The short-form week of 10–16 Feb 2014

17 Feb 2014; last modified 28 Feb 2014

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 Sunday at 08:49am

At LHR waiting for flight to Prague. Excellent ham omelette; why is it a surprise to get good food at an airport? Last smoke-free meal :-(—@michaelhkay
@michaelhkay There are non-smoking restaurants in Prague. I will try to come up with some suggestions tomorrow. Safe flight.—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek @michaelhkay +1 to that Jirka!—@ndw
@ndw @michaelhkay Here is a list of some non-smoking suggestions: http://t.co/Z56Tni3LEC—@jirkakosek
@jirkakosek @ndw @michaelhkay Your perfect host?—@dpawson

Monday at 01:23am

“Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.” - H.G. Wells http://t.co/F2uxCKRWYi—@mirandachale

In a conversation that started on Monday at 03:23am

"Due to an incident in the Brentwood area, this train may only go as far as Colchester." Delightful. Not like I have a plane to catch...—@ndw
@ndw I like the uncertainty of "may only go as far as Colchester"—@docum3nt
@docum3nt Yeah. Some poor sod got himself killed on the tracks. Wonder when they give up and put us on busses. #notgettingtopragueontime—@ndw

Monday at 05:09am

"This train will terminate in Colchester." #sigh #travel #zen Glad I'm not trying to get to a flight home.—@ndw

Monday at 05:12am

Ha! Travel karma FTW. They've changed their minds and this train will run to Liverpool Street. "Maybe," I add silently.—@ndw

Monday at 07:15am

XML Stars, the journal is out! http://t.co/lNS6ggKpyZ Stories via @ndw—@dominixml

Monday at 07:38am

Problems implementing a random shuffle. It isn't easy. http://t.co/abvXDY352Y—@mikeloukides

In a conversation that started on Monday at 10:25am

At Vaclav Havel airport waiting for XML Rock star—@xquery
@xquery not possible with @ndw, he has null ego ... of course ... I just had beer with him and @jpcs (another null ego) ... I would say that—@xquery

Monday at 04:44pm

@ndw Hi Norman, here's a web-based DocBook XML editor http://t.co/KP7tvZVoHe with in-browser schema validation (rng or w3c)—@hollowaynz

Tuesday at 03:20am

Tuesday at 03:28am

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 03:58am

It took more than 10 years, but spammers finally coded around my comment auth form. Almost 600 spam comments waiting for approval. #sigh—@ndw
@ndw Ah well. It worked for ten years Norm? Good going—@dpawson
@ndw those are some determined spammers. guess it proves your blog’s popular...—@laurendw
@laurendw Or just how far down the long tail they're willing to go.—@ndw

Tuesday at 04:38am

The nuclear option: almost 600 comments xdmp:document-delete()d. Hope there werent' any legitimate comments in there. Fscking spammers.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Tuesday at 05:11pm

How I’m thinking about browsers these days. http://t.co/DiqYFKSal6—@timbray
@timbray where does Markdown fit in your picture?—@JeniT
@JeniT @timbray Markdown fits into the picture just like git - it's just another story.—@nichtich
@nichtich @timbray I think Markdown is to HTML what SASS and LESS are to CSS and CoffeeScript is to JavaScript.—@JeniT

Tuesday at 08:56pm

"I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world." - @RichardDawkins—@GodsNotReal_

Wednesday at 01:57am

cracking linksys "encryption" http://t.co/Ut9LbJ9hx0—@dragosr

Wednesday at 05:07am

Odd definitions: lanyard - unit of radius of coverage of a wireless router.—@Bari10

Wednesday at 09:24am

For maximum security, we’ll no longer be sending out password resets in plaintext emails. Instead, they’ll be in HTML emails.—@status_updates

In a conversation that started on Wednesday at 09:42am

Nearly finished all those tasks I'd planned to do by 10am this morning!—@ldodds
@ldodds It's 10am somewhere, I suppose.—@ndw

