2010 FACUG Technology Cruise/Conference next February!
The Florida Association of Computer User Groups (FACUG) is going to hold their next spring conference aboard the Norwegian Sky cruise ship.  We will sail from Miami on Friday, February 26, 2010.  We'll be calling on Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, and we'll return to Miami on Monday, March 1, 2010.

The cruise prices are wonderful: $233.37 per passenger including taxes, fees, and gratuities (in the cheapest cabins), and the conference is only $50 for TBCS members and their spouses.  We'll have presentations, programs, vendors, cruise adventure, and fantastic food and activities.

There are only 99 of the cheapest cabins available (although the other prices are excellent also).  This one is filling very fast so you want to make a decision soon.  Go to:
www.facug.org for details and registration.

Notes: You will need a passport for this, and you can't escape me all that easy... FACUG has asked me to be the kickoff speaker on Friday.

Special Presentation last Friday
Thanks to those who showed up live or online for either the morning or evening special session that I promoted last Friday.  Almost 100 people total joined us for the event, and most were interested in taking a second look.

The video I showed came from the Discovery Channel described the genesis of the new science of Network Theory.  This new science has already become important in a wide variety of areas:  particle physics, computer science, biology, economics, sociology and more.  The video traces how the urban legend "6 degrees of separation" set mathematicians of this exciting new path.

One of the reasons I didn't want to give the name of the broadcast in advance was due to the fanciful nature of its title: "How Kevin Bacon Cured Cancer".  However, the audience was well-pleased with the information revealed.  If you have an inquiring mind, I highly recommend watching it.  The show is 55 minutes long, and is in 3 parts:
http://www.vimeo.com/2477265

Mapping the Human ‘Diseasome’
There are genetic commonalities that link different human diseases.  Researchers have created this map which highlights those links (represented by circles) to the genes they have in common (represented by squares):
http://tinyurl.com/6s9kwv

Since only about 10% of the genes that contribute to breast cancer have, as of yet, been discovered, scientists are hoping this map will help them fill in the blanks.

NOTE: When you hover over an area and click, it becomes enlarged.

Along a similar line (and of interest to you Sudoku puzzlers)
"Geneticists have a found a way to use Sudoku to sequence more than a 100,000 DNA samples.  Until now, only a single DNA sample could be sequenced at a time.

Not only does the new method save time and improve efficiency, but it dramatically cuts cost.  A sequencing project that uses conventional methods can cost $10 million. But that figure can be cut to $80,000 or less by using the Soduku method":
http://tinyurl.com/ny3ocf

Phil Sullivan's Hands-On Windows XP Beginner's Classes
Four 2-hour classes on Mondays 9:30-11:30am  $40 (NO make-up)
Since these are hands-on classes, they will be limited to only 6 people.
You MUST register for these in advance (see below).  Minimum class size is 3 students.
Here's Phil's schedule for the rest of the year: