Livin' the life...

This... is worth posting just because of who he is or.. was.

AC Milan have signed Brazil striker Ronaldo from Real Madrid. The 30-year-old striker, three-times FIFA World Player of the Year, has signed a deal until June 30, 2008 for €7.5 million. (Ref: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=405663&cc=3888 )

Today was a pretty cool day indeed! Why? Well mainly because of two reasons...

1) I finally dragged myself down to my mobile phone service provider and signed up for Internet access on my phone and;

2) Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 AT West Ham. Goals coming from the in-form Dirk Kuyt and also the robot man, Peter Crouch. This win puts Liverpool within two points of second place Chelsea.

Ok but enough about football, I HAVE the net on my phone!! How cool is that! Since I got home, I've been trying stuff out and I already have a nice listing of (mobile) Bookmarks. If you're looking to get this done as well, the cost is 26c/day for Card customers and (I THINK) $8/month for Bill phones. (Oh and of course this is the rate for my service provider i.e. C and W. I'm not sure about the Digi rates but if you desire I may be able to check those upon your request.)

Also worth noting is that after the lady tinkered with and handed me back my phone (it is set up while you wait), she told me it should be on in about an hour. This... is relative I guess, but probably she was being a bit generous with the time... because I still could not access any sites for about 2 hours after. Of course by then I was beginning to get a bit... disappointed but what I did next was to turn off my phone for about an hour then when I turned it back on, I got the GPRS little icon on my screen and I was "cooking with gas" (i.e. it was working).

So in a nutshell I suggest you wait for about an hour (or whatever time the CSR suggests) then turn off your phone for 30mins and then turn it back on. Hopefully that should do the trick! You can always use www.jasonnurse.com to test it out, I won't mind at all.

Anyway, so thus far I've hit a number of sites including the just mentioned www.jasonnurse.com. Truth be told however, I don't like how it's displayed. Therefore, I actually think I'm going to reconsider that design or probably try to implement a WAP/mobile site. As for this blog site.. it doesn't show at all, I believe this is because there is simply too much content on the page to display on my 1.2" x 1.5" screen.

Ok, so I'm done commenting on that for now but I hope to take some pics and show you how stuff looks on the phone.

It's not easy to keep up with the shorthand that accompanies today's fast-paced, youth-oriented electronic communication. In IM-speak (Instant Message talk) or text-message language, "laughing out loud" becomes "lol." "By the way" is "btw" And regrettably, some people use "omg" for "Oh, my God!"

This last phrase seems to be on the lips of many who receive startling news. But as Christians, we need to stop before we utter this or any other phrase that flippantly uses God's name.

In Matthew 6, when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, the first thing He told them to say was this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (v.9). Clearly, God's name itself is special. It encompasses His nature, His teachings, and His moral authority. To speak the name of God is to call on the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

In every way possible, we should honor and protect God's holy name, preserving its use for those occasions when we are speaking of Him or addressing Him in faith.

Let's be careful never to turn the hallowed name of our awesome and mighty God into just another flippant phrase on our lips or in a text-message. - Dave Branon

(This was taken from: Our Daily Bread by RBC Ministries.. date: Sunday January 28.)

Well another weekend has arrived.. I think this one may be an active one!

On the agenda for me is some planning, some football (I hope), a movie or two - maybe cinema, I'd also like to catch any footie games I can and I think I'll taste a bit of the Bajan night life.

One thing I also plan to try to do is visit my cell phone service provider to get "the net" activated on my phone. I would have liked to get that done tonight but I lack transp. I believe the cost is 26c a day or so, which is about $8 a month... that's not too bad for the amount I plan to be using it. I just hope it gives reliable service! Or it will be coming out RATHER soon after.

Ways, its 6.30pm so let the weekend begin!

"Let me try to clear up any confusion that may exist about WS-CDL and WS-BPEL.

