The short-form week of 18–24 Jul 2011

25 Jul 2011

The week in review, 140 characters at a time. This week, 87 messages in 63 conversations. (With 8 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 Friday at 01:49pm

Question: should web page author have any control over whether an html5 video or audio element plays or not?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Not on my damn machine. None of ‘em play until I click ‘em thank you very much.—@ndw

@ndw Yes, but how many sites have you visited where music starts by default? Or what if the site is a preview site for a movie?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers The former: none that I return to. The latter: I don’t care. Sit still and wait until I press play.—@ndw

@ndw Is it right of the W3C to enforce this behavior every single web page author and developer? Or shld it occur because of best practice?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers That said, should random web page author have the right to make my speakers start blaring w/o any explicit consent from me?—@ndw

@ndw But if you go to the Harry Potter web site, are you surprised at music? Would you surprised by video playing?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Maybe not, but I’m right cheesed off when I go to somerestaurant.com and music starts or somehotel.com and a video plays.—@ndw

@ndw But for every 1000 bad uses there may be one good reason for allowing this behavior. Shouldn't we then allow this behavior?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers I’m not opposed to allowing it. I think we were at cross purposes for a couple of tweets.—@ndw

@ndw Unfortunately, HTML5 does not allow it. There is no way for web page authors/devs to have absolute control over media playback—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers re: http://t.co/ljmsgUE that's actually a good thing. Only end user should have absolute control @ndw—@johnfoliot

@johnfoliot @ndw And they do -- they can leave the site—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers slightly finer control was more what I was thinking. Leaving isn't the solution. @ndw—@johnfoliot

@johnfoliot @ndw If I can get out of my heat-induced coma, I'm trying to write up something using a few more than 140 words. Will link.—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers I think that part of the issue is also related to UAAG - this should actually be a user agent setting @ndw—@johnfoliot

@shelleypowers autostart *ALWAYS* collides with a screen reader, which normally starts reading on page load. Step all over that = pain @ndw—@johnfoliot

@ndw Hard to discuss this in Twitter & one of those times I wish I was part of HTML WG to discuss...but I think better to have opt than not—@shelleypowers

@ndw How about games, where it makes no sense to provide content menu options to control media playback?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers I’m not an advocate for preventing authors from expressing their intent, but I would like the ability to say “no” globally.—@ndw

@ndw And then consider you can redraw the video into canvas--should the browser automatically enforce playing controls?—@shelleypowers

@ndw But is it right not to even offer this capability to web page authors and developers?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Given that it is possible today, it would seem odd to remove the capability.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 08:39am

I love old buildings and generally hate historic preservationist types. Go figure.—@kendall

@kendall you hate me? Or just in general? ;) (Working on a National Historic Register application for the bar down the road...)—@simonstl

@simonstl Of course I hate you! :> ... Seriously, I think we shouldn't fetishize the past. That's all.—@kendall

@kendall ;) And I think we shouldn't fetishize the future!—@simonstl

@simonstl I agree completely; but there's at least 1 alternative to these choices. :>—@kendall

@kendall fetishize the present?—@simonstl

@simonstl @kendall I don’t need any fetish presents, thank you very much.—@ndw

Monday at 10:13am

#MUGL me this, I’ve agreed to speak at the September @mugl meetup in London. See (some of) you there, perhaps.—@ndw

Monday at 10:17am

Sen. Neil Breslin, appearing on the #CapitolPressroom, says GOP's argument on redistricting is "If you make it fair, we can't win."—@TUCapCon

Monday at 10:43am

@ndw I think we can all agree on that!—@simonstl

In a conversation that started on Monday at 01:55pm

@ndw Where can I download the 5.0 schemas for #DocBook? I know http://t.co/KkRPfLGG, but I look for a release archive instead of single files—@fgeorges

@fgeorges Isn’t this what you’re looking for? http://www.docbook.org/xml/5.0/docbook-5.0.zip—@ndw

@ndw Oops, yes indeed, I've missed the ZIP file among the other files in the top-level dir. Tks!—@fgeorges

Monday at 03:22pm

Now this looks useful: http://efele.net/maps/tz/world/ A shapefile of timezones around the world—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 04:06pm

Hey @pennjillette for Penn Point, pick a camera and stick with it. You’re going back and forth so fast you’re making me sea sick.—@ndw

@ndw Toughen up.—@pennjillette

@pennjillette LOL. Fair enough, I suppose.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 04:21pm

