Well, the first meeting of the DIGGSML Environmental SIG went very well, we managed to work out some ideas and produce the beginnings of a DIGGSML implementation which was an excellent result for three hard days of meetings (in a windowless room in true DIGGSML fashion).
I hired a car last night, tried to get the awesome looking Shelby GT-H but sadly missed the boat a little bit as by the time I got to the rental car station Hertz were all out of cars! Never mind, Dollar to the rescue in the shape of a zero-mile '07 Dodge Charger. It's no Shelby, the 2.7 V6 is a little breathless when you need it to kick, but it's fun enough, at least it's nice and comfortable even if it is a bit heavy on the gas (-I'm starting to even talk American now, what's going on?!) at 25mpg, but at $2.83/gal that's not the end of the world.
Roger and I spent the day traveling up to Gainesville, FL to visit DIGGSML Core and Geotechnical group member Dr Mark Hoit and DIGGSML developer Erica Hughes at University of Florida and that meeting went really well too, we've identified some things that need to be looked at but in general it was really good to meet Erica and hear comments and thoughts from someone else who's implementing DIGGSML in the real world!
We've agreed some extra functionality and content to go on the DIGGS Blog and it's looking like a really good site with all the major parties in the development of DIGGSML involved with creating content and writing features.
I'm actually writing this post from a hotel room just outside Ocalda, FL after dropping Roger at the airport and then back-tracking nearly 100 miles up the Florida Turnpike to visit the Big Daddy Don Garlits museum for a bit of rest and relaxation. Had an awesome rib dinner from Sonnys BBQ but it's real warm here and I've still not properly adjusted, I just seem to want to sleep at strange times and there's only Law and Order on TV so I thought I'd post up here with some news of the trip.
Anyways, gonna do the Garlits museum tomorrow then look at times and stuff, see if I can get over to Cape Canaveral to see Kennedy Space Centre on the day the shuttle lands, maybe try out the new simulator that's supposed to rock big style.
I'm flying back Saturday night, so I'll head back to Orlando tomorrow night, grab a cheap room on I-Drive and see if I can get round Universal Studios or somewhere on Saturday morning before the red-eye back to London on Saturday night! Kat's been a star this week, she dropped me off last week and she's picking me up from Gatwick on Sunday morning, then we're heading over to Essex for Sunday Lunch with some friends that I'm really looking forward to catching up with, seeya Sunday guys.
It's gonna be a busy couple of days but I think it's gonna be a good one, if I could only get a few hours sleep...
