Deer find safe home at FBI firing range, academy

'They're pretty immune to the sound ... they don't know what a gun is,' says FBI instructor

QUANTICO, Virginia — Call it a playground for Bambi and G-Men, where imaginary criminals are hunted and deer are the spectators.

Deer roam atop a berm surrounding the shooting range at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., on Dec. 19.

The 547-acre FBI Academy, where some of America's best marksmen fire off more than 1 million bullets every month, happens to be one of the safest places for deer during hunting season.

The property on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va., is home to some of the FBI's most elite forces and training programs as well as a de facto wildlife refuge where deer, fox, wild turkeys, groundhogs and vultures roam fearless and free.

In recent years, a black bear was spotted running across a parking lot, and a groundhog cornered an FBI agent coming out of the cafeteria, hoping to score some human food, FBI spokesman Kurt Crawford said. Turkey vultures are often seen perched atop the 500,000 square foot national crime lab where the FBI analyzes evidence, including the remains of the former al-Qaida leader in Iraq.

The wild animals are as much a fixture at the academy as the hostage rescue team and criminal profilers.

The most common furry friends on the sprawling campus some 30 miles outside Washington are the deer, a regular at the shooting ranges, driving courses and physical training trails.

On a December afternoon, deer grazed above one of the academy's 16 practice shooting ranges. They stood just 15 feet away from the paper targets. Nearby, shots popped loudly from a Colt M4 Carbine rifle, and the white-tailed deer did not flinch.

"They're pretty immune to the sound," said Sean Boyle, supervisory special agent bomb technician and principal firearms instructor for the Critical Incident Response Group based at the academy. The deer typically graze on top of the berm, about 15 feet away from the targets and rarely go directly in the line of fire. Boyle said he doesn't recall an instance where a deer was shot accidentally.

"It's like they think, 'We've pushed the limit for this far, and all our generations have pushed the limit for this far,'" Boyle said. "They're just so docile around here. They don't know what a gun is."

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries does not keep direct tabs on the deer population at the FBI academy, but a spokeswoman said statewide the deer population has remained about the same over the past decade, partly because of regulated hunting. Licensed deer hunters are allowed on parts of the Marine Corps base but not at the academy where the FBI does not hunt its animals.

At the FBI Academy, the deer have even become part of the training in some of the driving courses, said Tim Moles, the supervisory special agent who oversees the Tactical and Emergency Vehicle Operations Center, where recruits learn to avoid crashing their cars and conduct surveillance without being spotted.

The deer are convenient when recruits learn to avoid collisions, Moles said. "There's times when it seems like they're playing chicken with us," Moles said. "We respect them because they can do damage. We'd rather avoid all deer stories in this end of the academy."

For the most part, the deer have stayed out of trouble. Twice, however, deer have eaten freshly-planted pansies at the academy's 9/11 memorial courtyard, Crawford said. Eventually a fence was built to keep the flowers off limits.

Deer have been known to interrupt physical training, too.

"We've had the deer walk across the middle of the track during the 300-meter sprint," said Susann Dreiling, unit chief of the academy's physical training unit.

To become an agent, recruits must pass a physical fitness test. They are scored on how fast they can run and how many push-ups and sit-ups they perform. Sometimes, training will involve running a quarter-mile path along the lake area of the academy, stopping for push-ups, running some more and breaking to box, Dreiling said.

During these exercises, a mother and her fawns are often close by.

"They just stand there and watch as if they're evaluating them," Dreiling said, "just like the instructors are."

Adapted from MSN

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The 10 Best Guy Days of the Year

What makes a great day? For guys, they generally fall into two categories: days that involve some kind of success, either at work or with women, or days that offer simple pleasures and a respite from the stress of our adult lives. This list is devoted to the latter category. Here are 10 days of the year which, for men, offer an archipelago of sanity in the ocean of chaos that comprises the greater part of our daily lives.

Start of Fishing Season

Some things never go out of style. The act of casting a line into the water and hoping for a fish to rise has been immortalized in works as diverse as A River Runs Through It and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It's one of those heralded manly pursuits that gets at the heart of how we define leisure. Is it a pulse-pounding activity full of anticipation and excitement, or a couple guys spending the day sitting around drinking beer in a boat? It's both of these things, thus reflecting the dichotomy of how men have fun—we like excitement, but in limited doses, preferably supplemented with a cool beverage.

