iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 7h

A retro-hacking Sunday afternoon #iykyk

A grid of 41 numbered white-on-black line drawings from the 1980 Apple II game Mystery House, showing every room as it first appears with its objects: the Victorian house, the porch with a WELCOME mat, seven stick-figure guests in the entry hall, a forest, a graveyard with a gravedigger, and rooms with bodies on the floor.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 03/10/2026

Suggested by @clyde.eurosky.social, it's now possible to re-order cognate rows in asterisk.jtauber.com

Screenshot of Asterisk's Cognates view in "Edit words" mode for a Romance language family. Each cognate set is a row: a drag handle, up and down arrow buttons, a delete button, and the gloss (night, eight, milk, made/done, full, flame, rain), followed by editable forms in columns for Spanish (noche, ocho, leche…) and Italian (notte, otto, latte…). The up arrow is greyed out on the first row and the down arrow on the last. Below the table is a button to add a cognate set.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 14/09/2026

Finally picked up a copy of @roopikarisam.bsky.social’s amazing book!

Paperback cover of Data Empire: How Information Shaped Human History by Roopika Risam

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 10/09/2026

After a four month hiatus, I decided to just ask Astra to take a look. 30 minutes later...

Screenshot of monochrome Mac desktop with menu bar, trash, and System Disk window open with folders.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 08/09/2026

Current graph of my lit review Obsidian vault.

Graph of a thousand red, white and yellow dots, mostly clustered in the middle with the larger dots mostly white, with just a handful of larger red dots. The small dots are mostly yellow or red. Around the edge are dots that aren't connected to anything.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 06/09/2026

Okay that second vote got me to 3856th!

Is this butterfly meme

Man is tagged "Me on bsky38"
Butterfly is tagged "Second Vote"
Caption is "Is this going viral?"

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

16/ By early 1999 I was teaching at Curtin University and doing a lot of speaking engagements. My first big open source project, FOP, was well underway. XML stuff had moved to dedicated sites. Site adopted a new colour scheme, made extensive use of CSS (but still tables for the two columns).

two column website with a peach colour palette

Main heading is "James Tauber"

Sub headings are:

"Research Interests"
"Software"
"Speaking Schedule"
"Other Interests"

Too much content to fit within the 2000-character limit of ALT text

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

15/ if you go to the Wayback Machine it doesn't _quite_ look like that because I was using a basefont element which no longer functions so all these screenshots were achieved by adding a bit of in-browser CSS.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

14/ oh I missed that archive.org *did* capture my 1997, greenleaf-era page on NIFF, the (music) Notation Interchange File Format. For almost two decades, my one contribution to music encoding was making an HTML version of the NIFF spec available online:

James K. Tauber

Music
Music Encoding
Notation Interchange File Format (NIFF)

The NIFF Project is a cooperative effort within the music software industry to create a standard format for the interchange of music notation data.

NIFF is modelled on Score with some additional features of DARMS and is designed to be extensible and compact. It follows the design rules of Microsoft's Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF).

NIFF FTP site
HTML version of NIFF spec [local]

James K. Tauber / jtauber@jtauber.com
Last updated: 1997-4-8
http://www.jtauber.com/music/encoding/

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

13/ this is what the XML pages looked like at this point (early 1998; unfortunately images broken) As shocking as it may seem, this was one of the top resources on the Web for staying up-to-date with XML (leading to the aforementioned life-change which would happen in mid-1999)

LinkExchange
LinkExchange Member

XML: The Extensible Markup Language

What's New
Last updated: 14-Oct-1997

A new page for information on the Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL).

Version 1.1 of the XML FAQ (see general information)

New software including a Perl module to access a document's grove via SP.

A new mailing list for general discussion about XML.

Richard Light's book Presenting XML.

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is being developed under the auspices of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as a means for delivering structured documents over the Web. It is a scaled-down version of SGML that is a lot more powerful than HTML but much easier to write software for than SGML.

I've set these pages up to provide a single resource for information about XML both in the form of links elsewhere and material that I am preparing myself. I generally update these pages every week so please come back often.

new General Information
old Specifications, Drafts and Proposals
new The Extensible Stylesheet Language
new Books
old Online Articles and Papers
new Conferences, Seminars and Courses
old Developer Notes
new Mailing Lists
new Software
old Application Profiles and Document Types
old Entities
newUpdated
oldNot Updated

Enter your e-mail address to receive e-mail (courtesy of NetMind) when this page is updated:

Please address any comments or suggestions to jtauber@jtauber.com

James K. Tauber / jtauber@jtauber.com

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

12/ in the first half of 1998, "jtauber.com" became the home of my consulting business, James Tauber & Associates. Unfortunately archive.org didn't get the banner image or the XML Resources button image.

James Tauber & Associates: XML, Document Management, Electronic Publishing

James Tauber & Associates is a consultancy specialising in both the technical aspects of structured document management and the business issues in managing information across an enterprise.

Our focus is on Internet technologies like the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and work to-date has included document reengineering, Internet database integration and the design and implementation of online publishing systems.

