¡Presenta el Cinvestav la supercomputadora más grande y veloz del país! Mexico City's Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVestAV, a rather festive name for a lab) unveiled Xiuhcoatl, Latin America's second largest machine in terms of maximum problem size and theoretical peak (Tupã, a 244-TFLOP Cray XT6 installed at Brazil's Centre for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies in Cachoeira Paulista, retains the #1 spot). Xiuhcoatl sports 3,840 cores targeting 25 TFLOPS (or 50, depending on whom you ask) at a reported cost of 18 megapesos (1.3 MUSD). It is named after the fire serpent of Aztec mythology, the avatar of dread Xiuhtecuhtli, the “Turquoise Lord of Fire!” (it's also the designation of the take-no-shit, Mexican-made FX-05 assault rifle). A bravura nomenclature for Mexico's first continent-class machine, and one I endorse fully, with both thumbs. It is thought that Xiuhcoatl will be put to use immediately in research related to astrophysics, pharmaceuticals, and production of bright ceramic trinkets.

¡Viva Señor Xiuhcoatl! ¡Viva los Estados Unidos Mexicanos!