Databases are tough.   Unless you want to spend a million dollars on Oracle you are stuck with sporadic performance, testy optimization and occasional baffling behavior over a product you didn't build and can't control.But without databases, it is hard to run.   If you look in our footer avatar bar there are always a few hundred people reading and then contributors online writing or chatting.   Even that takes a dedicated server that sometimes wheezes under the load.

In July, the remains of a wooden ship were unearthed at the World Trade Center construction site.  Since then, researchers have sought clues as to why 'the Ground Zero ship' was there and how to preserve it.Did it sink or was it junked to make a foundation for Manhattan?  No one is sure.  The 32-foot-long piece is the back end and bottom quarter of what researchers believe was a two-masted sloop, many of which traveled the Hudson River and perhaps the Atlantic coast taking goods to and from the Caribbean or colonies north.

Surrender your booty!   There be archaeologists on them thar seas!Just off the coast of North Carolina the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard's flagship, is believed to have sank in 1718.But the archaeologists diving to the wreck there aren't trying to find gold doubloons or something cool, they instead want to save the cannons ship's from saltwater corrosion.

The oldest evidence of the dinosaur lineage—fossilized tracks—is described this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.    This fossilized trackway places the very closest relatives of dinosaurs on Earth about 250 million years ago—5 to 9 million years earlier than previously described fossilized skeletal material has indicated. The paper also described the 246-million-year-old Sphingopus footprints, the oldest evidence of a bipedal and large-bodied dinosaur.

Let's be honest, Russian winters are the kiss of death in the best of circumstances - just ask Napoleon and Hitler how things would change if they had a do-over.But this year could be even worse.  If you believe the somewhat suspect record-keeping that is currently used to make temperature claims before the last 30 years, you'll want to avoid Russia during the coldest winter Europe has seen in the last 1,000 years.Luckily, like most temperature forecasts even today, that one is only 70% accurate.But it's best to be sure so, Russians, make sure you remove all that summer smog from your air vents.

There is a perception that modern generations want to sex up their culture, and cheerleader dance routines are no exception - but at least one school squad has protested being forced to wear outfits they think are too skimpy and went to the School Board to ask for help."It really hurts our self esteem," said Ariana Mesaros, another senior on the team, in a voice hoarse from cheering the night before. "I am embarrassed to stand up here dressed like this. Is this really how you want Bridgeport to be represented?"

Their son died in a horrific car accident, but that was just the beginning of dealing with his heart-wrenching death for his parents.Next, after he was buried, they found out his brain was on display in the medical examiner’s office.   The ME’s office told the parents the brain was held for tests with other brains, but the parents said they were never informed. So the parents won a court order for its return.

I doubt many of us will lament the loss of BIOS.   It is a testament to Microsoft that they made sure as much software as possible was as backward-compatible as possible for as long as possible by holding onto standards that made mandatory new versions of purchased tools unnecessary - an issue that kept Apple Computer from gaining serious ground in the market.Faster processors and more memory have really just masked the problem - computers are still a 'turn it on and go get a cup of coffee proposition' unless you leave them in a low power state, which isn't great for the environment.

No one is canceling vacation plans just yet but the strongest warning yet about visiting France and Germany has come from Britian, that the terror threat there was high.  It's no surprise since French intelligence has said the same thing, noting the rise in North African terrorism activity.The US added similar caution this weekend and now Japan and Sweden have done the same.   The public concerns intensified last week after a Pakistani intelligence official said eight Germans and two British brothers were at the heart of an al-Qaida-linked terror plot against European cities.

The IAC made "some incorrect assumptions and conclusions" in its report, according to this letter from IPCC Working Group II (fourth assessment), responding to criticism about the IPCC's process, comment review policies and methodology (see InterAcademy Council Report Urges 'Fundamental Reform' Of IPCC).Here is their letter:To: Dr Harold Shapiro, (Chair, IAC Committee to Review the IPCC)From: The Co-Chairs, all Convening Lead Authors and Head of Technical Support Unit of Working Group II of IPCC Fourth Assessment4th October 2010