I found two new¹ natural-language markup tools after noticing that RestructuredText hadn’t been updated for 2 years.

The first is PanDoc, a multi-format natural-format converter. It converts to and from Markdown, Wikitext, ReST, LATeX, HTML, groff, man, RTF, and more. It’s only downside is that it’s written in Haskell, which is only a problem if you need to run it on Windows.²

The second is Texy, a PHP-based tool with a syntax that distills Wikitext, Markdown, and ReST concepts into one very complete format. It even supports formatting hints and citations for most XHML tags, in a format that surprisingly intuitive.

1. New to me, at least ↩
2. Not that Haskell isn’t available on Windows, just that it doesn’t appear to be part of Cygwin ↩

Which is better, XML or Python for Python templates? I like the Php approach myself (intermixed language/template), as it matches the natural state of each language. The linked debate is interesting, but what I really like is the side-by-side format¹.

1. The “log in to vote” overlay is a bit confusing/noisy, however ↩

I like to spend my winter holiday thinking about the year, and what I didn’t do enough of. Next year, I hope to:

1. Write more. Not just web fluff and links (which is fun), but more real fiction and non-fiction. I love to write, but life and complexity just keep on getting in the way.
2. Do more creative stuff. I have an artistic side, but the geek in me naturally suppresses it. I need to learn better balance.
3. Learn more healthy habits. I love good food, I grok nutrition, and I enjoy exercise. I need a bit more of each (and less of the crap).
4. Learn Ruby/Rails well. Last year I polished my C#, Javascript, and Php skills (as well as time spent with SQL, CSS/XHTML, etc.). This year I need to at least know why Rails isn’t for me. So far I’ve only spent a dozen hours with it, which isn’t nearly enough.
5. Focus. Life is noisy. Work is noisy. Learn to deal with both: I will overcome the chaos.

One thing I like to keep in mind with resolutions is that sometimes a year isn’t enough. Life is a garden, and sometimes crops fail. The key is to keep doing healthy things, and remember that growth takes time, practice, and effort.

The natural language processing faq.

Inform7 is now available, the uber-ific update to the classic interactive fiction z-machine. This version uses a natural-language processing engine to replace its previous more static language matching engine.

The Windows® 95 User Interface: A Case Study in Usability Engineering
Users of every type were confused by the Programs folder. We thought that having a folder on the desktop with other folders and links to programs inside it would be a natural transition for Windows 3.1 users accustomed to Program Manager, while being relatively easy to learn for beginners. We were wrong! Beginners quickly got lost in all of the folders (unlike File Cabinet, each folder opened into a different window) and other users had a lot of trouble deciding whether they were looking at the actual file system and its files or just links to actual files.