Monday, February 27th

GOLD Middleware Report


The details of the GOLD infrastructure we have developed here at Newcastle for the support, operation and termination of virtual organisations is now a technical report. The paper version (much shorter) of this has been submitted for publication elsewhere. The link to the report is here

The report describes in detail how to develop mechanisms for authorisation, authentication, coordination/workflow, contract management and information management (i.e. storage) by exploiting web service standards and specifications. We consider it cutting edge work so enjoy....

panos on 02.27.06 @ 02:29 PM gmt [link]

Thursday, February 23rd

LA photos at photo-section


Brief note to let you know that the photos from the last trip are now online.

panos on 02.23.06 @ 10:44 AM gmt [link]

Tuesday, February 21st

Back to rainy old England


After nearly a day's travel and a brief stop in New York, I am now firmly back in the UK. My brain has not caught up with my body yet and as such I couldn't find the strength to go to work. Im catching up with emails from home.

There were many highlights in this trip. I visited the infamous Whiskey aGoGo and saw some great bands. Also visited the comedy club were many of the famous hollywood comedians made their name. That was one of the best nights out. The biggest highlight of all must be the visit to the warner brothers studios where i saw sets of old and current TV series and movies. Saw a number of celebrities hanging out at various bars on Sunset Strip although (apart from the really famous ones) i hardly knew their real names. I only knew of their TV characters. Being part of the live filming of Joey was also good fun.

Back to work related stuff, I was pleased to see a lot for chapter proposals already sent for the WS-Book. I will acknowledge receipt of those shortly. I will update with photos from my travels by the end of this week.


Sunset Strip already feels a million miles away. Still not long until my next visit to the States.

panos on 02.21.06 @ 06:54 PM gmt [link]

Friday, February 17th

Nevada and then Arizona


I left LA on the 15th and headed towards the so called gambling capital of the world. I was there by noon. Las Vegas is exactly like i was expecting it to be. Big hotels, more glamour than one can imagine (or take) and minimum 15 dollar bets in all the big casino/hotels i visited. Bellagio was my favourite. It has the most elegant lobby I have been. Very impressive indeed.

Today Im in Arizona visting the Grand Canyon. The views from the top looking down are absolutely breathtaking. I dont think I have ever seen enything more spectacular in my life. The sheer scale is just so difficult to comprehend and its beauty simply cannot be described by words. Well not by someone that only scored a 12 in essay writing class in school. Back to the UK on the 21st. This is turning out to be the best birthday yet.


panos on 02.17.06 @ 04:27 AM gmt [link]

Thursday, February 9th

Up up and Away


Having booked the tickets over 6 months ago, the time is finally here. Im off to tinseltown for the next 10 days on private business + Holiday. I have booked a hotel in hollywood, near sunset boulevard so i have easy access to LA's bar & restaurant scene. I will take the opportunity to enjoy LA's night life and do all the touristy things. I will pay a visit at Universal Studios (though everyone's is advising me otherwise) and most certainly I'll be visiting the renowned Viper Room. I may try to fit a Lakers game in there if I find the time . I am travelling very light as I plan to do a lot of shopping in the states. I have booked a car for the following week for 3 days although im slightly worried since i have not driven at the other side of the road before. I guess i should be alright with an automatic. My friend A.N. is having his viva examination tommorow, so i wish him all the best (although im sure it is a mere formality).


panos on 02.09.06 @ 11:15 AM gmt [link]

Monday, February 6th

Cops in Manchester


The deadline for the Cops06 workshop in Manchester is looming. Only 3 days to finish the paper before submission this coming friday. Im submitting a paper on P2P perfomarnce based on an analysis that my colleague George P. carried out. I drew the short straw, hence I only had to contribute the literature review, which im currently finishing off. I'd like to think i helped more but Im sure George thinks otherwise. Can't blame him.
panos on 02.06.06 @ 11:19 AM gmt [link]

Saturday, February 4th

TFIF


I spent the entire week trying to identify interesting strands of research within GOLD that would keep me occupied for the next 12 months. I was slightly distracted by my travel plans and other events but things otherwise went OK. The book is progressing well as several big names in the area have offered to contribute a chapter. I look forward to receiving those.

In a week of more petty politics than I normally care for, I found myself wondering about life after NCL. Time for action. An expression used in an email I received late in the evening by an acquaintance from the other side of the atlantic describes my mood rather well. Hence the subject title. Thanks LL

big grin
panos on 02.04.06 @ 08:42 AM gmt [link]

Thursday, February 2nd

Articles of General Interest


Just thought to post the links below to 2 articles I found interesting on Aldaily
Pythagoras
Turing

panos on 02.02.06 @ 12:08 PM gmt [link]

Wednesday, February 1st

Interesting piece of work


I had a very interested meeting last week with a formal methods person from Microsoft Research Andy G. . It is rather rare (from where I stand) to see real, tangible benefits of formal methods techniques that can be used in other than critical systems and can be applied fast and with great results. We did (myself and colleagues) see tangible benefits of appyling his techniques to verify Soap message flows in his talk here at NCL. We are thinking of experimenting with his work within GOLD to verify certain protocols. Anyway the relevant paper of interest can be found here
panos on 02.01.06 @ 08:30 AM gmt [link]