@ndw BTW, docbook-5.0/catalog.xml references xsd/docbookxi.xsd and xsd/xi.xsd which both don't exist.—@fgeorges

@fgeorges Good to know, thanks.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Monday at 05:19pm

@ndw docbook-5.0/sch/docbook.sch still uses the pre-ISO ns http://t.co/BW57HRY instead of the ISO ns http://t.co/80spRJr....—@fgeorges

@fgeorges Oh, crap. Dagnabit, I’m not sure what to do about that.—@ndw

@ndw Updating it in the next release? AFAIK iso_svrl_for_xslt2.xsl, used by Calabash, should handle both, so sth seems broken, either side.—@fgeorges

@fgeorges Thanks. I’ll look into that asap.—@ndw

Monday at 05:20pm

@ndw ...which seems to make it unsuitable to use with Calabash—@fgeorges

Monday at 05:24pm

@ndw ... (clue: compiledSchema in ValidateWithSCH.run() is empty after compilation with the pre-ISO namespace; not null, but empty)—@fgeorges

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 02:33am

I'm fully expecting to read "Rupert Murdoch Abducted by Aliens" at some time this morning.—@tug

@tug Hey! No spoilers!—@ndw

Tuesday at 07:57am

I believe that moving from "value or null" to "Option[type]" is an improvement, but it's a pervasive change that will take a while. #scala—@ndw

Tuesday at 08:01am

Kinda sad that "privacy" has been defined down to "which megacorp gets to hold all my shit."—@diveintomark

Tuesday at 08:30am

Cute sign: "Unattended children will be given espresso and a free kitten."—@simonstl

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 09:38am

It's really fun living in central US right now http://t.co/T5zGAQl—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Good golly. Is that a *yellow* spot in central IL? And it’s moving east. Yay me!—@ndw

@ndw Have your cookie dough ready for that favorite summertime fun: is-it-hot-enough-to-bake-cookies-in-my-car-yet—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers I think I’ll stick with eggs on cast iron pans on the driveway. No getting the mail barefoot, that’s for sure.—@ndw

@ndw Oh, I don't know. The self-help seminars have people walk on live coals. Think of it as really cheap self actualization—@shelleypowers

Tuesday at 10:00am

ha ha... RT @thatgerhard: A web developer walked into a bar. But quickly left when he saw the table layout.—@iansmall

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 10:13am

Great. I've built a presentation that only works in Firefox. Just fscking great.—@ndw

@ndw [Presentation working on Firefox only.] So I gather you didn't go with the #XForms option. Or maybe you did.—@avernet

@avernet I did. XSLTForms + JavaScript + CSS. Opening presentation.xml in Firefox does the right thing. In Chrome, not so much.—@ndw

@ndw Chrome gets really stroppy when loading from file:// could that be it?—@apb1704

@ndw #xsltforms usually works as well with FireFox and Chrome. Don't hesitate to send me a testcase if possible.—@AlainCouthures

@AlainCouthures Will do.—@ndw

Tuesday at 10:52am

Buying yr way out of TSA harassment isn't really so much different than separate roads for the Politburo in the old USSR.—@kendall

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 11:59am

Dear #gmail, stop asking me if I want to unsubscribe from spam. That never works.—@ndw

@ndw you get spam on #gmail ? that is a pretty rare occurrence for me—@christo4ferris

@christo4ferris Really? I get a few dozen a week at least.—@ndw

@ndw pretty rare, maybe 1 a week, if that—@christo4ferris

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 12:56pm

@ndw I can't get the JSTL x:transform gizmo to work. Is it worth trying? Or is it just borken?—@dckc

@dckc I know nothing about JSP, sorry.—@ndw

@ndw if you have managed to avoid JSP, maybe so should I.—@dckc

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 01:02pm

Over the next few days, I think the A/C is going to be a limiting factor on telcons. How long can I remain coherent with it turned off?—@ndw

@ndw headset with a noise canceling microphone? Works for me... I mute most of the time in case of canine outbursts, too.—@JeanKaplansky

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 01:34pm

Whatever his reasons (noble or otherwise) what @aaronsw did was not within the bounds of the law and put jstor at risk with its partners.—@jillmwo

@jillmwo s/did/is alleged to have done/—@ndw

@ndw You're right. Alleged is the right word but I don't think the *who* is what is under examination, rather *how* access was achieved.—@jillmwo

