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MonthJuly 2009

Google’s new data center uses nature instead of AC

July 16, 2009 /

Google has begun operating a data center in Belgium that has no chillers to support its cooling systems, a strategy that will improve its energy efficiency while making local weather forecasting a larger factor in its data center management. […]

Rather than using chillers part-time, the company has eliminated them entirely in its data center near Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, which began operating in late 2008 and also features an on-site water purification facility that allows it to use water from a nearby industrial canal rather than a municipal water utility.

The climate in Belgium will support free cooling almost year-round, according to Google engineers, with temperatures rising above the acceptable range for free cooling about seven days per year on average. The average temperature in Brussels during summer reaches 66 to 71 degrees, while Google maintains its data centers at temperatures above 80 degrees.

So what happens if the weather gets hot? On those days, Google says it will turn off equipment as needed in Belgium and shift computing load to other data centers. This approach is made possible by the scope of the company’s global network of data centers, which provide the ability to shift an entire data center’s workload to other facilities.

Data Center Knowledge: Google’s Chiller-less Data Center

(via Chris 23)

Iceland’s currency stays afloat online

July 16, 2009 /

The in-game currency of EVE Online is the ISK. That’s right, the Icelandic króna. And where most multiplayer games have attempted to ban the translation of in-game assets to and from real-world money, EVE Online has not only permitted it but actively embraced it – so much so that daily speculation on world/game financial leverage is conducted openly on the official game web boards. As a result, the EVE Online ISK has remained fairly stable against virtually all the real currencies of the world for a few years now, fluctuating but not spiking, not crashing. There are people out there making an income, a real-life income, just handling the trades on the “floor”.

All of which is to say: Iceland has collapsed so thoroughly that at this point, its only economically viable export may very well be an internet spaceship game, and that internet spaceship game’s króna is for all intents and purposes a more real and valid and valuable currency than the actual country’s actual money.

Crisper: Signpost Says: “Welcome to the 21st Century”

(via Technovelgy via Theoretick)

Crucible Fire Arts Fest near Oakland, starting tonight

July 16, 2009 /

crucible fire arts fest

Heads up, Californians! The Crucible’s 9th annual Fire Arts Festival, “a spectacular open-air exhibition of astounding performances, fire sculpture and interactive art, lights up the sky at the Crucible’s new Fire Arts Arena in the freeway canyon lands of West Oakland.” Commencing this evening and running through Saturday the 18th, the festival is a full ten acres of installations, vendors, roving theatrics, circus arts, fire performers and aerialists.

Coilhouse has more info, plus pictures and videos from previous festivals.

Coilhouse: Fire, Puppets, Rootabagas! (Crucible Fire Arts Fest)

Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment

July 16, 2009 /

The Process Church of the Final Judgment Paris chapter

Feral House’s new book on the Process Church of the Final Judgement, Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment by Timothy Wyllie is out, and Feral House has a site up with various excerpts and photos.

Process Church of the Final Judgement, Love Sex Fear Death: The Inside Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment

The book includes the recollections of various former Process members, and reproduces many rare Church documents. I can’t wait to own this.

For more on the Process Church, check out our dossier

The next hacking frontier: your brain?

July 15, 2009 /

WiredScience writes: Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain.

In the past year, researchers have developed technology that makes it possible to use thoughts to operate a computer, maneuver a wheelchair or even use Twitter — all without lifting a finger. But as neural devices become more complicated — and go wireless — some scientists say the risks of “brain hacking” should be taken seriously.

“Neural devices are innovating at an extremely rapid rate and hold tremendous promise for the future,” said computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington. “But if we don’t start paying attention to security, we’re worried that we might find ourselves in five or 10 years saying we’ve made a big mistake.”

Hackers tap into personal computers all the time — but what would happen if they focused their nefarious energy on neural devices, such as the deep-brain stimulators currently used to treat Parkinson’s and depression, or electrode systems for controlling prosthetic limbs? According to Kohno and his colleagues, who published their concerns July 1 in Neurosurgical Focus, most current devices carry few security risks. But as neural engineering becomes more complex and more widespread, the potential for security breaches will mushroom.

