posts brought to you by the category “government”
Das eez kaput! Sometime around 2002 I spaced the entire database table that mapped individual entries to categories. Such is life. What follows is a random sampling of entries that were associated with the category. Over time, the entries will be updated and then it will be even more confusing. Wander around, though, it's still a fun way to find stuff.
Michael Ignatieff : Lesser Evils
Even those — like me — who supported the Iraq war because it might bring freedom and democracy to people who had been gassed, tortured and killed for 30 years had better admit that if our grounds for war had been squarely put to the American people, they probably would have voted to stay home. Worse still, Congress failed to put the president's case for war to adversarial scrutiny and debate. The news media allowed itself to be managed and browbeaten. The war may or may not bring democracy to Iraq eventually, but it hasn't done democracy any good at home.
Bob DuCharme : Linking Architecture and the U.S. House of Representatives
The comments in the DTD that the document references describe an interesting evolution of its linking architecture: there was an attempt, later abandoned, to keep it in line with XLink; I was tickled to see the phrase "architectural form" come up in one comment. Ultimately, they modeled the links around the relationships between their particular document types instead of trying to shoehorn these relationships into some wider linking standard, and then the XSLT stylesheet that prepares it for web delivery turns the links into a/@href links.
This day in tax dollars:
Russell Dyer has written a good overview of CSS selectors, versions 1-3,
Michel Rodriguez : xmlgrep
xmlgrep does a grep on XML files. Instead of using regular expressions it uses XPath expressions ... The results can be the names of the files or XML elements containing matching elements.
Apparently, the latest beta of OpenOffice reads and writes DocBook.
Goal is to explore the possibility of using OpenOffice.org as a WYSIWYG editor of XML content. The principle is to edit structured documents using styles. These styles are then transformed to XML tags on export.
Me : xml résumé (XSL) formatting extensions 0.4
Sean Burke has set up an RSS feed for "Recently released RFCs"
brian d. foy : "Think Java programmers writing about Perl and you get the same thing."
Piers Harding : Jabber::mod_perl
"is an embedded Perl interpreter in the jabberd2 sm ( session manager )."
Me : ASCOPE::Apache::XSLT.pm 0.11
The dictified dictionary.com word of the day is : apostasy
Apostasy \A*pos"ta*sy\, n.; pl. {Apostasies}. [OE. apostasie, F. apostasie, L. apostasia, fr. Gr. ? a standing off from, a defection, fr. ? to stand off, revolt; ? from + ? to stand. See {Off} and {Stand}.] An abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed; a total desertion of departure from one's faith, principles, or party; esp., the renunciation of a religious faith; as, Julian's apostasy from Christianity.
web1913
apostasy n 1: the state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes) [syn: {renunciation}, {defection}] 2: the act of abandoning a party or cause [syn: {tergiversation}]
wn
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : oh crackerz
When you forget something or are disappointed.
ex. Oh, crackerz! I wanted to go.
Petr Pajas : Converting XML to XPath expression
Saku Koivu,ladies and gentlemen.
The random pseudodictionary.com word of the day is : singleton
Non gender specific term somewhat akin to "spinster," with less negative connotations (as popularized by Helen Fielding in "Bridget Jones's Diary").
ex. "Just because you're a Singleton doesn't mean you can't lead a normal fulfilling life..."
see also :
singleton dict-ified
Me : nyt-tools 0.1
This software is unfinished. It works for me but I can't guarantee the same for you.
The plan has been to rebundle stuff in a WWW::News package, so that many of the same functions can be used with "pluggable" newsource parsers. That hasn't happened yet. I have no idea when it will.
This software is meant for personal use only, in accordance with the New York Times
terms of usage
. Play nicely.
Bugs, or just plain mistakes, that you may encounter in your travels include...
The dictified dictionary.com word of the day is : extol
Extol \Ex*tol"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Extolled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Extolling}.] [L. extollere; ex out + tollere to lift, take up, or raise: cf. OF. extoller. See {Tollerate}, and cf. {Flate}.] 1. To place on high; to lift up; to elevate. [Obs.] Who extolled you in the half-crown boxes, Where you might sit and muster all the beauties. --Beau.? Fl. 2. To elevate by praise; to eulogize; to praise; to magnify; as, to extol virtue; to extol an act or a person. Wherein have I so deserved of you, That you extol me thus? --Shak. Syn: To praise; applaud; commend; magnify; celebrate; laud; glorify. See {Praise}.
web1913
extol v : praise, glorify, or honor: "extol the virtues of one's children"; "glorify one's spouse's cooking" [syn: {laud}, {exalt}, {glorify}, {proclaim}]
wn
The Perl Review 0.0
www.kirstenjohnson.com
Reinhard Voglmaier : Web Publishing with Perl Objects
Me : WWW::Scrabble.pm 0.1
The Monthly Montreal Comix Jam has a website
Jorge Godoy : CVS and DocBook Validation
"Writing a document and putting it under revision control is not an easy task. One might want to make that document into a printable format and face several markup errors. One way to prevent that is to ensure that only correct DocBook documents are available to everybody and authors don't put problematic or with an incomplete structure at the repository. ... CVS allows the use of triggers in some stages. By using commit triggers we can start a validation proccess (in our case using onsgmls, from [[WWW]] OpenJade) that will either accept the document as valid SGML or refuse it."
