Connections 2003 moved this year from Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Rome, NY. This was the 11th year of conference, and as usual, was on its best behaviour--filled with informative lectures, mixed in with a "game night" and a "demo night." Most times, Connections is held in February, but this year, it was July 15-18. If going south in winter is a nice break, then going north in summer is pretty good too.

I could have flown, but I decided to drive the five hours from MagWeb.com HQ in Stockton, NJ to Rome, NY. AFRL doesn't have much of a base left--Griffiss Air Force Base has been turned into Griffiss Business and Technology Park for the most part. You still have to go through security, but only into buildings, not onto the "base." It's a bit odd because AFRL does all sorts of signals and electronic warfare research.

The conference was in the main auditorium, with the conference room across the hall providing the break area and general hobnobbing. Demo night and Game Night were held in an adjacent building where the computing power is kept. An outside porch served as a great first night "icebreaker" location.

There's no base housing, so it was the Quality Inn in the nearby town of Rome, about 10 minutes by car, where we stayed. It's across the street from Fort Stanwix, where the Continentals held off the British during the Saratoga Campaign, and near the battlefield for the Battle of Olentangy, where an Indian ambush and attack was repulsed. I never did get to either place, although I drove past the wooden stockade style fort several times.

About 50-60 of us were at Connections, which is a nice size to interact over four days, especially if you've seen these folks over the years. I seem to have enjoyed the conference too much this year, as my notes are skimpy--I only took notes for three of the 25 or so lectures.

I would like to thank Dr. David Ross of AFRL for organizing and hosting the event, and sharing Master of Ceremonies duties with Col. Matt Caffrey.

More Connections 2003

Welcome and Introduction
Lecture: Modeling the Impacts of Information (Jim Dunnigan)
Lecture: Weapons of Mass Destruction Scenarios for Homeland Security (Lt. Roger Mason)
Lecture: Progress in Modelling Cascading Effects (Dr. Steve Rinaldi)
Demo Night
Game Night: Peloponesian War

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