I use MathML. Why? Because it just makes sense for mathematics on the websites.

On my DragonFly I had to do the following:

Installed X.org 6.8.1 or .2. Enable xfs (the X font server) by adding xfs_enable="YES" to rc.conf.

From ports install x11-fonts/ttmkfdir and x11-fonts/urwfonts-ttf.

(Note: download doesn't exist anymore.)

New and better instructions: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/MathML_Project/Fonts

In /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF do:

# ttmkfdir > fonts.scale
# mkfontdir

This will update fonts.scale and fonts.dir, check them with cat or more to see if they contain references to the extracted new .ttf files.

Change /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fs/config to have /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/urwfonts-ttf added to catalogue.

Also add /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/urwfonts-ttf as a FontPath to /etc/X11/xorg.conf:

# xset fp+ /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/urwfonts-ttf
# xset fp rehash

Edited $HOME/.fonts.conf and added:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
<fontconfig>
  <match target="pattern">
    <test name="family">
      <string>symbol</string>
    </test>
    <edit name="family" mode="append" binding="strong">
      <string>Standard Symbols L</string>
    </edit>
  </match>
</fontconfig>

Added user_pref("font.mathfont-family", "Math1, Math2, Math4"); to $HOME/.mozilla/firefox/<profile.default>/user.js.

There seem to be some bugs still, at least in displaying the W3C test suite.

In a blaze of insane reasoning we now see that using or embedding GPL'd fonts with/in documents can/might/will make that document GPL'd as well.

http://nashi.altmuehlnet.de/pipermail/scribus/2005-April/010319.html discusses some of the finer points with regard to this issue.

On the FSF site we can find a mention of how fonts apparently are a difficult thing with the GPL.

Personally I am getting sick of licenses to the marrow of my bone.

A typical font license is quite similar to what Adobe says on their "What about fonts?" page.

To quote:

"You may embed typefaces into documents only under certain circumstances.
Adobe permits embedding certain typefaces into documents for the explicit
purpose of viewing and printing only."

An interesting article on the issue Font Licensing and Protection Details.

On the art side I totally fell in love with Ryan Church's work especially after seeing some of his concept artwork as laid out in my copy of The Making of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.

Ringa pakia
(Slap the hands against the thighs)
Uma tiraha
(Puff out the chest)
Turi whatia
(Bend the knees)
Hope whai ake
(Let the hip follow)
Waewae takahia kia kino
(Stamp the feet as hard as you can.)

Ka Mate! Ka Mate!
(It is death! It is death!)
Ka Ora! Ka Ora!
(It is life! It is life!)
Tenei te ta ngata puhuru huru
(This is the hairy person)
Nana nei i tiki mai
(Who caused the sun to shine)
Whakawhiti te ra
(Keep abreast! Keep abreast)
A upane ka upane!
(The rank! Hold fast!)
A upane kaupane whiti te ra!
Hi!
(Into the sun that shines!)

'Ei e!, 'Ei e!
(Aye, ay! Aye, ay!)
Teu lea pea tala ki mamani katoa
(I shall speak to the whole world)
Ko e 'Ikhale Tahi kuo halofia.
(The Sea Eagles is famished unfurl.)

Ke 'ilo 'e he sola mo e taka
(Let the foreigner and sojourner beware)
Ko e 'aho ni teu tamate tangata,
(Today, destroyer of souls, I am everywhere)
'A e haafe mo e tautua'a
(To the halfback and backs)
Kuo hu'i hoku anga tangata.
(Gone has my humanness.)

He! he! 'Ei e! Tu.
(Hey! hey! Aye ay! Zap.)

Teu peluki e molo mo e foueti taka,
(Maul and loose forwards shall I mow)
Pea ngungu mo ha loto fita'a
(And crunch any fierce hearts you know)
Teu inu e 'oseni, pea kana mo e afi
(Ocean I drink, fire I dine)
Keu mate ai he ko hoku loto.
(To death or victory my will is fine.)

