Tomasz Kubik from OSGeo Polish Chapter announced WOGIS 2010 conference:
This is the second conference on open software organized by the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformation Science, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, and the Polish Chapter of OSGeo.
Check the WOGIS 2010 conference website for details.
Continuing my watch stand-up comedy every night week…
Today, it’s Jimmy Carr’s turn:
Britain boasts the most hardworking and adaptable workforce in Europe…It’s called the Poles. They’re bloody good. There’s a lot of right wing people that say these poles come over here and take our jobs. If a guy from Poland arrives, he doesn’t speak the language, doesn’t have any money, doesn’t know anyone and he takes your job on the first day?
Now I understand why uncle Sam doesn’t want to let Polish in still asking us for visa. I’m telling ya unc’ ain’t do it ;-)
Let’s take the leader of Colossus reconstruction project, the author of The Code Book, the original creator of the PGP e-mail encryption package and horde of people as hungry of knowledge & fun as a bears of berries, and what you get?
You get ACCU :: Security: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow conference:
On November 7th 2009, the ACCU will be holding a one day conference at Bletchley Park, home of the legendary World War II ‘Enigma’ code breakers, and the site at which the world’s first digital computer went operational.
The event is put on the official calendar of events in Bletchley Park – National Codes Centre. It’s also announced by ZDNet.
By the way, who knows about the crucial role of the Polish Cipher Bureau and Polish mathematical geniuses in breaking Enigma? I can bet that many people still believe in this story which follows principles of canonical Hollywood education.
I think one of the things we need to make clear to Hollywood is, yes you’re in the entertainment business but the people who see your movies are going to come away thinking that’s information, not just entertainment.
By the way, I’ve read on ACCU forum that one of the speakers will probably talk about new his VoIP protocol and why his protocol spanks all other VoIP protocols as well as the effects of public policy and living in a surveillance society. The conference is going to kick!
No, I haven’t got a call-up to army. Actually, I run away from my country just in time in December 2008 :-) . However, a few months later Minister of National Defence of Poland announced good news and I hope to not to be executed by firing squad for desertion when I visit my family in Poland some time in future ;-)
Going Commando is about stopping using the mouse as one of the quickest ways to increase your productivity on the computer. I always knew that! I always believed using mouse is a waste of time and it’s worthwhile effort to let the mouses out and stick the fingers to keyboard as the first step to coding faster.
By the way, I’ve just reminded myself that this is not the first time I do commando. A few or more years ago, while reading Ed Yourdon‘s book Death March, I realised: I am a commando coder: I’m drinking jars of coffee and I’m staying 1.5 to 2 shifts at work. Now, I understand that the military approach was necessary and very natural because a start-up without commandos has nothing to sell and if there are no commandos left in a company, there is no innovation ;-) However, I’m glad I’m no longer drinking jars of coffee as this approach is less efficient; it results in poorer code that actually takes longer to produce.
Hmm, I’ve just discovered I have pretty strong military background :-)
From time to time, Google helps me to find and get new treasures laying deep on the Internet. Today, it dug out OpenGeology.pl website. Apparently, it has been launched quite recently and Google reports very few references about it. Because it’s mostly in Polish language and English version is incomplete, I will give a short overview of it here. So, what is this website about?
The front page explains it very well:
The OpenGeology.pl is devoted to the applications of Open Source Software in Geology
Later, one can browse various resources organized by topic – reviews of Open Source Software, tutorials ie. on DEM processing and 3D technologies in geology as well as collection of free and public geodata. DEM of Poland based on the SRTM-3 is available through a friendly map-based interface in two alternative coordinate systems (WGS 84 and PUWG 92) and three grid formats. It’s worth to notice that holes in original DEM files have been patched. I’ve not played with this data myself but it sounds very promising.
Now, let’s get to the point – the software. And here, my eyes saw a nice list of FOSS packages, including OSGeo Foundation projects…and there was much rejoicing.
OpenGeology community (see below) has found following FOSS4G and OSGeo projects useful: GRASS, Open Source Software Image Map (OSSIM), Quantum GIS, GDAL/OGR and FWTools.
A couple of words about the OpenGeology.pl authors. If my understanding is correct, the website was founded by Polish Geological Institute and Maciej Tomaszczyk is the main author and content provider. Kudos to the OpenGeology.pl Community for their efforts to spread the FOSS4G in Poland.