Ranger—the most powerful computing system in the world for open scientific research—entered full production on 4 February at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas at Austin, U.S.

With 62,976 microprocessor cores, Ranger is 50,000 times more powerful than today’s PCs and is now the largest computing resource on the U.S.-wide Teragrid.

Ranger set to fuel new era of scientific discovery

Core Dump hahah

Geek Pub

In the great British tradition of "rob someone's house then leave your mobile at the scene", two London men have been jailed for burglary after the satnav system in the vehicle used for the blags stored the addresses of every house they hit.

Ian Bansie, 33, used his work's motor to ferry 31-year-old accomplice Steve Warrington to ten homes in Reigate, Surrey, completely unaware that the satellite navigation system was dutifully keeping a record of their crime spree.

Bansie will now spend the next 32 months in a place where satnav is of limited used - at Her Majesty's Pleasure - after Guildford Crown Court jailed both him and Warrington, the latter for an immobilising four years. ®

Satnav fingers bungling burglars

geoHist is a (relatively) simple program I wrote to log GPS data retrieved from GPSD into a
MySQL database. It is designed to meet the following requirements:

* Standalone
* Run from system startup to shutdown
* Small/fast, non-intrusive
* Robust
* Log data to an SQL database

Description

geoHist will poll GPSD every 10 seconds and then send that data to a
preconfigured MySQL database. It will attempt to detect if you are standing
still, and if you are then it will NOT log the data. It decides this using a
simple drift factor. It will always log position to the database at least
once if there is a satellite fix.

I designed geoHist to be used with my linux-based car computer. It is designed
to be configured once, and never touched again (except to export data).
System Requirements

* GPSD (http://gpsd.berlios.de)
* A GPS device that works with GPSD
* MySQL (http://www.mysql.com)

Anyone want to help me write a program to pull the data out of the DB?

geoHist - standalone GPSD MySQL Logging Daemon

HUGE! GIGANTIC! HUMONGOUS! The 34" By OVER 4" size of this roll of TP will boggle your mind! This is enough tissue here to read the entire dictionary...backwards!
Do you own a remote cabin or a fishing camp, a large business or maybe you need the best gag gift ever?? Can't you just imagine what you can write on the gift card? This is the answer to your every toilet paper need or your practical joke dreams. This will be the largest roll of toilet paper you or any of your friends have ever seen. It measures over 34 inches in diameter and a little over 4 inches wide (this is typical width). This toilet tissue is tightly wound and will last and last and last! You won't pick this roll up with one hand cuz IT IS HEAVY!
There are many places where running out of tissue is a tragedy and where running to the store is extra difficult. This mega-roll IS the answer!
Two things to know before bidding. First, flat rate shipping is $29.00 anywhere in the 40 continental states (remember, this is one heavy roll!). I will not ship this anywhere except the 48 states. Secondly, this is not the rough kind of tissue you'd expect in some third world country but neither is it double quilted, extra fluffy or made from virgin cotton etc. I would rate it as standard quality or average quality AND... it is not perforated in neat squares. You will have to actually tear the required amount from the roll. Not a big tissue-issue but worth mentioning. null

Now you will have something to wipe with when told, "your full of shit"...

GIANT 34" Toilet Paper Tissue Roll LIFETIME SUPPLY ?

At least 54 people were killed and hundreds injured Tuesday and Wednesday by dozens of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama in the nation's deadliest barrage of twisters in almost 23 years. In spite of the disasters, state and local emergency management officials once again discovered that they could call on Amateur Radio operators to help out and get communications up and going again after the infrastructure failed.

According to ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, "Four people were killed in Alabama as the storms damaged homes, caused flooding and downed trees and power lines. North Alabama SKYWARN, ARES and scores of Amateur Radio operators were up all night long, providing vital communications to the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agencies all across the region. Once again, Amateur Radio operators played a critical role before, during and after the storms. I am proud of the level of professionalism and critical information that these operators provided our served agencies."

