Top 500
After one stellar year for the top 500 supercomputers, this past update has shown a bit of a slow down. This is was not totally unexpected as there weren't many major new computers added in the past six months. It seems that whenever there's a new top computer, there's a sudden influx in the total FLOPS all 500 computers produce, but then it stagnates for a bit. Not that this past 6 months was terribly stagnant. The overall FLOPS produced by all 500 computers increased by 33%, just under the average of 37%.
The question now is when will the next big update come. There seems to be a new top computer every 1 to 2 years, however that time seems to increasing. BlueGene managed to hold the top spot for 3 years by continuously updating. However, during that whole time, there weren't any close competitors. The current second place computer is only slightly slower than the current top computer, Roadrunner, so it might not hold the top spot for long.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
State Names
I forgot what got me interested, but I decided to find out the origin of the names of all the states. I have two maps, one showing the what language the name came from, the other showing the meaning.
What was most surprising to me is how many names are disputed or have unclear origins. You might notice that some names are disputed on one map, but not on the other. In the case of Maine and Rhode Island, the names are obviously European in origin, but what the names refer to is unknown. Similarly, Oregon's name is disputed, but all theories point to it coming from an Algonquian language. On the opposite side, the linguistic origin of Arizona is unknown, but all theories say the name is descriptive, regardless of origin.
This just leaves Idaho and California. California is very likely Spanish as one of the first mentioning of the name come from a Spanish novel. However, where the author got the name is disputed. As for Idaho, there is good evidence that the name is a hoax, and was just made up by some congressman as a proposed name for a new territory. The funny part is, the name he proposed was originally rejected, but picked up popularity and eventually became the name of a state.
One state the presents a problem is West Virginia. Even though it uses a name that refers to Queen Elizabeth, the state wasn't specifically named after her, but rather was named after the state it used to be part of.
Delaware also confused me as I had heard it used as the name of a Native American tribe. Turns out it's a bastardization of a French name. The Native American tribe was actually the Lenape, but were also called the Delaware because that's where they lived.
What was most surprising to me is how many names are disputed or have unclear origins. You might notice that some names are disputed on one map, but not on the other. In the case of Maine and Rhode Island, the names are obviously European in origin, but what the names refer to is unknown. Similarly, Oregon's name is disputed, but all theories point to it coming from an Algonquian language. On the opposite side, the linguistic origin of Arizona is unknown, but all theories say the name is descriptive, regardless of origin.
This just leaves Idaho and California. California is very likely Spanish as one of the first mentioning of the name come from a Spanish novel. However, where the author got the name is disputed. As for Idaho, there is good evidence that the name is a hoax, and was just made up by some congressman as a proposed name for a new territory. The funny part is, the name he proposed was originally rejected, but picked up popularity and eventually became the name of a state.
One state the presents a problem is West Virginia. Even though it uses a name that refers to Queen Elizabeth, the state wasn't specifically named after her, but rather was named after the state it used to be part of.
Delaware also confused me as I had heard it used as the name of a Native American tribe. Turns out it's a bastardization of a French name. The Native American tribe was actually the Lenape, but were also called the Delaware because that's where they lived.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Greenland has elections?
World Elections
I'm sure most of you are all caught up the in the excitement of the upcoming European Parliament elections, so it's understandable that you may have missed this one.
Back in November, Greenlandic voters approved a referendum to extend home rule. The new laws are set to go into effect later this month, so they thought it prudent to hold a legislative election before then.
In a shocking blow, the socialist party that has lead Greenland since the beginning of home rule in 1979 lost to a socialist party that was a little more pro-independence. They are not going to enter into a coalition, meaning both the government and the opposition are being led by socialist parties.
I'm sure most of you are all caught up the in the excitement of the upcoming European Parliament elections, so it's understandable that you may have missed this one.
Back in November, Greenlandic voters approved a referendum to extend home rule. The new laws are set to go into effect later this month, so they thought it prudent to hold a legislative election before then.
In a shocking blow, the socialist party that has lead Greenland since the beginning of home rule in 1979 lost to a socialist party that was a little more pro-independence. They are not going to enter into a coalition, meaning both the government and the opposition are being led by socialist parties.
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