal now. Please check if it works on your side. Thanks.—@Aldiko

@Aldiko Yep. Came back last night, thanks.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 01:50pm

Still shocking how many people think they can (or will) survive the destruction (of cessation) of their brain.—@kendall

@kendall As PT Barnum said, there’s one born every minute.—@ndw

Monday at 02:26pm

RT @timoreilly Decline of world's oceans concern everyone, even if you have enough worries already: http://t.co/3P1Up1B—@ndw

Monday at 07:42pm

!!! RT @ndw If 20% of human genes have been patented, does that mean reproduction leaves you exposed to legal action? #f*cking #patents—@tigracc

Monday at 10:28pm

OH "Why hasn't Oracle ruined VirtualBox yet? - They're going in alphabetical order."—@openbala

Tuesday at 04:10am

The web-semantique Daily is out! http://bit.ly/fHdjyT ▸ Top stories today via @ericaxel @moustaki @ndw @johnbreslin @kerfors—@networkvb

Tuesday at 07:45am

Am I missing something, or does the #JetBrains #YouTrack #Python API really not have any methods for updating an existing issue?—@ndw

Tuesday at 08:12am

The $185K cheezburger... ♺ @ndw: RT @codepo8: ICANN has .cheezburger ?—@cramerdw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 09:55am

Wow! RT @merlyn: Dropbox forgets to check passwords for 4 hours on Sunday http://t.co/vNnXqS3—@hunterhacker

@hunterhacker “Wow!” doesn’t even begin to cover it.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 01:08pm

Click link in app1: focus goes to app2, link opens. Scroll: app1 moves. Click link in app1: focus returns, link not clicked. #osx #ui #fail—@ndw

@ndw the latter is correct behavior. The click was to bring focus; click again to activate control. The former…was cursor over app1?—@davidpriest_ca

Yes, @davidpriest_ca but it's the absurd inconsistency that 2-finger scrolling works on apps that don't have focus but nothing else does.—@ndw

@ndw Have you encountered the Leopard/Lion scrolling change? First time OS X has really annoyed me.—@davidpriest_ca

@davidpriest_ca No. I refuse to use the “app store” to provision my laptop, so I guess I’m not getting Lion.—@ndw

@ndw That seems a little nose/face-ish.—@davidpriest_ca

@davidpriest_ca Probably is. I hope to abandon the platform and go back to Linux, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to.—@ndw

@ndw I'd love to do the same, but the GUI on Linux is worse than OS X. If only I could use all cmdline, all the time.—@davidpriest_ca

@davidpriest_ca I can deal with the Linux GUI. And I *so* miss focus-follows-mouse. But it’s hard to imagine life w/o Lightroom & Photoshop—@ndw

@ndw IIRC there are utils to enable focus-follows on OS X. Blacktree Secrets?—@davidpriest_ca

@ndw Heh. I've come to appreciate that when I've one window for reference and another for entry.—@davidpriest_ca

@davidpriest_ca focus follows mouse is The Right Thing. Half-follows is damned annoying.—@ndw

Tuesday at 02:17pm

your RDBMS has failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL #MarkLogic battle station!—@peteaven

Tuesday at 02:28pm

New issue: Meeting notes are in Comic Sans. Priority: Urgent. Severity: High. Status: Must Fix.—@liza

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 02:41pm

I think using #git for the last 6 months has meant that I've forgotten everything I knew about #mercurial.—@jpcs

@jpcs would like to read on your impressions on git vs. mercurial vs. svn—@dscape

@dscape @jpcs My two cents: distributed wins over centralized and git wins over hg mostly because of it’s social cachet (e.g. github)—@ndw

@dscape #git wins, esp. once you've learnt how to use rebase instead of #hg queues. Git-svn is pure magic - so happy never using svn again.—@jpcs

@jpcs @ndw can u guys deliver a internal git training class? #wouldattend—@dscape

@dscape @jpcs Sure. I think I offered to do ‘git svn’ as an engineering tip o’ the week. It’s fantastic.—@ndw

@dscape @jpcs @ndw Does it have to be an internal class? :)—@grtjn

Wednesday at 07:55am

Brian Bedford was pitch perfect as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. earnesthd.com—@ndw

Wednesday at 09:14am

Wow indeed. RT @mikeloukides Wow. Camera that doesnt need to focus: captures the entire field, focuses in software. http://pulse.me/s/jP9o—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 11:00am

