The problem of finding the global minimum or maximum of an arbitrary multi-parameter function, F(x, y, z, …), is a common one. The function F could represent the total yield of some system and you want to maximize it, or it could represent the lap-time of a race car and you want to minimize it. If the function F can be analytically expressed, it may be possible to take the derivative and solve F’ = 0 (since F is stationary at the minima and maxima). But in practice there are many optimization problems cannot be tackled analytically. For those cases there are several powerful numerical...

Questions around hydrologic calibration methodologies: 1) The performance of numerous rainfall-runoff models have been tested in many catchments across Australia in recent work (Petheram etal, 2009; 2012; Viney etal, 2009; Waters etal, 2013, in-prep). Two models consistently outperform the others: Sacramento (Burnash etal, 1973) and GR4J (Perrin etal., 2002; 2003). The Sacramento model tends to perform better when assessed over the calibration period, however the GR4J model has fewer parameters and the key question remains: does the simpler model allow more robust calibrations and perform better...

There should be a VIDEO GAME based on the idea of crafting your own waves. The game could use a full smooth particle hydrodynamic code (SPH) to simulate waves interacting with hand-crafted ocean floors. It would be called WAVE CRAFT. First edit: I’ve always thought that the best games tap into the gamer’s natural urge to collect… collect cars, collect trophies, collect tokens proving they’ve finished each level. The game could centre around collecting the worlds best waves. The user might be challenged to create models, which are added to the users collection. The user might be rewarded with different...

This is awesome: http://www.escapemotions.com/experiments/fluid_water_2/ The SPHYSICS project from John Hopkins: http://wiki.manchester.ac.uk/sphysics/index.php/Main_Page