This page is an archive, possibly an out-of-date one. You’ll find newer weblog postings at So… and more about norm on his homepage.

The short-form week of 6–12 Feb 2012

13 Feb 2012

The week in review, 140 characters at a time.

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.

Thursday at 04:10am

I hear that you have a looming deadline and a presentation to prepare for later today. Here, have a hard drive failure. Love 'n' hugs, Life.—@philhawksworth

Thursday at 04:32am

You know those 80Mb power point presentations? Please stop sending them to me in email, kthxbai.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 05:40am

Managed to remove 10 slides from my #xmlprague presentation. It was just way too long.—@vojtechtoman
@vojtechtoman Can I have ‘em? I usually run short :P—@ndw

Thursday at 07:07am

Arrived LHR. Next stop FRA, then on to PRG. #xmlprague here I come!—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 08:05am

If anyone is interested in the bleeding edge, I’ve done substantial hacking on my “auto-caching” XML resolver: https://t.co/4u0d88gB—@ndw
@ndw Sounds interesting. Is there any doc besides the project description at this point? (Jut asking!)—@ebruchez
@ebruchez No. I noticed how bad the docs where when I cut-and-pasted the URI. I’ll try to fix that this week.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 12:02pm

Just arrived at #xmlprague, Hotel Ariston. Anyone around?—@robinberjon
@robinberjon I'm at the same hotel, but I'm at the conf venue right now, for the #xmlprague pre-conf.—@fgeorges
@fgeorges Ok, I'm off to find Norm — text me if you're on your way out!—@robinberjon
@fgeorges @robinberjon @ndw so where are you guys refueling tonight?—@adamretter
@fgeorges How long are you staying there? I'm meeting Norm at 1900 at his hotel. Neither is far from the Uni.—@robinberjon
@robinberjon That was the plan too, but the panel is still going on. Can you keep me posted on the address once you're there?—@fgeorges

Friday at 02:04pm

Boscolo achieved. No sign of @ndw or @innovimax.—@inigos

In a conversation that started on Friday at 02:51pm

Is there a free spot for the demojam at XML Prague? @ndw—@j_maly
@j_maly Yep. You got one. Please send me the title. And then there were four #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw If you have another spare slot, I'd like to use it for presenting floodit.xsl, http://t.co/N8KwoFB6—@gimsieke
@ndw the title could be "eXolutio: schema modeling"—@j_maly

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 03:48am

@ndw Hereby requesting one of the four remaining demojam spots.—@sgmlguru
@sgmlguru You got it. And then there were three. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw @@sgmlguru Norm whatever is it that you give away I want it ;) #xmlprague—@xchaotic

Saturday at 03:50am

@ndw We should figure out which one of us does what part at some point :)—@robinberjon

Saturday at 03:53am

@ndw I will be jamming "XSLT for hipsters" tonight. #xmlprague—@RobbertAtWork

Saturday at 03:54am

RT @RobbertAtWork: @ndw I will be jamming "XSLT for hipsters" tonight. #xmlprague—@Kandura

Saturday at 03:56am

@ndw I didn't pick a title yet, it'll be "Mark my Tweet".. #demojam #xmlprague—@grtjn

Saturday at 03:58am

@jasonharrop Just send @ndw a note..—@grtjn

Saturday at 04:13am

The always-excellent @jenit is ... always excellent. #xmlprague—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:23am

I'm offering good alcohol to anyone who can come up with a good DocBook joke before 11h45. #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Nice. I wonder if I should offer more for not sending it to you? Phphttpbt! #xmplrague—@ndw
@ndw What can you offer more than good alcohol? #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon @ndw More of good alcohol? I'm in, so no joke from me. #xmlprague—@xchaotic
@robinberjon I meant *more* good alcohol of course! #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw HA! But I can offer more more good alcohol! #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon I guess you get your joke then. I’ll even try to laugh if it’s funny. #xmlprague #docbook—@ndw
@ndw announces support for HTML5 parsing rules in DocBook V6.0 (docbook jokes ... #xmlprague #docbook)—@jonathan_robie
.@jonathan_robie I often use DE to add HTML elements (script & style mostly) to #DocBook. #xmlprague—@ndw
Distributed extensibility is more important in collections of documents than in a single document. cc @ndw @jonathan_robie #xmlprague—@jpcs
@jpcs You may have a case for the defunct head/@profile HTML attribute there. @ndw @jonathan_robie—@robinberjon
@ndw I think I'm doomed, can't find the <informaljocularaside> element. #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Take my DocBook. Please. #xmlprague—@ronhitchens
@robinberjon Yesterday, @evlist had a pretty good one about French administration rules and LivreDoc. #xmlprague—@fgeorges

