We interrupt this blog for an important announcement from National Instruments...

Elementary Students Use NI LabVIEW to Model Impact of Simultaneous Trigger of Rapid Flow Events A Private Research Institute Lauds Future Opportunities Over Lavatory Study Austin, Texas – April 1, 2008 – Today, at 4:01 p.m. CDT, students from Sidd Finch Elementary will conduct a study on the impact of increasing flow rates in plumbing systems – and they need your help. The students have leveraged LabVIEW software to create both a dynamic model that simulates the system as well as a real-time measurement system for today’s field trial. The students will present their results in front of a blue-ribbon panel of professors and researchers at the O. Welles Research Institute "At the start of the school year, I led a brainstorming session in my science class to determine some of the most common questions asked by 8- to 10-year-olds," said Mrs. Sue Urpipe, a teacher at Sidd Finch Elementary School. "While many of the students were interested in studying how the Earth’s rotation would be affected if everyone in China jumped up at the same time, we eventually settled on analyzing the implications of everyone in the LabVIEW community flushing their toilets at the same time." The local community in is getting involved, too. The Chapel of the Porcelain God is holding a bake sale to raise money for the experiment, and members ask citizens to donate money to the cause. "We’ve got plenty of baked goods donated at this point. In loo of baked goods, we’d really appreciate money," mud-pie baking contest winner, Cam Ode, requested of the community. "With our continued commitment to engineering education, I was glad that our products could help these future engineers and scientists with their experiment," said Ray Almgren, National Instruments vice president for Academic Relations. "Kids are continually coming up with creative ways to use LabVIEW. Based on their experience using the LabVIEW graphical environment with the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT robotics system, the students are quite excited to use LabVIEW for their research.The students ask that all NI employees who work on LabVIEW, customers and enthusiasts flush their toilets today at 4:01 p.m. CDT. Background information on how you can participate in the study is available at http://home.howstuffworks.com/everybody-flushes-toilets.htm About National Instruments National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. The company is run by people with well-developed senses of humor who would not punish the content team for a once-per-year bit of tomfoolery – April Fools!