I've been very interested in the development of semantic markup in HTML pages over the last few years. I find it particularly interesting, since I've been invested a lot of time putting RDF features into MediaWiki, which has paid off with some interesting features on Wikitravel (see Wikitravel:RDF). I think further semantic markup could be very useful to Web users. Encapsulating semantic info into HTML is not a new idea, but it's picking up steam and I think it will 'tip' as major systems start using it, and with built-in browser tools like Flocktails. But I'm worried about competing efforts to make semantic-data-in-HTML work; I've written an essay on the subject in RDFa vs microformats.
tags: rdfa microformats implementation
Fiddleheads
One of the first summer crops to come up in Quebec is fiddleheads. They're the curled-up tops of young ferns. Amita and I had them for dinner on Saturday evening; sauteed with garlic and lemon on them. She loved them, and I got a real kick. They're awfully tasty.
Our dietician is really big into Amita eating foods that we eat, but I'm worried our doctor is going to tell us not to give the baby wild ferns to eat. And apparently some species are carcinogenic. Man, I hope Maj doesn't read this; I'm going to be in big trouble for feeding our baby poison weeds.
tags: wild foods fiddleheads ferns quebec summer
eRDF
When I posted my essay about RDFa vs microformats on the #swig scratchpad, Benjamin Nowack pointed out the nicely-designed eRDF.
I wish I could say I was excited by it, but... I have to say that he's missed my point. With three uncoordinated efforts going on, the question isn't a technical one but a social one. Communications protocols rise and fall by adoption; having three competing protocols means that none of them is going to dig in very well.
Can these projects become coordinated enough to provide a good path for structured, semantic XHTML to the Web developer community? Or do I have to bet on one of these horses. My heart says RDF, but realistically microformats has the most traction and is simply going to be the most useful.
tags: rdfa erdf microformats semantic html
Memorial Day
One of the things about living abroad (yes, I'm just 50 km from the US border, but that still counts as "abroad") is that you tend to forget or ignore US holidays. So it wasn't until this morning when I got a call from my parents in Encinitas that I found out everybody has the day off today.
They went down with my brother Andy, sister-in-law Pam, and two nieces Elena and Tessa. I guess the weather's been great, and everyone's enjoyed being on the beach in San Diego. My folks bought this condo a while ago -- 5 years ago? 8? -- when my dad was working in San Diego, but they've kept it for vacations. Lots of friends and family go there, so it's full most of the time.
We spent about half a week there in January -- it was great. Amita June loved the weather and seeing the ocean, and Maj loved the pool. We were at the pool one evening, looking off the cliffs into the sunset, and there were dolphins dancing in the water below. It was like, "This could be a mural on a custom van."
tags: san diego encinitas memorial day andy pam tessa elena pool cliffs dolphins