April 2012

There were 33 posts published in April 2012 (this is page 4 of 4).

Tony Shin taken to task

It seems that Earle Holland, Ohio State University’s assistant vice president for research communications, also got one of the mysterious Tony Shin Infographics, only Holland didn’t simply post it to his blog unquestioned. Instead, Holland took the time to thoroughly review the infographic, pointing out its numerous errors. [PDF]

Holland writes on his blog:

“Infographics,” first popularized by the coming of the USAToday newspaper, are a quick and easy way of conveying information. Sadly, however, they’re equally useful in simplifying data to the point of misrepresentation. Science as a subject is all too often seen by the public as too complicated to understand. It’s a normal tendency for people to reach out for, and maintain, simpler notions that require less work.
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Apple plans nation’s biggest private fuel cell energy project at N.C. data center

I’ve been meaning to blog about this all weekend. The N&O’s John Murawski has uncovered a very interesting aspect to the datacenter Apple is building in North Carolina: the country’s largest private fuel cell project.

North Carolina will be home to the nation’s largest private fuel cell energy project, a nonpolluting, silent power plant that will generate electricity from hydrogen.

Apple (yes, that Apple) filed its plans with the N.C. Utilities Commission on Thursday to build the 4.8-megawatt project in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. That’s where Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has built a data center to support the company’s iCloud online data storage system and its SIRI voice-recognition software.

The fuel cell project, the nation’s largest such project not built by an electric utility company, will be developed this year. It will be located on the same data complex that will host a planned 20-megawatt solar farm – the biggest ever proposed in this state.

But it’s the fuel cell project that’s generating buzz, eclipsing anything ever dreamed of in California, the nation’s epicenter for fuel cell projects.

“That’s a huge vote of confidence in fuel cells,” said James Warner, policy director of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association in Washington.

I’ve written before about how large companies build their datacenters in North Carolina to take advantage of the cheap electricity: electricity generated from dirty coal. Yet, fuel cells are (still) incredibly expensive and are among the cleanest energy sources around.

Why would Apple build a fuel cell plant in our state? It’s ironic, really, since all of Apple’s products are manufactured in China – powered by coal-smoke-belching power plants.

Does this mean that my dream of one day having a dishwasher-sized fuel cell power my home is moving closer to reality? What’s really going on here?

via Apple plans nation’s biggest private fuel cell energy project at N.C. data center – Business – NewsObserver.com.

Festival au Desert

If the ancient Mali city of Tumbuktu wasn’t already remote and exotic enough, now it’s in the hands of Tuareg rebels after a coup took place in Mali March 21st.

For over a decade, Mali has been the home of an annual African music concert known as Festival in the Desert. I’ve long wanted to travel to this concert and see the Sahara Desert and the city of Timbuktu but the security situation in the country brings this into question.

It’s not that I was ready to jet off to West Africa any time soon but I still hope one day to ride a camel to hear some of the most beautiful music on earth.