We are based in Perth, Western Australia but can serve clients world-wide via the Internet. For further information email consulting@jtauber.com.

James Tauber has a BSc with honours in linguistics from UWA and is pursuing postgraduate studies in document management at RMIT. He presently serves on Standards Australia Technical Committee IT/1/18 and the W3C XML Special Interest Group. James is also co-coordinator of the XML/EDI Group's XML Design Focus Group and is a member of the Association for Information and Image Management and the Institute for Information Management.

XML Resources

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

9/ and here were the XML information pages that hung off "jtauber.com/xml". - more gold and navy - layout still all done with tables - LinkExchange banner (this was a way of finding new sites at the time and promoting your own) - NetMind service at the bottom to get emailed when a page updated

XML: The Extensible Markup Language

XML Home
Own Notes
General Information
Official Information
Work in Progress
Online Articles
Courses Seminars
Applications DTDs
Development

LinkExchange
LinkExchange Member

XML: The Extensible Markup Language

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is being developed under the auspices of the W3C as a means for delivering structured documents over the Web. It is a scaled-down version of SGML that is a lot more powerful than HTML but much easier to write software for than SGML.

I've set these pages up to provide a single resource for information about XML both in the form of links elsewhere and material that I am preparing myself. I generally update these pages every couple of days so please come back often.

Please address any comments or suggestions to jtauber@jtauber.com

Own Notes
Information that I have prepared to help people better understand and use XML.
Last updated 2-Jun-97

General Information
Information about XML provided by other people.
Last updated 19-Jun-97

Official Information
Official information and specifications from the W3C.
Last updated 8-Jun-97

Work in Progress
Proposals from XML Working Group members.
Last updated 31-May-97

Online Articles
Articles about XML in online magazines.
Last updated 1-Jun-97

Courses, Conferences and Seminars
Courses, conferences and seminars about XML.
Last updated 19-Jun-97

Applications and DTDs
XML document type definitions and application profiles.
Last updated 1-Jun-97

Development
XML software, toolkits and developer information.
Last updated 19-June-97

Enter your e-mail address to receive e-mail (courtesy of NetMind) when this page is updated:

James K. Tauber / jtauber@jtauber.com
Last updated: 1997-6-19
http://www.jtauber.com/xml/

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/09/2026

8/ by mid-1997, I was leaning more and more into my XML involvement and providing XML resources (see next post). Here's what the home page looked like (again, hand-written) The "gold on blue marble" header was *probably* done with Microsoft Front Page (images like that were all I used it for).

James K. Tauber

XML: The Extensible Markup Language
Java Class Warehouse
Java List of Lists

I am probably best described as an Information Architect or Document Engineer with a particular interest in SGML, XML and DSSSL. I'm interested in both the technical aspects of structured document management as well as the business issues in managing information across an enterprise. Currently I am Publications Development Manager at The University of Western Australia and serve on Standards Australia Technical Committee IT/1/18 and the W3C SGML Working Group. I'm also into programming in Java, Tcl/Tk and Perl, composing music and studying the Bible.

I am available for XML-related consultancy work if you are happy for me to telecommute from Perth, Western Australia. Contact me if you'd like to discuss this further.

By training, I'm a linguist and in 1995 I finished a BSc with honours at The University of Western Australia. Within linguistics, my areas of interest include theoretical syntax, corpus linguistics, and Ancient Greek.

James K. Tauber / jtauber@jtauber.com
Last updated: 1997-7-1
http://www.jtauber.com/

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 31/08/2026

6/ By early 1997 it looked like this. Notice: 1) tiling "leaf" background (1024 pixels wide so you couldn't have a viewport bigger than that!) 2) button to download IE (more standards compliant at the time!) 3) Verdana font I'm fairly sure pages were still hand-coded with boilerplate copy-pasted.

James K. Tauber

I guess I could best be described as an Information Architect with a particular interest in SGML, XML and DSSSL. I'm interested in both the technical aspects of structured document management as well as the business issues in managing information across an enterprise. Currently I am Publications Development Manager at The University of Western Australia and serve on Standards Australia Technical Committee IT/1/18 and the W3C SGML Working Group. I'm also into Java and Office 97 programming, composing music and studying the Bible.

By training, I'm a linguist and in 1995 I finished an honours degree at The University of Western Australia. Within linguistics, my areas of interest include theoretical syntax, corpus linguistics, and Ancient Greek.

Besides composing and doing stuff with SGML, XML, DSSSL and Java, my spare time is spent working on the Electronic New Testament Manuscripts Project.

I set up this site and the one at www.entmp.org to provide information about those areas I'm interested in.