Saturday at 04:30am

Speaking of TV references. Francis Urquot FTW @jenit #xmlprague—@ndw

Saturday at 04:32am

s/Urquot/Urquhart/ #xmlprague #doh!—@ndw

Saturday at 04:38am

And I believe we’re full, folks #xmlprague #demojam—@ndw

Saturday at 04:41am

@ndw @JeniT @robinberjon sounds fun, sorry I couldn't get the train down to join you for a beer later...—@fidothe

Saturday at 05:09am

@ndw If there is a slot left, can I give a 5 minute presentation at the demojam, about XML and software architecture?—@nverwer

Saturday at 05:25am

The schema author has not made this DocBook joke available at your conference. Sorry about that. #xmlprague (@ndw, the beer is on you)—@gimsieke

Saturday at 05:34am

@ndw Have you committed the change you wanted to make? Pull tells me it's up to date.—@robinberjon

Saturday at 05:55am

@ndw and @robinberjon up next. Quick, do the #docbook jokes now. #xmlprague—@sgmlguru

Saturday at 05:58am

Where earlier speakers said XML in browsers DOESN'T work, @ndw now mentions it DOES . Opinions vary :S #xmlprague—@Kandura

Saturday at 06:01am

@ndw mentioned @robinberjon #xmlprague paper. Which reminds me - proceedings are available at http://t.co/9n4d5xzK—@jirkakosek

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 06:08am

Surprised by @ndw mentioning me in his and @robinberjon's #xmlprague talk. JS XProc for the curious: http://t.co/IFVceAme—@vojtechtoman
@vojtechtoman #xmlprague without your #balisage talk, Saxon-CE would probably not have happened.—@michaelhkay

Saturday at 06:14am

@ndw "Huge amount of fraction" or "Huge amount of friction" between communities? #xmlprague—@Kandura

Saturday at 06:21am

@nverwer Sorry, the slots are all gone. ;-(—@ndw

Saturday at 06:33am

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 06:51am

It's probably time to disclose who has sent me non-well-formed paper :-) #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek name and shame them (hoping its not me!)—@adamretter
@jirkakosek Do you have well-defined error handling in place? Or a weapon? #xmlprague—@sgmlguru
@jirkakosek How many non-WF papers did you get? Are there anonymised stats?—@robinberjon
@robinberjon IIRC non-WF paper was just one. But valid DocBook was only half of them. Fortunatelly DocBook XSL are very forgiving #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek Well, you know, I think a valid DocBook is a dead DocBook ;-) #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Stop making jokes about DocBook or you will be DEAD MAN. I and @ndw are watching you! #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek @robinberjon @ndw DEAD = Don't Exchange A Docbook #xmlprague #badjoke—@innovimax
@innovimax I can't stop producing proceedings from DocBook, pals. But then there will be no proceedings at all #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek Stop making me use it :) @ndw—@robinberjon

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 06:53am

nice! so wish I was there! RT @thomas0007 Photos from XML Prague 2012, day one at http://t.co/xtCLI8jf #xmlprague—@peteaven
@peteaven Your colleagues are thinking of you.. I think.. ;) @jpcs @evanlenz @ndw—@grtjn

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 08:47am

Sitting right next to @jenit, feeling quite honoured! :) #xmlprague—@grtjn
@grtjn You should try sitting next to XML God @ndw !—@JeniT
@JeniT I will as soon as he is able to speak at XMLAmsterdam :) (You have to ask about it @ndw)—@grtjn
@JeniT @grtjn Wait until he gets to sit next to @robinberjon!—@ndw
@ndw Next to me? You mean on @JeniT's lap? @grtjn—@robinberjon

Saturday at 08:51am

.@vojtechtoman doing a great job exploring the structure of XProc pipelines with respect to non-XML data.—@ndw

