hooked on ecmascript and dom

I used to hate JavaScript. I found it very lax in terms of expression evaluation and very hard to debug under MSIE. Then, I started trying to develop Web pages using "Web standards" (separation of content, style, and behavior using XHTML, CSS, and ECMAScript/DOM respectively). Once I made the attempt, I learned how valuable Firefox can be when adding style and behavior to a page thanks to its JavaScript (a.k.a. ECMAScript) console and DOM Inspector. Firefox supports so much more of the DOM, ECMAScript, and CSS standards. Firefox is even more valuable when you add-in extensions like Live HTTP Headers and Chris Pederick's Web Developer Extensions.

I hope the prevalence of tools like this force MS to get serious about "Browser Wars 2.0" and build a standards-compliant browser with superior developer tools (or at least a good plug-in architecture so that others can build tools). I'm naturally skeptical.

revenge of the sith

I went to the midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith on the 19th. I really can't give an objective review of the movie since Star Wars was such a prominent piece of my youth, but I can share several thoughts I had that night.

• The acting was better than in Episode 2. Much of it was still very "wooden" (as I've heard it called), but you have to attribute some of that to the script ("Oh Ani, hold me like you held me on Naboo." GAACK!!)


• The nerd factor was very high for the midnight showings of the movie. Of the hundreds that showed up to fill eleven theatres at the AMC 24, many were in costume. I saw a choreographed light saber fight in the parking lot. I saw several Jedi "guilds." A friend of mine in another theatre called me to tell me about the several Queen Amidalas in his theatre, along with a little girl in a Stormtrooper outfit that stood up and did the "Happy Hands" routine from Napoleon Dynamite two hours prior to showtime. She received a rousing applause.


• As 12:01am approached in our theatre, the crowd became restless. People were clapping their hands and stomping their feet like some sort of sporting event. And for some, it was like the Super Bowl. People would glance back intermittently to see if the projectionist had arrived in the booth to start the show. When he finally showed up, a kid that looked like Matt Stone (of South Park fame) turned around, pointed to the booth, and shouted, "THERE HE IS!!" The crowd roared. At that point, I realized what a party atmosphere I was in.


• After having seen Episode 3, I wonder if that's the only one Lucas wanted to make out of the three prequels. This was the only one that really had an interesting plot line. Episodes 1 and 2 really could have been compressed into a single movie, in my opinion.


• The previews were great. I didn't want to see the Fantastic Four until I saw that preview. The Torch looks very well done. The Narnia movie looks great (though as my friend Jarmar says, it looks like Lord of the Rings for kids *grin*). With that in mind, I was waiting for the preview to announce three Narnia movies back to back with releases at Christmas 2005, 2006, etc. :-)


• SPOILER AHEAD... AVERT YOUR EYES: Palpatine tells Anakin that a Sith Lord (whose name escapes me now... something like Darth Palitus the Wise) became so powerful that he was even able to create life. In Episode 1, Anakin's birth was described as immaculate conception (which is a plotline I find despicable). Could this story Palpatine tells be a suggestion that Palitus is Anakin's father? Palpatine also says that Palitus's apprentice killed him. Could that have been Palpatine? I think the answer is yes in both cases.

At any rate, I had a great time at the Star Wars premiere. I have never been to a midnight premiere before, and I must say that the atmosphere alone made it worth the while. Episode 3's place in Star Wars history belongs somewhere below "A New Hope" and "Empire Strikes Back"... perhaps tied with or slightly above "Return of the Jedi" but definitely better than Episodes 1 and 2.

Update (31-May-2005): I saw SW Ep 3 again on Friday with Lisa. The Sith Lord's name is Plaguess (sp?).

presenting at OJUG tonight

I'm presenting "Java Internationalization" at the monthly Omaha Java Users Group (OJUG) meeting tonight. It starts at 6:30pm in the 1Staff Training office at 108th and Maple. Stop by for free food!

Update (17-May-2005): Thanks to everyone who showed up. There's a link to my presentation here.

garage biology

Become the mad scientist you've always wanted to be.

"Questions of science,
Science and progress,
Do not speak as loud as my heart."
- Coldplay, "The Scientist"

semantic web: elegant syllogisms or over-generalized gack?

I happen to know that some folks who subscribe to this blog's feed are interested in the Semantic Web. I wonder what they would think of Clay Shirky's thoughts in this article.