Wednesday at 09:44am

Scapabobididdywiddilydoobapbapaphobia - the fear of freestyle jazz.—@qikipedia

Wednesday at 09:59am

RT @stevenpemberton: Please help me with research on search results. It should take you less than 5 mins. Also, please retweet. Thanks! …—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Thursday at 01:17am

"Comcast Set to Acquire Time Warner Cable for $45 Billion". @comcast won't tolerate *any* competition. http://t.co/uuM3HWXzCz—@avernet
@avernet If @comcast manages to get this deal approved by antitrust regulators, their lobbyists and lawyers are worth their weight in gold.—@avernet
@avernet @comcast It’s about $40k / kg. So say $4m/ lobbyist. 10,000 lobbyists would be about $40bn. They must have way less than that.—@ebruchez
@ebruchez @avernet @comcast It's only 1,000 if they've been paying them for 10 years.—@ndw

Thursday at 03:22pm

OH "I am the RDF thing."—@ndw

Thursday at 04:13pm

OH "I've pissed on citrus fruit in this country before."—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Friday at 04:32am

actually, it’s an #xproc A & Q question (speaker asks the questions!) #XMLPrague—@rdeltour
@rdeltour ya, sorry bout confusion ... it confirmed a few things for WG, @ndw will give full status tomorrow #xproc—@xquery

In a conversation that started on Friday at 07:56am

#xproc v2: accessing output port from the #xpath ctxt was another fav of mine, unfortunately not there (albeit for legit reasons) #XMLPrague—@rdeltour
@rdeltour You mean xpath function as shortcut to address a port? p:port('secondary')/myvalue? #xmlprague—@grtjn
@grtjn another alternative might be to make variables out of step names. E.g. $my-step/port[‘secondary’]. TBD. 2/2—@rdeltour
@rdeltour Interesting! Tieing step output to variables containing results automatically! :) How about: $my-step:secondary? #xproc #xmlprague—@grtjn
@grtjn yeah, syntactically correct, but wd have to be a NS prefix :/ too early to bikeshed though, the req was (kindly) rejected #xmlprague—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @grtjn if we do go down resource manager route, one may be able to access via some internal uri (if it exists) #xproc—@xquery
@xquery @grtjn good point. Has the WG rejected only the syntax (function) or the whole idea (accessing output ports from xpath) ?—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @xquery If I read correctly, @ndw particularly disliked idea of allowing dynamic port access this way. No static check. #xmlprague—@grtjn
@grtjn @xquery @ndw indeed. I wonder if there’s a sweet way to ensure static checking, like with variable names.—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @xquery @ndw But with automatic bound vars for output, that would be static again.. :) #xproc #xmlprague—@grtjn

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

#xproc #xmlprague about 3.10 (additional steps): what about creating an XProc CG @w3c + github space ?—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @w3c I believe @ndw is already in the process of setting up github space for XML Proc WG for #xproc vnext—@xquery
@xquery @w3c @ndw OK. I think I was thinking more of sth at community level. EXProc revived.—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @xquery I think that's a great idea; I'll set it up!—@ndw
Community editable XProc extensions repo: https://t.co/sdK0YHQq0X #xproc #xmlprague #yourwishismycommand—@ndw
@rdeltour @w3c @ndw we are considering publishing step libs as Notes, which working via github pulls means we could do something quite agile—@xquery

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

OH: "Can I have potato dumplings with that?" "No."—@ndw
@ndw No dumplings? In Prague??—@grtjn
@grtjn I believe it was the combination that the wait staff rejected.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 03:50am

For people who can't be in person at #xmlprague there is YT channel http://t.co/YUWrQnZjWS—@jirkakosek
@drabshadow What’s the other kind? @jirkakosek @xquery—@robinberjon

