* Posts by jake

26591 publicly visible posts • joined 7 Jun 2007

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Datacenter migration plan missed one vital detail: The leaky roof

jake Silver badge
Pint

Re: Not computers, but still

Sadly, they were hunted to extinction. Today's kids will never see the vast herds stretching to the horizon.

A toast, then, to the memory of the Naugah! Never will the world see their like again.

jake Silver badge

Re: What?

Cinder blocks are the concrete building blocks sometimes called "concrete masonry units". They are so named because they used to use cinders from defunct cinder cone volcanoes as the aggregate in the concrete mix. You can still see cinder operations in the volcano fields in the southern California desert.

Note that they are only strong in one axis. Somewhat counter-intuitively[0], only the two "open" ends can take any pressure. The four "flat" sides are quite weak. Thus my questioning their use as flooring.

[0] As any number of shade-tree mechanics have discovered after attempting to support a vehicle on them.

jake Silver badge

Re: Major leak

I've seen numerous top floor offices formerly inhabited by pre dot-bomb SillyConValley C*s that had the then trendy lap pools installed. To the best of my knowledge, not a one of them has ever been used by anyone but the original occupant (and sometimes not even them) ... yet all of the pools are properly maintained for chemistry, water heated, room air dehumidified, etc. Many of them have an attendant hot-tub and/or sauna, also fully functional and unused.

Waste, America.

::sighs::

jake Silver badge

Re: Not computers, but still

50 years ago they would have been Naugahyde. The hot tar droplets probably partially melted into it, making cleaning virtually impossible.

jake Silver badge

Re: I've seen worse

My brother's eldest kid watched as the entire admin wing of her high school was lifted up and moved over a mile, before being unceremoniously dropped en masse about 100 feet to the ground. There is cell phone video of this (not hers, she was running for a shelter) ... As is usually the case, it is rather bad & shaky[0] video, but still amazing to watch.

They live in Oklahoma. Tornadoes can be a bitch. Nobody from the school was hurt. Amazingly, they managed to recover all the data on the well-traveled computers.

[0] And portrait instead of landscape. Of course. WTF, people‽‽‽ After all these years, you'd think the collective "you" would learn how to use the tool!

jake Silver badge

Re: An exposed cinderblock ceiling?

I've only seen block & beam for single story buildings, never multiple floors. And I've never seen cinder blocks used as the infill blocks.

I'm not saying it doesn't exist, mind, just that I've never seen it. And that I wouldn't be caught dead working/living on one of the the lower floors. Too much room for error.

jake Silver badge

Re: Architect Smartitect

"It would have been OK if the walls were magically supported but in fact they were supported by a concrete pillar set a foot or so back from the corner."

Never heard of cantilevering, apparently. Even works well here in earthquake country. I can show you tract homes built in the 50s that use this detail (look up "eichler" if you are interested).

jake Silver badge

Re: Architect Smartitect

"A year later we went paperless*"

For at least 45 years every time I hear of someone suggesting that going "paperless" is a good idea, I buy more stock in Boise Cascade, Crown Zellerbach, Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Plum Creek Timber and Crane&Co (etc) ... I haven't lost a dime yet, quite the opposite in fact.

This is not investment advice. I am offering a testimonial. Consult an expert before investing. Etc.

jake Silver badge

An exposed cinderblock ceiling?

And implied in TFA, multiple cinder block floors above that?

Where is that considered good building practice? Is it actually to code anywhere? In my travels I've seen a lot of dodgy buildings, but this one is new to me.

Tesla expands Powerwall-to-grid program to cover most of California

jake Silver badge

Re: $2/kwh is a lot of money

"I also can't afford (or justify) a top notch accountant that can make sure I legally pay the least amount of taxes every year."

You can't afford not to. Unless you are using the EZ form, even H&R Block will be better than doing it yourself ... they actually take classes to make sure they are up to date on whatever changes have been made year-on-year. Under $200 for most people, and typically they save you over five times that.

"In 10 years when there are more and more used EV's for sale with ten year old batteries and motors, the junk yards will be full of them."

