His classy resignation protest letter to NBC shows why I’ve always stood up for Conan.

I love this blog and not just because I’m a (poser) nerd. Professor Lipton really makes mathematical and computational topics accessible.

Michael Homan’s and Abdulrahman Zeitoun’s accounts of their ordeals during the Flood hit really close to home. Their stories come closest to what my father went through during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. People are awful. People are amazing. Such is humanity.

“In 1998, aged just 14, aspiring young cartoonist Amir Avni decided to get in touch with the creator of Ren & Stimpy, John Kricfalusi. Being a hardcore fan of Kricfalusi’s work, Amir sent him an introductory letter along with a few cartoons he’d drawn, some of which contained relatively unknown characters of John’s. To call Kricfalusi’s response ‘generous’ would be an understatement.”

"Additionally, the passengers on the airplane worked. For years I've said that exactly two things have made us safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door and convincing passengers that they need to fight back. It was the second of these that, on Christmas Day, quickly subdued Abdulmutallab after he set his pants on fire."

"Since their hurried and heavily politicized creation, the fact is that neither the priorities nor the spending patterns of the Department of Homeland Security and its junior partner, the Transportation Security Administration, has ever been subject to serious scrutiny. They have never been forced to make hard choices."

"You can't catch terrorists by casting a broad net. You catch terrorists with good police work. You look at networks, suspicious behavior, clues. Ignoring the desperate plea of a father who goes to the CIA with information about his son being radicalized in Yemen, but then patting down 170 million Nigerians ever after, is brain dead."

"According to Ben Wallace, a Conservative M.P. who helped develop the scanners for airport use, they are good at revealing dense objects such as guns, knives, and C4 plastic explosive but miss low-density material such as the three ounces of PETN powder Abdulmutallab carried."

Lucius – 20,000 ft. Jake – 13,500 ft. Good news, but feasible given the completions link below?

"We are drilling wells now that we can't complete," said Kevin Lacy, VP of drilling and completion in the Gulf of Mexico for BP. Some of the wells are possible because of high-spec drilling equipment, he noted, but the completions equipment is not yet available. "We're starting to see (conditions) in excess of 15,000psi." Other looming challenges include wells beyond 30,000ft, bottomhole pressures exceeding 20,000psi, temperatures over 250° F, hard-to-reach bottomhole locations, complex sand face completions and complex intervention requirements, Lacy said.

Integration, information sharing and interoperability across platforms for emergency services. All very important and good. Even if built on open-source, let's hope against technological lock-in.

What was up with federal CTO Aneesh Chopra nervously frat-giggling his way through the live video chat? It looked more like a PC vs Mac commercial than the announcement of, you know, an important government technology initiative.

"In 2001, during a conference sponsored by the European Science Foundation, four major impediments to the greater use of subsurface geological modeling by a broad spectrum of users were identified. These constraints were: (1) a lack of 3D/4D mathematical, cognitive, and statistical spatial tools, (2) a lack of cheap modeling tools designed for the shallow subsurface that can be operated without specialist personnel, (3) the inability of models to depict natural variability of geological systems, and (4) a shortage of case histories. By 2008, these constraints had been largely overcome with the use of new modeling software and techniques and, importantly, with an understanding of the needs of the client."

On the one hand, making a shopping list of gifts. On the other, being a grinch because my tree isn't up yet. (Yes, my tree, ha ha ha.)

I've signed up as a scientist. Have you? "It’s a 'nationwide initiative,' a collaboration between government and more than 200 public- and-private sector organizations that aims to connect students in grades 6-12 with project-based learning experiences." Wish I could help out this teacher: "One ambitious project looking for a scientist in the classroom is based in Coeur D Alene, Idaho. The description reads: 'I would like to build a working model of a river watershed in my classroom.'"

A good round-up of current 3d mapping technology. Everyone jump on the 3D, high-level-of-detail bandwagon now when you wouldn't a year ago!