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is sedition
| source : web1913 | Sedition \Se*di"tion\, n. [OE. sedicioun, OF. sedition, F. s['e]dition, fr. L. seditio, originally, a going aside; hence, an insurrectionary separation; pref. se-, sed-, aside + itio a going, fr. ire, itum, to go. Cf. {Issue}.] 1. The raising of commotion in a state, not amounting to insurrection; conduct tending to treason, but without an overt act; excitement of discontent against the government, or of resistance to lawful authority. In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our senate The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition. --Shak. Noisy demagogues who had been accused of sedition. --Macaulay. 2. Dissension; division; schism. [Obs.] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, . . . emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. --Gal. v. 19, 20. Syn: Insurrection; tumult; uproar; riot; rebellion; revolt. See {Insurrection}. | source : wn | sedition n : an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority and tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is bacchanalia
| source : web1913 | Bacchanalia \Bac`cha*na"li*a\, n. pl. [L. Bacchanal a place devoted to Bacchus; in the pl. Bacchanalia a feast of Bacchus, fr. Bacchus the god of wine, Gr. ?] 1. (Myth.) A feast or an orgy in honor of Bacchus. 2. Hence: A drunken feast; drunken reveler. | source : wn | Bacchanalia n 1: an orgiastic festival in ancient Greece in honor of Dionysus (= Bacchus) [syn: {Dionysia}, {Bacchanalia}] 2: a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity [syn: {orgy}, {debauch}, {debauchery}, {saturnalia}, {riot}, {bacchanal}, {drunken revelry}]
O'Reillynet : An Introduction to XML Digital Signatures
Benoit Beausejour : DBIx::Sequence.pm
"is intended to give easier portability to Perl database application by providing a database independant unique ID generator. This way, an application developer is not bound to use his database's SEQUENCE or auto_increment thus making his application portable on multiple database environnements."
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is tirade
| source : web1913 | Tirade \Ti*rade"\, n. [F., fr. It. tirada, properly, a pulling; hence, a lengthening out, a long speech, a tirade, fr. tirare to draw; of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. tear to redn. See {Tear} to rend, and cf. {Tire} to tear.] A declamatory strain or flight of censure or abuse; a rambling invective; an oration or harangue abounding in censorious and bitter language. Here he delivers a violent tirade against persons who profess to know anything about angels. --Quarterly Review. | source : wn | tirade n : a violent denunciation [syn: {philippic}, {broadside}]
handX software : webLog for PalmOS
"allows you to use your Palm OS device to create webLog (blog) entries for a web site. The inherent portability of Palm devices means that you can jot down entries for your weblog practically anywhere. The included conduit allows you to upload the created entries to your web server when you return to your PC."
The dict-ified dictionary.com word of the day is politic
| source : web1913 | Politic \Pol`i*tic\, n. A politician. [Archaic] --Bacon. Swiftly the politic goes; is it dark? he borrows a lantern; Slowly the statesman and sure, guiding his feet by the stars. --Lowell. | source : web1913 | Politic \Pol"i*tic\, a. [L. politicus political, Gr. ? belonging to the citizens or to the state, fr.? citizen: cf. F. politique. See {Police}, and cf. {ePolitical}.] 1. Of or pertaining to polity, or civil government; political; as, the body politic. See under {Body}. He with his people made all but one politic body. --Sir P. Sidney. 2. Pertaining to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy; well-devised; adapted to its end, whether right or wrong; -- said of things; as, a politic treaty. ``Enrich'd with politic grave counsel.'' --Shak. 3. Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; devoted to a scheme or system rather than to a principle; hence, in a good sense, wise; prudent; sagacious; and in a bad sense, artful; unscrupulous; cunning; -- said of persons. Politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemy. --Shak. Syn: Wise; prudent; sagacious; discreet; provident; wary; artful; cunning. | source : wn | politic adj 1: marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness; "it is neither polite nor politic to get into other people's quarrels"; "a politic decision"; "a politic manager"; "a politic old scoundrel"; "a shrewd and politic reply" [ant: {impolitic}] 2: smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication; "he was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage"; "the hostess averted a confrontation between two guests with a diplomatic change of subject"; "the manager pacified the customer with a smooth apology for the error"; "affable, suave, moderate men...smugly convinced of their respectability" Ezra Pound [syn: {smooth}, {suave}]
National Post : CBC accused of pro-Leaf hockey bias
"[I]f it isn't good enough for Ottawa, they can take a big bite of my a--. You can tell 'em that, too."
