The short-form week of 4–10 Nov 2013

11 Nov 2013; last modified 13 Nov 2013

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.

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 05:23pm

I have two branches at github and to local dev branches. Merging one “just works” merging the other forces a new commit msg. Huh?—@ndw

@ndw saxon95-dev has commits not in saxon95 https://t.co/B6i20EbNtA. u need to `git rebase saxon95 saxon95-dev` or fresh clone—@rdeltour

@ndw Sometimes git makes you "commit" your merge. I don't know why, but I just go with it and nothing bad happens.—@msokolov

@msokolov It works. But it’s always the same branch and it’s every time. I’d prefer to keep the dev branch’s commit log like other branch—@ndw

@ndw I think the deal is you can have that iff you only make changes on a single branch. Otherwise you have merges and must commit them.—@msokolov

Monday at 09:05am

RT @alan_uplc: Teacher screamed at by Gov. Christie has her turn. http://withabrooklynaccent.blogspot.com/2013/11/letter-to-governor-christie-from-new.html Please share widely, so her voice is heard http://… —@ndw

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

Now the hard part, trying to decide if a tricked out Laptop will successfully run Linux or not.—@ndw

@ndw Yes, that's the hard part. Keep us informed pls?—@dpawson

In a conversation that started on Monday at 09:19am

No Evernote either. Hmmm. #Linux vs #Mavericks.—@ndw

@ndw Take a look at Nevernote: http://nevernote.sourceforge.net/ —@CanOfBees

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

Looks nice tricked out, http://www.malibal.com/notebooks/nine-x570se/ but 12 pounds is heavy. Though the 2.5” thickness concerns me more, knasack-wise.—@ndw

@ndw The latest Lenovo T440s can be configured for performance, for 3.5lbs/0.8in. The T540p is the same in 15in. http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t440s/?cid=EDM_20131030_NA_US_CON_TP_TseriesNotifyMe_CB&RRID=NOTIFYME0000101138&esrc=NOTIFYME#customize —@ColinMaudry

@ColinMaudry Thanks. If I’m going wintel, I’m leaning towards the 17” flavor; the 17” Lenovo’s are only 1600x900 which seems just silly.—@ndw

@ndw Back in the days I had a Sager computer, which was a similar brick (with a desktop P4!). I wouldn’t want that again.—@ebruchez

@ndw I just have a Satori which is 3.5lbs lighter than the 9x and 1.8" high. Hit a sweet spot for me—@distobj

@distobj That seems a little more reasonable.—@ndw

@distobj Runs linux flawlessly? Which video card did you get?—@ndw

@ndw Linux laptop #protip Always check compatibility status of Wifi card options—@distobj

@distobj Yes. It seems like Intel provides drivers for the 6235. It also seems like the Atheros drivers will work with the Killer 1202.—@ndw

@ndw I dual boot with Win7 for gaming so went with beefier NVidia 660M. This was 18 mths ago BTW—@distobj

@ndw Had some very minor issues with Mint 14 that have since been fixed (brightness keys, wifi AP mode)—@distobj

@ndw does it have a good processing cycles / weight ratio? I guess it must to be worth carrying 12 pounds!—@simonstl

@simonstl I'm not desperate for something extra light, but 12lbs is pretty close to crazy heavy.—@ndw

@ndw 12lbs and 2.5" is excessive, methinks. I've used mainframes which were smaller :-)—@docum3nt

@ndw Do they have some lead weights in there?—@alexmilowski

Tuesday at 07:12am

XML Stars, the journal is out! http://paper.li/dominixml/1329135087 Stories via @ndw —@dominixml

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 05:55pm

The Lenovo W530 with all the knobs turned to 11 might work. Linux driver reports for the Intel wifi are mixed. #newlaptop —@ndw

@ndw #newlaptop no w540? 2880x1620! :) Also, issues w/ the 6205 or the 6300?—@CanOfBees

@CanOfBees AFAICT, the W540 isn’t out yet.—@ndw

@ndw My bad. I thought I saw a release date, but it must have been wishful thinking.—@CanOfBees

@CanOfBees Given the vagaries of Linux config, being one model behind is probably a feature. The W530 looks reasonably safe.—@ndw

@ndw as a FreeBSD user, I know the pain. A new laptop is something at least one version old.—@CanOfBees

@ndw if you're not afraid of the weight & bulky look, have a look @ clevo barebones https://t.co/3jwOvSaNwS should be 100% linux compatible—@olivierjeulin

Tuesday at 05:55pm

(Yes, that assumes I give up on a 17” screen and settle for a 15” screen at 1920x1080)—@ndw

Tuesday at 07:12pm

RT @xproc: XProc V2.0 Requirements published as a W3C Working Draft, let the comments roll in! http://www.w3.org/TR/xproc-v2-req/ —@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 11:37pm

Kaleidoscope, SuperDuper, 1Password, Alfred, Photoshop, Lightroom, Evernote, Vmware Fusion, lots to replace... #newlaptop —@ndw

@ndw Did you buy one then?—@dpawson

@ndw No Linux if you're replacing 1password? Do you want a pycrypto version?—@dpawson

@ndw what did you get?—@kendall

@kendall No decision yet. Still very much on the fence.—@ndw

@ndw I'm leaning to a Carbon X1.—@kendall

Wednesday at 03:38am

@dnovatchev @ndw Not if you do lots of typing Dimitre?—@dpawson

Wednesday at 06:45am

If it quacks like a duck, but looks like a cat with a horse head, it must be JavaScript.—@rodneyrehm

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 11:07am

Twelve hours later with the Nexus 5, enjoying it a lot. Beautiful screen. Friend said it made his new iPhone 5S feel old fashioned.—@edd

@edd black or white?—@dckc

@dckc black—@edd

@edd @dckc How’s the GPS?—@ndw

@ndw @dckc seems to work fine. So far only issue is Bluetooth volume set at 100% with my car—@edd

@ndw @edd @dckc I've had mine exactly the same amount of time and have exactly the same reaction. It's very nice.—@kendall

Thursday at 03:27am

Amazing to watch a 37-year-old piece of software get better every day. Emacs shows clearly that useful software is never finished.—@sanityinc

Thursday at 09:19am

what idiot called them creationists instead of primate change deniers—@dandouglas

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 01:51pm

The prospect of getting a laptop completely and perfectly setup with Linux is still daunting after all these years.—@ndw

@ndw But the stickers… What about the stickers?—@mstuehrenberg

@mstuehrenberg I have more stickers.—@ndw

@ndw did you look at this? http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd not checked US availability though—@ldodds

@ldodds Thanks. It doesn’t seem to be an option on their beefier boxes.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 02:35pm

(tabulating the unfollows for speaking heresy against coffee)—@scalzi

@scalzi Almost, man, almost—@ndw

Thursday at 06:33pm

Drawing fractals in meetings helps me focus. And I could go on forever.—@therealmaxf

Friday at 07:04pm

Looks like new laptop models coming from Lenovo and DELL this month. I suppose I can wait a little longer.—@ndw

Sunday at 11:20am

Well played, steam :) https://t.co/JNQgprWjWW—@codepo8

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 03:11pm

One would think that gathering decent-quality travel videos in one spot would be a good opportunity for a startup, no?—@RussB

@RussB Technically, sure. Negotiating the absurd rights management involved, probably not.—@ndw