captsolo weblog

I am on vacation. At last.

Did not think I'll ever be so happy to see the message "Home network found." on the screen of the mobile phone.

Concerning the blog it means a couple of things:

1) Postings may be irregular and on variety of subjects.
2) Comments - there may be delays before comments show up on the blog, as I have to approve them first.
3) Maybe, just maybe there will be some pictures from Riga.

This is one of the first Semantic Web resources in Russian that I've found.

In fact, it is collection of links with associated descriptions in Russian.
Contents of the links are not.

One of the links - Eurolan 2003 Lectures - looks quite interesting.
It lists lectures on the Semantic Web with both presentations and MP3 audio available online.

Maybe these can be useful to fight the lack of Semantic Web tutorials that Danny was recently complaining about.

P.S. You can find more links to Semantic Web tutorials in comments to Danny's post (see above).

P.P.S. Does Danny's blog support trackbacks?
You can find trackback meta-info in the page source code, but I don't think that works.

Now _this_ is funny:

Spec Releashed, Slashdot Commenters Gone Wild

"The funniest thing, though, is that RSS 3 apparently exists, here. I canvassed the web quite thoroughly, or so I thought, before starting this. I didn’t find a thing. Well, luckily enough, that dialect of RSS has been around for 3 years and still no takers. And that’s because it’s an entirely new format, text based rather than XML based. (I wonder if I’ll find this funny if the author demands that I change the name of this site…)"

So he has found Aaron's RSS 3.0.
Poor guy - will have to rename to RSS 4.0.

Slashdot reports that RSS Version 3 Specifications are up for review.
It is the 1st draft of RSS Version 3 Lite, with Full version also planned.

- RSS Version 3 - Project homepage.

I wonder where does this work leads, how does it relate with RSS 1.0 and the newly developed Atom syndication format. And why do we need yet another format anyway?

Specification home page provides some answers:

"This is a derivative work which is meant to replace the 2.0 version."

"The 0.9x class of standards is outdated and underdocumented. The 2.0 class is highly underdocumented, filled with unnecessary features though lacking others which could be useful. The RSS 3 standard is supposed to extensively document the standard, to expand where expansion is needed and to remove unnecessary features."

"A standard of similar name and purpose, entitled with the version number 1.0, was produced - yet it contradicts all other standards, being based on RDF, and thus remains out of the current standard's scope, as is the similar in purpose though unrelated Atom standard."

"An RSS 3 file carries the suffix .rss, though note that feeds may be URLs, either containing parameters or not." - I thought that indicating content by the suffix (and requiring to do so) is an old-time legacy...

It is still unclear why such a standard is needed. The website is nicely designed and they try to put this standard under proper documentation and management. (Can we call it RSS 2.0 + BPR?)

But what is their long-term goal?

To disregard RDF and Atom as "bad technologies" and patch existing RSS 2.0?
It is not in such a bad condition (and people are using it) as to require a new standard.

With aggressive marketing RSS 3 could get going, but there is not a real need for it.
I would vote for Atom and RSS 1.0 (and maybe something new) to be syndication formats that will used in the long term.

Update: most of commenters on Slashdot look at this as not even funny.

They've got interesting timing though - yesterday the Atom Format Internet Draft specification version -11, "The Atom Syndication Format" was approved by the IESG as an IETF Proposed Standard.

JPowerGraph is a Java library for creating directed graphs for both Swing and SWT. It supports graph movement, selection, context menus, tooltips and dynamic edge creation. JPowerGraph has a spring layout algorithm based on that used in TouchGraph.

Mick and Boris have just released the first version of JPowerGraph on the Sourceforge today.

Screenshots - see JPowerGraph running within an Eclipse plugin.

#Joiito MemberMap is a nice web application showing locations of people on the IRC channel.

It is an instance of GuestMap Service - a Google Maps hack that allows people to put pins on the map to show their location and to leave a message (only once though) on a bulletin board. You can also export pin locations to Google Earth.

P.S. It is very simple and therefore very nice.

The only other thing to wish for would be for users to be able to move or remove the pins they've attached. That'd make it a great application to show where people currently are (e.g., when on travel). Currently only administrator, who has created the GuestMap, can remove pins.

Thanks to dantegeek for the #Joiito MemberMap.

The first podcast from space was transmitted directly from the Space Shuttle Discovery by Steve Robinson on 07-Aug-2005.