Java

Java Class Warehouse
Java List of Lists
Java-SGML Mailing List

Music

Music-Encoding Mailing List
NIFF - Notation Interchange File Format

Standards

XML
DSSSL
FPI-URN

ENTMP.ORG

The Electronic New Testament Manuscripts Project
Hellenistic Greek Linguistics Pages
Synthinar: The Syntactic Theory Seminar

James K. Tauber / jtauber@jtauber.com
Last updated: 1997-3-31
http://www.jtauber.com/

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 31/08/2026

5/ Here's what the home page looked like by the end of 1996:

James K. Tauber
jtauber@jtauber.com

Interests

Biblical Languages
Syntactic Theory
Musical Composition
SGML/HyTime/DSSSL Standards
Enterprise-Wide Information Management
OO Analysis, Design and Programming
Electronic Texts

Activities

Standards Australia IT/1/18
W3C SGML Working Group
SP/Jade Programming
UWA Campus-Wide Information System
Electronic New Testament Manuscripts Project
Java Class Warehouse
Hellenistic Greek Linguistics Pages
Masters Thesis
Composition
UWA Council of Convocation
TC Editorial Board

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 27/08/2026

Used these hose clamps on a new washing machine. Was ready for compliments. Received no compliments.

Holding up a box in front of a washing machine. The box reads

KOENIC
Get ready for compliments
Hose clamps, 2 Pieces Schlauchschellen, 2 Stück
20-32 mm
Rust-free

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 26/08/2026

See digitaltolkien.com for the underlying research but I'll paste the full course description here:

This course introduces students to the application of digital methods to the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. After an overview of texts such as "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion" in their biographical context, we turn to the task of modelling the texts and their bibliographical metadata. We then look at the markup and annotation of texts, including the copyright constraints that shape what can be shared and how. Building on this foundation, we pursue analyses of narrative, style, and register variation, and explore Linked Open Data around people, places, and events. Finally we take up the modelling of complex textual history, where drafts, revisions, and editorial mediation resist any simple notion of 'the text'. Students will come away with a firmer grasp of the textual foundations of Tolkien scholarship and hands-on experience applying computational techniques to literature and to complex textual traditions. The course should interest readers of Tolkien who want to engage with cutting-edge research on his texts, as well as anyone curious about how linguistics and computational analysis can be brought to bear on literary works.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 12/07/2026

He kept a bunch of flowchart templates. I remember playing with these as a kid.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 30/06/2026

Latest book acquisition has entirely blank recto pages.

A book partially opened midway through on the blank page.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 24/06/2026

First online book purchase since arriving in Germany.

Blue book cover reading

CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS
103
Modes of Discourse
The Local Structure of Texts
CARLOTA S. SMITH

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 14/06/2026

What’s with this lambda variant that I saw all over Crete?

Sign at airport

Προς πύλες
To gates

Κυλιόμενες Σκάλες (άνοδος)
Escalator upwards

But with the lambdas looking more like mirrored h

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 27/05/2026

Seen on my Pommes Freunde receipt…

Closeup of the bottom of a receipt reading “unixTime”

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 12/05/2026

Picked this up to blend in here…

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 01/05/2026

I read the advice long ago that you should spend your money on a good chair over a good desk. This is the cheap table I’ve worked on since 2007. So much happened on this table: Pinax, Eldarion, Scaife, Digital Tolkien Project, and more. Goodbye old friend.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 17/04/2026

Well, I got a dialog box :-)

Screenshot of my Mac System 1.0 emulator with a dialog box reading:

Sorry... A serious system error has occurred. You may choose to restart the system or attemptto resume the current application.

ID = 08

with incomplete buttons

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 17/04/2026

last night, before the bsky outage began, I got to this point in the Mac emulator building...

A window reading "Welcome to Macintosh." on a checkerboard desktop resembling the original Mac.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 07/04/2026

I still prefer the original duo

Two people with 3D glasses, one looking at their hand. In front of a warp background. Resembling an album cover.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 06/04/2026

8-year-old me in front of the station currently tracking Artemis II.

A family in front of a large satellite dish.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 06/04/2026

Simulation of what the moon looks like from Artemis II at any point in the mission. jtauber.github.io/artemis-moon/ Built using location data from JPL Horizons and a texture and height map from NASA's CGI Moon Kit provided by the Scientific Visualization Studio.

rendering of the moon with features labelled. In the top left is a date and time, distance to moon and speed.

Along the bottom is a timeline slider, Rewind / Play, 5000x, and toggles for Auto Zoom, Even Light, Labels

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 05/04/2026

I remember getting this adventure game for my 12th birthday.

Screenshot of my Apple II emulator showing a crudely drawn beach scene and the words:

YOU ARE ON A BEACH WITH A MARVELOUS AND INTRIGUING VIEW OF THE OCEAN. YOU SEE A HUT TO THE NORTH.

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James K. Tauber @jtauber.com · 04/04/2026

For the 50th Anniversary of Apple, I've been working on an Apple II emulator with a pedagogical focus.

screenshot showing various panels:

- a screen showing the DOS Version 3.3 System Master disk booted up to a prompt
- a CPU panel showing registers and flags
- a disassembly of the current memory
- a hex dump of the zero page, main memory, and stack
- various I/O indicators and information on the disk drive

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