@jillmwo It’s all allegations until the trial is done.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 02:54pm

Anything remotely sophisticated that I attempt with HTML+CSS, is invariably a frustrating nightmare. This is because I'm stupid, right?—@ndw

@ndw: LESS http://lesscss.org/ may help.—@MenteaXML

@ndw No. Its just a totally different paradigm from the XSLT world. We have so much power in our locker—@FeargalHogan

@ndw CSS is just an abbreviation of 'cuss', isn't it?—@abcoates

@ndw what kind of sophisticated are you trying to do?—@simonstl

@simonstl Just want to page through divs with a footer that floats to the bottom. I got there shortly after I gave up authoring in HTML.—@ndw

@ndw @simonstl paging through divs with fixed banner, isn't that what slidy does?—@barefootliam

@barefootliam @simonstl Yeah. This is not unlike that actually.—@ndw

@ndw what are you authoring in now?—@simonstl

@simonstl I just simplified the XHTML and added some XSLT to generate the eleventeen fscking divs necessary to get the styling to work.—@ndw

@simonstl Well, authoring the preaentation file directly anyway. Source is still HTML.—@ndw

@ndw Or it's harder than it looks. #css #html #sophistication—@sheilaellen

@ndw In your choice of technological foundations? Perhaps. ;)—@kiniry

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 03:41pm

@ndw when you write something long using #DocBook, which editor do you use? (I'm hoping for a good wysiwyg tool but expecting nxml-mode :)—@danja

@danja I mostly use nxml-mode, but if you want something more, uh, or, well, uh, less, well, uhm, I’d recommend Oxygen in that case.—@ndw

@ndw thanks Norm—@danja

@danja @ndw XXE (XMLmind XML Editor) is also not bad as a WYSIWYG(ish) DocBook editor.—@abcoates

@abcoates @ndw thanks - also found Serna that's vaguely WYSIWYG for DocBook, there's an open source version—@danja

Wednesday at 05:51am

Ndwedwe.....@NDW—@lungzh

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 08:39am

friends don't let friends install Lion—@psd

@psd Oh! Why not?—@philhawksworth

@philhawksworth it's the one where the OS and your identity become inextricably linked ..—@psd

@psd @philhawksworth How so?—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 08:48am

"These graphics are writing checks this interface can't cash"—@jtauber

@jtauber That was my favorite line as well.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 09:37am

Attempt to play recorded program, DVR responds "not available now". WTF @charter? Is it recorded locally or not?—@ndw

@charter @ndw Sorry to hear that :( It should be recorded to the HDD. Are any of the other recordings having trouble?—@CharterDylan

@CharterDylan That’s the only one I noticed last night. Any explanation for what the message means?—@ndw

@ndw Means that it can't play it back. Could be a corrupted recording or at worst the HDD is going out :(—@CharterDylan

@ndw See if any of the other recordings give the same message. Might need to have a tech out to swap it for you.—@CharterDylan

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 09:39am

Sigh. If Photoshop and Lightroom effectively prevent me from leaving Apple, perhaps I should just accept the ineveitable and upgrade.—@ndw

@ndw But will the upgrade break Photoshop?—@hsivonen

@hsivonen Yeah. I'm not going to upgrade today or even this month in any event. Going on the road next week.—@ndw

@ndw also "plans to release a $69 version of Lion on a USB stick in August." http://c8l.ca/1d2—@karlpro

@ndw other options: 1. Gimp; 2. VirtualBox running Photoshop in a guest OS.—@david_megginson

@david_megginson Yeah. I keep meaning to try Photoshop and Lightroom in Windows on a VM under Linux. But Windows, man. Ugh.—@ndw

@ndw and you'd need a new Photoshop licence to add insult to injury—@tug

@ndw PhotoShop can run on Windows and Linux. Lightroom - there is also darktable for Linux. And there's http://t.co/zhk3f2D too of course.—@barefootliam

@barefootliam I don’t think there’s a Photoshop port for Linux. Gimp’s...very capable, but it’s not Photoshop. I’ll look at darktable.—@ndw

@ndw Crossover is said to be able to run photoshop. Neither gimp nor krita is aiming to be a photoshop replacement of course.—@barefootliam

@ndw that gives an interesting twist to our dependencies to tools. The major pain point for me being Spotlight which is core to my workflow—@karlpro