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:32am

We must infiltrate this WG and make Web Components work for XML! Who is taking one for the team? #xmlprague—@alexmilowski
@alexmilowski @ndw already infiltrated the HTML WG. Does that mean he's done his duty, or he's the most experienced? #xmlprague #justsaying—@fgeorges
@fgeorges @ndw Norm must submit to being cloned...—@alexmilowski
Didn't he already, really? RT @alexmilowski @fgeorges @ndw Norm must submit to being cloned...—@fgeorges
@fgeorges @alexmilowski Just say something else, buddy.—@ndw
@fgeorges @alexmilowski Oh yes, let’s have @ndw as an editor in the HTML WG, working on XML stuff. #WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong—@robinberjon
@robinberjon @fgeorges @alexmilowski @ndw Maybe Hixie will allow more root elements during applying this particulat XM L patch.—@jirkakosek

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 04:59am

What might xslt look like in 'html' syntax? #xmlprague—@dpawson
@dpawson xslt- elements! ;-) #xmlprague—@AlainCouthures

In a conversation that started on Saturday at 05:46am

proposing an #xproc bof table at lunch #xmlprague, hang near @ndw/@alexmilowski/@xquery—@xquery
@xquery @ndw @alexmilowski I’m in!—@rdeltour

Saturday at 06:23am

If you didn't had the time to read specifications before #xmlprague, @jonathan_robie @michaelhkay and @ndw will digest them for you—@xmlprague

Saturday at 06:53am

#xmlprague @ndw now on stage to give an update on #xproc !—@rdeltour

Saturday at 06:54am

@ndw now talking about #xproc ... XProc vnext http://t.co/cU6tHUyTpc—@xquery

Saturday at 06:54am

@ndw now talking about #xproc ... XProc vnext http://t.co/cU6tHUyTpc … #xmlprague—@xquery

Saturday at 06:55am

One of @ndw's clones to speak at #xmlprague. Don't know how he does this.—@sgmlguru

Saturday at 06:58am

After XQuery, XSLT, now that's XProc turns with @ndw at #xmlprague (hopefully there is only 3 members in this family) http://t.co/yCDhUim47T—@xmlprague

Saturday at 07:01am

@ndw Optional req. suggestion: simplifying logging, esp. for variables, params and options (they require building a doc in 1.0). #xmlprague—@fgeorges

Saturday at 07:02am

TeX und XML Guru @ndw Norman Walsh spricht auf der #xmlprague Konferenz. http://t.co/wdCOMbpw0G—@dante_ev

Saturday at 07:04am

@ndw #xmlprague we seriously thought we would release before XPath 2.0, back then XPath 1.0 was a requirement ...—@jonathan_robie

Saturday at 07:09am

@ndw, @mkay, and me each mentioned need for XQuery to call XSLT and vice versa - one of the most requested features #xmlprague—@jonathan_robie

Saturday at 07:10am

@ndw has action item to do proposal for Monday .... #xmlprague—@jonathan_robie

Saturday at 07:15am

XML Stars, the journal is out! http://t.co/lNS6ggKpyZ Stories via @ndw @georgebina @xmlguild—@dominixml

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

Hyphens make #XML content OK. Had we only known... #xmlprague—@alexmilowski
@alexmilowski well, some argue namespaces made XML content wrong and we knew it ;)—@rdeltour
@rdeltour @alexmilowski Some are wrong.—@ndw
@ndw haha, yeah. but we’ll never win against *The Mighty Hyphen*—@rdeltour

Saturday at 09:55am

@alexmilowski doc-book for the web! #xml #xmlprague—@ndw

Saturday at 11:30am

"Go fork and multiply" @menteaxml #xmlprague—@ndw

Sunday at 04:56am

@michaelhkay The client he used was 'Futuretweets V3' whatever that is. Sounds like it was automated.—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 08:34am

#xmlprague #xproc req (?): typing ports, possibly implicit connections based on the type (not only for primary input/deflt readable)—@rdeltour
@rdeltour Typing ports (with media types, for example) seems plausible. Not sure how to fit any sort of implicit connections in.—@ndw
@ndw yeah, not sure. I was thinking: implicitly connect if there’s a perfect 1-1 match.—@rdeltour

