Archive for the 'Infrastructure' Category
Another Attack on Bay Area Fiber Optic Cables
September 16th, 2015Via: USA Today: Someone deliberately severed two AT&T fiber optic cables in the Livermore, Calif., Monday night, the latest in a string of attacks against the Internet’s privately run backbone. AT&T is offering a $250,000 reward in connection with the latest attacks. AT&T’s fiber optic network is legally considered a critical piece of the nation’s […]
India Just Turned Off Mobile Internet for 63 Million Citizens Amid Protests in Ahmedabad
August 27th, 201563 million! Imagine everyone in California and Texas without mobile data access. Via: The Next Web: Mobile internet services have been blocked in the Indian state of Gujarat (home to nearly 63 million people), following violent protests led by the Patel community after one of its leaders was detained by local police in Ahmedabad.
Typhoon Soudelor Kills 6 in Taiwan and Leaves Millions Without Power
August 8th, 2015Via: New York Times: A powerful typhoon pummeled Taiwan on Saturday, dumping rain, toppling trees and leaving millions without electricity as strong winds ripped across the island. At least six people were killed, Taiwan’s Interior Ministry said, including in its count people who had died Thursday and Friday as the storm approached. Five people were […]
FBI Investigating 11 Attacks on San Francisco-Area Internet Lines
June 30th, 2015Via: USA Today: The FBI is investigating at least 11 physical attacks on high-capacity Internet cables in California’s San Francisco Bay Area dating back a year, including one early Tuesday morning. Agents confirm the latest attack disrupted Internet service for businesses and residential customers in and around Sacramento, the state’s capital. FBI agents declined to […]
SpaceX Files with Government to Provide Internet Service from Space
June 9th, 2015This has been only a couple of years away for the past two decades. Via: Washington Post: Elon Musk’s space company has asked the federal government for permission to begin testing on an ambitious project to beam Internet service from space, a significant step forward for an initiative that could create another major competitor to […]
‘High Level’ of Radiation Detected in Tokyo Park
April 25th, 2015Via: BBC: Japanese authorities have detected an unusually high level of radiation around playground equipment in a Tokyo park, report local media. The park, in the Toshima ward in central Tokyo, has been fenced off. Authorities recorded up to 480 microsieverts per hour at one spot – nearly half the recommended annual limit of exposure […]
Robot Dies After Three Hours Inside Fukushima Reactor
April 14th, 2015Watch the radiation monitor numbers on the video (lower right). That thing hits 24.9 sieverts per hour. In case you don’t have an understanding of how deadly that is, see this handy radiation dose chart. Via: Guardian: Decommissioning work at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has suffered a setback after a robot sent in […]
The Economics of Grid Defection
April 13th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — I am Jack’s smirking revenge. Via: Rocky Mountain Institute: Distributed electricity generation, especially solar PV, is rapidly spreading and getting much cheaper. Distributed electricity storage is doing the same, thanks largely to mass production of batteries for electric vehicles. Solar power is already starting to […]
California Imposes First-Ever Mandatory Water Restrictions
April 2nd, 2015Via: Time: California’s governor issued unprecedented mandatory water restrictions for the entire state on Wednesday, in the face of a persistent drought that is growing dire. Governor Jerry Brown directed the State Water Resources Control Board to cut the state’s water usage by 25% by enacting a series of water-reduction practices, which could translate to […]
Turkey Power Outage Shuts Down Public Transportation and Half of Provinces
April 1st, 2015Via: Guardian: A huge power cut has caused chaos and shut down public transport on Tuesday across Turkey, with the government refusing to rule out that the electricity system had been the victim of an attack. The nationwide power cut, the worst in 15 years, began about 10.36am in Istanbul, the state-run Anatolia news agency […]