The Opening Round of March Madness

While other sports days like the Super Bowl are all about spectacle, March Madness is all about the game, or rather, the games—nothing in sport rivals the adrenaline rush of that first Thursday of the tournament, when 32 teams take the court to play all-out, do-or-die basketball. These are college kids, not jaded superstars. They play for pride and glory, backed by rabid student and alumni fans who follow every dribble and drive on a blood-and-bones level. There's a feeling that anything can happen, anybody can beat anybody, and any bracket—no matter how well-constructed—can fall apart in a heartbeat. It is the unquestioned pinnacle of the yearly sports calendar, and you will be hard-pressed to find a man anywhere who doesn't love it like he loves his first-born.

Your Birthday

Why shouldn't you enjoy your birthday? Too many guys waste the whole day complaining about getting older, as if there's anything they can do about it. The evolved man understands the nature of inevitability, and savors the increasing wisdom and perspective that comes with age. Plus, it's a day full of potential attention, with co-workers, friends and family all hovering around with well-wishes and presents. I don't know about you, but I can always use more well-wishes and presents.

The First Day of Barbecuing

As men, our hearts grow sick watching our precious grills spend the winter sheathed and forgotten on our decks and porches. Few things invigorate us more than that first sunny day of the year when the opportunity presents itself, the long-dormant grill is revived, and we savor the season's first whiff of flame-licked meat. The feeling can't easily be described. It rises up from a soup of primordial memory, an ancestral longing that dates back to our caveman origins. Men bond over a hot grill in a way that isn't repeated anywhere else. That all might sound a little overwrought. And maybe it is. But no matter how you feel about the age-old ritual of meat and fire itself, there's one thing we can all agree on: In the end, you end up with a delicious meal—and that at least is worth celebrating.

Father's Day

This day's worthiness for actual fathers is obvious; it's the only other day of the year besides your birthday (as we already discussed) when the focus is all on you. But even for non-fathers, the day has a certain appeal. First of all, fathers are much more blasé about the whole thing, and so the day lacks the pressure of Mother's Day (and don't get me started on "Mother-in-Law Day"). Plus, it's in mid-June, and so the pleasant onset of summer is palpably near.

The Summer Solstice

Human cultures have celebrated the summer solstice for millennia, and so for that alone this day merits acknowledgment. For modern men however, the day conjures a different set of visions. The official start of summer still seems like a holiday because of our childhood associations with long days off from school filled with idle play and hazy backyard afternoons. Even though we are now of working age, the kid inside rejoices when the constellations align just so, and we're gifted with daylight that lasts late into evening.

The Day Your Lawn Stops Growing

We men take great pride in our lawns. A well-maintained field of verdant grass is our Apollonian goal, a statement about not just our skill as gardeners and landscapers but a measure of our ability to exert control in an uncertain world. Our neighbors appreciate us, our friends respect us, and our wives love us all the more. That's all well and good, but let's be honest: The whole thing is a certifiable pain in the ass. In late spring, when we dream of lounging with the newspaper and a baseball game, we're instead dragging the mower out for yet another Sunday clipping. But then, mercifully, we hit a day somewhere in mid-late summer when nature shuts itself down. The grass takes on a slight brown hue, and though a few die-hards attempt to keep it lush year-round, the societal pressure is off. The mower can again be retired until next spring without complaint from the wife, and our Sundays are once again our own.

Your Anniversary

Yeah, I know what you're going to say. You'll say, "Are you nuts? I have to get a present, make restaurant reservations, find a sitter, and of course, remember the date in the first place. What's fun about that?" But it doesn't have to be that way. First off, you should memorize and remember the date. Period. It's just something you do when you're a mature man of the world. Second, if you play it right, it's actually a very easy win for you. You go out with your wife, who will be dressed to kill, and spend the evening canoodling over candlelight while reminiscing about the day you met. Good food is usually involved. And then—with any luck—you have sex. Keep it simple, enjoy your partner, and avoid having a bad day by not prioritizing it enough, in which case there will be no sex involved.