Trying to decide if anyone really ever prints software documentation any more (in re: Stardog docs)...—@kendall

@kendall I print software docs ~ twice a year these days. Usually because too complex to manage on screen.—@simonstl

@simonstl @kendall Fine, print your HTML. http://t.co/AJ3kxxB TEI, Docbook, ASCIIDoc, blah blah, just aren't worth it.—@gcarothers

@gcarothers Are you being sarcastic or serious?—@kendall

@kendall Serious, 8 years of publishing XML/SGML/BLAH documents as PDFs. Just use HTML, if you need a PDF use CSS3 and Prince.—@gcarothers

@gcarothers @kendall There’s a lot to be said for that. Better quality is possible from the original sources, but not clear it’s worth it.—@ndw

@ndw @gcarothers @kendall we're using xhtml as the original source xml for book publishing http://t.co/pDeeNxR—@dauwhe

@dauwhe do you use IGP?—@abdelazer

@abdelazer Yes. It's a very interesting approach, with lots of advantages.—@dauwhe

@dauwhe Interesting. I've always found the technical content the only palatable part of their (his?) public writing—@abdelazer

@dauwhe @gcarothers @kendall Blech. But whatever works for you, I suppose.—@ndw

@gcarothers This is exactly what I've decided.—@kendall

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 12:48pm

@peteaven @sneth Know of anybody interested in continuing ML support for XQDT?—@kingargyle

@kingargyle @peteaven Left ML three weeks ago. Not sure about XQDT, cautiously optimistic; i think new mgmt cares about dev community.—@sneth

@sneth alright, so we should put you as past committer then on XQDT?—@kingargyle

@kingargyle I offered to provide interim support if they need, but also pointed out the team will accept patches. I doubt they will ask me.—@sneth

@sneth well, once you are a committer those commit rights go with you to where ever, not tied to just prior employer.—@kingargyle

@kingargyle Yes, explained that to them- it's why I offered help. Are you not proposing to revoke my commit privs?—@sneth

@sneth only if you don't want to still be a committer. It's entirely up to you. I know people's interests go elsewhere.—@kingargyle

@kingargyle too soon to tell. Would like to be able to help ML with minor updates for a bit. Probably not an active contributor though.—@sneth

@sneth sounds good. @peteaven @ndw if either of you know somebody interested in picking up XQDT support for ML let me know.—@kingargyle

@kingargyle will let you know if I hear anything wrt support. i'd like to take a look, but to much going on at the moment /cc: @sneth @ndw—@peteaven

@peteaven @kingargyle @sneth Alas, moi aussi.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 01:50pm

This shit *has* to stop: http://t.co/Wn11ADN—@kendall

@kendall Damn straight!—@ndw

Wednesday at 03:02pm

Yahoo mail dialog: "...to learn what matters...so that we can deliver...ads." I guess it's honest, in its way. But, yuck.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 04:48pm

If the bug is that you're pointing at the wrong db, no (rational) source code change will fix your bug. No matter how hard you try. #truth—@ndw

@ndw Been there. Done that.—@kbyodancer

@ndw Been there...more than once, to my shame.—@collwhit

Friday at 07:46am

A #Google #Music playlist can only contain 1,000 songs? WTF!?—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 07:49am

When reading specifications please remember that /TR/ in the URL is short for TRASH. Read the editor’s copy. #w3c—@annevk

@annevk silly and stupid. Anyway.—@karlpro

@annevk If you feel this way about the W3C process, why do you participate in the W3C WG?—@james_clark

@james_clark having said that, the best way to change things is usually by participation.—@annevk

@james_clark The /TR/ stuff is chronically out of date, so reading it is a bad idea.—@hsivonen

@hsivonen @james_clark On the other hand, implementing the latest editor’s draft is a fool’s errand unless you’ve infinite resources.—@ndw

@ndw @james_clark I think they modified the process in such a way that the editor’s draft now reflects what has secretly been implemented—@gimsieke

@gimsieke @james_clark Ah, well, as applies to the process specifically for HTML, meh. Whatever.—@ndw

@hsivonen Will it stop changing when there's a Rec? Won't it always be out of date on the WHATWG world view?—@james_clark

Not "outdated"… Things are added to the open web platform, but there should be as few incompatibilities as possible @james_clark @hsivonen—@shepazu