Steve Robinson, Mission Specialist Number 2 is the same guy who went to the bottom of Discovery to repair it and make it safer for return home. In the podcast he shares his extraordinary experiences and concludes it with words:

At any rate I will close this very brief first podcast from space with a greeting to all Earthlings and a thank you for your interest and support. Whether you support the space program or not, you're learning from it. You're learning from it the very moment you hear this and think about what we're doing.

And I think that learning is what looking over the horizon is all about, and don't forget that learning can be exciting and fun, too, because that's certainly what this mission has been all about.

Related:

It was fascinating to watch the Space Shuttle launch on July 26, follow their mission in space and even more fascinating to see them safely return back home.

Coverage of the lift-off and touchdown here:
- Space Shuttle Launch [ 26.07.2005 ]
- Space Shuttle Discovery - Going Home [ 07.08.2005]
- Discovery - Touchdown !!! [ 09.08.2005]

Some would argue (and rightly so) that it is not really a podcast as it is not enclosed in an RSS feed. My answer - it is a very extraordinary recording with or w/o RSS. You may take a look at comments of this article to see why it does not really matter.

WikiPedia: Stephen Robinson

Why Python does not recognize RDF.RedlandError exception in the following code:

   try:
      parser = RDF.Parser('raptor')

      for s in parser.parse_string_as_stream(data, "http://something"):
         if (s.predicate == seeAlso and s.object.is_resource()):
            result.append(str(s.object.uri))

   except (KeyboardInterrupt, MemoryError):
      raise
   except RDF.RedlandError:
      print " : Caught Redland Exception : " , sys.exc_type
   except Exception:
      print " : Caught Exception :" , sys.exc_type

What is weird - the exception gets caught in "except Exception" clause and is shown as being RDF.RedlandError in the output. Why does Python behave that strange?

 : Caught Exception : RDF.RedlandError

We have touchdown!!!
Welcome home, Discovery!!!

Here's the Discovery touchdown video.

That was a nice and safe landing, by the book.
Congratulations to the crew and all involved in making this mission happen!

8:13 a.m. - Wheels stop. "Happy to be back," Collins said to Capcom Ken Ham after he offered congratulations.

8:12 a.m. - Touchdown! Discovery is rolling out on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base!

8:10 a.m. - Commander Eileen Collins reports she has the runway in sight! Discovery's altitude is 17,000 feet -- 10 miles to touchdown.

8:07 a.m. - Discovery's wings leveling as it approaches the landing site. Now that the orbiter has gone subsonic, Commander Eileen Collins has assumed control. She'll fly Discovery on a 194-degree right overhead turn to align with runway 22.
8:12 a.m. - Touchdown! Discovery is rolling out on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base!

8:10 a.m. - Commander Eileen Collins reports she has the runway in sight! Discovery's altitude is 17,000 feet -- 10 miles to touchdown.

More information:
- Discovery - Landing Now [09-Aug-05]
- Space Shuttle Discovery - Going Home [07-Aug-05]

A snapshot from the Tom Mangan's Spacecraft Tracking page.

Mission Control Houston has given the green light for the first opportunity to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California, at 8:12 EDT (13:12 in Ireland and UK; 15:12 in Latvia).

The crew will perform a three-minute engine burn at 7:06 EDT (12:06 in Ireland and UK; 14:06 in Latvia) that will deorbit Discovery and put it on track to land in California. THAT IS NOW!

More information look here:
- Space Shuttle Discovery - Going Home

Tom Mangan's Spacecraft Tracking page is interesting to look at, especially now when Discovery is landing.

It combines Google Maps with live updates of spatial positions of Discovery, ISS and Hubble. So you would be able to see Discovery's way towards landing. Nice tool, Tom!

Follow the latest events:

Minute-by-Minute Landing Coverage by NASA

- 7:40 EST : Discovery begins its descent into to Earth's atmosphere.

- 7:45 EST : Discovery is beginning its first in a series of four banks that will help dissipate its speed as it plunges through the atmosphere. The first roll is to the left at 74 degrees to horizontal. The orbiter's nose is angled upward 40 degrees.

- 7:56 EST : Traveling 17 times the speed of sound, Discovery is within 1,000 miles of the runway at Edwards Air Force Base.

- 8:02 EST : 10 minutes until touchdown. Discovery is in range of ground tracking and using Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) data. There is one bank remaining in the series of four.

- 7.5 minutes until touchdown...

Steve Strawn has created an array of beautful colorful and dynamic broken glass photos.