@karlpro Really? Spotlight is such a uniform waste of cycles that I do everything I can to turn it off.—@ndw

@ndw Not sure we speak about the same thing, but I launch all my apps with Spotlight (usually 5 keys incl. the return key) (cc @karlpro)—@fgeorges

@fgeorges yup that too. Spotlight is a UI feature, not really a search engine.—@karlpro

@karlpro The only thing, as an Emacs user, is that I had to forget about M-SPC, and teach my fingers about M-\ instead...—@fgeorges

@karlpro Yes, even though it is convenient for time to time to find that specific file I only remember a word in the content or in the name—@fgeorges

@ndw Mail.app. All my mail is in a dated space, the view on my mails is made through smart mailboxes. also have a few smart folders—@karlpro

@ndw @karlpro I use Spotlight all the time - easier than navigating a folder structure that I've forgotten (particularly for utility apps)!—@frumioj

@frumioj @karlpro @fgeorges I start apps with Alfred. I do almost everything else from a shell window. Finder is only for file open dialogs.—@ndw

@ndw I didn't know Alfred. Looks interesting. Do you use it only for launching apps, or the other features as well? (cc @frumioj @karlpro)—@fgeorges

@fgeorges Mostly launching apps, but also quick search in address book and I have some global keyboard shortcuts and applescripts too.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 11:09am

What sort of anal-retentiveness is it that I keep upgrading apps in iTunes even though I haven't used or even charged my iPhone in months?—@ndw

@ndw If your phone isnt charged how do you upgrade the apps ?—@DALDEI

@DALDEI They show up in the “Apps” section of iTunes (which I only run because I haven’t found a better music player for OSX)—@ndw

@ndw re updating apps ... then yes your anal-retentive, no question about it.—@DALDEI

@ndw i definitely have a similar case of "compulsive app update obsession". good to hear i am not the only one afflicted!—@dret

@ndw were you a Boy Scout? Or maybe you just like keeping Apple's servers busy.—@simonstl

@ndw The monetizable kind :) Your #Apps store and its investors thank you for your OCD.—@JamieXML

@JamieXML But the updates are all free, I’m not sure how anyone’s getting money out of my OCD.—@ndw

@ndw Habituation? Forced changes to ToS. And in some cases paid page views. Thinking out loud here. #SaaScocaineanalogy—@JamieXML

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 11:47am

Having a PTO & Republic Teq margarita @ Admirals Club DFW Term A!! Woo-hoo!—@PaulasTXSpirits

@PaulasTXSpirits Drinking your lunch? :-P—@ndw

Wednesday at 12:50pm

Clicked a link to check out the new Mac mini and my Android phone called me a slut.—@diveintomark

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 03:00pm

Note to my future self: before you install Lion, if you ever do, remember to remove 3rd party whole-disk-encryption first—@ndw

@ndw you may find Mail.app worth the change. I'm pretty happy with it right now.—@roessler

@roessler Mail.app? You can have gnus when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 03:03pm

RT @Carnage4Life Wow, Google is shutting down Google Labs? Part of the company's culture will die with it - http://bit.ly/n7g6at—@ndw

@ndw @Carnage4Life weird—@eedeebee

@ndw @carnage4life Call it Deja Brickhouse—@mdubinko

Thursday at 07:00am

The human body can survive 28 days without food, but only 11 minutes without Internet.—@wowser

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 08:16am

RT @GuyKawasaki: No more naked fun time for TSA http://is.gd/gyXjy2—@atmanes

@atmanes No, but they still get cancer, so I’m not sure it’s a net win for them.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 08:29am

@ndw Did any of the other recordings give the same error? http://www.charter.com/Umatter2Charter—@CharterDylan

@CharterDylan No, everything else seems fine.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 08:56am

This thing where we moved the XProc telcon from 11a to 10a is *still* catching me off gaurd.—@ndw

@ndw I moved a call from Tues to Mon and suffer the same fate - worse, I did the agenda Mon and now I keep forgetting to do that Fri #FAIL—@christo4ferris

@christo4ferris Monday telcons are always a bad idea.—@ndw

@ndw I am definitely coming to that conclusion;-)—@christo4ferris

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 09:52am

Explain to me why beings intelligent enough to fly to diff planets would have lights on when stealthily observing us http://t.co/BQx6xV2—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Those are bog standard airplanes on approach to an airport, surely.—@ndw

