Every so often, some of the folks on my team are able to step away from their daily grind and think deeply about the next generation of work around Web services and XML. Last week, Andrew and Don released a paper on opportunities for efficient XML transmissions and message size.

The daffodils are just about to bloom and I hear that the Alder and Maple pollen counts are to be 'High' tomorrow.  Winter's over and Uli and I are to leave on Thursday for our annual heli-ski trip :(. I am certain this is all because Santa was good to Jennifer this year and the all ski gear she wanted was shoved down our chimney.  (btw, with a gas fireplace, this was quite an accomplishment).

January 26, 2005.  Today is the first time in 106 years where not one ski lift in the state is operating. I picked a terrible year to give Jennifer really cool new skis and gear for Christmas. bummer...

Reuters just published a little news piece reporting that BillG receives 4 million spam email messages a day.  That's a lot of Rolex, viagra, mortgage loan and cialis ads.  

I was curious, so I looked up the essays he's written on the subject over the past year or so:
- Preserving and Enhancing the Benefits of Email
- A Spam-free future
- Why I Hate Spam

So far today, only 60 messages have been caught in my junk mail filter.

Oh yes......  While there are some glitches in the HDTV support (fixes are in progress), some of the stats are already amazing:

As a 3rd birthday present for WS-I.org, Christian, Andy, Rimas and I have been working on a facelift for the .org web site. I still need to work out some of the kinks over the weekend, but navigating through the huge pile of profiles and other deliverables should be much easier now.

Scoble just reminded me that today is BillG's 49th Birthday.  He suggested November 9 as a day we should take off work and celebrate.  He's right on. We already have projectors rented, 4 XBoxes, 16 guys, infinite beer(s), and the white walls of our new house ready.

I also see there is a fan fest scheduled for the 8th.  I may stop by before swinging through the Redmond Town Center EBGames at midnight.

We went out to dinner last night at Taverne du Passage.  It was the first time I actually liked the Mussels - normally I just tolerate them in deference to the tastes of others. 

Jetlag kicked in hard yesterday afternoon, so I made it an early night and turned in when we got back to the Crown Plaza around 11.  It's not the most amazing hotel I have visited, but the pillows are soft and it is in a convenient location.

Last time I was in Brussels, my favorite beer spot was the LopLop Cafe.  I was bummed to walk past yesterday and find out it is closed.  I did take a few pictures as I was playing tourist in my spare afternoon.  They are posted in unedited form on our web site.

Never one to be thwarted on my quest for good beer, I've been looking forward to tonight's visit to the Bier Circus all week.  Assuming we stay awake through the IPR Policy discussion this afternoon, we may try to put a dent in the over 200 belgian beers they have.

I just upgraded to a Tablet PC, and I am trying to make the most of the handwriting features.  Years ago, I had a PalmPilot, and my printing turned to Scribble.  My handwriting has not recovered - really messing up the recognition.

Kitty brought Friday beers for the team.  She is also planning the Halloween party, and found the world's coolest cooking site! http://www.theyrecoming.com/extras/pumpkinfest03/

I may have to learn to bake.  YUM!