Ko Tonga pe mate ki he moto
(That's how Tonga dies to her motto)
Ko Tonga pe mate ki he moto.
(To her motto Tonga gives all.)

This quote from Frank Herbert's Dune is a litany against fear from the Bene Gesserit. I find the litany quite a good way to deal with the unexpected things in life. People so easily succumb to fear, whereas the human mind can conquer a lot of issues encountered in life and the universe.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that
brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over
me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see
it's path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

From Uzumaki Naruto (<span lang="ja">うずまきナルト</span>):

Uzumaki Naruto: "Iruka-sensei (うみのイルカ), why do people risk their lives
for others?"

Iruka-sensei: "When someone dies, they disappear. Their past and present,
along with their future. A lot of people die on missions and in wars,
surprisingly quickly and easily. Hayate (月光ハヤテ) was one of them. The
one who dies has his own dreams, but there are people who are treasured like
those dreams. Parents, siblings, friends, and lovers, people who are
important... They all believe in and help each other. People who were there
since birth took care of them... And those bonds grow even stronger as time
passes. It's not just a saying. It will be so for the ones who are
connected, because it is precious."

And to the question why people still use Windows try setting up your X environment to properly support MathML with Firefox.

Truly, using new fonts within X is a black art still reminiscent of dark and medieval times when we did not know better. I thought we would have progressed that stage by now.

From a user perspective Windows definitely wins hands down in this, drag a file to a Fonts folder, done.

No, X wants us to use crazy incantations of mkfontdir, mkfontscale, fc-cache, ttmkfdir, xset with various fp options and hope xlsfonts shows the font you are after.

Users do NOT want to be bothered with foundries, weights, encoding types, and what not. They just want to add a font, select it in their favourite application and go: "owww, pretty!"

Is that, anno 2004, too much to ask?

Apparently...

Кто знает закон Бытия,
Помог бы и мне найти ответ.
Жестоко ошибся я;
От смерти лекарства нет.

He who knows the laws of existence
would be able to help me to find the answer
I was cruelly mistaken;
there is no cure for death.

From братья, Fullmetal Alchemist

Finally finished watching <span lang="ja">鋼の錬金術師</span>/Hagane no Renkinjitsushi (Full Metal Alchemist) as well as <span lang="ja">ハンター X ハンター</span>/Hunter X Hunter.

Hunter X Hunter was very nice to watch, and you cannot help but being dragged in along with Gon and support him. But I found that the finale of the series left too much open ends. So what happens with Hisoka? He was constantly hinting how he would love to test his strength against both Killua and Gon when they 'ripened' some more. Also, Ging has been hiding in the forest on whale island all along? Because that is where Killua and Gon end up after using the 'Accompany' spell card. I wonder about this since you see Mito looking at the path they trace with 'Accompany' and she smiles as if she recognises it.

And what about Kurapica and the eyes of his tribe?

Leorio also got put to the background half way during the series and that for someone Gon met in the first or second episode!

Full Metal Alchemist was a bizarre series, but I liked almost every episode of it. Especially the ending where Edward ends up in post World War I Germany and Alphonse is restored to his 10 year old body. And here I was seeing Ed end up with either Roze or Winry. Very well drawn and a lots of jokes and emotions.

I reread Frank Herbert's Dune recently. Things are so much clearer once you know more about Islam and the Qu'ran and some of the rituals there as well as Zen Buddhism and other topics such as Christianity and the Kaballah.

Magnificent book to be honest, he manages to drag you into the story and totally washes over you with a imaginary, yet possible future of mankind.

Dune Messiah is a most bizarre follow-up tale. Hard to describe what you read in those meager 200 pages, but they nonetheless make a tremendous impact. Amazing, just amazing.

The Butlerian Jihad was quite an interesting read by Brian Herbert, Frank's son, to learn about the events that lead to the extermination of the thinking machines, the rise of the sorceresses, the Tleilaxu, Zensunnis and Zenshi'ites.