@ndw We don't teach enough logic in school nowadays.—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers No, nor critical thought. But I’m sure when the loonies get school prayer passed, all our education worries will be solved.—@ndw

@ndw Praise God, yes!—@shelleypowers

@ndw Sure they are. But people see something, immed assume it's UFOs w/out considering why would a UFO have running lights—@shelleypowers

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 10:16am

RT @kendall: So we're seriously going to cut taxes for rich people and corporations. Seriously? I want to puke.—@ndw

@ndw http://bit.ly/pUyyOY—@serresyxzoly2

Thursday at 11:19am

RT adamretter Upcoming #XQuery #meetup in #London, Vote now for the exact date - http://bit.ly/nSqzW4—@ndw

Thursday at 11:19am

RT @adamretter Upcoming #XQuery #meetup in #London, Vote now for the exact date - http://bit.ly/nSqzW4—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 12:55pm

Oh, lovely. TinyMCE appears to work only when served text/html; xsltforms only when served text/xml.—@ndw

@ndw Have a look at http://t.co/6ljJ9W7 for an example of both #xsltforms and TinyMCE—@AlainCouthures

@AlainCouthures Thanks. I’ve had to move on to other things, but I’ll try to cycle back to that example.—@ndw

Thursday at 01:29pm

The Jeff Sonstein Daily is out! http://bit.ly/9qt1X8 ▸ Top stories today via @ndw @changefeed—@jeffsonstein

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 02:22pm

XML Holland Code Challenge http://bit.ly/naseB0 show off your #xproc chops—@xquery

@xquery That looks like fun. Shame I can’t make it to the conference. Might have to enter anyway, though.—@ndw

@ndw @xquery I'll be one of your competitors.. :-) (No worries, you two beat me in a heart beat I trust..)—@grtjn

@grtjn @ndw I wouldnt be so sure, TEI is something I have not consumed lately ... so, shall we duel ? May the best xprocker win !—@xquery

@xquery @ndw Will you let know if/when you actually enter the code challenge?—@grtjn

@xquery @grtjn We’ll see. I put it on my list, but it’ll be a minor miracle if it gets to the top before the contest ends.—@ndw

@xquery @ndw Would be awesome to know I would be competing against (one of) you two. Just wondering what @vojtechtoman will be doing.. ;-)—@grtjn

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 02:22pm

@edd has anyone figured out what color is/does? I sure haven’t, despite several attempts.—@ndw

@ndw if I find out I'll let you know—@edd

Thursday at 02:24pm

RT @AlainCouthures: @ndw Have a look at http://t.co/6ljJ9W7 for an example of both #xsltforms and TinyMCE—@unixland

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 03:09pm

. @JordanSekulow's org opposed democracy in Kenya because he doesn't like abortion. I fail to see how Kenya is any of his business.—@kendall

@kendall Unless he’s pregnant, I fail to see how abortion is any of his business.—@ndw

@ndw Is it possible to be pregnant with stupidity?—@kendall

Thursday at 03:45pm

Come to Montreal for Balisage! Come for the XML! Come for the conversation! Come for the chinese nosh! http://goo.gl/U2vMY—@ndw

Thursday at 04:18pm

@ndw http://bit.ly/p5knYL—@nichoiscepz6

Friday at 06:22am

Nbng stenly hen.. Hhe RT @Holz_Henry: Qlo jd naek apa u ke sana nya?RT @ndwicks: Blom psti dri.. Tp w usahain dri.. (Y) RT @Holz_Henry: @ndw—@ndwicks

In a conversation that started on Friday at 09:29am

So disgusted with all three branches of our government right now. All parties. All sellouts to corporations and the super rich.—@bphogan

@bphogan @ndw - UK too—@monkchips

In a conversation that started on Friday at 09:34am

RT @bphogan: So disgusted with all three branches of our government right now. All parties. All sellouts to corporations and the super rich.—@ndw

@bphogan @ndw amen!—@christo4ferris

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

On the changing nature of DocBook standardization, http://norman.walsh.name/2011/07/22/docbook—@ndw

@ndw How do you feel about DocBook with the advent of ePub?—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers I think DocBook is a fine source format from which to generate ePUB files.—@ndw

@ndw Reason I ask is I keep running into this at O'Reilly. Latest was using AsciiDocs, but the O'Reilly documentation is incomplete—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers What’s the antecedent for “this” in that tweet?—@ndw

