Mississippi State University is now home to one of the world’s greenest supercomputers, according to the newly released Green500 list.

The list ranks the MSU supercomputer, named Talon, as the most energy efficient general-purpose supercomputer in the world, and the ninth most energy efficient system overall. Green500 rates the world’s most powerful supercomputers by the number of calculations performed for every watt of power that they consume.

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That thing up there, that is a super computer. Not the room-sized ones from a few years back. It amazes me how much smaller they’re getting.

The computer is a 256 node IBM iDataPlex. Each node has two hexa-core Intel X5660 processors clocked at 2.8 GHz, 24 GB of RAM, and QDR InfiniBand to connect it all together. In all, there are 3072 cores and 6 TB of memory. And not a disk in sight (that duty, I’m assuming, belongs to the massive data center you see in the background).

I’m so proud of the school. Go State!

To my dad, and dads everywhere, happy Fathers’ Day!

From KFC’s own promotional image, the Double Down doesn’t look that bad. I mean, it’s just two pieces of chicken, delicious looking bacon, and some pretty good looking cheese. Pretty mouthwatering. Thinking more about it, though, it seems like less of a good idea and more of a reason why we’re so fat here in America. There’s a reason why sandwiches use bread as bread, not chicken as bread (even if it is breaded). Never-the-less, the Double Down looked delicious enough to bother to try.

I decided that one day I would go to KFC for lunch and get myself a Double Down. I did just that. I got my brown paper bag with the Colonel’s face plastered on it and a drink. Inside of the bag was a box that looked like it should contain a sandwich. I opened up the box and got the horrible monster that is very unrepresentative of the image KFC uses to advertise the Double Down. I mean, I understand your product not looking as delicious as the pictures. That’s standard fare with fast-food chains. But KFC’s images don’t look that different than their products. Except for the Double Down.

Between two pieces of moist fried chicken (which doesn’t crunch, and is very greasy), the double down had two slices of very sad and wilted bacon and melted white cheese that either looks like the glue holding the whole monstrosity together or something else that I will not mention (and let your mind wander). But, I had to push on, despite the terrible appearance of the product. I took a bite, took another, and instantly felt my arteries clog up with chicken grease, bacon, and glue-like cheese. After finishing the sandwich, the Double Down will leave an aftertaste that makes you think that the cheese has lined your mouth in it’s glue-like substance and your face will feel like the floor of an auto shop with the amount of grease you will be sweating out for the next few hours.

All in all, it wasn’t that bad, but I don’t think I’ll ever buy another one.

Forever the truth that nobody lives forever will be. Life is short, life is fragile, life is precious. We must cherish the moment, hold important the living, mourn our losses, but not dwell on the past. Life is like a lottery. We living are the lucky few. How we spend our lives all vary, but in the end, we all must all give up our wealth. It is an inevitable fact. An irreversible event. A product of entropy.

Sleep well, ole’ sailor, sleep well.

2. Not miss a lecture except for a very good reason (sick, going out of town, natural disaster, family emergency).
I’ve been a bad kid and skipped a few classes. Two days were due to a lower-respiratory infection. I missed about 4 Physics Lectures, 2 Cal III Lectures, and 3 German Lectures. 3 out of 5 classes. Better than last year.

3. Semester GPA between 3.5 and 4.0.
Most of my midterms are in except two classes. A conservative estimate is 3.6 assuming I didn’t do as well as I think I did in German and Cal III.

4. 77 kg.
Between 79kg and 80kg fluctuating.

5. No more Walmart (purchasing).
Almost 3 months sober! Kroger and the Pig are my friends.

6. No more fast-food.
Work schedule has pretty much killed this. Oh well.

7. No more (plastic) bottled drink (2L exception)
I’ve bought 3 bottles worth. Doesn’t help that a vending machine is across the hall from my office.

7b. No more HFC-based soda.
The temptation was too great.

8. No more sweet packaged snack.
I have the cream savers in the bag of diabetes left. Other than that, nothing sweet.

9. Once a week maximum eating out.
As with the fast food issue, work.

10. Find an internship/decent job in the GTR area.
ITS Infrastructure Services. Student Worker. 20 hrs a week. Every afternoon. All day Friday.