Wallpaper* : "If you are prepared to overlook a couple of things,
Montreal is up there in the international big-league tables. It is cosmopolitan, it is nice to look at, it's more fun than Toronto and it is serious about its food. It has become a leader in the transport sector, thanks to Bombardier and its status as the home of IATA (the International Air Transport Association). And it is full of cute students."
Jeff Rowan : Creating a Log Class in Perl
"What did all those spooler daemons do while I was at lunch?"
Jamie Jaworski : A DOM-Based Tabbed Panel
Sarah Musgrave : How the New Economy Turned Me Into an Old Capitalist
"I can only imagine some ending like that of the first Star Trek movie, where the computers of the space-wrecked Voyager ship spend years searching for their creators and that’s why they keep hassling the Enterprise when it passes through their solar system. This harassment comes in the form of a bald chick in a short skirt, not a bad result of a computer geek’s wet dream."
Morning Becomes Eclectic : Hooverphonic
Bill Evans : boycott-riaa.com
"The RIAA is a professional lobby organization of recording labels of which five labels control 90%of the music distributed in the US. In 1999 these so called "protectors" of the music industry and musicains released only 2600 cds. In the first 4 months of 2000 Napster signed up 17,000 new artists. I have no idea how many are on MP3.Com Excellent artists are being ignored, and discouraged by the music industry. In short, I'm forced to use MP3.Com and Napster if I want to hear new music, or artists. My comment to the "Big 5" is you made your bed, now lie in it." Meanwhile, in other Napster news, if you've been itching to download MP3s from your IRC client,
napyrc
is the answer to your dreams.
If you didn't think it could get any worse
Indymagazine interviews Dan Clowes
CBC : Tobacco companies charged with fraud, racketeering
"Justice Minister Anne McLellan announced Tuesday the government is taking R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., RJR-Macdonald Canada, the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council and several related companies to court in the U.S. The charges are fraud and racketeering. ... McLellan said the evidence now exists to prove that in 1991 the big tobacco companies established an "elaborate network of smugglers and shell companies." Their aim, she said, was to "undermine" Canada's policy to reduce tobacco use by increasing the price of cigarettes." I don't remember anyone actually buying cigarettes in the stores around that time. People just went to the bars and waited for the guys with the hockey bags full of butts selling for 3$ /pack (they were 7.50$ at the
dépanneurs
.)
WGBH : George Antheil's Ballet mécanique
"Composed in 1924 while Antheil lived in Paris, "Ballet mécanique" calls for three xylophones, four bass drums, a tamtam (gong), two pianos, a siren, three airplane propellers, seven electric bells, and 16 synchronized player pianos." Live webcast, beginnning 21h15 EST.
O'Reilly : A Dictionary for Strangers in a Strange Land
or The Hitchhiker's Guide to Consumer OSes
The Triumph of Narrative : Storytelling in the Age of Mass Culture
by Robert Fulford, as part of the 1999 Massey Lecture series. Webcast tonight at 20h00 EDT or
22h00
EDT depending on which webpage you're looking at.
LinuxPlanet : Setting up a MySQL Website
randomcam news
Over the weekend, I did a bunch of backend stuff, most too dull to explain here. One of them was to add a script that lets people include a single random webcam on their webpage by including the following <a href = "http://aaronland.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/asc/randomcam?function=single">url</a> as the src attribute for an img tag. (If the server suddenly gets swamped, I will have to take it down, however.) I am also generating a fresh <a href = "http://aaronland.net/xml/randomcam.xml">xml file</a> of all the info everytime the database is updated. Much of the information is still undefined (latitude, longitude, etc.) and I will fill in the blanks as time allows; the randomcam is pretty low on the totem pole. Enjoy!
The government of Canada is looking for worms
I had no idea that the "largest earthworm ever found in the world measured in at 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail" or that earthworms "are 82 % protein." I remember reading
How To Eat Fried Worms
when I was kid, which of course led me to a recipe for
Gummy Worm Marshmallow Treats
. mmmmmm...gummy worms.
Carfree Times
I found this snooping around after reading about plans for
Auto-Free Sundays
in Amsterdam. Wonderful!
Live Ani DiFranco MP3s
of questionable legality.
I re-read John Dvorak's iBook commentary
this morning. Perhaps he was just trying to be funny, but it reminds me of the day, in eighth grade, when I was dragged in to the vice-principal's office because I had been wearing make-up to school. Quite a lot of it, actually : bad Dali-like things, done in liner, falling from my eyes. The vice-principal and I had a grudging respect for one another, but by the end of our meeting he had lost most of mine. The school had students spanning grades K - 11 and the vice-principal was concerned for the younger kids because they "saw the world in black and white." Boys wore pants and no makeup, while girls wore dresses and makeup. I was "confusing them".
More rumours of Apple and Disney getting into bed
I'm sorry, but I just have a problem with a company that sues day care centers for copyright violations and has a dress-code for it's animators.
The Rant-Line
at the Montreal Mirror makes the threads at slashdot look a scholar's debate.