return void;

I’ve been busy lately with lots of technology related things, but I wanted to report that my feed URI has officially changed thanks to Google’s forced update process.

I’ll be posted more things this weekend about some of the really neat things I’ve been doing lately. Let me leave you with a small taste. I’ve unsuccessfully installed IPCop on a virtual machine; I’ve integrated more with the Rakudo development community because I have special permission to take a laptop to work. I received my results from the qualifier I took last semester. Lastly, I’m making my own GTK theme.

Lots of juicy bits that I can’t wait to blog about.

I recently had the pleasure of attending a Human Language Technology showcase that lasted all day last Friday. I managed to convince my employer to foot the bill for the day, and here’s how I did it. Note that any identifying company information has been redacted.

The University of Texas at Dallas is hosting a showcase series focusing on Human Language Technologies on Friday, 23 January 2009. I was invited to attend as either a research student to my advisor or as an REDACTED employee / representative. Since my graduate focus will likely focus on these topics, I have an interest in attending.

The showcase series is a set of panels and talks about how Human Language Technologies apply to industry and its applications. There will be representatives from other companies, such as Raytheon, who will be presenting with other professors.

Our customer might have an interest in products that can analyze human languages and provide capabilities to interpretation. If REDACTED could provide such products integrated into our existing products, we might possibly be able to leverage greater power and capabilities that our customer might have an interest in.

My request is that REDACTED fund my attendance to the showcase since it is held midday. If the entire time cannot be supported, I am willing to split personal time off with REDACTED funding. I have attached the official flier that contains the panel topics and the schedule as well as a brief description of Human Language Technologies.

I would also like to give a brief talk about the discussions and how these fields could benefit REDACTED. I would prepare for this on my own time and am willing to give this talk to any interested party.

Thank you,

REDACTED

Turns out, my company paid for the entire day as offsite training. I am currently preparing the summarization and the presentation for them. I hope it generates some interest to move in areas we have yet to explore. This would be a great way to make a name for myself not only in my company but the industry.

I won’t be able to post anything I create for my employer for various reasons though.