FTFY

jake Silver badge

Re: Oh how did we survive 100 years ago

Humans have used solar power since time immemorial. Same for wind.

The Greeks and Chinese had hydro power around 3,000 years ago. It may go back much further, but given that most of the infrastructure rotted out because it was wooden and located in a wet by nature environment, nobody really knows.

Not hydro-electric, mind ...

Tesla Megapack battery ignites at substation after less than 6 months

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

Name checks out.

jake Silver badge

Re: every time a lithium battery goes to heaven, […]

"Gloria gets car sick on Mondays?"

in ictu oculi

At least in my experience.

jake Silver badge

Re: Burn in Period.... Failure

"Never had to deal with ongoing Magic Smoke release as a risk in the good old days though."

No? Since time immemorial, the command I use to turn on new equipment has been "smoke it". For repaired equipment it is always "smoke test".

Fortunately the magic smoke usually stays put ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

Royal Society for the Pulverizing of Birds?

Have duck press, will travel ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Li-Fe batteries aren't an ideal fit

The biggest problems with lead-acid batteries, when used in this context, is that the good ones require near constant maintenance, and they outgas.

I'll continue to use them to start vehicles, but all my household/barn/shop power needs (except remote deep-well water pumps, and the electric gates[0]) are now being met with LiFePo. I rather suspect I'll be quite happy with this for the rest of my life.

(The stuff that needs three-phase power is mostly mothballed for the moment ... The plan is to work on it over the winter, with a new solar array for power. I've already built the foundation, the basic support structure, run the conduit and pulled the wire, and installed & tested the backup generator ... Just need to install the battery, the electronics, the wire and the PV panels, and plug it into my existing 3-pase distribution system. Simples. Not.)

[0] These are already fully functional, so why spend money swapping out batteries?

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

You are wrong on so many levels ... allow me to educate you.

Nuclear Power doesn't have to be built in seismically stable places. Look at Japan.

Nuclear Power doesn't need massive quantities of water. Just enough. Most of it is recycled.

So-called "lack of transport links" is a red herring, we can build roads/rails anywhere.

Most uranium comes from Australia and Canada.

The so-called waste isn't waste, it is fuel to make electricity.

jake Silver badge

Re: Wait until we get te cheap Chinese knocks-off

"If the development of batteries had continued at the pace of the infernal combustion engine, then your battery would be the size of your fist and you would swap it every 1000 miles."

Absolutely untrue.

Put another way, battery technology has continued at a furious rate these last couple hundred years, especially ramping up these last 75 or so as military and space technology have required it.

And this is all we have to show for it. Face it. It's not going to get much better. Physics and chemistry say no.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

"Crazy idea - but as the green movement have forced us to declare a Climate Emergency, could we use that emergency to push through new nuclear power plants more quickly?"

I'm hoping so. It is truly the only real way out of this mess.

Besides, it'll be fun watching the hippies slowly dissolve into pools of grey goo.

jake Silver badge

The same. With generators, and in some cases PVs, to ensure they stay operational in an emergency.

Fukushima's problem was that the batteries and gensets were located on the ground, in reach of the tsunami, instead of on the roof, where they would have been out of harm's way.

jake Silver badge

Re: PG&E has an oil burning plant in Moss Landing

Clearly you've never been to Washington DC. Or Westminster.

Or San Francisco/Berkeley/Oakland.

jake Silver badge

Re: Wait until we get te cheap Chinese knocks-off

"Now correct that for vehicle-miles."

I've personally seen six EVs burning on the side of the road or in parking lots since the pandemic started. None of these was the result of a crash. I have not seen a single hydrocarbon powered uncrashed vehicle burning in well over 25 years.

Granted, this is just a testimonial ... but given the number of miles I travel on a yearly basis, it might actually mean something.

jake Silver badge
Pint

I do not disagree with you on this.

All I'm objecting to is the equivalence of the slack-jawed, drooling morons standing behind the television preacher of your choice, shouting "praise jesus!", or "preach it brother!" or "amen!" or whatever every time said sham shaman pauses for breath.

