Homemade pita/chapati with salad and burger.. and fries of course.
Amy added 4 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
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The bus from Rome to Ancona; the ferry from Ancona to Split
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I've been really really wanting to work on sloph for ages but I'm in the middle of a data model update and didn't branch, so my local backend is completely b0rked, making it impossible to add new features. I wrote some frontend code instead. Now my image-to-album-add posts (eg) and articles with many images in have a slideshow, complete with keyboard controls (arrow keys and escape). Better than nothing.
You can now contribute to the material presented at The WebConf 2018! I'm cochairing the developers track with Thomas Steiner, and we are, naturally, explicitly encouraging non-Paper or more Webby contributions. If the developers track can't do it, no-one can! Authors should be creative in finding the most effective way to communicate their work, and we welcome dynamic or interactive contributions. Contributions using native Web technologies, or otherwise in a format which exemplifies or demonstrates dogfooding of the technology in question are particularly encouraged. More details about the submission process coming soon, but we will accept (nay, encourage) a publicly accessible URL pointing to your material, and we will snapshot it at a web archive or download it on the submission deadline. For some ideas and tools for communicating academic work on the Web, check out LinkedResearch. I'm hopeful we have the option for an open review process. Still working that out. The WebConf organising committee will hold the copyright over works included in the proceedings, but release it under a CC-BY 4.0 license, which allows ACM to publish their proceedings. We haven't worked this out yet, but I'm hopeful that we can allow contributors to opt out of handing their copyright over at all and release their work under a CC-BY 4.0 license themselves. It might be that we have to exclude these works from the ACM proceedings and publish an alternative proceedings to include these, but we'll see.. stand by.
Cool! I can spend a Sunday staying inside and watching DS9 in my pyjamas, but without not-writing-thesis guilt! (This is the first time I've been stable and had the opportunity to since I handed in). Instead, I just get not-doing-other-side-projects guilt. Can't win 'em all.
Day 1 of week 3 of Real World job with Real World database. Slowly coming to terms with things that aren't triples. Slowly.
It's dokieli o'clock at ICWE2017. Sarven Capadisli presents tooling for a read-write Web which helps you own your data, and have more control over the user interfaces you use to create and edit content. dokieli includes social features, including sharing and annotations, across decentralised personal data stores. It's open source and there are plenty of issues... help out :) Decentralised Authoring, Annotations and Notifications for a Read-Write Web with dokieli article is here.
Some questions about dokieli: You can 'save as' to somewhere... where exactly? Your personal data store can be accessible at any URL, you just need write access and a script that understands HTTP requests and dokieli can talk to it. The UI/authentication flow depends on the choices you make about how your server is set up. ... how will it compete with other [centralised] approaches in the editing marketplace? Well.. dokieli is not trying to take over the world. It's a prototype, to show how we, can decentralise content creation, designed to encourage experimentation in this space. What happens to annotations when text changes? You can annotate a static copy of your own. But we have open issues around that. How do authors know when an article gets a notification? They can use any LDN consumer to read that inbox.. This is orthogonal to dokieli. An LDN consumer could give them a desktop notification, make their mobile buzz, or print something out of a receipt machine, or whatever is useful for you as an alert. What about privacy? Access control is orthogonal, you can apply these rules on your personal data store when you store documents and comments etc. ...and some things to do with trust and provenance.
When I first began my #justgo adventure, I had a 52L and a 40L backpack, both of which had some stuff attached to the outside. I've shed a lot of stuff since then. On a brief return to the US a month in, I reclaimed my small laptop backpack, because I missed having something daypack sized. From then, when all packed up, I had to keep my laptop in the daypack and the daypack inside the 40L, and stuff other stuff around the outside of it. Since the 40L is side-loading and the daypack top loading, getting my laptop out (eg. at airport security) became a massive PITA. Anyway, I digress. In Australia, I swapped my 40L with my cousin Tim for a top-loading ~50L at full capacity, but which zipped to a smaller size, a little smaller than my 40L. It was also much lighter when empty, not weighed down by the novel and exciting but actually not very useful satchel-style facilities, and general extra toughness that my 40L has. It nonetheless has decent side, front, and top pockets. I still traveled with my daypack inside the Tim backpack, but being top-loading this was now less inconvenient for access. I kept the extra capacity at the bottom zipped and strapped up, as tight as could be, so it was at its smallest size. Tim's backpack is good overall, but a little dodgy in some places. The top handle was missing when I got it, I broke a toggle, and one of the strap sizey things is broken so it takes some manual jiggling to tighten the straps. The main straps are not particularly padded or robust, so if I was packing it at full capacity I'd worry about how long they'd last, or be comfortable for. When I made the swap, I intended to downsize such that I'd ditch my 52L somewhere, and pack Tim's to capacity, then have just that and the daypack. Now, I have repacked again but left Tim's backpack empty. I have reached a point where I could ditch my 52L and just use Tim's and the daypack, but I've made the executive decision to keep the 52L and rehome Tim's instead, due to the higher quality straps of the former. The 52L is still pretty full, though it could go taller if I needed, and I have to have an extra bag for food when I'm carrying it (I use my WWW conference bag, but a plastic bag would also suffice) as there's no spare room whatsoever in my daypack. But I feel a little less burdened with a much smaller pack on my front now. Ultimately I'd like to pick up a daypack (~15L) which expands to hand luggage size (~30L) on demand. It needs good side pockets for a water bottle, and a selection of outside pockets as well, neither of which my current daypack has. Something that lets me clip additional pockets onto the outside would also work (my brother suggested this, military style). Anyway, the hostel in Split were more than happy to take Tim's backpack and slap a 'free backpack' sign on it. Hopefully it'll go on to many new adventures without me.
