January 2010

It seems January gives lots of changes and opportunities. I first had to clean my website from a trojan which appeared only to be detected with one virus scanner. So I cleaned many html-files manually and check all changes in order to have the best effort. I do not think many users have noticed it, however malware is getting more anoying to fix, and it is always a balance between options on a website and freedom on developing and security.

This month I had some interesting discussions also in courses that I gave in digital evidence in a course on Forensic Economics at the University of Leiden. How do we combine evidence, especially in the fields where no numbers are given, however a subjective conclusion. How do we combine conclusions if there is no calibration between the different fields of expertise ? I worked in different fields of expertise and I know that there are differences between experts and between groups of experts and the conclusions that are drawn. The Bayesian rules might help, however still we need calibration.

Last week I went to inaugural lecture of Prof. dr. Ate Kloosterman, Special Chair of Forensic Biology of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED). It was an excellent overview he gave of the development of DNA analysis of the years. After that there was a reception, and it was very nice to meet also my many of the past colleagues that I did not see for a long time. After a while I was not feeling well, and went out of the reception, and I fell down, since I was very dizzy. I could not stand anymore, since I was sick. In no time there was an ambulance available and checked my heart and I went rapidly to the hospital OLVG nearby. After many examinations in the hospital (MRI, CT-scans, blood, ECG etc) it appeared that I had very probably an infection of the organ of balance, and had to stay in the hospital for two days. For me it was very difficult, since I could not do anything, I could not stand, or send email or send sms messages anymore. I felt very bad that this happened during this party.

However now I am recovering, and total recovery is expected in two weeks (I still use some anti-nausea medicine Primperan), and walking and going on the bicycle should be more easy. It is also a good period to think, so I had to be at home for a week.

Of course also busy with emailing and organizing. The AAFS conference is also soon, so I am preparing. I also have some time to do some reviews, and we are now solliciting for new students for projects. We are also happy that the proficiency test on PRNU is working well, and currently my colleague Wiger and I submitted a new article on a new and faster algorithm for computing PRNU.