Saturday at 08:54am

.@vojtechtoman doing a great job exploring the structure of XProc pipelines with respect to non-XML data. #xmlprague—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 08:57am

Wonder if non-XML XProc extracts out other metadata from e.g. images @vojtechtoman? #xmlprague—@JeniT
@JeniT The WG discussed extending @vojtechtoman’s media type “side car” with a map that could contain other extracted metadata #xmlprague—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 09:09am

How could I forget to include a design for JSProc in the paper? If only for @ndw… #xmlprague—@robinberjon
@robinberjon So is your basic approach to take all the good ideas from XML technologies and try to make Javascript equivalents? #xmlprague—@JeniT
@JeniT Not necessarily Javascript — but to find a way to bring them into the ecosystem. #xmlprague—@robinberjon

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 09:12am

I can't decide if I think @vojtechtoman's ideas are fantastic or just make me think of emacs. #xmlprague—@CorbasLtd
@CorbasLtd Doesn’t that make them even more fantastic?—@ndw
@ndw Heretic. #vimrules—@CorbasLtd

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 09:20am

@michaelhkay #xmlprague I like the fast streaming of cocoon. Also dislike the xproc syntax. Cocoon makes xslt into a functional language.—@nverwer
@nverwer Would a "compact" non-XML syntax make you happier, he asks, foreshadowing his #Balisage paper plans. #xproc #xmlprague—@ndw
@nverwer Would you like XProc more if it had a text-based syntax? /cc @ndw—@JeniT
@JeniT Cocoon sitemaps are in XML too, but less verbose.. cc: @nverwer @ndw—@grtjn

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 09:32am

@ndw #xmlprague It probably would, if it allows for really efficient processing (streaming).—@nverwer
#xmlprague @nverwer You should talk to @innovimax..cc: @ndw—@grtjn
@nverwer Streaming support is on my list. Alas, it’s a long list. #xmlprague #xproc—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 09:35am

This conference needs more namespace porn. Brackets and colons are boring. #xmlprague—@annevk
@annevk It's a family-oriented conference. Please. #xmlprague—@sgmlguru
@robinberjon @annevk Oooooooh, baaaaybeee! #xmlprague—@sgmlguru
@ndw Ouch, man, why?—@robinberjon

Saturday at 09:37am

@ndw - does "compact" non-XML look like RELAX-NG compact syntax?—@jonathan_robie

Saturday at 09:37am

@ndw #xmlprague That is good to hear. I know other cocooners who'd like to stream in #xproc.—@nverwer

Saturday at 09:50am

Very cool NVDL work by @georgebina #xmlprague—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 11:13am

I'm sitting behind @JeniT now, so I can't tell when she's laughing #xmlprague any more—@jonathan_robie
@jonathan_robie Should I ask video guy to stream @JeniT image instead of @ndw so you can watch her? #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek no, let's not /cc @jonathan_robie—@JeniT

Saturday at 11:16am

@ndw doing a good job giving overview to Corona—@xquery

Saturday at 11:18am

This looks like programmer-friendly vs human-friendly! #xmlprague @ndw—@Kandura

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 11:21am

@ndw's talks are of the speed of a streaming (xq/xs) processor, and forward-only ;) #xmlprague—@Kandura
@Kandura I don’t think that was my talk...—@ndw
@ndw sure... but irrespective of the speed, it was very well to follow!—@Kandura
@Kandura Ah. I misunderstood. I do try to slow down. Honest.—@ndw

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

It would be lovely if XForms was widely supported in the browser. #godeclarative #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw "Supported" as in "native"?—@ebruchez
@ndw Agreed — hence my question on making it better adapted to that environment :)—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Because that environment is incapable of adapting?—@ndw
@ndw It can — I'm just pointing out the lowest energy approach that will yield the same result :)—@robinberjon
@ndw why do people complain about lack of browser support instead of forking and implementing?—@eedeebee
@eedeebee I presume because it would be important to have the changes in the trunk. & also a browser is a large codebase.—@ndw
RT @ndw It would be lovely if #XForms was widely supported in the browser. #godeclarative // I'd settle for android /iphone #xmlprague—@tingenek

Saturday at 02:57pm

Thanks, Norm! RT @xquery: @ndw doing a good job giving overview to Corona—@hunterhacker

