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2026-01-22: Paper Summary: "Towards a better QA process: Automatic detection of quality problems in archived websites using visual comparisons"

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Figure 1: Example of an image pair from Reyes Ayala’s dataset of a live web page (left screenshot) and an archived web page (right screenshot) . For the Game Walkthroughs and Web Archiving project , we have created web archiving livestreams ( example livestream ) that use tools to measure the performance of a web archive crawler during the livestream. In a previous blog post , I compared six different approaches for measuring web archiving and replay performance metrics so that I could identify tools that could be used during our future web archiving livestreams. In this post, I will summarize another related work (“ Towards a better QA process: Automatic detection of quality problems in archived websites using visual comparisons ”) by Brenda Reyes Ayala that determines the quality of an archived web page by comparing screenshots of the live web page and archived web page.   Reyes Ayala, B. (2025). Towards a better QA process: Automatic detection of quality problems in archived we...
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2026-01-20: Time Zones Stretch Further Than You Think – 26 Hours Apart

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  Figure 1: Two extreme time zones – Baker Island (UTC-12:00) and Line Islands (UTC+14:00), adapted from International Date Line, Wikipedia . The International Date Line divides the world into multiple time zones. Initially, the idea was to divide the globe into 24 longitudinal slices, each about 15° wide. Theoretically, this would give us 24 time zones, each with a one-hour difference, defined by an offset from a reference time, the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) .  In actuality, there are more than 24 time zones. Some regions use half-hour or even quarter-hour offsets rather than full hours - for example, Nepal ( UTC+5:45 ). In reality, time zones extend beyond 15° longitude because of political reasons, governance, economic aspects, geographical boundaries, and other conveniences. As a result, there are currently a total of 38 time zones . Extreme Time Zones, Side by Side The International Date Line is not a perfect straight line; rather it is a zig-zag to keep some r...
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2026-01-14: Reflections on the Teaching Experience

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In the fall of 2025 , I was presented with the exciting opportunity to teach CS 433/533: Web Security at Old Dominion University (ODU) . This course was designed and previously taught by Dr. Michael L. Nelson . Having experienced this class firsthand as a student, I was thrilled to transition into the role of an instructor, bringing my unique perspective to the curriculum. Through this blog, I aim to share my journey and insights from teaching this course, with the hope that my experiences will serve as a useful resource for fellow colleagues and those venturing into teaching for the first time.  The goal of this course was to review common web security vulnerabilities and exploits, along with the defenses designed to counter them. Students explored topics such as browser security models, web application vulnerabilities, and various attack and defense mechanisms including injection, denial-of-service , cross-site scripting , and more. Alongside theoretical knowledge, students also...
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2026-01-12: ODU CS 2025 Trick-or-Research Event Recap

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  The Department of Computer Science (CS) at Old Dominion University (ODU) hosted its annual Trick-or-Research event on October 31, 2025 , blending academic exploration with Halloween-inspired creativity. Check out our previous Trick-or-Research blog posts for 2021 , 2022 , 2023 , and 2024 . Building on the success of previous years, this event brought together faculty, staff, and students to showcase the department’s cutting-edge research and encourage new collaborations. Designed especially to introduce undergraduate students to the wide range of research opportunities within the department, Trick-or-Research featured interactive lab tours, engaging demonstrations, and opportunities to network with professors and join research groups. 🎃 Trick or Research! | ODU CS Lab Tours 2025 👩‍💻👻 Tour CS labs, meet faculty & grad students, and win prizes! — Computer Science Graduate Society - ODU (@CSGS_ODU) October 13, 2025 Participants explored CS research labs in person at The...
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