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Polar Bears Greet Sub In Arctic

polar bears greet sub

Photos of polar bears greeting a submarine surfacing through the Arctic ice “were taken by Capt. Myron Balchin Sr. of the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Honolulu, 280 miles from the North Pole.” I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising to see this kind of encounter. In fact, “during the ICEX 2003 naval exercises near the North Pole, the American submarine Connecticut (SSN 22) poked its sail and rudder through the ice” and a polar bear attacked the rear rudder.

via growabrain
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Google Files For IPO

Yesterday Google registered with the SEC for a $2.7 billion IPO. Speculation has been rampant about if and when Google would make this move, spurred on by the fact that the company was compelled to reveal its internal finances today due to the amount of revenue and stock-owning employees it has amassed. Reading some of the many articles about this IPO hasn’t given me much more insight just yet, although it seems like many caution against jumping on the bandwagon right away. However, there is no doubt that it’s a very attractive prospect, to say the least. Especially enticing is the fact that Google will sell “$2.7 billion of its stock to the public through [a Dutch] auction process in an attempt to make sure individuals as well as institutions can buy the shares.” I’m still on the fence about whether I want to get in on this; we all have several months to think about it, at least…

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BASIC Turns 40

APNews reports:

10 PRINT "In 1963 two Dartmouth College math professors had a radical"

20 PRINT "idea - create a computer language muscular enough to harness"

30 PRINT "the power of the period's computers, yet simple enough that even"

40 PRINT "the school's janitors could use it."

50 END

I remember learning BASIC back in elementary school; I had no idea the language was that old, though…

via Slashdot
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Dick Cheney Holds W’s Hand In Front Of 9/11 Commisison

As most of you probably know, W and Dick Cheney are holding a private session with the 9/11 Commission in the Oval Office today. Neither of them are under oath, and W has drawn fire for not appearing before the commission alone, as everyone else has. No stenographers are to be present and the session is not being recorded, although officials present are allowed to take notes. However, White House Chief counsel Alberto Gonzales said, “information will make … its way into the [9/11 Commision] report in some fashion or another, I suspect.” In fact, it appears that someone has already leaked a transcript. OK, fine, so it’s a satirical transcript. It still brings up many important points that I’m sure will not be addressed in any substantive way by W or Cheney. What a charade…