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 01:09am

RT @gimsieke: Thanks everybody (MarkLogic in particular) for the iPad. What a nice birthday present. Kids will love it ;) #xmlprague—@xquery
@gimsieke Welcome to the #xmlprague iPad club :-) @xquery—@mdubinko
@mdubinko @xquery Thanks! Did you know that we have two winners (a decision that @ndw was afraid to get fired for)? /cc @RobbertAtWork—@gimsieke

Sunday at 05:02am

Eventually, I’ll put the #DocBook XSLT 2.0 stylesheets in an XSLT 3.0 package #xmlprague—@ndw

Sunday at 05:56am

REST library FTW! #xmlprague https://t.co/GoldikvN—@ndw

Sunday at 05:57am

@ndw loving to see his REST library for MarkLogic being shown by @adamretter #xmlprague—@grtjn

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 06:07am

Must investigate supporting @adamretter’s cool REST function annotations. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw @adamretter interested here in the rest annotation stuff - is it in the slides?—@eedeebee
@eedeebee @adamretter Adam’s paper is in the proceedings preview.—@ndw

Sunday at 06:09am

I like @adamretter's XQuery annotations for REST. But it kind of weakens my argument vs @ndw for multi-tier REST apps {sigh} #xmlprague—@ronhitchens

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 08:44am

oh my head hurts. and not from last night's drinking #xmlprague—@JeniT
@JeniT You mean not *only* from last night, surely #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw @JeniT sigh, i wasn't there last night, i'm having the same symptoms ;=>—@jonathan_robie
@jonathan_robie @ndw @JeniT It takes some time to get used to the sliding/zooming features of Prezi's.. ;) #xmlprague—@grtjn

Sunday at 09:00am

Wonderful. Wondrous. Brain twisting. @jcps at #xmlprague—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 10:22am

FYI: the plan is to create a W3C CG for XML5 with a less loaden name. @robinberjon suggested XML-ER. #xmlprague—@annevk
@sgmlguru Too loaded, gives the impression that it's the next version of XML. It would be too political. @annevk—@robinberjon
@robinberjon @annevk How about "Bob", then? #xmlprague—@sgmlguru
@sgmlguru Already taken :) @annevk—@robinberjon
@annevk Will be group open to non-XMLers then? :-) #xmlprague—@jirkakosek
I’m in. #W3C #XML5 #xmlprague! /cc @annevk @robinberjon @jenit—@ndw
@ndw @annevk @jenit @innovimax I checked, 5 individuals can support a group, no need for companies. Go click on http://t.co/ThBRK1tX—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Count me in, I can get one member vote for er...XML group /cc @ndw @annevk @jenit @innovimax—@jirkakosek
@annevk @robinberjon count me in—@innovimax
@annevk You somewhere around man?—@robinberjon
@robinberjon occupied until after dinner. Could do drinks tonight.—@annevk

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

#w3ccommunity Proposed Group: XML Error Recovery Community Group http://t.co/pQnqMrJc—@w3c
Even logged in, I can’t for the life of me see how to “show support” for a group /cc @w3c @robinberjon—@ndw
@ndwhttp://t.co/weWYB7Mx ; expand XML Error Recovery; click "Yes, create"—@roessler
@roessler @ndw error recovery proposal does not show for me (yes, I logged in 1st <grin/>)—@jeffsonstein
@roessler Yeah. Well. If only there was a button. All I see is the current supporters and “Report a problem” /cc @jirkakosek @robinberjon—@ndw
@ndw That's because we don't need more votes — we have five :) @roessler @jirkakosek—@robinberjon
@robinberjon There was only one the first time I looked. I think it’s some sort of authentication problem.—@ndw
@ndw @roessler Note that it says "You are one of the 5 people who support this group. Once 5 people support the group it will be created" :)—@robinberjon
@ndw What do you see at http://t.co/ThBRK1tX ? No "Yes, create community group" button? @w3c—@robinberjon
@ndw Click "YES, create community group". I aggree it's UX fail sort of—@jirkakosek

Sunday at 10:58am

Uh, @w3c, the XML-ER join page reports “The following errors were encountered: W3cDbObject requested with NULL id”—@ndw

Sunday at 11:13am

CMSMcQ never fails to be inspirational, educational, and delightful. Thank you, #xmlprague!—@ndw