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 08:53am

60 CSS specs on the Web, 60 CSS specs, take one down, pass it around ... #xmlprague—@alexmilowski
@alexmilowski In fairness to the CSS folks, 60 specs is probably marginally preferable to a single spec with 60 parts. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw Shotgun strategy for W3C specifications. #xmlprague—@alexmilowski
@alexmilowski @ndw Shotguns are for wusses http://t.co/JyXOrB8Asb—@robinberjon
@ndw It is, in fact, much much better. The alternative is the HTML specification :) @alexmilowski—@robinberjon
@robinberjon Let us talk again when HTML5 is in its final final CR :D (Not even mentioning HTML 5.1 at this point.) @ndw @alexmilowski—@dirkschulze
@dirkschulze I think we’re in final final CR. But we can look again when it’s a final Rec ;) @ndw @alexmilowski—@robinberjon

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

Clearly if we'd used fo-block, it would all have been ok. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw I find it more stylish to use faux-block.—@robinberjon
@robinberjon You mean div, right?—@ndw
@ndw No, <para>.—@robinberjon

Sunday at 09:04am

Fixed my twitter archiving problem; all the http: URIs became https: URIs when I wasn't looking. That was harder to find than you'd expect.—@ndw

Sunday at 09:05am

#xmlprague @barefootliam found the oldest reference to XSLT in some ancient texts ;-) http://t.co/C2Ds4K9GuT—@tobias_fischer

Sunday at 09:33am

There's a PrinceXML step in XML Calabash, FYI. #xmlprague #xproc—@ndw

Sunday at 09:34am

There is one of everything in Calabash courtesy of @ndw #xmlprague #xproc—@alexmilowski

Sunday at 09:39am

@ndw thinks that print HTML will be styled with JavaScript and CSS (easy/cheap) but important semantics will be lost #ePrdctn #xmlprague—@CorbasLtd

Sunday at 09:55am

@ndw Requirements are so diverse in publishing! Hard to spec! Significant energy to code correctly! #ePrdctn #xmlprague—@CorbasLtd

Sunday at 09:55am

Good typesetting is hard! Thanks @ndw for the clear words #xmlprague—@patrickgundlach

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 11:43am

very informative to hear @robinberjon ’s insightful answers on the evolution of the web, at #xmlprague … thanks Robin!—@rdeltour
@ndw @rdeltour Thanks :)—@robinberjon

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 11:58am

At some level it doesn't matter. Web=opaque box I put apps in. HTML+CSS+JS: whatever. Could have been so much more. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw very different, probably. so much more, not sure! [published in twitter, at a conf available broadcasted in a live video] #xmlprague—@rdeltour

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

First rule of #XML club: Never deliver XML to the browser. #xmlprague—@alexmilowski
@alexmilowski I thought the first rule of #XML club was never talk about XML—@ndw
@ndw No, that's the first rule of the browser club.—@alexmilowski

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 12:03pm

So much of #XMLPrague is so energizing, I'm just going to try not to be depressed about the web. #cocktailtime—@ndw
@ndw I hope you’re not, I really don’t think it’s depressing. Ugly perhaps, but not depressing :)—@robinberjon

Sunday at 12:04pm

Whoohoo! @ndw has the solution: #cocktailtime #xmlprague—@alexmilowski

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 12:04pm

I lied. I do still have a hot button. HTML email. JUST. SAY. NO. #xmlprague—@ndw
@ndw I gave up fighting it about 5 years ago.—@david_megginson
@ndw I'd put up with HTML in emails for the sole purpose of adding RDFa markup. #xmlprague—@jpcs

Sunday at 06:39pm

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." Auguste Rodin—@Quotes_Artist

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 07:05pm

They could have just said wine cooler http://t.co/oo1Qem8mpR—@fsanders
@fsanders Or pointless waste of space and energy except maybe if the stocked it with wine!—@ndw

In a conversation that started on Sunday at 07:08pm

Some days… I’m an idiot.—@kplawver
@kplawver If it's only some days, you're well above average.—@ndw