Click the image to see more of his creations.
You've got to see them!

Space Shuttle Discovery is on its way home now and is expected to land early Monday morning. The touchdown, weather permitting, will take place at Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral at 04:46 EDT (09:46 in Ireland and UK; 11:46 in Latvia).

They will initiate landing by firing a deorbit burn at 03:40 EDT (08:40 in Ireland and UK; 10:40 in Latvia). The burn lasts three to four minutes and slows the Shuttle enough to begin its descent to Earth.

Landing date/time update

Due to low clouds at the Kennedy Space Center landing site, Mission Control Houston has waved off both landing opportunities for Space Shuttle Discovery today. STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins and the rest of the crew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery will return the orbiter to normal flight operations for another day. The first opportunity is at 05:08 EDT Tuesday (10:08 in Ireland and UK; 12:08 in Latvia).

There are four opportunities to land tomorrow, two at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and two at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

For more information see:
- Landing 101
- STS-114 NASA TV Schedule
- Fact Sheet: Landing the Space Shuttle Orbiter

Maura wrote an article "ISS at its best in three years" about Discovery and International Space Station earlier on.

She writes that after Shuttle's crew completed gyroscope replacement and repairs, the ISS now has four out of four working gyroscopes to keep the station in its position, for the first time in last 3 years. Before that they had only 2 working gyroscopes left.

An update to that post: Shuttle's crew have successfully removed protruding gapfillers and now the mission control believes Discovery is in a good shape for safe landing. With them best of luck and safe return home!

Related:
- Space Shuttle Launch
- Shuttle Launch - Notes
- Return to Flight: Multimedia Library

Kāda īriete, sešu bērnu māte no Limerikas, valsts nacionālajā loterijā ir vinnējusi lielāko jackpotu Eiropas loteriju vēsturē - 77 miljonus latu ( 115 miljonus eiro ).

Tiesa, cilvēka dzīvi šāds vinnests var izmainīt pamatīgi. Tu mierīgi dzīvo savu dzīvi, neviens netraucē un pēkšņi tevi aplenc reportieru bari, kuri noteikti vēl labu laiku sekos līdzi kā viņa dzīvo un kā izmanto savu laimestu.

Citāts: "Up to now, Dolores has lived a very happy and contented life among her family, friends and neighbours and it is her sincere desire that she and her family will return to normality as soon as possible."

Skat. BBC: Lottery winner claims £77m cheque

Zinot mūsu ziņu portālu apetīti visā, kas saistīts ar lielām naudas summām, brīnos, ka šī ziņa tur vēl nav apgremota.

If the analysis of SkypeOut rates for EU member states did include rates for calls to mobile phone, we might come to some unexpected conclusions.

E.g., that international calls from mobile phones are cheaper than SkypeOut calls:

O2 in Ireland currently offers pre-pay customers calls to Latvia for 0.19 eur/min (including calls to mobile phones), while SkypeOut rate to Latvian mobile phones is 0.229 eur/min (both rates include VAT).

This comes are a bit of surprise if we take into account that historically international calls from mobile phones are very expensive.

Most of the time this is only true for special promotions though and it does not mean that you should stop using SkypeOut in favor of landlines and mobile phones. But some healthy competition certainly helps.

Luxembourg, July 27, 2005 — To celebrate first SkypeOut anniversary, Skype announced lowered SkypeOut rates to 30+ countries and that 6 new countries and regions have been added to the SkypeOut Global Rate.

Yet, this change leaves the European Union member states divided - in new and old Europe.

SkypeOut Rates for EU member states:

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland*, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom - SkypeOut global rate - 0.017 eur/min.

Luxembourg 0.020 eur/min
Czech Rep. 0.023
Estonia    0.023
Hungary    0.024
Finland    0.025

Cyprus     0.048 eur/min
Slovenia   0.052
Slovakia   0.055
Lithuania  0.092

Latvia     0.122 eur/min
Malta      0.145

We can see a clear division here - the global rate covers 13 out of 15 "old" states and only one new member state - Poland. The rest of new EU member states and Luxembourg and Finland are outside the global rate.

Skype are doing a good job in connecting people and that is a good trend. Big telecommunication companies have even higher rates and they should learn and adapt.

But it still leaves a fact that there is such a rate divide - and that a SkypeOut call to the UK would cost only 14% of whan a SkypeOut call to Latvia will.

Note: this analysis includes only regular landline SkypeOut rates.