Posted on 10/08/2013 10:19:57 AM PDT by mojito
...[W]e ran a story in March 2012 which exposed the NSA's unprecedented domestic espionage project, codenamed Stellar Wind, and specifically the $1.4+ billion data center spy facility located in Bluffdale, Utah, which spans more than one million square feet, uses 65 megawatts of energy (enough to power a city of more than 20,000), and can store exabytes or even zettabytes of data (a zettabyte is 100 million times larger than all the printed material in the Library of Congress), consisting of every single electronic communication in the world, whether captured with a warrant or not. Yet despite all signs to the contrary, Uber-general Keith Alexander and his spy army are only human, and as the WSJ reports, the NSA's Bluffdale data center - whose interior may not be modeled for the bridge of the Starship Enterprise - has been hobbled by chronic electrical surges as a result of at least 10 electrical meltdowns in the past 13 months.
Such meltdowns have prevented the NSA from using computers at its new Utah data-storage center which then supposedly means that not every single US conversation using electronic media or airwaves in the past year has been saved for posterity and the amusement of the NSA's superspooks.
This being the NSA, of course, not even a blown fuse is quite the same as it would be in the normal world: "One project official described the electrical troubles—so-called arc fault failures—as "a flash of lightning inside a 2-foot box." These failures create fiery explosions, melt metal and cause circuits to fail, the official said. The causes remain under investigation, and there is disagreement whether proposed fixes will work, according to officials and project documents. One Utah project official said the NSA planned this week to turn on some of its computers there."
(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...
Failures like this only bring on the fix to every govt problem:
more employees
more budget
more contractors
more consultants
I love this story.
For me the whole concept of digital privacy is a little like a keyhole, and this story fits PERFECTLY like a key into that keyhole.
Ya know what THAT means? This story is a LIE.
It’s a great post, but sorry, when it comes to news about this stuff and there are allegations of some kind of technical set-back, well, my feeling is that it’s a lie.
Especially with looming budget cuts they want our ire and concern to go away, and that is what this story does.
All people having anything to do with this topic on the government side lie, lie, lie.
Then they stack up more Bibles, swear on THAT stack, and you know what? They instantly go back to LYING.
“Oh man, those idiot dufuses —dufii?— had that huge mountain of cash and they STILL can’t get it right, yuck, yuck, yuck..!!!!”
Sorry, it’s just too perfect. So it’s a lie and the machine is humming along just fine. They’re robbing you of your digital privacy as you wait for red lights to turn green, and while you brew coffee, and while you sleep.
They’re doing FINE out there.
Hence, this looks like they brought in the power and then cheaped out on the distribution. It's stupid, reflecting directly the existence of mal-intent.
Exactly correct..!
They’re LYING.
My thot exactly: chinese made lithium batteries. what could go wrong? The electric car charging stations are blowing?
Of course they're lying - they're the NSA.
The question is, what are they really lying about?
I'm aware of the gross levels government incompetence can take. But on a project like this, concerning such crucial fundamental design issues, that incompetence didn't happen over such a long-established engineering issue.
So what's left? Sabotage.
But by whom? It's not in the parts or design, because of the partial checking that takes place during construction. It's not a one-off 007, or that would be noted, too.
That leaves...
Yea, I was thinking the same thing.
The way they write it, it sounds so blase’. “Oh, the lights went off again. What a bother.”
To someone who has seen an arc fault in a three phase system... heh. It’s a whole ‘nuther level of incompetence. For the kind of power they’ve got plumbed into that outfit, I’m sure it is an experience that could make someone lose bladder control.
We had what is (to guys like you) a very minor arc-over in an irrigation pump panel (480V, 200amps) that vaporized about a cubic centimeter of copper from the contactor points - and it blew the door off the panel and out into the field.
I used to wonder “Why did they put all the controls on the edge of the cabinet instead of on the face?” If I’d been standing in front of that panel door to bump the start switch, I’d likely have been killed by that flying door. It tore out the locks, the safety interlock on the main switch and the four hinges. 12 gauge steel. Just torn apart, no problem, no hesitation.
BTW, post-shutdown examination of the panel interior showed a rattlesnake had crawled into the cabinet and gotten across the pump-side terminals on the 200A contactor. Hit the “go” switch, the snake’s middle section vaporized, but left a plasma arc in place that vaporized the copper. He must have come in from the other end of the conduit where it went to the pump motor, and came up alongside the 4-conductor 00 aluminum cables.
As for the cooling issues - whatcha wanna bet they’re the result of some environmental push in federal regs? Remember the good ol’ days when we had mainframes on raised floors, and the air pressure under the floor helped you pick up the floor tiles? Oh, that felt good on a hot day.
I read that as their initial report from summer could not identify any cause yet, but later by Sept they had and had already begun steps to fix it.
Shut them down.
We can find a more American and more patriotic way, I assure you.
Do not listen to those who say otherwise. They have become Fascists, one and all.
$36Oh, I forgot about shutdown../sarc
I have zero technical knowledge about any of this, but every year I have outdoor, grounded and enclosed GFIs with underground wires inside conduit that are shorted out by ants. These run the pool and provide another electrical outlet for whatever near the deck. According to my electrician, the little guys love electricity and are drawn to build their nests near it.
This year’s electrical failure was due to a broken seal around the box that is connected to the pool heater. Water got inside and corroded everything. They don’t make the bubble housings in the correct size for that one.
One year, the propane pool heater exploded. Gas built up when the pilot didn’t light, but the propane was still flowing and then there must have been a spark when the switch was engaged (or something, says the ignorant lady). It blew the front panel off and scared me enough that I still turn the thing on with a 5’ stick.
Can only imagine the difference between my little glitches and something on this scale. Still, it is amusing, if it is true.
Apaches were farther south; these woulda been Utes.
FYI
The absolute best tour of Anasazi ruins in the South west is hosted by the Ute Mountain tribe in Colorado. Their reservation adjoins Mesa Verde National Park. They have you assemble at their casino and take you in small groups to the sites.
The ruins are pretty much the way they have been for 900 years or so. No archaeological meddling, the real thing
Nope not Youts, Utes.
That’s why it’s called Utah, not Youtah.
;-)
I stopped in that casino once for lunch a few years ago; the food was unimpressive and about 75% of the customers in the casino itself looked to be members of the tribe.
Wasn’t bringing in a whole lot of outside revenue. On the other hand, it may have been keeping them from gambling at another tribe’s casino.
They’re doing that on purpose just to make some of us smile...sweet.
hee hee I hope the whole building is turned to ashes. Loss of their lives. Or loss of our freedom.
These dopes are probably operating on all that green crap. Maybe we don’t have much to worry about after all. I am not seeing much competence in this current government.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.