Firstly WS-CDL can be used to describe the observable behavior ,as interactions (message exchanges or WSDL function invocations), across a number of services (more than one). It's purpose is to clearly define the interoperablity needed to realise a system composed of many services.

Secondly, WS-BPEL is primarily focussed on composing new services from existing services. It provides a common way of describing the internal behavior of how these services need to work together in order to realise another service. So it has a single service perspective. It cannot be used to describe a system of services as peers because it yields a new service.

An orchestra typically has a conductor. Orchestration also has the equivalent - the orchestration engine.

Choreography has a choreographer who writes down the rules of engagement for the dancers, gets them to learn it and then leaves the stage to allow the dance to occur based on the rules. Choreography of services is similar. You write down the rules and use it to ensure that the "touch" points are preserved. This is akin to the externally observable behavior. The way in which a dancer performs the steps may be said to be orchestrated - they have a brain that controls their motor functions.

So you can see that a system described in WS-CDL may be realised as a set of peered islands of orchestration, which, based on the rules of engagement, work together to yield a system.

WS-CDL can be used to generate the observable behavior through role projection of services into WS-BPEL or any orchestration language (i.e. Java or CSharp, or ....). The non-observable business logic that is inside a service may be implemented in any end point language as long as the state machines behavior is preserved.

WS-CDL can also be used in a monitoring context to determine if services are well behaved - are they performing the dance steps correctly relative to each other?

WS-CDL is certainly related to WSDL but it is optional (check out the role defns in the spec). WSDL is certainly not capable of expressing what WS-CDL does. Oddly enough Abstract BPEL, if it were properly supported (and there is debate about that and what constiututes support), would be a good way of describing the state machine behavior of a single service. Then generating the service descriptions would be even easier by going from WS-CDL to Asbtract BPEL.

I agree very much that the two can be used in conjunction. WS-CDL for the system description (the sort of language architects dream of) and WS-BPEL for composite service construction.

Cheers

Steve Ross-Talbot

co-Chair W3C Choreography Working Group

Chair W3C Web Services Activities

www.pi4tech.com

www.pi4soa.org " (Ref)

Other interesting links:

http://pi4tech.blogspot.com/2008/02/orchestration-and-choreography-ws-bpel.html

http://blog.whatfettle.com/2005/02/16/choreography-vs-orchestration/

"Security has the inherent nature of spanning many different layers of a Web Services system. Web Services vulnerabilities can be present in the operating system, the network, the database, the Web server, the application server, the XML parser, the Web Services implementation stack, the application code, the XML firewall, the Web Service monitoring or management appliance, or just about any other component in your Web Services system.

Therefore security testing, which is important for any software application, is even more crucial for Web Services. This article explores security issues specific to Web Services and illustrates the engineering and testing best practices required to ensure Web Service security throughout the Web Services development life cycle.

Step 1: Determine a Suitable Web Services Security Architecture

Transport Layer Security

Message Layer Security

Step 2: Adhere to Technology Standards

Step 3: Establish an Effective Web Services Testing Process

Step 4: Create & Maintain Reusable, Re-runnable Tests

Conclusion
Securing your Web Services is a vital aspect of ensuring a successful deployment. When deployed externally for consumption by partners or customers, only secure Web Services can provide a justifiable integration solution, because the benefits they expose should far outweigh the risks. The key to effective Web Services security is to know and be aware of the various types of security threats, understand the technical solutions for mitigating these threats then establish and follow a defined engineering process that takes security into consideration from the beginning and throughout the Web Service lifecycle. By following the four steps outlined in this article, you can ensure complete Web Service security."

By: Dr. Adam Kolawa
Apr. 17, 2007 04:30 PM

[Full Article]

OF course I can't let the week go by without a tribute of some sorts to Pool for their display against Chelsea at the weekend! THerefore.. below I've included the highlights from the match. I'm sure you'll agree that those are two BEautiful goals. Enjoy!