@james_clark welcome to HTML5 schizophrenia - good luck!—@simonstl

@james_clark Yes, RECs are out of date. When CSS 2.1 got to REC, the action was already in CSS3 and beyond. The platform isn't freezing.—@hsivonen

@hsivonen I believe I understand both the WHATWG and W3C perspective, and they both have their merits, but they don't seem compatible.—@james_clark

@hsivonen So from this perspective, what is the value of the W3C process?—@james_clark

@james_clark Also, in the case of CSS 2.1, the Process to REC also produced a test suite and actual interop, which is good.—@hsivonen

@hsivonen @james_clark @annevk I think named stable versions are useful e.g. for saying: "our Intranet guarantees HTML_X. Write to that."—@noahmendelsohn

@noahmendelsohn @james_clark @annevk Even if browsers don't implement HTML by version and the browsers are revised faster than the intranet?—@hsivonen

@hsivonen @james_clark @annevk I think so. Corporate IT staffs like a spec to hand people, will deploy browsers that meet at least named ver—@noahmendelsohn

@noahmendelsohn @james_clark @annevk Even though HTML 4.01 is unimplementable in browsers and 5 isn't done yet?—@hsivonen

@hsivonen @james_clark @annevk HTML5 should be implementable. I think that's what IT staff and maybe others >want<.—@noahmendelsohn

@james_clark @hsivonen patent policy and Microsoft participates.—@annevk

@annevk @hsivonen OK, that makes sense, although it's kind of sad.—@james_clark

@james_clark Yeah, what @annevk said.—@hsivonen

@james_clark it's not so much about the W3C Process, it's about implementors implementing the wrong thing.—@annevk

@annevk I would have thought the W3C process encouraged implementors to implement stuff in /TR/.—@james_clark

@james_clark /TR/ is mainly for patent lawyers. It doesn't make sense to implement /TR/ when the spec has already changed in Editor's Draft.—@hsivonen

Friday at 09:46am

Announcing DocBook V5.1b1 and DocBook Publishers V1.1b1 both with updated docs: http://goo.gl/zSCov and http://goo.gl/WbLD1—@ndw

Friday at 10:03am

Identi.ca full time, I guess. RT @hashtags ... @Twitter To Put Promoted Tweets in Your Timeline in Next 2 Months: http://t.co/3szTMxM—@ndw

Friday at 10:34am

@ndw Ah, but your forgetting that the WHAT WG isn't like the rest of us, they don't make mistakes that need changes. -.-—@gcarothers

Friday at 11:15am

RT @ndw: Announcing DocBook V5.1b1 and DocBook Publishers V1.1b1 both with updated docs: http://t.co/356hkE5 and http://t.co/65GTu4D—@SemaBooks

Friday at 01:16pm

RFC 1925 "It is always possible to aglutenate multiple...problems into a single complex interdependent solution. ...this is a bad idea."—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:03pm

Given a class w/'private var y = 7; def x = y', the fact that 'obj.x = 5' is not an error and simply does nothing seems very odd. #scala—@ndw

@ndw: See 6.15 of Scala spec or 18.2 of Programming in Scala. AFAICT you were doing 'obj.x_ = 5', which should have modified value of y.—@MenteaXML

@ndw Norm -- what else do you think about #scala? Since you seem to be messing with it, I'd love to see a post about what you think of it.—@Kellblog

@Kellblog Just getting my feet wet. Very enthusiastic so far. Will post something when I’ve more to say.—@ndw

@ndw I am not sure I understand: do you mean this? http://t.co/kVGRni2—@ebruchez

@ebruchez Yes. I can’t reproduce the weird case I thought I saw yesterday. Must have just been me being clueless. I get what I expect today.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 05:38pm

Using 'private var y=7; def x()={y}' seems to provide the semantics I want. Still looking for a pointer to an explanation of the difference.—@ndw

@ndw which language?—@_AlexIn3D

@_AlexIn3D Scala—@ndw

Sunday at 01:55pm

@ndw: Or not.—@MenteaXML

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 02:32pm

Apparently I was just confused. Can no longer reproduce the case I thought was so strange in #scala. I guess it wasn't there.—@ndw

@ndw That was strange - you'd think ()'s and {}'s wouldn't make a difference. Transient .class file voodoo? Quantum compiler effects?—@pdxleif