Registrations open for XMLOpen 2004, Cambridge, UK, September

Related link: http://xmlopen.org/programme.html

The program for the "http://xmlopen.org/programme.html">XMLOpen 2004 conference is now out. A great line up of speakers,
including Uche Ogbuji (Python guy, a frequent writer
for OReilly, IBM, and trade papers, and definitely "http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1054">photogenic), Dave Pawson,
Murata Makoto, Eric van der Vlist, Michael Kay, Sebastian Rahtz, Martin Bryan, and more.
Keynotes from Jenni Tennison, Sean McGrath and
me!

The conference is oriented around practical experiences with standards and open source systems, it seems; their conference "http://xmlopen.org/aims.html">aims seems quite unique: they promote the conference as an opportunity to come and talk over tools, techniques, problems, solutions with a pool of peers and experts during the conference. This seems much more valuable than the traditional "Shut up and listen" approach of some conferences.

Thinking about the conference, I am coming over all shy. When I arrived back in Australia from 3 years in Taiwan, I hunted out some nice Italian bread and, unguardedly, broke my tooth on its hard crust. I wonder if I should get that tooth capped, to be less disreputable looking for the audience; on the other hand, English people seem to quite enjoy interesting teeth. Perhaps Dick Emery vicar-style false teeth might be better...oooh why did I ever get involved if I am losing my nerve already! In Taiwan, I did some male modeling, believe it or not, for a mobile phone company: "http://www.sinica.edu.tw/~ricko/rick2.jpg">me mug was on the side of buses for weeks, so it is odd to be getting nervous about appearing in public. (It turned out that I was the closest thing they could find to an 80 year-old Western bald guy with a hole in his skull revealing circuitry, I found out just as I was congratulating the mirror on defeating time.) Normally I don't care who thinks I am idiot: but should I really have signed up to provide more evidence? Anyway, it sounds like a fun (err, I mean, useful) conference.

More to come....I will blog a report on this week's Open Publish 2004 Conference in Sydney later tonight. Lots of interest for XML and publishing people.

Why is Sean McGrath's photo on the website, when they could have Rick's?