This is taken from https://data-economy.com , just yesterday if that's any coincidence at all ‘Hell is coming’ – What Europe’s killer heatwave hotter than Death Valley means for data centre businesses . . . ByJoão Marques Lima Published: 21:35, 30 June, 2019 Updated: 02:36, 1 July, 2019
"Every data centre owner’s worst nightmare is a lights-out event. Sometimes, this s down to human error and could be avoided. But other times, an outage could be completely out of control from those in charge. As Europe faces one of the worst heat waves in its history, Data Economy looks at how the extreme event is both a challenge and lesson to colocation companies".
We are experiencing the same thing here, like the heat wave that is sizzling Europe.
". . .The heat wave is being experienced by more than 320 million people across the continent with several measures put in place by local authorities in an attempt to curb the consequences of the severe heat. Such event is, nonetheless, limited solely to people but also infrastructure. In previous years, there have been reports of roads melting, rivers running dry and smog engulfing entire cities. . . "
How does it impact data centres?
In a worst case scenario, during a heat wave, a data centre could face downtime as a result of several circumstances including IT equipment overheating, UPSs coming alight, electrical systems failing, power outages and other events.
In extreme scenarios, a data centre building could fall victim to a wildfire and be consumed by flames, something hard to prepare any building for. It is also important to highlight that a fire in a data centre could lead to the loss of life, as it has happened in several occasions in the past.
According to Capitoline, between 2008 and 2018 there have been 53 data centre outages globally cause by fire. This works out as an average of over five per year and the sample only counts with publicly recorded major outages caused by fires and does not represent the total number of data centres affected by fire in the period.
". . . The Grant County Assessor appraised the subject property on an erroneous basis, resulting in a taxable assessed value that exceeded the subject property’s market value on January 1, 2017,” Garvey Barer, H5’s Seattle-based attorney, wrote in a filing with the Douglas County Superior Court dated June 24.
“Grant County’s action in collecting taxes based upon the illegal, erroneous and excessive assessments violates the property tax provisions [of Washington state law], and the equal protection requirements of the Washington and United States constitutions.” Elsewhere two months ago, H5 Data Centers announced a 25,000 sq ft expansion of its Phoenix colocation facility in Chandler, Arizona. The company revealed that the second phase development at the 180,000 sq ft data centre facility adds infrastructure capacity to the data centre campus. READ MORE > https://data-economy.com/
Submission forms online are now available in English and Spanish. 11 locations in 2 neighborhoods have been identified as offering opportunities for improvement, intervention, creative enhancement.
_________________________________________________________________________________ Mesa Prototyping Project seeks ideas for neighborhood projects Submissions due July 31, 2019 June 25, 2019 (Mesa, AZ) The Mesa Arts Center, City of Mesa and several other partners have issued a Call for Ideas for the next phase of the Mesa Prototyping Project. The project asks, how does a community design itself, and explores answers through an ongoing series of events that utilize arts-based tools for community development. The Call for Ideas seeks ideas for neighborhood projects that directly respond to input and needs identified by residents of those neighborhoods. Proposals for temporary projects are being accepted through July 31, 2019 and anyone can apply. Selected projects will receive a budget of $3,000 (depending on costs) and will be showcased in a free, public event on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Following a community residency and feedback gathering process facilitated by two artist teams, 11 locations in 2 neighborhoods have been identified as offering opportunities for improvement, intervention, creative enhancement.> Call for Ideas in English.> Call for Ideas in Spanish. Those interested in submitting an idea for a temporary project are encouraged to review the observations made by neighborhood residents and community residency participants, and to attend an information session to learn more about the opportunity, meet neighborhood residents and ask questions.
Information sessions will be held
Tuesday, June 25, 6-7:30 p.m. at Mesa Artspace Lofts in Mesa, AZ
Thursday, July 11, 6-7:30 p.m. at Catholic Charities Campus in Mesa, AZ.This phase of the Mesa Prototyping Project follows the Main Street Prototyping Festival in 2017, the installation of 2nd generation prototypes in spring 2019, and two community residencies in the neighborhoods southeast of downtown Mesa.
About Mesa Arts Center The Mesa Arts Center mission is to inspire people through engaging arts experiences that are diverse, accessible, and relevant. Owned and operated by the City of Mesa, Arizonas largest arts center is recognized as an international award-winning venue. The unique and architecturally stunning facility is home to four theaters, five art galleries, and 14 art studios and an artist cooperative gallery. For more information, visit mesaartscenter.com.
From the City of Mesa News Room late-in-the-day yesterday
Google looking at Mesa
July 1, 2019 at 7:44 pm "The Mesa City Council approved a development agreement with the multinational technology and Internet services giant, Google. That agreement outlines a potential project which would include a data center and accessory office facilities.
