Shed Skin -- python to C++ compiler

Shed Skin - Shed Skin is a compiler that takes pure python code, and coverts it to annotated C++ code. Speedup is (suposedly) much higher than other similar methods.

Creating an SVN repository.

First, make sure you have a WebDAV module turned on in you apache server. You need to configure your apache server as described [here](http://www.csoft.net/docs/micro/svndav.html) or [here](href="http://svnbook.red-bean.com/en/1.1/ch06s04.html), for example. Of particular note allowing anonymous access through LimitExcept, and creating a root svn directory for numerous repositories by using SVNParentPath. You can then access this server using svn, a web browser, or mount it like a networked disk. Very cool.

After you set up the WebDAV server, you need to create a snv repository. Here is how I made a repository for my python modules:

# cd /home/svn
# svnadmin create python
# svn mkdir file:///home/svn/python/trunk file:///home/svn/python/branches file:///home/svn/python/tags -m "creating initial repository layout"

You may need to change permissions so that httpd can read this directory. Now, as a user, you can start to populate the reposatory. I will add a directory 'gridgen' and the file 'gridgen.py'. There are some other things in this directory that I don't want to add, so I won't just add the whole thing, but rather I will do it piece by piece. Note, I will log in as a registered user, so that I can write to the repository later.

$ svn co http://rob@pong.tamu.edu/svn/python/trunk python
$ svn add gridgen --non-recursive
$ svn add gridgen/gridgen.py
$ svn commit -m "Initial commit of gridgen module"

stack size limits using ifort

I use ifort on both Linux and Intel Macs. I have come across some strange behaviors that make me think that the stack is not really unlimited. This post on automatic array stack size limit bug - Intel Fortran Compiler for Linux and Mac OS - Intel Software Network Forumsto the ifort message boards seems to suggest this is a bug in ifort.

This seems to be less of an issue on my Linux machines, where I can set ulimit to unlimited (particularly the stack). On my Mac, I can't set ulimit to unlimited (and if you want to increase it at all, you need to add a flag that lets you use the 'soft' limit). As far as I can tell, partitioning through MPI does not seem to help, but I will look into it more.

Map Projections Poster

Although 'poster' seems a bit of an exageration, the Map Projections Poster is the best source I have found so far for describing the different mapping projections.

Merrimack river discharge

Here is a python script (merrimack_discharge.py) that downloads river discharge based on the USGS station code. The class provides time-dependent dischrge data and a few simple methods for deriving anual statistics. Running the script creates a plot of the historical (for statistics) and recent disharge of the Merrimack river in New England. This was developed for my near-field plume study with Dan Macdonald.

UPDATED: script now includes real-time data from the USGS, and the figure has been updated to look at the recent flood as compared to historical floods.

Real-time stream flow data in Google Earth.

The USGS has released two kml files for Google Earth that show real time river guage data relative to climatologies. You can click on the colored points and get information about the station. A sample screen grab from New England today shows the rain New England has been getting recently.

Dvorak-ing

I've been wondering when I should make the leap over to Dvorak. The new sleves for the TypeMatrix 2030 seems to be a good way to switch without much pain..