@ndw It's become frustrating. I'm not stupid, but I usually don't have enough time in schedule to deal with writing and tech, both.—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers You’d like to author in ePUB but convert to DocBook? If you exercise restraint in the HTML you author, should be possible—@ndw

@ndw But there's no conversion tools. I know, I looked for them. Ah well, I guess O'Reilly will just have to live with OpenOffice—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Send me a couple of ePUBs authored with your favorite tool and I’ll take a look.—@ndw

@ndw I'm considering rearchitecting http://oreil.ly/a7lD6X as an onboarding project -- ePubs should be part of it.—@grechaw

@ndw I'm working on a short book. When finished, I'll send you copy.—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Thanks. I’m actually interested in doing a little ePUB work so will appreciate the examples.—@ndw

@ndw @shelleypowers Be aware that epub3 is in the works.—@dpawson

@dpawson @ndw Well, as long as it isn't one of the specs the WHATWG is working on, we should be OK—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers @ndw Its a work in progress... AFAIK no readers support it... and it calls on html5 vsn ???? #epub3—@dpawson

@dpawson @ndw And document that discusses diffs between 2 and 3 http://t.co/d7H1DCS—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers there's a nonzero amount of overlap between the two groups.—@hober

@hober I was joking ;-)—@shelleypowers

@dpawson Ah, yes, I assume @shelleypowers *meant* ePUB3—@ndw

@shelleypowers we have talked about accepting epub - I'll try to find out what's going on with that this coming week.—@simonstl

@simonstl Cool, would be nice. The tool support for ePub is quite broad.—@shelleypowers

@ndw Latest work they wanted in either DocBook or AsciiDocs, but they don't provide tools or enough info to work with either.—@shelleypowers

@ndw Unfortunately, you have dozens of editors that work with ePub, but little for DocBook. Also unfortunately, no epub to docbook—@shelleypowers

@shelleypowers Choosing ePUB as your authoring format is going to impose some constraints, but if you can live with them, I guess that’s ok.—@ndw

@ndw Unfortunately, one of the constraints is that O'Reilly won't support it from authors.—@shelleypowers

Friday at 01:10pm

On the changing nature of DocBook standardization, by @ndw http://bit.ly/oiBtJg #techcomm—@arh

Friday at 01:48pm

RT @havarde: "we must not let fear win" #Oslo's major Fabian Stang to NRK "must not become a less open and free society and let the terr ...—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 07:37am

I wonder if GOP will suffer at all when their bullshit causes the markets to hide like a frightened turtle.—@kendall

@kendall My guess is not.—@ndw

Saturday at 09:49am

Tea Party is organized bullying. You ALWAYS call the bully's bluff. The rest of us -- the decent ones -- should remember that.—@kendall

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 01:53pm

Cantaloupe ice from Rita's. Perfect.—@kendall

@kendall My favorite ice cream flavor for sure!—@ndw

Saturday at 04:11pm

@elieraad New suggestions for you: @munmun10, @ChrisDiehl, @CVPR and @ndw. More at http://twitter.com/#!/who_to_follow—@twittersuggests

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 06:16am

Oh, look, USB3 brings with it another connector. I shoulda seen that coming.—@ndw

@ndw After Wikipedia, everything is compatible except that "USB 3.0 type-B plugs will not fit into USB 2.0 and earlier socket." Not too bad—@fgeorges

Comments

I solve the problem of unwanted sound by keeping the sound off unless I actually want to listen to something. But that's just practicality. The principled answer is that the freedom to force people to do things is no freedom at all.

The reason you can safely walk (briskly) on hot coals is that, while they have a very high temperature, they are crappy conductors and hold only a small absolute amount of heat. Your sweaty bare feet will actually cool them down substantially. It's not so much mind triumphing over matter as physics triumphing over common sense.

I'm told that some TV programs have expiry dates that DVRs are required to enforce, though I haven't confirmed this myself.

Google's company culture has been dead for a while now. But like the fabled dinosaur, such a large organization doesn't die all at once: it takes a long time for the "I'm dead" signal in the brain to reach the butt. Larry and Sergey have been seriously out of touch for at least five years, when I first saw them on internal Google videoconferencing.

MOSTLY you call the bully's bluff. Occasionally you run into a really brave bully, like Andrew Jackson. Dude was one of the best duelists in his era's version of the West (i.e. Tennessee), and routinely intimidated political opponents with the threat of violence which they couldn't even "honorably" protest.