Today, learning ElasticSearch.
Since I switched from gmail to thunderbird this week, email has become a lot less distracting since it's a lot harder to look at. I also haven't applied any filters to my inbox yet. Maybe I never will.
Finally, we did something right. Publishing your article as HTML doesn't damage your chances after all :)
I think I may have suffered minor burnout at the beginning of last month.
At the ICWE conference dinner last night, it was proudly announced that they have finally signed a long term contract with Springer for proceedings publication. I. Am. Confused. This seems like a backward step. Locking another generation of researchers into a broken system of academic elitism and inaccessibility of knowledge. This does not conjure an appropriate picture of the future for the Web engineering community. Why have we engineered ourselves into a paywalled corner of static PDFs? Aren't we supposed to be pioneering here? Why is it such an "achievement" to pay a huge pile of money to a for-profit company to keep all of our hard work in a dead end, which our libraries and institutions have to pay again to get it back out of? Is everyone just cool with this?
Some interesting projects funded by Matter
This week I'm really learning deeply about investigative journalism. MY LIFE IS SPREADSHEETS.
Nah but everything is triples really and we're just waiting for sparql engines to get faster so we can actually treat them that way right?
Note to self: it is Eid, everything is closed. Including supermarkets. And the flea market I walked 6km to get to. It was a nice walk though.
Note to self... tomorrow my LetsEncrypt cert and travel insurance expire. Renew both.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Sarajevo Proud to be joining OCCRP as a contractor for a while to work on data wrangling and software for investigative journalism.
Last night in Rome: fancy pants veg*n dinner at Le Bistrot
Amy added 12 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-eu/
Food, sea, and sunsets in Portoroz and Piran
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Day two of walking around and eating Rome, featuring the Catacombs of Callisto
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The road to Sarajevo, some photos of the city center, and places I stay(ed).
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Drizzly in Sarajevo, but holy fuck this town is beautiful.
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A run around my local hill. Distance view of some large graveyards, the place where the trams are born, and a lovely sunset.
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Sarajevo sunset from Kod Biban restaurant
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I looooove this town. A short wander to Ciglane market and around the nearby hillside and somehow everything is stunning. In an abandoned, broken down kind of way. I thought I'd found the place where the city trams go to sleep, but turns out it's a standalone little track with four tiny cabins which take you up the hill and back. The journey time is less than a minute, and I watched it trundle up and back several times, a driver inside, no passengers. It's adorable. No ticket machines or anything.. not sure what the deal is. Maybe it's free. It and the nearby steps are all beautifully decorated with graffiti.
Walk down the river to find the flea market at Stup, which wasn't there because it's Eid. Checked out an abandoned factory. Took the tram back to the Old Town. GPS trace.
Amy added 31 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-sarajevo/
The anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand seems like a good day to post the pictures I took a couple of days ago of the bridge where it happened.
Amy added 9 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-sarajevo/
Amy added 5 photos to https://i.amy.gy/2017-eu/
Sarajevo is bursting with second hand shops! Time for my annual shopping trip.
Late to the party, but last month I discovered Sia and omg <3 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKSRyLdjsPA.