PS. If you're a true fan like me, this little 2 minute clip won't do it for you and You'll want the extended highlights (13 minutes worth!). You can see those at here. Alsooo.. if you like to hear the non-English commentary... (I find they tend to put more excitement into their commentary.. especially when a goal scores!) you can check this page.

I've been asking for it for a while now and FINALLY ASP.NET AJAX 1.0 RTM has been Released! (Released yesterday I believe.)

However... wait, wait, before you go downloading and installing like crazy.. I suggest you do like I did and take a quick peek at the Ajax forums. Sad to say.. there seems to be some problems already.

I just was reading a post titled "Do not install this release" (encouraging name huh?) and in it the writer is complaining about some problems he has encountered while trying to migrate from the RC to the final release. As it turns out, the RTM actually seems to require an aspect that is not really available yet but instead will be disseminated in a WindowsUpdate... (Hopefully, it'll be in February's update cycle.)

Anyway, I'm no expert with respect to that, I'm merely following what was said and trying to comment a bit on it. For the full story however, I recommend you have a look at that post I mentioned above and also keep your eyes fixed on that forum for any more information/problems on this final release of AJAX.

PS. I'm seeing A LOT of posts since the final was released.. seems like a lot of apps/stuff that worked in the old versions is now broken when tried in the final. Hmm.. how... scary.

Life at times can be soo... sooo busy. And life without the Internet can be soo... sooo strange. bbs though folks!

Well I blogged on it a day ago but I came across this video just now which I think is pretty nice, so I posted again.

Seriously though, this device is mad cool so I don't think this will be the last post on it either. I mean if you're a techie, even an MS techie, you simply must appreciate this coolness.

Video Title is "The iPhone Up Close"

PS. Yea I don't really see this phone being in Bim... at least for a couple years. And you should note the end of this video and certain things like the exclusive contract to that specific cell phone provider, the difficulty in the keypad and the 500,600 US $.

Well tomorrow is a holiday in Barbados compliments to The National Hero, Errol Barrow. For the weekend I haven't been on the PC hence why the posting been a bit slow but since tomorrow is a holiday I'm sure to get something in!

A great thing about this weekend thus far though is that Liverpool FC, MY FOOTBALL CLUB!, beat Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield on Saturday! Congrats guys congrats! I'm rather proud!

Well I'm gone for now, would like to get a dvd or 2 in tonight..

Well after reading my friend Rommel's blog, I finally took his lead and headed on to the Apple site to check out the iPhone. My reaction? "mannnn, this is soooooo cool". For those of you who haven't checked it out I refer you to this page and I tell you, prepare to be "wowwed".

I won't say much on it here as Apple does a great presentation in that link I just mentioned but that is as it says "a revolutionary mobile phone". My only question is though.. Do you really use your finger? As opposed to say.. a nice stylus?

Oh and I'm sure by now you must be thinking... but what price are we talking about here... Well, I've done some checking and Gizmodo reports that "The iPhone: Price - $499 4GB, $599 8GB" and also that it ships in June 2007 (Ref).

So folks, you have some months in which to save some cash, you can probably cut back on those PizzaHut trips (for the UK/US folks) and for the local people in Bim, well.. you're being quite wishful that the iPhone will (1) get down here (2) be even in the range of $1000, $1200 Bds and (c) it will be supported by either C&W or Digi.

Anyway, happy hunting! I'm still quite amazed by the "coolness" of this device... The only question now is if it works as seamlessly as is shown on the Apple site. :? ESPECIALLY those "Built-in Advanced Sensors"... I mean "The proximity sensor detects when you lift iPhone to your ear and immediately turns off the display" ? "An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness to the appropriate level for the current ambient light" ? "iPhone’s accelerometer detects when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape, then automatically changes the contents of the display" ? (All these quotes come from the Apple iPhone site) Those are.. big things... and I really really hope they work well.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Just a little forward I got a while back, I hope you enjoyed it.