The First Cold Night of the Year You Can Light a Fire

The response men have to fire is high on the list of primal instincts. As we saw before, the urge to make fire expresses itself in summer by our frequent barbecuing. As winter sets in, things get more literal. Any man with a fireplace, whether gas or wood-burning, knows the joy of that initial flicker of flame. A cold, dark room is suddenly made warm and friendly. These men with fireplaces also know the erotic potential of a roaring fire, how easy it is to find oneself engaged carnally with women who—without exception—are made weak in the knees by firelight, soft music and a glass of white wine. If you know a man who is without a fireplace, buy him an outdoor fire pit for Christmas. He will thank you later.

Super Bowl Sunday

Why do we love it so much? It's not really about the game itself, though recent Super Bowls have yielded interesting match-ups and fantastic finishes. No, the real draw is the overt trashiness of it all. We eat retro, junky food like chili-cheese pizza and fried jalapenos slathered in ranch dressing. It's all about mass appeal, a celebration of modern excess and Americana that gives us an excuse to gather with friends and drink beer in the dead of winter. It's that rare television event we can all share together, like the "Seinfeld" finale or "Lost" (the first season, anyway). We even enjoy watching the commercials, for God's sake.

Adapted from MSN

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186Gbps, New Records Speed ​​Data Transmission

This transfer speed defeated the record set in 2009 ago that is 119Gbps​​..

SuperComputing 2011 conference in Seattle, a group of researchers led by scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) managed to record a new record for data transfer over a network, reaching 186Gbps.

By this new speed, users can also transfer 2 gigabytes of data per day,
or approximately 100 thousand submit content Blu-ray in a day.
(speedtest.net)

Record speed data transfer between computer networks opens up new hope for the future of Internet browsing and good news for Internet service providers.

186Gbps speeds beat the record set in 2009 and the 119Gbps. With this new speed, users can transfer 2 million gigabytes of data per day, or approximately 100 thousand pieces of content Blu-ray in a day.

The transfer speed is achieved using a 100Gbps circuits made by non-profit BCNET and CANARIE. Data transmission is achieved when sending data from a data center owned by the University of Victoria in British Columbia to Seattle Convention Centre which reaches a maximum speed of 98Gbps and in the reverse direction, the data transmitted simultaneously at speeds up to 88Gbps.

The test is then performed by transferring data from Seattle to other areas in the United States, and also to Korea and Brazil. Observers say this achievement is significant because scientists use 100Gbps transmission lines are already available commercially, not through a private network in the lab or use a testbed with certain conditions.

Although users do not need to watch 100 thousand Blu-ray films per day, but for scientists, this speed is very important. For example to collaborate when examining the data space and others.

"It has a transmission speed allows us earlier achievements are not possible," said Harvey Newman, quoted from Digital Trends, December 16, 2011. "We can see a brighter future that may never have imagined before," he said.

Adapted from Vivanews

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Samsung Beat Apple's popularity

Ad Galaxy S II a satirical iPhone 4S called to be one deciding factor.

Samsung competition with Apple not only held tight at the green table, but also in the popularity of the product. Although considered to be released that mimic Apple's products, but the popularity of Samsung managed to beat Apple.

Apple iPhone 4S vs Samsung Galaxy S II
(careace.net)

Based on the public perception survey conducted YouGov, the popularity of Samsung started to beat Apple since last week, or since December 8.

YouGov rate, advertising Samsung Galaxy S II line satirical iPhone 4S as the factors that most influence the popularity of Apple. The ad release 22 November to 1 December.

One of the popularity of Samsung's determination of the questions asked seem to YouGov, namely: "If you hear the brand was in the last two weeks, either through advertising, news, or speech, it's positive or negative?" The result, many positive rate.

Popularity of the iPhone itself began to decline since the end of November, with a value of (buzz score) 33. Currently, Apple's buzz score was recorded about 25.

Meanwhile, in late November, Samsung recorded a buzz score of 19. Whereas today, the Samsung buzz score is 26.

In the ad Galaxy S II, titled "Next Big Thing", Samsung's satirical Apple fanboy who would stand in line long after the iPhone 4S. In fact, according to Samsung's ads, the iPhone 4S does not have a lot of changes. Even the iPhone does not support the 4S 4G technologies, like those of the Galaxy S II.

Adapted from Vivanews

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