In a kind of postscript, Ellie, acting upon a suggestion by the senders of the Message, works on a program which computes the digits of π to record lengths and in different bases. Very, very far from the decimal point (10^20) and in base 11, it finds that a special pattern does exist when the numbers stop varying randomly and start producing 1's and 0's in a very long string. The string's length is the product of 11 prime numbers. The 1's and 0's when organized as a square of specific dimensions form a perfect circle.

The extraterrestrials suggest that this is an unmistakably intelligent artifact, an artist's signature, woven into the fabric of space. It is another Message, one from the universe's creator. Yet the extraterrestrials are just as ignorant to its meaning as Ellie, as it could be still some sort of a statistical anomaly. They also make reference to older artifacts built from space time itself (namely the wormhole transit system) abandoned by a prior civilization. A line in the book suggests that the image is a foretaste of deeper marvels hidden even farther within Pi. This new pursuit becomes analogous to SETI; it is another search for meaningful signals in apparent noise.

This is neato.

Contact (novel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The homeless man's head rested on his backpack, his yellow prescription glasses still on his face.

To the railroad detective, who spotted the rag-tag man loitering in the tree-shaded lot by the tracks the day before, it looked like he was taking a nap.

But the man wasn't sleeping. He was dead, covered in ants. Investigators found pennies and denture adhesive in the pockets, insulin and syringes in his backpack and a MARTA card and a Six Flags Over Georgia contract employee ID in his wallet.

Fulton County Medical Examiner's case 07-0989 appeared to be open and shut: Life expectancy is not good for 63-year-old alcoholic diabetics on the street.

But the life and death of the former Atlanta city official, who worked for Mayor Andrew Young in the 1980s and was known by two other future mayors, was anything but simple.

Robert F. Sumbry apparently never recovered from a hard, notorious fall that sent him to federal prison and forever altered his life.

Sumbry's nine siblings had not heard from him in at least 15 years, a sister in Florida said. He just faded away after being released from prison.

Ex-Atlanta official dies homeless | ajc.com

The documents, to be publicly released next week, also include accounts of break-ins and theft, the agency's opening of private mail to and from China and the Soviet Union, wiretaps and surveillance of journalists, and a series of "unwitting" tests on U.S. civilians, including the use of drugs.

CIA to reveal 'skeletons' / Agency to declassify records of abuses, from domestic spying to assassination attempts

What this has amounted to is what is being termed, "the rise of U.S. nuclear primacy."

If this phrase rings a bell, it's because of the small firestorm created last year when two American academics, Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press, published "The Rise of U.S. Nuclear Primacy" in the March/April issue of Foreign Affairs. The authors argued that the United States is consciously refining its nuclear forces so as to be able to knock out Russia's rump arsenal and command and control system, thereby achieving first-strike capability, or "primacy," for the first time since the early 1960s. They do not argue or imply that such an attack is in the offing, but merely state that the looming fact of U.S. nuclear primacy is potentially destabilizing and is essential to keep in mind when framing flashpoints in the U.S.-Russian security dialogue - flashpoints like missile defense. Since this larger context has gone missing lately, with U.S. officials and editorialists haughtily dismissing Russian concerns as "ridiculous" and "anachronistic," it seems like a good time to revisit their article.

eXile - Issue #265 - MAD

This is where the tape goes from light comedy to what-the-fuck paranoia fuel. Remember, so far no one has denied the authenticity of the tapes, they've only accused the enemies of the pro-Western leaders, namely The Kremlin, of trying to discredit them. In the great kompromat days, this was how victims of leaked conversations used to essentially confirm the tapes' authenticity: by blaming the leak on their enemies, rather than denying that the conversations ever took place.

The eXile has gotten incredibly dark and depressing as Russia descends into Putin's totalitarian fascism.

eXile - Issue #265 - Feature Story - Nato Stooges Unplugged

CED’s Tech 2007 will explore the future of emerging and converging technologies that are reshaping today’s hottest industries. Now in its 17th year, Tech 2007 will focus on the latest cutting-edge markets and global opportunities in clean technologies, medical devices, new materials, nanotechnology and more, as well as telecom, internet, software and hardware.

Using a range of session formats – from nationally respected keynotes to smaller, interactive workshops - Tech 2007 will incite conversations about technologies and products that will change the way we live, communicate, and think. Tech 2007 will showcase more than 40 innovative technologies from entrepreneurial companies, university groups, corporations and research institutions from across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic; and unite the creators of exciting, novel technologies with the industry's top technology and business influencers. Join us in October and . . .

Tech 2007 - Council For Entrepreneurial Development

Asshole Driven development (ADD) - Any team where the biggest jerk makes all the big decisions is asshole driven development. All wisdom, logic or process goes out the window when Mr. Asshole is in the room, doing whatever idiotic, selfish thing he thinks%

scottberkun.com � Blog Archive � Asshole driven development

At CED's Tech 2007 Conference, CED is pleased to showcase the most innovative technologies, pre-company to later stage, from across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic region.

APPLY NOW to take advantage of the early-bird demo application discount valid through June 30, 2007.
About Applying to Demo

* Please review the Demo Application Criteria and benefits before applying.
* CED is recruiting the best technologies in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic to demo at Tech 2007.
* Please complete the following application in its entirety. An asterisk ( * ) indicates required information.
* The Council for Entrepreneurial Development takes every precaution to protect our users' information. All information submitted is kept confidential amongst CED and the Tech Conference Selection Committee. Your information is protected both on- and off-line.
* If you have questions about the selection process, contact Dhruv Patel at dpatel@cednc.org or 919.549.7500 x118.
* Applications must be completed by July 27, 2007. You can start your application and save your work; however, only applications that are completed in their entirety will be eligible for selection.

Apply to get some of that research triangle money for your startup.

Tech 2007: Application to Demo: Council for Entrepreneurial Development

Apache Cocoon

Apache Cocoon is a web development framework built around the concepts of separation of concerns and component-based web development.

Cocoon implements these concepts around the notion of 'component pipelines', each component on the pipeline specializing on a particular operation. This makes it possible to use a Lego(tm)-like approach in building web solutions, hooking together components into pipelines without any required programming.

Cocoon is "web glue for your web application development needs". It is a glue that keeps concerns separate and allows parallel evolution of all aspects of a web application, improving development pace and reducing the chance of conflicts.

Neat.

The Apache Cocoon Project

JasperReports
Introduction

JasperReports is a powerful—and even more important—well known open source Java reporting tool that has the ability to deliver rich content in formats such as PDF, RTF, HTML, CSV and XML. It is widely used and appreciated in the Java community because of its flexibility and the availability of various GUI tools for rapid report design.

The following paragraphs explain how to interface Rails and JasperReports.

HowtoIntegrateJasperReports in Ruby on Rails