jastram.de Blog

Good grates for ReConf Talks

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2013-04-11T16:04:46Z

The Organizers of ReConf 2013 just distributed the results from the feedback sheets. Participants had to rate presentations on a scale from 1 (very good) to 4 (mediocre). The best grade of all talks was 1.35, the worst was 3.43. I had two presentations.

Werkzeuggestützte Konsistenz zwischen Anforderungen und Spezifikation

Fachlichkeit	1,58
Vortragsstil	1,74
Qualität der Präsentation	1,63
Anspruch (hat der Vortrag Ihrem Anspruch genüge getan	1,95
Gesamteindruck	1,74
	*1,73*

Eclipse RMF in Action

Fachlichkeit	1,52
Vortragsstil	1,43
Qualität der Präsentation	1,59
Anspruch (hat der Vortrag Ihrem Anspruch genüge getan	1,55
Gesamteindruck	1,54
	*1,53*

I am quite happy with these results.

ARcTIC 2012

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-11-28T16:44:54Z

In less than a month, the conference ARcTIC 2012 takes place in Bologna. The final program has just been published on ARcTIC’s website, and is divided in the following three parts:

The
ARcTIC symposium, that will open the event, discussing about innovation
from an Academic perspective and presenting innovation possibilities
coming from research.
The
Tech-pull meeting in which important industry representatives will
share their vision about the innovation challenges that could enable new
rewarding opportunities, as well as new funding channels for applied
research and technology transfer initiatives, in the next future.
The
InnoTech session in which two round tables will be held in order to
discuss good practices and intellectual property management in
innovation projects and experiences and challenges of making innovation.

I am part of the the Program Committee.

Well Worth the Wait: New ProR Integration Release (0.2.0)

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-04-20T15:29:10Z

The RMF team is proud to announce the i12.03 Integration build, which
brings significant improvements both in the core and the ProR user
interface. Please read more about this on the Formal Mind Blog.

ProR development continues (Eclipse OpenSource RE tool based on RMF/ReqIF) - feedback wanted!

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-03-17T03:05:23Z

I am project lead on the Eclipse Requirements Modeling Framework (RMF),
which also contains a tool called ProR for requirements engineering (http://eclipse.org/rmf).
In two weeks, we'll start a sprint to improve the GUI. We welcome
feedback, so that we can prioritize properly before starting the sprint.
More details can be found here:

http://www.formalmind.com/en/blog/next-pror-snapshot-coming-soon-please-help-us-prioritize

We appreciate any feedback!

BTW: You can subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates regarding ProR and RMF.

http://www.formalmind.com/de/blog

Finally: New nuclear reactors being built

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-02-10T21:43:43Z

As a German, I live in a country that prides itself in its abandonment of nuclear energy. Personally, I consider this a tragedy. Hearing that elsewhere new reactors are planned is good news. Before you flame me (or stop reading), please hear me out.

First, I acknowledge that nuclear energy has a problem - Fukoshima demonstrated that. But I would argue that the problem has less to do with technology, but with regulation. With proper regulation, and above all transparency and supervision from independent bodies, nuclear energy promises to be a safe, economic and environmentally friendly technology.

So let me dismantle the arguments against nuclear energy:

Safety: The truth is, nuclear energy is safer than everything else we have. The estimates from the death toll from Chernobyl ranges from 5,000 - 200,000. My guess is that both numbers push agendas. Either way, this picture puts death by oil, coal and nuclear into perspective. But as it does not cite clear numbers, let me throw in that 24,000 deaths every year are caused by coal-fired power plants in the USA alone! This is just the US (Think how high the number probably is in China and India), and does not include deaths through mining. Do the math yourself.

Waste: Storing nuclear waste is a huge problem. Less known is the fact, that many of today's aging reactors were designed to produce material for nuclear weapons as a byproduct, but also large amount of waste. There are several promising designs that produce significantly less waste. Not only that, there are also ideas for "cooking" the waste (Pyroprocessing), which could get rid of radioactivity in as little as 100 years while generating energy. But more research is needed here.

So, what's to be done?

