The Eclipse Day at the Googleplex 2011

Here at Google, we use Eclipse every day to build our external and internal products, as well as building and releasing Eclipse tools. We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting Eclipse Day at Googleplex on November 30th. Hosting this event is one way to say “thank you” and contribute back to the community.
Eclipse Day is a 1-day conference that highlights Eclipse projects and Eclipse-based products created here at Google. It is also a great opportunity for both Eclipse contributors and users to network and share ideas.
This year we have sessions that cover Android Development Tools, Google Plug-in for Eclipse, WindowBuilder, EGit, m2eclipse, Eclipse 4, SWTBot, Orion, Hudson, a case study by NASA and Google’s use of Xtext.
In previous years some of the most popular sessions have been our Eclipse Ignite talks: 5-minute, 20-slide presentations by attendees that wish to show-off what they are doing with Eclipse.
All of us at Google would like to thank Ian Skerrett and everyone at the Eclipse Foundation for assembling this great event. We are happy to welcome the Eclipse community to our campus. We are always looking for ways to make this conference better! Please share your ideas and let us know your thoughts about this year’s program.
The conference is free, but you do need to pre-register. We strongly recommend you register early as we have run out of all of our slots every year.

Google Earth: 150 unusual buildings on Earth

 

This database shows the location and photos of 150 of the most unusual buildings in the world. Everything from building the form
of a duck in New York, a large arch of Defense in Paris. Of buildings made of glass in buildings made of clay or even rusty
containers, which should house siding to make them livable. Of course, this is a subjective list, and I’m sure there are many
buildings missing. But I think you’ll find all the buildings on this list, is unique in some way.

You can download KML file HERE

Air Conditioning the US Military Costs More Than NASA’s Entire Budget



According to Steve Anderson, a retired brigadier general who served as Gen. Petraeus’ chief logistician in Iraq, the Department of Defense spends $20 billion air conditioning tents and temporary structures for the military. That’s more than NASA’s entire $19 billion annual budget.

That cost comes out of the fuel needed to heat and cool tents on the front lines. However, the trucks that transport this fuel have become targets for IEDs used by the insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Anderson, at least 1000 soldiers have been killed moving fuel.

Anderson believes that a simple solution would be to instead spray tents with polyurethane foam, kind of like the foam sealant you would use in your own home. In fact, an active $95 million contract to insulate tents is producing $1 billion in cost avoidance, proving it’s both safer and greener than air conditioning the desert. Doing this while also searching for other energy-efficient solutions would save both money and lives.