But whatever. I asked nicely, I won't bring it up again. Be you. Beer?

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

"What's wrong with British Fava Beans?"

They are not British? They were imported by the Romans around 2,000 years ago. (Besides, I thought you lot called 'em "broad beans" ... ).

jake Silver badge

Re: Wait until we get te cheap Chinese knocks-off

I'd take anything coming out of Davis on this kind of subject with a large grain of salt. They tend to be more than just a hair on the side of green-for-the-research-bucks.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

On land they become food for carrion eaters, too.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

Big waste. One can go out and shoot golfs for several hours and still have nothing for the pot.

The biggest contribution golf has brought to Western Society is the knowledge that Donald Trump cheats at it, and thus can't be trusted by man nor beast. There's a reason he's the only President in over 100 years not to have a pet in the White House; the critters won't have anything to do with him. Seems they are smarter than the followers of his personality cult.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

I'm not all that sure you are correct ... In the UK, there is only about 1 arable hectare per ten people, according to the most current stats I can find (6.5 million hectares arable, 67 million people). From what I understand, you can grow enough food on half an acre (0.2 ha) to feed one person for one year. Looks to me like you are short by about 50% ... and that's assuming perfect harvest, which never happens.

Note that the above also assumes logical planting and sharing, not "here's your half acre, that's all you get, plant or starve". If each person were intended to do for themselves (not recommended!), I've seen estimates as low as 15 acres (6ha) required, to around 20 (8ha).

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

I ran lead-acid around here for my minimal PV storage needs, until I discovered LiFePo ... now the whole place runs on battery power.

jake Silver badge

Re: Explanation ... and commentary from the trenches.

"PG&E has an oil burning plant in Moss Landing"

Had. That was ripped out. It's all natural gas now. And PG&E doesn't run it.

jake Silver badge

There are many chemical reactions that do not require air-born oxygen, and yet are extremely exothermic.

jake Silver badge

"I do live in Vancouver, and confirm it'd be fairly weird for a fire truck to have to drive 30km to a fire."

I guess you have no wild fires in Vancouver, then. Here in California, it is not unusual to see fire trucks from San Diego working fires on the Oregon border, 850+ miles from home.

Note that once on station, the trucks can often idle for extended periods (days) supplying both electricity and pumping water. It's far easier to refill diesel tanks than it is to charge batteries.

jake Silver badge

"But such is politics."

Please stop saying this. The way you use it makes it sound like a quasi-religious interjection. It detracts from your message.

jake Silver badge

Re: Solar battery is the future !

All of your examples can be prevented. This kind of battery fire cannot.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

We can build nuke plants that will survive any earthquake that area is likely to throw their way. Japan has many examples. Even Fukushima survived the quake+tsunami; it was the badly designed/implemented peripherals that failed.

And please note that central California earthquakes don't cause tsunamis ...

jake Silver badge

Around here, typically I'll drive a semi taking harvest to storage for four hours, then drive a tractor for four hours, then 8 hours off. With four drivers rotating, it is fairly easy to keep up the pace for a week or so without getting tired enough to start making mistakes. My operation has more than four drivers available.

Normally, the harvest window for me and my guys (and gals) is no more than five days. Planting similar.

Modern LED lights make working at night just as easy as working during the day. In some places easier.

jake Silver badge

Re: contradictory statement?

Who is "we", Kemosabe?

jake Silver badge

Yes, we harvest at night[0]. Especially if rain is on the way (rare though that might be around here, we had that very issue just this last weekend). It's not dedication, it's part of the job. The other side, planting, also happens 24/7 until it is done.

A spare battery pack would cost nearly the same as a spare tractor. And in reality, you would probably need four battery packs (+ charging infrastructure) per tractor to maintain a nearly non-stop harvest. Plus the transportable equipment to do the battery swap in the field. Them thangs is heavy, they is. All in all, quite spendy.

Electric power for farm equipment looks good on paper, until you look at real world TCO. Then it's shit.

