So, I'm trying, in a desultory sort of way to teach myself about XML. Because the odds are very, very, high that I'll have to deal with XML at some point in my tech writing career.

The other day, I decided I'd take my first tiny leap into the world of XML, and take an XML file produced by a program that I'm working on documenting, and figure out how to style it with CSS.

And I did. Yay! However, the thrill of victory was considerably dampened by the realization that of the odd handful of web browsers I have on my home computer, only one of them (Firefox, natch) actually implements both enough XML and enough CSS to actually display the file the way I wanted it to look. Web standards, my ass.

Over the weekend, Daniel picked up the game Fable for the X-Box. I played for a little while last night, and I like it. It's no Final Fantasy, but looks like it's going to be a great exemplar of the open-ended exploration/character customization school of the RPG. And I've almost learned not to accidentally hit the button that sheaths my weapon in the middle of combat. Almost. (As a side note, I think I'm going to pick up a new style X-Box controller when I'm next in a game store. We've got the original one, and it really feels like a huge and awkward beast to my hands that have now been thoroughly trained to the PS-2 controller.) And you really have to love a game that keeps stats not only on how many monsters you've killed or how many spells you can cast, but on how many times you've had sex and the farthest you've ever kicked a chicken.

Of course, when I saw that stat I had to spend five minutes running around the nearest village kicking every chicken in sight. Fortunately, the game doesn't seem to dock you alignment points for cruelty to chickens.

Well, I suppose I ought to get back to work. Later!