[Blogger Note: the agreement is confidential]
At this time, specific details have not been finalized
"Mesa would be pleased to welcome a global leader in innovation like Google to our community. They would be a great match for the Elliot Road Technology Corridor."Mayor John Giles said. "There is still much to be done but we are excited to be working with another 'Big Four' technology company and the future prospects." Google, which specializes in Internet-related services and products including online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware, is exploring the acquisition of 187 acres in Mesa's Council District 6 just northwest of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. "I'm happy that Google will be joining our business community." District 6 Councilmember Kevin Thompson said. "This will be a win for Mesa, our citizens and the entire region. I look forward to working with them."
At this time, specific details have not been finalized. [Hmmm...that's not quite what city officials hoped to report with all the hype]
While the Development Agreement contemplates milestone minimums which Google must achieve, they do not reflect the actual project scope. "We have a great Economic Development team and City Attorney's Office that have put a lot of time and effort into this project to get us to this point."Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said. "We are also grateful to our partners, Salt River Project, the Arizona Commerce Authority and Greater Phoenix Economic Council, for their assistance along the way."
Aloha! From all appearances just a couple of years ago at a Zumba class here in Mesa, John Giles was just getting his groove on getting in shape for this year's conference that concluded yesterday. In his absence, yesterday's Mesa City Council Study Session was presided over by Vice-Mayor Mark Freeman after local breaking news stories over a new big confidential deal for a proposed Google Data Center was discussed in two closed-door Executive Sessions - one last week and another one yesterday. Though negotiations to all accounts have been ongoing for about a year, the details were not disclosed in the entire development process with the "Code Name: Red Hawk".
Here a snippit from Waikiki Resolutions Preview: Mayors Consider Issues Related to Trade and Immigration https://www.usmayors.org/2019/06/26
"Across the country, mayors tackle the greatest challenges facing our nation every day. At the United States Conference of Mayors’ 87th Annual Meeting this week in Honolulu, they’ll meet to discuss those challenges, including trade and the continued crisis at the border. . . They will share ideas with one another and look for opportunities to learn from each other’s approaches. . . And while the Congress continues to debate the USMCA, mayors will discuss what impact signing it, or failing to do so, will have on cities across the country. There are two resolutions on this issue, one by Mesa Mayor John Giles and the other by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. . ."
Launched in 2014 . . .all with renewable energy, using the ambient water temperature for cooling.
Published on Jul 1, 2019
Views: 145,654
Computer company, Microsoft, is taking servers where they've never been before: under the sea. If this innovative approach to data storage is successful, this might just be the future of "cloud computing." Here’s How We Could Store Data on a Single Atomhttps://youtu.be/7FYmHy85A7I Read More: Microsoft sinks data centre off Orkneyhttps://www.bbc.com/news/technology-4... "If Project Natick proves a success, Microsoft envisages sinking groups of five of these cylinders and being able to deploy a data centre offshore in 90 days, whereas it could take years on land." Want an Energy-Efficient Data Center? Build It Underwaterhttps://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/h... "Sure, cooling computers with seawater would lower the air-conditioning bill and could improve operations in other ways, too, but submerging a data center comes with some obvious costs and inconveniences." How to stop data centres from gobbling up the world’s electricityhttps://www.nature.com/articles/d4158... "Already, data centres use an estimated 200 terawatt hours (TWh) each year. That is more than the national energy consumption of some countries, including Iran." ____________________ Elements is more than just a science show. It’s your science-loving best friend, tasked with keeping you updated and interested on all the compelling, innovative and groundbreaking science happening all around us. Join our passionate hosts as they help break down and present fascinating science, from quarks to quantum theory and beyond. Seeker explains every aspect of our world through a lens of science, inspiring a new generation of curious minds who want to know how today’s discoveries in science, math, engineering and technology are impacting our lives, and shaping our future. Our stories parse meaning from the noise in a world of rapidly changing information.
According to this report a few days ago in Axios here's What's happening: "Across the country, mayors are issuing open calls for smart city tech. One reason, as we've reported, is that second-tier cities are desperate to attract jobs and people — and boost their flagging and sometimes dire circumstances. The effort is to beat a trend in which the best talent and money are going to so-called "superstar cities." _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________ Giants like Alphabet, GE and Cisco are building tech that they claim can transform a city stuck in the past into a futuristic paradise, but their early projects have resulted in unelected companies making what typically are City Hall decisions. . ." _________________________________________________________________________
The trouble with smart cities by Erica Pandey > They are letting the companies into every part of city operations, from managing citizens' data to building affordable housing.
Cities like Las Vegas have made development a free-for-all of Big Tech, and ended up with urban hodge-podge and no coherent look.
Others, like Toronto, have handed over responsibility to a single tech company and are finding their decision-making power usurped.
Such cities are giving "an incredible amount of control [to] tech companies ... that certainly don't have the same general interest as what their governments should be focused on," says Ben Green, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center.
> Here in Mesa we don't see the public even thinking about serious things: fast one-minute
BLOGGER NOTE: "Tech is fostering civic engagement—by letting citizens suggest their own development policies. . ." In the matter of the Google Data Center THERE WAS NO CITIZEN PARTICIPATION - the project was kept under-wraps cloaked in Code Name The Red Hawk Project ________________________________________________________________________
San Diego faced a public backlash when it was revealed that a networkof smart streetlights installed by GE had cameras affixed that police were using to watch citizens.
The city said there is no image recognition capability in the streetlights. "Nevertheless, once the infrastructure for the surveillance state has been built, it's very difficult to prevent government from eventually accessing it irresponsibly, or worse, oppressively," says Dave Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Kansas City, Missouri is looking for a single company to install “a fully integrated suite of sensors, networks, and data and analytics platforms." Now, it's sifting through 15 proposals, says Chief Innovation Officer Bob Bennett.
1 big thing: Privacy unravels. . . Somebody's going to benefit from all that information Google, Microsoft, Panasonic, Siemens, IBM, Oracle, Cisco, Verizon and AT&T are all pitching their services to cities _______________________________________________________________________
The race to become "smart cities"
by Kim Hart 3 Sept 2018
Link > https://www.axios.com/the-smart-city-race Cities are increasingly marketing themselves as "smart cities" — hyper-connected, sensor-equipped communities — in their latest economic development pitch to attract workers and businesses. > "Smart city" is the buzzwordadopted by tech firms and mayors to describe areas that mash together fast internet, sensors and automation to power "smart" streetlights, energy meters, water monitors and transportation systems.
If marketing materials are to be believed, smart cities will use gigabit-speed internet and future 5G networks to transform how citizens interact with schools, utilities, their neighbors and and local governments.
For example, sensors at downtown intersections can monitor pedestrian traffic and direct stop lights when to turn red, while dimming street lights and monitoring weather and rush-hour patterns to send notifications to commuters and public transit drivers.
> The reality: Making cities smarter is more of a business model challenge than a technological one, . . . > The other side: Cities are being pitched on a range of newfangled technologies and apps intended to provide free Wi-Fi at bus shelters, smart parking systems, or sensors to clear intersections faster. But there are privacy and security questions around who gets access to data generated by those tools, . .
It's also a question of priorities, such as balancing spending on social issues or technologies.
"It feels like a lot of smart-city technology is nice to have, but not necessarily vital to the continuance of city processes. When faced with homelessness, immigration, major critical infrastructure issues — those things take priority over making life easier for people trying to park, for example."
— Ginger Ambruster, City of Seattle _______________________________________________________________________________________ RESOURCES: SMART CITIES
From getting a license to paying taxes, we routinely give cities granular data on who we are, where we live, what we do and how much we earn.
Why it matters: “City Hall has a treasure trove of information about you,” says Ann Cavoukian, a privacy expert at Ryerson University. “You have no choice but to give them information.”
For example: New York's LinkNYC WiFi hotspots, which also have cameras, can analyze images of people passing by particular kiosks. Over time, images could be linked to their identity and other sensitive data, like credit scores.
Theoretically, that information could then be used to place ads for payday loans around that kiosk, says Katya Abazajian, Open Cities director at the Sunlight Foundation.
If predictions turn out to be true, 5G-connected devices (dashcams, bikes, umbrellas, clothing, keys) and city infrastructure (streetlights, stop signs, utility lines) equipped with elaborate sensor networks will be able to pinpoint your real-time location.
But the explosion of data and always-connected items will lead to new and unpredictable applications.
For example, sensors could track how frequently you go to the gym or cameras could see how often you run red lights — data that insurance companies might be interested in, Abazajian said.
The bottom line: "As tech companies get more and more consent from people to collect data on how they live their lives, there are going to be more unexpected uses of that data to shape your access to consumer goods or any services," says Abazajian.
"It's all about who is sharing the data with whom. And we just don't know that right now."
> "Scooter fleets are popping up across the country, and cities want access to rider data in exchange for letting them operate . . ."https://www.axios.com The cities no one can afford to live
"Around the world, people are streaming into big cities. But owning a home in these places is out of reach for many Americans — and where most end up renting, the idea of a quick zip to work is a cruel joke.
By the numbers: This is a global issue. A recentsurvey by Demographia, a firm that researches cities, looked at 309 metros in 8 countries. Of these, just 9 housing markets (all in the U.S.) were judged to be "affordable . . . "