One exception: In so-called "third world countries", where bleeding-heart yuppies install a free (to the locals) PV system, a free (to the locals) electric tractor that needs no expensive diesel to run can be a godsend. Hopefully that same god will send help when (not if) something breaks ... especially considering that none of the parts will have been manufactured locally, nor be available locally.

[0] Note that it's not just my land I'm working ... I rent my equipment/personnel out to other locals who can't/won't afford their own gear.

jake Silver badge

Re: contradictory statement?

"I was in Paris just a couple of days ago."

You and several hundred thousand other gents.

Sounds unsanitary. At best.

jake Silver badge

They are testing electric plug-in tractors. I was allowed to borrow one for a few weeks. I really like the low end torque and the relative quiet. I really hate that I can't use it non-stop for 72+ hours a couple of times during harvest season. This last is a complete deal-breaker. When crops need to come in, I can't have my tractor sitting on the charger for hours on end.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

"Take the wind away and it does make quite a few more turns, more than you expect."

If unloaded, they will spin for a bit, sure. Momentum is momentum. But if you have a load on 'em, not so much.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

While I tend to agree with you, I'd say the same thing about the island of Great Britain ... do you lot even have enough square inches to feed yourselves anymore?

At least California feeds much of the rest of the nation ...

jake Silver badge

Re: contradictory statement?

Firefighters always remain on-site after a fire is nominally out. Sometimes something is missed, causing a flair-up. Better to have folks at the ready than having to roll out on another emergency call. This is true regardless of the nature of the fire.

Paris exists only in your imagination. Thankfully.

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

Seems to me that the whole electric car boondoggle is going downhill anyway ...

jake Silver badge

Re: Look to Dinorwig

"All those hills and mountains around Monterey Bay would've supported a much less flammable, much less expensive pumped storage facility."

Yeah, but no. There is not really enough watershed for that. Also, that's all earthquake fractured rock, it won't support large enough reservoirs to make any difference. Also, we're in a drought. There is barely enough water to drink, much less keep the Nation's salad production running.

What the area needs is a nuclear plant ... perhaps they could put it at the existing Moss Landing power plant site, and install a large desalinization plant at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone. I'd recommend starting the installation about 40 years ago.

jake Silver badge

Explanation ... and commentary from the trenches.

Typically, when smoke from fires turns from dark to white it means firefighters are getting water on the problem. White means steam, not combustion by-products ... This is a good thing, at least from a traditional perspective.

That was then. This is now. Someone should probably bring the North Monterey County Fire Department's newly appointed (last month) Chief Joel Mendoza up to speed on the modern world before he embarrasses his department further. Note I'm not blaming the Chief for this ... he's a firefighter by training and inclination, not a corporate spokesmouth.

Either that, or perhaps the Moss Landing PG&E plant should pay more in taxes again (only $142,000 last year, down from $860,000ish in the early 2000s), which would help fund the fire department to perhaps bring in a trained spokesperson ... North County is down from 30-odd personnel to just 22[0]. The whole district needs an overhaul financially, but the rich bastards it serves keep voting down property taxes, thus cutting fire protection services funding.

[0] Which also cuts the number of firefighters per truck going out on calls ... should be three or four, but these guys are doing what they can with just two.

Teams of aerial drones might one day help to build houses

jake Silver badge

Re: Properties of materials

Foundation, framing, sheathing, roofing and drying in takes almost no time for a good crew. Neither does wiring, plumbing, HVAC, data and all the other trades.

What takes time is waiting on the mandatory inspections between each part of the build.

jake Silver badge

Re: And they can run Doom!

OK, we won't mention Doom. Can it run Crysis?

More to the point, does it use Rust instead of AutoLISP?

Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me ...

jake Silver badge

Whatever.

"Next, the researchers will work with construction companies to validate the solutions"

Yet another solution looking for a problem, then?

The modern world sure seems to wast a lot of time and energy on pie in the sky, doesn't it?

jake Silver badge

Oh, I don't know.

Getting the fuck out of the rat-race was a fairly high priority for me.

Obviously, YMMV.

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