GNU Parallel

http://www.biostars.org/p/63816/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_parallel
http://www.unethicalblogger.com/2010/11/11/gnu-parallel-changed-my-life.html

$ seq 10 | parallel --sshlogin server.example.com,server2.example.net echo

xargs vs GNU parallel
http://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/man.html#differences_between_xargs_and_gnu_parallel

Linux calculator with "bc"
$ echo "sqrt(9)+5" | bc
8

http://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/man.html#example__working_as_xargs__n1__argument_appending

Unix Nohup: Run a Command or Shell-Script Even after You Logout 
$ nohup sh custom-script.sh &

at - schedules commands
$ at -f myjobs.txt now + 1 hour

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Named_pipe
mkfifo my_pipe
gzip -9 -c < my_pipe > out.gz &
cat file > my_pipe
rm my_pipe