Next Nature: The next hacking frontier: your brain?

(Thanks Nova!)

I warned people to stenograph their thoughts years ago. I later read (at the prompting of one Dr. Menlo Haruki Murakami’s Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, in which neuro-encryption plays a great role.

Jeff Vail: Concluding Thoughts on EROEI and Carbon

July 14, 2009 /

All this boils down to some of the most poorly understood aspects of climate science: are we better off raising carbon levels now in order to better reduce them in the future, or is it more important (from the perspective of various feedback loops, etc.) to keep levels from ever going over a certain threshold, even if that means more overall emission down the road? We simply don’t have an answer to this question, but it suggests that the climate/carbon argument for a renewables transition is, at a minimum, built on a shaky and uncertain foundation. The real problem is that–much like broader discussions of the renewables transition–the uncertainty in the carbon-reduction argument for renewable energy flies under the radar because nearly all involved in the discussion use very high EROEI figures for renewables. If these figures, as I have argued, could actually be 10x lower than current estimates, then much of the current debate is off track.

None of this is to suggest that we should use uncertainty to abandon action, to stop efforts to transition to a sustainable society. However, we must accept this uncertainty in deciding HOW to best make that transition. More centralized wind and solar and a better grid might be the answer. It might not. Maybe the answer is decentralization and radical reduction in energy consumption? As I’ll address in the future, structurally self-interested participants tend to argue for the former solution–you don’t hear GE raising the uncertainties and potential socio-political pitfalls of centralized wind or solar. Unfortunately, we’ll only find out if their confidence in our ability to transition was misplaced after such efforts have conclusively failed…

Jeff Vail: The Renewables Hump 8: Concluding Thoughts on EROEI and Carbon

10 Wind Turbines That Push the Limits of Design

July 14, 2009 /

quiet revolution wind turbine

The wind turbine has become an instantly recognizable symbol for “green energy” (and for green washing). But here are 10 examples of turbines that are turning the iconic design on its head.

Popular Mechanics:

(via OVO)

In the news cycle, memes spread more like a heartbeat than a virus

July 14, 2009 /

heart beat curve

Perhaps owing to those biological origins, we have come to describe particularly fast-moving Internet memes as viral, which evokes the image of passing through a population (and doesn’t, for what it’s worth, have anything to do with genetics). In New York magazine’s discussion of Wasik’s book, Times culture critic Virginia Heffernan questions whether the virus metaphor is “misleading — and ripe for retirement.” The meme-tracking study provides an alternative analogy: the heartbeat.

Back to Kleinberg’s idea of the web as a “single organism.” The study found that, yes, memes peak on prominent websites — that is, those indexed by Google News — before less prominent ones, but both of those peaks are generally preceded by a blip on the less prominent sites. Here’s how it’s illustrated in the paper; we’re looking at the percentage of each meme’s mentions that occur on sites not indexed by Google News. Zero hour represents the meme’s overall peak.

Nieman Journalism Lab: In the news cycle, memes spread more like a heartbeat than a virus

(via Jay Rosen)

Announcing Ignite EsoZone

July 14, 2009 /

What is Ignite?

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then 100s of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC.

We’re pleased to announce that EsoZone will be hosting a one hour Ignite during EsoZone on Saturday afternoon, October 10th.

Of course, there’s a twist.

Instead of 20 slides, at EsoZone Ignite speakers will use 5 props. The time will still be exactly 5 minutes. Speakers must incorporate all 5 props, and must speak for exactly 5 minutes.

Want to do it? Send a proposal to klint @ renegadefuturist dot com. Up to 10 talks will be selected by a panel. The deadline is September 15th, 2009.

Be sure to check out the next Ignite Portland this Thursday if you’re in town to see how the whole thing works, or check the Ignite web site for a schedule of Ignites in other cities.

You might also want to check out the BIL Speaker Guidelines for some general ideas for how to give a good talk.

(Please note that there is no relation between Ignite EsoZone Portland and Ignite Portland)

Bob Flanagan: Super Cystic Fibrosis Song (NSFW)

July 13, 2009 /

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