There's a tornado watch for Los Alamos County right now, with the center of concern being right over my house. Buh? I live in the mountains. I haven't seen a tornado watch out here ever. Weird.

I'll be fine, given that the watch ends in 15 minutes and I'm still at work—four stories underground. Hope my house is still there when I go home, though...

Update: They upgraded it to a tornado warning, though I never saw anything that looked like a funnel. We did have some 3cm hail and pretty furious wind/rain. When it was all over, the ground was about an 5cm deep in hailstones. We had an impromptu hailball fight out behind my building and looked at the rainbow as the storm retreated off to the northeast. House is fine. Weirdest weather I've seen here in a long long time. This is usually our drought season, and there's never tornado warnings here.

USER := $(shell whoami)

ifeq ($(USER), root)
MESSAGE = "Okay."
else
MESSAGE = "What? Make it yourself."
endif

NOECHO = @

me ::
- $(NOECHO) echo $(MESSAGE)

a ::
- $(NOECHO) echo

sandwich ::
- $(NOECHO) echo

A couple colleagues at work and I have been working on a chapter for a textbook about nuclear material safeguards for some time now. We just learned from the editor that, not only is the publisher insisting that each chapter have only one author, but that they won't accept "LANL Safeguards Team" or something similar as an option. So the chapter is credited to Mike and I get no mention in the book at all.

I just reviewed the proofs that will be used to actually print the book, and the really annoying bit is that there's this huge white space right below Mike's name where Bob and I would fit in nicely.

I feel bad for Mike, who doesn't seem to have any choice here and looks like a douche... and I'm getting a feel for the totalitarian world of big-company book publishing. Don't much care for it. Guess this publication doesn't get to go onto my resume...

Jason posted a link to a list of 1001 movies everyone should see. I watch a lot movies, so I thought I'd see what I was missing. Quite a bit, apparently.

I've seen 273 of the recommended movies. The ones I've seen are heavily loaded towards the more recent end (I've only seen 8 of the first 100 movies listed, whereas I've seen 50 of the most recent 100).

The list goes back to 1902... I haven't seen anything on the list older than the Phantom of the Opera silent film (1925), though I think I should get extra points for seeing it in a theater with the rare black-and-red masquerade scene and with a live Wurlitzer accompaniment.

You have to go back to 1958 to find a year during which I haven't seen any of the movies. Perhaps I should go put one of the ten 1958 entries on my Netflix queue (Man of the West, Touch of Evil, Cairo Station, Gigi, The Defiant Ones, Vertigo, Ashes and Diamonds, Horror of Dracula, My Uncle, or The Music Room—any recommendations from you film people out there?).

Speaking of my queue, it has gotten a little slim lately. Perhaps I'll start filling it in with the movies that I'm missing from this list. For the record, here's the ones I've seen (entries in italics I own):

26. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
27. The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
30. Metropolis (1927)
55. Dracula (1931)
56. Frankenstein (1931)
59. M (1931)
78. King Kong (1933)
92. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
114. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
123. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
134. Fantasia (1940)
136. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
138. Pinocchio (1940)
141. Citizen Kane (1941)
144. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
170. Henry V (1944)
225. Rashomon (1950)
241. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
274. Rear Window (1954)
278. The Seven Samurai (1954)
302. Forbidden Planet (1956)
307. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
310. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
315. 12 Angry Men (1957)
316. The Seventh Seal (1957)
323. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
324. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
349. Ben-Hur (1959)
351. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
363. Psycho (1960)
367. Spartacus (1960)
372. Lola (1961)
373. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
380. The Hustler (1961)
381. West Side Story (1961)
388. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
389. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
390. Lolita (1962)
396. The Birds (1963)
397. The Nutty Professor (1963)
406. The Great Escape (1963)
415. Goldfinger (1964)
421. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
433. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
437. The Sound of Music (1965)
449. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
452. Seconds (1966)
459. The Graduate (1967)
467. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
479. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
480. Planet of the Apes (1968)
488. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
491. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
495. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
496. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
500. Easy Rider (1969)
517. M*A*S*H (1970)
525. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
527. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
535. Shaft (1971)
536. Dirty Harry (1971)
538. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
542. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
546. High Plains Drifter (1972)
548. Deliverance (1972)
549. Solaris (1972)
550. The Godfather (1972)
557. Superfly (1972)
558. The Sting (1973)
561. American Graffiti (1973)
563. Enter the Dragon (1973)
571. The Exorcist (1973)
574. Fantastic Planet (1973)
579. The Conversation (1974)
580. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
583. Young Frankenstein (1974)
586. Blazing Saddles (1974)
587. The Godfather Part II (1974)
591. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
593. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
594. The Wall (1975)
595. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
596. Barry Lyndon (1975)
605. Jaws (1975)
607. Carrie (1976)
609. All the President’s Men (1976)
610. Rocky (1976)
611. Taxi Driver (1976)
617. Star Wars (1977)
618. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
620. Annie Hall (1977)
624. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
626. Eraserhead (1977)
635. The Deer Hunter (1978)
636. Grease (1978)
638. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
639. Shaolin Master Killer (1978)
641. Halloween (1978)
646. Alien (1979)
650. Being There (1979)
652. Life of Brian (1979)
653. Apocalypse Now (1979)
654. The Jerk (1979)
655. The Muppet Movie (1979)
657. Mad Max (1979)
658. Nosferatu: Phantom Of The Night (1979)
662. The Shining (1980)
663. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
667. Airplane! (1980)
668. Raging Bull (1980)
669. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
670. The Boat (1981)
672. Chariots of Fire (1981)
673. Body Heat (1981)
675. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
680. E.T.: The Extra-Terestrial (1982)
681. The Thing (1982)
682. Poltergeist (1982)
683. Blade Runner (1982)
684. The Evil Dead (1982)
685. Tootsie (1982)
693. A Christmas Story (1983)
696. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
702. Terms of Endearment (1983)
705. The Right Stuff (1983)
706. Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
707. Once Upon a Time in America (1983)
708. Scarface (1983)
710. Amadeus (1984)
711. The Terminator (1984)
713. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
714. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
715. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
716. Ghostbusters (1984)
717. A Passage to India (1984)
719. The Killing Fields (1984)
720. The Natural (1984)
721. The Breakfast Club (1985)
722. Ran (1985)
725. Out of Africa (1985)
727. Back to the Future (1985)
729. Brazil (1985)
736. The Color Purple (1985)
738. Stand By Me (1986)
739. Blue Velvet (1986)
743. The Fly (1986)
744. Aliens (1986)
745. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
749. Platoon (1986)
754. Top Gun (1986)
759. Project A, Part II (1987)
761. Raising Arizona (1987)
762. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
764. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
768. The Princess Bride (1987)
769. Moonstruck (1987)
770. The Untouchables (1987)
773. Fatal Attraction (1987)
777. Bull Durham (1988)
779. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
780. Akira (1988)
783. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
784. The Naked Gun (1988)
785. Big (1988)
786. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
790. Die Hard (1988)
792. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
793. Rain Man (1988)
797. Batman (1989)
798. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
800. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)
803. The Killer (1989)
804. Do the Right Thing (1989)
805. Roger & Me (1989)
806. Glory (1989)
808. Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
809. Say Anything (1989)
814. Goodfellas (1990)
815. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
817. Dances with Wolves (1990)
819. Pretty Woman (1990)
820. Archangel (1990)
823. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
825. Total Recall (1990)
826. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
827. Boyz ‘n the Hood (1991)
828. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
834. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
835. Thelma & Louise (1991)
836. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
837. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
838. JFK (1991)
839. Slacker (1991)
844. The Player (1992)
845. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
848. Unforgiven (1992)
849. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
853. The Crying Game (1992)
856. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
858. Groundhog Day (1993)
859. Short Cuts (1993)
860. Philadelphia (1993)
861. Jurassic Park (1993)
864. Schindler’s List (1993)
865. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
866. The Piano (1993)
869. Three Colors: Red (1994)
871. Forrest Gump (1994)
872. Clerks (1994)
873. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
874. The Lion King (1994)
876. Natural Born Killers (1994)
878. Pulp Fiction (1994)
879. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
883. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
887. Casino (1995)
890. Toy Story (1995)
891. Strange Days (1995)
892. Braveheart (1995)
893. Safe (1995)
894. Clueless (1995)
895. Heat (1995)
897. Seven (1995)
904. The Usual Suspects (1995)
905. The Pillow Book (1996)
907. Fargo (1996)
908. Independence Day (1996)
911. The English Patient (1996)
914. Trainspotting (1996)
915. Scream (1996)
916. Deconstructing Harry (1997)
917. L.A. Confidential (1997)
919. Princess Mononoke (1997)
920. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)
922. The Ice Storm (1997)
923. Boogie Nights (1997)
930. Titanic (1997)
933. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
935. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
936. Run Lola Run (1998)
937. Rushmore (1998)
938. Pi (1998)
939. Happiness (1998)
940. The Thin Red Line (1998)
943. Ring (1998)
944. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
945. Magnolia (1999)
951. Three Kings (1999)
955. Fight Club (1999)
956. Being John Malkovich (1999)
957. American Beauty (1999)
959. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
960. The Sixth Sense (1999)
961. The Matrix (1999)
966. Gladiator (2000)
969. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
971. Meet the Parents (2000)
973. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
974. Traffic (2000)
976. Memento (2000)
978. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
979. Amelie (2001)
981. And Your Mother Too (2001)
983. Spirited Away (2001)
987. Moulin Rouge (2001)
990. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
991. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
992. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
993. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
994. Gangs of New York (2002)
995. The Pianist (2002)
999. Chicago (2002)
1001. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Actually, I can't decide if this is an example of bad coding, or of the limitations of doing fast target tracking using a system that has huge time granularity in its clock. Granted, the technology is old... so it's probably got less power than my wristwatch... but 0.1s is not a good tick width if you're trying to intercept something that can move 168 meters during that time.

It is unclear from this writeup whether this is a limitation born of hardware, or in software. Regardless, the 24bit truncation on casting to real was a pretty egregious software error. If your time resolution is both mission critical and crippled in hardware, then don't perform software operations that further limit it.

This is a little slow at the beginning, but it gets more exciting as things progress. Now that I think about it, if this was really a Hollywood production, the crocs would win in the end.

First outlands epic get! Maxed rep with SSO, exalted rewards ftw. Dawnforge defender: owned. <950g to epic flier. Invited to tank kara friday, woot.