Hundreds of houses were damaged or destroyed across the region. Authorities had no immediate cost estimate of the damage. The storms flattened entire streets, smashed warehouses and sent tractor-trailers flying. Houses were reduced to splintered piles of lumber. Some looked like life-size dollhouses, their walls sheared away. Crews going door-to-door to search for bodies had to contend with downed power lines, snapped trees and flipped-over cars. Near hard-hit Lafayette, Tennessee, cattle wandered through the debris. At least 12 people died in and around the town; more than 30 were killed in Tennessee alone.

Amateurs Lend a Hand as Deadly Storms Sweep across Southern United States

* Los Angeles County Hams Honored for Community Service: On February 27, members of the Disaster Communications Service (DCS), based at the Carson Sheriff Station, received individual and group awards from the State of California, the County of Los Angeles, the Carson Sheriff Station Support Foundation and the City of Carson, California for their participation in a wide range of both planned and emergent events. These 27 Amateur Radio operators provided almost 8000 hours of service to the agencies, including assisting in providing assistance during a bicycle race, tactical alerts due to civil unrest, funerals for fallen deputy sheriffs and the fires that plagued Southern California. Members of their Rapid Deployment Team spent five days on Catalina Island, serving as the primary means of communication between the island and the mainland until telephone systems were restored. The service provided by the Carson Station DCS volunteers saved the taxpayers of Los Angeles County almost $320,000, "but more importantly, they selflessly provided an invaluable service that is a critical component to the safety of our communities and families," the DCS coordinator said. Thirteen deputies, a firefighter, two station volunteers and two citizens were also recognized in the second annual event that pays tribute to Carson sheriff's deputies and supporters for their work in the city. More information can be found at the Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Web page .

Los Angeles County Hams Honored for Community Service

MESSAGE: MESSAGE:

DTG: 20080304/0031Z VAAC: WASHINGTON
VOLCANO: ANATAHAN 0804-20
PSN: N1621 E14539 AREA: MARIANA.ISLANDS
SUMMIT ELEV: 2585 FT (788 M)
ADVISORY NR: 2008/056
INFO SOURCE: MTSAT. GFS WINDS. RADIOSONDE.
ERUPTION DETAILS: ONGOING EMISSIONS
OBS VA DTG: 03/2330Z
OBS VA CLD: SFC/FL060 40NM WIDE LINE BETWEEN
N1910 E14810 - N1624 E14544. ASH IS MOVING NE
5-10 KNOTS.
FCST VA CLD +6HR: 04/0530Z SFC/FL060 40NM WIDE
LINE BETWEEN N1858 E14823 - N1628 E14543.
FCST VA CLD +12HR: 04/1130Z SFC/FL060 40NM WIDE
LINE BETWEEN N1854 E14826 - N1626 E14546.
FCST VA CLD +18HR: 04/1730Z SFC/FL060 40NM WIDE
LINE BETWEEN N1842 E14831 - N1626 E14546.
RMK: MORNING VISIBLE IMAGERY REVEALS A 35-40 NMI
WIDE PLUME EXTENDING AT LEAST 215 NMI TO THE
NORTHEAST OF THE VOLCANO OR TO ABOUT 19N 148E.
GFS AND SOUNDINGS SUGGEST A SLIGHTLY LOWER HEIGHT
AT ABOUT FL060. SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST
WINDS COULD BE UP TO 15KTS. ...BALDWIN
NXT ADVISORY: WILL BE ISSUED BY 20080304/0630

Whats up in the MARIANA.ISLANDS?

VOLCANIC ASH ADVISORY

Police in Las Vegas said a man is in critical condition after staying in a motel room where ricin, a deadly poison, was later found.

And he says it is not his.... hmmm who was in this room before?

Man in Critical Condition in Ricin Case

The consequences of quitting exercise may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that determined that the weight gained during an exercise hiatus can be tough to shed when exercise is resumed at a later date.

The study, conducted by Paul Williams of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, found that the key to staying trim is to remain active year-round, year-after-year, and to avoid seasonal and irregular exercise patterns. Most of all, don’t quit. Failure to do so may be a contributing factor in the nation’s obesity epidemic.

“The price to pay for quitting exercise is higher than expected, and this price may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic affecting Americans,” says Williams, whose study is published in the February issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise

Quit Jack and Get Fat! :P

Irregular Exercise Pattern May Add Pounds