SCons is a "next generation" build tool written in Python. It is a make replacement, and much more. It will create PDFs from latex, compile C, C++, JAVA, MS Visual Studio Projects, and anything else you can think of. This would be a wonderful tool for cross-platform development, or development of a very heterogeneous system. 

I did a little more 'thorough' testing on the differences between dict.get(key) and dict[key]. I tested for both keys that do and do not exist, and I seem to have different results than what I did last time =( 
 
It seems dict[key] is about twice as fast as dict.get(key) when the key does exist in the dict. On the other hand, dict[key] + exception handling is twice as slow as dict.get(key) when key is not in dict. Here's the extra twist: checking if the key is in dict and then getting the appropriate value is only slightly slower than simply table[key]. This is something like: 

if key in dict: 
    value = dict[key] 
else: 
    value = None

or, more elegantly: 

value = None if key not in dict else dict[key]

 
This method is fractionally slower than dict[key] when key is in the table, but it's considerably faster when key is not in the table. Also, this method is consistantly faster than dict.get(key) in both cases. 
 
The script can be found [here] 
The output for 100,000 iterations of each case can be found [here] 
 
The output shows the name of each test case followed by the commands executed in the test. Total runtime for each follow each. 
 
I may have done the cases a little naively, but I still think it shows some powerful differences. 

Installing GLEW 
Download the GLEW source from [here] 
Run the following command in the glew folder: 

> GLEW_DEST=/usr/local sudo make install

 
Installing GLEWpy 
Download the GLEWpy source from [here] 
Replace the setup.py in the glewpy folder with the modified setup.py from [here] 
Run the following command in the glewpy folder: 

> sudo python setup.py install

 

This is useful for 'faster' logins, or programs that use SSH and don't support a login (ex: SCPlugin SVN GUI for OSX) 
 
On local machine, create and upload the key: 

> ssh-keygen -t dsa 
** overwrite if you need to ** 
** enter empty passphrase (is this safe?) ** 
> scp ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub username@server

 
Login to remote server and do: 

> cat id_dsa.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keys 
> rm id_dsa.pub

 
I did this a while back, but never took notes. *sigh* 

Very impressive demo of a large scale multi-touch display wall. 

PyGPU 

Here's an image resizing technique presented at Siggraph '07. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NcIJXTlugc 

On my laptop I have a fork of the keyboard/mouse input code that can be used to take an arbitrary number of computers and control them with one keyboard & mouse. This post is just a reminder to myself to add it to svn. I know there are 3rd party applications for this, but who knows, it could still be useful. 

Here's a collection of Python 3D software. I'm tempted to experiment with some of these, but there just aren't enough hours in a day. 

Ketan and Swati have just had a new addition to their family. Congratulations and Best Wishes!! 

This list enumerates the various (3rd party) software used on the cluster. It will be amended as I think of more. 
 
 
Python 
PyOpenGL 
Python Imaging Library 
Glew 
Pyrex 
GlewPy 
Python Cryptography Toolkit 
PyGame 
 
I also have some installation/configuration notes in the works. I will add these after I get them organized. 

A lucid explaination of the purpose and logic behind indentation in Python.

def GetWXBitmap(myImage): 
    image = apply(wx.EmptyImage, myImage.size) 
    image.SetData(myImage.convert("RGB").tostring()) 
    # if the image has an alpha channel, 
    # you can set it with this line: 
    myImage = myImage.convert("RGBA") 
    image.SetAlphaData(myImage.tostring()[3::4] ) 
    return image.ConvertToBitmap()

 
FROM: 
http://wiki.wxpython.org/WorkingWithImages#head-7aa43a4a1e066fd28640ce86066ba0617afe2a8b 
 
Using wx.StaticBitmap (widget on the window to show the bitmap): 
http://wiki.wxpython.org/wxStaticBitmap?highlight=%28Bitmap%29 

This automator workflow is used on all the cluster nodes. It mounts the current source tree from Visual and the shared data & scratch directories on Mini. 

In the new book published by Springer, Human-Centered Visualization Environments, edited by Andreas Kerren, Achim Ebert and Jörg Meyer, I co-contributed a chapter entitled "Interacting with Visualizations." My co-authors are F. Wim Fikkert (U. Twente, Netherlands), Marcos D'Ambros (U. Lugano, Switzerland), and Torsten Bierz (U. Kaiseslautern, Germany).

David Goodger, a member of the Python Board of Directors, has a good discussion on writing idiomatic Python. Worth a read.

After displaying image on wxgrid header, the next step is to embed combobox in grid cells 

Why are imperfectly spelled searches "good enough" for Google? Here is a spelling corrector that does the job in only 20 lines of Python code 

ShowMeDo, a sort of YouTube video source for software tutorials, has aggregated screencasts demonstrating various Python integrated development environments. While I have not used many of these (guess I'm too old fashioned), they should be of use to new Pythonistas or folks like my wife who refuse to code without an IDE.

Chris Waters, Jon Howell, and I have had our work on cluster visualization accepted to ACMSE 2007. The full reference is:

Christopher Waters, Jonathan Howell, and T.J. Jankun-Kelly. "CluVis: Dual-domain Visual Exploration of Cluster/Network Metadata" In Proceedings of the 45th Annual Southeast Regional Conference (ACMSE 2007), Darina Dicheva and Paúl Pauca, eds., March 2007.

Chris will present the paper. The work grew out of a class project in my 2005 offering of Information Visualization.

I can't seem to get glewpy to work under python2.5 on a PPC mac. 
 
ImportError: dlopen(/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/lib/ 
python2.5/site-packages/glew/glew.so, 2): Symbol not found: _glewInit 
Referenced from: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.5/lib/ 
python2.5/site-packages/glew/glew.so 
Expected in: dynamic lookup 
 
Any idea why this symbol is not found in glew.so ? 

The first paper "The Modular Modeling System (MMS): A Toolbox for Enviormental-Resource Management" describes the system that the USGS created to integrate it various models. The system is a sort of development environment where a complex model is made by linking the input and output of many smaller models. 
 
The second paper "Streamflow Forecasting Using the Modular Modeling System and an Object-User Interface" describes the creation of a watershed model using the MMS system.  
 
Nasa probably want a system similar to the MMS designed and implemented for their various models. Which would be software development and not research at all. 

The paper describes a method of a determining watersheds by coloring a DEM using a map of divergence of flow directions. The rendering process is not complicated and the only unusually thing being used to determine coloring. The image resulting form this is then manually segmented into basins. task that the coloring makes fairly trivial. The only prospective research is developing an algorithm that automates the last part and comparing it to existing basin delineation programs. This is not a Visualization problem. 

There has been some debate on in CS circles on whether game degrees should be offered in difference to straight CS/SE degrees. As a visualization/graphics guy, I'm often asked this directly. My gut feeling is that such a degree is of little use in the real world. Non-game companies want a "real" degree while game companies do not care. It appears my feeling is right. This comment is from John Carmack, one of the big two behind Doom and many other important game developments.