That American Idol show is just... a waste of time... I am yet to find out how people watch that. I mean, I bet most people just watch it to laugh at other people and watch them get blaSted by the judges. I surely don't take pleasure in watching people get blasted on reality tv, but probably that's just me... as shows like that Springer man rake in tons.

Hmm.. I just walked in on someone watching it and apparently there's someone called Jason crying. *bleh. How do you go on National TV knowing you not really 'it' and go infront those judges to sing? THenn when they tell you off, you cry. What oh what did you expect? A lollipop and a pat on the back?

Sad to say, I'm sure cuts of these shows will be on YouTube momentarily. *Stop the widespread pollution before it happens I say* *stop it!*

Well, I've never really been a fan of 24, but... after yesterday and today's season premiere shows.. I'm hooked at least for a while more!

The only krappy thing about it is the amount of ads they push.. but other than that the show's great! Action, suspense .. and don't think you're going to guess that ending!!! I thought I had gotten the ending for tonight's show, but when I saw that nuke explode.. wow, that was definitely a shocker for me..

Great show though Fox, great show, I'll try to remember to tune in next week! Monday it is? If I hadn't already missed 5 Seasons (5 x 24 = 120 episodes), I would consider watching them all to get "up-to-date".

Ways, see you next week Jack!

I took a break for a while but funnies are back! Enjoy!

Poor bloke .. I tell u this glasses thing is a serious thing!

This is the day the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! You do too!

It's Friday night and I'm... busy... I'm listening to some Three Doors Down and in the middle of developing the "My Mashup" project. This mashup thing is pretty cool, the entire concept is honestly just beautiful. I can't wait until I get to show you guys and gals!

Sadly though, because I'm so MS-oriented, my work on this project is being held back because MS hasn't released the final version of ASP.NET AJAX yet. And I refuse to go do something greaT then a version with major changes to the one I have is released. So just hold on a bit folks. I will try my hardest to make it worth your while.

Still on the "Projects" topic, I have made what I consider significant headway in the (WinForm-based) IRC client I have been working on. Right now, it handles colors, multiple windows, multiple channels, the usual mIRC commands and some other stuff. Now to some of you this may seem trivial as mIRC handles all this stuff already. However, to me, it's rather novel because it's something I worked on from "almost" ground - up. From the creation of the connection to the handling and formatting of raw IRC commands from and to the server.

Considering what I've done with that IRC client and the fact that I think it has potential, I've toyed with making it "open source". This I think may help development of it (there's tons of stuff that needs to be added - yes I have a lengthy To Do list) and make it even better. Also, I've done a considerable amount of searching online and there are really no "open source" VB.NET clients readily available. So... I may be onto something. We'll see though, we'll see. For now though I'll hang on to the c0d3 for safe keeping.

Oki, well I'm going to press on with My Mashup,.. I would like to find 2 or 3 more APIs to throw into the mix! The more... "Mashed up" the better. :-) .. *jason cranks up the Kaiser Chiefs*

OK, truth be told, I've been lagging a wee bit, it's the 11th of January and as of a couple minutes ago, I still had up a Christmas design on my home page... Sad on my part. I admit.

BUT, now I've corrected that and thus, I present to you the new jasonnurse.com !! What do you think? ... As usual, all colours of feedback are appreciated!

Once again I decided to maintain a concept of simplicity and I came up with what I consider a pretty nice, cool and basic design.

At first I actually had a different style because I was looking more towards using an image map. However, two things hit me: 1) How will text-based browsers handle it? (Antonio and his lot should be happy with this); and 2) How feasible will browsing the page from a mobile device be? (you know I'm into this mobile-crave)

The answers I got to these questions didn't at all support the use of an image map so I left that out and chose to do the best thing and use text for the links. Gotta keep your site usable right? Can't "assume" stuff on the Web, I was always taught.

Well, let me know what you people think of the site... much appreciated!