First part: I go around town doing random things – don’t quite remember what they were. But I do remember my car was a four-door Audi R8. I don’t know how it would look, just knew it was a four-door Audi R8. I eventually get into a race with a few people, and win.

Second part: I’m underground. I’m some kind of humanoid person, but not. I’m in this room with a bunch of old human things – flashlights, radios, and weapons. I leave the room and a bunch of people start freaking out. The military comes in and starts shooting. I go back into the room with my friend and grab a few things and then go back up and fire back. But the weapons are ineffective and we are both taken down. Oh well. Can’t win everything.

Third part: I’m a super-villain. I’m in a police parking garage. The police are looking for me, but are too dumb to realize that I’m there. They spot me and ask why I’m there. I tell them I’m dropping off my fellow villain to pay a fine and they leave me alone. Then they realize who I am and chase me down the garage, but they loose me. I then see some cops chasing down other cops – there’s a force that enforces the police if they themselves break laws. Like speeding.

Fourth part: I’m in a field somewhere in Europe with a bunch of kids. We all have random parts. It’s part of a Top Gear Challenge. All of the hosts bring something important. Of course, none of it is whole. May has to bring the truck – it’s leaking fuel. Hammond brought stuff to go inside the truck. It’s all second-hand. And Clarkson has to bring parts to make the truck better. He, of course, is 12 hours late. So we have to rush to get the truck working better before time is up. It, of course, barely meets the goals.

I have weird dreams. Like Russian Mafia Bears and Laser Bulldozers.

1. Follow my schedule. Better.
Aside from the sleeping schedule, I’m doing very well.

2. Not miss a lecture except for a very good reason (sick, going out of town, natural disaster, family emergency).
Natural Disaster – the school canceled for a potential winter storm… that really didn’t happen.

3. Semester GPA between 3.5 and 4.0.
Too early in the game.

4. 77 kg.
Down to 81.6kg. Joint a competition with a group of friends online, so I might make the goal this year.

5. No more Walmart (purchasing).
I haven’t even stepped foot.

6. No more fast-food.
Tempted, but nope.

7. No more (plastic) bottled drink (2L exception)
7b. No more HFC-based soda.
Yup. Kept to it.

8. No more sweet packaged snack.
I have my bag of diabetes from this Christmas still. That’s the only thing, though.

9. Once a week maximum eating out.
This one’s hard. Keeping with it.

10. Find an internship/decent job in the GTR area.
Nope.

1. Follow my schedule. Better.
2. Not miss a lecture except for a very good reason (sick, going out of town, natural disaster, family emergency).
3. Semester GPA between 3.5 and 4.0.
4. 77 kg.
5. No more Walmart (purchasing).
6. No more fast-food.
7. No more (plastic) bottled drink (2L exception)
7b. No more HFC-based soda.
8. No more sweet packaged snack.
9. Once a week maximum eating out.
10. Find an internship/decent job in the GTR area.

My bets?

1. Probably last about three to four weeks. But I hope that this prediction doesn’t come true.
2. I’ll stick to this till about the end of the semester. Watch me.
3. If I work hard, 4.0. Otherwise, I’ll end up on the lower end of the resolution.
4. Probably not this year. But you never know.
5. There’ll be something I can’t get anywhere else in Starkville and I won’t want to go to Columbus to get it. That’ll be it. 4 – 5 months.
6. I’ll crave something and go for it anyways. 3 months.
7. If I’m good, I’ll stick to this one for at least 6 months or so. I’ll just end up getting glass bottles (which the BP near my apt does sell). Only problem is 7b – Coke Zero does not come in glass.
8. Easy. I really only eat this at home. 8 – 12 months.
9. I know my friends will tempt me to go out. 3 – 5 months.
10. With this job market, not sure about it.

Last Friday, I went into the Health Center claiming short of breath, coughing, and headaches. They said I had the common cold and sent me away with basic meds to treat some of the symptoms. They said if it got worse or didn’t improve in a week to come in. Well, Thursday night, it suddenly got worse again and stayed bad Friday.

I come in and the nurses immediately send me to a MD. They took my blood, x-rayed my chest, and the doctor looked at the results and listened to my lungs. He said pneumonia and sent me into another room for treatment. An hour later, I’m sent away with antibiotics and an inhaler with meds to help with breathing.

It’s working, but not quick enough. *sigh*