November 23rd, 2009
The Intel Server System Infrastructure (SSI) Project has a lofty goal: To standardize the hardware for x86/x86_64 based blade servers and their backplanes. This is an enterprise and academic computing game changer without a doubt, but its current incarnation leaves a big hole in the debugability and security for applications and operating systems running on theblades.
July 7th, 2009
I’m an avid private pilot in my spare time; now that my coursework is largely complete at the University of Utah, I’ve had a few spare minutes here and there to fly both on the computer and in the real world. While I was waiting for X-Plane and Microsoft Flight Simulator X to install, update, install add-ons, etc, I dusted off my old Flight Unlimited 3 and Flight Unlimited 2 disks and did an install of the old classic on my MacBook Pro with wine.
After it was installed, I went searching the internet far and wide for what proved to be a nearly unreachable prize — the 2.0 patch to Flight Unlimited 3. It took several hours of crawling, and ultimately registering for a Finnish website (using google translate to help along the way) to find the patch. To save everyone else the trouble, consider this a silly gift from me to you:
FU3PATCH 2.0, US Edition (Download)
If you’ve got a copy of the UK edition or other world editions, please send them to me and I’ll include them here!
June 21st, 2009
I’m doing my PhD research in the Telescope Array Physics group at the University of Utah.
One of the great mysteries of High Energy physics is the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays; the Pierre Auger experiment has given weak evidence that active galactic nuclei are a potential source, but this analysis is far from conclusive. One area of interest which I’m pursuing (and an area which will probably make its way into my thesis) involves confirming these results through improved modeling of the data processing for the Telescope Array experiment and its predecessor, HiRes, by correcting what is potentially a serious analysis error that eliminates the ability to confirm Auger’s result.
The essence of this error lies in the method used to find and remove events triggered from lasers from the Telescope Array and HiRes data sets. Without publicly revealing too many details until the analysis is complete, it is plausible that correcting this error will lead to a reevaluation of the origins of Cosmic Rays which could be compatible with the Auger collaboration’s results.
July 30th, 2008
The targeted advertising landscape is starting to go another through a major overhaul, and it’s certainly no stranger to change. By utilizing computers, statistical analysis, deep packet capture, cross-user correlation, and fast computation technology, companies are poised to cause consumers and advertisers alike to change the way products are sold. Sales will become more efficient (less cost-per-conversion), consumers won’t see ads for things they wouldn’t be interested in, and markets will take another step toward ultimate Adam Smith style efficiency.
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May 31st, 2008
Utah’s draft Real Estate Purchase Contract (REPC) is online and currently in it’s public comment phase. I’ve given the state my feedback on the contract. I’m quite happy to see that the contract has language governing e-mail transmissions and other electronic transmissions, but I was disappointed to see that the Real Estate Commission has yet to address the confusing verbage at the top of the contract:
Utah law requires real estate licensees to use this form. Buyer and Seller, however, may agree to alter or delete its provisions or to use a different form.
April 1st, 2008
I regularly use 5 computers a week — one at my office at the University of Utah, one at my office at Solera Networks, one at my home office, a laptop as a research terminal, and a laptop for Solera work. This presents a serious challenge, inasmuch as there is data which I’d like to be present and modifiable in each place without worrying about copying files to-and-fro over and over again.
March 20th, 2008
In my Spring 2007 Electrodynamics II class at the University of Utah, Dr. Efros mentioned odd possibilities with respect to Left-Handed Materials (LHMs) in our universe. LHMs are a special kind of material (lovingly called a meta-material) which have electromagnetic properties contrary to what we’re used to experiencing in our every-day world.
Dr. Efros hypothesized about how these LHMs would affect the matter distribution in the Universe. He showed how divergent electromagnetic waves (including light) could be re-focused while travelling through the LHM, which would skew the matter distribution seen in the Universe (things would appear closer than they actually are). He also suggested that he couldn’t think of a way in which we would know that this is happening.
I believe that we could determine if this is happening, in principle, using standard candles as a yardstick to compare with galactic redshift. Although light from celestial objects would appear refocused, they would still be subject to redshift effects. By comparing the two, we could in principle determine if we’re peering through LHMs.