I wandered around Split and swam in the sea today. It was busy, and felt more touristy than last time, though I'm about two months later than last time, a month into to summer and high season. It's mostly as I remember it, but some improvements. There are more vegan food options around for a start. Last time I asked at lots of gelato places for dairy free, and got either blank stares or definitive nos. This time, everywhere had vegan sorbet, and one had a vegan sugar free chocolate ice cream. I returned to MakroVega and Vege Fast Food, places I ate before. I also stopped at Marta's Fusion, a veggie restaurant I did not come across last time. The hostel I'm staying in (En Route) is a bit out of town, and beside a super weird semi-abandoned mall/stadium. It's new and really nice. The 18-bed dorm is enormous, loads of space, and private curtained pod-beds. Unfortunately it's full of party animals. Right now (7pm) there's music blasting from the common area or outside. When I took a nap between 9am and 11am, there were also ravers in the room. So I'm anticipating the same late tonight as well, or at the very least boistrous late returns. Oh well, such is dorm life. My main mission today was to get a bus ticket for tomorrow. After being distracted by the beach for a few hours I finally made it to the bus station. Online, tickets cost 210kn, but not all bus companies are represented. There's supposedly a Bosnian company with shorter travel times, but I couldn't find anyone representing them there. In the end I paid 166kn (less than £20) for a one way 8 hour journey, leaving at 7am, with Globtour. Then I wandered around town... ate food, bought food for tomorrow.
Though I live in a city and can easily get everything I need and almost every thing I want, I feel like I am living the simple life because I have neither kettle, toaster, nor microwave.
If I had a transporter, I'd go to Penang for lunch every day.
Portoroz and Piran are touristy parts of Slovenia, close to the Italian border. There's not an abundance of vegan options, but I did find raw cake at Caffe Teatro in Piran (a big yellow building near the port). For 5 EUR a slice, this was a one-time indulgence, but it was very good. At the other end geographically, in a Portoroz hotel spa you can find a rawfood cafe called Fresh4You. I tried some really great cakes and smoothies, and took a raw lasagne and hemp salad to go. A few hours later, they were still pretty good. The portions were decent sized, and the savoury dishes were not mind-blowing, but not bad either. The chocolate cake on the other hand did blow my mind. It closes at 6.
I didn't make a particular effort to explore Rome's vegan offerings, but outside of pizza marinara and spaghetti pomodoro, I did eat at a couple of fantastic places worth writing about. Ecru: All raw, all vegan, with a very extensive menu. It's north-west of the city center, near the Vatican and the river. There's power and wifi, but not much seating. I spent a couple of hours there early evening, recovering from a day of walking, and it wasn't busy. I shared lassi (cashew yoghurt), smoothie, two mains: seaweed spaghetti which was salty and filling, avocado tartare which was refreshing and came with crackers and vegetable rolls; and two desserts: almond granita, which was super creamy, and a grain-packed granola bar covered in chocolate. Dharma Cakes: An entirely vegan bakery that understates it; seems like a normal bakery unless you know otherwise. Inside is spacious and a nice place to sit, with a play area for kids. While I was there, a parrot on a leash brought her two humans for lunch. I think she was a regular because one of the menus at my table had very recognisable beak marks, which I noted when I sat down, before the bird even showed up. Power but no wifi. A lunch and brunch menu, coffees with a variety of milk options, and of course an abundance of cake. I shared two to accompany an almond cappuccino, and two to go. Sugary, not the healthy kind, but delicious and varied. Wadi: Another vegan bakery, but this one is upfront about it. South of the city, near the University area. I went here a couple of times as it was convienent from my conference. They usually have wifi, but their router was broken last week. There's power though; it's small, but nice to sit. The cakes are again not the healthy vegan variety, but change every day and there's a wide selection, at good prices. I had a chocolate doughnut twice in a row.. and also tried various small cookies, croissant and cake. They have some savoury offerings, including a pizza-like quiche with vegetable toppings, a pasty with aubergine, tomato and not-cheese inside, and eggplant parmesan. They make their cheese from coconut oil, lupin flour, water and salt, and it was really good. They have a few salads which I didn't try. Very friendly staff, who recommended that we try.. Le Bistrot: Half way between the University and the city center, more or less, this restaurant is more upscale and super cosy and homey inside. Three of us got extremely lucky to show up without calling ahead and get a table. Moments after we arrived, the rest of the place filled up and everyone seemed to have reservations. It was packed all evening, and with good reason. The food was spectacular. We each tried three starters: polenta with not-cheese, chickpea balls in tomato sauce, and spinach balls with mint yoghurt. They were very different, and each exceptional in their own way. We were all really impressed, and eagerly anticipated the main course. I sampled a French onion soup with vegetable dumplings, and roasted potatoes with cheese and porcini mushrooms. Delicious, but I wasn't quite as blown away as I had been by the starters. The third in our party ate vegetarian-but-not-vegan ravioli, which looked good but I don't have a first hand report. We wrapped up with coffees, and banana with chocolate sauce and cream, vegan tiramisu, and apple strudel. It was almost midnight by the time we were done, and the place was still full. The total (plus water) was 83.50EUR. One of the more expensive meals (at around three times what I normally pay..) but totally worth it. I would definitely go out of my way to return here to try other dishes if I'm in Rome again. There's not really a shortage of non-white-flour-tomato vegan options in Rome anyway. I came upon a bakery in the center of a very touristy area, on a cute cobbled street, which had four kinds of vegan cake (I think it was called Dolce Vite). I tried the chocolate orange and it was great. Another time, I grabbed a vegetable panini and juice from Smart Food. Several times I passed places like Banco and Alice Pizza which have vegan menus, but I'd already eaten so I didn't try them. I didn't find a single gelateria which didn't have at least three flavours of vegan sorbet, and most have non-fruit gelato flavours in vegan options as well. Many of the wee local cafes, where one stops for a quick coffee or glass of wine, have vegan biscotti, biscuits, and sometimes cake. Sometimes it's labelled, sometimes not; always worth asking. Unimpressive looking chain cafes at places like train stations and bus stations usually do as well, and many carry soya milk. Vegan croissants (called brioche here, but they look like croissants) are not uncommon, and surprisingly good. On other occasions, I tried to go to VeganEaty, but it was closed up, with no hours listed; and Salotto Caronte (not vegan, but supposed to have good vegan options) but that was also closed.