Oh, PS. You see I've included my Tube page. I found no need to keep it private any more, especially since, if I want I can have a private playlist.

I found this nice thing on Happiness this morning and thought I'd share.

Ten Rules for Happier Living

1. Give something away. 2. Do a kindness. 3. Give thanks always. 4. Work with vim and vigor. 5. Visit the elderly and learn from their experience. 6. Look intently into the face of a baby and marvel. 7. Laugh often - it's life's lubricant. 8. Pray to know God's way. 9. Plan as though you will live forever - you will. 10. Live as though today is your last day on earth.

(By Richard De Haan)

Liverpool Head of Press Ian Cotton said: "Unfortunately we expect to be without Luis for six months." (Ref)

This is as a result of that Carling Cup Arsenal game... *sigh.. This is just highly uncool... At least the transfer window is still open??

First Liverpool 1-3 Arsenal on Saturday in FA Cup now today... Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal in Carling Cup? Both At Anfield?

This is a joke? A hoax of some sort?

Hmm... *jason reviews the starting line-up*.. HMmm..

Ok Benitez, I get you want to "use the squad you have" but... these young Arsenal players DESTROYED us though.. *sigh..

I'm... shell-shocked though. 6-3? We're suppose to be good at the Cups! Good in competitions! Anfield is a fortress!!! Or... does this mean we will win Champions League? ... Probably get 1st spot in EPL? ....

I think... I'll retire to my rocking chair... I as a member of the Kop, am not pleased. 9 goals conceded at home in two consecutive matches against the 'same' FC? Not... pleased.

Well, no posts either Saturday or Sunday, quite a shocker for me really..

For some reason, this weekend, I wasn't really "at my pc" as usual at all. I watched that disgusting Liverpool / Arsenal FA Cup game (Pool got beaten 3-1 at home.. frustrating!) here using an online TV. Then I got frustrated again with some CSS and AJAX, so I just retired to watch tele.

After tele was the 'now standard' Saturday LLP soccer, then after that more tele! Sunday was kinda the same but this time I didn't even touch my pc! That's the first time in monnthsss I haven't been on it. Instead I enjoyed some dvds and feel asleep after the LLP soccer to some episodes of CSI.

And now Monday morning has arrived, Christmas is officially over and "Happy New Year" is outdated! So have a blessed week everyone!

OH wait, I forgot to say; 'Congrats' to Billy Kincaid for winning the Best Rap / Hip-Hop Single Award at the Barbados Music Awards. Good show mate, good show!

Not that it interest me much but Tonight the 2007 Barbados Music Awards kicks off at the Wildey Gym.. The best bajan artists will be there including the now 'infamous' teen star, Rihanna. (And again for those guys I met in UK who thought Sean Paul was from Barbados, he is from Jamaica, thus, won't be attending! *snicker*)

BUT, the reason for this post though is not to highlight that event but to send my best wishes to my pal Billy Kincaid as he's been nominated for Best Rap / Hip-Hop Single and also, Best Collaboration. I hope you do well kid.

PS. If you want to hear the song Billy's been nominated for (i.e. Billy Kincaid & Gabby - We Live On), check his site, you can scroll to the song in the music player. Enjoy!

The WWW is a beautiful thing. Today's multi-featured cell phones are a beautiful thing. Combined... *sniff they make me want to shed a tear!

Ok Ok, moving on from that, today I had the pleasure of browsing the WWW on a friend's cell phone and to be quite honest, I marveled at that capability. I checked Nation news, MSN, Sports news... and for the fun of it http://jasonnurse.com . Surprisingly, my site doesn't look too too bad on the small screen of the mobile. The graphic on the main page was shrunk quite nicely (even though illegible) and the content displayed great (with the exception of a lack of color and a questionable CSS application).

