[Noisebridge-discuss] Giant space explosion detector

[Dr. Jesus]

You might have seen this article lately:

  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090428092558.htm

A while ago (2004ish), NASA approved my application to get the
downlink feed from their satellite network of gamma ray burst
detectors.  I set up a server to receive the feed and wrote some code
to parse the output from the feed and create a basic early warning
system for giant space explosions.  Then I got busy and it sat there,
detecting giant space explosions and dutifully telling an IRC channel
with a bunch of lurkers who didn't care.

I would like to make this useful again, and you might be able to
help.  Here are some of my ideas:

1) Start a little business with someone with more ObjC-fu than me to
develop an app to be sold on the iPhone Store which provides giant
space explosion warnings.  This blocks on iPhone OS 3.0 and its push
stuff.  I already have the $99 developer account and I registered
giantspaceexplosions.com.  NASA has given the thumbs up to commercial
use of the data subject to a few conditions (don't use their logo in
certain ways), but I think it would be nice to donate some profits to
them.  Basically, any of you hit by the downturn who know iPhone
programming (or can learn it) can turn your time into money by doing
this.  I'll even lend you macs and iPod touches and things if you can
prove you're serious.

(I know it would be nice to have the app be free and that's a
possibility, but because I have to run a server to make this work
there has to be a non-free version as well.)

2) Install a giant space explosion detector on donkey.noise.

3) Mash up the GRB detector feed with Google Sky.

4) Provide a repeater service for the live x-ray and gamma ray feeds
from the satellites.  Right now, the data is only available to people
who receive the downlink directly; I'm not aware of any University or
other group which repeats the data to the public using the intarwebs.

5) Write an XScreensaver display hack that displays the last few GRB
locations using some freely available starcharts.

6) Tie the GRB feed in with the space weather warning system, the
CAISO blackout announcement system, the federal EAS, the ICCP system
monitoring feed, and the smartmeters that PG&E is deploying to all
Californians in the next few years to create the SMS-based Noisebridge
OMGWTF Early Warning System For System Administrators (TM).

... and anything else you suggest which is sufficiently awesome.

(I also would really like to be able to say "noisebridge, in
cooperation with NASA," because seriously how awesome is that.)