Security B-Sides St John's

We have an upcoming infosec event in St John's this June - Security B-Sides St John's.

I met up with Norbert Griffin, the event organizer, for more details. He said that BSides St John's will be an eclectic gathering of infosec people to hear awesome talks and have great discussions. Our mission is to provide an inclusive, open environment for the sharing and discourse on topics that most interest you. He is currently working on lining up sponsors, presenters, and other various aspects of running the event, and as such is keen to hear from those interested in being involved with this BSide. I volunteered my time to help out with blogging, and will be there to chat with the presenters to get their views on the event, and information security issues.

Security B-Sides St John's follows in the trend of community driven conferences that is sweeping the IT landscape, so what is the larger concept of a BSides?

Each BSides is a community-driven framework for building events for and by information security community members.  The goal is to expand the spectrum of conversation beyond the traditional confines of space and time.  It creates opportunities for individuals to both present and participate in an intimate atmosphere that encourages collaboration. It is an intense event with discussions, demos, and interaction from participants. It is where conversations for the next-big-thing are happening.

The St John's event is currently scheduled for Saturday June 11, 2011, at ClubOne. You can register for the event following the links provided on the event page.

Dynamic Routing Using Health Information Policy with Apache Camel

My thesis has been published in Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science under the publication for "Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies, Third International Joint Conference, BIOSTEC 2010, Valencia, Spain, January 20-23, 2010, Revised Selected Papers".

The abstract and first three pages of the paper can be access via the links above. The system we describe uses a dynamic content based router, implemented using Apache Camel, that routes data based upon Health Information Policies. As policies change so does the routing of data. We take the view point of Health care policy administrators making decisions instead of network managers. I actually worked on this paper back in 2009, with it being presented in conference in 2010 - a back log at the publisher has it finally being in print later this month (hence the out of date Progress Software reference).

Memorial University CS Games Team (doubles) Winter 2011 Results

The Winter 2011 CS Team Programming Competition took place last Friday night at Memorial University.  Seven teams, 14 students, took part - trying their skills against the algorithmic conundrums the programming competition committee prepared as their set of three problems.

The students remained dutifully quiet throughout the evening, working on their solutions - barely taking a break to enjoy the drinks, cookies, and pizzas the department of Computer Science & Committee had sponsored.

After two and half hours of competition we were able to draw the games to a close, and tabulate the results. Our game sponsors then took center stage to present our top placements.

Left to Right: Eric Davidson, Steven Soucey, Megan O'Conner

Our third place prize was presented by Pathfinder/Nomadica's Eric Davidson to Team F: Megan O'Connor, and Steven Soucey.

Left to Right: Justin Butt, Steven Talyor, Simon McIlhargey

Our second place prize was presented by IDBlue's Steven Taylor to Team B: Justin Butt, and Simon McIlhargey.

Left to Right: Melissa Reid, Jon Anstey, Ken Collingwood

And finally the first place prize was presented by FuseSource's Jon Anstey to Team A: Melissa Reid, and Ken Collingwood.

I'd like to thank all the students, volunteers, sponsors, and the games committee again for making these CS games possible. I hope to see everyone again for the Fall 2011 Mun CS Games in September.

I think we need a DemoCamp St John's

I think we need a DemoCamp St John's. 

What is a DemoCamp?

A DemoCamp is an unconference style of event, in which participants provide the meeting content. Generally this content consists of a demo of the participant's project. Meetings last for 2 or 3 hours, or as long as all the crowd remains for socializing, networking, hanging out, job hunting, recruiting, chatting, drinking, eating, etc.
There are a few rules at DemoCamps...

• Rule #1 of DemoCamp: Talk about DemoCamp 
• Rule #2 of DemoCamp: No powerpoints allowed. Why no .ppt ? Well, do you have working software or don’t you?

No powerpoint/keynote/impress is mandatory - the goal is to make presenters show, demonstrate, talk about their actual software/hardware/etc. These are not sales presentations. This is a forum for developers, CEOs, designers, and others to be proud of their work and share it with their peers.
See the DemoCamp DIY page for more information on how these events operate.

If your interested in the idea please leave a comment below, or PM me (you can find my contact info in my profile). Also, if you are inclined, click follow on the google friend connect link in the rand hand sidebar so that you'll be updated when I have new posts on this blog - it's partly about Apache software, and the other half is software development stories from here in Newfoundland. Alternatively, you can follow my twitter account http://twitter.com/icbts (basically the same content).

Mun CS Games Winter 2011 Team (Doubles) Competition!

Following up on our Singles competition last month, we're gearing up for our team games on March 18, 2011. Our sponsors from the singles games have also returned to give our students some encouragement to try their hardest. Each team will consist of two students - so start finding a partner soon!

The prizes!!!

The third place prize is being sponsored by IDBlue. The prize pack for each team member consists of a copy of O'Reilly Java Pocket Guide, Linux Journal (March 2011 Edition), a tin of Pringles, a tin of Computer Air Duster, a Mun pencil and a Mun market bag.

The second place prize is being sponsored by Nomadica Group / Pathfinder. The prize pack for each team member consists of a copy of O'Reilly Make: Technology on your time, a copy of Team Management Secrets, a tin of Pringles, a tin of Computer Air Duster, a Mun pencil and a Mun market bag.

The first place prize is sponsored by Jon Anstey. The prize pack for each team member consists of a copy of Camel in Action, a tin of Pringles, a tin of Computer Air Duster, a Mun pencil and a Mun market bag.

The Winter 2011 CS Games Teams (Doubles) are tentatively scheduled for Friday March 18th, 2011, in room EN-2036 at 5pm to 7:30pm. There is a sign up sheet in the CS department head office, please contact them if you are interested in competing - seat are limited (CS students only).

Best luck to all the competitors and see you there!