Seeing this in action and well, because I'm "technology-oriented", I can't wait to see how viable it is for me to sign up for the browsing capability on my phone. By viable here, I mostly mean the service cost as luckily my phone is Web-reaDy. So far I've heard $8 Bds a month and 26c a day.. I have no clue which is correct but I dread calling the 1-800 customer service number to confirm. I can't handle the million rings or the 10th-rate music.

Any of you know for sure, just let me know, it'll be greatly appreciated.

And, for you non-Bajan persons reading, yes... in Barbados, browsing the WWW on your phone is still 'novel' and hardly to be taken for granted.

Now I think about it though, I understand why while doing my MSc in the UK that so much emphasis was being place by lecturers and research community on the adaptation of content for small devices. Why check news online (from your pc) or sit and watch the news, when you can use your mobile 24-7 to check it out? See... The... Future!

I'm finally finished the Windows app I was working on so it's back to Web-related stuff for me once again. I think I will be heading back to AJAX, especially now that I've 'sourced' (*heh) a JavaScript book AND the ASP.NET AJAX RC 1.0 is out. To make the mix even better, I've found a couple nice APIs and 'free' Services.

So for now Windows and your System.Windows.Forms namespace, I wish you bye bye! Helllooooo xHTML!

As a 'semi-loyal' member of the Moto family, when I saw this article, I though best to give it a read. Basically the article shows various ways to 'enhance' your Motorola SLVR phone, and bring it close to what the writer calls, 'iPhone' capabilities.

I found some of the stuff quite interesting but personally, I think I'd only try changing the face and sorting out the videos with this Nokia Multimedia tool. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

Update: That Nokia tool doesn't convert .wmv or .flv files... thus far I've successfully converted .avi, .3gp, .mp4. Also, it converts to .3gp and .mp4 (only from what I see).

"Introduction to the SANS Security Policy Project

Welcome to the SANS Security Policy Resource page, a consensus research project of the SANS community. The ultimate goal of the project is to offer everything you need for rapid development and implementation of information security policies. You'll find a great set of resources posted here already including policy templates for twenty-four important security requirements."

Contents of site:

* Introduction To The SANS Security Policy Project
* About the Project Director
* The SANS Policy Email Hotline
* Is it a Policy, a Standard or a Guideline?
* SANS Technology Institute White Paper Projects
* What is all the hype on HIPAA?
* Need a Primer on Security Policies?
* Need an Example Policy or Template?
* Incident Handling Forms

http://www.sans.org/resources/policies/

Interesting article: Secure Web services

"Security is important for any distributed computing environment. But, security is becoming even more important for Web services due to the following reasons:

1. The boundary of interaction between communicating partners is expected to expand from intranets to the Internet. For example, businesses increasingly expect to perform some transactions over the Internet with their trading partners using Web services. Obviously, from a security perspective, Internet communication is much less protected than intranet communication.
2. Communicating partners are more likely to interact with each other without establishing a business or human relationship first. This means that all security requirements such as authentication, access control, nonrepudiation, data integrity, and privacy must be addressed by the underlying security technology.
3. More and more interactions are expected to occur from programs to programs rather than from humans to programs. Therefore, the interaction between communicating partners using Web services is anticipated to be more dynamic and instantaneous.
4. Finally, as more and more business functions are exposed as Web services, the sheer number of participants in a Web services environment will be larger than what we have seen in other environments.

Currently, the most common security scheme available for today's Web services is SSL (Secure Socket Layer), which is typically used with HTTP. Despite its popularity, SSL has some limitations when it comes to Web services. Thus, various XML-based security initiatives are in the works to address Web services' unique needs. This article examines those schemes. " By Sang Shin, JavaWorld.com, 03/18/03 [Full article]

Happy New Year! and God's richest blessings for 2007!

Oh and for the New Year, I just spent it pretty quiet. Went to church, came home watched a bit of tele, got a nap then went to watch the sunrise with a few mates.

Actually, as opposed to just talking about it, I'll do you one better, below I've included some of the photos I took... enjoy!
 

Much thanks to 'the driver'.