Regulation: Here I see the biggest problem. The energy industry ruined the reputation of nuclear power by practicing secrecy and obstruction for decades. Japan's TEPCO is notorious for this, but I'd argue that Europe's Vattenfall is not much better. Compare this to the aviation industry: The low fatality rate is impressive, inspite of a technology where failure can easily lead to hundreds of deaths. But if something happens, the incident is analyzed and published with merciless rigor. We need the same oversight, rigor and transparency in the energy sector.

Technology: There are many promising reactor designs that could be safer, produce less waste and use cheapter fuel, like Molten salt breeders. Other designs include PRISM and IFR designs in general. Some of these are specifically designed to close the nuclear fuel cycle. While this does not remove the existing waste, they promise not to increase the waste problem.

I consider it madness to abandon this technology, rather than to try to tame it. I applaud Bill Gates for investing in nuclear technology. We have a serious energy problem on this planet, and nuclear power can be a part of the solution. Everybody is talking about the environment. Nuclear power has the potential to help.

Infos und Schulungen zu GnuCash

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-01-30T16:30:53Z

Über meinen Eintrag zur Einrichtung von GnuCash ist Franz Schreiner auf diese Seiten gestoßen. Auf seinem Blog bietet er weitere Infos und Schulungen zu GnuCash. Ich kann nichts zur Qualität der Schulung sagen, da ich daran nicht teilgenommen habe - aber es ist sicherlich eine interessante Ressource für Leser, die tiefer in das Thema GnuCash einsteigen wollen.

Snapshot Build of Eclipse ProR (ReqIF Open Source Implementation) •

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2012-01-21T04:49:28Z

The Eclipse RMF project has the goal to provide a clean-room
implementation of a ReqIF tool. ReqIF is an emerging standard for
exchanging requirements, driven by the German automotive industry.

You can find more details and the download link at the Formal Mind Blog.

GEZ-Gebührenrückerstattung

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-11-17T21:47:51Z

Viele die die letzten Jahre doppelt Geld an die GEZ überwiesen haben, da sie freiberuflich von zu Hause mit dem Computer gearbeitet haben, können ihr Geld zurückverlangen: Juhu!

What book to read next...?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-10-22T20:08:59Z

I read quite a few SciFi classics lately. I just found this incredible chart, and I may actually use it to pick my next book to read.

Ever wonder why GPS/Map services are free these days?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-09-26T21:54:32Z

Google Maps on Android, Nokia even offering offline maps for navigating abroad - who pays for all this? Well, here is an interesting idea: charge big merchants for leading you past their stores - even if it is a detour.

Sales 2.0

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-09-20T15:06:25Z

How to align Sales and Marketing in today's technology environemnt? Here is an insightful interview with Dave Fitzgerald of Brainshark, by Sramana Mitra.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Book)

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-09-16T14:06:52Z

Recommended: This is a classic from Robert Heinlein, one of my favorite SciFi authors.Storyline: The moon is a prison colony and becomes independent with a help of a computer that gained consciousness.

GnuCash-Einstellungen für Skatbank

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-08-31T14:00:42Z

... und wieder GunCash-Einstellungen, diesmal für die Skatbank: Ein Teil der Informationen steht auch bei der Skatbank online (HBCI mit PIN/TAN).

Vorsicht: Bei der falschen HTTP-Version friert GnuCash einfach ein!

Bankinfo: Wird automatisch über BLZ 83065408 gesetzt.
Benutzername und Benutzerkennung sind beides die VR-NetKey
HBCI-Version: 3.0
HTTP-Version: 1.0
SSLv3 erzwingen

Viel Erfolg!

RMF and ProR moving forward nicely

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-08-25T22:34:18Z

We submitted the Requirements Modeling Framework (RMF) to become an Eclipse Foundation Project just a few weeks ago. We are excited that the project got approved and is now waiting for provisioning.

Senate Comittee Result of Goldman Sachs Inquiry

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — 2011-05-27T21:39:37Z

This is a really scary report regarding Goldman Sachs' actions during the financial bust. But the fact that such an inquiry takes place gives us hope. Now, let's hope that some people will go to jail. A great read!