The short-form week of 21–27 May 2012

28 May 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.

Monday at 08:08am

RT @ndw RT @richardhamilton DITA got you down? Why not DocBook, 8:15 Monday #stc12—@kingargyle

In a conversation that started on Monday at 11:45am

The Wolfram Alpha query "next eclipse in Sunnyvale" now returns October 23, 2014.—@mdubinko

@mdubinko But the total solar eclipse on 21 Apr 2017 will probably be more exciting.—@ndw

Monday at 11:52am

I imagine meetings at banks that go something like this: "We need to hire a UI person." "Sorry, no can do. Here's some Ambien and a crayon."—@DanaDanger

Monday at 04:13pm

Microsoft was going to open source the Sharepoint code, but Richard Stallman asked them to keep it proprietary.—@RussB

Tuesday at 01:24am

forgot the collation sequence for 'echo *' can be different to that used by 'ls'—@psd

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 04:34am

@danbri http://t.co/TGLcmrM1—@sitapati

@sitapati see https://t.co/VJo6cOOv from @ndw—@danbri

Tuesday at 06:12am

Sore throat. Clogged sinuses. General malaise. Hello, summer cold. Go away. You. Suck.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 06:46am

@ndw did you see RDFa Lite? It's more self-contained than 1.0. Would it work to embed in Docbook for domain-oriented markup extras?—@danbri

@danbri It looks like it would be easy to embed.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 07:16am

@danbri Easy peasy. https://t.co/9kGToQVP—@ndw

@ndw thanks! I just heard on grapevine you'd been asked before and advised against it... but maybe something lost in communication...—@danbri

@danbri “Advised against it” is probably too strong. My thoughts are here: http://t.co/Uw60Q70z—@ndw

@ndw @bobdc re rdfa4docbook, maybe it makes more sense to use the rdf for non-document-oriented facts, like domain models?—@danbri

Tuesday at 07:36am

Users don't hate change. They hate being disrupted by random updates that don't provide new, substantial, & visible value.—@jmspool

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

Mega blowout @mugl set to start in a few hours, inimitable @JeniT is the featured speaker. Not too late to signup: http://t.co/RC1KeOQL—@mugl

@mugl Oh to be in England / Now that [May]’s here / And whoever wakes in England / Sees, some MUGL there. With apologies to Robert Browning.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 09:48am

@bobdc @ndw re rdfa4docbook, it seems less for docish metadata but good to capture actual info content - the things the docs are saying—@danbri

@danbri @ndw My idea was metadata. Writing "Learning SPARQL" in DITA I used RDFa for screenshot metadata (date taken, software release used)—@bobdc

@bobdc do you have any sample chapter available that could be public in docbook format too, to give people concrete idea? /cc @ndw—@danbri

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 03:20pm

thinking about it .... http://t.co/NPi7RTm9—@xquery

@xquery Stop thinking and open your wallet, man!—@ndw

Wednesday at 03:18am

Tempted to get one of these #equalmarriage t-shirts because when I'm old kids won't believe we had to campaign for it. http://t.co/U3ZUgSA5—@mrjamesmack

Wednesday at 06:41am

Damn it. If you have an idea, someone will parody or protest it. That’s OK. That’s human. Get the fuck over yourself, ‘k?—@ndw

Wednesday at 07:45am

Bad ideas are so widespread because those who have good content don't take seriously the task of charming others into trusting in it.—@alaindebotton

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 08:54am

just passed 1000 miles of biking for the year. from #bunsofmercury to #bunsofsteel.—@kstirman

@kstirman Nicely done. I’m well off my 100mi/wk goal, but optimistic I’ll be able to get back to it.—@ndw

@ndw that's a great goal, but i would never get there without a daily commute to work. how do you do it? hard to code and ride safely!—@kstirman

@kstirman Long rides on the weekend and early morning rides during the week. On the road by, say 6:30ish, back at 8:30ish. When it happens.—@ndw

@kstirman A bicycle commute would be grand. Not as grand as walking down the hall to my office, mind, but grand.—@ndw

@ndw aye, tis.—@kstirman

@kstirman don't forget #taintofsteel—@speedocowboy

Wednesday at 09:35am

The Internet didn't destroy publishing, it destroyed advertising. Publishing was handcuffed to the corpse when we threw it off the bridge.—@stuntbox

