IBM Mira

Mira is a petascale Blue Gene/Q supercomputer. As of June 2013, it is listed on TOP500 as the fifth-fastest supercomputer in the world. It has a performance of 8.59 petaflops (LINPACK) and consumes 3.9 MW. The supercomputer was constructed by IBM for Argonne National Laboratory's Argonne Leadership Computing Facility with the support of the United States Department of Energy, and partially funded by the National Science Foundation. Mira will be used for scientific research, including studies in the fields of material science, climatology, seismology, and computational chemistry. The supercomputer is being utilized initially for sixteen projects, selected by the Department of Energy.

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, which commissioned the supercomputer, was established by the America COMPETES Act, signed by President Bush in 2007, and President Obama in 2011. The United States' emphasis on supercomputing has been seen as a response to China's progress in the field. China's Tianhe-1A, located at the Tianjin National Supercomputer Center, was ranked the most powerful supercomputer in the world from October 2010 to June 2011. Mira is, along with IBM Sequoia and Blue Waters, one of three American petascale supercomputers deployed in 2012.

Mira (band)

Mira were a five-piece dream pop/shoegaze band from Tallahassee, Florida, formed in 1996.

History

Mira was formed by vocalist Regina Sosinski, guitarist Tom Parker, bassist Sam Riles and drummer Alan Donaldson. Originally called Still, they were influenced by shoegaze bands such as Slowdive and Cocteau Twins.

After releasing several EPs on their own Tesseract label, the band signed to Projekt Records, and their song "Cayman" appeared on Projekt's cat-themed 1999 compilation A Cat-Shaped Hole in My Heart.

Max Fresen replaced Riles, and the band added guitarist Mark Davidson.

Mira released their eponymous debut album on April 4, 2000.

For second album Apart, Melody Fleck replaced Fresen on bass, and the band toured the U.S.

In 2002, they collaborated on a self-released split single with Cream Abdul Babar, covering each other's songs.

Following 2005's There I Go Daydreamer, the band ceased activity and members moved on to other musical projects.

In 2011, Projekt released a compilation of rare and early Mira recordings, titled The Echo Lingers On (Demos, Outtakes and Rehearsals).

American football rules

Game play in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts, or field goal attempts (from either a place kick or a drop kick) – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.

Objective of the game

The objective of this game is to score more points than the other team during the alotted time. The team with the ball (the offense) has 4 plays (downs) to advance at least 10 yards, and can score points once they reach the opposite end of the field, which is home to a scoring zone called the end zone, as well as the goal posts. If the offense succeeds in advancing at least 10 yards, they earn a "first down" and the number of tries allotted is reset and they are again given 4 tries to advance an additional 10 yards, starting from the spot to which they last advanced. If the offense does not advance at least 10 yards during their 4 downs, the team without the ball (the defense) regains control of the ball (called turnover on downs).

Point (mortgage)

Points, sometimes also called "discount points", are a form of pre-paid interest. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. By charging a borrower points, a lender effectively increases the yield on the loan above the amount of the stated interest rate. Borrowers can offer to pay a lender points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, thus obtaining a lower monthly payment in exchange for this up-front payment. In United States, for each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by anywhere from 1/8% (0.125%) to 1/4% (0.25%).

Selling the property or refinancing prior to this break-even point will result in a net financial loss for the buyer while keeping the loan for longer than this break-even point will result in a net financial savings for the buyer. The longer you keep the property financed under the loan with purchased points, the more the money spent on the points will pay off. Accordingly, if the intention is to buy and sell the property or refinance in a rapid fashion, paying points is actually going to end up costing more than just paying the loan at the higher interest rate.

Point (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, point has three contemporary meanings: