Thousands of Store Closures Already in 2019
March 11th, 2019Via: CNBC:
Gap, Victoria’s Secret, J.C. Penney, Tesla and Abercrombie & Fitch. What do these companies have in common? They’re all closing stores this year.
Already, 4,810 store closures have been announced by retailers in 2019, according to Coresight Research. And it’s only March. Last year, Coresight tracked 5,524 store closures, down more than 30 percent from a record 8,139 closures announced in 2017.
Is This the End of Recycling?
March 9th, 2019Via: The Atlantic:
For decades, we were sending the bulk of our recycling to China—tons and tons of it, sent over on ships to be made into goods such as shoes and bags and new plastic products. But last year, the country restricted imports of certain recyclables, including mixed paper—magazines, office paper, junk mail—and most plastics. Waste-management companies across the country are telling towns, cities, and counties that there is no longer a market for their recycling. These municipalities have two choices: pay much higher rates to get rid of recycling, or throw it all away.
Most are choosing the latter.
How Nuclear Bombs Work
March 9th, 2019Part 1
Part 2
U.S. Regulators Clear Path for Genetically Modified Salmon
March 9th, 2019Via: AP:
U.S. regulators on Friday gave the green light to salmon genetically modified to grow about twice as fast as normal, but the company behind it may face legal challenges before the fish can be sold domestically.
The Food and Drug Administration said it lifted an alert that had prevented AquaBounty from importing its salmon eggs to its Indiana facility, where they would be grown before being sold as food. The agency noted the salmon has already undergone safety reviews, and that it lifted its alert because the fish would be subject to a new regulation that will require companies to disclose when a food is bioengineered.
The move comes despite a pending lawsuit filed by a coalition of consumer, environmental and fishing groups that challenged the FDA’s approval of the fish.
“We think a remedy in our case would stop sale of the fish before they’re allowed to be sold,” said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups suing the FDA.
Zuckerberg: Escape Chute Leading from Conference Room to Parking Garage?
March 8th, 2019HA!
Just change “Zuckerberg” to “Blofeld” as you read to experience Comedy Gold.
Via: Business Insider:
Armed executive protection officers stand on constant guard outside Zuckerberg’s gated homes in the Bay Area, at least one of which also features a panic room. If he goes to a bar, his team will sweep through ahead of time to make sure it’s safe. They will vet new any new doctors, or trainers if he wants to take up a new hobby. He is driven everywhere, with the security team monitoring traffic and adjusting his route accordingly. (Back when he still drove, Zuckerberg was, in the words of one source, a “shitty driver.”)
During company all-hands meetings, members of Zuckerberg’s Praetorian Guard sit at the front of the room and are dotted throughout the crowd, just in case an employee tries to rush him. They wear civilian clothes to blend in with non-security employees.
Zuckerberg doesn’t typically work in a cordoned-off office like a traditional corporate executive. Instead, his regular desk is on the floor of Facebook’s open-plan office, just like everyone one – but executive protection officers sit near his desk while he works, in case of security threats. Facebook’s offices are built above an employee parking lot, but it’s impossible to park directly beneath Zuckerberg’s desk, because of concerns about the risk of car bombs.
He also has access to a large glass-walled conference room in the middle of the space near his desk, which features bullet-resistant windows and a panic button. There’s also a persistent rumor among Facebook employees that he has a secret “panic chute” his team can evacuate him down to get him out of the office in a hurry. The truth of this matter remains murky: One source said they had been briefed about the existence of a top-secret exit route through the floor of the conference room into the parking garage, but others said they had no knowledge of it. Facebook declined to comment on this.
China’s “Democracy” Includes Mandatory Apps, Mass Chat Surveillance
March 7th, 2019Change the proper nouns and it would read like the situation in Europe or the U.S.
Via: ArsTechnica:
As the National People’s Congress gathers in Beijing for the beginning of China’s “Two Sessions” political season, state media is making an international propaganda push on social media—including on platforms blocked by China’s “Great Firewall”—to promote China’s “system of democracy.”
That system of democracy apparently involves mass surveillance to tap into the will of the people. While China’s growth as a surveillance state has been well-documented, the degree to which the Chinese leadership uses digital tools to shape the national political landscape and to control Chinese citizens has grown even further recently. That’s because authorities have been tapping directly into Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members’ and other Chinese citizens’ online activities and social media profiles.
Malfunctioning Tesla Powerwall? No, Malfunctioning Grid
March 7th, 2019Here’s another chapter in my endless saga related to the electric grid in the Far North of NZ.
About a week ago, I noticed that my Tesla Powerwall 2 was not discharging power to household loads, even though it had plenty of charge. It was going into “Standby” mode and the house was drawing power from the grid. This was happening mostly at night. Interestingly, when I shut off the grid connection to the house, the Powerwall functioned perfectly in off-grid mode.
I called Tesla and explained the situation. They installed some sort of diagnostic firmware on my Powerwall by remote control and a couple of days later informed me that my grid connection was periodically going into an overvoltage state that was out of specification for my country. The Powerwall system was working as intended and complying with rules related to grid connected inverters.
I asked for it in writing and Tesla emailed me the following:
From: PowerwallSupportNA
Thu, Feb 28, 11:30 AM
Hello,
I hope this email finds you well. This is ****** with Tesla Powerwall Support. I was reaching out in response to your request for support. The Powerwall is operating as intended. The issue is regarding the grid voltage that is out of range. The Powerwall is going into standby due to high grid voltage. Your grid voltage fluctuates between 239V-254V.
According to AS/NZ4777.2 ‘Grid Connection of Energy Systems via Inverters’ Clause 7.5.2 ‘Limits for Sustained Operation’, inverters shall automatically disconnect if the average grid voltage over a 10 minute period exceeds 248V, see excerpt from AS/NZ4777.2 below. Seeing as the Powerwall contains an inverter, we have to comply with the standard. The only way to fix this is to contact the DNSP/DNO. They usually launch an investigation and if they determine the grid is non-compliant, they will reduce the grid voltage at the transformer. If they determine otherwise, there is nothing we can do.
For further questions, please call us back at 877-961-7652 option 2 for Powerwall.
Kind regards,
Powerwall Technical Support
—
Next, I called the grid operator and explained that I was experiencing an overvoltage situation at my house. While the person on the phone wasn’t dismissive, I got a sense that she didn’t understand what was happening. I asked if she could pass an email from Tesla through to an engineer right now, because they need to know about this.
I emailed it through, she forwarded it to the control room and put me on hold. A few minutes later, it was all hands on deck.
A truck was out here the next morning.
Later that day, the voltage was brought down a bit—not to where it should be, but enough to keep my Powerwall online while connected to the grid.
It seems like they’re running higher voltages as a matter of routine to handle higher loads at peak times. We’re supposed to be getting 230v out of the wall here, but, even after the adjustments were made, the lowest voltage I’ve seen is 238v, and it still goes as high as 246v at night.
The legal limit is 230v + or – 6%, or 243.8v on the high end. Here’s a recent picture of my UPS, which shows the grid voltage:
In case you’re wondering, that’s a very high quality UPS from CyberPower, and my Kill-A-Watt and volt meter show the same thing.
So, it’s still bumping up against the redline sometimes. This affects dozens of residences around here.
I don’t want to write what the technician said who came out to my house when I asked about grid telemetry. To put it mildly: The end users reporting faults over the phone are the telemetry. He really appreciated that I was able to figure this out before it became a more serious problem.
“Thank Tesla,” I said.
I’m posting this as a sort of public service announcement. If you’re in NZ and you suspect something weird is happening with your grid connection, definitely look into it.
A few comments about the Powerwall 2 during this situation:
1) I asked Tesla why the Powerwall couldn’t treat grid overvoltage like a grid-down situation and run in backup mode until the voltage dropped back down again? There was a long pause and then a response that was something like, “It just can’t.” But it seems like a couple of lines of code on the gateway could fix that.
if grid voltage is greater than or equal to 248v for ten minutes then grid state = down
Relays go clunk and then we carry on in off-grid mode until the gateway senses that the voltage has come down again.
2) It would be nice if the Tesla app showed the reason for the Powerwall being in standby mode. It would be even nicer if the app allowed users to see grid voltage and frequency, with alerts for when the grid starts to go off the rails.
3) When I was running the house offgrid, the Powerwall was kicking out mostly 230v 50hz, right on the nose. Regardless of load, the voltage never deviated more than + or – 1v. Nice!
Trump Cancels U.S. Report on Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes
March 7th, 2019Via: Fortune:
President Donald Trump revoked a requirement that U.S. intelligence officials publicly report the number of civilians killed in drone strikes and other attacks on terrorist targets outside of war zones.
Trump formally ended the requirement with an executive order on Wednesday, months after signaling such a move. The administration last year ignored a May deadline for an annual accounting of civilian and enemy casualties required under an order signed in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama. The order was part of an accountability effort to minimize civilian deaths from drone strikes.
FedEx Package-Delivering Robot Can Climb Stairs, Carry Hot Food, and Replace Human Workers
March 7th, 2019Via: Business Insider:
FedEx revealed a cutting-edge robot on Wednesday that can deliver packages and hot food from stores and restaurants to customers’ homes.
The FedEx Same-Day Bot will be hitting the streets this summer in select markets, including Memphis, Tennessee, the company said.
FedEx said it collaborated with retailers including Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Pizza Hut, and Walgreens to develop the technology, which it said would “change the face of local delivery.”
The Bot features a large white cube atop four wheels. The wheels allow the Bot to climb stairs and maneuver easily over uneven ground, according to videos of the battery-powered machine in action.
New Zealand: Kaitaia College Sets Solar Power Record
March 6th, 2019I tried to crack this nut several years ago. The math on system viability was simple. The news here is that they got the thing financed somehow.
In the Far North, it’s not a question of the system saving money. That’s easy. In almost all situations, the customer is going to save money. A lot of money.
The problem up here is that practically nobody is able to afford the systems.
Is it a coincidence that the poorest area in the country has the highest power prices?
No.
All industry excuses as to why the prices are so high up here are lies.
The real reason is that people can’t afford to fight back with solar due to the upfront system costs. When I was selling systems up here, I wasn’t able to get a single system done on finance, even when people owned their homes and had no debt.
I’m not allowed to give details, but there is a large government building up here that pays an astonishing amount of public money each month for electricity. Economic viability for solar was a no brainer.
It’s UNBELIEVABLE that a large portion of the loads in that building are not running on solar during business hours…
Anyway, they didn’t do it. Couldn’t afford it. They just keep paying tons of public money to ******* (electricity retailer name redacted).
It just does your f*ckin head in, man, the stupidity of it all.
Anyway, I’m glad that Kaitaia College finally figured it out.
Via: New Zealand Herald:
A solar PV system, the biggest at any school in New Zealand, was officially unveiled at Kaitaia College last week.
Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis unveiled a plaque at a function also attended by guests including Dwayne Crocker, from the Sustainable Electricity Association.
The project, a partnership between the college and SuperPower Technologies, was billed as offering significant financial benefits for the school and serving as a springboard for students and the community towards building understanding and solving local energy problems.
The system is 101kWp, comprising some 367 panels, which will produce around 60 per cent of the school’s electricity requirements during the school day in summer. The system was purchased on finance, to be paid off over 10 years, but the school was expecting a nett saving on its power bill from day one.
After 10 years it will own the system outright.