Wednesday at 09:45am

People who watch Fox News are less informed than people who watch no news at all, new survey shows: http://t.co/uLyJwZJ9—@Poynter

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 10:18am

Someone should tell the GOP that you can only have one "single most important thing".—@kendall

@kendall You don’t really understand how politics works, do you? :-)—@ndw

@ndw If you say so.—@kendall

Wednesday at 02:15pm

OH “Java — the country where we sacrifice goats to the compiler.”—@ndw

Wednesday at 03:13pm

RT @ndw: OH “Java — the country where we sacrifice goats to the compiler.”—@whovingh

Wednesday at 07:36pm

20 years ago we had Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Steve Jobs. Now we have no Cash, no Hope and no Jobs. Please don't let Kevin Bacon die.—@billl_murry

Thursday at 04:18am

That people think marriage equality is a matter of "conscience" but fucking over poor and working people isn't says all you need to know.—@tommorris

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 07:02am

@robinberjon Tree diff is a seriously hard problem. I gave up. The DeltaXML folks seem to have gotten it right. Not open source, though.—@ndw

@ndw I probably only need a subset. I can't look at DeltaXML since I'm looking for source to adapt to HTML :)—@robinberjon

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 08:59am

word of the day: solidus http://t.co/w0q1SaaW—@peteaven

@peteaven Interesting. I always thought the vertical bar ( | ) was the solidus. Learn something new everyday.—@ndw

@ndw we can actually thank Mr. Hennum for this one. He slipped it in with an explanation of DITA this a.m.—@peteaven

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 09:30am

Is there a worse idea than for-profit primary & secondary education?—@kendall

@kendall I’m tempted to say “no”, but everytime I think I’ve heard the worst possible idea, someone comes up with something even worse.—@ndw

@ndw It is difficult to "call bottom" on human stupidity, greed, and perfidy.—@kendall

Thursday at 08:13pm

Don't trust any language with a === operator.—@dozba

In a conversation that started on Friday at 12:32am

Austerity has been a failure in Europe, which is why the Republicans want to try it here.—@GlennF

@GlennF @ndw Who said austerity has been a failure in Europe? Daft statement.—@andrewwelch

Friday at 05:27am

Each time somebody has to use this UI, a new manic kitten killer is born.—@roessler

Friday at 06:58am

RT @GlennF: Austerity has been a failure in Europe, which is why the Republicans want to try it here.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 08:43am

RT @kendall: Angers me that Obama gutted our *national* spacefaring ambitions and we turn it all over to Elon Musk. WTF?!—@ndw

@kendall the gutting of NASA started before Obama & was accelerated by the Wars /cc @ndw—@jeffsonstein

In a conversation that started on Friday at 09:15am

Mine are all undocked and floating. I got the application frame back, but all the palettes are still floating. Dragging didn't work.—@siracusa

@siracusa Drag super slowly and hold over the edge until the palette goes semi-transparent and a blue line appears: http://t.co/lwpfyFvp—@mrwarren

The (insane) answer from @mrwarren: Drag super slowly and hold over the edge until the palette goes semi-transparent and a blue line appears—@siracusa

@siracusa This sort of thing seems to be a consequence of “direct manipulation” interfaces. Not infrequently, I’m surprised by what works.—@ndw

Friday at 11:45am

"As in, a pre-going out drink" - "Oh, you mean lunch?"—@dehora

Friday at 12:38pm

For how many years can a person keep using the same author photo before it's just lying about your face?—@RachelFersh

Friday at 01:39pm

Critical thinking as a cure for religion ? Duh. http://t.co/tJRfguzf—@DALDEI

In a conversation that started on Friday at 04:22pm

I forgot my towel today. Should I panic?—@gabrielsaldana

@gabrielsaldana Don’t panic. Your a hoopy frood. It’ll be alright.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 06:57pm

I wonder how many people, when they want a quick glance at a calendar, flip over to a Terminal and type “cal”?—@timbray

Whaddyamean "flip over"? :-) QT @timbray: how many people, when they want a quick [...] calendar, flip over to a Terminal and type “cal”?—@docum3nt

@timbray cal? I do.—@mikeloukides

@timbray You mean instead of M-x calendar? Almost never.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 06:58pm

I wonder how many use irb as a desk calculator?—@timbray

@timbray Spolsky used google for that all the time, and it drove me nuts—@codinghorror

