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This (partial) history of the Internet (from Arpanet to Internet) has been created as a show case for a German student’s diploma project to develop a visual language for electronic communication called PICOL. I picked it up from Lee Lefever at CommonCraft. The video itself is hosted at VIMEO. I may us it in my upcoming module on Comunications for the Internet. http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2696386&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1 History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo....

Today, just as I sat down to eat my lunch of a bowl of soup and a sandwich, the fire alarm went off in Fulton house. It wasn’t a drill, but it wasn’t a fire either! Apparently, a fire detector has been sited too near to a steam outlet in one of the kitchens. Nonetheless, we all had to stand around outside in the cold until the alarm had been cancelled by the fire brigade....

In a past life I used to teach Java as a first programming language to Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Information and Communication Technology students so I was interested when news of [this article](http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Interviews/studentdevs/index.html) (published in [java.sun.com](http://java.sun.com/developer) [/developer](http://java.sun.com/developer)) was received via Geertjan Wielanda of the [Netbeans Educational Resources](http://edu.netbeans.org/) site. Two pieces of advice that I’d pass on are: 1. Knowledge of a subject doesn’t end when the exam finishes: a soup tastes better if the pot is left simmering for a long time after the meat is added!...

At midnight the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) released the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). All the newspapers will be busy analysing the results (although only the Guardian and the Times Higher seem to have gone to press with any great detail today) and will be publishing new League Tables and University Vice chancellors will be busy putting the best spin on the results. The key issue will be how the research ratings will affect funding and most University’s have been desperately playing the transfer market over the last five years (to the detriment of teaching perhaps) in order to get the best possible score....

Jumping on the bandwagon, I though I would share this picture taken last year of the Eich Mühle, on the Regen in Regesnstauf in a very Christmassy Bavaria. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a safe and prosperous New Year!