My travel schedule remains insane, and I notice that thinking about 'hard' problems is very difficult while travelling. Sigh. Anyhow, those that had beer with me in the last year and a half or so know that I have a severe interest in OBDD-like structures and their applications to cryptanalysis.
So I just wanted to put a reference here to
http://eprint.iacr.org/2006/072.pdf

We at SABRE will be giving a 3-day advanced reverse engineering course this fall in Frankfurt. Check this link if you are interested in that sorta stuff.

History is important. It is VERY cool to see DaveG posting old 8LGM memorabilia. Thanks !

I have to hit the train now. Will read this
on the train -- skimmed it in the subway, and it looks ridiculously interesting (if you happen to be into solving systems of multivariate polynomial equations or into classical algebraic geometry in general). It claims to contain a bridge between multivariate polys over finite fields and univariate polynomials over certain extensions of the same field. We'll see how good it actually is.

Hans Dobbertin died of cancer on the 2nd of February. I did not know him well - I had switched universities in order to write my thesis under his supervision, but shortly after I had arrived at the new university he fell ill. The few times that we talked it was a lot of fun though, and I respected him greatly. There are only a limited number of professors I met in my life that really understood and seemed to appreciate what I am doing, and it did not take much to explain it to Prof Dobbertin (which might have to do with his work prior to becoming a university professor). My condolescences to his family and those that were close to him.

Aside from the personal sadness I feel it is a setback for my Diplomarbeit. But well, that is nothing in the big picture really.