Co-chaired the ESWC Enabling Decentralised Scholarly Communication workshop. Transcribed a panel about the Future of Proceedings Publication. Morally supported the presentation of our LDN article. Went to some talks and ate some food and stuff. Won the Best Student Paper prize. Took the train to Rome for ICWE2017; spent the weekend exploring Rome and eating pizza.
Attended ICWE2017 in Rome, talked to people about dokieli and Linked Research. Took the bus from Rome to Ancona, the ferry from Ancona to Split, and the bus from Split to Sarajevo.
Moved into a studio apartment on a hill in Sarajevo. Started working at OCCRP. Generally settled into Sarajevo. Explored town, bought groceries etc. Remembered what it's like to write Python every day and also have a desk. Figured out how to make Bosnian coffee with the tools available to me in my apartment. Finally set up PGP for email \o/ Drafted an article that isn't published yet.
Sloph frontend improvements. Started learning ElasticSearch stuff. And learning important key phrases to do with optmising search engine results. Explored Sarajevo a litte more. Found a good smoothie bar with some vegan desserts and lots of plant milk options in the SCC mall. Went to a yoga class.
After 7 months in the southern hemisphere, I returned to Europe by way of a cheap Aero Flot flight from Tokyo to Venice that I booked ages in advance. I've enjoyed manageable temperatures and weather conditions, but missed Malaysian hospitality and food variety. I have a new appreciation for medieval stone architecture and winding cobbled streets, and forests without monkeys in them, but my bank account is hurting thanks to comparatively overpriced and substandard accommodation. I spent approximately a week in Trieste, a week in Portoroz/Piran, and a week in Rome. In Trieste I relaxed, explored, reflected, deflated. In Portoroz I attended the Extended Semantic Web Conference, co-chaired a half day workshop, scribed a panel and Sarven and I won a best paper award for Linked Data Notifications, and otherwise socialised extensively. In Rome I walked a freaking lot, attended the International Conference on Web Engineering, socialised a little bit, and didn't really manage to get any work done. This morning I took a bus across the width of Italy, from Rome to Ancona. Last time I was in Ancona I noted that this place is probably beautiful in good weather, and I was right. Two years ago I arrived here on delayed trains, worried I was late for my ferry, in torrential rain, with no idea how thoroughly nonsensical the ferry boarding process is. This time I arrived with several hours to spare, and wandered around a little in the glorious sunshine. Now I knew where to go for ferry checkin and boarding, the process was quick and easy. I had a leisurely lunch at Zazie, a small vegetarian cafe in the town center, and bought supplies from a supermarket. The ferry has not departed yet, 20 minutes after its scheduled time. But not to worry, I've got all night. Just like last time, I'll arrive in Split, Croatia, at 7am tomorrow morning. In Split I'll take the day to myself, spend a night in a hostel, and then on Sunday I'll take a bus to Sarajevo, where new adventures await.
Why are technology conference organisers scared to innovate? Why are they scared of taking risks to advance and benefit the community? Where do they get their excuses from? They're all the same and all debunkable. Is there a centralised excuse provider? Do the publishers have dirt on all organisers?
I did yoga every day for the month I spent in Bali, but then in the two and a half months after that I only did one class. I finally started going regularly again in Sarajevo. Today's was a challenging class with lots of arm balances. New progress was managing a wobbly eka pada koundiyanasana on my left side, which looks a bit like: But my leg was bent back not out sideways. I think the trick is not to be afraid of faceplanting into the floor, and let the momentum from leaning forward lift your back foot off the ground.