@timbray You mean instead of M-x calc? :-)—@ndw

@timbray ipython, much the same—@dehora

Saturday at 01:27am

Remember to only break rules you understand.—@notch

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 05:52am

On the train again, but today it's to Cromer in the sunshine :)—@johnlsheridan

@johnlsheridan have a great day John, enjoy the sunshine here.—@iheartcromer

@iheartcromer I can happily recommend Bella Vista Cromer, for a good lunch and fabulous sea views :)—@johnlsheridan

@johnlsheridan @iheartcromer @ndw Sounds idyllic. Summer seems to be happening here too. Pimms in rhe garden last night.—@skwlilac

@johnlsheridan Cromer is nice. Enjoy the seaside!—@ndw

@ndw @johnlsheridan Good grief, Cromer. A place from my childhood. Lots of good memories. Do they still launch the lifeboat down a slipway?—@docum3nt

@docum3nt @ndw they do. I can see it from here :)—@johnlsheridan

@ndw the journey is lovely, the countryside beautifully green and luscious, the sun bright with a cooling breeze too. Not long til Cromer.—@johnlsheridan

@johnlsheridan This is a silly thing for me to say to you, but if you haven’t climbed to the top of the church tower, do. Lovely views.—@ndw

@ndw not at all silly :) I've never done that. I now plan to check it out ;)—@johnlsheridan

Saturday at 06:11am

Dear summer cold, I asked you to leave, not settle in my chest. Please. Go.—@ndw

Saturday at 06:43am

“No matter how long you procrastinate, it doesn’t get earlier.” —Günter Eich—@apag

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 07:44am

@johnlsheridan @iheartcromer @ndw You should also check out http://t.co/2dhH3hqh :-)—@skwlilac

@skwlilac Fabulous, I'm just a bit nearer to the peer than the picture :) Great data, nice work. cc @iheartcromer @ndw—@johnlsheridan

Saturday at 07:51am

RT @skwlilac: @johnlsheridan @iheartcromer @ndw You should also check out http://t.co/2dhH3hqh :-)—@johnlsheridan

Saturday at 04:46pm

@xquery I will ridicule you without mercy. And congratulations!—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:50pm

Clearly I will have to figure out how to watch #eurovision from the US next year, if for no other reason, just to understand the tweets.—@ndw

@ndw You must its like #superbowl and #worldseries combined .......... Not.... very tricky to describe .... maybe #glee on steroids?—@chrisbrothwood

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:51pm

Switching over all my machines to zsh. Once you go zsh, you don't go back.—@tommorris

@tommorris Why, or pointer to explanation thereof?—@ndw

@ndw just little things like more intuitive history complete, and a theme I use with Git/Mercurial status indicators.—@tommorris

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 04:28am

Within brand-exclusion zones, you are limited in what you wear, what you eat, how you pay. http://t.co/WhHaUSGM /via @jdforrester—@JeniT

@JeniT Holy crap.—@ndw

@JeniT staggering—@iand

Sunday at 01:29pm

“…and your slides look like gerbil droppings.” LOL. http://t.co/jKjlQMTB /via @timbray—@ndw

Sunday at 02:17pm

The frequent flyer's blessing: "May you have no stories to tell."—@merlyn

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 04:25pm

Every time I think about "brand-exclusion zones", I check the calendar to make sure it isn't 1 April. You all are fucking kidding, yes?—@ndw

@ndw after growing up on an island in a giant brand-exclusion zone called GDR, i am 100% with you. they must be kidding. i really hope so.—@dret

@dret My exact thoughts on reading about the brand exclusion zones was the Coke scene in Good Bye, Lenin /cc @ndw—@gcarothers

@ndw Apparently not.—@kendall

@ndw Just waiting for a 'corporate person' to decide their corporate free speech rights are being impacted (gets popcorn)—@svgeesus

Sunday at 04:48pm

RT @ndw: Every time I think about "brand-exclusion zones", I check the calendar to make sure it isn't 1 April. You all are fucking kiddi ...—@kendall

Sunday at 04:52pm

RT @ndw: Every time I think about "brand-exclusion zones", I check the calendar to make sure it isn't 1 April. You all are fucking kiddi ...—@hvdsomp

Sunday at 05:41pm

@ndw I had to google "brand exclusion zone" before I hit my head hard enough to look like a prehistoric ancestor ... OMG .. "Brand Police" !—@DALDEI